Pearl, CE Makers Keep Up Push Toward 3.0

Two dozen broadcasters and consumer electronics makers rallied today at TVNewsCheck’s TV2020 conference in New York to pledge their support for the continued development of the new ATSC 3.0 broadcasting standard.

“It’s important for us to make a statement,” said Anne Schelle, executive director of Pearl TV, a consortium of Hearst, Tegna and other leading station groups that has been working together on 3.0 and that served as chief organizer of the event.

Among the companies represented at the event: NBC, Fox, Univision, Tegna, Meredith, Cox, Nexstar, LG Electronics, SpectrumCo, Sony and Samsung.

SpectrumCo is a joint venture of Nexstar and Sinclair that is exploring using 3.0 and excess spectrum for datacasting, a service ancillary to broadcasting.

Conspicuous by their absence were ABC and CBS, which have so far failed to be drawn into the drive for 3.0.

The goal is to introduce services of some kind in some markets by 2020, said Schelle who briefed reporters before the event. Staging a rally with major stakeholders from broadcasting and consumer electronics moves 3.0 toward that goal, she said.

The initial services have yet to be determined, but will probably include 4K HDR UltraHD and immersive audio, enhancement that a Magid consumer survey this summer said would be appealing to viewers.

Development work on 3.0 began earlier this year in Phoenix under the aegis of Pearl.

In a show of cooperation, Univision cleared one of its two stations, Class A KFPH, of all programming so that it could be used for experimental 3.0 broadcasts. That made KFPH the market’s so-called lighthouse station.

The three channels of programming (UniMas, Get and Escape) that had been on KFPH were shifted to other cooperating stations in the market owned by Tegna, Scripps and the other Univision station so that the programming could continue to be broadcast on subchannels with the current ATSC 1.0 standard.

In that way, service to KPPH viewers with 1.0 sets, the only kind there are now, experienced no interruption of service other than having to rescan their sets.

The transition from 1.0 to 3.0 is complicated by the standards’ incompatibility. Programming broadcast in 3.0 cannot be received on 1.0 sets. However, the new generation of 3.0 sets will be able to receive 1.0 as well as 3.0 signals.

“What we learned in Phoenix gave us confidence that we could get together as a group and say: ‘OK, let’s start working together [in other markets] across the U.S.’ ”

Next steps include focus groups to gauge consumer interest in various kinds of 3.0 services, said Schelle. The groups will represent different kinds of viewers — Spanish-only speakers, millennials, Gen Xers, sports enthusiasts, cord-cutters and cord-nevers, she said.

The process will allow the 3.0 proponents to rapidly evaluate many different iterations of service, Schelle added.

The focus group research will be tested by another consumer survey by Magid.

Schelle said that the plan is to use Phoenix as a model for establishing 3.0 services in other markets, but which markets will be next “have not yet been determined.”

At the event, Pearl distributed statements from some of the participants voicing support for 3.0.

Fox Television Stations CEO Jack Abernethy: “One big challenge was whether the big owners of valuable spectrum could work together, commit resources and stick to the game plan. Done, done and done.”

NBC Owned Television Stations President Valari Staab: “ATSC 3.0 is something that as an industry we have to do. The new standard will transform the way we deliver content to our audiences — including viewers who are consuming information in multiple languages and screens. ATSC 3.0 will also help us to better connect advertisers with the audiences they want to reach on any platform.

Univision CEO Vince Sadusky: “As one of the largest TV spectrum holders in the U.S., we are eager to bring an enhanced audio and video experience to our audience, as well as new services and capabilities to our advertising partners.”

Tegna CEO Dave Lougee:  ATSC 3.0 offers “new ways for local broadcasters to tell stories, interact with viewers, make an impact in our communities and innovate across screens and devices.

“The new standard will allow for clear, ultra HD signals, personalized advertising and the potential for exciting new adjacencies such as smart city infrastructure and connected vehicles.”

Nexstar Media CEO Perry Sook (respresenting SpectrumCo):  SpectrumCo and Pearl TV consortium members are aligned in our commitment to the voluntary scaled adoption of the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard across the U.S.

“Advancing the ATSC 3.0 standard is critical to facilitating future innovation in the local broadcast television industry. With more than 350 SpectrumCo stations participating and additional new members in the pipeline, SpectrumCo broadcasters will add immense scale and depth to the collaborative industry wide rollout of ATSC 3.0.

“With this new technology broadcasters will be able to bring consumers more localized programming content and a host of other innovative NextGen TV services, while creating new revenue opportunities for our respective businesses in growing areas of the digital economy.”

Read all of TVNewsCheck’s TV 2020 coverage here.