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. ■

Locast said that it has surpassed 2.3 million registered users for its nonprofit streaming service that provides local broadcast channels to consumers. 

The service, which operates on voluntary donations of $5 and above from its users, also announced expansion into Madison, Wisconsin, ahead of Saturday’s big NFL playoff matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams, which will be broadcast by FOX. 

The expansion opens Locast up to 650,000 additional homes. 

Locast delivers more than 30 local TV channels in the Madison designated market area (DMA), including WISC-TV CBS News 3, WMTV NBC 15, WKOW ABC Ch. 27, WMSN FOX Ch. 47, PBS Wisconsin and PBS Kids as well as CourtTV, AntennaTV, The CW, Bounce, Movies!, LAFF, Mystery, Grit, ION, CometTV, True Crime, Charge! and Azteca America.

Locast is accessible to viewers in 11 counties in the Madison DMA including Columbia, Dane, Grant, Green, Iowa, Juneau, Lafayette, Marquette, Richland, Rock, and Sauk.

Also Read: Locast: Everything You Need to Know About the Streaming Platform Some Are Calling ‘Aereo 2’

Asked about the overall Locast business model, a company rep said only a small portion of registered users are donating at this point. However, donations have been robust enough to allow the service, founded by attorney and consumer advocate David Goodfriend and his Sports Fans Coalition, to keep expanding to its 26th market. 

“I was born and raised in Madison and graduated from Madison West High School and Beloit College,” said Goodfriend, in a statement. “I volunteered at the local NBC and PBS affiliates as a teenager. So launching Locast in my hometown means a lot to me personally.”

Goodfriend has declared Locast’s business model of streaming the broadcast feeds of local stations to consumers legal under the Copyright Act of 1976. He was unavailable Friday to update Next TV on the state of Locast’s ongoing legal battle with the major broadcasters. 

TBS’s Kentucky-Notre Dame NCAA college basketball tournament game telecast Saturday night drew a network record 14.7 million total viewers, the network announced Sunday.

The game, which saw Kentucky keep its undefeated season alive with a narrow win over the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame to reach the tournament’s Final Four round, peaked at 19.7 million viewers between 10:45 p.m. and 11 p.m. (ET), according to Nielsen.  

The game also stands as the most watched college basketball ever on cable television, according to the network.

Coverage of last night’s games – TBS' Kentucky/Notre Dame and Wisconsin/Arizona telecasts – delivered the highest average viewership and rating for the Saturday Regional Finals in 10 years (since 2005), averaging 11.7 million viewers, up 34% from 2014, and a 6.8/13 rating/share, up 33% from last year, according to network officials.    

Overall, the CBS/Turner Sports coverage of the 2015 ‘March Madness’ tournament is delivering its highest average viewership in 22 years, averaging 9 million total viewers through last night’s telecasts, based on Nielsen Fast national audience data.