Public TV to Get New Program Distribution System
Public TV’s programming distribution system is set to get a $120 million facelift as its 350-plus stations shift to digital transmission. A new pact between PBS and the Corp. for Public Bcstg. will free $50 million Congress appropriated for public TV’s “Next Generation Interconnection System” (NGIS) to replace and upgrade the PBS programming delivery infrastructure.
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PBS’s current satellite lease with SES Americom expires in Oct. 2006. The new interconnection system will use a hybrid satellite/fiber architecture employing advanced file transfer technologies, PBS said. Using it, stations will be able to automate download of content from PBS, increasing programming flexibility and cutting costs, it added. The new system will “drastically” change how programming is distributed to stations, PBS Senior Vp- Technology & Operations Edward Caleca told us.
Most PBS programming now is distributed to stations on a real-time basis, with multiple feeds and multiple time-zone feeds, which is satellite bandwidth intensive. Under the new system, more than 90% of video feed will be distributed in a non-real time way, Caleca said. That means the transponder requirement will shrink greatly. At the station level, non-real time delivery of programming will require installation of special servers for IP file transfer and storage.
The predominantly satellite-based system’s terrestrial component involves high-speed Internet links among stations and PBS that basically will help stations with program management, Caleca said. The agreement with CPB, he said, will help kick start efforts to pick a satellite provider and server vendor. The satellite component will make up 50% of the project’s $120 million cost, he said, with $15-$20 million going to station infrastructure costs. Caleca put the Internet linkage cost at under $5 million. PBS, which will continue to be the main distribution point, already has begun upgrading to digital and is expected to absorb only a small portion of the costs, Caleca said. The network’s satellite and technical operations will be combined and located at a facility in Springfield, Va.
CPB will release $34.9 million for the new system “fairly soon,” a spokesman said. A Senate appropriations committee last month recommended that $40 million be made available for public TV’s interconnection system for FY 2006. The Assn. of Public TV Stations has been pressing Congress to fund the new system, saying it is crucial to the new digital emergency alert system (DEAS) being developed by the Dept. of Homeland Security in conjunction with public TV stations. The public TV programming distribution infrastructure is the backbone for distributing emergency alert and warning messages under DEAS, APTS told a Senate panel recently.
In an unrelated development, CPB Inspector Gen. Kenneth Konz, who’s investigating recent actions by Chmn. Kenneth Tomlinson, is expected to report to Congress by month’s end, according to knowledgeable sources. Konz had started his probe at the urging of Democratic Senators, including Dingell (Mich.) and Obey (Wis.). A CPB board source said the IG’s office was talking about releasing the report by the end of Aug. and certainly before the board meets next, late in Sept. The IG has finished interviewing board members, the source said, and is said to be questioning former board chairmen on procedures.