Visit Bitcentral at SVG Summit Booth 58!

Come and visit Bitcentral at the Sports Video Group Summit at the New York Hilton Midtown December 12-13, 2016!
We will be showcasing our CORE:sportsTM, CORE:newsTM and ContinuumTM 24/7 production solutions at Booth 58.

Leveraging our recent expansion into the sports production market, we look forward to connecting with friends old and new across the community and are especially fired up about our all-new CORE:sports platform! CORE:sports is a comprehensive sports production software suite featuring ENPS/iNews integration, field-based workflows, group-wide collaborative functionality and a unified streamlined design.

Attendees are invited to stop by the Bitcentral Booth (58) for demos showcasing our workflow solutions that currently power over 1,000 facilities worldwide, including those at Sky/Fox, Hearst, CNN, Telemundo, Scripps, and Televisa.

NEWS RELEASE: Bitcentral Will Show at Annual NAB Show New York November 9-10, 2016

Bitcentral, Inc., a provider of streamlined video workflow solutions for broadcast and digital media, today announced its planned exhibition at the National Association of Broadcasters Show New York at the Javits Convention Center on November 9-10, 2016. The company will be showcasing its CORE:newsTM news production, CORE:sportsTM sports production and ContinuumTM 24/7 automated news channel software at Booth 860.

Ron Rosenthal, vice president of global sales for Bitcentral, explains the importance of the show and why he believes the company’s asset management, playout and collaboration products represent a unique opportunity to serve a diverse group of content stakeholders in attendance. “Bitcentral has been making the broadcast industry more efficient for over 16 years,” Rosenthal said. “While we have a deep heritage and competence in broadcasting, we’ve always pushed the envelope as a software tech company. Bitcentral built America’s first IP-based satellite news distribution network, is currently driving local television into the connected age as the #1 News Production System provider and as an emerging expert in master control automation and sports production. We’re looking ahead to bridge MCNs, OTT players, and other digital producers seeking to serve hyperlocal markets with existing local TV operations infrastructure.  As such, we’re committed to delivering the most advanced, intelligent and efficient solutions for evolving broadcast media that are rock solid and simply work. We’re happy to be growing and excited to showcase our latest technology at NAB New York”.

Leveraging its reputation for renowned customer support and momentum from a recent expansion into the sports production market, Rosenthal is pleased with the company’s position and breadth of offerings, including the all-new CORE:sports product.  CORE:sports is a comprehensive sports production software suite featuring ENPS/iNews integration, field-based workflows, group-wide collaborative functionality and a unified streamlined design.

Bitcentral is offering interested parties a complimentary exhibits-only pass with redemption code NY2242 when registering at www.nabshow.com, good through November 8. Attendees are invited to stop by the Bitcentral Booth (860) for product demonstrations showcasing Bitcentral video workflow solutions that currently power over 1,000 facilities worldwide, including those at leaders Sky/Fox, Hearst, CNN, Telemundo, Scripps, and Televisa.

Local Sports Media: A National Issue

Local television is doing an admirable job holding its own against the stiff competition that is mobile and digital, but it still needs a lot of help. It’s an industry that has been on the decline ever since newspapers realized that advertising revenue wouldn’t be enough to support a team of writers to cover local sports teams. So when regional newspapers began to cut costs the sports desk was often the first to go – especially since national brands like ESPN were already offering similar content.4

Of course, no problem is ever as simple as having just one reason for it and so there are other mitigating factors. Contracts are one sticking point. In 2014, the Sharks – a Bay Area Hockey team – decided that its contract with Comcast Sportsnet Bay Area was giving them $7 million per season and still had 14 more seasons at that price to go. Thing is, as Mark Purdy, sports-blogger, pointed out “according to Forbes’ magazine and website, the Toronto Maple Leafs receive $41 million per season in local TV rights. Several other teams – the Rangers, Canadiens, Red Wings – bring in more than $30 million per season. The Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks have $20 million-plus-per-season deals, as do Dallas and New Jersey and the New York Islanders.”1

Adds Purdy, “Needless to say, this puts the Sharks at a disadvantage. Do the math. Over the next five years alone, the Kings and Ducks will have a minimum of $65 million more than the Sharks to push payroll up to the salary cap limit and/or buy out contracts and/or turn a profit. The team says it isn’t making one now.”1

And according to Ben Koo “Combined with an expiring lease or a below average stadium or arena, bad television contracts now may destabilize a team to the point where they might have to flee the area. Or at least that’s what they’re selling the league and apparently in the Sharks scenario, it’s working.”2

Another sticking point is the lack of current options for local sports viewing.  Cord-cutters are abandoning cable TV (and, to a degree, local TV if they don’t have an HD antenna) in droves for the web. And cord-cutters are rewarded for that decision: Every major sports organization offers some kind of streaming package, from MLB.TV to NFL Live to NBA League Pass. These services are expensive compared to streaming subscriptions, and can cost between $100 and $200 per year.3

If you’re a die-hard sports fan in general, a cable subscription is probably worthwhile for that content alone. But if you follow only one or two teams in one or two sports, you can probably get away with paying $15 to $20 per month — much less than traditional paid TV.3

An interesting twist in the story appeared as recently as July 8, 2016, when TechCrunch reported on a new start-up called The Athletic. The athletic launched 6 months ago in Chicago – they hired the top sportswriters in the city on a full-time basis, and have them write a total of five to ten quality pieces of content a day. The startup is credentialed by all five sports teams in the city, and mixes in traditional sports reporting with inside access and exclusives from team executives and agents of the hottest players.4

But an even bigger twist comes in the form of Continuum; it’s a broadcaster solution that allows local TV stations to take control over their own destiny and not be slave to the business whims of countless cable companies and/or cord-cutters. If you’re a station, Continuum takes the sports, news and advertising you already have to automatically produce a polished 24/7 linear digital channel reaching new audiences across online, mobile + OTT.

Continuum allows you to load your local sports coverage up over three dynamic programming modes. It also communicates with master control/automation systems that can build go-to-air and/or streaming playlists. Combined with asset discovery and management solutions like CORE:sports, it’s a comprehensive foundation for local sports producers to remain relevant in today’s distributed media landscape.

However you decide to tackle it, local sports cannot take a back seat to this tech explosion.

Now let’s play catch (up).

1http://blogs.mercurynews.com/purdy/2014/06/17/sharks-bay-area-future-jeopardy-nhl-commissioner-gary-bettman-even-intervened-try-fix-tv-deal-threatens-franchises-local-future/

2http://awfulannouncing.com/2014/can-leagues-step-in-and-save-teams-with-bad-local-television-contracts.html

3http://www.tomsguide.com/us/cord-cutting-guide,news-17928.html

4https://techcrunch.com/2016/07/08/the-athletic-is-bringing-subscription-based-local-sports-coverage-to-a-city-near-you/