TV stations in Birmingham, Alabama, began broadcasting using the new NextGen TV format on Monday.

WTTO-TV, owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group and WSES-TV, owned by Howard Stirk Holdings, started transmitting ATSC 3.0 signals. The two stations are broadcasting programming from seven stations in the market using the extra capacity the new technology provides.

The other stations in the market, WABM-TV, WDBB-TV, WIAT, WBRC-TV and WVTM-TV will continue to broadcast using ATSC 1.0 until more viewers in the market buy TV sets that can receive ATSC 3.0 signals.

BitPath, which is developing new data broadcasting services, led the planning process and coordinated efforts across the seven television stations in Birmingham. 

NextGen TV promises a better picture, improved sound, access to more internet-based programming and additional digital services. Station groups expect those ancillary digital services to generate as much revenue as retransmission consent fees generate today.

TV stations in more than 50 markets have already begun the conversion to NextTV TV. ■

Stations in the Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville-Anderson market in South Carolina have started the transition to NextGen TV, the new digital broadcast standard.

Sinclair Broadcast Group’s WLOS-TV, Nexstar’s WSPA-TV, Gray TV’s WHNS-TV, Hearst’s WYFF-TV and Cunningham Broadcasting’s WMYA-TV are involved in shifting to the ATSC 3.0 format, which enables better picture and audio, access to internet-based programming and new digital services that are being developed.

A BIA study said that broadcasters could generate up to $15 billion in additional revenue from services enabled by NextGen TV.

Starting Thursday, WMYA is broadcasting a NextGen signal that has the capacity to carry its own programming as well as programming from the other stations in the market. All of the stations’ programming will continue to be available in the existing digital ATSC 1.0 format until more NextGen capable receivers are in the market. Those "multicasting" arrangements have prompted lobbying by multichannel distributors at the Federal Communications Commission, concerned about broadcasters having a "loophole" around spectrum aggregation safeguards. The National Association of Broadcasters has pushed back against such concerns. 

The launch follows a decade of development and months of planning coordinated by BitPath, which is developing new data broadcasting services.

NextGen broadcasts are currently available in about 45 cities. ■

Stations in Flint, Michigan, have begun the transition to NextGen TV broadcasting.

WBSF-TV, owned by Cunningham Broadcasting, converted to the ATSC 3.0 digital broadcast standard. The station will broadcast its own programming as well as the programming of four other participating stations.

The other participating stations– Allen Media Group’s WJRT-TV, Sinclair’s WSMH-TV, Gray Television’s WNEM-TV, and WEYI-TV, owned by Howard Stirk Holdings—- will continue to broadcast in the current ATSC 1.0 digital format until a critical mass of NextGen receivers are in the market.

Also: Sinclair Names Rebecka Butcher General Manager in Flint, Michigan

Similar conversions have already taken place in about 40 local U.S. markets.

NextGen TV promises a better picture and improved sound. Users will also be able to access internet based content and receive channels while mobile. NextGen TV broadcast will also enable stations to offer new digital based services.

Also: Charleston, South Carolina Stations Start Broadcasting with NextGen TV

BitPath, which is developing new data broadcasting services, led the planning process and coordinated efforts across the five television stations. ■

Five stations in Green Bay, Wisconsin, have collaborated to roll out NextGen TV in the markets.

The stations are Gray Television’s WBAY-TV, WLUK-TV and WCWF-TV, owned by Sinclair, E.W. Scripps’ WGBA-TV and WFRV-TV, owned by Nexstar Media.

Sinclair’s WCWF has converted and is broadcasting all of the participating stations’ programming over NextGen TV signal using the new ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard, which is capable of carrying multiple streams. 

All of the stations’ programming is also being broadcast in the market using the current digital TV ATSC 1.0 standard.

Also: Fox, Nexstar Stations Launch NextGen TV in Los Angeles

In addition to being able to carry more programming streams, NextGen promises better pictures and improved sound quality. Users can also receive programing on mobile devices and receive additional internet content and other services.

BitPath, which is developing new data broadcasting services, led the planning process and coordinated efforts across the five television stations.

Nexstar last year said it planned to launch ATSC.3.0 broadcasting in 22 markets in 2022.

The company pointed to studies estimating that the services enabled by NextGen technology could generate up to $15 billion in additional broadcast revenue by 2030. ■

Stations in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Wednesday began broadcasting using the new NextGen TV technology.

Greensboro is the 36th market using ATSC 3.0 or NexGen TV signals. About 34% of TV households are expected to be able to get NextGen TV signals by the end of the year and that should climb to  85% by next summer.

Also: 10 Stations Coordinate in Houston To Launch NextGen TV

NextGen TV uses the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard and provides better picture and sound quality, access to internet-based content and other digital services.

Stations participating in the NextGen TV launch are WXLV-TV and WMYV-TV owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, WGHP-TV owned by Nexstar Media and WXII-TV owned by Hearst.

The switchover required coordination so that people with older sets will continue to get programming. In Greensboro, WMYV is carrying the programming from all four stations on its new ATSC 3.0 transmission. WMYV’s main signal and its digital subchannels are being broadcast by the other stations using the current ATSC 1.0 standard. The other stations will start broadcasting using ATSC 3.0 as the number of receivers in the market increases.

The NextGen TV launch in Greensboro was coordinated by BitPath, which is developing new wireless services carried by the ATSC 3.0 signals. ■

Programming from 10 stations in Houston started being broadcast using the new NextGen TV format on Thursday.

That represents the largest number of stations that have made the switchover at one time since the industry began its conversion to the new ATSC 3.0 technology in 2020.

Houston is the 35th market with NextGen TV signals. Pearl TV, which is coordinating the switchover, expects NexGen TV to reach 34% of TV households by the end of the year and 85% by next summer.

Also: ATSC 3.0: Everything You Need to Know About the New Broadcast Standard

Because of the large number of stations involved, two of the stations are sending out NextGen signals.

The NextGen signal can carry a large number of programming streams and in most markets, one ATSC TV broadcaster is sufficient to cover a market. The other stations in the market team up to continue to broadcast ATSC 1.0 signals that can be received by older sets so that viewers don’t lose access to programming.

Two stations have been broadcasting in ATSC 3.0 in Phoenix since July, when NextGen TV expanded to 11 stations. 

As stations start broadcasting in 4K, some markets might need three stations broadcasting in ATSC 3.0, said Anne Schelle, managing director of Pearl TV, which coordinates the NextGen TV launches.

In Houston, the participating stations are owned by Fox, Nexstar media Group, Univision, ABC, Graham Media Group, Tegna, NBCUniversal and the University of Houston.

NextGen TV provides better picture and sound clarity and access to internet content. The signal will also power additional digital services, which are now in the test phase.

Also: NextGen TV Being Used To Deliver Remote Learning in Washington, D.C.

“Houston will now get the most out of live news, events, and sports programming, as NextGen TV merges over-the-air antenna TV with the internet, enhancing its information and entertainment value,” said Ralph Rendon, VP of creative services and programming for KRIV/KTXH, the Fox -owned duopoly in Houston. “Through a combined effort of investment, meeting critical deadlines, and deployment of powerful new technologies, we’re able to provide a better and more engaging audio and video experience for our viewers.”

“This launch took an extraordinary amount of collaboration among the 10 TV stations involved and is a clear demonstration of the entire industry’s commitment to NextGen TV,” added Brett Jenkins, executive VP and chief technology officer for Nexstar Media Group. “Viewers will quickly notice the brilliant video and improved audio delivered by NextGen TV. But along with these enhancements come important upgrades in broadcasters’ ability to provide new customer experiences and services, allowing us to explore new business opportunities to meet the challenges of today’s evolving digital world.” 

Schelle said the group’s holiday campaign promoting NextGen would be running in Houston. 

More new NextGen TV markets are coming, Schelle said, with Washington, D.C., on the horizon.

“We’re getting really good at moving markets,” she said. The planning for Houston started only a few months ago. “It’s a pretty robust over-the-air market. I think it will be a great NextGen market.”

The transition will speed up as more TV set makers start making lower-price models with ATSC 3.0 tuners, she said. At this point LG Electronics, Samsung and Sony make NextGen sets, with Sony offering the lowest-priced model at $549. 

Schelle expects more manufacturers to unveil mass market sets at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. 

“That’s  when we really start to scale,” she said. ■

Evoca TV, a pay TV startup that delivers a bundle of more than 60 channels over ATSC 3.0 for $9.50 a month, recently entered the Phoenix market. It says that it‘s been trying, unsuccessfully, for more than a year to license what it sees as the lynchpin for that offering, Sinclair-owned Bally Sports Arizona, the regional sports network home of MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks, the NBA's Phoenix Suns and the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes. 

”They refuse to do business with us, which is ironic coming from the company that led the development of 3.0,” said Todd Achilles, co-founder, president and CEO of Evoca TV, which also operates in Idaho and Colorado. According to Achilles, Sinclair Broadcast Group, which controls 19 Bally Sports RSNs through an entity called Diamond Sports, said it won't license Bally Sports Arizona to him because Evoca won't pay retrans fees for broadcast channels received by Evoca customers in Idaho. 

Also read: Evoca‘s LPTV 3.0 Service to Debut in Phoenix ‘Around Labor Day’

This is seems like a strange reason to kick a customer out of the store, since Evoca doesn't bundle local broadcast channels in its service. Its users merely pick up the freely available ATSC 3.0 signals from these local broadcasters with their NextGen TV antenna. Sure, Evoca provides that antenna to them. But it's not something they couldn't buy themselves at retail. 

”It‘s exactly like a smart TV,” Achilles said. “Would you make LG or Vizio pay retrans?”

According to SNL Kagan numbers cited by Achilles, 83% of Suns, Diamondbacks and Coyotes games are confined to Bally Sports Arizona RSN coverage. Evoca TV, which makes live sports a keystone element to its marketing, sees access to the RSN as pivotal to its expansion into Phoenix. 

Is Evoca an NCTC-sized pee-wee leaguer, unable to pay the Bally Sports freight, and looking to embarrass Sinclair into granting it a discount carriage deal? Doesn't appear so. In Colorado, Evoca — launched last year by privately funded Edge Networks — licenses Altitude Sports, RSN home of the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Mammoth and Colorado Rapids.

Achilles said Evoca just “wants to pay the rate card” for Bally Sports Arizona. 

So why is Sinclair telling Evoca to pound desert sand?

We went directly to Sinclair‘s top technologist, Mark Aitken, a pioneering force in the development and adoption of ATSC 3.0 several years ago. He kicked our email to Sinclair‘s PR department, which said it had no comment for us. 

This is a bummer. But it‘s also good, because it leaves the matter open to wild — or maybe not so wild? — speculation regarding Sinclair‘s motives. 

So here it is: Does Sinclair have ATSC 3.0 plans of its own for its RSNs? And does it view multicast DTC distribution via NextGen TV broadcast as fundamentally different, legally and contractually speaking, than IP-based streaming?

Also read: It‘s ‘#GameOver’ for Sinclair’s RSN Streaming Plan, Analyst Says

As has been reported on news platforms like ours recently, Sinclair announced over the summer plans to take its highly leveraged regional sports networks business out of the pay TV ecosystem and over the top.

That plan appeared to take on serious water last month, when Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred plainly stated that the league has its own DTC goals and that it has no plan to offer Sinclair the necessary digital rights to achieve its own DTC objectives anytime soon. 

With only four of the 14 MLB teams Sinclair has licensed for Bally Sports RSNs currently granting Sinclair DTC/streaming rights in their RSN contracts, Lightshed Partners analyst Richard Greenfield declared it "#GameOver" for Sinclair's proposed gambit.

“Sinclair has tried to convince investors that it can avoid a Diamond Sports bankruptcy by transforming its 14 RSNs from being locked into the legacy MVPD/vMVPD bundles to a direct-to-consumer, over-the-top streaming service … and that there is a robust sports betting opportunity for the Diamond Sports RSNs to take advantage of,” Greenfield wrote.

But maybe there is a way through ATSC 3.0?

During last week's Sinclair Q3 earnings call, Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley had the air of a media executive who seemed to know something the rest of us don't, saying, “We do think we have a critical mass in terms of rights to launch a product, and that's what we intend to do.” 

As Achilles noted, direct-to-consumer distribution of live sports via internet protocol is “incredibly expensive,” with operators having to manage hundreds of thousands —maybe millions — of simultaneous streams.

“Live sports is best over broadcast,” Achilles noted.

Four television stations in the Hartford, Connecticut, market have begun the changeover to NextGenTV, the new broadcast technology.

Viewers with NextGen TV receivers will be able to get a better picture and improved sound on Tegna’s  WCCT-TV and WTIC-TV, Meredith’s WFSB-TV and Nexstar Media Group’s WTNH-TV. 

“NextGen TV will fundamentally change the broadcast industry and make it better,” said Kurt Rao, senior vice president and chief technology officer, Tegna. “NextGen TV is a thorough upgrade to traditional television, offering 4K resolution, HDR content, and better volume and audio consistency across channels. We know Hartford viewers will appreciate the current and future news and entertainment enhancements made possible by this new technology.” 

There are now about 40 markets with stations broadcasting using the NextGen TV ATSC 3.0 format. ATSC 3.0 also delivers internet content on demand.

“Launching Hartford is another milestone in the rollout of NextGen TV in the northeast, where area residents are excited to engage with their screens and broadcast content,” said Anne Schelle, managing director of Pearl TV, a broadcaster business association managing the NextGen TV rollout. “As more features are added by broadcasters and set manufacturers, viewers will not only look to their NextGen TV television sets for entertainment, but also for deeper local and global news experiences.”

The participating stations have worked together to ensure that current programming remains available to all viewers, regardless of whether their television service is provided OTA or by a cable or satellite company. Antenna viewers can rescan their TV sets to ensure full service. 

Five TV stations in Cincinnati on Tuesday began broadcasting using the new NextGen TV format, designed to bring viewers better picture and sound along with a range of digital services.

The Cincinnati stations are WCPO, owned by E.W. Scripps, WKRC (Sinclair Broadcast Group), WLWT (Hearst Television), WXIX (Gray Television) and WSTR (Deerfield Media).

The stations have been planning and collaborating on the switch over for months. WSTR converted to ATSC 3.0, the NextGen format, and will broadcast the programming from all of the stations in the new format while the number of receivers grows. The other stations will continue to broadcast in the existing format but will switch over once a critical mass of receivers is in the market.

Viewers using antennas can rescan their TV sets to make sure their service is not interrupted.

The planning process was led by BitPath, which is developing data broadcasting services enabled by ATSC 3.0.

NextGen TV service is already on the air in more than 30 cities.

Eight TV stations in Kansas City on Tuesday started broadcasting using NextGen TV, the new digital broadcast format.

The stations are owned by Hearst TV, Meredith, the E.W. Scripps Co., Nexstar Media and Kansas City PBS.

NextGen TV, using the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard delivers a better picture and better sound to viewers. It can be received by mobile receivers and can deliver internet content that can enhance sports and other live events. Broadcasters can also use ATSC 3.0 to deliver other digital signals. 

Also Read: NextGen TV Has a Busy Summer

NextGen TV service is already on the air in more than 30 cities across the country. 

The Kansas City follows a decade of development and months of planning and preparation by the local stations. KMCI-TV, owned by The E.W. Scripps Company, and KSMO-TV, owned by the Meredith Corporation, have converted to ATSC 3.0 transmissions. The two stations will broadcast their own programming in NextGen TV format, as well as the programming of the other participating stations. All of the programming of all participating stations will continue to be available in the existing ATSC 1.0 format, which can be received on all modern television sets. 

Also Read: NextGen TV Being Used To Deliver Remote Learning in Washington, D.C.

BitPath, which is developing new data broadcasting services, led the planning process and coordinated efforts across the eight television stations.

Antenna viewers without NextGen TV sets can rescan their TV sets to ensure uninterrupted service. Rescan instructions are available at: fcc.gov/rescan. Cable and satellite subscribers do not need to take any action.

The new TV broadcast technology, known as NextGen TV or ATSC 3.0, is being used to deliver remote learning services to kids in Washington, D.C., who might not have access to traditional broadband.

SpectraRep, an education technology company, said it is working with Sinclair Broadcast Group’s tech company One Media 3.0 and its D.C. station WIAV-CD to deliver EduCast. EduCast is SpectraRep’s broadcast internet product for K-12 and college learners without broadband internet services at home.

The TV industry, including Sinclair, has been rolling out ATSC 3.0. In addition to providing viewers with better picture and sound quality and additional channels, ATSC 3.0 is able to deliver internet content and data services such as EduCast within a station’s broadcast footprint to both fixed and mobile receivers.

“When the ATSC 3.0 standard was ratified, we knew it could dramatically improve our service offerings due to its native IP architecture, increased data capacity, and better reception characteristics,” said John McCoskey, COO of SpectraRep. “Our goal was to enhance our services to operate using both ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0 transmission systems and to provide stations and end users a simple, no-cost transition from one to the other. At the station that means just configuration changes and moving a few cables.”

Also Read: NextGen TV’s Busy Summer Sets Up Fall Events

SpectraRep worked with a company called DigiCAP to create an in-home receiver that can operate using both the current ATSC 1.0 standard as well as the NextGen TV standard ATSC 3.0.

“Despite the worldwide chip shortages and manufacturing hold ups caused by the pandemic, we were able to adapt our manufacturing pipeline to meet these challenges and deliver the badly needed devices that were intricately important to the overall success of the EduCast system,” said Joonyoung Park, VP at DigiCAP.

The DigiCAP receiver connects to a TV antenna that receives the broadcast signal digital content it carries. The receiver establishes a Wi-Fi hotspot in the home that students connect to with their tablet, laptop, or smartphone. The receiver stores up to 128 gigabytes of content such as videos, presentation slides, worksheets, interactive documents, and images.

SpectraRep said that EduCast is operational and available in 12 states using ATSC 1.0. It has procured tens of thousands of in-home receivers and it hopes to expand in to more ATSC 3.0 markets.

“When the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country and students and teachers were sent home, we saw the negative impacts on remote learners without access to adequate broadband,” said Mark O'Brien, president and CTO of SpectraRep. “Issues like homework gaps and equity in education became even more acute, and we quickly realized we could help to bridge the digital divide through our technology and the enhanced advances offered by ATSC 3.0, in the same way we’ve supported public safety and law enforcement customers.”

NextGen TV became available in its largest market yet as seven stations in Seattle began transmitting using the ATSC 3.0 standard.

The stations participating in the launch are KOMO-TV, KIRO-TV, KCPQ, KING-TV, KONG, KZJO, and KUNS-TV.

Also Read: Comcast Testing NextGen Signal Over Cable in Portland

"As broadcasters, we must always consider ways to enhance our products for viewers to receive the best quality of our content. Working together with our fellow broadcasters to bring this new generation of innovative technology to viewers in the Seattle-Tacoma market delivers on that goal," said Richard Friedel, executive VP, Corporate Engineering, at Fox Television Stations, which owns KCPQ and KZJO. 

The stations worked with BitPath to plan the NextGen launch and coordinate their efforts. The coordination makes the stations’ programming available to all viewers, whether or not they have an ATSC 3.0 receiver.

“Our Emerald City has truly become the nation’s technological core. It’s only appropriate that we usher in the latest revolution in broadcast innovation to our tech-savvy audience. We are thrilled to introduce the myriad benefits of NextGenTV to Seattle, taking the television viewing experience to new heights,” said Mark Aitken, senior VP of advanced technology for Sinclair Broadcast Group, owner of KOMO-TV and KUNS-TV.

NextGen TV offers enhanced picture and sound, along with mobile reception and other digital services. It can also interact with 5G and broadband delivered content.

“The launch of NextGenTV in Seattle-Tacoma is possible thanks to the hard work of our team at KONG and collaboration by our fellow broadcasters and stakeholders,” said Kurt Rao, senior VP and chief technology officer of Tegna, owner of KING-TV and KONG. “Tegna’s KONG is proud to serve as a lighthouse station as we begin NextGen TV broadcasts in one of the largest and most technologically innovative areas of the United States. As applications of this exciting new technology continue to develop, we look forward to utilizing the full potential of NextGen TV to create a more enriching and interactive viewing experience for our audience.”

Gray Television said it powered up its first TV station using the NextGen TV ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard with the low-power WNXG in Tallahassee, Florida.

WNXG will simulcast five programming services that Gray’s full-power stations currently carry in the market, with CBS, Me/My, Circle and Ion airing in high definition and Justice in standard definition.

"We constructed this low power station with the NextGen TV transmission standard using off-the-shelf components and our own internal engineering and IT professionals in order to gain valuable first-hand knowledge about this exciting new technology,” explained Gray’s chief technology officer David Burke. “Over the coming months, we will be putting WNXG through numerous experiments to test the capabilities and versatility of the NextGen TV standard to further understand how we might implement better services for our local viewers and advertisers.” 

TV set makers have started to sell models with NextGen receivers. Gray expected to begin to transition some of its other markets to NextGen broadcasting in 2021.

“Although many people contributed to the success of this project, Gray must recognize the indispensable efforts of corporate engineers Michael Watson and Peter Gogas, WCTV engineers Chris Cantrell and Austin Pelnar, and corporate IT specialist John Jacob,” said Gray Co-CEO and president Pat LaPlatney. “We also appreciate the resources and leadership provided by WCTV/WFXU General Manager Heather Peeples, our CTO David Burke, and our senior VP Rob Folliard. What this team created with WNXG is remarkable in its own right and also creates a significant Gray Television milestone.”

With a likely Democratic FCC unlikely to start freeing broadcasters from local ownership restrictions, it is even more important for broadcasters to have the flexibility to flex their online, interactive muscles. 

If the Federal Communications Commission turns blue, as expected, the front-runners for chair are senior Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel and former acting chair Mignon Clyburn, and Rosenworcel will certainly be named acting chair in the interim. 

Both voted against the FCC’s November 2017 broadcast deregulation order, saying it was simply a gift to “empire-building” broadcasters and a thumb of the nose to the public interest and diversity. 

By contrast, the FCC Democrats have voted to support a broadcaster rollout of ATSC 3.0, the NextGen TV-branded advanced transmission standard that allows broadcast TV to be an interactive, targeted-advertising digital player, as well as provide wireless data backhaul and premium networks. 

The FCC voted unanimously in June on a proposal to help promote broadcasting as a new ancillary/competitive broadband service by making it clear that legacy broadcast regulations do not apply to broadcast-delivered internet services like over-the-top video and data made possible by the ATSC 3.0 broadcast transmission standard.

But broadcasters have faced pushback from MVPDs that have called on the FCC to mandate that broadcasters deliver a high definition version of their primary channel before using spectrum for ancillary services — like those new programming networks — and want the FCC to boost the fee broadcasters already pay for using extra digital spectrum for those services. 

Broadcasters understandably have been pushing back. The National Association of Broadcasters told the FCC last month that the agency needs to employ a light touch to those new services. “While broadcasters seeking to transition to ATSC 3.0 are taking a ‘broadcast first’ approach to the transition,” said NAB deputy general counsel Patrick McFadden, according to FCC documents, “the commission’s policies should encourage broadcasters to continue to invest in their facilities to improve their ability to offer service to the public, not stifle innovation.” 

DTS a Major Concern 

Another big issue is whether the FCC will allow broadcasters to expand their use of distributed transmission systems (DTS), which it is considering in a notice of proposed rulemaking but has yet to vote on. Broadcasters are pressing the commission to do so ASAP. 

NAB executives have pressed FCC staffers on providing certainty in terms of additional flexibility to expand their ATSC 3.0 footprints, saying that would help them finalize plans for more ATSC 3.0 deployments, like that of Tegna. The broadcast group owner just signaled it plans to roll out ATSC 3.0 on KONG Seattle next month if the FCC gives the go-ahead. Tegna is one of those broadcasters looking to expand via its own True Crime Network, a digital multicast net that is also available on Roku and Amazon Fire TV. 

Broadcasters have been squaring off at the FCC with powerful computer companies over the issue of DTS, arrays of smaller antennas that broadcasters want to deploy to expand their coverage. Computer companies led by Microsoft are opposed because that could reduce the amount of broadcast “white spaces” spectrum they use to deliver wireless broadband to rural areas. 

Taking a page from cellular buildouts, broadcasters want to be able to densify their broadcast networks with smaller transmitters distributed throughout their service areas. Tech firms argue that would be a “giveaway” that will take away from their ability to use broadcast “white spaces,” the unused spectrum between channels, for wireless broadband. 

Broadcasters also want protections for DTS signals that spill over their maximum coverage areas. They argue that viewers will benefit from better coverage at the edges of their service areas and that the spillover beyond a station’s current service area is the unavoidable result of that public-interest benefit. 

Tech firms, led by Microsoft, are pushing back. 

In meetings earlier this year with FCC staffers, Microsoft executives argued against DTS rule changes, saying that broadcasters could try to get individual waivers to extend DTS, but allowing broad expansion would create a more seamless broadcast Internet coverage footprint into an adjacent community “without commission assignment of spectrum for that purpose, as is required.” 

It argues that continuing to limit a DTS signal to “only a minimal amount beyond the station’s noise limited protected contour” could be combined with a waiver process to allow stations to reach communities just beyond their current contours. 

Microsoft executives have reiterated those arguments to Alexander Sanjenis, media adviser to FCC chairman Ajit Pai, though both broadcasters and computer companies will want to start focusing on the Democrats who will be taking control.

Sinclair Broadcast Group, Nexstar Media Group and the E.W. Scripps Co. on Tuesday began broadcasting using the new ATSC 3.0 Nextgen TV format at their stations in Las Vegas.

The new standard is designed to better mesh with internet-like technology and is expected to give viewers better pictures and sound and enable mobile reception. The stations are also working to develop new data broadcasting services.

“Today’s announcement is the realization of two decades of work, and we are proud to share this moment with Nexstar and Scripps as we usher in a new era of television with Nextgen TV,” said Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley. “With Las Vegas leading the way, select audiences will soon enjoy a more personalized and immersive experience, with better access to news and media than ever before. Looking ahead, we are eager for continued collaboration within our industry to fully realize the promise of Nextgen TV, and are excited to bring this innovation to audiences across the country, forever changing the way we use, and think of, broadcast television.”

Short-term the revenue impact will be limited until consumers buy new receivers and sets.

The new technology should help the stations better monetize its advertising inventory because of enhanced targeting capabilities, Ripley said. It also helps to protect content against piracy, he said.

The standard is capable of providing precision GPS services and efficiently send commands to internet-of-things devices, Ripley said. The biggest opportunity could come with the biggest mobile device, the automobile.

“As cars get more and more autonomous, they will demand more connectivity and data and our distribution system is ideally suited to send out large files to large geographic regions,” Ripley said. Sending 3D maps to vehicles is one application that has already been tested with automakers.

“Our successful collaboration with Sinclair and Scripps has brought Nextgen TV to Las Vegas. We look forward to cooperating with other broadcasters to roll out this new technology across the country,” said Perry Sook, CEO of Nexstar.

“Residents of Las Vegas will be among the first in the country to enjoy the immersive audio and video experience associated with this technical advancement,” said Brian Lawlor, president of Local Media for Scripps. “As we have seen in recent weeks, local television continues to play a critical role in the information and entertainment needs of families across America. Las Vegas will shortly benefit from an exciting modern viewing experience from local broadcasters.”

Ripley said that the broadcast business has commitments in hand to light up 3.0 in about 70% of the country.

“It does take some time and it took us about a year to do this Las Vegas deployment, so it's a little bit like herding cats and getting it all figured out,” he said. “This is a huge moment for us as an industry. Getting the first one's always the hardest and we have 25 cities that we are anticipating deploying in this year. So the ball is rolling as they say and it's just going to snowball from here.”