Washington, D.C. – February 23, 2015 – Anne Schelle, Managing Director of Pearl TV, is named a Digital All-Star in the latest issue of Broadcasting&Cable magazine, the premiere trade publication covering the TV and content industry.
“As we undertook the process of arriving at our sixth annual Digital All- Stars roster, we decided to specify the areas in which these pros ply their trade, encompassing advertising, distribution, local stations, marketing, news, programming, syndication and technology. It’s a comprehensive list for a comprehensively digital age. And yet, our honorees’ backgrounds are wide-ranging. Some come directly from the tech world, but many of them simply found smart ways of harnessing the efficiency and multiplier effect of digital tools. In a sense, that versatility is what television has always been about,” wrote the magazine’s editors in the February 23rd issue listing the 23 Digital All-Star honorees:
“Anne Schelle, new managing director of the local broadcast consortium known as Pearl, has a massive job at hand. She’s in charge of figuring out a successful next generation broadcasting platform, and ensuring local TV content is as ubiquitous on mobile as it is on television. The former executive director of the Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC), she represents the interests of over 170 stations reaching two-thirds of the population, owned by blue chip groups such as Gannett, Hearst TV and Media General. With those groups amassing some $4 billion in annual revenue, ‘that gets interesting,’ she says.
“Schelle is focused on helping create the next-gen standard, promoting automated buying and selling of advertising time, and developing over-the-top viewing options. Last spring, the group announced “smart TV” trials in Orlando, Fla.; Atlanta; and Cleveland, with nine stations testing interactive technology. That means a more customized viewer experience, such as personalized traffic information, polling within news content, and a two-way channel on the ad front, such as viewers requesting a coupon after watching a relevant spot. Automatic content recognition (ACR) means the smart set knows exactly what’s been watched, and can serve up content accordingly. ‘It’s true interactivity—we’re excited about that,’ says Schelle. ‘There are huge opportunities around content and marketing.’
“Schelle, 52, comes from the wireless world and brings rich experience in operations, marketing and the regulatory front. Pearl invested in the mobile TV initiative Dyle, which never caught on with the masses due in part to the challenge of getting the technology adopted by phone manufacturers. But Schelle is addressing that. Pearl has invested in the tech incubator Sprockit to have the innovators, she says, ‘develop to broadcast.’ Local news remains relevant to young consumers, she says. ‘If you give it to them in the form they want,’ says Schelle, ‘they will access it.’”
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