Faced with the need to acquire nearly three dozen antennas, among other equipment, to move forward with channel changes for its TV stations impacted by the spectrum repack process, Raycom Media reviewed its options on what company to work with to get the job done. Its decision — to sign a contract with Dielectric.
The antenna order involves 29 UHF and VHF stations, in addition to tunable RF Filters and a transmission line.
Also acquired by Raycom are several Dielectric TFU-WB UHF arrays; TFU-G, TFU-E, TFU-J UHF arrays; THV VHF arrays; and new Dielectric waveguide designed tunable RF filters.
Dielectric will ship the new antennas to Raycom Media tower sites between September 2017 and February 2020.
TV stations that are subject to the spectrum repack must relocate to their new channel assignments according to the FCC’s 39-month transition schedule.
Cognizant of the time-constraints many broadcasters face throughout the repack process, Dielectric has modified its antenna design and manufacturing processes to ensure operational efficiency and accelerated delivery.
Raycom Media stations assigned to the first or second phases will receive their new antennas in Q3 and Q4 of 2017. For Raycom Media stations scheduled for later phases, Dielectric will have the antennas ready three to six months prior to their respective deadlines.
“As Dielectric antennas have been broadly installed across our station group, the company had records detailing our stations’ unique antenna patterns,” said Raycom Media VP/Engineering Bob Thurber. “This, along with the level of technical and commercial support we have received, made planning for the repack that much easier. We’re confident that Dielectric will facilitate our complex, multi-station transition and meet the demanding requirements of the spectrum repack.”
Raycom Media owns or operates 65 TV stations and two radio stations in 44 U.S. markets across 20 states, reaching 16% of U.S. TV households.
Raymond, Me.-based Dielectric is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sinclair.
