NEXTGEN TV roll-out reaches Sacramento
July 9, 2021
By Colin Mann
Residents in the US’s Central Valley are to benefit from enhanced broadcast video as six Sacramento television stations band together to launch NEXTGEN TV, using the digital television standard ATSC 3.0.
“We’re proud to partner with our fellow broadcasters to prepare the Sacramento market for the next generation of TV viewing. With NEXTGEN TV, viewers are immersed in stunning video with brilliant colour, sharper images, and deeper contrast, making them feel like they’re part of the action,” declared Ariel Roblin, president and general manager of KCRA-TV. “Offering a whole new dimension to TV viewing with audio from the Dolby audio system Voice +, available only on NEXTGEN TV, viewers will feel the power of movie theatre-quality sound, allowing them to hear every voice clearly and offering uniform volume across different channels.”
NEXTGEN TV is a feature built into select new TV models manufactured by LG Electronics, Samsung, and Sony, and now widely available to consumers. While features available on NEXTGEN TV will vary by device and by broadcaster as commercial service becomes available in local markets, it is designed to be upgradable, enabling a viewer’s television set to advance in lock-step with the latest technology.
“Viewers in the state’s capital have a lot to be excited about, as NEXTGEN TV will change the way they experience live broadcast television, and it will continue to get better as local stations add more features,” stated Kurt Rao, senior vice president and chief technology officer, TEGNA. “NEXTGEN TV ensures the future of television, where content and the experience of watching culminate – informing, entertaining, and inspiring viewers.”
Sacramento is the first city in Northern California to launch a commercial NEXTGEN TV service, joining nearly 40 other early-adopter cities across the country where the service is already available – from Orlando to Phoenix and Seattle to Buffalo.
The six local stations launching the new third-generation digital TV broadcast technology are KOVR (CBS owned and operated station, Channel 13), Hearst Television-owned KCRA (NBC, Channel 3) and KQCA (MyNetwork, Channel 58), Nexstar-owned KTXL (FOX, Channel 40), TEGNA’s KXTV (ABC, Channel 10), and Univision’s KUVS (Univision, Channel 19). Hearst’s KQCA is serving as the stations’ lighthouse for NEXTGEN TV services for the market.
“NEXTGEN TV is changing the way viewers watch live broadcast television and revolutionising their interactions with their home screens, by merging over-the-air TV with the Internet,” added Anne Schelle, managing director of Pearl TV, the broadcaster business group that is coordinating NEXTGEN TV station launches. “Because NEXTGEN TV can also be enhanced with Internet content, viewers in Sacramento will be able to get the most out of live programming, such as news, events, and sports.”
The participating stations have worked together to ensure current programming remains available to all viewers, regardless of whether their television service is provided over-the air or by a cable or satellite company. Antenna viewers can simply rescan their TV sets to ensure full service.