diff --git a/public/assets/images/article-placeholder.svg b/public/assets/images/article-placeholder.svg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b08f131
--- /dev/null
+++ b/public/assets/images/article-placeholder.svg
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1200 630" preserveAspectRatio="xMidYMid slice">
+  <defs>
+    <linearGradient id="g" x1="0" y1="0" x2="0" y2="1">
+      <stop offset="0%" stop-color="#1a1f2e"/>
+      <stop offset="50%" stop-color="#0d1018"/>
+      <stop offset="100%" stop-color="#080a10"/>
+    </linearGradient>
+    <radialGradient id="r" cx="50%" cy="50%" r="60%">
+      <stop offset="0%" stop-color="#3b82f6" stop-opacity="0.10"/>
+      <stop offset="100%" stop-color="#3b82f6" stop-opacity="0"/>
+    </radialGradient>
+  </defs>
+  <rect width="1200" height="630" fill="url(#g)"/>
+  <rect width="1200" height="630" fill="url(#r)"/>
+  <g transform="translate(600 315)" text-anchor="middle" font-family="system-ui, sans-serif">
+    <text y="0" font-size="48" font-weight="700" fill="#3b82f6" letter-spacing="0.05em">BROADCAST</text>
+    <text y="56" font-size="48" font-weight="700" fill="#cbd5e1" letter-spacing="0.05em">BEAT</text>
+    <text y="116" font-size="16" font-weight="500" fill="#64748b" letter-spacing="0.25em" text-transform="uppercase">NEWS · INTELLIGENCE · TECHNOLOGY</text>
+  </g>
+</svg>
diff --git a/src/app/articles/[slug]/page.tsx b/src/app/articles/[slug]/page.tsx
index c3a5460..8c3c589 100644
--- a/src/app/articles/[slug]/page.tsx
+++ b/src/app/articles/[slug]/page.tsx
@@ -16,7 +16,19 @@ interface PageProps {
 }
 
 const SITE_URL =
-  process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL || "https://bb-staging.onsethost.com";
+  process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL || "https://broadcastbeat.com";
+
+function toIso(d: string | null | undefined): string {
+  if (!d) return new Date().toISOString();
+  const parsed = new Date(d);
+  return isNaN(parsed.getTime()) ? new Date().toISOString() : parsed.toISOString();
+}
+
+function absoluteImage(src: string | undefined | null): string {
+  if (!src) return `${SITE_URL}/assets/images/article-placeholder.jpg`;
+  if (/^https?:\/\//i.test(src)) return src;
+  return `${SITE_URL}${src.startsWith("/") ? "" : "/"}${src}`;
+}
 
 async function loadArticle(slug: string): Promise<{
   article: Article | null;
@@ -77,15 +89,16 @@ export default async function ArticlePage({ params }: PageProps) {
     "@type": "Article",
     headline: article.title,
     description: article.excerpt,
-    image: article.image,
+    image: [absoluteImage(article.image)],
     author: { "@type": "Person", name: article.author },
     publisher: {
       "@type": "Organization",
       name: "BroadcastBeat",
-      logo: { "@type": "ImageObject", url: `${SITE_URL}/legacy/site/broadcastbeat-logo.png` },
+      logo: { "@type": "ImageObject", url: `${SITE_URL}/assets/images/logo.png` },
     },
-    datePublished: article.date,
+    datePublished: toIso(article.date),
     dateModified: new Date().toISOString(),
+    mainEntityOfPage: { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": `${SITE_URL}/articles/${article.slug}` },
   };
 
   return (
diff --git a/src/app/layout.tsx b/src/app/layout.tsx
index 6c73d74..f6abace 100644
--- a/src/app/layout.tsx
+++ b/src/app/layout.tsx
@@ -20,18 +20,9 @@ export const metadata: Metadata = {
   },
   alternates: {
     canonical: '/',
-    languages: {
-      'en': '/en',
-      'es': '/es',
-      'pt': '/pt',
-      'fr': '/fr',
-      'de': '/de',
-      'zh': '/zh',
-      'ja': '/ja',
-      'ar': '/ar',
-      'hi': '/hi',
-      'x-default': '/en',
-    },
+    // hreflang entries removed — we don't currently serve translated content,
+    // and pointing Google at /en, /es, /pt, etc. (which 404) was poisoning
+    // the SEO signal. Re-add when the i18n routes actually exist.
   },
   openGraph: {
     type: 'website',
@@ -59,11 +50,14 @@ export const metadata: Metadata = {
     images: ['/assets/images/og-image.png']
   },
   robots: {
-    index: true,
-    follow: true,
+    // noindex while Phase B (PR rewrite) and Phase D (i18n routes) land.
+    // Flip both to true once Google Rich Results Test passes on a sample
+    // NewsArticle and the news sitemap is wired up (Phase C).
+    index: false,
+    follow: false,
     googleBot: {
-      index: true,
-      follow: true,
+      index: false,
+      follow: false,
       'max-video-preview': -1,
       'max-image-preview': 'large',
       'max-snippet': -1
@@ -78,17 +72,7 @@ export default function RootLayout({
   return (
     <html lang="en">
       <head>
-        {/* hreflang tags for multilingual SEO — Section 18G */}
-        <link rel="alternate" hrefLang="en" href={`${process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL || ''}/en`} />
-        <link rel="alternate" hrefLang="es" href={`${process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL || ''}/es`} />
-        <link rel="alternate" hrefLang="pt" href={`${process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL || ''}/pt`} />
-        <link rel="alternate" hrefLang="fr" href={`${process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL || ''}/fr`} />
-        <link rel="alternate" hrefLang="de" href={`${process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL || ''}/de`} />
-        <link rel="alternate" hrefLang="zh" href={`${process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL || ''}/zh`} />
-        <link rel="alternate" hrefLang="ja" href={`${process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL || ''}/ja`} />
-        <link rel="alternate" hrefLang="ar" href={`${process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL || ''}/ar`} />
-        <link rel="alternate" hrefLang="hi" href={`${process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL || ''}/hi`} />
-        <link rel="alternate" hrefLang="x-default" href={`${process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL || ''}/en`} />
+        {/* hreflang entries removed pending real i18n routes (Phase D). */}
 
         <script
           type="application/ld+json"
@@ -97,7 +81,7 @@ export default function RootLayout({
               '@context': 'https://schema.org',
               '@type': 'Organization',
               name: 'BroadcastBeat',
-              url: 'https://broadcastb5322.builtwithrocket.new',
+              url: 'https://broadcastbeat.com',
               logo: "https://img.rocket.new/generatedImages/rocket_gen_img_1ab0c6b82-1768715893826.png",
               description: 'The digital platform for broadcast engineering professionals. Breaking news, deep-dive features, and industry spotlights from NAB to IBC and beyond.',
               sameAs: [
@@ -109,7 +93,7 @@ export default function RootLayout({
               contactPoint: {
                 '@type': 'ContactPoint',
                 contactType: 'Editorial',
-                url: 'https://broadcastb5322.builtwithrocket.new'
+                url: 'https://broadcastbeat.com'
               }
             })
           }} />
diff --git a/src/app/news/[slug]/page.tsx b/src/app/news/[slug]/page.tsx
index 506bc71..544bb90 100644
--- a/src/app/news/[slug]/page.tsx
+++ b/src/app/news/[slug]/page.tsx
@@ -18,7 +18,21 @@ interface PageProps {
 }
 
 const SITE_URL =
-  process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL || "https://bb-staging.onsethost.com";
+  process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL || "https://broadcastbeat.com";
+
+/** Convert a free-form date (e.g. "April 9, 2026") to ISO 8601 for JSON-LD. */
+function toIso(d: string | null | undefined): string {
+  if (!d) return new Date().toISOString();
+  const parsed = new Date(d);
+  return isNaN(parsed.getTime()) ? new Date().toISOString() : parsed.toISOString();
+}
+
+/** Make an image path absolute against SITE_URL for Google News compliance. */
+function absoluteImage(src: string | undefined | null): string {
+  if (!src) return `${SITE_URL}/assets/images/article-placeholder.jpg`;
+  if (/^https?:\/\//i.test(src)) return src;
+  return `${SITE_URL}${src.startsWith("/") ? "" : "/"}${src}`;
+}
 
 async function loadArticle(slug: string): Promise<{
   article: Article | null;
@@ -80,14 +94,14 @@ export default async function NewsArticlePage({ params }: PageProps) {
     "@type": "NewsArticle",
     headline: article.title,
     description: article.excerpt,
-    image: article.image,
+    image: [absoluteImage(article.image)],
     author: { "@type": "Person", name: article.author },
     publisher: {
       "@type": "Organization",
       name: "BroadcastBeat",
-      logo: { "@type": "ImageObject", url: `${SITE_URL}/legacy/site/broadcastbeat-logo.png` },
+      logo: { "@type": "ImageObject", url: `${SITE_URL}/assets/images/logo.png` },
     },
-    datePublished: article.date,
+    datePublished: toIso(article.date),
     dateModified: new Date().toISOString(),
     mainEntityOfPage: { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": `${SITE_URL}/news/${article.slug}` },
   };
diff --git a/src/app/robots.ts b/src/app/robots.ts
index c7b4eab..16c7a01 100644
--- a/src/app/robots.ts
+++ b/src/app/robots.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { MetadataRoute } from 'next';
 
 export default function robots(): MetadataRoute.Robots {
-  const baseUrl = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL || 'https://broadcastb5322.builtwithrocket.new';
+  const baseUrl = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL || 'https://broadcastbeat.com';
 
   return {
     rules: [
diff --git a/src/app/sitemap.ts b/src/app/sitemap.ts
index d1ff14c..c450b53 100644
--- a/src/app/sitemap.ts
+++ b/src/app/sitemap.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { MetadataRoute } from 'next';
 import { getLegacyRecentSitemapEntries } from '@/lib/articles/legacy-source';
 
-const BASE_URL = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL || 'https://bb-staging.onsethost.com';
+const BASE_URL = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL || 'https://broadcastbeat.com';
 
 export default async function sitemap(): Promise<MetadataRoute.Sitemap> {
   // Static pages
diff --git a/src/components/AdImage.tsx b/src/components/AdImage.tsx
index f4c7328..213de3c 100644
--- a/src/components/AdImage.tsx
+++ b/src/components/AdImage.tsx
@@ -9,16 +9,21 @@ interface Ad {
   src?: string;
   alt?: string;
   click_url?: string;
-  adsanity_id?: string;
 }
 
+// Renders a local creative from /public/legacy/ads/... and tracks impressions
+// + clicks to bb.banner_analytics. The previous Adsanity iframe path
+// (ads.broadcastbeat.com) was removed — that subdomain doesn't resolve and
+// caused 30s timeouts. To add a new banner, drop the file in
+// public/legacy/ads/ and add an entry to ADS_300X250 / ADS_728X90 in
+// src/lib/ads.ts with src + alt + click_url.
 export default function AdImage({ ad, page, priority }: { ad: Ad; page?: string; priority?: boolean }) {
   const containerRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
   const trackedRef = useRef(false);
   const supabase = createClient();
-  const adsanityId = ad.adsanity_id || '';
 
   useEffect(() => {
+    if (!ad.src) return;
     const observer = new IntersectionObserver(([entry]) => {
       if (entry.isIntersecting && !trackedRef.current) {
         trackedRef.current = true;
@@ -27,10 +32,10 @@ export default function AdImage({ ad, page, priority }: { ad: Ad; page?: string;
           ad_label: ad.label,
           ad_size: ad.size,
           event_type: 'impression',
-          page: page || typeof window !== 'undefined' ? window.location.pathname : null,
-          session_id: typeof window !== 'undefined' ? (window as any).__session_id : null,
-          referrer: typeof document !== 'undefined' ? document.referrer : null
-        }).catch(err => console.error('Impression:', err));
+          page: page || (typeof window !== 'undefined' ? window.location.pathname : null),
+          session_id: typeof window !== 'undefined' ? (window as { __session_id?: string }).__session_id : null,
+          referrer: typeof document !== 'undefined' ? document.referrer : null,
+        }).then(() => undefined, (err: unknown) => console.error('Impression:', err));
       }
     }, { threshold: 0.5 });
     if (containerRef.current) observer.observe(containerRef.current);
@@ -43,29 +48,23 @@ export default function AdImage({ ad, page, priority }: { ad: Ad; page?: string;
       ad_label: ad.label,
       ad_size: ad.size,
       event_type: 'click',
-      page: page || typeof window !== 'undefined' ? window.location.pathname : null,
-      session_id: typeof window !== 'undefined' ? (window as any).__session_id : null,
-      referrer: typeof document !== 'undefined' ? document.referrer : null
-    }).catch(err => console.error('Click:', err));
+      page: page || (typeof window !== 'undefined' ? window.location.pathname : null),
+      session_id: typeof window !== 'undefined' ? (window as { __session_id?: string }).__session_id : null,
+      referrer: typeof document !== 'undefined' ? document.referrer : null,
+    }).then(() => undefined, (err: unknown) => console.error('Click:', err));
   };
 
+  if (!ad.src) return null;
+
   const width = parseInt(ad.size.split('x')[0]);
   const height = parseInt(ad.size.split('x')[1]);
 
-  if (adsanityId) {
-    return (
-      <div ref={containerRef} className="ad-container">
-        <iframe src={`https://ads.broadcastbeat.com/wp-content/plugins/adsanity/render.php?id=${adsanityId}`} width={width} height={height} frameBorder="0" scrolling="no" style={{display:'block'}} />
-      </div>
-    );
-  }
-
-  if (!ad.src) return null;
-
   return (
     <div ref={containerRef} className="ad-container">
       {ad.click_url ? (
-        <a href={ad.click_url} rel="sponsored noopener noreferrer" onClick={handleClick}><AppImage src={ad.src} alt={ad.alt || ad.label} width={width} height={height} priority={priority} /></a>
+        <a href={ad.click_url} rel="sponsored noopener noreferrer" onClick={handleClick}>
+          <AppImage src={ad.src} alt={ad.alt || ad.label} width={width} height={height} priority={priority} />
+        </a>
       ) : (
         <AppImage src={ad.src} alt={ad.alt || ad.label} width={width} height={height} priority={priority} />
       )}
diff --git a/src/components/SidebarAdStack.tsx b/src/components/SidebarAdStack.tsx
index c75cdb2..8fe021f 100644
--- a/src/components/SidebarAdStack.tsx
+++ b/src/components/SidebarAdStack.tsx
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ export default function SidebarAdStack({
     <div className={`space-y-4 ${className}`}>
       {FIXED_300X600 && <AdImage ad={FIXED_300X600} priority />}
       {rotating.map((ad) => (
-        <AdImage key={ad.src ?? ad.adsanity_id ?? ad.label} ad={ad} />
+        <AdImage key={ad.src ?? ad.label} ad={ad} />
       ))}
     </div>
   );
diff --git a/src/lib/ads.ts b/src/lib/ads.ts
index d993910..66c2138 100644
--- a/src/lib/ads.ts
+++ b/src/lib/ads.ts
@@ -2,20 +2,19 @@
 // render on broadcastbeat.com. Adding a new entry here automatically
 // rotates it into the appropriate zone — no other code changes needed.
 //
-// Each Ad must provide EITHER:
-//   - src + click_url + alt   → local image, click goes to click_url
-//   - adsanity_id              → Adsanity iframe (Adsanity tracks the click)
+// Each Ad must provide a local image (src + click_url + alt). The legacy
+// Adsanity iframe path was removed because ads.broadcastbeat.com no longer
+// resolves; banners awaiting creatives are tracked in PENDING_ads.md.
 
 export interface Ad {
   label: string;
   size: "300x250" | "300x600" | "728x90";
-  src?: string;
-  alt?: string;
+  src: string;
+  alt: string;
   click_url?: string;
-  adsanity_id?: string;
 }
 
-/** 728x90 leaderboard pool — header (top of every page) and footer. */
+/** 728x90 leaderboard pool — header (between nav and ticker) and footer. */
 export const ADS_728X90: Ad[] = [
   {
     label: "LiveU",
@@ -30,18 +29,12 @@ export const ADS_728X90: Ad[] = [
  * 300x250 sidebar pool. ALL entries render on every page — SidebarAdStack
  * stacks them vertically and shuffles the order per page-view so each banner
  * cycles through positions. Add new entries here to grow the stack.
+ *
+ * AJA, Zixi, Lectrosonics, Opengear, Studio Hero, Magewell were removed
+ * pending real creatives (their Adsanity campaigns relied on
+ * ads.broadcastbeat.com, which is down). See PENDING_ads.md.
  */
 export const ADS_300X250: Ad[] = [
-  {
-    label: "AJA Video",
-    size: "300x250",
-    adsanity_id: "ad-164285",
-  },
-  {
-    label: "Zixi",
-    size: "300x250",
-    adsanity_id: "ad-156737",
-  },
   {
     label: "Telycam",
     size: "300x250",
@@ -56,37 +49,13 @@ export const ADS_300X250: Ad[] = [
     alt: "LiveU pay-as-you-go",
     click_url: "https://bit.ly/4ghXVeq",
   },
-  {
-    label: "Lectrosonics",
-    size: "300x250",
-    adsanity_id: "ad-156727",
-  },
-  {
-    label: "Opengear",
-    size: "300x250",
-    adsanity_id: "ad-200174",
-  },
-  {
-    label: "Studio Hero",
-    size: "300x250",
-    adsanity_id: "ad-162714",
-  },
-  {
-    label: "Magewell",
-    size: "300x250",
-    adsanity_id: "ad-154296",
-  },
 ];
 
 /**
  * 300x600 fixed sidebar slot. Rendered at the TOP of SidebarAdStack and is
- * NEVER rotated. Set to null to omit. To replace, swap this single entry.
+ * NEVER rotated. Set to null to omit. Blackmagic ATEM creative pending.
  */
-export const FIXED_300X600: Ad | null = {
-  label: "Blackmagic",
-  size: "300x600",
-  adsanity_id: "ad-210571",
-};
+export const FIXED_300X600: Ad | null = null;
 
 /** Fisher-Yates shuffle, returns a new array. */
 export function shuffle<T>(arr: T[]): T[] {
@@ -109,7 +78,7 @@ export function rotateAll(size: Ad["size"], exclude: Set<string> = new Set()): A
     : size === "728x90" ? ADS_728X90
     : size === "300x600" ? (FIXED_300X600 ? [FIXED_300X600] : [])
     : [];
-  const key = (a: Ad) => a.src ?? a.adsanity_id ?? a.label;
+  const key = (a: Ad) => a.src ?? a.label;
   return shuffle(pool.filter((a) => !exclude.has(key(a))));
 }
 
diff --git a/src/lib/articles/legacy-source.ts b/src/lib/articles/legacy-source.ts
index d606339..1fe5268 100644
--- a/src/lib/articles/legacy-source.ts
+++ b/src/lib/articles/legacy-source.ts
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ interface ImportedPostRow {
   wp_published_at: string | null;
 }
 
-const FALLBACK_IMAGE = "/legacy/site/no_image.png";
+const FALLBACK_IMAGE = "/assets/images/article-placeholder.svg";
 
 // Tag → section mapping. Source: tag distribution observed in
 // bb.wp_imported_posts. Matches against any overlap (lowercased).
@@ -80,9 +80,16 @@ function readTime(content: string | null): string {
   return `${minutes} min read`;
 }
 
+// Featured-image URLs that we treat as "no image" — historical placeholders
+// that should resolve to the clean dark placeholder instead of the grey box.
+const BROKEN_IMAGE_PATTERNS = /no_image|BB_Gray|placeholder/i;
+
 function rowToArticle(row: ImportedPostRow, section: Section = "news"): Article {
-  const image = row.featured_image
-    ? rewriteLegacyImageUrl(row.featured_image)
+  const rawImage = row.featured_image && !BROKEN_IMAGE_PATTERNS.test(row.featured_image)
+    ? row.featured_image
+    : null;
+  const image = rawImage
+    ? rewriteLegacyImageUrl(rawImage)
     : FALLBACK_IMAGE;
   const content = rewriteLegacyImageUrlsInHtml(row.content || "");
   const author = row.author_name || "Staff Reporter";