Member Profile: Pearl TV

Posted on September 3, 2014 in ATSC News

One of the ATSC’s newest members is Pearl, a partnership of broadcast companies formed in 2010.  Anne Schelle, Managing Director of Pearl, sat down with THE STANDARD to discuss her organization and their participation in ATSC activities.

“We have a shared interest in exploring forward-looking broadcasting opportunities, including innovative ways to promote local broadcast TV content and developing digital media and wireless platforms for the broadcast industry,” Schelle explains.

Pearl’s membership, which comprises 170 network-affiliated TV stations, includes Cox Media Group, the E.W. Scripps Company, Gannett Co. Inc., Graham Media Group, Heart Television Inc., Media General Inc., Meredith Local Media Group, and Raycom Media.  Pearl joined ATSC as a member this spring.

What’s the value of ATSC membership for Pearl?

“We bring our scale and scope to look at opportunities enabled by new technologies.  And we’re focused on the business side of the equation,” she says. “We want to insure that the best platforms are built for the requirements of broadcasters.  We bring a collective vision to the table, since our membership includes scores of TV stations throughout the country, affiliated with all the major networks.

“We’re interested in the standards-setting process to better understand new technology opportunities and then to help test those technologies, implement them, and develop business strategies around them,” adds Schelle.

How do business considerations impact standards and vice versa?

“Our members reach over 70 percent of the households in the U.S., so it’s in our best interest to make sure that new technologies have a solid business foundation.  We’re looking at a number of new opportunities in the TV ecosystem, to leverage the functionality of Smart TV devices and other technologies, for example.

“We are very interested in partnerships with TV receiver manufacturers and technology providers.  We want to work with these companies to ensure that a healthy and vibrant ecosystem is developed for these new technologies.

“If a new technology or standard doesn’t meet a business strategy and need in the future, then it’s just technology for technology’s sake.  It’s got to have an economic meaning, a tangible business angle, to it.  And that’s why we’re participating in ATSC – for Pearl to contribute to the standards process and make sure that there is a broadcasting business element to the conversation,” Schelle says.

Posted in ATSC News