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From Engineers to Babysitters: How Corporate Consolidation Transformed Broadcast Technology
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Remember when your local TV station actually felt local? When engineers knew every inch of the equipment and could fix problems with a screwdriver instead of a help desk ticket? Those days are rapidly disappearing as corporate consolidation reshapes the broadcast landscape.
The quiet revolution in local television has transformed independent stations into remote outposts of massive media conglomerates. Since 1995, we've witnessed a 40% drop in companies owning local stations while giants like Nexstar and Sinclair now control hundreds of stations across the country. This isn't just changing what viewers see – it's fundamentally altering how broadcast engineers work and what "local" television actually means.
Today's broadcast engineers face a radically different reality. Instead of maintaining equipment they can touch, they're managing playout servers across multiple states, troubleshooting automation systems via VPN, and hoping their remote connections don't fail during breaking news. As legendary consultant Fred Baumgartner puts it, "We used to be engineers, now we're IT administrators with a broadcast badge." Technical staffing has been cut by 30% over the last decade, while the average engineer's workload has doubled. Meanwhile, nearly one in five TV markets has lost locally produced news entirely.
But it's not all doom and gloom. The evolution has brought new challenges and technologies – IP systems, virtual machine playout, remote workflows – that push engineers to develop new skills. The question remains: are we empowering engineers to truly run these systems, or just babysit them? If you've lived through this transition, text me your experiences with the link in the episode description. Whether your story involves multimarket automation nightmares or MacGyver-level engineering solutions, I want to hear how you're keeping television signals flowing in this brave new world of consolidated broadcasting.
If you enjoyed the show, be sure to follow Fully Modulated and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app—it really helps more people discover the show.
You can also keep the conversation going by following me on Bluesky @fullymodulated.com, or shoot me an email anytime at [email protected]. I’d love to hear from you.
Chapters
1. From Engineers to Babysitters: How Corporate Consolidation Transformed Broadcast Technology (00:00:00)
2. Welcome to Fully Modulated (00:00:31)
3. The Evolution of Local TV Engineering (00:01:34)
4. Central Casting's Human Cost (00:03:22)
5. Consolidation By The Numbers (00:05:04)
6. Voices From The Trenches (00:06:57)
7. Final Thoughts and Call to Action (00:08:22)
11 episodes
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