NextGen TV Launches on Five Tampa Area Stations

Tampa Bay
(Image credit: Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

TAMPA/ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—The Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla., market is the latest to launch NextGen TV, with five stations collaborating on bringing the ATSC 3.0 standard to viewers.

The stations that will offer NextGen TV are the Hearst owned-and-operated WMOR-TV (Independent), WFTS-TV (ABC) owned by E.W. Scripps, WFLA-TV (NBC) owned by Nexstar, Tegna’s WTSP-TV (CBS) and the Fox Television Stations’ WTVT-TV (Fox).

WMOR-TV is serving as the host station for the market, receiving the NextGen TV signals for all of the other stations. WFTS-TV, WTSP-TV and WTVT-TV are hosting existing first-generation digital TV signals.

“We want customers to understand that the NextGen TV experience from local stations will be getting better and better, as more functions and features are added down the road,” said Pamela Barber, president and general manager of Hearst Television. “NextGen TV services launch in 1080p high-definition, with WMOR-TV also providing the market’s first High Dynamic Range video for enhanced performance on HDR-equipped receivers.”

Barber also says that WMOR-TV will be the first station in the country to offer a secure signal compliant with the new A3SA security authority.

The Tampa/St. Petersburg market joins other markets across the U.S. that have launched NextGen TV, including Las Vegas, Pittsburgh, Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, Salt Lake City and more