Las Vegas and Portland, Ore. will light up their NextGen TV markets in June from their initially-slated late April launch, but the broadcasters and coalition driving the new industry standard forward say major launches will still move ahead this year. The launches will coincide with the arrival in retail stores of the first 3.0-capable sets. Above, six LG sets will bear the NextGen TV logo, including the 55-, 65- and 77-inch class GX Gallery Series 4K Ultra HD models.

A solid business contingency plan gave Fox-owned WTTG and WDCA in Washington, D.C., a leg up in pivoting for the coronavirus pandemic. VP and GM Patrick Paolini says a priority now is staying on top of the news deluge while keeping staffers and advertisers calm amid the uncertainty.

Virtual NAB Show 2020 events this week include live webinars on remote operations best practices and using the cloud to ensure video services continuity. There’s also an on-demand webinar from Akamai about security in highly unusual business operations and a Triveni Digital webinar on Interactive Applications of ATSC 3.0.

DJI, the world’s largest drone maker and a major supplier to TV news in the U.S., has been roiled by an IPO that never came to pass, an internal fraud scandal, a damaging trade war between the U.S. and China and now the coronavirus crisis threatening its essential U.S. market.

With coronavirus pushing numerous staffers into remote working situations, broadcasters are increasingly looking to exploit all of the remote functionality in their newsroom computer systems. Improved IP connectivity and better automation software is helping to make that happen.

Graham Media-owned WDIV in Detroit now has about 90% of its staff working from home, shifting quickly on the advice of its health reporter (who is an ER doctor) and a senior producer with a public health background.

The coalition of broadcasters and technology companies seeks to advance innovation in broadcast industry.

Rather than rescheduling NAB Show for later this year, NAB will create a new digital offering called NAB Show Express, and will enhance its NAB Show New York later this year.

NBC News said on Friday that one of its employees, longtime audio technician Larry Edgeworth, has died after testing positive for the coronavirus. Larry Edgeworth, a sound technician for NBC News’s Rockefeller Plaza headquarters for the past 25 years, suffered from other health issues, his wife said, according to a memo sent by NBC News President Andrew Lack.

Of all the newsroom jobs, producing newscasts would seem to be one of the toughest to do from a kitchen table, but Wednesday, for the first time, WSMV Nashville producer Jules Marcantonio did just that. “It went fine, on both ends,” Marcantonio said, “from both my perspective and the station’s.”

Broadcasters including Gray Television and Cox Media Group have been beta testing the new Facebook Messenger Experience app from Social News Desk enabling users to opt in for breaking news and customized content. With 1.3 billion global Messenger users and a 50%-80% open rate, it opens a key new front to reach viewers, particularly as the coronavirus crisis escalates.