DMA 27

WRAL Begins Broadcasting to City Buses

Putting mobile DTV to work, Capitol Broadcasting flagship today began simulcasting its programming in an on-going experiment that will eventually involved four city-owned buses. "We rode all around downtown," says Capitol's James Goodmon. "We were really happy with the reception."
TVNewsCheck,

Digital TV pioneer WRAL Raleigh, N.C., is claiming the first mobile DTV service, today simulcasting its regular mix of local news, syndication and CBS network programming to a city bus equipped with receivers and two plasma screens, according to station owner James Goodmon.

"We rode all around downtown," said Goodmon. "We were really happy with the reception."

Story continues after the ad

The inaugural service will be short lived, Goodmon said. The reception equipment will be removed from the bus and shipped to Las Vegas for demos at the NAB Show next week.

But after the convention, the bus, along with three others, will be equipped for mobile as part of an on-going experiment this summer on reception quality and consumer interest, he said.

After that, Goodmon said, "We are all going to sit down and see what we think."

Goodmon said he checked with CBS before beginning the mobile service, but feels he doesn't need a copyright green light from either the network or the syndicators. "I believe a simulcast is permissible."

The WRAL programming on the test bus's plasma screens is framed by five panels. Two contain weather info; three are banner ads. WRAL is selling the ads and splitting the revenue with the city, Goodmon said.

Technology for the project is being provided by LG Electronics and Harris Corp., co-developers of mobile DTV standard.

"This collaborative effort is a great example of thinking outside the box, which will bring significant benefit to everyone involved," saidTim Thorsteinson, president of Harris Broadcast Communications.

"The early adoption of this groundbreaking mobile television technology, coupled with the innovative use of digital signage, creates an exciting new outlet for WRAL programming and enables the station to provide a unique, progressive service to the community."

"‘First in flight, first in Digital' should be the motto for North Carolina, thanks to Capitol Broadcasting," said Jong Kim, president of LG's U.S. R&D subsidiary, Zenith.

"The launch of this innovative digital signage system builds on WRAL's long-time pioneering role in DTV broadcasting. LG Electronics applauds the city of Raleigh and [Capitol] for their vision and foresight in launching the first commercial application for DTV broadcasting."

WRAL has been a leader in DTV. It was among the first to air a digital signal (in July 1996) and claims to be the first to broadcast local HD sports (in September 1997) and news (in October 1998).

 

Edit Article

Comments (5) -

stan sanders posted over 3 years ago
|
Another great example of Broadcasters going to where the customers are. Whether it is buses in North Carolina or Cabs in NYC, we need to be where the eyeballs are available - anytime, anyplace and anywhere. Kudos to the folks at WRAL...
EmmGeeOhio Nickname posted over 3 years ago
|
Personally, I'm not sure. I see your pointon the DTV vs. safety and public info, however, The proliferation of too many ads in a day, implied or direct, is just overkill. One also has to look at the other more traditional "servces" that hte tri cities bussing services have. Take morning newspapers, magazines, etc. I also see a huge issue with blinde people. Can it interfere with thier senses, or can it be made ADA fiendly? it is public, so tv's and busses fall under the ADA guidlines. It copuld also just be another distaction, to our ADD minds. I like the idea of penetration of the public systems, but don't think it's a great idea, logically.
EmmGeeOhio Nickname posted over 3 years ago
|
Note on Newspaper comment: I meant sold on buses, not just read. Toledo, Ohio sells papers on it's local "retarta" system. Not much penetration, for the worst busing system in the US. But it works for the local paper, who did not go under yet. That would be interfering, if DTV were on "retarta" buses.
Lindy Sieker posted over 3 years ago
|
I think it would be interesting to see if that reach can be measured. It will be a whole new landscape with the digital conversion. We will see a lot of share redistribution. Very innovative thinking!
Mobileguy Nickname posted over 3 years ago
|
this is ridiculous. I mean how much could it possibly be worth to put your ads in front of bus riders? with challanges facing the tv broadcasting industry this is where they focus efforts. If I could Id short Capital Broadcasting because they are obviously wasting alot of time over their OR they have some really naive people calling the shorts. just my humble opinion.

Today's Top Stories

Classifieds

The Market

Symbol Last Change (%)
Nasdaq 2905.66 +45.98 (+1.61%)
NYSE 8060.43 +115.00 (+1.45%)
S&P 500 1344.90 +19.36 (+1.46%)
Updated 02/04 4:02a ET Quotes delayed at least 20 mins.
Source: Financial Content

Ratings

Overnights, adults 18-49 for February 3, 2012
  • 1.
    3.9/11
  • 2.
    3.5/9
  • 3.
    2.5/7
  • 4.
    1.5/4
  • 5.
    1.5/4
  • 6.
    0.9/2
Source: Nielsen
Reviews
Opinions
Features
  • Robert Lloyd

    Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, veterans of Fox's sketch comedy MADtv, have a new series of their own, Comedy Central's Key & Peele. It is a genial, at times almost genteel, half-hour in which the pair's obvious niceness shines through even their more pugnacious characters. (Key's version of road rage is to shout, "Selfish!") In a roundabout way, that's the point. The sketches are consistently smart and smartly acted and flow easily from ordinary premises to weird conclusions.

  • Hank Stuever

    Discovery's Bering Sea Gold doesn’t seem at first like it has crossed any new reality TV frontier, relying on elements and structure familiar to the form. Enticingly (to the network), it combines the ocean and the gold and the cold and the reactive testosterone among bad-tempered desperados. To which I am surprised to cry: Eureka, they’ve found it! Bering Sea Gold is a testament to how thoroughly absorbing the genre can still be, when it’s done right.

  • Neil Genzlinger

    All Star Dealers, Discovery Channel's sports-memorabilia addition to the bloated auction/pawnshop/storage locker subgenre of reality television, should have been a winner, with endless stories to draw on and a built-in fan base. But rather than find its own formula, it was content to borrow from existing shows, and it borrowed all the wrong things.

  • Joanne Ostrow

    Kiefer Sutherland displays his softer side in Fox's Touch, a touchy-feely drama merging paranormal, spiritual and sweetly familial elements. shows off his acting chops, long forgotten, in scene after scene. It's heavier lifting than usual for the actor who was often reduced to caricature in 24. Sutherland is all about vulnerability in a show whose goal is nothing short of proving the interconnectedness of human life. We'll see if audiences can tolerate the notion of profound interrelatedness as weekly entertainment.

  • Tim Goodman

    Let's jump right to the most obvious of all sentiments when it comes to HBO's new horse racing/gambling series Luck: Do not bet against David Milch in this one. Like a lot of HBO series, Luck will require patience. It's telling a dense story with nuanced characters and it doesn't feel the need to rush in, like a network series, and hammer home the main themes. But each episode is more enriching, more engrossing than the last and there's Hoffman's superb turn at the forefront, even though his story unfolds with the least rush. Luck is a smart and ambitious series that looks to truly pay off in the home stretch.

  • Mike Hale

    The timing of FX's animated series Unsupervised is unfortunate. A kind of reversed Beavis and Butt-Head — in which the teenage heroes, while losers in just about every way, are also social strivers yearning for suburban domesticity and dispensing Oprah Winfrey-style affirmations — it has the bad luck of coming along three months after the original was revived by MTV. The new show looks awfully pale by comparison.

This advertisement will close automatically in  second(s). You will see this ad no more than once a day. Skip ad