KUTV-TV Salt Lake City, a  Four Points Media station managed by Nexstar		KODE-TV Joplin, MO uses GY-HM700's and GY-HM100's

For Immediate Release

NEXSTAR BROADCASTING GROUP STANDARDIZES ON JVC PROHD
CAMCORDERS FOR DIGITAL NEWSROOM CONVERSIONS

Upgrades Planned for Stations in Eight Additional Markets in 2010

WAYNE, NJ (April 12, 2010) — JVC Professional Products, a division of JVC U.S.A., today announced that Nexstar Broadcasting Group will deploy JVC GY-HM790, GY-HM700 and GY-HM100 ProHD camcorders in at least eight stations in 2010 as part of its planned strategy to convert its local news operations to digital newsrooms. The new GY-HM790 was unveiled today at the 2010 NAB Show in Las Vegas (Booth C4314).

Headquartered in Irving, Texas, Nexstar owns or manages 62 television stations with a variety of network affiliations in 34 markets across 14 states. According to Blake Russell, Nexstar Senior Vice President, Station Operations, the plan is to eventually transition all its local newsrooms from tape-based to file-based operations, using solid-state media for ENG work.

Pursuant to its plans, Nexstar stations in Hagerstown, MD (DMA #9), Altoona, PA (DMA #101), Rockford, IL (DMA #134), Monroe-El Dorado, LA (DMA #138), Beaumont, TX (DMA #141), and Abilene-Sweetwater, TX (DMA #165) are among the operations to be converted between now and the end of 2010. Nexstar previously transitioned some of its stations to a different solid-state technology solution for ENG, but Russell said the group is moving forward with JVC ProHD for future conversions.

Nexstar has chosen the new GY-HM790 as its camera of choice for studio camera configurations moving forward. KARK-TV serving Little Rock-Pine Bluff, AK (DMA #56) will be the first station in the country to have the new GY-HM790. 

Other Nexstar stations not scheduled for complete conversion in 2010 may also receive new JVC ProHD camcorders. As older cameras start to fail, Russell expects to replace them with JVC cameras, including the GY-HM790, GY-HM700, and GY-HM100.

“In today’s economic environment, it’s not acceptable to do things the way you’ve always done them. JVC offers a technologically advanced product that meets our criteria for performance and value. It’s a winning combination,” Russell explained. “Given our experience, we’ve determined that it’s more cost effective to invest in new technology than to continue maintaining older equipment. Chasing repairs inside a tape environment is throwing money to the wind when you look at repair costs versus replacement costs.”

JVC’s use of inexpensive, non-proprietary SDHC media cards in its tapeless ProHD camcorders with bandwidth efficiency was a major factor in Nexstar’s decision. “Price is a primary consideration,” Russell explained. “For what we’re doing, JVC’s innovation is frankly a more dynamic approach, especially when you take into account their firmware addition for low lux with their 1/3-inch chip size.”

Russell also praised JVC’s customer support efforts. “Our interaction with JVC customer service has been exceptional,” he said. “We know they are going to be there for us and we are very satisfied.”

Nexstar is already using JVC ProHD cameras at two of its operations for local news. KUTV, a CBS affiliate in Salt Lake City (DMA #31), owned by Four Points Media Group and managed by Nexstar, began shooting HD ENG footage with GY-HM700 camcorders in January. In February, KSNF (NBC) and KODE (ABC), a duopoly serving the Joplin, MO-Pittsburg, KS market (DMA #147), began using JVC’s new GY-HM700 and GY-HM100 camcorders in the field. Russell said the duopoly is archiving the footage it acquires in 16:9, but is still broadcasting local news in SD.

KUTV is taking advantage of the ability to record .MOV files for its Final Cut Pro edit suites, though most Nexstar stations use Avid NLE systems. For those stations, the GY-HM100, GY-HM700, and GY-HM790 camcorders record native .MP4 files, which can be imported directly into Avid (and other NLE systems) without transcoding.

Russell said the compact GY-HM100 is an ideal tool for video journalists because it is easy to transport and works well for run-and-gun ENG work. The shoulder-mount GY-HM700 is smaller and lighter than the tape-based cameras that Nexstar is replacing, but Russell said they “still give you the feel of a big camera.” One of his chief photographers told Russell he has been waiting for a camera like the GY-HM700 for a decade. “This is the ENG camera of the future,” Russell added. “Our team loves them.”

About Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc.

Nexstar Broadcasting Group currently owns, operates, programs or provides sales and other services to 62 television stations in 34 markets in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Texas, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama, New York, Rhode Island, Utah and Florida. Nexstar’s television station group includes affiliates of NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, MyNetworkTV and The CW, and reaches approximately 13 million viewers or approximately 11.5% of all U.S. television households.

ABOUT JVC U.S.A.

Headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey, JVC U.S.A. is a division of JVC Americas Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Victor Company of Japan Ltd. JVC distributes a complete line of video and audio equipment for the consumer and professional markets. For further product information, visit JVC’s Web site at http://pro.jvc.com or call (800)526-5308.

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