Harris Corporation and Comcast Spotlight to Develop eRevisions Capabilities to Automate the Broadcast Sales Process

Harris Corporation (NYSE: HRS), an international communications and information technology company, has entered into an agreement with Comcast Spotlight, the advertising sales division of Comcast Cable, to develop Comcast’s eRevisions capabilities for the Harris® Novar Traffic and Billing System. The new, electronic revision capability will help improve efficiency and productivity in advertising sales.

A traffic and billing system for cable advertising sales, Novar includes sales, scheduling, traffic, and spot buy analysis through to billing. It also helps manage complex, high-volume, multi-channel and multi-geographic cable ad spot buys. Comcast Spotlight uses Novar to support its daily advertising sales operations.

The advanced eRevisions capability uses Web services technology to maximize the ability of diverse spot advertising systems. By leveraging the Harris® Open Application Programming Interface (API), the advertising sales process is automated, making it easier for account executives to check cable spot inventories in real time and to process and revise sales orders with greater accuracy and efficiency.

“This added capability will help us increase sales productivity and improve operational efficiencies by more effectively managing new orders and revisions — helping us put the revision process closer to our clients,” said Bob Rittler, vice president of Information Services and Information Technology at Comcast Spotlight.

“Adding this capability to Novar and the APIs we’re developing with Comcast Spotlight will dramatically improve access to the information available at the time a proposal is created, while streamlining the process of turning an approved proposal into an approved, executing order,” said Tim Thorsteinson, president, Harris Broadcast Communications. “Harris is pleased to collaborate on this industry initiative with Comcast Spotlight, because it has the potential to ultimately drive up efficiency and productivity for all Novar users and the advertising sales community as a whole.”

In a separate agreement, Comcast Spotlight has extended its licensing of Novar in its Southern region to include operations in its Atlanta, Jacksonville, Sarasota, Nashville, Chattanooga, Miami, and West Palm Beach markets.