MARKING NEXTGEN TV’S THIRD ANNIVERSARY: REFLECTIONS FROM NAB, CTA, APTS, AND AWARN

Posted on December 3, 2020 in ATSC News

While some people think that next-generation television took a “really long time” to develop, many may not realize that the progress seen in market-by-market rollouts only began after the Federal Communications Commission approved the voluntary deployment of the standard just three years ago.

The FCC’s November 2017 approval of the standard was followed by the ATSC’s formal announcement of the standard’s readiness for deployment in early January 2018, a pledge by broadcast CEO’s to jump on the ATSC 3.0 bandwagon that October, the April 2019 landmark announcement at the NAB Show listing more than 60 markets where service would be prioritized (including the Top 40 Nielsen rated markets), the adoption just over a year ago of the “NEXTGEN TV” logo as the mark of conformance by consumer technology companies, the January 2020 announcements of 20 models planned for introduction this year, and the current month – with services either on-air or about to launch in more than 20 markets (as tracked by the ATSC on its Nielsen market deployment tracker.)

On the occasion of the standard’s approval three years ago, we reached out to the four organizations that petitioned the FCC – the NAB, CTA, APTS, and AWARN Alliance:

 “The FCC’s authorization of the NextGen TV standard has ushered in an exciting era of innovation and revolution for the broadcast TV industry. Broadcasters across the country have embraced NextGen TV and are utilizing the standard to unlock cutting-edge features to the benefit of our millions of viewers,” said Sen. Gordon Smith, NAB.

 “Since the FCC’s authorization, CTA has proudly worked with the industry to develop the NEXTGEN TV go-to-market name and logo. Now, we head into 2021 with an updated testing program for manufacturers, a logo to help consumers find compliant products, and cross-sector excitement about the promise and potential of NEXTGEN TV technology,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CTA. 

 “America’s public television stations have been pleased to participate in some of the earliest conversions to NextGen Television, and we look forward to demonstrating its ability to enhance our public service work in fields ranging from remote learning and public safety to telehealth and more, in addition to improving the television viewer’s experience dramatically and expanding our channel capacity significantly.  NextGen is a truly revolutionary platform for public television – Broadcast Internet, as the FCC now calls it – and we look forward to rolling it out as quickly and comprehensively as possible for the benefit of the American people,” said Patrick Butler, president and CEO at America’s Public Television Stations.

 “The AWARN Alliance was honored to be one of the four signatories to the original Joint Petition that led to the FCC proceeding and ultimate approval of ATSC 3.0 transmission just three short years ago. Every FCC commissioner at the time cited commitments to advanced alerting by broadcasters and the CE industry as a very strong argument for approval (even those who ultimately did not vote to support it), and we are happy to be leading efforts to honor those promises today,” said John Lawson, Executive Director of the AWARN Alliance.

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