Live from Wimberley on Good Morning America

#1 JUNE 21, 2018

If you wake up every morning and watch Good Morning America, you’ve probably noticed a small – yet somehow important – change. The words “Wimberley, TX” now appear on the show almost every single day.

Matthew Dowd, a political consultant on the national level, lives in Wimberley. In the past he would get up each morning and travel to Austin to get to a studio for his segment on GMA. Now, thanks to local company Big Ingen, he does his daily segments from Wimberley, just around the corner from the Wimberley View’s office.

“ABC tried it out and they were happy. It is more efficient, and it’s five minutes from my house,” Dowd said. So now when Dowd is shown on live TV, it no longer says he is located in Austin. It says he is located right here in Wimberley.

Big Ingen’s principle, John Brown, has put the technology to the test and it came out with flying colors.

“It was after Christmas last year. We’ve had a few hiccups, but it’s been pretty stable. Six months into it. It’s really great. We raised some technical eyebrows,” Brown said.

Dowd added, “I was surprised other people haven’t figured this out.”

It was tested for over a month and a half by ABC technicians. With 4.5 million viewers, the stress level can be high, but also very rewarding, satisfying and filled with adrenaline. “I felt like a kid again in live TV,” Brown said.

ABC likes Dowd being in the center of America. The East and West Coast slant is reduced when it comes to feeling the nation’s pulse.

“It’s a huge opportunity having voices outside of the coasts. ABC thinks it is an asset that I live here instead of an urban center, a voice outside New York and D.C. A new opportunity to continue and explore,” Dowd said.

“The mid-term elections, the presidential election are coming up and we’ll do a lot here. It’s neat for the community,” Dowd said.

John Brown has almost limitless knowledge, as the volunteer program director for local radio station KWXH 91.4. But his background is impressive.

“I’ve always had a camera and mic in my hand. With Nat Geo (National Geographic) I’ve been 6 times around the world, India, China, Brazil.”

He is used to dealing with pressure. Dealing with New York producers, anchors and technicians could be, but it doesn’t seem to be a challenge.

“Things seldom go wrong,” Brown said.

As for the technical part of the broadcasting system, it is 1080p with less than a second delay from Wimberley to New York with a special encoder, and a Sony broadcast camera. The system has the highest speed Internet and as a backup has an electrical generator on site.

“Both audio and video are real time… as we connect Matthew to around the nation, we also have the ability to connect CEO’s for conferences, Texas State or UT experts for whatever…we are the only ones that do this within a 100 mile radius,” Brown said.

Imagining TV broadcasting from Wimberley nation-wide each day was a dream just a few years ago, but now is just an everyday occurrence thanks to John Brown and Big Ingen Media.