• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

1010 WINS moving downtown

Moving a radio isn't the hardest thing to do.How is this any different than moving an all music station?



Thanks,
Kevin L. Sealy
 
Kevin, you have no idea. WINS is a 24/7 news station with specialized software for news writing, news gathering, as well as feeds from Shadow and new lines from City Hall and other high profile locations, streaming with spot cutaways and three different on-air studios (they rotate :00 :20 :40) that need to work with logic for spot cutaways as well as share logs and sources with Audio Vault's new Flex software, which is still being fleshed out.

The music stations are easy... one studio, networked servers with music and logs and an older, more established (and simpler) Audio Vault, throw a switch on a Burk and you're set to go.
 
WOR 710 moved their studio location downtown just a few years ago. From what I remember, the on-air transition was smooth.
 
wgliradio said:
Kevin, you have no idea. WINS is a 24/7 news station with specialized software for news writing, news gathering, as well as feeds from Shadow and new lines from City Hall and other high profile locations, streaming with spot cutaways and three different on-air studios (they rotate :00 :20 :40) that need to work with logic for spot cutaways as well as share logs and sources with Audio Vault's new Flex software, which is still being fleshed out.

The music stations are easy... one studio, networked servers with music and logs and an older, more established (and simpler) Audio Vault, throw a switch on a Burk and you're set to go.
Click to expand...

Sure, the move must be a hell of an operation for the engineers. When is all hapening for WINS? Over the weekend?
 
Within the next two weeks. The major issue is getting the bugs out of the new Audio Vault Flex, which is being test run on WCBS AM. This version is brand new and was written for news/talk/sports stations that have much different logs and needs than a music station.

Believe me, we want the move of WINS to be as transparent as possible. So far, we are 3 for 3, but you don't want to move until you are confident in the new systems...
 
wgliradio,

I am one who knows very little when it comes to the technical end of radio and TV broadcasting. You've shared a lot of info.




Thanks,
Kevin L. Sealy
 
Ok, exciting. Good luck ;-)! I hope they are making some pictures from the new studio's. Or are there still pics on the net?
 
By my count, that puts five of the six CBS stations in NYC in one facility after Labor Day. Fascinating!

Thank goodness upper management at CBS Radio has the wisdom to leave WCBS News 880 at the CBS Broadcast Center.
 
wgliradio informed:

The major issue is getting the bugs out of the new Audio Vault Flex, which is being test run on WCBS AM. This version is brand new and was written for news/talk/sports stations that have much different logs and needs than a music station.
Click to expand...

I just saw the above earlier in the thread. I am not understanding why WINS isn't running this system itself since, I gather from what you are saying that this system will be what the station must use after it moves. Are the formats similar enough to insure that this system will do what it is supposed to do when WINS starts using it? Does this system handle all recorded audio in the station?

Believe me, we want the move of WINS to be as transparent as possible. So far, we are 3 for 3, but you don't want to move until you are confident in the new systems...
Click to expand...

Are you confident in those new systems? No doubt you installed a trouble-free, cutting edge facility at Hudson Street so theoretically you are confident but I can't help but detect the slightest bit of trepidation in your posting...
 
Audio Vault Flex (V 10) is brand new, never before used software. As with any new broadcast software, no matter how much you play in development, there are always bugs to be found once it works in a real environment. Over the past month since the original post, alot of those bugs have been fleshed out.

WINS is currently using Media Touch. The change to AV downtown from Media Touch for both WFAN and WINS brings all CBS stations into one platform (AV).
 
Ok, when is the official move happening? In the night from thursday on friday? When is the first shift from the new studio?
 
wgliradio educated:

Audio Vault Flex (V 10) is brand new, never before used software. As with any new broadcast software, no matter how much you play in development, there are always bugs to be found once it works in a real environment. Over the past month since the original post, a lot of those bugs have been fleshed out.

WINS is currently using Media Touch. The change to AV downtown from Media Touch for both WFAN and WINS brings all CBS stations into one platform (AV).
Click to expand...

Thank you for all the really useful information. I'll bet that WINS and WFAN can't wait to move so they can start using that "Flex" system in their new, state of the art studios downtown!

You've got to hand it to those management folks at CBS radio. They seem to be doing everything right these days and taking their time to make sure that everything will work as expected before these stations move. Our hats are off to them for continuing to bring us great quality radio in the nation's #1 broadcasting market!
 
Cal Stymes said:
You've got to hand it to those management folks at CBS radio. They seem to be doing everything right these days and taking their time to make sure that everything will work as expected before these stations move. Our hats are off to them for continuing to bring us great quality radio in the nation's #1 broadcasting market!
Click to expand...

Well, It goes way beyond the Management. The original plan had the various stations moving in at a quicker pace. The technical staff (engineers in the trenches) made the case to management that it would be best not to rush the proceedures. At that point Kudos to Engineering Management and also the program management at the various stations for listening to the engineering staff and revising the move schedule to a workable pace.

Also, keep in mind that in several instances just because the program operation hasn't moved doesn't neccessarily mean that business operations haven't. I believe they moved sales and other business personnel in to some degree. I'm not sure about FAN and WINS, but there were people working in the offices of the new NOW facility a week or two before the new studios went live.

All in all the facility is impressive just by the sheer magnitude of the operation.

mary said:
rent is cheaper downtown, thats why many are moving there.
Click to expand...

While this may be true, consider that this is also the industry trend all over. Most broadcast companies are co-locating all of their cluster facilities in order to share resources. As Midtown is still pretty well inhabited, it was a lot easier to find a facility big enough to house all of the stations together downtown where there are a lot of vacancies, and well, yes, cheaper rent too. No suprise that the new Clear Channel facility and WOR aren't far away.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom