Phase 2 of the FCC’s 10-phase schedule to move stations to new frequencies following the FCC’s incentive auction went fairly smoothly according to both the FCC and vendors involved in getting the necessary new equipment in place. Out of 115 stations slated to move in Phase 2, only 13 missed the April 12 deadline and, of those, four have since made the transition. The FCC grants of phase changes and STAs are helping keep the repack on track, says Don Doty of tower firm Stainless. “I have to compliment a government agency that said it was going to be flexible and then followed through.”

The future of wireless technology holds the promise of total connectivity. But it will also be especially susceptible to cyberattacks and surveillance.

In a rare cross-industry exercise to plan for how some burgeoning new technologies — 5G and ATSC 3.0 — might impact the advertising and media industry, a consortium backed by Fox today will release a white paper summing up a variety of scenarios to help advertisers, agencies and media suppliers prepare for the future.

Broadcasters have told the FCC not to pay attention to the tech companies seeking to harpoon the great white (spaces) whale by preventing broadcasters from using vacant channels to help in the transition to next-gen ATSC 3.0 TV transmissions. That came in a call this week between NAB execs and officials at the FCC’s Media Bureau and Incentive Auction Task Force.

Sony reported an 87.9 billion yen ($787 million) January-March profit Friday, a reversal from the 13.3 billion yen loss racked up the previous year. Quarterly sales totaled 2.1 trillion yen ($19 billion), up 9% from 1.9 trillion yen.

Telestream says the move will strengthen video testing, monitoring and file-based quality control within its solution portfolio.

Media asset management systems, some of which interact with the cloud and use artificial intelligence to personalize content, are growing in acceptance among TV broadcasters as they add scaled-down functionality, standardization and microservices.

WXTV’s existing 1,800 square-foot set has been redesigned to accommodate new technology that also reduces power consumption and enhances the storytelling experience. It includes a 24-foot long, wall to ceiling, curved monitor wall and a larger Chroma wall to magnify weather maps, animations and enhance the artwork of daily forecasts within the daily meteorology reports.

Last April, the broadcast industry was abuzz with the need to register previously unlicensed earth stations in order to reduce the chance of future displacement. On April 11, the FCC released a Public Notice outlining the procedures for submitting the required certifications and related information for operators of FSS earth stations in the 3.7-4.2 GHz band (either licensed or registered) by May 28.

Red Bee Media will provide Videa with textual metadata aimed at providing a comprehensive source for programming and ratings estimates for automated TV sales.

Alphabet Inc’s Wing Aviation unit on Tuesday got the OK to start delivering goods by drone in Virginia later this year, making the sister unit of search engine Google the first company to get U.S. air carrier certification, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

Transitioning from SDI to IP has enabled Canal+ to produce content more efficiently and to find new ways to reuse it, said Pierre Maillat, broadcast imagineer at the French pay TV provider. He spoke at a Cisco-sponsored event at the NAB Show where Roger Crothers, head of technology for BBC Wales, said the BBC’s first dive into IP workflow would create a roadmap for moving the rest of its six major broadcast centers to IP and that he anticipates new synergies to emerge when that happens. Ted Schilowitz, futurist for Paramount Pictures, added that IP better delivers the experience younger viewers have come to expect. A pair of video highlights of the session are here. Pictured (l-r): Dave Ward,  SVP chief architect and CTO of engineering, Cisco; Gene Arantowicz, solution engineering manager and media practice lead, World Wide Technology; Schilowitz; Maillat and Crothers.

There are three new jobs posted to TVNewsCheck’s MediaJobCenter for a COO/VP in San Francisco, an account executive in Des Moines, Iowa, and a general manager for two Fox stations in Panama City, Fla., and Dothan, Ala.

Creating an app to deliver unique content OTT is only a small part of the equation for local news. Stations moving into OTT need their target viewers to be able to find their apps on various platforms, and that can be tricky.