TV Station Group Transitions to Harris Media Software

Harris Corporation, an international communications and information technology company, will transition eight West Virginia Media Holdings television stations in four markets to an integrated Harris media software solution by the end of 2011. The complete solution provides each market with a well-rounded business software platform for traffic, billing and advertising sales that will simplify operations and help the broadcaster drive new revenue.

West Virginia Media Holdings is transitioning to Harris from a business software system that relied on separate platforms for traffic and billing, and broadcast advertising sales. The integration of Harris OSi-Traffic (traffic and billing) and OSi-AdConnections (advertising sales) simplifies business operations in all four West Virginia Media Holdings markets, three of which operate more than one station from a centralized facility.

Charlie Dusic, chief financial officer for West Virginia Media Holdings, said that the single-platform Harris media software solution is an ideal match for their operation, noting that all eight stations interconnect and often work together.

“We have many clients that advertise across multiple markets, so we do a lot of cross-market selling and reporting,” said Dusic. “The Harris solution had the unanimous support of our sales and traffic managers, as they found that the OSi interface was ideal for cross-market interaction. Its all-encompassing nature also integrates smoothly into our daily business operation.”

Dusic expects that the integrated OSi solution will make it easier for West Virginia Media Holdings to “incorporate new or non-traditional revenues” beyond traditional broadcast TV, and develop a “one-bill-for-all-services” approach for the company’s advertisers.

“The overall goal is to become more efficient across our operation by reducing manual processes and making the business side more straightforward for our clients,” added Dusic. “The Harris solution provides a set of tools from presentation through ordering and final billing that our stations did not have before.”

WOWK-TV in the Charleston-Huntington market transitioned to Harris media software in October.  The remaining stations in the markets of Wheeling/Steubenville, Beckley/Bluefield and Clarksburg/Morgantown will follow.

“Broadcasters are increasingly looking to integrated media software solutions that deliver significant business benefits and streamline information across the sales operation,” said Harris Morris, president, Harris Broadcast Communications. “The integration of traffic, billing and ad sales will help West Virginia Media Holdings efficiently manage business operations, improve decision-making tied to new revenue opportunities and deliver better service to advertising clients.”