MELBOURNE, FL/LAS VEGAS, April 15, 2012 (2012 NAB Show, Booth N2502) — Sinclair Broadcast Group has entered into a long-term contract to renew and expand its use of Harris Corporation's (NYSE:HRS) media software solutions for business and advertising operations across 73 television stations in 37 markets. The expansion incorporates new Harris reporting and analytical solutions to enhance productivity and drive new revenue streams. Sinclair Broadcast Group, among the largest broadcast groups in the United States, has been using Harris® OSi™ media software to manage business operations across its existing broadcast properties since 2004. The company will expand its Harris traffic, billing and advertising sales solution across recently acquired stations by the end of 2012. "Our traffic system is the core software that operationally runs our business, so the ability to report across that platform has become more critical as our business grows and becomes increasingly multiplatform-oriented," said Del Parks, vice president of engineering and operations, Sinclair Television Group. "Harris OSi media software provides Sinclair with tools to handle our traditional spot business and digital interactive activities. The ability to know more about our business across stations, affiliations and markets allows us to be more efficient and benefits our advertisers. Harris delivers the scalability to meet the needs of our growing operation today and in the future." Harris OSi media software for sales, traffic and billing provides business and workflow solutions that give customers total visibility and inventory control to maximize advertising revenue and profitability. Sinclair is transitioning its newer properties to OSi-Traffic™ and OSi-AdConnections™ media software. The company will later install Harris® NetGain® business intelligence and analysis software to enable comprehensive, fully integrated business analytics, monitoring and reporting. "The traffic and billing system remains the center of the universe, but the need to examine all the aspects of our sales efforts by using business intelligence and enhanced reporting has become very important," said Parks. "The newer iterations of Harris media software, especially NetGain, will go a long way in helping us dissect out existing business so we can make better business decisions. That ultimately leads to better client information and enhanced revenue." Parks adds that the Harris solution helps his stations work more efficiently by reducing redundancies across the board. Sinclair operates several hubs as Sinclair Advertiser Support Operations. These hubs operate a group of stations that include consolidating tasks across several Harris media software products tied to data entry and other business processes. "Our customers need to be nimble and responsive to the constantly changing media landscape, and we must deliver centralized solutions that bring traffic, billing, and sales data together to provide a complete picture that identifies new revenue opportunities," said Harris Morris, president, Harris Broadcast Communications. "Harris also helps broadcasters improve service to advertisers by enhancing the way our business software works across multiple media platforms — from over-the-air television to digital platforms such as mobile and the web."
