DIRECWAY enables USA TODAY to deliver the morning news by 6

DIRECWAY enables USA TODAY to deliver the
morning news by 6 a.m. everywhere in the USA
USA TODAY not only delivers
the morning newspaper, it
provides the most up-to-date
news, weather, and sports
scores, in color, to every
corner of the nation—
including advertising
content specific to each
region, all before your first
cup of coffee.
The challenges of producing a daily national newspaper
The logistical challenges of producing, printing, and delivering a national paper
across a huge continent and multiple time zones are daunting. Yet, from its
Virginia headquarters, USA TODAY provides ready-to-print content to all 36 of its
printing locations in time for the daily 6 a.m. delivery of 2.3 million papers, all
with advertising content specific to each region. And, its final edition of the day
contains the most up-to-date news available in any publication of its class.
Satellite has been used for years in the newspaper industry because of its
inherent broadcast capabilities and absolute dependability. Newspapers are able
to distribute the same content over satellite to local printing plants, ensuring
timely printing and delivery of the newspaper.
In a recent network upgrade, USA TODAY chose Hughes Networks Systems’
(HNS) DIRECWAY® broadband satellite service to deliver its paper nationwide for
exactly those reasons. The rapid installation of DIRECWAY enabled USA TODAY
to cut over and go live with its new network ahead of schedule. The result was a
seamless transition from their previous network to DIRECWAY that continues
USA TODAY’s tradition of delivering fast, accurate, and late-breaking news to
everyone’s doorstep.
Getting to the national market on time
A critical component of USA TODAY’s business model
is the ability to sell “single copy” issues—meaning that
instead of driving revenue through subscriptions,
roughly half of the two million-plus papers produced
each day are sold straight off news stands. Other than
major fast food providers, few companies can boast
moving so many ad hoc sales per day.
What do “single copy” sales have to do with the
DIRECWAY service? Many business travelers and
consumers pick up the paper because it is able to
provide—before sunrise—the most up-to-date sports
scores and information from the night before.
“It’s all about the ability to get to market quickly and
reliably every single business day,” says Melissa Snyder,
vice president of marketing for USA TODAY. “We’re not
producing a paper that picks up where yesterday’s
morning paper left off. We pick up where last night’s
11:00 news left off. People wake up earlier and go to
work earlier, and they aren’t interested in reading
yesterday’s news. That’s why we have the most aggressive satellite newspaper network in the world.”
DIRECWAY enables the nation’s largest newspaper to
multicast news content and targeted advertising to its
How do you print 2.3 million newspapers
in 36 locations and deliver them all
around the country before 6 a.m.
every day?
regional printing sites quickly throughout the day,
culminating in a 2:30 a.m. final edition. Without the
ability to quickly and reliably distribute digital content,
getting the paper out by 6:00 a.m. to every region of
the country would be virtually impossible.
Adding to the “bottom line”
In addition to transmitting late-breaking news to multiple
printing locations, the DIRECWAY satellite service
enables advertisers to “surf” on that news with up-todate ad copy. For example, a NASCAR advertiser can
wait for a late race’s outcome and publish a congratulatory message to the winner.
Satellite has been used for many years in the newspaper
industry, enabling up-to-date sports news and scores. At
the Atlanta Olympics, photographs taken at the opening
“We’re not producing a paper that picks
up where yesterday’s morning paper left
off. We pick up where last night’s 11:00
news left off.”
ceremonies were on the USA TODAY sports page in
time to provide copies of the paper to people as they
exited the event. According to the newspaper’s executives, reliability and quick response times, even to the
point of adjusting advertising copy after the news is
final, contribute significantly to the bottom line.
“Satellite has always delivered. Without it, we couldn’t
get the paper out,” says Ken Kirkhart, USA TODAY’s
vice president of production. “For us not to print locally
in any given market would be a huge problem, both
from a revenue and a reputation perspective. Now with
DIRECWAY broadband satellite service, we get better
speed, reliability, and multicast capability. With terrestrial broadband, we would be less confident and would
not be willing to hold the paper for late-breaking news.
“And with DIRECWAY service, we can bring up a new
site a lot more easily and quickly—almost the next
day,” according to Kirkhart. “If I ordered a new site,
I’d have it in less than a week.”
“Now with DIRECWAY broadband
Pushing the envelope with speed and reliability
satellite, we get better speed, reliability,
Most papers are put to bed hours before USA TODAY
transmits updates for its final edition, and they have
less regional presence. That means many of them must
print yesterday’s news. Speed and reliability even
enable USA TODAY to compete with electronic outlets
that broadcast news, but don’t have the capability to
print and deliver finished copy.
“Satellite delivery allows us to push the envelope with
the latest news,” says Snyder. “We are very cognizant
of people’s news consumption throughout the day
beyond their USA TODAY moment, and we try to build
on that each day,” she added. “That’s what drives our
single-copy sales success.”
and multicast capability. With terrestrial
broadband, we would be less confident
and would not be willing to hold the
paper for late-breaking news.”
About USA TODAY
About Hughes Network Systems
USA TODAY is the nation's top-selling newspaper. It is
published via satellite at 36 locations in the US and
four sites abroad. With a total average daily circulation
of 2.3 million, USA TODAY is available worldwide.
USATODAY.com is an award-winning news and information site on the Internet with more than 35 million
monthly visitors. USA TODAY is published by Gannett
Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI).
Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HNS) is the world's
leading provider of broadband satellite network solutions for businesses and consumers, with more than
800,000 systems ordered or shipped to customers in
85 countries. HNS pioneered the development of highspeed satellite Internet access services and IP-based
networks, which it markets globally under the
DIRECWAY brand. DIRECWAY terminals are based on
the IPoS (IP over Satellite) global standard, approved
by the TIA, ETSI, and ITU standards organizations.
Headquartered outside Washington, DC, in Germantown,
Maryland, USA, HNS maintains sales and support
offices worldwide.
For more information about HNS’
products and services, contact us at:
Hughes Network Systems, LLC
Global Headquarters
11717 Exploration Lane
Germantown, MD 20876 USA
Phone: 301-428-5500
Email: globalsales@hns.com
Web site: www.hns.com
DIRECWAY is a trademark of The DIRECTV Group, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their
respective owners. © 2005 Hughes Network Systems, LLC. All information is subjection to change. All
rights reserved.
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