Even when RTV Meppel started in 1983, Fred de Vries was there. In fact, he was one of the founders of the local broadcaster. “We were the first in Drenthe. In those days it was still all hands on deck with self-built broadcasting equipment. We gleaned a few things here and there. Fortunately, that is now very different,” says Fred. This is especially true now that RTV Meppel has switched to AerOn.
The developments from wood, string to AerOn were gradual. “You want more and more, of course. But often it depends on the financial situation whether you can take that step. In 2004 we started our first radio automation. We wanted to get rid of the old tape recorders and switch to computer programs. At that time, PC Radio was one of the options. Broadcast Partners had been our house supplier since 1985, but a technician from a neighborhood broadcaster had designed a system of his own. For financial reasons, we chose it at the time.”
Decided
But years later, when RTV Meppel wanted to go the extra mile, this system did not grow with the developments in the market. “We were still in regular contact with Broadcast Partners and heard about AerOn, which was just coming to market at the time. We were immediately excited about this. We saved up for a while and this year was the year. A colleague of mine had been to the IBC and talked about AerOn with Broadcast Partners. Later, Frank Kiezebrink visited us and we tied the knot.”
Quick help with questions
RTV Meppel has been live for several weeks now. How’s it going? “Good. It looks a little different, you have some teething problems and you have to get used to it, but it’s going fine. And when we have questions, we contact the helpdesk via e-mail and we are always helped quickly. It’s also nice that Broadcast Partners now has an account manager in this region. Frank lives nearby, so when we wanted someone to come and explain something in our studio, he came straight over. That was a pleasure.”
Clearer, faster, more flexible
The radio producers at RTV Meppel are happy with the flexibility they have been given thanks to AerOn. “Before, the biggest problem was always entering the music. But with AerOn you can put everything in separate folders and arrange the folder structure according to your own station. That is much clearer and works faster. Another advantage is that we can now set up production stations remotely. You are no longer tied to the computer in the studio, but can also make radio at home or on location. The other day we were on location and immediately noticed the advantage of AerOn. With the previous system we often had problems, but now it ran flawlessly.”
Opportunities enough
AerOn offers even more possibilities and slowly they are discovered by RTV Meppel. “Now we work with the basics first, experience what the playlist looks like and what to look for. The simple things. Once we have those in our fingers, we’ll go one step further. There are plenty of possibilities.”
- Frank.Kiezebrink@broadcastpartners.nl
- +31(0)115 – 683555
- +31(0)6 – 83062325
