Evoca TV, the low-power TV service delivering broadcast ATSC 3.0 and broadband streaming content, will debut in Phoenix by early September, giving that market multiple NextGen TV options. Phoenix has been the site of Pearl TVs model market, in which 10 local stations (including all major network affiliates) have been running 3.0 services since 2018. 

Evoca will transmit on channels 19 and 28, where it now has construction permits to send its ATSC 1.0 signals, said Todd Achilles, president/chief executive officer of Edge Networks Inc., which operates Evoca TV. He told B+C that he expects to get FCC approval to move to 3.0 operations "in a couple weeks" and launch Evoca's NextGen TV lineup promptly thereafter.

"We've got the only 24/7 4K [ultra high definition TV] channel in the U.S. now," Achilles said.

Customers will pay $9.50 per month under the "founders program," which will include a proprietary Scout set-top box plus an over-the-air antenna to access Evoca's streaming programming. The initial Scout STBs, also used in Evoca's LPTV service in Boise, Idaho, were developed in-house "because we didn't have a choice," Achilles said, but he added that Evoca "will announce a hardware deal with the 'big guys' around Labor Day."

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Evoca's broadband package in Phoenix will include content from the Unmudl project, a career advancement adult education program offered at several junior colleges, including Phoenix's Gateway Community College.

As in its Boise market, Evoca will distribute its Scout STB receiver, which can decode the company's encrypted ATSC 3.0 content as well as pick up existing ATSC 1.0 signals. Free over-the-air broadcasts will be passed through to the viewers' TV sets, both ATSC 1.0 and new 3.0 receivers.

The Evoca venture (a named derived to spur the idea of "evocative," Achilles explained) will operate independently from the much-publicized Phoenix model market transmissions, which have been transitioning from long-term test-bed into commercial service under the aegis of Pearl TV.

Achilles, a former Hewlett-Packard and T-Mobile executive, repeatedly cites the ability of LPTV to create a new role in NextGen TV as a hybrid of broadcast and wireless broadband delivery. Evoca's promotional material describes the opportunity to snatch service away from "the evil overlords" (that is, legacy cable/satellite companies).  

Evoca said it has "other LPTV markets in the funnel," but Achilles declined to identify future 3.0 targets.

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'Biggest Need Is in Pay TV Space'

He also pointed out that Evoca transmits datacasts to its STB.

"We push video files and other data to the boxes," he said. "There's so much interesting stuff to do with 3.0. We think the biggest need is in the pay TV space. We are the only ones doing a conditional-access pay TV system and putting broadcast and broadband together."

Achilles positions Evoca TV as "an alternative to traditional cable and satellite services" using the broadband connection. He plans to develop other local services in addition to offering wireless access to streaming video channels, although the company has not yet announced specifics about "something different" (as Achilles calls it) for the Phoenix service.

One of the local-oriented content services available in Boise is a Basque-language channel, intended to serve the sizeable local population of Basque heritage. In that case, Evoca brings in programming from Euskal Irrati Telebista (EiTB), a media company in Basque Country, a region that straddles the border between France and Spain. For that service, Ubiquity delivers a satellite feed via Denver into Evoca’s headend, where it is wrapped into a 3.0 package, Achilles said.    

Although Evoca has not specified its Phoenix streaming content package yet, its Boise service may offer some hints about its plans.

"We've tried to tailor our bundle around local content," Achilles said, citing regional sports networks. "We've got the only RSN for the Pacific Northwest." He plans to offer extreme sports, motor sports and other channels seeking to reach the audiences in Evoca markets. "Our 3.0 bundle of channels [includes] some that are available free over-the-air such as 'Field Trip' channel … plus integrated VOD apps such as RedBull."

Evoca's streaming options include NFL Network and an outdoors channel in addition to Newsy, Bloomberg, Acorn TV and Curiosity Stream. Customers can buy or rent VOD movies through Vudu.

"We're working hard [to] bring more local content,” Achilles said. "We can contribute to the communities in a new and different way." He cited the Unmudl education plan with Gateway Community College. Achilles said that the "goal with Evoca Path is to help adults understand the future work, see themselves in a different future, and connect them to the next step on their educational and career journey.” 

He calls Unmudl "an important partner for Evoca Path," with its growing network of community colleges and employers. Since Unmudl has local programs in several cities, Evoca plans to curate content that best suits the Phoenix community. Achilles hints that future Evoca plans may also develop in markets where an Unmudl partner college "overlaps with our broadcast abilities."

Idaho-based virtual pay TV startup Evoca last week quietly announced that it will expand its service to Phoenix, Arizona. 

No deployment date has been announced, but the company says it’s targeting an August/September timeline. 

Evoca delivers the bulk of its live- and VOD programming over ATSC 3.0, requiring only a small amount of internet bandwidth for things like metadata. The service, which offers more than 60 channels for $50 a month, has been in beta mode in Boise, Idaho since August of last year, expanding its test to nearby Twin Falls, Idaho in March. 

Venturing into Phoenix will pit it against incumbent cable operator Cox Communications. 

Evoca quietly slipped the news about Phoenix into a joint announcement with adult-learning company Unmudi about a new educational channel that’s coming to the Evoca service. The new channel, called Path, will feature programming designed to connect audience members to job and skills training. 

With Arizona a prime swing state on Election Day, stations in the capital enjoyed enormous political spending. It put an emphatic exclamation point on a year made dismal by the pandemic. 

“The market went nuts,” Andrew Deschapelles, president and general manager of KTAZ, said. “Arizona became very much a battleground state.”

Fox owns KSAZ and MyNetworkTV station KUTP. Scripps has ABC affiliate KNXV and CW affiliate KASW. Meredith has CBS-aligned KPHO and independent KTVK. Tegna owns NBC affiliate KPNX. Univision has KTVW-KFPH and Telemundo holds KTAZ. 

Cox Communications is Phoenix’s primary pay TV operator. 

DMA No. 11 added 279,000 TV households from 2020 to 2021, according to Nielsen. Stations are increasing their news output. KSAZ does 12 hours of news per weekday and KUTP simulcasts OTT product NewsNow from Fox 10 a.m. to noon weekdays. NewsNow is “very raw and unfiltered,” said VP/news director Doug Bannard.

KNXV has made KASW a news destination.  

KTAZ does 11 a.m., 4-5:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. news weekdays, with Deschapelles citing NBCUniversal’s ownership as key. “That investment was really substantial,” he said, mentioning how the news department spiked from three people to 30 over the course of a year. 

KTVW has 11:30 a.m., 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. news, and Joe Donnarumma, president and general manager, is thinking about mornings. “It’s always in discussion,” he said. 

In November, KSAZ and KTVK tied in 6 a.m. households, and KSAZ took the 25-54 title. At 5-5:30 p.m., KNXV had the top household score, followed by KSAZ and KPNX. (KPNX and KNXV have network news at 5:30.) KTVW topped KSAZ in the 25-54 race at 5. KNXV had the top local household score at 6 p.m., while KSAZ won 25-54. 

The 10 p.m. household race saw KNXV at 2.5, KPNX at 1.9, KSAZ and KPHO at 1.8,  KTVW at 1.6, KTVK at 1.2 and KTAZ at 0.7. In 25-54, KTVW did a 1.3 and KSAZ a 0.9. KPNX got a 0.8, KTAZ a 0.7, KNXV a 0.6, KPHO a 0.4 and KTVK a 0.3. 

KSAZ thrives on an average anchor tenure of 18 years at the station. “We’ve carved out our niche as the big-story station,” Bannard said.

The Phoenix market has adopted ATSC 3.0. The Big Four stations share a helicopter.

Stations are figuring out how remote working will work when the pandemic ends. Anita Helt, VP and general manager at KNXV-KASW, mentioned how reporters like the more “efficient” morning editorial meetings now, which get them out the door faster. Staffers miss serendipitous meetings that spark ideas, she said, but Helt is pleased to see how quickly staffers adapted. “If anyone asked a year ago, could you do that, I would’ve thought they were dreaming,” she said. 

KSAZ will test The Mediator with Ice-T starting March 1. “We like to pride ourselves as a viable test market,” said Mark Rodman, senior VP and general manager. “If it gets any traction we’ll roll it out nationally.”

KTVW-KFPH is hosting the virtual small business event Possible April 6-8. “It’s informational but also inspirational,” said Donnarumma. 

Tourism is down, but real estate is booming. “We are cautiously optimistic that, once the vaccine is widely distributed, things will turn around,” said Rodman. 

Local content is a dynamic business in Phoenix. “The news cycle just does not stop,” said Helt. “What we do as news organizations is more important than ever.”

Broadcasters in Phoenix have deployed their second NextGen TV service to the Phoenix Model Market.

KASW-TV, the Scripps-owned CW affiliate, announced the deployment this week. The station announced last fall that it was building a transmission facility that included a single frequency network (aka Distributed Transmission System) for the Phoenix Model Market, a testbed operated by a consortium of broadcasters and equipment vendors testing ATSC 3.0. 

The station becomes the second TV transmission source in the nation’s 11th largest TV market.  Phoenix now has two ATSC 3.0 transmission towers whose licenses are approved by the FCC, programming legal agreements are in place and the facilities are on-air. The station will host KSAZ-TV (Fox) as part of the initial launch.

“The addition of a second transmission facility provides a robust test platform with the power of two transmitters for signal testing by consumer receiver and transmission equipment manufacturers. The Phoenix Model Market continues to lead the industry in the development of the essential next-gen TV service as well as the testing of new automotive services,” said Anne Schelle, managing director of Pearl TV, which is coordinating the Phoenix Model Market.

“Scripps is pleased to partner with the stations in the Phoenix market to continue to advance next-generation TV service offerings for our viewers and advertisers,” said Brian Lawlor, president of Local Media for Scripps. “Our focus is on delivering local content that informs and entertains our audiences, and these technological advancements will move the entire industry forward.”

"This second station in Phoenix shows the keen interest in the broadcast community to explore the exciting growth and capabilities of NextGen TV. The Phoenix Model Market participants will make use of this second station to expand our business development efforts,” said Richard Friedel, executive vice president of Engineering for Fox Television Stations.

Viewers in Phoenix watching on conventional digital TV sets will easily find their familiar channels after the launch of the KASW-TV next-gen TV broadcasts. After rescanning, all of the current programming carried on KASW-TV remains on the familiar channel locations thanks to sharing arrangements with other broadcasters in the Phoenix market.

More than 60 U.S. markets have been targeted as the first areas where next-gen TV service will launch, with the ATSC now tracking market deployments of the new broadcasts. Once service is launched in those markets, next-gen TV powered by ATSC 3.0 will reach more than three-quarters of the nation’s population. 

This story was originally published by Next TV sibling publication TV Technology.