WCTI-TV AND WFXI/WYDO-TV ARE FIRST WITH
HD LOCAL NEWS BROADCASTS IN
GREENVILLE/NEW BERN/WASHINGTON NC MARKET
Bonten Media Group’s WCTI-TV (ABC) and Esteem Broadcasting’s WFXI/WYDO-TV (FOX) became the first television stations in the Greenville/New Bern/Washington NC market to broadcast local news in high definition (HD) Sunday, June 27, 2010, respectively.
Greenville, New Bern Washington is the second Bonten Media market to be “first” in local High Definition newscasts. Bonten became the first television broadcaster to go HD with local news last week in Tri Cities TN/VA, DMA 93, with WCYB-TV and WEMT-TV.
“This new technology is a big step forward in the digital television evolution and means that we will now be airing a minimum of 97 hours of HD programming per week, including 24 hours of local news on WCTI-TV. The 6 hours of FOX Eastern Carolina News at 10PM in HD coupled with FOX Prime and FOX Sports form the backbone of that station’s HD offerings. For the approximately 1.1 million people in our total viewing area, having local news broadcast in high definition will be a welcome enhancement to their viewing experience. Our stations have long led the way with innovation in Eastern North Carolina and we are pleased to be first once again,” says Vice President and General Manager Jim McKernan. WCTI was the first station in the market to broadcast a digital signal, beginning in December 1999; and the first in the market to broadcast in HD with the 2003 Super Bowl, Super Bowl XXXVII, on ABC on Jan. 26, 2003.
“Our substantial investment in being the first to bring local HD news to the Greenville/New Bern/Jacksonville market is yet another example of Bonten’s ongoing commitment to leadership and to meeting the needs of Eastern Carolina viewers,” says Bonten Media Group President and CEO Randy Bongarten.
For the upgrade to HD local news, the stations chose Panasonic P2 HD cameras and the Bitcentral news editing system, which is widely used by television companies, such as NBC, FOX and CNN. Grass Valley provided the production switcher and studio cameras. Notably, Grass Valley’s HD equipment was used extensively in the recent Winter Olympics.
“The equipment vendors we chose met the stringent requirements we established for the HD build out and committed their entire resources in achieving the process and result,” according to WCTI/WFXI/WYDO Chief Engineer Ken Hughes.
HD LOCAL NEWS BROADCASTS IN
GREENVILLE/NEW BERN/WASHINGTON NC MARKET
Bonten Media Group’s WCTI-TV (ABC) and Esteem Broadcasting’s WFXI/WYDO-TV (FOX) became the first television stations in the Greenville/New Bern/Washington NC market to broadcast local news in high definition (HD) Sunday, June 27, 2010, respectively.
Greenville, New Bern Washington is the second Bonten Media market to be “first” in local High Definition newscasts. Bonten became the first television broadcaster to go HD with local news last week in Tri Cities TN/VA, DMA 93, with WCYB-TV and WEMT-TV.
“This new technology is a big step forward in the digital television evolution and means that we will now be airing a minimum of 97 hours of HD programming per week, including 24 hours of local news on WCTI-TV. The 6 hours of FOX Eastern Carolina News at 10PM in HD coupled with FOX Prime and FOX Sports form the backbone of that station’s HD offerings. For the approximately 1.1 million people in our total viewing area, having local news broadcast in high definition will be a welcome enhancement to their viewing experience. Our stations have long led the way with innovation in Eastern North Carolina and we are pleased to be first once again,” says Vice President and General Manager Jim McKernan. WCTI was the first station in the market to broadcast a digital signal, beginning in December 1999; and the first in the market to broadcast in HD with the 2003 Super Bowl, Super Bowl XXXVII, on ABC on Jan. 26, 2003.
“Our substantial investment in being the first to bring local HD news to the Greenville/New Bern/Jacksonville market is yet another example of Bonten’s ongoing commitment to leadership and to meeting the needs of Eastern Carolina viewers,” says Bonten Media Group President and CEO Randy Bongarten.
For the upgrade to HD local news, the stations chose Panasonic P2 HD cameras and the Bitcentral news editing system, which is widely used by television companies, such as NBC, FOX and CNN. Grass Valley provided the production switcher and studio cameras. Notably, Grass Valley’s HD equipment was used extensively in the recent Winter Olympics.
“The equipment vendors we chose met the stringent requirements we established for the HD build out and committed their entire resources in achieving the process and result,” according to WCTI/WFXI/WYDO Chief Engineer Ken Hughes.
