Cablevision Selects Grass Valley Ignite For News12

Cablevision has selected the Grass Valley Ignite integrated live production system for all five of its regional New York metropolitan area news operations.

The five News12 stations are expected to see cost savings and improved operational efficiency as a result of the conversion to Ignite. The system will allow an entire newscast to be run by only one or two staff members.

“The Ignite system meets all of our production requirements, which are at times very complicated, for very fast paced news shows,” said Milan Krainchich, director of operations for News12. “The new Ignite system, which has been significantly redesigned with new features and capabilities, takes the original concept of automated production and gives a director a lot more power and capability. Our staff is pleased with the technology and we’re happy to continue using it.”

Ignite integrates seamlessly with newsroom computer systems by combining digital news production and graphics automation in a single MOS-based workflow.

“Cablevision clearly understands the economics and creative value of producing news using the Grass Valley automated production concept,” said Jeff Rosica, senior vice president, Broadcast and Professional Video Solutions for the Grass Valley business within Thomson. “We’re pleased that they have committed their newscasts to the Ignite system and highly value their feedback and news experience as we continue to advance the system in the future.”

The Ignite system is fully upgradeable to HD, another factor influencing Cablevision’s decision. The News12 division, which serves more than three million households, had been using Ignite’s predecessor, the Parkervision integrated production system, for about 5 years.