President’s Memo: Celebrating an Emmy-Winning Community — and Momentum for the Future

Posted on September 16, 2026 in ATSC News

There are moments in the life of an organization that deserve a little extra celebration, and this is certainly one of them. ATSC has been selected to receive a 2026 Technology & Engineering Emmy® Award from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the pioneering development of ATSC 3.0 and its significant advancement of television broadcasting.

This is ATSC’s fourth Emmy recognition, and it celebrates what our community has accomplished together. ATSC 3.0 grew from years of consensus-based engineering, drafting and balloting by hundreds of experts representing organizations across the broadcast and technology ecosystem. Today, that work has produced the industry’s first fully IP-based broadcast standard to reach commercial scale, enabling UHD, HDR, immersive audio, interactive services and a flexible foundation for innovations still to come. This Emmy belongs to the entire ATSC community. ATSC will formally receive the award on October 14 at the Engineering, Science & Technology Emmy Awards ceremony in North Hollywood.

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Of course, standards development never stands still. Our technical community continues to advance an active portfolio of work designed to strengthen ATSC 3.0 while exploring technologies and capabilities that can expand the role of broadcast in an increasingly connected world. Be sure to read this month’s Standards Column for the latest developments from our Technology and Specialist groups and a closer look at the work underway across ATSC.

September is also a busy month for ATSC engagement. At IBC in Amsterdam, 32 ATSC member companies exhibited, giving us an excellent opportunity to reconnect with many of our members and see their latest innovations firsthand. I took full advantage, catching up with many members and held meetings with several companies who that may have interest in ATSC initiatives.

Closer to home, the Midwest Regional Broadcasters Clinic returned to Madison, Wisconsin, September 15–16. ATSC was represented in the session “Expanding Choices: NEXTGEN TV’s Next Chapter,” featuring Heidi Steffen of TitanTV and Dave Arland of ArlandCom. With NEXTGEN TV now reaching nearly 80% of U.S. viewing households, their discussion looked beyond enhanced picture and sound to the importance of standardized metadata, advanced program guides and next-generation content discovery in helping viewers find and engage with content and helping broadcasters maximize the value of their ATSC 3.0 investments. NAB, Sinclair and Telos Alliance representatives had speaking roles at the event as well.

And while September is keeping us busy, we are already looking toward CES 2027. Next January, ATSC will once again have a prominent home in the Grand Lobby of Central Hall, one of the most visible and highly trafficked locations at CES. And I’m excited to highlight that, for next year, we are taking a different approach to CES.

Rather than individual companies exhibiting separately, we are creating one cohesive, premium showcase under a single ATSC 3.0 banner. One space. One powerful industry story. One unmistakable message: ATSC 3.0 is here. It is expanding internationally, and its capabilities extend beyond television broadcasting and entertainment into an increasingly diverse range of applications.

We invite ATSC members to be part of that story. We would be pleased to walk you through the CES opportunities and help identify the level of participation that best fits your organization. The commitment deadline is October 16, so please contact Anh Ngo, Senior Manager, Communications and Member Engagement, to learn more.

In this month’s issue of The Standard you’ll also find:

• Someone You Should Know, featuring Ana Eliza Faria e Silva from Globo
• Guess Who?, our monthly challenge to see how well you know your fellow ATSC members

There is much to celebrate and even more ahead. Take a moment to celebrate our Emmy-winning ATSC community and get involved in the standards work, industry events and CES 2027 opportunities that will build on our momentum.

Madeleine Noland
President, ATSC

Posted in ATSC News