Clear Channel Promotes ‘Hub’ Stockpiles; Develops Back-up Satellite Transmission Capability

Move fuel and back-up equipment closer to where disasters strike and where more stations can access that gear. That’s part of Clear Channel Radio’s emergency preparedness plan.
Formalizing a emergency “hub” stockpile system used in last year’s hurricanes, Clear Channel Radio has developed a satellite system and procedures to use to better prepare for the next disaster.
The company’s Disaster Assistance & Response Team has developed a backup satellite system that it says will enable any of its stations to broadcast local programming directly to any of the company’s tower sites when microwave links or land lines are down or fail.
Radio transmitters, studio equipment and newsgathering packages have been installed in trucks and RVs at company hub cities. Generators, satellite phones fuel and supplies are also being installed at each hub, as is a portable tower on a trailer.
The hub cities that have been identified first are: Atlanta, Orlando, Philadelphia, Sacramento and San Diego. The company is focusing on hurricane-prone Gulf states now and plans to establish additional hubs in the future.
The hubs are meant to be no more than a day’s drive from Clear Channel’s local markets.