Article

Penn Station digital signage network goes live

One of the busiest transportation hubs in the country gets kitted out with a new DOOH network from CBS Outdoor.

July 26, 2013

One of the busiest — and most famous — transportation portals in New York City has a new digital signage and digital out-of-home media network up and running.

CBS Outdoor has announced that its Penn Station Digital Network is now a reality, servicing "the busiest passenger transportation facility in the United States," with more than 17 million passengers passing through every 4 weeks.

Multiple networks (1, 2 ,3, A, C, E Subway Lines, Amtrak, New Jersey Transit) flow through the terminal including the region's largest — the Long Island Railroad. The Penn Station Digital Network's multiple screens allow advertiser messaging to fully saturate commuters traveling in and out of the city, at various points throughout the concourse, the company said on its website.

The network, comprised of 22 high-definition digital signage screens, delivers the LIRR concourse, where 75 percent of the traffic in Penn Station occurs, according to CBS Outdoor. Strategically positioned near ticketing booths and information screens, network screens are in direct line of sight of commuters with expanded dwell time — including those waiting for departure and track information.

"The magnitude of the Penn Station Digital Network will change the flow of traffic in this very busy transit station by placing strategic information throughout the station," said Phil Stimpson, EVP, Displays Division, CBS Outdoor, in an emailed statement. "This will greatly aid in minimizing choke points at various parts of the concourse, which is a great benefit to the riding public. At the same time we'll be giving marketers access to one of the busiest transit stations in the world, which services 17 million riders a month. This will have special appeal to advertisers, whose options have greatly expanded to include full motion digital displays, traditional static units and station domination campaigns."

According to an MTA presentation to the Long Island Rail Road Committee Meeting earlier this week, the LIRR "will be among the first in the country to provide such as a robust network consisting of 26 digital monitors providing a combination of advertising and LIRR customer information."

The network will include 25 screens on the LIRR concourse (including 11 new screens providing train and customer information and replacing six old tube TVs) and one screen at the street level, outside the 34th St. entrance.

Also, according to Peter Kaszycki, VP, Business Development, Manufacturing Resources International, MRI has provided 47 full-HD digital LCD faces consisting of 72- and 55-inch digital LCD displays and (one-by-four ) 55-inch digital LCD arrays for Penn Station in New York City. (Judging by the pictures posted by CBS OUtdoor to its website, some of the 25 "screens" may actually be multiple screen formations, and the disparity between 22, 26 or 47 screens or faces may be due to terminology.)

LED digital signage provider NanoLumens also recently announced that one of its 126-inch NanoSlim LED displays was part of the rollout, hanging directly over commuters' heads as they travel through the Long Island Railroad corridor of the station.

According to the MTA presentation, the digital screens will be deployed throughout the LIRR concourse and will provide 24/7 advertising, along with train information, customer messages and marketing promotions. "More importantly, the LIRR will have the ability through the PIO to override all programming during an emergency or significant service disruption to communicate with its customers."

Learn more about wayfinding digital signage.

Photos courtesy of CBS Outdoor.