WRAL taps Xytech MediaPulse for news production
Details
Michelle Clancy
| 30 January 2017

WRAL, the local NBC TV affiliate station in Raleigh, NC, has selected Xytech MediaPulse to manage its production and news activities.

MediaPulse plays an important role behind the scenes at the station, helping to schedule reporters, photographers, anchors, engineers, creative services personnel and their activities, as well as equipment and trucks. MediaPulse also supports scheduling of master control for the station.

WRAL is the flagship of the Capitol Broadcasting Corporation and a recognised trailblazer in the broadcast industry. In 1996, the FCC awarded WRAL the first experimental HD television licence in the United States, and the following year it was the first in the US to broadcast a live sports programme and newscast in high definition. In 2000, WRAL became the first TV station in the world to produce and air an all-HD broadcast, including the graphics, live-shots and news. Last year the station switched to NBC from its long-standing affiliation with CBS.

WRAL will use MediaPulse to optimise efficiency and transparency, and to automate and analyse its operational activities along with a news operations staff of 120. WRAL covers major events including tournaments and elections, where numerous personnel and a large pool of equipment need to be planned, organised, scheduled and tracked over multiple days. All those operations run on MediaPulse. Additionally, WRAL Creative Services production work and the station's engineering staff are better scheduled and tracked through MediaPulse.

"WRAL Raleigh, alongside two sister stations in the Capitol Broadcasting family, is now capable of racking daily assignments of newsroom personnel, trucks and equipment for story coverage with MediaPulse,” said Pete Sockett, WRAL director of engineering and operations. “We are planning on better management and tracking of resources with reduced resource conflicts, improved maintenance scheduling, enhanced staff communications and, in the end, an overall ability to better analyse how the station can operate most efficiently, productively and profitably."

Greg Dolan, COO of Xytech, added: "WRAL is one of the most successful and technically progressive local television stations in the country, pioneering important technological advancements while broadcasting local news in a major regional market. They continue to lead the way for local news stations and for all stations covering national events. Their choice of MediaPulse to power their operations is something we are terrifically proud of."

WRAL recently also updated its master control playout solution, with BroadStream Solutions’ OASYS Integrated Playout platform.