NEW YORK—NBC Sports and IMAX have announced that they will be offering the first-ever live college football game at select IMAX locations nationwide with the 2024 edition of the annual Penn State “White Out” game on Nov. 9 between the No. 6 ranked Penn State Nittany Lions and the Washington Huskies.

The Big Ten showdown will also stream exclusively on NBCUniversal's Peacock at 8 p.m. (ET).

The screenings are part of IMAX’s plans to expand and diversify its content portfolio beyond Hollywood films and it continues a partnership between NBC Sports and IMAX for live events and experiences. Earlier this year, NBC Sports and IMAX teamed up to stream the 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony to over 100 IMAX locations nationwide — the first time this global event was ever broadcast live in IMAX.

For more details, including ticket availability and participating locations, visit www.IMAX.com/whiteout.

WASHINGTON—Last week, a delegation from the National Association of Tower Erectors visited Washington for legislative and regulatory meetings. The group consisted of Chairman Jim Tracy, Board of Directors member John Paul Jones, Executive Director Todd Schlekeway and Policy Director Jim Goldwater.

On Capitol Hill, the delegation visited with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas); the staff of Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.); Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.); Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.); the staff of Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.); the staff of Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.); the staff of Rep. John Carter (R-Texas); and the staff of Rep. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.), according to a summary of the visit from NATE, which is a nonprofit trade association in the wireless infrastructure industry.

The group also met with officials from the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Labor’s OSHA and the staff of Chairman Ajit Pai at the Federal Communications Commission.

And they spoke with representatives of CTIA – The Wireless Association, the National Association of Broadcasters, the Telecommunications Industry Association, the Wireless Infrastructure Association and the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International.

NATE said the meetings provided an opportunity to discuss the association’s 2017 legislative and regulatory priorities, and coincided with “Infrastructure Month” as designated by Chairman Pai.

The organization said it highlighted the role its member companies will play in the deployment of the FirstNet Public Safety Broadband Network, the post-incentive auction broadcast “repack” work and the buildout of 5G networks and related technologies.

Additionally, it emphasized its role in integrating unmanned aerial systems into the communications tower industry; efforts to seek changes to the tower marking provisions in Section 2110 of the FAA Extension, Safety and Security Act of 2016; and its efforts to streamline small cell deployment in the country. NATE also addressed workforce safety and talked about resources it makes available to ensure safe and quality work.

ARLINGTON, VA.—ONE Media, a joint investment between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Coherent Logix, tasked with developing a next generation broadcast platform, has been granted Special Temporary Authority by the Federal Communications Commission to operate an experimental facility in the Washington D.C. and Baltimore markets to implement a single frequency network using the base elements of the new ATSC 3.0 transmission standard. The full-power, multi-site test platform using channel 43 in both markets will deploy a full range of 'Next Gen' services that include fixed, portable and mobile capabilities.

The test is designed to provide real-time assessments of quality of service using the new Internet Protocol-based standard currently being reviewed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee. The permittee for channel 43 in Washington has granted its consent for the test in support of the entire broadcast industry. 

"With the build-out of a first-of-its-kind SFN platform, ONE Media's ATSC 3.0 technology will be used to drive an understanding of the value new tools bring to broadcasting," stated Kevin Gage, EVP of Strategic Development and CTO of ONE Media. "We intend this new platform to be a place where the broadcast industry can unite to launch new and exciting consumer and B2B products and services." The SFN facilities are designed to prove-out the highly anticipated capabilities of the new broadcast transmission standard including demonstrating the transmission of separate program elements using the same channel in two adjacent markets. Among other things, the SFN will permit broadcasters to "zone" programming and advertising to discrete parts of a station's market using the same channel.

"We now have a place to innovate, and together with our Memorandum of Understanding partners, Samsung and Pearl TV, we can bring powerful business ideas into practical demonstrations of opportunities to monetize all of our core assets,” said Mark Aitken, vice president of Advanced Technology for Sinclair Broadcast Group. We have started to assemble a team that understands the benefits a multi-site SFN brings to all of the stakeholders." The congested East Coast demonstration sites will permit broadcasters, equipment suppliers, and regulators to test the broadcast platform in real world situations.

"The Next Gen broadcast platform is designed to permit the broadcast industry to evolve after the upcoming incentive auction and allow us to compete with other technologies," said Jerald Fritz, ONE Media's Executive Vice President for Strategic and Legal Affairs. "The dynamic advances in this IP-based platform promise to make broadcasting the new platform of choice for video distribution and beyond. It is precisely the innovation that Congress and the FCC have encouraged and that we are fulfilling. Our demonstration should provide regulators the evidence they need to expedite these dramatic and competitive service improvements."