LANCASTER, Pa.—Pocono Television Network (PTN) is operated by the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau (PMVB), a private, nonprofit organization that serves to promote, educate and attract visitors to Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains. Launched in 2017, the channel showcases the region through original segments such as “Pocono Perspectives” and “Pocono Mountains Magazine,” weather updates, live webcams and features on local businesses and events.
The PMVB created its own television network in order to drive content development with a focus on storytelling about the destination and the organization’s 600 members. As president and CEO of the PMVB, I also serve as the executive in charge of production for PTN, which, over the past eight years, has grown substantially in its broadcast, cable and streaming coverage to now reach more than 50 million households.
By 2022, we had exceeded the technical limitations of our third-party distributor and decided to expand our existing partnership with Take One Productions. Under the new arrangement, Take One’s team and PMVB’s in-house staff produce content for the network, while Take One oversees content aggregation, scheduling and playout across cable, OTT and digital platforms.
Broadcast-Grade Upgrade
Supporting continuous multiplatform distribution of PTN would require more than a basic file-based system that simply creates playlists from uploaded content. We needed a broadcast-grade solution that we wouldn’t outgrow, supporting the complete workflow—ingest, media asset management, playout, graphics and master control—while delivering the scalability and long-term reliability needed for a 24/7 network.
Just as important, the platform had to be cloud-based. With Take One’s studio in Lancaster and the PMVB located two hours north in Stroudsburg, relying on physical infrastructure wasn’t practical. The Versio integrated playout system from Imagine Communications, combined with the company’s cloud-native Aviator Automation, turned out to be the perfect solution.
Versio gives us the core playout engine and pulls the workflow together, but the bonus is in how seamlessly it works with Imagine’s Aviator Automation to create a unified, cloud-based operation.
Aviator Automation simplifies the programming process, offering remote login capabilities that enable programming from anywhere. In addition, the platform provides as-run logs to reference what has played, while its built-in Content Portal makes managing content simple. For additional visibility into PTN’s inventory, special fields were added to the metadata so content can be quickly identified by season and region.
Versio and Aviator Automation are incredibly easy to operate and have been exceptionally reliable—in more than two years of 24/7 broadcasting, there hasn’t been a single minute of downtime due to system failure. And when there have been any issues, the Imagine team is available within minutes, and the issue gets resolved on the spot.
Easy to Scale
The Versio platform’s cloud capabilities have enabled us to expand PTN’s cable footprint to nearly a dozen providers across Pennsylvania. At the same time, we’ve built a strong OTT presence through Vimeo’s enterprise platform—allowing the network’s live stream from Versio to be delivered to a wide array of consumer devices. Viewers can download the app to watch live programming or explore on-demand content from anywhere.
Last year, we added over-the-air broadcasting to the distribution mix. The channel is now live in six markets—with a seventh on the way—reaching audiences in Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Lancaster and Philadelphia, as well as Wilmington, Del., and even areas near the New York State border.
With cable, OTT and OTA distribution, PTN has the potential to reach millions of households, not including international audiences streaming online. For a regional tourism network, that kind of reach is a big step forward. We’ve even discussed launching a second channel, and with Versio, that’s now a realistic option. What once took nine months can now be done in just a few weeks.
More information is available at https://imaginecommunications.com.
