Open Mike

ONE Media’s Jerald Fritz: NextGen broadcasting provides new essential tools for broadcasters to serve their viewers as well as generate new revenue streams. We need to fast track the effort to bring that to the market.

KSTP’s Kirk Varner: To jettison the anchor as one means of averting an “iceberg” facing local TV news would be the absolute worst move, as anchors remain one of our most important roles.

AWARN’s John Lawson: The ATSC 3.0 transition is stalled. A new public-private partnership could jump start it.

Broadcasters need to harness SSAI cost-effectively to get the most monetization opportunities from the FAST channels they’ve embraced. The ad insertion tech is getting better at helping them.

Award shows, major sporting events and the Summer Olympics are among a rich slate of programming broadcasters can look forward to, offering a 2024 boost.

Bitcentral’s Greg Morrow: Broadcasters embracing FAST channels target the “average” viewer with advertiser at their peril, as relevancy for specific can be a game-changer for retention.

Gary Brown: Local TV producers are stepping away from the industry and not coming back. Station groups need to address their attrition now.

CHCO-TV relied heavily on social platforms to reach news audiences in vastly underserved New Brunswick, Canada. A recently enacted news ban on those platforms has had a chilling effect on democracy to which U.S. broadcasters need to tune in. (Shannon May Pringle photo)

The platform-as-a-service (PaaS) approach to broadcast infrastructure allows media organizations to take advantage of applications as consumption-based SaaS without the massive upfront capital investment or extensive integration work that SaaS entails.

Cloud-based playout hasn’t fully arrived with the speed the broadcast industry initially predicted. That doesn’t mean that it will never get here.

The threats posed by cyberattacks are a common problem for everyone in the broadcasting industry. The only appropriate response is to work closely together across media companies and vendors alike.

AI-based storage solutions are evolving, saving media companies substantial time and money.

It’s not just Fox News that has been battered by the self-inflicted injuries exposed in its $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems. By putting pandering before honest journalism, it has sullied the Fox brand and harmed other journalists far removed from its demagoguery and slanted reporting.

As they look to bolster support from the FCC, broadcasters would do well to get behind its Advanced Emergency Information component.

Cloud archiving, an uptick in regionalized viewing and the continued growth of remote production will have a profound impact on the industry this year.

The wildly popular app reaches 2 billion people globally, but newsrooms have been slow to embrace it. Two news startups in South Africa and New Hampshire are showing that WhatsApp can be fertile ground for engaged audiences.

Non-real-time (NRT) content, which is greatly enhanced by ATSC 3.0, opens up a hybrid business option that lets a broadcaster act like an OTA Netflix and offers yet another path to the industry’s longevity.

Broadcasters can learn from the best practices of digital advertising, which has been agile, responsive and innovative in the face of disruption since the pandemic. Here are some practices to adopt.

ATSC 3.0 represents a natural evolution of giving consumers choices in how and when they receive and enjoy content.

Broadcast operations isn’t all about heroes — proven technology foundations and skilled expertise will be key in 2023.

This week’s CES event in Las Vegas will highlight solutions coupling interactive with measurement technologies for broadcasters, who have much to gain by upgrading their game to a more digital-like experience.

A former CNBC journalist hits viral home runs with his globetrotting, selfie stick-wielding reportage. He shares how he’s built a following of two million across social platforms by hitting some key beats with every post. Above, journalist Uptin Saiidi brings his audience on a search for answers in the world of tech, travel and luxury.

Expectations for pristine quality live streaming experiences are at an all-time high. The technology behind 4K UHD/HDR can help meet them.

The long-serving CBS executive says that while many in the business played a role 30 years ago in creating retransmission consent — long an invaluable revenue stream for TV stations — the contributions of those two CBS executives are often overlooked.

The 10-year, $2.5 billion deal recently inked between Apple and Major League Soccer illustrates how tech giants recognize the opportunity that major sports rights bring to their streaming platforms, and their investments are disrupting the market.

Live and local content are front and center of many strategic OTT decisions being made by media companies today, and new technologies are enabling their delivery at scale.

Live events viewers have shown they want fast access to highlights and clips on multiple platforms. Broadcasters need to be able to meet that demand.

The school used a white-label streaming technology company to launch its own streaming channel serving up a wide array of previously disaggregated student programming. The work-in-progress is readying students for an OTT-leaning media ecosystem.

Diginets are proliferating, and new technology is bringing the costs of launching them down while integrating them more easily into existing workflows.

Poor pay, stress overload and constant uncertainties are squeezing reporters and MMJs — not to mention badly needed producers — out of TV news. Here’s what station and group leaders need to hear if they want us to stay.

A cloud transition enables numerous cost-saving areas and benefits around data security, making a compelling case for the move.

TV networks delivering single advertiser spot optimization campaigns are often missing out on the benefits of addressable advertising over concerns they’ll breach competitive separation agreements. The right tech stacks can ensure they won’t break a deal.

Look for smart glasses to join the arsenal of screens that are moving in both size directions fueled by innovations like LCD, LED and more processing power.

Secure Reliable Transport has already had several inflection points from a technology standpoint, so what’s next for the open-source video transport protocol?

Financially sustainable distribution and monetization strategies cannot be based on one approach alone.

Smart TVs may be growing their own ad-supported channels, but streaming viewers are flocking to better-entrenched AVOD and SVOD apps. Smart marketers must assemble a diverse media plan incorporating not only CTV, but third-party streaming platforms to capture enough eyeballs.

Many streaming services have struggled to keep up with the increase of their user base in terms of protection, leaving them open to attacks like credential stuffing and underscoring the need for investing in content protection.

From increased adoption of impressions-based measurement to the rapid rise of sports betting, 2021 was a winning year for local broadcast TV advertising.

Although linear TV enjoyed an initial pandemic boost, the effects weren’t long-lasting and didn’t reverse longstanding trends with which the industry must reckon.

Yesterday’s cyberattack on Cox Media Group is part of an alarming trend of such assaults on American institutions. Media companies need to be braced and ready for more to follow.