LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. & DALLAS, Texas—GAIAN Solutions and ARK Multicasting have created a joint venture that plans to set up the nation's largest Broadcast Internet Network and to swiftly launch the service in over 30% of the country using NextGen TV spectrum. 

The two companies said that they have committed to an aggressive roll-out and that the joint venture aims to initially extend its network to all 300 television stations currently served by ARK.

"We are shopping for partners in other markets, as the potential for growth and reach is tremendous, and the opportunity for all television broadcasters who partner is unmatched by existing models" said Joshua Weiss, CEO of ARK.

Leveraging valuable NextGenTV spectrum, the joint venture promises to launch a plethora of applications, including citizen safety, IoT management, Smart City Services, Digital Signage and Interactive applications. 

The network is initially launching dozens of these applications in 10 markets and plans to rapidly expand to cater to the needs of cities and communities across the country, the companies said. 

"In the explosive and rapidly changing world of AI-based digital solutions, the Mobius platform brings light-speed capabilities to envision, engineer and launch applications leveraging the NextGenTV network," said Chandra Kotaru of GAIAN, which has developed Mobius, a Low Code AI-enabled Digital Transformation as a Service (DTaaS) platform to quickly create digital experiences. "You think of an app, we deliver the app. On-Demand IT is the future, and we are proud to bring such bleeding-edge technology to the NextGenTV industry."

ARK Multicasting has been developing services using NextGen TV/ATSC 3.0  relieve congestion for Internet Service Providers and provide datacasting services for many verticals, including distance learning, the connected car market, smart agriculture, telehealth, and over the top video streaming providers. ARK’s footprint of around 300 broadcast outlets covers one third of the U.S., reaching around 100 million people, the company said. 

For further information, please visit www.gaiansolutions.com and www.arkmulticasting.com. 

Transportation, education and maybe a few public-sector projects — but relatively scant video ventures — are emerging as the first marketplace realities for NextGen TV. Although the barrage of supply-side promises from the usual gang of ATSC 3.0 supporters persisted during April’s NAB Show in Las Vegas, actual demand-side implementations are still largely dreams of the future.

Nonetheless, the convention’s parade of announcements and progress reports indicated the array of NextGen TV promises is starting to materialize. In particular:

• Sinclair Broadcast Group plans to field-test video and data features at electric vehicle charging stations in Florida (in collaboration with USSI Global);
• BitPath is introducing its NavPath venture for “precision positioning” and plans to roll out services in Portland, Oregon, and Las Vegas;  
• Gaian Solutions is adding 3.0 interactive education features on Curious Crew, a kids  show on PBS station WKAR East Lansing, Michigan.

Moreover, NextGen TV cheerleaders in Las Vegas were ecstatic about a new deal with MediaTek, the semiconductor maker known for its systems-on-a-chip (SoC) technology, which will work with the Pearl TV consortium on a “FastTrack to NextGen TV” project. The goal is to accelerate TV set makers’ production of NextGen TV receivers and related devices, including mobile receivers. 

Throughout NAB Show, Pearl and other NextGen TV promoters made note of the growing sales of ATSC 3.0-equipped TV sets, which are expected to account for 2% of total U.S. TV sales (4.5 million units) this year, according to the Consumer Technology Association’s latest forecast. CTA predicts sales of such sets to rise to 10% next year and reach an “inflection point” (19% or 15.7 million units) in 2024. 

The MediaTek commitment “raises the prospects for NextGen TV adoption in more mainstream TVs since so many TV makers use SoC chipsets from MediaTek,” researcher Paul Gagnon, VP at NPD Group and an industry adviser on consumer technology, said. 

And there were “next generation” follow-on promises in Las Vegas, such as a watermarking pact between LG Electronics and Verance, to enable personalized interactive features in NextGen TV receivers. Separately, Evoca TV, the independent ATSC 3.0 broadcast pioneer, revealed successful tests of a cross-polarization technology that could double the capacity of internet protocol data delivery from a TV channel. 

Overall, the NextGen TV presence at NAB Show — which included a
larger-than-ever exhibit area — demonstrated a modicum of progress during the pandemic years. Sales reports from ATSC 3.0 set-makers (still only Sony, LG Electronics and Samsung, with Hisense planning to start production soon) total barely 4 million units to date. Purchasers of high-end TV sets (the ones with NextGen receivers) probably don’t know that 3.0 is built into the devices since there is almost no way to see any programs, Gagnon told B+C Multichannel News. 

Revving Up Datacasting
Sinclair Broadcast Group president and CEO Chris Ripley revealed details of a datacasting field trial, transmitting ATSC 3.0 data and video to electric-vehicle charging stations in 28 markets in collaboration with USSI Global, a Florida company that manages network, media, broadcast and digital signage ventures. The project will begin with two charging stations in West Palm Beach, Florida. Resembling existing “gas station TV” pumps at many self-service stations, the USSI Global/Sinclair project will deliver “curated, targeted, unique” programming via the ATSC 3.0 IP data feed from the local TV station. Sinclair owns CBS affiliate WPEC West Palm Beach, Florida. 

Gaian Solutions, a Silicon Valley developer of content delivery products for ATSC 3.0 and other platforms, revealed its pilot education project at WKAR, the Michigan State University-owned public TV station. The project uses Gaian’s Mobius Experience Loop for an interactive Curious Crew show, intended to develop interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) topics among K-12 students. 

Ashwini Kotaru, Gaian’s business operations manager, said part of the project involves use of a real-time artificial intelligence system. “The show’s creative and planning team use the analytics data to plan future show topics, formats and further improve engagements,” Kotaru told B+C Multichannel News.

BitPath president and CEO John Hane said “precision positioning” is an important opportunity for ATSC 3.0 data services, among the “large number of projects we’re analyzing that may turn into viable businesses.” BitPath is the operating name of Spectrum Co, LLC, which is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group and Nexstar Media Group.

At NAB Show, BitPath unveiled its BitPoint and NavPath applications, which it calls “game-changing” position, navigation and timing (PNT) services. They will provide applications to support traffic management, accident control, package delivery and ride-sharing. BitPath plans to launch NavPath in several markets this year with expansion next year to its entire footprint.

Hane cited forecasts that the compound annual growth rate of the PNT sector will surpass 22% for the coming decade, compared to 9% for streaming services. He said BitPath has already begun working with system integrators to develop and enhance features in the “robust marketplace” for navigation, positioning and other services that can use the broadcast spectrum with a “significantly enhanced value.”    

BitPath’s first NavPath rollouts will be in Portland and Las Vegas,  while it continues to launch ATSC 3.0 in more locations during the rest of this year. 

Evoca TV, the Idaho-based hybrid OTA/Internet TV service,  revealed that it has just successfully demonstrated the first-ever cross-polarization functionality of the ATSC 3.0 standard. Evoca CEO Todd Achilles said the MIMO (Multiple Input and Multiple Output) feature could double the amount of data that 3.0 signal can convey. The Evoca system, using both horizontally-polarized and vertically-polarized transmission and reception, was successfully tested on its flagship channel in Boise just before
NAB Show. 

For its part, Pearl TV said it had launched Run3TV, a web platform based on the A/344 Interactive Content broadcast standard that enables stations to offer hybrid TV services, including interactive and on-demand features, to over-the-air viewers. Pearl TV did not reveal specific markets that will deploy Run3TV technology.

Promise and Perspective
Another indicator of the growing interest in 3.0 is the number of hopeful vendors who are hopping aboard the hype machine. For example Verance, known for its content measurement and enhancement technologies including digital watermarking, announced a deal with LG Electronics to put its ATSC 3.0 “Aspect” watermark firmware into LG NextGen TV receivers. 

The watermark technology will enable the 3.0 receiver to offer interactive capabilities, including customized and personalized features such as sports interactivity (hometown announcers and watch parties). Verance CEO Nil Shah said the technology enables the information required for two-way services in a connected smart TV set to pass through any distribution environment, including over HDMI links and through existing distribution equipment and set-top boxes. He said “LG’s embrace of the Verance Aspect watermark will serve as a driving market force.”

Consultant Myra Moore, president of Digital Tech Consulting Inc. in Dallas, said optimism for the NextGen TV transition is widespread, but “getting there is a long process.”

“Broadcasters are setting up the infrastructure,” she said, pointing out that stations recently went through the spectrum repack, which often required building a new antenna. She also points out that as a result of the repack, broadcasters — which compete for business — now recognize they are sharing spectrum, which may generate more appetite by the broadcast licensees to collaborate on new ventures.

She cited Evoca’s subscription NextGen TV projects as an illustration that “someone with good imagination” can demonstrate “there is more than one way to use this standard.”    

“There are so many moving parts that haven’t happened before,” Moore said, calling 3.0 “a tool that can do a lot more” than broadcasters have previously been able to offer. She cited data service and other non-traditional offerings that are forcing the industry to find resources so that they can build and offer new services. 

The Broadband View
Coincidentally, the monthly virtual meeting of the Media Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank, was held on the Tuesday of the NAB Show week (historically, the group — with its core of broadcasting executives and lobbyists  ­— would have avoided such a scheduling conflict). 

Perhaps, less coincidentally, the speaker was Michael Powell, president and CEO of NCTA–The Internet & Television Association. In response to a question from B+C Multichannel News about the cable industry’s view of NextGen TV, Powell warned the broadcasters’ “ambitious” data objectives “come with risks” that may “pose burdens on other industries and consumers.” ️

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif.—Gaian Solutions unveiled its Mobius Marketplace NextGen TV monetization platform, an AI-based ATSC 3.0 spectrum planning tool intended to enable broadcasters and spectrum owners to earn scalable, sustainable revenue, at the 2022 NAB Show.

Winner of a 2022 NAB Show Product of the Year Award, Mobius Marketplace provides broadcasters with software Platform as a Service (PaaS) on ramps to deploy and commercialize NextGen TV. The platform offers seven services, including the spectrum planning tool, the company said.

The platform views 3.0 broadcasts as a programmatic data pipe due to the inherent ability of the standard to enable broadcasters to slice and dice the physical pipe into multiple smaller pipes, each with its own modulation and coding (mod-cod) setting. The ability to tear down a pipe and start a new one with different settings is also becoming a near real-time operation, ensuring that a 3.0 network is essentially a software-defined communications network, it said.

Although these capabilities are available, broadcasters have found it difficult to attract new services and applications to broadcast spectrum, largely because they have lacked an easy way to plan and design spectrum coverage at various mod-cod settings. Many demand-side customers with applications for 3.0 spectrum are not seasoned broadcast technologists and do not fully understand the benefits and tradeoffs of various broadcast mod-cod settings, Gaian said.

The Mobius Spectrum Planning Tool addresses the problem with a three-layered solution, including:

• Spectrum discovery via an open portal to understand coverage areas at various broadcast and mod-cod settings. Broadcasters can use the tool to plot real-time contour maps at various settings and understand the impact of coverage areas, accounting for terrain and propagation variable.
• Spectrum farming: Meeting the requirements of those from outside the broadcast industry who which to power their service with 3.0 delivery, the platform enables an easy-to-use method for discovery and usage. Some possible spectrum farmers might be those wishing to stream HD Radio and IoT datacasters.
• Spectrum harvesting based on AI tech to optimize yield by ensuring PLP level abstraction across participating broadcasters, enabling solutions and services using broadcast spectrum across large geographical regions by merging complementary subpipes with similar mod-cod settings across broadcast spectrum in near real time.

More information is available on the company’s website. 

EAST LANSING, Mich. – WKAR Public Media at Michigan State University and Gaian Solutions, Inc., have launched the Apollo PublicTV Platform, a NextGen TV accelerator platform for public broadcasters.

Apollo PublicTV Platform offers broadcasters a suite of services including NextGen TV master classes, ATSC 3.0 receiver and transmitter starter kits, access to NextGen TV broadcast chains, and the capability to conduct lab and field trials. Apollo PublicTV Platform also offers a certification program for technology providers, plus business consulting services for organizations interested in identifying and launching specific market-by-market NextGen TV opportunities.

This new platform offers NextGen TV services through tools that apply artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in a fully cloud-based, virtualized environment to enable the convergence of broadcast and digital workflows.

[See also NEXTGEN TV Innovation Lab Running at Michigan State's WKAR]

Through Apollo PublicTV Platform, public broadcasters can now offer rich content experiences in education, alerting, health information, community fundraising, and other domains, according to Susi Elkins, general manager at WKAR Public Media.

“Putting the tools of the Apollo PublicTV Platform in the hands of public broadcasters means that local communities can begin to benefit right now from the promise of NextGen TV,” Elkins said. “Barriers to moving forward immediately include a lack of significant investment and the absence of a clear migration path to NextGen TV. The Apollo PublicTV Platform partnership we’re announcing today is a marketplace collaboration designed to address those barriers. Apollo PublicTV Platform will help stations manage the convergence of operations now, to be well positioned for the future.”

Apollo PublicTV Platform tools include data analytics, app designer tools, AI agents, Software Development Kits (SDKs) and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for rapid service curation, an ATSC 3.0 receiver application stack, and the necessary business applications to manage carrier-grade content services.

“The coming NextGen TV economy will ensure overall growth of the broadcast industry and its long overdue integration with the digital transformation ecosystem,” said Chandra Kotaru, CEO and founder of Gaian Solutions. “Public broadcasters are in a unique position to leverage NextGen TV opportunities. Apollo PublicTV Platform was designed to accelerate this phenomenon.”

“The Apollo PublicTV Platform instantly opens up new opportunities and better experiences through cutting edge technology, open APIs, and toolkits,” said Prabu David, dean of the College of Communication Arts and Sciences at MSU. “Gaian Solutions has been instrumental in conceptualizing, designing, developing, and operating the Apollo PublicTV Platform with WKAR at MSU. We are very hopeful this will put public broadcasters at the forefront of leading innovation in the NextGen TV space.”

“America’s Public Television Stations see great potential in the Apollo PublicTV Platform developed by Gaian in cooperation with Susi Elkins and her team at WKAR-TV,” said Patrick Butler, president and CEO. “We look forward to working with them and with the public station community to make Apollo PublicTV Platform an accelerator of ATSC 3.0 adoption and of all the new service and revenue opportunities the NextGen broadcast standard holds in store for public television.”

Butler continued, “APTS intends to play an active role in familiarizing stations with the Apollo PublicTV Platform and ensuring that every station understands the transformative promise of ATSC 3.0 and the ability of Apollo PublicTV Platform to help make that promise come true for stations of every size.”

WKAR at Michigan State University, Gaian Solutions, and APTS invite all content and spectrum based entrepreneurs, digital transformation agencies, broadcasters, and technology vendors to collaborate on Apollo PublicTV Platform, the new open platform for NextGen TV. 

For a comprehensive source of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see ourATSC3 silo.

SOUTHWICK, Mass.—Transmitter manufacturer and RF specialist Hitachi Kokusai Electric Comark and Gaian Solutions, a developer of dynamic content delivery products and solutions for the TV ecosystem, have signed a deal appointing Comark as an authorized reseller, integrator and service provider of Gaian’s software and cloud-based solutions for NEXTGEN TV, Comark said.

The deal, announced Oct. 14, calls for Comark to focus its Gaian-related efforts on the North American broadcast television market.

“We can easily provide, integrate and deploy NEXTGEN TV headend stacks to broadcast customers,” said Tim Hosmer, director of Comark Digital Services. “Gaian’s cloud suite in conjunction with a NEXTGEN TV headend stack allows broadcasters to start exploring the benefits of A/344’s dynamic interactive content and datacasting opportunities.”

Comark, which relaunched last year as Comark Digital Services (CDS) to help broadcasters transition from ATSC 1.0 to 3.0, operates a full laboratory to test equipment, integrate it and demonstrate solutions to customers using best-of-breed technology.

The agreement calls for CDS to offer Gaian’s GaiaTV3.0/Edgeplex Starter Suite for lab and field testing of NEXTGEN TV deployments and test receivers. The suite offers tools to test dynamic ad insertion, broadcast/receiver app generation, OTA signage/digital kiosks, lower-third ads as a service and automotive apps for maps, traffic and weather. The turnkey offering includes app templates and training for use with any 3.0 transmitter.

“The market is at a place where solutions that point broadcasters to revenues and new business models is the need of the hour,” said Ashwini Koppisetti, head of marketing at Gaian. “The Gaian platform addresses precisely this problem. The Gaian platform is not just a technology solution but a business and go-to-market solution with mature and proven business models featuring NEXTGEN TV solutions for broadcasters.”

For a comprehensive source of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see ourATSC3 silo.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.—An NAB organized ATSC 3.0 interop held at the News Press & Gazette stations in Santa Barbara, Calif., June 24-27 proved to be a success for Gaian Solutions and other tech providers, broadcast equipment vendors, CE manufacturers and systems integrators in assessing various aspects of Next Gen TV, including different PLP setups, 4K video delivery, AC4 audio performance, interactivity, Advance Emergency Alerting and ad insertion, the company said.

Gaian Solutions specializes in AI- and Machine Learning-based content monetization in two-sided markets across different vertical niches in the media industry. Based on the interop, the company has announced its SaaS 3.0 offering is ready for business.

During the interop, which took place at KCOY, KEYT and KKFX in Santa Barbara, the company successfully tested one of its many broadcaster apps on televisions from three leading set manufacturers.

Built to the A344 ATSC 3.0 standard, the app allows for viewers to understand traffic conditions on the road. The broadcaster app delivers live traffic updates as well as live drone footage spotlighting a traffic situation via the Application Media Player. Viewers can interact with the app to learn more details as they switch from linear content via the Receiver Media Player, the company said.

In May at the ATSC Next Gen TV Conference in Washington, D.C., Gaian Solutions made a more extensive public showing of its 3.0 products as part of its Mobius platform. Those included:

• Dynamic, client-side ad insertion for a 3.0 service;
• a 3.0 in-vehicle experience enabled by a non-video car dash receiver app supporting various use cases, such as weather alerts, contextual advertising and broadcaster alliance formation to deliver seamless coverage along a particular route;
• datacasting highlighting the non-real-time data transfer capabilities on ATSC 3.0;
• ATSC 3.0 system manager supporting programmatic control of the broadcaster chain, geo-identification of a service area and zones and other features; and
• weather bulletins as a broadcast app.

More information is available on the Gaian Solutions website.

For a comprehensive source of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see ourATSC3 silo.

ALEXANDRIA, Va.—Four technology companies have joined the Advanced Warning and Response Network (AWARN) Alliance, including two major Japanese tech firms, AWARN announced today.

New members include T-NET Japan, an engineering company developing technology for use worldwide; Internet Initiative Japan, a global provider of network services, value-added outsourcing services, cloud computing, WAN services and systems integration services; Unisoft, which offers ATSC 3.0 delivery systems; and Gaian Solutions, which specializes in operating AI- and ML-based content monetization.

“Our new members bring years of experience in advanced television, as well as the integration of over-the-air television and the internet,” said John Lawson, executive director of the AWARN Alliance. “Our new Japanese members also bring firsthand knowledge of the Japanese emergency warning system, the most sophisticated in the world. The expertise that all of these companies bring in developing the full potential of Next Gen TV is a major asset in achieving our goals.”

The AWARN membership announcement comes on the heels of Fox Television Stations’ decision last month to join the alliance, becoming the first major broadcast network to enlist.

“We see great potential for ATSC 3.0 interoperability with the world’s other key technical standards, such as W3C, 3GPP and Hybridcast,” said Yoshi Tsurimaki, producer, business development at T-NET Japan.

The AWARN Alliance has expanded its mission from a focus exclusively on the use of 3.0’s Advanced Emergency Alerting to enable broadcasters and emergency managers to warn the public of imminent danger to a broader use of AEA to help TV broadcasters better serve the public with emergency-related information.

To that end, the alliance also will launch roundtable discussions with TV news thought leaders over the next few months aimed at developing a voluntary framework for packaging a TV station’s news assets and using 3.0 to engage viewers across multiple devices, it said.