Myers ProTrack TV to Anchor Centralcast Hub for PBS in Upstate New York

PRLog (Press Release) - Jun. 13, 2012 - Northampton, MA – Myers Information Systems – a leading developer of broadcast traffic, business and content management software, and the supplier-of-choice to PBS member stations nationwide – today affirmed the company's role in the groundbreaking consolidation of broadcast operations being built at the new WCNY-TV/FM broadcast and education facility in Syracuse, New York. Scheduled to launch in October, the facility will assume master control responsibility for the primary and secondary content channels for all nine New York State PBS call-letter stations, New Jersey Public Television (NJTV), plus a specialty programming service, for a total of 35 on-air streams.

Operating as Centralcast LLC, the PBS facility is expected to save some $25 million over 10 years in reduced equipment, operating and maintenance costs. It may generate additional revenue, once up and running, by offering services to other area broadcasters. The Myers team will install a version of ProTrack TV at the central operations facility, to centralize content acquisition and data management, facilitate content exchange among stations, capture content revisions, and track media locations across both central and local storage devices. The Myers software will be fully integrated with an end-to-end content management and play-to-air automation solution being supplied by Evertz Microsystems Ltd.

"ProTrack scheduling and business management software has long been a key to the success of our individual station operations," said Robert Daino, president and CEO of WCNY-TV/FM, home to the new facility. "Myers not only has the systems integration experience necessary for a project of this scope, their in-depth knowledge of PBS and its unique workflows gives us full confidence in their ability to deliver us a highly efficient playout center for stations throughout the country."

"We are extremely pleased to be a part of this exciting and innovative project," said Crist Myers, company CEO and president. "This represents a whole new era for Public Broadcasting, one that combines cutting-edge technology with a rational approach to operational efficiency. This endeavor will go a long way to help participating PBS member stations become more self-sustaining and insure the availability of high-quality PBS programming to the area's loyal viewing audience for years to come."

Myers' highly regarded flagship suite, ProTrack, is available in both radio and television editions. It offers comprehensive scheduling and business management for individual, multichannel and multi-station facilities. Actively used by more than 226 media outlets, supporting more than 1,300 channels, ProTrack provides a high-level of structure and scalability, without sacrificing flexibility, for today's rapidly evolving media environments.


About Myers Information Systems
Myers Information Systems, Inc. has been developing broadcast management software since 1989. The Company provides technology and services for television, radio and other digital media providers designed to improve every aspect of their operations, from contracting to invoicing, media management to scheduling, and from trafficking to reconciliation. For more information, please visit: http://www.myersinfosys.com

About Centralcast LLC
The Joint Master Control Center will be housed at WCNY-TV/FM new Broadcast and Education Center in Syracuse, NY. In addition to WCNY, the centralcast playout facility will manage content for WMHT (Albany), WNED (Buffalo), WCFE (Plattsburgh), WPBS (Watertown), WSKG (Binghamton), WXXI (Rochester), and WNET (New York City) which programs WLIW, NJTV (New Jersey Public Television) and V-Me, PBS children's programming in Spanish.


Myers Information Systems contact: Crist Myers
+1-413-585-9820 / sales@myersinfosys.com

Press contact:  Desert Moon Communications / Harriet Diener
+1-845-512-8283 / harriet@desertmooncomm.com

Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/11899355/1