Sinclair Broadcast Group announced its full support April 2 for mobile DTV and will begin broadcasting mobile-capable signals over 10 stations in nine markets over the next six months.
Currently, Sinclair, in partnership with Cunningham Broadcasting, provides mobile DTV on two stations (WSYX-TV and WTTE-TV) in Columbus, Ohio.
"As local broadcasters who serve our communities every day, we witness firsthand the value our content and services provide to millions of viewers and businesses," said Mark Aitken, VP of Advanced Technology for Sinclair and chairman of the ATSC A/153 Mobile DTV standardization activity.
"The pace of technology makes it imperative for broadcasters to continue to lead in serving our communities,” Aitken said. “Broad adoption of mobile DTV, as a part of our local broadcast television offering, is the next step. We are confident our network partners will see the value mobile simulcasting brings in building station and network brands, audience share, and local television relevancy."
Sinclair, a long-time mobile TV advocate and founding member of the Mobile500 Alliance (M500), has agreed to commit certain of its FOX affiliates to operate within the Mobile Content Venture's (MCV) Dyle mobile-TV environment, as the M500 and MCV continue to work toward a common platform solution.
Dyle technology provides a number of benefits to both the consumer and broadcaster through its conditional-access authentication process. This social environment offers broadcasters an array of measurement analytics that can facilitate targeted advertising with the convenience of a TV-anywhere experience for the consumer. The other affiliate stations Sinclair is committing will operate inside of the Mobile500 MyDTV application, offering a similar level of user information and conditional authentication.
"In supporting today's mobile-DTV standard, along with other local broadcasters in these markets, we will enhance the local broadcast television experience for free to our viewers,” said Aitken. “Broadcast mobile-DTV will allow the delivery of new broadcast services and products, greater access to news and events, and allows broadcasters to continue to maximize the effective use of the nation's spectrum resources."
The stations and markets Sinclair will support with mobile DTV include:
- KEYE, the CBS affiliate in Austin ,Texas;
- WBFF, the FOX affiliate in Baltimore;
- WKRC, the CBS affiliate in Cincinnati;
- WSYX, the ABC affiliate in Columbus, Ohio, which is already on-air with Mobile DTV;
- WTTE, the FOX affiliate in Columbus, Ohio, which is already on-air with Mobile DTV;
- WKEF, the ABC affiliate in Dayton, Ohio;
- WRGT, the FOX affiliate in Dayton, Ohio;
- WLOS, the ABC affiliate in Asheville, NC;
- WPGH, the FOX affiliate in Pittsburgh;
- KUTV, the CBS affiliate in Salt Lake City;
- KDNL, the ABC affiliate in St. Louis; and
- WPEC, the CBS affiliate in West Palm Beach, FL.
