WASHINGTON—NextGen TV viewers are beginning to see what high dynamic range (HDR) brings to their football enjoyment with the launch of the sport’s fall season.
Fans of the NFL’s New Orleans Saints got a taste of what HDR can do on Aug. 23, when Gray Media-owned Tupelo Media Group produced a preseason game against the Denver Broncos in native HDR. WVUE, the Gray-owned Fox affiliate in New Orleans, broadcast the contest in high dynamic range to local viewers, according to Pearl TV, the business coalition of major broadcast groups.
The game telecast is believed to be the first-ever native HDR over-the-air broadcast of any kind in the U.S.—from the cameras, through the mobile production workflow and ultimately to NextGen TV viewers. The broadcast gave fans the chance to experience exactly how HDR enhances the viewing experience by offering improved contrast between the brightest and darkest areas of the screen, as well as wider color gamut.
Sinclair is also enhancing the viewing experience of NextGen TV viewers with upconverted HDR transmitted from its NextGen TV stations. The station group is also offering T2 (Tennis Channel 2) and Pickleball TV Channel in 45 markets through broadcast-enabled streaming virtual channels available to connected NextGen TV viewers, Pearl TV said.
The HDR push from both station groups is a precursor to the 2026 World Cup, which will be broadcast in HDR, as well as the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy, it said.
“With NextGen TV reaching more than three-quarters of viewing households, it’s exciting to see broadcasters enable High Dynamic Range on almost every channel to greatly enhance picture quality,” Pearl TV managing director Anne Schelle said. “Additionally, more than half of U.S. households also have access to broadcast Dolby Atmos audio, which adds a new dimension to entertainment and sports.”
Pearl TV plans once again to promote the benefits of NextGen TV during the lead-up to the holiday shopping season, it said.
Besides HDR, the effort has much to tout, including NextGen TV-based interactive music TV, available via ROXi in partnership with FastStream Interactive and Sinclair and GameLoop, a streaming TV channel for smart TV gamers, carried by Gray Media and Sinclair in 49 NextGen TV markets.
