DETROIT--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Starting this week, Michigan viewers in the nation’s 14th largest TV market get a taste of the future as five local TV stations band together to launch NEXTGEN TV in Detroit.
The broadcast advance also signals the beginning of another project – the launch of the “Motown 3.0 Open Test Track” for merging automotive applications with NEXTGEN TV powered by the ATSC 3.0 standard. In addition to a better viewing and listening experience for consumers, NEXTGEN TV will also provide an avenue for advanced emergency alerting information for mobile viewers in future vehicles equipped with NEXTGEN TV receivers.
ABC affiliate WXYZ-TV (Channel 7, E.W. Scripps), NBC affiliate WDIV-TV (Channel 4, Graham Media Group), CBS owned and operated station WWJ-TV (Channel 62), MyNetworkTV affiliate and NEXTGEN TV host station WMYD-TV (Channel 20, E.W. Scripps), and Fox Television owned and operated station WJBK-TV (Channel 2) are now offering the new NEXTGEN TV service through a collaborative effort which insures that current over-the-air broadcasts also remain available to viewers.
In addition to providing a new, improved way for broadcasters to reach viewers with advanced emergency alerting, NEXTGEN TV allows a viewer to be immersed in stunning video with brilliant color, sharper images and deeper contrast that will make viewers feel like they’re really there. NEXTGEN TV adds a whole new dimension to TV viewing, with brilliant video and new Voice + dialogue enhancement, to bring voices to the foreground. Viewers will feel the power of movie theater-quality sound that enables a viewer to hear every voice clearly and offers consistent volume across channels. NEXTGEN TV is also enhanced with Internet content to get the most out of live sports, live news, live events and more, in real time.
Launching the “Motown 3.0 Test Track” with the Vintage Automobile Patent
Broadcasters launching services in Detroit are also carving out some of their over-the-air Internet Protocol broadcast capacity to create the “Motown 3.0 Open Test Track.”
“The goal of the Motown 3.0 Test Track is to provide another research and development environment for the automotive industry to road test proof-of-concepts and connected car solutions using the Internet Protocol (IP) capabilities of the new broadcast TV standard. Transformative advances in core TV broadcast technologies made possible by ATSC 3.0 give terrestrial broadcasters new abilities to deliver Infotainment and IP data services to an infinite number of vehicles simultaneously, as well as to the displays and devices in them – whether on-the-go or in the garage. In the future, automobile makers will be able to, for example, update millions of in-car systems simultaneously at a comparatively low cost to today’s manual systems. This is just one of the exciting innovations we see available through this IP capability,” said Brian Lawlor, President, Local Media, Scripps.
To commemorate the new test track in Detroit, the first file delivered via ATSC 3.0 is a .PDF file of an 1886 patent for one of first automobiles. Other files to be transmitted with the initiation of NEXTGEN TV service -- in addition to live local news, weather and other programming -- include advanced emergency alerting, navigation maps, coupons, and non-real-time audio and video segments – all of which future drivers and passengers might want in a future vehicle.
Initial participants in the Motown 3.0 Open Test Track initiative include LG Electronics, Amazon Web Services, and LTN Global. Triveni Digital is providing the ATSC 3.0 Broadcast Chain including the Non-Real-Time (NRT) content delivery infrastructure and receiver software. Additional collaborators include Pearl TV, the Phoenix Model Market partners, The E.W. Scripps Company, ViacomCBS, Fox Television, and Graham Media.
From Phoenix to Portland, and Pittsburgh to Tampa, NEXTGEN TV service is already on the air in more than a dozen cities across the country. Detroit joins the early adopters in rolling out the new third-generation digital TV broadcast technology that has the potential to revolutionize how TV viewers interact with their home screens. Motor city viewers can learn more about NEXTGEN TV by visiting www.WatchNextGenTV.com, which offers a guide to cities carrying the service as well as links to available NEXTGEN TV models.
By merging over-the-air TV with the Internet, NEXTGEN TV is going to change the way viewers watch live broadcast television. Local stations can now personalize their news, sports, live events and shows with interactive features that give viewers the content most relevant to them. NEXTGEN TV is a feature built into select new TV models from LG Electronics, Samsung, and Sony that are now at retail and available soon.
NEXTGEN TV is designed to be upgradable so a viewer’s television advances with the latest technology. Features available on NEXTGEN TV will vary by device and by broadcaster as commercial service becomes available in local markets. With NEXTGEN TV, viewers can get:
- Stunning 4K, High Dynamic Range video
- Movie theater quality sound
- Added voice clarity with Voice +
- Consistent volume across channels
- Enhanced Internet content on demand
- Advanced Emergency Alerting functions to keep viewers better informed
About WWJ-TV (CBS 62):
WWJ-TV (CBS 62) and its sister station WKBD-TV (The CW 50) are part of CBS Television Stations, which includes 27 stations in 17 major markets across the U.S. CBS Television Stations is part of ViacomCBS.
About WJBK FOX 2 Detroit:
WJBK FOX 2 Detroit is part of the FOX Television Stations, which owns and operates 29 full power broadcast television stations in the U.S. These include stations located in nine of the top ten largest designated market areas (DMAs), and duopolies in 11 DMAs, including the three largest DMAs (New York, Los Angeles and Chicago). Of these stations, 17 are affiliated with the FOX Network. In addition to distributing sports, entertainment and syndicated content, our television stations collectively produce nearly 1,000 hours of local news every week. These stations leverage viewer, distributor and advertiser demand for the FOX Network’s national content.
About Graham Media Group:
Graham Media Group is comprised of seven local media hubs, Graham Digital and Social News Desk, delivering local news, programming, advertising solutions and digital media tools for television, online, mobile, OTT, podcasts and audio devices. We are dynamic, local brands that extend well beyond the traditional TV set. Our work helps inform, celebrate and empower the communities we serve. GMG operates in six regions: KPRC–Houston, WDIV–Detroit and WSLS–Roanoke (NBC); KSAT–San Antonio (ABC); WKMG–Orlando (CBS); WJXT–Jacksonville (fully local), and WCWJ–Jacksonville (CW). Based in Detroit, Graham Digital is a digital media and technology development group widely recognized as a leading industry innovator. Social News Desk, headquartered in Atlanta, provides its 2,500+ worldwide newsroom-customers with a single dashboard to publish, measure, curate and monetize local news content on social platforms.
About Scripps:
The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) is one of the nation’s leading media companies, focused on creating a better-informed world through a portfolio of news, information and entertainment brands. Scripps will become the nation’s largest television broadcaster, reaching 73% of U.S. television households through 108 stations in 76 markets, pending regulatory approval of its acquisition of ION Media. Committed to serving local audiences through objective journalism, Scripps operates 60 local TV stations in 42 markets. It is creating a national TV networks business that will include ION Media’s entertainment programming, Newsy’s straightforward headline and documentary news content and the five popular Katz broadcast networks including Bounce and Court TV. Scripps runs an award-winning investigative reporting newsroom in Washington, D.C., and is the longtime steward of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Founded in 1878, Scripps has held for decades to the motto, “Give light and the people will find their own way.”
About Pearl TV:
Pearl TV is a business organization of U.S. broadcast companies with a shared interest in exploring forward-looking broadcasting opportunities, including innovative ways of promoting local broadcast TV content and developing digital media and wireless platforms for the broadcast industry. Pearl’s membership, comprising more than 750 TV stations, includes nine of the largest broadcast companies in America: Cox Media Group, Graham Media Group, Gray Television, Hearst Television Inc., Meredith Local Media Group, Nexstar Media Group, Sinclair Broadcast Group, the E.W. Scripps Company, and TEGNA, Inc.