Two former employees of the defunct TV Magic, Inc. are creating a new systems integration company in San Diego they call Pacific Design and Integration, Inc. Bob Anderson expects to perform business development and management duties, and Steve Sagady will be principal engineer. Bob says they have strategic alliances with an equipment supplier and an installation specialist to help fulfill projects.

Kevin Schrader began his full-time engineering position with KPBS this month. He was formerly Chief Engineer at Cox Media channel 4 downtown, where he took care of its studios and the Cox HD vehicle. When Fox Sports won the Padres contract, he…well, yeah. In a bit of refreshingly creative management, KPBS and Cox transitioned him between jobs for several months during which he worked part-time at each.

After 16 years, San Diego audio/video systems integration company TV Magic, Inc. locked its doors in mid-December and dismissed their few remaining employees.

TV Magic had a good run, designing and/or building audio/video facilities large and small. In just the last five years, they worked on these projects:

• ESPN’s LA Live Center video facilities,
• Fox Sports West facilities in Los Angeles,
• design of the KPBS San Diego master control,
• the move of KVCR in San Bernardino,
• various improvements at the Trinity Broadcast Network,
• the giant Arena de Ciudad de Mexico,
• and Multimedios network center in Mexico.

During the recent recession, the company had a hard time regaining traction in the Los Angeles media market and lost its largest customer. But the nail in the coffin came when they lost a class-action lawsuit last  year filed by a group of independent contractors demanding overtime pay and damages for an alleged violation of California laws governing whether installation workers should be regarded as employees or contractors.

TV Magic supported Chapter 36 for years as a sponsor and meeting host.

[The author worked as Chief Technology Officer for TV Magic from June 2010 to February 2012.]