Capitol Broadcasting Rolling Out ATSC 3.0

In Raleigh, N.C., Capitol Broadcasting Co.’s WRAL (NBC) and WRAZ (Fox), in partnership with its WARZ-CD there, began broadcasting NextGen TV (ATSC 3.0) on Dec. 15.

Additionally, the University of North Carolina’s PBS member station WUNC is also set to launch NextGen TV, pending FCC regulatory approvals, over the next few weeks.

With today’s announcement, Raleigh area participating NextGen TV Stations include: WRAL (NBC), WRAZ (Fox), WUNC (PBS), WARZ (ind.), WTVD (ABC), WNCN (CBS), WUVC (Univision), WLFL (CW), and WRDC (MNT.)

Capitol Broadcasting President-COO Jimmy Goodmon sees the launch as a true investment in the future of TV technology: “TV is the greatest wireless technology you forgot about — NextGen TV is the next step in the evolution of free over-the-air television with new benefits like mobile broadcasting, personalization for viewers, advancements in rich, interactive media plus a much improved emergency alert system. It’s next level.”

WRAL and CBC are well-known within the TV industry as innovators in media technology, often credited as “first to air” with new or emerging technologies. WRAL was the first television station in North Carolina with a news helicopter, the first in North Carolina with a satellite truck, the first in North Carolina with a website and aired the first commercial high-definition television broadcast in the United States.

The company’s director of engineering and operations, Pete Sockett, explained the CBC commitment to innovation, “I love being a part of a company that has always been out in front, and this transition is no different. The fact that WRAL was open to partnering with WARZ-CD, a Class-A, low power station, is wonderful. It will let us cover our metro quite well for linear programming delivery, but leaves us with bandwidth to start developing other viewer experiences such as delivering advanced emergency information, viewer specific content, and other opportunities via a Broadcaster App. It is, yet again, a great time to be in this industry!”

On the Raleigh/Durham launch, Madeleine Noland, ATSC President, said: “I’d like to congratulate all the broadcasters in Raleigh for this achievement. ATSC 3.0 is a powerful, evolvable platform. Innovative, community-minded broadcasters like CBC and UNC-TV now have a flexible foundation to deliver amazing new experiences to viewers. With ATSC 3.0, television just gets better and better.”