Harris Broadcast Splits, Changes Name

3-17-14

Harris Broadcast has split into two companies, Imagine Communications and GatesAir. The announcement was made Monday at the company's annual MediaDay held at Madison Square Garden. Imagine Communications will be headquartered in Dallas, with offices in Denver, Toronto, Los Angeles, Tel Aviv, and Beijing. GatesAir will be headquartered in Cincinnati, with its manufacturing, supply chain and fulfillment center in Quincy, Illinois. Charlie Vogt (pictured) will be CEO of both companies.

Imagine Communications and GatesAir CEO Charlie Vogt said, ?With vibrant new identities and focus, Imagine Communications and GatesAir are well-positioned to serve our industry and customers. Our vision, product direction, and strategy further align Imagine Communications and GatesAir with today?s transformational trends, the networks of the future and our customers and partners. We have created two laser-focused companies that are innovating across different ends of the technology spectrum. Imagine Communications will lead the media and entertainment markets to a future defined by IP, software, the cloud, and TV Everywhere, with an architecture vision for delivering and monetizing multiscreen content. Likewise, GatesAir will continue to lead the next-generation TV and radio over-the-air market, with a focus on providing wireless innovations that reduce power consumption and carbon footprint, while leveraging the growth in digital radio and TV transmission across the globe.?

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Harris Names Gargiulo President Of Global Sales

10-7-13

Harris Broadcast has appointed Pablo Gargiulo as President of Global Sales. Gargiulo will be responsible for leading a newly created global sales organization, which spans 140 countries and 3,000 customers. The Harris sales organization is organized into four regions ? North America; Central/Latin America; Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; and South Asia/North Asia.

Subsequently, the company has named the following Harris Broadcast sales executives to lead the four regions:
North America: Chris Ziemer
Central and Latin America: Nahuel Villegas
Europe, the Middle East, and Africa: Mathias Eckert
Asia: Joe Khodeir and JiShun Mei

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Harris Names Charlie Vogt CEO

7-9-13

As expected, Harris has appointed Charlie Vogt as CEO, effective immediately. Vogt joins Harris Broadcast following nine years as president and CEO of GENBAND where that company made six acquisitions, including Tekelec SSG, NextPoint Networks, and Nortel?s VoIP business. As a result of those purchases, GENBAND became number one in VoIP and delivered a compound annual growth rate of ~100 percent during his tenure. Vogt succeeds Harris Morris.

Vogel said, ?The radio and TV broadcasting industry is embarking on a significant transformation from digital to IP. Charlie was a natural choice as his IP domain knowledge and experience gained while assisting global service providers and cable operators transition to IP has uniquely prepared him to lead the company as this industry undergoes a similar trajectory. We thank Harris Morris for his contributions in guiding Harris Broadcast as we acquired the business and transitioned the company to independence. We wish him well as he pursues new opportunities.?

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Harris Sales Manager Wins Unique Award

6-24-13

Congratulations to Harris Broadcast?s longtime Northeast Regional Sales Manager Brian Szewczyk. Szewczyk was given an award from Chapter 14 of the Society of Broadcast Engineers. Senior SBE Member (and SCMS Regional Sales Manager) Jim Peck says that the one-time award is ?in appreciation for outstanding dedication and service above and beyond the call of duty to our region's broadcast stations.? Pictured from L to R: Chapter Chairman Ryan Krupa, also of WQUN-AM in Hamden, CT; Chapter Vice Chairman Fred Krampits, also of WTCC-FM in Springfield, Mass; and Szewczyk.

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Krauss Replaces Harris at KRLA

4-2-13

Salem's L.A. News/Talk station, KRLA has replaced Heidi Harris with Elisha Krauss on its morning show. She'll join Brian Whitman and Ben Shapiro. Krauss is best known for her years as senior producer on the Sean Hannity show. Whitman is an LA radio veteran, while Shapiro is Editor-At-Large at Breitbart.com. Harris had been with the station for only about a year before being let go.

AM 870 The Answer Program Director Chuck Tyler said ?Elisha is a great addition to the team. This is a truly unique show for Los Angeles morning drive and I know Brian and Ben are very anxious to get her into the mix."

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Harris Helping Radio Target REGULAR Ads

1-24-2013

Advertising is clearly heading in the direction of targeted ads. It's certainly a strong selling point for digital content providers. What if you were able to deliver targeted ads from your terrestrial signal? Harris and GBS say they have the technology. They call it MaxxCasting, which allows stations to maximize market reach and capitalize on revenue opportunities while paving the way for targeted content insertion. Harris and Geo-Broadcast Solutions are touting the product, which is based on GBS? ZoneCasting strategy.

The MaxxCasting solution uses a network topology similar to the ZoneCasting architecture for targeted, over-the-air radio broadcasting, but instead focuses on simulcasting content to improve coverage. It can be deployed today under existing regulations, expanding market coverage in a more sensible and effective way than traditional signal booster technologies.

Geo-Broadcast Systems CEO Peter Handy says, ?We often hear from broadcasters looking to take advantage of this network topology as our ZoneCasting petition to deliver targeted content moves through FCC approval. The FCC rules currently allow FM stations to deploy boosters to fill in signal coverage gaps, broadcasting identical content on every booster. We have discovered that adding boosters to simulcast across the typical ZoneCasting topology can help broadcasters improve coverage. And the ability to reach more listeners opens new revenue opportunities through advertising.?

Vice President of Product Management and Strategy, Transmission Systems for Harris Broadcast Richard Redmond says, ?ZoneCasting was created to bring hyper-localization to over-the-air radio, bringing new advertising opportunities to local businesses and to allow stations of any size to better compete in a challenging landscape. But a high percentage of radio stations today would like to improve their reach. MaxxCasting allows them to fill out the signal area that they originally purchased, to the maximum of what the FCC allows through their broadcast licenses.?

Harris has an exclusive license to use and incorporate the GBS ZoneCasting software and hardware design into its Flexiva? transmitters and Intraplex? SynchroCast? systems for deployment in ZoneCasting systems. Broadcasters would use these same technologies for MaxxCasting systems.

(1/26/2013 8:25:10 PM)
"Welcome change" my fat fanny.

I am tired of marketers using my personal information to attempt manipulate me into buying their junk.

And that goes double for my radio.

(1/25/2013 9:57:18 PM)
This is obviously a natural progression for all broadcast media. From the consumer side I can see a sense of invasion of privacy turning into a welcome change.

Advertising that meets the needs of the consumer directly. You do a gps search for Mexican restaurants and a few minutes later an ad for "Tony's Taco Tavern" appears in your speakers.

This makes advertising more attractive for business and the need for original content should increase.

Put me in on the ground floor!

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Paul Harris Joins Envision on Weekends

12-10-12
Envision Radio Networks says veteran Paul Harris will anchor America Weekend. Harris, who has been heard in markets including New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, and Hartford, spent the last decade in St. Louis on KTRS and KMOX and will be heard on America Weekend on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 am to noon ET.

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Harris Sells Broadcast Division For $225 Million

12-6-2012
Harris Corporation  has reached an agreement to sell Broadcast Communications to an affiliate of The Gores Group, LLC for $225 million. The price includes $160 million in cash at closing, a $15 million subordinated promissory note, and an earnout of up to $50 million based on future performance. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory review and closing conditions and is expected to be completed in early calendar year 2013. 

"The sale of Broadcast Communications reflects our strategy to optimize our business portfolio and focus on our core businesses," said William M. Brown, president and chief executive officer of Harris. "As previously communicated, we plan to repurchase up to $200 million of our shares after the deal closes. This is in addition to the $200 million of share repurchases already planned for fiscal 2013 and reflects our ongoing commitment to effectively deploy capital, including returning cash to shareholders."
"In Harris Broadcast Communications, we are investing in a proven technology leader with great products and a great team. We are excited to provide the capital and support to transition this division to a strong and independent company further enabling it to continue developing and delivering market-leading technologies to its customers," said Ryan Wald, managing director of The Gores Group.

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Harris Announces Plans to Exit Broadcast Business

5-1-2012

The equipment manufacturer has seen its business from government contracts boom, not so much from the broadcast side. In a press release, the company said "The decision to divest Broadcast Communications resulted from a thorough review of our business portfolio, which determined that the business is no longer aligned with the company's long-term strategy. The plan to sell these assets supports our disciplined approach to capital allocation, and we intend to use the proceeds to return cash to shareholders and invest in growing our core businesses."

Harris Corporation reported revenue in the third quarter of fiscal 2012 of $1.48 billion compared with $1.41 billion in the prior-year quarter. GAAP loss from continuing operations in the third quarter was $255 million, or $2.27 per diluted share. GAAP income from continuing operations in the prior year was $142 million, or $1.11 per diluted share.

Headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, the company has approximately $6 billion of annual revenue and about 17,000 employees -- including nearly 7,000 engineers and scientists.

(5/1/2012 3:10:05 PM)
The Harris Flexiva is obviously a bust now for the asymmetrical sideband power increase. Just like the vaunted FM-HD power increase that never happed enmasse, and no word from the FCC on the issue, the asymmetrical sideband power increase must be a bust, too.
(5/1/2012 1:52:50 PM)
Harris is also an iBiquity partner, so no more Decepticon transmitters from Harris! Also, I read that another transmitter manufacture is releasing a new transmitter that is NOT HD Radio-ready! Cheers!

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Salem Adds Heidi Harris to Mornings on Two Stations

4-16-2012

Beginning Monday, April 23rd, Salem Communications will introduce a new brand called "The Answer" to two more stations, according to Salem VP Director, Spoken Word Format, Phil Boyce (pictured). Morning host Heidi Harris join KRLA-AM (in L.A.) and KTIE-AM (in  Riverside) for wake-up duty 6am to 9am. At the same time, the stations will be re-branded as "The Answer," following on the heels of a similar re-branding at the company's News Talk radio station, WNYM-AM 970 in NY City.

Boyce said both the new morning show and the new name and positioning will make both stations more competitive, with more attitude in the imaging, and more opportunities to position the stations in their markets. "We have been using the name 'The Answer' in New York since March 12th, and could not be happier with the response. The on air attitude and positioning is much more positive and we decided we could do something similar for KRLA and KTIE. The addition of Heidi Harris to the morning show is a major investment in the future of these stations,  the timing was perfect to combine the new show with the re-branding effort." 

Heidi Harris was first heard on the air on KDWN in Las Vegas in 1998 during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, when she volunteered to go on the station for free. Her unique take on that issue and others captured the imagination of the city and caught the attention of crosstown competitor KXNT where she became co-host of the morning show in 1999. Later she became the solo host of the morning show on KDWN and developed a great track record, attracting the attention of Salem and KRLA management who wanted their own local morning show. Harris departed Las Vegas radio in March and quickly made the jump to Los Angeles and Riverside, where she begins April 23rd, 6am to 9am.

"I am thrilled and excited to join Salem Communications, a company that has quickly become one of the most respected places to work in radio and a company with a huge commitment to what I do: the News Talk format," said Heidi Harris. "I can't wait to get back on the radio, and to do my thing in Los Angeles and the Inland Empire, two great markets for talk, and two great stations," according to Harris. Boyce added, "Heidi is a proven talk radio pro with a great personality and great instincts on topic selection and on-air attitude, so I am confident she will make a splash in LA and the Inland Empire."

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Harris And Marketron Collaborate For Customers

Harris Corporation and Marketron have announced they are working together to provide media organizations with a combined view of advertisers, revenue, inventory and other data across various media assets. The collaboration brings two competing media software providers together to develop a consolidated business solution for customers working across multiple mediums.

The two companies say they are "integrating the Harris NetGain business intelligence and analysis system with Marketron?s Mediascape open ecosystem platform to provide clients analytics capabilities across multiple platforms.  The Mediascape integration also allows data from Harris? market-leading OSi-Traffic? system to fuel Marketron Insight Reporting for detailed transactional and operational level reporting.  This gives clients the freedom to choose best-in-class transactional systems, regardless of the provider, to manage their various inventory types, while enabling comprehensive insight and visibility across their entire cross-platform advertising business."

For more information visit http://www.marketron.com/  or http://www.harris.com/.

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Brown Named President/CEO at Harris

The board of directors at Harris Corporation has appointed William Brown president and chief executive officer effective November 1st.  The Board expects to appoint Brown, 48, to the Board of Directors at its December 2011 meeting. Brown succeeds Howard Lance, who was CEO since January 2003 and announced his retirement.

Brown joins Harris from United Technologies Corporation, where he held several senior leadership roles since he joined the company in 1997. During the past six months, as Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Development, he has been responsible for the company?s global strategic planning and M&A activity.

Prior to that role he served five years as president of UTC?s $6.5 billion Fire & Security division, where he led 45,000 employees, operating 41 factories and  350 branches across 35 countries.  In this role, he successfully executed and integrated a number of acquisitions, grew sales from $4.2 billion to $6.5 billion and tripled operating profits.  During his tenure he transformed the division to a global leader in the $100 billion fire safety and electronic security market, while executing restructuring and productivity initiatives resulting in significant cost savings and return on capital improvement.

Harris is an international communications and information technology company serving government and commercial markets in more than 150 countries.  Headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, the company has approximately $6 billion of annual revenue and more than 16,000 employees ? including nearly 7,000 engineers and scientists.  Harris is dedicated to developing best-in-class assured communications? products, systems, and services.  Additional information about Harris Corporation is available at www.harris.com.

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Harris Artifact from WTC Tower to be Dedicated in Quincy

The City of Quincy will dedicate a memorial to the victims of 9/11 featuring a 15-foot long, 7,000-pound steel structure that was part of the antenna tower located on World Trade Center Building #1.  This structure supported a TV broadcast antenna that was designed and manufactured by Harris at its Quincy plant, still home to Harris radio and TV transmission manufacturing operations.  Earlier this summer, Harris participated in the commemorative September 11 event that brought these artifacts to Quincy. 

Mayor John Spring of Quincy, Il, will lead a 9/11 Remembrance and Dedication Ceremony Sunday from 3-5pm, to be attended by first responders, community leaders, news media, the public, and executives from Harris Corporation and its Broadcast Communications Division.Mayor Spring will also present a selected World Trade Center artifact to Harris representatives in recognition of the company?s direct support to the broadcasters of New York City prior to and following the tower collapse on 9/11.  The artifact will be on loan from the City of Quincy for public display at the local Harris manufacturing facility. 

The artifacts were housed in an 80,000 square foot hangar at New York?s John F. Kennedy?s airport, which contains a portion of the items recovered from Ground Zero.  Quincy City Engineer Jeff Steinkamp, a former Harris employee, applied on behalf of the City of Quincy to receive the piece from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the agency charged with the distribution of 9/11 artifacts. Steinkamp was involved in the mechanical design work for the antenna when he was with Harris.

?When Jeff asked if Harris would be interested in the city?s effort to erect a memorial, I knew this was an effort we needed to support,? said Rex Niekamp, value engineering manager for Harris Broadcast Communications.  ?I recall watching television that day with co-workers ten years ago, watching the twin towers collapse and the thousands of lives lost.   Gaining composure and immediately going to work to get the NYC broadcasters back on the air became a focused priority.  To place my hands on an artifact that is an actual piece of the antenna that was fabricated, assembled and tested in Quincy by Harris personnel is very moving.? 

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Harris Assists WXXC-FM in Disaster Recovery

Every once in a while we like to pat one of our advertisers on the back and say nice job. They are out there making things happen just like managers, salespeople and program directors inside a radio station. This is one of those stories. Harris also happens to be a vendor that has been serving the radio industry for a very long time. WXXC-FM in Indiana came calling after an electrical storm and years of weather brutality took its toll on a very old  transmitter. Harris was there to take care of business.

The station decided to stop spending money on repairs and shop for a new transmitter.  WXXC GM Race Ashyn said ?We had a 30-year old transmitter that had been costing a ton to maintain and repair, and it was hard to find parts. We discovered there had been arching in the plate power supply that gradually blew a gunshot-sized hole through one of the transformer sections.  That was the last straw.?

WXXC remained on air during the transition, first running on reduced power from its backup tower with a seasoned 10kW 1968 Gates transmitter.   This worked well until lightning struck a second time ? a direct hit to the antenna.   WXXC engineers revived the main transmitter to broadcast at 350 watts, giving the station enough power to cover the market until the Harris transmitter arrived. The HPX30, outfitted with a Harris DigitCD exciter, arrived soon after.  The station returned to full power (50KW) on Sunday, July 17 at 1:30pm, transmitting at 27.5 kW TPO. ?I am a fan of Harris, and have had very good luck with their transmitters over the years,? said Ashlyn.  ?Harris transmitters are designed well, and the HPX30 is especially efficient as it only requires two cabinets as opposed to the usual three for a transmitter of this size.?

If you have a success story about a vendor, we'd love to hear about it. Send it in to edryan@radioink.com

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