Broadcast Management Group modernizes Virginia Public Media's Richmond headquarters

Broadcast Management Group is helping Virginia Public Media move into a new Richmond headquarters built to replace its 66-year-old broadcast infrastructure. The multi-year project adds a flexible, connected production environment for TV, radio, podcasting and digital workflows.

Why it matters: - Virginia Public Media is replacing aging broadcast systems with a unified technical foundation that can support multiple platforms from one facility. - The upgrade is meant to improve operational reliability, expand production capacity and support future distribution workflows. - The project shows how public media groups are shifting from separate broadcast silos to connected production environments.

What happened: - Broadcast Management Group is supporting Virginia Public Media during its relocation to a new broadcast headquarters in Richmond, Virginia. - The engagement began in 2023 and is ongoing. - Virginia Public Media serves Central Virginia as a PBS and NPR affiliate. - The new facility is designed to replace VPM's 66-year-old broadcast infrastructure.

The details: - The project includes strategic construction and integration consulting, facility design, procurement, broadcast systems integration, media asset management, master control, radio, studio and control room build-out, mobile unit camera upgrades, fiber connectivity and training. - BMG worked with VPM, architects, contractors and internal stakeholders to define requirements for television, radio, podcasting, digital production, master control and media management. - The facility includes 15 unique television feeds. - The buildout includes two television studios with virtual set production capabilities. - The facility also includes one insert studio, two podcast studios that can also support radio production, two radio master control rooms, three edit bays, a post-production suite and a dedicated media ingest room. - Centralized routing and broadcast infrastructure ties the production areas together. - Cloud-connected media workflows are part of the design. - Media Asset Management is hosted in the BMG Cloud Control Center™. - The master control system is designed to manage 15 distinct television feeds. - BMG supported the design of studio and control room environments, including monitor walls, display configurations, lighting, operator workflows and production layouts. - Key technology in the build includes Ross Video FR-12 Router with Dante and Multiview, Ross Touch Drive Switchers, Ross XPression Graphics, Grass Valley AMPP Media Asset Management, Grass Valley WorldCam LDX135 HDR cameras, Harmonic Spectrum X Playout, Crispin Automation, Harmonic XOS Compression Chain, TSL Audio Monitoring, Apogee Symphony DSP, SAS Radio Consoles, Yamaha DM7 Audio Boards and Zero Density Virtual Set. - BMG also serves as the turnkey managed service partner for the project's full lifecycle. - BMG provides media asset management services and dark fiber connectivity support for the VPM transmitter. - Harry Orell, VPM vice president of technology, said the partnership has been valuable across early design work, technical integration and the transition to a new tech stack and network infrastructure.

Between the lines: - The project reflects a broader public media trend toward shared infrastructure across television, audio, streaming and digital production. - BMG's role goes beyond systems integration and extends into ongoing operations, which deepens the company's long-term influence on the facility. - For VPM, the new headquarters is not just a building move. It is a reset of the technical backbone behind its content operation.

What's next: - BMG will continue providing operational and engineering support as VPM settles into the new infrastructure. - The ongoing relationship suggests future adjustments as VPM's workflows and distribution needs change. - The Richmond headquarters is positioned to support new production and delivery models as public media evolves.