LAS VEGAS—The Phoenix Model Market Initiatives, a collaborative, single-market effort for the planning and implementation of NextGen TV technology, has a new compatriot in video software provider Synamedia.

Synamedia announced during CES 2020 that it has entered into a partnership with Pearl TV, which is helping to lead the Phoenix Model Market.

The basic goals of the Phoenix Model Market is to confirm TV service parameters and performance, determine consumer appeal of next-generation HDR video and immersive audio content, assess TV application features and implementation requirements, test interactive and addressable advertising functionality, determine consumer device and service appeal and ensure effective and efficient interoperability with MVPD systems.

As part of the effort now, Synamedia will provide encoding expertise and services. It will also build future ATSC 3.0 applications based on market needs.

“Synamedia has more than 30 years of industry experience delivering true end-to-end solutions, inclusive of and beyond encoding and transmission,” said Dave Longaker, senior vice president and general manager of the Americas at Synamedia. “Not only does this make our portfolio unique, it also highlights the vast expertise and support our team can bring to game-changing initiatives like the Phoenix Model Market.”

Synamedia will demonstrate its ATSC 3.0 systems at CSE 2020.

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

LAS VEGAS—ATSC 3.0, aka NextGen TV, is expected to be rolled out to the top 40 U.S. markets in 2020. The new TV standard will offer a number of new features and technologies that are getting a good many consumers excited for it to become available in their market.

Magid, a consumer-centered business strategy company, conducted a study of consumer interests toward NextGen TV in October 2019 that revealed a “strong appeal for NextGen TV among consumers, particularly early adopters and millennials,” according to Bill Hague, executive vice president, Media Strategy Group, Magid. Specifically, 42% of respondents said they would likely purchase a new TV if it was needed to better enjoy the NextGen TV features.

Some of those features that stuck out to consumers included consistent audio, offering normalized audio levels across programs; 4K HDR video; immersive audio; and multiple audio tracks, which can include specific feeds for sports broadcasts (or none at all), different languages or dialogue options.

Those 42% of consumers whose next TV purchase may be based on NextGen TV are learning what some of their options might be at CES 2020, which has seen LG Electronics, Sony and Samsung reveal new TV models that are NextGen TV-compatible, part of a plan to launch a total of 20 such models in 2020. This has garnered the praise of broadcasters from the Phoenix Model Market, a group focused on the transition to NextGen TV.

“Throughout the year and into 2021, more and more programming will become available in 4K Ultra HD with High Dynamic Range and with immersive audio to provide consumers with an amazing new experience,” said Anne Schelle, Pearl TV managing director, which is coordinating NextGen TV development with the Phoenix Model Market. “This is not an easy or immediate transition. There are myriad of rights issues, collaboration opportunities, channel sharing agreements and many other details that broadcasters are now working hard to execute. The final piece, of course, is the availability of consumer receivers—which is why the announcements this week at CES are so vitally important.”

The Phoenix Model Market, along with Pearl TV, has its own presence at CES 2020, highlighting consumer research findings of their own and an application framework for use by broadcasters and receiver manufacturers at the ATSC booth (11329, Central Hall). Pearl TV’s Schelle is also slated to give a presentation with representatives from ATSC, NAB and two TV manufacturers called “What NextGen TV Means for Tech,” on Jan. 9 at the Venetian Resort (Marcello 4406, Level 4).

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

PHOENIX—DS Broadcast has announced that it recently conducted an over-the-air broadcast of High Frame Rate 120 Hz video, working with the Phoenix Model Market project to do so. The company says the video was encoded by its BGE9300 encoder, received by its BGD4100 integrated receiver decoder, transmitted via a NEXTGEN TV transmitter from the Phoenix Model Market and displayed on UHDTV screens in the Phoenix area.

Typical TV video is transmitted at 30 frames per second, which DS Broadcast says can create a blur for high-motion activity like sports or scenes of waterfalls and ocean surf. NEXTGEN TV is expected to deliver 60 frames per second, but Dave Folsom, consulting engineer for the Phoenix Model Market project, says that 120 Hz is the “holy grail” for sports fans.

“This combination creates an exceptionally immersive experience, even with 2K video sources,” Folsom said. “It’s even more impressive than 4K video to the average viewer. And the combination of High Frame Rate with High Dynamic Range is also very efficient for broadcasters, consuming little additional bandwidth.”

DS Broadcast is touting its BGE9300 for such purposes, highlighting its features that include ATSC 3.0 or MPEG-2 TS multiplex, HEVC Main/Main10 encoding at multiple frame rates (100/120/119.88), as well as support for HDR, wide color gamut, IEEE 1588v2 PTP synchronization and Dolby AC-4. The system has inputs that include SDI or SMPTE ST 2110 with embedded 16x audio channels and is designed to fit into a 1U 19-inch equipment rack.

DS Broadcast showcased the BGE9300 at the recent NAB Show New York conference.

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

NEW YORK—The Phoenix Model Market, the collaborative effort between local broadcasters and Pearl TV to test the development of the NEXTGEN TV standard, has announced that it intends to launch a second transmission facility later this year that will power a single frequency network. The new transmission site is still awaiting approval on a transmission license from the FCC.

The new NEXTGEN TV facility will be built by E.W. Scripps with KASW Television serving as the host station and other local stations, like Scripps-owned KNXV Television, providing assistance, per Brian Lawlor, president of local media for E.W. Scripps.

“The KASW TV facility will provide one node (of a total of four total transmission locations) that will cover the Phoenix market with a very robust over-the-air signal using a single frequency network,” said Dave Folsom, Pearl TV lead technical engineer. “This new technology provides a means by which NEXTGEN TV can be transmitted on the same frequency at different locations throughout a local coverage area, thus increasing the signal strength to the viewer.”

More information on the new transmission site will be available during the NAB Show New York, taking place from Oct. 16-17.

Other NEXTGEN TV related technology that will be demonstrated during the NAB conference will include a public showing of a common “application framework,” with prototype TV receivers demonstrating how user experience will look on various brands of consumer NEXTGEN TV sets. The framework is meant to give broadcasters the ability to differentiate the viewing experience with their own branding and interactive features; the initial launch will feature an interactive menu for viewing live over-the-air TV, weather updates and locally generated video on-demand functionality. Pearl TV will demonstrate the application framework at the ATSC booth, N1055, on the NAB Show New York exhibit floor.

In addition, a nearly 100-page “Host Station Manual” that was created by engineers who have been working in the Phoenix Model Market is now available for free download on either www.PhoenixNextGenTV.com or www.PearlTV.com. The manual is designed to help the NEXTGEN TV host stations that will launch in top 40 markets across the country.

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

WASHINGTON—The future of Next Gen TV could be imperiled by a lack of standards for MVPDs, lack of backward compatibility and the fact that the potential services offered by ATSC 3.0 are already available via IP—or a combination of all three.

These warnings were issued by several executives from Charter Communications, the nation’s third largest cable operator, which met with FCC officials late last month. The FCC has adopted rules that require those broadcasters moving to ATSC 3.0 to simulcast an ATSC 1.0 signal for at least the next five years.

Although broadcasters are just beginning to roll out ATSC 3.0 services, there has been no standard developed to make such signals compatible with current cable equipment, Charter told the FCC.

“The absence of such standards could delay the ATSC 3.0 transition by years for consumers who do not get their broadcast signals over the air,” Charter said in an ex parte letter to the FCC, adding that according to a recent NAB report, “ATSC 3.0 has over 40,000 possible configurations.”

Charter also complained that despite the benefits viewers could see from ATSC 3.0, “broadcasters have yet to define which among those possible uses of the new standard they are interested in pursuing,” adding that many of the benefits of ATSC 3.0 are already available via IP, “which could limit demand for ATSC 3.0 consumer equipment.”

Charter also told the FCC that the ATSC 1.0 signals in the Phoenix Model Market test site are different from the ATSC 1.0 signals delivered by fiber and provided charts for illustration. “Because these signals don’t match, there is currently no back-up for ATSC 1.0 that can be utilized by MVPDs,” the cable operator said.

The following is a response from Madeleine Noland, president of ATSC, posted Aug. 10:

“ATSC respects Charter’s role as a leading MPVD, and we look forward to working with them to address their concerns, many of which are unfounded. Our ATSC 3 MPVD work continues apace, especially within the ATSC S37 specialist group. S37 was formed in 2015 and Charter has been welcomed as a guest member for the past three years. 

We wish to reassure Charter and the Commission that the ATSC S37 specialist group is actively communicating with SCTE to forge a path forward for cable customers to enjoy key Next Gen TV features. We also wish to extend our thanks to broadcast leaders who are working closely with their MVPD partners as they prepare to launch ATSC 3 services.”

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

PHOENIX—The collaborative effort among broadcasters to test Next Gen TV transmission in Phoenix will soon be expanding its purview, announcing the creation of a second station with a signal that will utilize a Single Frequency Network. NAB will assist with the planning and design of the new station, which will specifically explore the benefits of SFN.

SFN transmissions are meant to allow broadcasters to improve signal power and reach while offering signals that can be viewed in a moving vehicle or made more robust for reception inside buildings. Multiple transmitters throughout the market are used for an SFN to improve signal levels, it is also expected to fill in areas in the Phoenix market that have been hard to reach with over-the-air signals. SFN is enabled with the ATSC 3.0 broadcasting standard being tested in Phoenix.

As part of that test, the Phoenix Model Market has had a Next Gen TV station operating for the past year, owned by Univision and carrying six separate Next Gen TV broadcast streams over-the-air to Pearl TV member stations, NBC Universal, Fox TV stations and Univision to test many ATSC 3.0 features and capabilities.

With the addition of the SFN-enabled station, the Phoenix Model Market will have multiple testing facilities, opening the door for additional testing.

The SFN tower site is being provided by American Tower, with ATSC 3.0 broadcasts enacted by Comark and GatesAir SFN transmitters, according to Anne Schelle, managing director of Pearl TV. Pearl and other Phoenix Model Market broadcasters will build out the new SFN system.

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

DENVER, Colo.—As certain stations across the country continue to experiment with the ATSC 3.0 standard, Pearl TV and the Phoenix Model Market is now utilizing the ATEME Titan software system in its testing of the next gen standard, per a press release from ATEME.

With the Titan software, Pearl TV is testing multi-channel HEVC encoding for ATSC 3.0, including for features like UHD, HDR video, immersive audio, digital rights management, emergency alerting, Scalable High Efficiency Video Coding and digital ad insertion.

ATEME software is server agnostic and can run on private/public and on/off-premises cloud infrastructure with the same benefits and value proposition.

Walid El Hamri, vice president of solutions and business development for ATEME, says that the company is supporting several ATSC 3.0 field trials.

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

WASHINGTON, D.C.—A new survey from Pearl TV shows that consumers are most interested in the enhanced picture and audio quality that Next Gen TV (aka ATSC 3.0) will bring to broadcast television.

Pearl TV is a consortium of station groups and manufacturers testing ATSC 3.0 in Phoenix. The Phoenix Model Market is not only testing the technology but also working with industry research firm Magid to analyze consumer interest in the standard, which combines traditional over the air broadcasting with IP. The two have released numerous surveys over the past several years, all pointing to enthusiastic support when consumers learn about the capabilities of ATSC 3.0.

[Read: Magid Survey: Viewers 'Like' ATSC 3.0 Features]

This most recent research was the result of consumer lab testing Magid recently conducted in conjunction with the Phoenix Model Market project partners and the Pearl TV broadcast business group. In lab testing, viewers said that the ATSC 3.0 capabilities could make them start watching broadcast programming (even if they don’t currently do so). Some broadcast viewers also said an ATSC 3.0-enabled device could make them want to watch broadcast TV even more than they currently watch.

“Consumers find most value in the combination of features. The combination of Enhanced Video – 4K video with High Dynamic Range – and Immersive 3D Audio have the broadest appeal,” noted Pearl TV Managing Director Anne Schelle.

“The consumer sentiment that we heard and felt most during the lab testing was excitement about ATSC 3.0 capabilities and a high overall level of interest in engaging with those capabilities and services through their local broadcasters,” said Bill Hague, Executive Vice President, Magid.

Overall, 91 percent of consumers say they are either “interested” or “very interested” in using a service like Next-Gen ATSC 3.0, with enhanced audio features, including immersive 3D and dialogue customization features having the broadest appeal.

80 percent of consumers say they are either “interested” or “very interested” in purchasing an ATSC 3.0 television or add-on device.

Pearl conducted 12 consumer labs and 6 focus groups in late October 2018. Each lab consisted of 7-9 men and women 18-54 who spend at least five hours a week watching television. A total of 95 participated in the labs and 38 in the focus groups. 

For a comprehensive list of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, visit our ATSC3 silo.

PHOENIX—The Phoenix Model Market Station, a collaboration of the Pearl Group’s members, several local stations in Phoenix, and broadcast networks, is making great progress in the development and testing of ATSC 3.0 with the help and participation of many in the industry.

The focus of the Model Station is on testing new business models and developing end-to-end systems as well as workflows required for broadcasters to take full advantage of the new ATSC 3.0’s added capabilities. The Model Station also provides an “open test bed” where ecosystem providers can work together in a practical setting to ensure their systems interoperate, which is a key aspect of preparing for commercialization of ATSC 3.0 in the USA.

MORE THAN JUST AN ANALYZER

Given the Project’s goals and the work process that involves so many participants as well as early ATSC 3.0 equipment, it was critical that we have robust test tools that support the ATSC 3.0 standard. To do this, we purchased the portable version of Triveni Digital’s StreamScope XM MT ATSC 3.0 stream analyzer. More than a comprehensive ATSC 3.0 analyzer, the system supports analysis and validation across the wide range of ATSC 3.0 standards, from the RF layers to the upper-level data structures, in a visual and intuitive way.

The XM MT supports ROUTE/MMTP decoding, advanced RF measurement, multiple PLPs, video rendering, intuitive data structure analysis and visualization features. The product can support multiple simultaneous inputs, and is designed to support the analysis needed at key system demarcation points in the transmission infrastructure. Those include ROUTE/MMTP, STLTP, and RF. While the ATSC 3.0 standard evolves and matures, Triveni Digital will provide future feature updates, including a rules-based monitoring capability.

We have used the StreamScope XM MT throughout the project, and it’s been instrumental in resolving key issues. After the initial broadcast chain was set up, it helped us debug downstream STLTP issues, for example. Since XM MT functions as an ATSC 3.0 receiver, when initial receivers were not available, the product helped us verify the service. At our recent plugfest and ATSC 3.0 technology conference, the XM MT helped validate pairwise integrations and track down any potential issues. A key aspect of the product is its support for work group analysis, with the full user interface available for multiple simultaneous remote users.

LAPTOP VERSION COMING SOON

At this stage of industry development, a robust, reliable and extensible analyzer is critical. There will be a continuing need for this technology throughout the life span of ATSC 3.0. While we purchased this product in a portable form, it is also available in rack mount packaging, and we understand Triveni Digital plans to make laptop versions available in the future. StreamScope XM MT is a featured analyzer that fulfills an essential role in getting and keeping ATSC 3.0 infrastructures running. Triveni Digital has indicated that a less-featured product, built on their comprehensive analysis engine, is also being developed.

We have found that Stream- Scope XM MT’s intuitive user interface, and comprehensive feature set enables users to quickly detect, isolate, and resolve issues. While inevitably different from the user interface in Triveni Digital’s StreamScope MT MPEG stream analyzer for ATSC 1.0, we have been happy to see that Triveni Digital has designed a user interface that makes a complex standard approachable. We also believe it would also be an excellent learning vehicle for engineers who need to get a hands-on and deep understanding of the ATSC 3.0 system and technology.

Dave Folsom is a consultant to the Pearl TV Group and the former CTO for Raycom Media. He can be reached atdave.folsom@pearltv.com.

For more information, visitwww.trivenidigital.comor call 609-936-3411.

For comprehensive coverage on ATSC 3.0, visit TV Technology's ATSC3 silo.

With any anniversary, it's tempting to gaze reflectively in the rear-view mirror and remember how far we've come. But on this first anniversary of the adoption of the ATSC 3.0 standard as voluntary upgrade to America's digital TV transmission system, the Advanced Television System Committee has its eyes fixed on the road ahead.

A flurry of recent announcements underscores that the FCC had it right when they permitted broadcasters to innovate and develop a companion service that could bring together broadcast TV with broadband content.

More than six years in the making, Next Gen TV powered by ATSC 3.0 is the result of a collaborative effort of hundreds of talented individuals and innovative companies from around the world.

Deployments of ATSC 3.0 are underway.

South Korea initiated the ATSC 3.0 broadcast TV service with a focus on the benefits of Ultra HDTV in time for the Winter Olympics. The TV networks in Seoul have been broadcasting for over a year and a half, with stunning results.

Here in the United States, broadcasters in Texas, Arizona, North Carolina, Illinois, Oregon, and Maryland are now "on the air" with ATSC 3.0. The first public TV broadcaster—WKAR-TV at Michigan State University in East Lansing—is transmitting ATSC 3.0, and a small market station in Santa Barbara, Calif. is also investing to show how Next Gen TV can provide more targeted emergency alerts.

In Brazil, ATSC 3.0 experimental broadcasts of World Cup Soccer showed unique Broadcast-Broadband interactive applications like choosing camera angles, while watching the matches in stunning 4K UHD resolution.

And in India, development of a chip optimized for ATSC 3.0 mobile devices is under development as discussions continue about the convergence of broadcast & broadband technologies.

The Road Ahead is one marked by mileposts. As the saying goes, this is a journey, not a destination. In fact, I don’t think there really is a "end of the road." That's why I think we'll be seeing ATSC 3.1, 3.2 and so on—and eventually ATSC 4.0 on a future roadmap.

That also points to a reality for broadcasting. Innovation needs to be a constant development. Because deployment of the standard by broadcasters—and by consumer electronics companies—is voluntary, that doesn't mean we can let up on the gas pedal. Advancements in technology won't just stop because broadcasters are going too slow. No, just the opposite—innovation will blow by us in the fast lane.

Complementing our ongoing standards work and evangelism are ATSC Implementation Teams for Conformance, Advanced Emergency Alerting, and Interactivity & Personalization. A new ATSC Planning Team is looking at future advanced codecs and other future video technologies like 8K, and we’re launching another Planning Team on automotive applications.

Development of technical standards is a team sport. And we are fortunate at the ATSC to have so many experts in the broadcasting and related industries working together to pave the way on the Road Ahead. 

Mark Richer is the president of the Advanced Television Systems Committee.

For comprehensive coverage on ATSC 3.0, visit TV Technology's ATSC3 silo.

WASHINGTON—A year after the FCC gave U.S. broadcasters the green light to deploy ATSC 3.0, stations are ramping up their efforts to make the Next Gen TV standard a reality by 2020. Last month’s announcement of support from prominent station groups illustrated how far efforts have come in the past 12 months.

At NAB Show New York, executives from Fox Television Stations; NBC and Telemundo Owned Stations Group; Univision; TEGNA, Inc. (for Pearl TV), and Nexstar Media Group (for SpectrumCo) announced a collaborative effort to support the introduction and roll out of ATSC 3.0. There has been a growing consensus that 2020 will represent the wide rollout of the new TV standard, with the expectation of ATSC 3.0-enabled products to hit the market in time for the holiday season (see sidebar).

Station group executives touted the endorsement as an illustration--absent a government mandate--of how the broadcast industry can come together on deploying the standard in light of competition from telcos.

“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," said Jack Abernethy, CEO at Fox Television Stations.

Valari Staab, president, NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations said broadcasters have to make the commitment. “ATSC 3.0 is something that as an industry we have to do,” she said. “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.

PEARL PROGRESSES

With last fall’s launch of the Phoenix Model Market project, designed to conduct tests to demonstrate the viability of the ATSC 3.0 ecosystem, Pearl TV, the consortium of stations involved in the lab, announced last month the addition of seven broadcasters across 10 stations in the Phoenix area, bringing the total of participating stations to 12. In addition to technical tests, Pearl TV is collecting data on how consumers interact with ATSC 3.0, as well as their preferences. Last month, it released the results of a new survey that indicated that 42 percent of those interested in ATSC 3.0 say they anticipate buying a new TV to enable and enjoy Next-Gen TV services.

Among those services are the demand for enhanced media and entertainment in the expected rollout of autonomous vehicles in the years ahead. In anticipation of that opportunity, Pearl TV also announced last month an alliance with Avis to begin testing various use cases for TV-delivered signals to passenger cars early next year.

“There are great use cases for automotive, and they are an interesting company,” said Anne Schelle, Pearl TV managing director. “They are one of the largest fleet owners of cars and certainly positioning themselves for the future of connected cars and the shared car environment.”

A TRANSFORMATION FOR THE INDUSTRY

As the next-generation broadcast TV standard, ATSC 3.0 will support several advancements including mobile viewing, 4K Ultra High Definition, high dynamic range, high frame rate, and wide color gamut picture quality, as well as immersive audio and perhaps most importantly for broadcasters’ bottom line—targeted advertising. It was designed to greatly enhance over-the-air services for viewers while bringing together broadcast and broadband functionality to give audiences more content and choice.

"ATSC 3.0 will be able bring together OTT and live linear programming together in a way not possible before," said Schelle. "This is an interesting time as there are many elements that are new to broadcasters and we have to figure out how to commercialize these in an economic and efficient way. Fortunately South Korea, which has already deployed ATSC 3.0, has been a great case study but there are many elements that will be quite different for the U.S. market."

As a new broadcast standard, ATSC 3.0 will require new hardware at both the broadcaster and consumer levels. This is why the first step will be deployment in test markets where early adopters can experience the new format, and it is easy to see why this is already being compared to the transition from analog to digital TV–but experts point out that this time it is quite different.

Some would even suggest that this isn't another "transition" at all but that in fact, the move to ATSC 3.0 could be far more transformational for broadcasters.

"We need to try to stay away from even calling it a transition," said Mark A. Aitken, vice president of advanced technology at the Sinclair Broadcast Group, which has been conducting extensive tests on the use of single frequency networks for ATSC 3.0 in Dallas. "Everything that is wrapped around this next generation standard is far more transformational. It is data agonistic IP utility and broadcasters have every opportunity to become a different kind of wireless provider rather than continuing to remain just broadcasters."

With the recent announcements from the various media groups it is also clear that this transformation process to ATSC 3.0 has already begun, but it is still very much in its earliest stages.

"We've already seen a pretty dramatic change with the momentum since it was given the go ahead by the FCC a year ago," said Marc Hand, CEO and co-founder of Public Media, a non-profit advocacy group for public broadcasting. Public Media helped Michigan State University station WKAR launch ATSC 3.0 testing in August—the first public TV station in the U.S. to do so. "We have already gone from an abstract to an early transition within a few markets. We still have much more active testing to do to get us there."

BABY STEPS

Given that this is so early in the process, there are those who would argue against the idea that this is so transformational after all, but also add that it isn't even at the transition stage.

"That is putting the cart before the horse," said Evan Fieldman, head of digital strategy at Weigel Broadcasting Co., which launched its own ATSC 3.0 facility on UHF Channel 23 in Chicago in September. "I would caution as we don't want to get ahead of ourselves. We are not moving to a transformation period, but really entering the evaluation period at this point as we're testing in a major urban market. Before we can consider the business models, we need to evaluate the benefits of 3.0."

Fieldman added that Weigel's affiliates will be watching this early test period very closely.

"If the evaluation period is a success than we can move to the transition stage, but there are many factors that are still beyond our control," Fieldman noted. "The other factor is that the transition to digital was mandatory, yet this is not, and that wasn't a walk in the park for anyone. Right now there is a lot that needs to be addressed and we need to see what is behind door number three before we enter."

At this stage there are still other significant hurdles that will need to be cleared as well, including whether ATSC 3.0 is determined to be the only game in town for bringing OTA and OTT together.

"One obstacle is really the adoption and support it is able to get, as there are other companies that are creating apps and other online solutions that are standalone and could compete with ATSC 3.0," said Renard T. Jenkins, vice president of PBS operations, engineering and distribution. "There will be those questions such as 'why make this move to ATSC 3.0 if I can do this in an app?' This is something we're going to have to figure out and even hedge our bets."

Such thinking could result in a hybrid of traditional broadcast technologies being used side-by-side with new delivery options.

"One thing to understand is that in a software environment you can change the code, but the service itself can't be disrupted during an update," added Jenkins. "So at least in the beginning we expect broadcasters will operate as a software developer while still using the traditional hardware."

For those reasons perhaps now is really an evaluation period in a great transformation of the future of TV.

"We have a long way to go," said Schelle. "We're seeing 2018 and 2019 as the development years, with 2020 and beyond being the launch years."

IP: THE GOOD AND THE BAD

Broadcasters are already going through a transformation with the convergence of OTA and OTT, as well as the role of video over IP, and ATSC 3.0 could play a significant part of it–but that won't come without its own challenges.

"This is about all the things that are sent over the internet, but also everything that comes with it," said Schelle. "That means all the good things such as delivery to a multitude of devices, but also the concerns such as hacking and other security issues. We have to protect the system, but we have to worry about the TV sets and other devices and even how the publishers will be safe from piracy as we make this change."

It is just one aspect of broadcasters transforming into tech companies and operating as such.

"Absolutely that line is simply blurred," said Kyle Walker, vice president of technology at Weigel Broadcasting. "We have been having this conversation for the past 15 years and today's broadcast engineer has to have a strong IT mindset to address the business models of today. Broadcasters and the IT group operate now under the same mindset."

ATSC 3.0 will play a crucial role in this transformation at all levels for broadcasters.

"This IP-based platform will change how departments work in stations, and that promises to be more of a fundamental change that wasn't nearly as impactful in the digital transition," said Public Media's Hand. "This could include how stations utilize data analysis, which was in its own silo. Now we're going to see this playing a greater role. It is just one of the whole range of services that can be more effective, but there are all sorts of things that could play out on the consumer side and the business-to-business side."

Perhaps this will transform the traditional broadcast into something entirely new as well, such as a wireless operator or utility. What is clear is that ATSC 3.0 is just part of a future that could be very different for the broadcast world.

"ATSC 3.0 opens the door to distribute content on many platforms and not just video and audio," said Aitken. "This can include data content and you can rattle off a list of what could now be sent out from PDFs to high resolution maps and so much more."

However, Aitken warned that not everyone in the broadcast industry is completely sold on the benefits of ATSC 3.0 at this point. "You won't find this universally embraced by those comrades I dubbed 'televisioners,' who are too focused on a single product and are not looking for the transformational future,” he said. “But the consolidation within the broadcast universe is gaining speed and we have to accept the future beyond TV as an over-the-air medium. Broadcasting is now sitting in the middle of the broadband universe."

Sidebar

Consumer Electronics and ATSC 3.0: Is the Support There?

Any transition or transformation in the world of broadcast will face a "chicken and egg" scenario—stations may not be eager to support ATSC 3.0 until viewers are capable of actually receiving the content with new consumer electronics products; while potential viewers won't purchase the next generation of devices until content is available.

Three of the world’s largest manufacturers of TV sets--LG and Samsung of S. Korea and Sony of Japan--have long been involved in the development of the Next Gen TV standard and all three companies chimed in with station groups in the announcement of their support for ATSC 3.0 last month. Sony announced that it will supply TVs, demodulators and application development tools while also collaborating with broadcasters and other industry players in testing both technical solutions and service models. LG, in particular, is actively marketing the standard in its home country.

"We're not starting from a clean slate this time," said John Taylor, spokesperson for LG Electronics USA Inc. "Dual tuners are already being sold in South Korea."

Yet, 2019 shouldn't be considered the launch year, as broadcasters and CE makers will have to build the ecosystem, and until there is a critical mass of stations supporting ATSC 3.0 there will only be a limited number of products on the market.

For comprehensive coverage on ATSC 3.0, visit TV Technology's ATSC3 silo.

NEW YORK–At NAB Show New York this week, executives from Fox Television Stations; NBC and Telemundo Owned Stations Group; Univision; TEGNA, Inc. (for Pearl TV), and Nexstar Media Group (for SpectrumCo) announced their collaborative effort and support for the introduction of ATSC 3.0 (aka Next Gen TV).

The new standard, which was approved by the FCC a year ago, combines broadcast with IP and will introduce a far more robust and flexible UHD video service designed to compete against the increasing penetration of OTT-streaming services; however, the standard is not backward-compatible with current TV sets. The announcement this week is designed to confirm stations’ commitment to collaborating on launching ATSC 3.0 in anticipation of the market introduction of ATSC 3.0-enabled sets in 2020.

It doesn’t mean every station in these groups will be deploying the standard, but instead will collaborate with each other to provide a large enough national footprint so that a majority of American consumers will be able to receive some form of ATSC 3.0 service by the time sets appear in stores by the end of 2020. Anne Schelle, director of the Pearl TV Group--which is testing the standard via the Phoenix Model Market pilot project--said the lab provides a good example of this type of collaboration, where multiple stations are using a Univision stick to transmit test signals, while maintaining the legacy ATSC 1.0 signal, referred to as the “lighthouse” approach.

“I think the Phoenix test is a great example of how stations are collaborating on a market to market basis,” she said. “In Phoenix, we’re working of a Univision stick and we are looking to enable a second stick in the market and that allows us to start to introduce these basic services across the country.”

As far as financial commitments, Schelle said it’s too early to tell, but that “the cost to upgrade to an ATSC 3.0 lighthouse is fairly small compared to the existing infrastructure that’s already in place,” she said. But “none of the companies are prepared to provide that level of detail at this point.”

This new effort is not exclusive and will include other broadcasters with interests in next-gen TV services, including both other commercial and public TV broadcasters.

CONSUMER ELECTRONICS COMPANIES ALSO COMMITTED

In addition to the station groups, consumer electronics giants LG, Samsung and Sony also expressed their commitment to the standard. All three companies have been involved in the development of the standard.

“LG looks forward to working with these and other broadcasters and stakeholders in the Next Gen TV ecosystem to help bring the benefits of ATSC 3.0 to American consumers,” said Dr. Jong Kim, senior vice president in the office of the CTO at LG Electronics as well as president of Zenith Electronics, LG’s U.S. R&D subsidiary contributing to Next Gen TV standards.

Building on its support of the Phoenix Model Market pilot project, LG plans to provide receiver technology and expertise to support various markets from coast to coast launching Next Gen TV, Dr. Kim explained. LG already has launched 4K Ultra HD TVs with ATSC 3.0 receiver chips in South Korea.

Sony Electronics will supply televisions, demodulators and application development tools for ATSC 3.0 and is collaborating with broadcasters and other industry players in testing both technical solutions and service models. Current collaborations include the Phoenix Model Market and Test Bed, as well as launches by individual broadcast groups.

Station group CEOs expressed their enthusiasm for the standard’s deployment.

“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," said Jack Abernethy, Chief Executive Officer at FOX Television Stations.

“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. We are pleased to be working with Pearl TV and our broadcast partners to ensure the new technology is set in place for both viewers and broadcasters when we are ready to roll-out the new standard,” said Valari Staab, President, NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations.

“Univision is excited to continue playing a leadership role in the market transition from ATSC 1.0 to ATSC 3.0. As one of the largest TV spectrum holders in the US, 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,” said Vince Sadusky, Chief Executive Officer at Univision.

“Pearl TV’s 300 local broadcasters, along with our network partners, are working together to deliver a national Next-Gen TV service by the end of 2020. 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,” said Dave Lougee, President and CEO of TEGNA, Inc., one of the Pearl TV broadcast group members.

"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.," said Perry Sook, President & CEO of Nexstar Media Group, representing SpectrumCo. “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."

The Phoenix Model Market pilot project launched nearly one year ago and the pilot project has offered testing for broadcast equipment implementation, new services, and technology offerings to show how the ATSC 3.0 standard could be deployed by broadcasters while maintaining existing digital service for viewers. The Phoenix DMA is home to more than 1.8 million households with more than one in five viewers relying on over-the-air reception. Participating TV groups and stations in the Phoenix Model Market include: Arizona State University's Arizona PBS (KAET) , Arizona Television’s KAZT Channel 7 (Independent), E.W. Scripps’ KNXV (ABC), Fox Television Stations' KSAZ (Fox) and KUTP (MyTV), Meredith’s KPHO (CBS) and KTVK (Independent), Nexstar Media Group’s KASW (CW); Telemundo Station Group’s KTAZ (Telemundo), TEGNA’s KPNX (NBC), and Univision’s KFPH-CD (UniMas) and KTVW (Univision).

CONSUMER INTEREST IN NEXT GEN TV IS HIGH, ACCORDING TO MAGID

Pearl TV's initial activities in Phoenix provide an open test bed and a proving ground for technology, implementations, and new services. A September 2018 consumer survey conducted by Magid for Pearl TV and the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) shows exceptionally strong consumer interest in a Next Gen TV service that will offer all the programming of live over-the-air TV (such as local news, live sports, programming from ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and other broadcast networks) and adds improved features that can enhance the viewing experience for consumers.

In the Phoenix Model Market partners /CTA survey of more than 1,500 U.S. consumers ages 18-74, Magid registered “solid overall interest in and high likelihood to use” the next-gen ATSC 3.0 concept. The research also shows that the Next Gen TV concept is most appealing with younger consumers and those who are defined as “Early Adopters” because of their positive attitude toward technology.

Magid’s research shows 42 percent of those interested in ATSC 3.0 say they anticipate buying a new TV to enable and enjoy next-gen TV services. Overwhelmingly, 96 percent of the Core Target (those who rated the concept Very Appealing and Very Likely to use next-gen TV) said they were likely to buy a new TV set to experience Next Gen TV.

For a comprehensive list of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see our ATSC3 silo.

ARLINGTON, VA.--Broadcast engineers from around the globe converged here for three days last week to exchange information about the industry and broadcast technology developments at the annual IEEE Broadcast Technology Society Fall Symposium.

In spite of the demands of the ongoing television spectrum repack, some 160 engineering consultants, equipment manufacturers, and broadcast group personnel took time away from their duties to join academics and others from as far away as Russia, Brazil and South Korea at the Oct. 9-11 tech con.

Next-Gen TV was the hot topic this year, with nearly half of the presentations falling into this category and nine directly focused on ATSC 3.0’s potential, field testing, deployment, business models, and evaluation metrics. Presentations even included some “one step beyond” views into the future television experiences. One described methodology for transmitting information to provide sensory stimulation beyond sight and sound, and a lunchtime keynote presenter described taking virtual reality out to the ball game.

BRINGING BACK THE ACTION WITH VR

In her presentation, Uma Jayaram, engineering director for Intel Sports True VR division, described why her company decided to launch a virtual reality TV sports production element, and discussed some of the technical issues that had to be resolved to make it possible.

“The timeline for [introduction and acceptance] of new use cases is dramatically shortening,” Jayaram said. “The telephone took 75 years to reach the 50 million user mark; ‘Angry Birds’ took just over a month to reach this mark.

“Companies such as Intel realize that you cannot afford to join the party after it’s well underway and things are moving really fast," she continued. "So, you place some bets, you get into the ecosystem, you play with it, you try to move it, and essentially see what’s going on in a more involved manner.

“When you think of Intel, you ordinarily think of the more traditional segments—CPUs, graphics and so on, but some of the big bets we are making have to do with artificial intelligence, VR, hygiene, and automated driving” observing that all of these emerging technologies involved moving and processing massive amounts of data, an Intel specialty.

“These areas are moving so fast that you want to be in that ecosystem,” said Jayram in explaining Intel’s decision to launch the sports business unit two years ago.

“On ‘game day’ we show up with our cameras, we set up alongside the networks and stream VR experiences in near real time,” she said. “We provide [feeds] to about 10 right’s-holding broadcasters.”

In her presentation, Jayaram did flag some VR limitations, noting that perhaps the biggest centers on the cumbersome headgear that consumers must don.

“I can’t watch with a headset for more than a few hours,” she said.

As one solution, her unit is creating shorter duration or “snackable content” sports highlights packages. “We’re also working to provide a better user interface…something that would allow a person to do VR viewing while still interacting with friends,” she said.

She also described some technical considerations in VR that don’t really exist in ordinary television coverage.

“Time synchronization is very important when you have six separate cameras that all have to be synched together along with the audio," she said. "Seamless ‘stitching’ of the multiple views is also very important.”

Branding of the viewing apps for consumers is also something of a challenge as Intel's Sports unit is dealing with multiple broadcast entities operating in several countries. “In the U.S., NBC has the rights, so we have to have an NBC app with the 'NBC look and feel' and colors. We now have to put out about 33 of these apps [to accommodate the various broadcast entities and viewing devices].”

Jayaram also noted that a business model has to be established before widespread deployment of VR sports coverage can take place.

“We’re looking at subscription models,” she said. “In the end you have to make money. This is still being worked out.”

WHAT’S HAPPENING OUT IN THE [3.0] FIELD?

Status reports on ATSC 3.0 rollouts in three U.S. markets were part of the conference program, with WRAL-TV’s Transmitter Supervisor Matt Brandes describing activities at his company’s Raleigh-Durham, N.C. test facility. Fred Baumgartner, director of Next Gen TV implementation for Sinclair Broadcast Group, provided an update on the station group's Dallas-Ft. Worth ATSC 3.0 single-frequency network initiative, and Pearl TV’s Dave Folsom described goings-on in connection with the "Phoenix Model Market project.

All offered some lessons learned and dos and don’ts takeaways.

“If you’re a person blessed with the privilege of setting up a brand new ATSC 3.0, please download and read the ATSC recommended practices on the Physical Layer, go play with your toys, and then come back and read the recommended practices again,” said Brandes. “Also, buying a new encoder might do more for your coverage than putting in two transmitters. If you can get three dB improvement [in encoding], this is equivalent to doubling your power.

Speaking for Pearl TV, Folsom noted that early equipment implementations are still not complete and software versioning is a big issue

“Anytime someone makes a software upgrade, everything downstream quits working, including the receivers," he said. 

Folsom added that the ability to interchange encoding, packaging and encapsulation units isn’t fully developed yet. “You should be able to connect up the unit and it should work, but it doesn’t," he said. "The standards are clear, [but] there’s a lot of misunderstanding among manufacturers about what needs to be there.”

Baumgartner observed that monitoring and control in connection with SFN transmitter sites is a potentially big issue. “We’re just starting to put our toes in that water and we can run [the Dallas-Ft. Worth installations] from our handheld devices, but at some point, it’s going to start to look like MediaFLO and then you’re got 300 transmitters out there and you have to start thinking about trucks, spare parts, and support infrastructure," he said. "You have to figure out how to make it all run economically.”

‘HACKING’ NEXT-GENERATION TELEVISION

Although the ATSC 3.0 racehorse is barely out of the stable, due to its hybrid broadcast/internet delivery, concerns are already surfacing about vulnerability of signals to manipulation by pranksters or others with darker agendas. Broadcast cybersecurity expert Wayne Pecena examined this in his presentation, “Hacking ATSC 3.0.”

He noted that the broadcast community was not exactly a stranger to nefarious intercepts of program streams, citing the 1986 takeover of HBO’s satellite transponder by “Captain Midnight,” and the “Max Headroom” incident the following year in which the studio-to-transmitter feeds of Chicago stations WGN-TV and WTTW were breached and third-party content aired.

Pecena observed that those incidents had required a lot of technical savvy and large equipment costing many thousands of dollars. “Now someone with a tablet computer sitting in a coffee shop can wreak a lot more havoc,” he said.

He cited the potential risks to broadcasters of ATSC 3.0 stream hijacking, including dead air, loss of revenue, public embarrassment, data breaches, potential legal liability, loss of public trust, and impact on station resources.

Pecena urged station operators to gain a thorough understanding of their IP systems and think about ways in which they might be compromised, observing that “the Internet of Things really provides only minimal, if any, safeguards against hacks, with security often being an afterthought or a ‘neverthought.’”

He said that even with the security components inherent in ATSC 3.0 and a tightening of security at broadcast facilities, there still could be breaches occurring within the home environment.

“The consumer industry must adopt stronger IoT security features,” he said. “The weakest link determines the overall security of any system.”

During the gathering the society also recognized Merrill Weiss with its highest honor, the Jules Cohen award for excellence in broadcast engineering. 

The BTS Symposium moves to Hartford, Conn. in 2019. Conference dates are Oct. 1-3.

For a comprehensive list of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see our ATSC3 silo.

PHOENIX—Cars will soon regularly receive ATSC 3.0 signals from Phoenix broadcasters taking part in the latest facet of an ongoing trial of Next-Gen TV.

Pearl TV, which is leading the Phoenix Model Market project of 12 stations, and Avis Budget Group announced Oct. 15 they will begin testing various use cases for TV-delivered signals to passenger cars early next year.

“We are excited about it. There are great use cases for automotive, and they are an interesting company,” says Anne Schelle, Pearl TV managing director. “They are one of the largest fleet owners of cars and certainly positioning themselves for the future of connected cars and the shared car environment.”

Possible use cases extend beyond basic reception of OTA video and audio to a variety of interactive capabilities. “We have a general idea of the use cases,” says Schelle. “Now we are just working through the details.”

Avis Budget Group is “on a mission” to reinvent the consumer experience by leveraging mobile apps, digital platforms and connected cars, says Arthur Orduna, executive vice president and chief innovation officer for the rental car company. Information collected during the trial will help Avis Budget Group determine the best new in-car configurations to offer customers in the future, he adds.

One goal of the Phoenix Model Market project is to collect data on how consumers interact with ATSC 3.0 and as well as their preferences with the goal of assisting the TV industry in making a successful launch of standard around the country.

As part of those efforts, Pearl TV will release a consumer survey by month’s end to gauge consumer perceptions about Next-Gen TV content and quality. “We will also be asking consumers about automotive, so we will be able to reflect that in the trial as well,” says Schelle.

For the passenger car trial, OTA-delivered video and audio entertainment will be delivered to vehicles using the ATSC 3.0 interactive runtime environment with support for digital rights management and AC-4 multichannel audio decoding.

While planning is still ongoing, the types of reception devices under consideration include plug-in 3.0 receivers for installed entertainment systems, such as headrest screens, and mobile TV reception on tablets, according to Pearl TV.

For the interactive portion of the trial, various features are being considered, such as electronic guides, program-specific text overlays, rental car information, coupons and maps.

For later projects, software updates, map downloads and real-time traffic information could be delivered to cars from stations transmitting 3.0, according to Pearl TV.

Chetan Sharma, a consultant focused on mobile industry technology and strategy, says ATSC 3.0 along with satellite, Wi-Fi and cellular can provide a hybrid of communications services for vehicular data delivery. A telematics device can then decide at any given moment what’s the best mode of delivery for the vehicle.

“If you are at your house with a Wi-Fi hotspot, you download software,” says Sharma, who has authored a white paper on the topic, entitled “ATSC 3.0 Automotive Opportunity.”

“If you are on the road and there is a software update that’s needed or a mapping content update, then maybe ATSC 3.0 works better.”

Synchronization using a cellular network is essential for the backchannel link, which could verify that an upload via 3.0, Wi-Fi or satellite was successful, he says.

“With the hybrid model, you have more accessibility as an automobile OEM that you otherwise wouldn’t have,” he says, adding that multiple delivery paths add redundancy, which may prove to be particularly important for data bound for cars.

Both Sharma and Schelle agree that 3.0 OTA transmission makes delivery of data to vehicles far more economical than unicast transmission of data via a cell phone network. “With broadcast everybody gets the same content and the economics of its delivery work much better,” says Sharma.

Besides the one-to-many nature of broadcasting, 3.0 is particularly suited to this type of application because of its “levels of compression and the ability to deliver indoors,” says Schelle.

The economic equation also favors broadcasting from a deployment point of view, she says. “What it costs for us to deploy is minimal compared to what it costs the carriers to provide certain kinds of use cases,” says Schelle.

In Phoenix, Next-Gen TV transmission to vehicles will originate from the local Univision station, although a second 3.0 will likely be place by time the test begins and may also be used, says Schelle.

To date, the 3.0 transmission from the Univision station has proven it can reliably deliver data to moving cars, such as the one in which FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly rode this spring while visiting Phoenix for a firsthand look at the 3.0 deployment, she says.

Repeaters and boosters are under consideration for use during the trial with Budget Avis Group, but no definite plans for deployment have been made, Schelle adds.

For a comprehensive list of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see our ATSC3 silo.

PHOENIX—The FCC has granted requests from five commercial and public TV broadcasters for permission to test next-gen TV broadcasts from the transmission facilities of Univision's KFPH-CD, which began ATSC 3.0 broadcasts last March.

"We are delighted to learn this week that the FCC is granting authority for ABC affiliate KNXV, NBC affiliate KPNX, CBS affiliate KPHO, Independent KTVK, and PBS station KAET to utilize the transmission facilities of ATSC 3.0 station KFPH-CD in collaborative testing,” said said Anne Schelle, managing director of Pearl TV, which is coordinating the Phoenix test market. “This is a very positive step forward and we are grateful for the authority to move the Phoenix Model Market project forward."

The stations that were approved by the FCC week are part of the Phoenix Model Market project that was announced last November. The goals of the Phoenix Model Market project—which now total 12 stations—are to test ATSC 3.0 television service and new business models, to develop a framework to facilitate nationwide deployment of ATSC 3.0 service (including best practices), to test consumer devices, and to collect real-time consumer input through surveys and focus groups.

[Read: Phoenix Model Market Launches Next Gen TV Broadcasts]

Last November, the FCC adopted rules authorizing the transmission of the Next Gen TV standard, with a streamlined licensing process for the new technology effective this past July. But while the Commission's Media Bureau is making changes to its licensing system, stations will must seek experimental authority. Such authority was granted to five more stations that are participating in the Phoenix Model Market project.

In March, the FCC authorized Univision's KFPH-CD to transmit ATSC 3.0 transmissions as part of the model market "test bed" in Phoenix. At that time, the FCC said that any other stations wanting to utilize the Univision station for transmission of ATSC 3.0 signals must seek permission to do so.

The FCC approval letter notes that "in their applications, the Licensees have committed to continuing to air an ATSC 1.0 signal over their existing channels using their licensed facilities" and that "because of spectrum capacity constraints and in order to accommodate all of the stations that plan to participate in the Phoenix Market Trial, the Stations have requested flexibility to rotate their individual ATSC 3.0 guest signals on and off the ATSC 3.0 host station, KFPH-CD."

Participating TV groups and stations in the Phoenix Model Market include: 

• Arizona State University's Arizona PBS (KAET)

• Arizona Television’s KAZT Channel 7 (Independent)

• E.W. Scripps’ KNXV (ABC)

• Fox Television Stations' KSAZ (Fox) and KUTP (MyTV)

• Meredith’s KPHO (CBS) and KTVK (Independent)

• Nexstar Media Group’s KASW (CW)

• Telemundo Station Group’s KTAZ (Telemundo)

• TEGNA’s KPNX (NBC), and

• Univision’s KFPH-CD (UniMas) and KTVW (Univision)

For a comprehensive list of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see our ATSC3 silo.

WASHINGTON—FCC Republican Commissioner Michael O’Rielly lashed out at critics who claim that the commission’s actions since the beginning of the Trump administration are designed to help one broadcast company seeking a well-publicized merger: Sinclair.

In a blog post, O’Rielly used the occasion of a trip to Phoenix last week to respond to opponents of Sinclair’s proposal to acquire Tribune Media for $3.9 billion, giving the Baltimore station group control of 210 stations (following its recent proposal to sell off 23 of its stations). The purpose of his trip was to review progress of the 12 TV stations participating in the Phoenix Model Market for ATSC 3.0.

“Seeing this collaboration was impressive in and of itself,” O’Rielly said, “but it also emphasized what I already knew to be the case: that ATSC 3.0 may very well be a game changer for our nation’s broadcasters. Unfortunately there is a false narrative in Washington D.C. that ATSC 3.0 will only benefit one particular company. In fact, this narrative goes even further, suggesting everything the Commission has done in the media space over the last 17 months has been to benefit one company, in this case, Sinclair Broadcast Group.”

O’Rielly called such a narrative a “misguided fantasy” and a “rhetorical tool tool designed to divert attention from opponents’ lack of substantive objections to the underlying policies, combined with what seemingly appears to be an extreme personal dislike for the company itself.”

[Read: Sinclair Broadcast, One Media To Deploy Next Gen TV]

O’Rielly defended Chairman Ajit Pai’s actions, noting they were designed to “reduce the labyrinth of outdated and costly media rules that no longer make sense today,” noting that the marketplace broadcasters are competing against today include the likes of Netflix and Amazon.

He noted that the elimination of the main studio rule was not some “master conspiracy theory” that he likened to “Area 51 territory,” but that in reality, the benefits of doing away with the rule went to small and mid-sized radio stations. “The elimination of the unnecessary rule hasn’t let to great studio consolidation or closures,” he said. “Instead, it was and is about permitting cost efficiencies—without harm to localism—for all broadcasters, which will occur over a longer time frame.”

The commission’s reinstatement of the UHF discount, O’Rielly said, was simply a reversion of the “status quo,” and whether or not the action helps Sinclair is “irrelevant.” He also said that the elimination of the radio/television cross ownership rule provides “little to no benefit” to Sinclair and that while he thinks that the commission’s adoption of a waiver process to allow duopolies in a market, even if both stations are among the top four in terms of audience share is less than ideal due to the potential of abuse, he is willing to delay a larger examination of the rules until the commission’s 2018 Quadrennial review of ownership rules is completed.

Repeating comments’ from 2016 to justify his argument, O’Rielly said then, “To say [the duopoly rule] is still needed in an era of literally hundreds of competitive pay TV channels and essentially unlimited competitive Internet content defies belief.”

Turning his attention to Next Gen TV, O’Rielly responded to critics who said the commission’s approval of ATSC 3.0 would give preferential treatment to Sinclair due to its portfolio of patents for the new standard. He reiterated his position “against including any portion of the standards in our rules,” and instead supported the elimination of rules “prohibiting broadcasters from moving to ATSC 3.0.”

[Read: Phoenix Model Market Launches Next Gen TV Broadcasts]

O’Rielly also noted that the standard was developed and vetted by the private sector and that adoption of the standard is voluntary. “The new standard promoted real benefits for consumers—such as ultra high-definition pictures and enhanced emergency alerting,” he said. “But, if consumers are uninterested in these features, they will not be forced to adopt them.”

O’Rielly drove the point home that the FCC’s actions during the past year and a half were designed to enhance the entire broadcast industry’s competitive in today’s media marketplace and not to give one company a leg up on its competition.

“The entire debate misses the bigger picture that I witnessed firsthand in Arizona,” the commissioner said. “That the changing marketplace is causing tremendous challenges to legacy broadcasters forced to abide by outdated and irrelevant ownership limitations and Commission rules.” 

For a comprehensive list of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see our ATSC3 silo.

PHOENIX--While broadcasters have been absorbing the latest ATSC 3.0 developments at the 2018 NAB Show in Las Vegas, the real action has been taking place in Phoenix, where pioneering broadcasters launched some of the industry’s first ATSC 3.0 over-the-air broadcasts.

KFPH’s UNIMAS NOW BROADCASTING ATSC 3.0

The first to step up to the plate—in what is known as the Phoenix Model Market—is KFPH-CD Channel 35, a local Univision-owned station, in Phoenix, now airing UniMás network programming in ATSC 3.0. Pearl TV Managing Director Anne Schelle made the announcement at the show.

Pearl TV touts the Phoenix Model Market as the first collaborative, single-market effort to promote a real-world ATSC 3.0 implementation. A business alliance of Cox Media Group, Pearl TV includes: E.W. Scripps Company, Graham Media Group, Hearst Television Inc., Meredith Local Media Group, Nexstar Media Group, Raycom Media, and TEGNA Inc.

[Read: Phoenix To Serve As ‘Model Market’ For ATSC 3.0]

ARIZONA PBS’ KIDS NOW IN ATSC 3.0

Pearl TV is also working with Arizona PBS—a PBS member station reaching 1.9 million households—to place its Arizona PBS KIDS channel (8.4) on the new ATSC 3 tower. According to Lonna Thompson, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel of America’s Public Television Stations (APTS), this will enable the delivery of interactive, personalized learning and educational content as a richer viewer experience.

“This groundbreaking partnership is the first step in the implementation of ATSC 3.0, which holds significant improvements in store for public television’s public service missions of education, public safety and civic leadership,” Thompson said, adding that Phoenix viewers are about to be amazed by ATSC 3.0’s revolutionary picture and sound quality.

VENDORS JOIN PHOENIX PROJECT

In related news, several prominent consumer electronics manufacturers, including LG Electronics, Sony Electronics, Samsung, and Channel Master, have joined the Phoenix Model Project.

They join Dielectric, Enensys, GatesAir, Harmonic and Triveni Digital, as well as broadcasters E.W. Scripps Company, Fox Television Stations, Meredith Local Media Group, Nexstar Media Group, TEGNA Inc., Telemundo Station Group, Univision Communications, and Arizona PBS, which are already cooperating to launch ATSC 3.0 programming, while employing the “lighthouse” concept of keeping legacy DTV available for all viewers while ATSC 3.0 services are launched.

[Read: Major Broadcast Suppliers Sign On To Assist In Phoenix ATSC 3.0 Model Market]

Other companies contributing to this open test-bed environment are: Dolby Laboratories, TitanTV, and UniSoft, as well as signaling and technical experts BitRouter, Yotta Media Labs, and Meintel, Sgrignoli & Wallace (MSW).

The Phoenix Model Market has several objectives, including confirming basic TV service parameters and performance, determining the appeal of next-generation high dynamic range video and immersive audio content to consumers, testing interactive and addressable advertising functionality, and testing cable integration.

ROAD TO ATSC 3.0 AT NAB SHOW

During the 2018 NAB Show, the “Road to ATSC 3.0” exhibit in the Grand Lobby of the Las Vegas Convention Center features a Phoenix Model Market kiosk where Sony will demonstrate ATSC 3.0’s interactive capabilities. These include adaptive ad insertion and messaging displayed with real-time object delivery over unidirectional transport, as well as dynamic adaptive streaming over HyperText Transfer Protocol, known as "ROUTE" and "DASH."

Using an ATSC 3.0 receiver provided by LG Electronics, Yotta Media Labs will also demonstrate a prototype application that ATSC 3.0 broadcasters can use to allow local viewers to access and discover content through a modern TV guide embedded in the broadcaster's channel. 

 For a comprehensive list of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see our ATSC3 silo.  

PHOENIX — LG Electronics will provide ATSC 3.0 receivers for the Pearl TV-led Phoenix Model Market Project that will serve as a testbed for Next Gen TV services, the company said.

The move makes LG the first television manufacturer to join the initiative, which is being supported by 10 TV stations in the Phoenix market. A major goal of the project is to demonstrate how 3.0 can be deployed while maintaining ATSC 1.0 service.

[Read: CES 2018: LG Electronics to Take Part in U.S. ATSC 3.0 Trials]

Branding the project “a key element of the commercialization of ATSC 3.0,” Dr. John Kim, senior vice president in the LG CTO’s office, said the initiative moves the Next Gen TV standard out of the lab and into the field. “We look forward to working with Pearl and Phoenix broadcasters on activities focused on technical, commercial, promotional and implementation aspects of the new platform,” said Kim, who also serves as president of LG’s Zenith R&D Lab in the United States.

The success of the initiative depends on the participation of various stakeholders, said Anne Schelle, Pearl TV executive director. “[T]he collaboration between LG and Perl leverages our significant respective resources and expertise to help facilitate the rapid conversion of the current ATSC 1.0 broadcast standard to the next-generation ATSC 3.0 standard.”

For a comprehensive list of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see our ATSC3 silo.