ATSC 3.0 has hit a sludgy stretch of path toward its end goal of broad U.S. adoption and providing new content services. It will take many hands — a potential FCC task force, station group cooperation and an elongated pipeline for receivers included — to get the standard’s implementation flying again.
NAB’s Top Tech Sees 3.0 OK Coming Soon
The trade group’s CTO Sam Matheny explains what needs to happen before the next-gen standard gets the green light from the FCC and said he expects it all to happen by 2017-18.
Next-Gen TV Tops New NAB Tech’s Agenda
Sam Matheny, the association’s new EVP and chief technology officer, says he’s trying to identify the major trends and threats so broadcasters can stay competitive. Among items on his plate: working with ATSC and broadcasters on the development of a next-generation TV that has to be robust enough — and flexible enough — to serve the needs of any broadcast business plan.
The Capitol Broadcasting veteran, new media pioneer and digital innovation strategist is joining the broadcast trade group on July 16. Said NAB CEO Gordon Smith: “Sam’s roots are in broadcast localism and service to the community, but he is also a technology strategist determined to push broadcasters to embrace digital and Internet opportunities that generate revenue.”
Next-Gen Transition Demanding Answers
Sam Matheny, Capitol Broadcasting’s VP of policy and innovation, has several “big buckets” of issues that he says need to be studied and resolved before a successful ATSC 3.0 transition can take place. Among them are determining the impact of the transition on the audience, the possibility for interference, the duration of the transition, the availability of spectrum and the impact of the transition on direct-to-home satellite, cable TV and telco TV partners.
A panel session in Washington on Wednesday night broke down the ways broadcasters can make money off mobile DTV services, including TV Everywhere and subscription-based models. “We built a system and service that is compatible with multiple business models,” says Salil Davi, co-GM of Dyle.
Exclusives
WRAL Doc Makes Heavy Use Of Social Media
Capitol Broadcasting’s CBS affiliate in Raleigh, N.C., will air a documentary on the business of big time college sports tonight that will make every effort to engage viewers through social media (dedicated web pages, Facebook and Twitter) and old social media (talk radio).“Our idea is that this makes the program more compelling, encourages a conversation that we really feel needs to be had and appeals to a bigger audience,” says Capitol’s Sam Matheny.
