Four Stations Launch NextGen TV Broadcasts in Des Moines

Des Moines State Capital
Des Moines State Capital (Image credit: Image by David Mark from Pixabay)

DES MOINES, Iowa—Four major broadcast television stations serving the Des Moines-Ames television market are now offering NextGen TV/ATSC 3.0 broadcast signals. 

The launch on March 28 included KCCI (Hearst TV-owned CBS affiliate), WHO-DT (Nexstar-owned NBC affiliate), KDSM-TV (Sinclair-owned Fox affiliate), and KDIN-TV (PBS). 

TV Tech has been following the launch of NextGen TV broadcasts around the country since they started. Our complete list of other markets that have adopted the newest broadcast standard is available here

Our complete coverage of the NextGen TV is available here

For the launch, KDSM-TV, which is owned by Sinclair, has converted to ATSC 3.0 transmissions. KDSM-TV will broadcast its own programming, as well as the programming of the other participating stations, in NextGen TV format. All programming of all participating stations will continue to be available in the existing DTV format, which can be received on all modern television sets. 

BitPath, which is developing new data broadcasting services, led the planning process and coordinated efforts across the four television stations. BitPath will make its groundbreaking NavPath and BitPoint precise navigation and positioning services available at no charge to Iowa’s first responders.

George Winslow

George Winslow is the senior content producer for TV Tech. He has written about the television, media and technology industries for nearly 30 years for such publications as Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News and TV Tech. Over the years, he has edited a number of magazines, including Multichannel News International and World Screen, and moderated panels at such major industry events as NAB and MIP TV. He has published two books and dozens of encyclopedia articles on such subjects as the media, New York City history and economics.