ATSC 3.0

The spirits and bottom lines of broadcasters should be buoyed by the technology and policy cards they are being dealt when it comes to ATSC 3.0. If the simulcast-based channel-sharing proposal before the FCC is adopted, TV broadcasters will have the tools they need to make the transition while continuing to deliver their main channel and popular diginets as legacy DTV channels — if they can cooperate. This is the third installment of a three-part Multicasting Special Report. Part 1 appeared Tuesday morning, Part 2 on Wednesday morning. You can read all the stories here.

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) is joining broadcasters, technology companies, and public safety agencies to develop and deploy the Advanced Warning and Response Network (AWARN), the world’s most advanced emergency […]

Top of mind this week for managers and engineers alike will be hitting the FCC’s July 12 deadline for initial construction permit and repack expense reimbursement filings. But in the rush to get that done, it’s important not to lose sight of future possibilities like single frequency network operation.

The fledgling consortium started by Nexstar, Sinclair and Univision, now covers about 90% of the U.S. It plans to work to promote ATSC 3.0 innovation and develop products and services that can drive spectrum utilization, virtual MVPD platforms, multicast channels, automotive applications, single frequency networks and wireless data applications.

When it comes to broadcasters’ proposed “Next Generation” standard, some of the stuff coming out of the FCC docket is akin to “that was then, this is now,” NCTA alleges. The standard, known as ATSC 3.0, is touted by broadcasters as capable of 4K, enhanced emergency alerts and mobile video. But cable has been increasingly worried that despite the FCC seeking a “voluntary” approach, it could impact operators and independent networks’ ability to fairly compete.

With the addition of the Spanish-language broadcaster, the new group will reach approximately 90% of the U.S. with its effort to promote innovation and develop and explore products and services associated with ATSC 3.0 and their monetization opportunities.

The “soft focus” on strategic planning is putting public TV far behind commercial broadcasters in preparing for next-gen TV.

Cable and satellite operators want nothing to do with ATSC 3.0 and are staking out positions at the FCC squarely at odds with broadcasting’s 3.0 proponents.They want to regulate the transition to 3.0 and block broadcasters from using retrans to force them to carry 3.0 signals. But the broadcasters have strong counterarguments and an FCC chairman who is disinclined to regulate anything.

Last week, Sinclair Broadcast Group VP of advanced technology, Mark Aitken, announced at the annual Advanced Television Systems Committee meeting that the station group will give 1 million ATSC 3.0 receiver chips to each mobile phone maker that promises to put them in devices sold in the United States. The offer demonstrates the group’s commitment to moving TV forward.

Sinclair Broadcast Group has struck a deal with Tribune Media to buy dozens of local TV stations. And what Fox News is for cable, Sinclair could become for broadcast: programming with a soupcon — or more — of conservative spin.

The Pearl station groups are betting on targeted advertising and see TV sets with consumer-friendly interfaces as a critical stepping stone to that. Sinclair wants to bring the mobile audience back to broadcasting and explore datacasting. And the Big Four broadcast networks? Their vision is no vision at all.

Nationwide SmithGeiger research finds next-generation ATSC 3.0 features increase consumer spending on, and accelerate purchase of, smart TVs.

The trade group releases statistics on the importance of broadcasting to Americans in times of emergencies. And NAB CTO Sam Matheny goes before the House Communications Subcommittee to spell out the many advances ATSC 3.0 will give stations in keeping the public informed in times of crisis. He urges them to make sure stations have the time and resources to complete the mandated spectrum repack.

With Tribune, Sinclair goes from a large collection of TV stations to a national broadcasting platform with ambitions that go far beyond those of the Big Four networks. And that larger footprint, Sinclair figures, will allow it to roll out game-changing innovations including ATSC 3.0, mobile datacasting and targeted interactive advertising. These all have the potential to remake the entire television broadcasting business into a force that can vigorously compete with online and mobile.

The pending sale of Tribune Media to the Sinclair Broadcast Group is just the latest step in Sinclair’s journey to position itself to offer next-gen TV with a nationwide footprint and a special emphasis on mobile.

“The commission should allow the market, not regulatory dictates, to determine whether or not Next Gen is successful,” said the NAB, Consumer Technology Association and America’s Public Television Stations in joint comments on the FCC’s next-gen TV standard proceeding. They recommend: a hands-off approach to the transitional ATSC 1.0 simulcast channels, make no changes to must-carry and retransmission consent rules and not require that TV sets to be equipped with 3.0 turners.

In comments to the FCC on the next-gen TV rulemaking, the American Television Alliance and the American Cable Association list a number of concerns including making sure the transition is truly voluntary for all parties and preventing broadcasters from conditioning carriage of ATSC 1.0 signals on initial carriage of ATSC 3.0 signals byrequiring separate negotiations of the two.

The decision to invest in technology upgrades doesn’t rest with engineers alone. Chief financial officers were at NAB, looking at technology for the next-gen TV standard ATSC 3.0, advanced advertising and more. L-r: Moderator Josh Stinehour, Devoncroft; Tribune Media’s Mike Tuvell; NBCU’s Christine Dorfler; and Sinclair’s Lucy Rutishauser.

Howard Homonoff: “After years of hopeful whispers and crossing of fingers about “advanced” TV, signs of it were everywhere at the National Association of Broadcasters annual convention in Las Vegas last week. Despite my disappointment at having to leave Vegas without seeing Ice Cube (he plays the Strip this week), I did come away with several important takeaways about the broadcasting business and the relevance of the venerable NAB convention, all in some fashion related to the evolution of the TV business.”

The 1,700 companies that populated last week’s NAB Show exhibition continued to experience relatively slow growth in the aggregate in 2016. But they look forward to spending resulting from the spectrum repack, ATSC 3.0 and the much discussed transition to IP.

From speeches, sessions, cocktail parties and bars, I gained some insight that I can share with you on Chairman Pai’s deregulatory initiative, the repack’s reimbursement fund and deadline, an ATSC 3.0 fissure and the network-affiliate OTT agreements.

ATSC 3.0 was everywhere at the NAB Show this week, and it’s no longer simply an interesting technical exercise. Broadcasters are serious about building their future on the next-gent TV standard, and the annual industry gathering in Las Vegas gave them ample opportunity to see how.

TV broadcasters have a lot on their minds this year at the NAB Show in Las Vegas. New efficiencies enabled by IP video transport as well as IT technology and next-gen TV made possible by ATSC 3.0 are near top of mind. But no issue facing over-the-air TV broadcasters at this year’s gathering tops the FCC-mandated repack of the television spectrum. Above: Few transmitter sites will require dealing with logistical issues as complicated as those that had to be overcome at One World Trade Center in New York. (Photo: ©2016 John M. Lyons. Used with permission.)

A broadcast test is underway at Fox O&O WOFL Orlando of the Verance Aspect open watermark solution integrated into Triveni Digital’s StreamScope MT-50 analyzer.

NAB CEO-President Gordon Smith preached the virtues of Next Gen TV as crucial for broadcasters in his opening speech in Las Vegas on Monday. In a media environment roiled by change, Smith also emphasized broadcasters’ indispensible role in emergencies and their responsibility to defend the First Amendment.

At the Imagine Communications NAB Show press conference in Las Vegas, the company unveiled its Open Zenium initiative to further advance adoption of IP workflows and discussed how IP and the cloud can be used by broadcasters looking at how to deliver personalized, targeted content and ads in an ATSC 3.0 future.

Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark | Booth C4309 | Website: www.comarktv.com.  Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark, a manufacturer and supplier of DTV transmitters, encoding systems, and associated field services for over 45 […]

Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark | Booth C4309 | Website: www.comarktv.com  Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark will show its Parallax for VHF band 3. Parallax is a transmitter that is ready for the […]

The Pearl TV business alliance of eight major broadcast groups; Fox; NBC’s WVIT Hartford, Conn.; Univision; and Verance are working together on a test of the software company’s audio watermark as part of their existing ATSC 1.0 transmissions. The 3.0 audio watermark is compatible and in 3.0, it will enable “the foundational data protocol that triggers … interactivity, personalization and even advanced emergency alerting” on ATSC 3.0 receivers, the parties say.

Job one for TV broadcasters at the 2017 NAB Show will be planning for the TV spectrum repack, which is upon them. A close second will be next-gen TV service based on the ATSC 3.0 standard. At the  NAB Show and at the PBS TechCon, there will be a cornucopia of sessions devoted to both topics. Here’s a roundup NAB Show and PBS TechCon sessions that address the new 3.0 standard directly.

Job one for TV broadcasters at the 2017 NAB Show will be planning for the TV spectrum repack, which is upon them. A close second will be next-gen TV service based on the ATSC 3.0 standard. At the  NAB Show and at the PBS TechCon, there will be a cornucopia of sessions devoted to both topics. Here’s a roundup NAB Show and PBS TechCon sessions that address the repack directly.

ONE Media 3.0, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group, today entered into an agreement with Indian chip maker Saankhya Labs to develop ATSC 3.0 chipsets to power consumer devices capable of receiving next-gen TV.

She joins former Media General colleague Deb McDermott and her McDermott Media Group to bring Verance Aspect audience research, part of the new ATSC 3.0 standards, to broadcasters.

Dielectric | Booth C2613 | Website: http://www.dielectric.com/  Dielectric, a provider of purpose-engineered antennas and RF systems for TV and radio broadcasters, will exhibit its, now-shipping TFU-WB UHF antenna to simplify transitions […]