Consortium of Sinclair, Nexstar, Univision and American Tower to Test ATSC 3.0 in Dallas
Dallas will be the first test market of plans by a new consortium for the ATSC 3.0 transition and, if things go well, possibly the location of the first commercial offering of the new standard as well, said American Tower and Sinclair executives in interviews Wednesday. “We fully expect this to go on to be a commercial market,” said American Tower Vice President-Broadcasting Peter Starke. “We don’t plan to take this equipment down.” The broadcast consortium of American Tower, Nexstar, Sinclair and Univision hopes to use the Dallas test bed to work out the details of 3.0 simulcasting, connectivity and wireless offerings, said Mark Aitken, Sinclair vice president-advanced technology.
Sony and Pearl TV also are testing consumer aspects of 3.0 in Phoenix (see 1801050035) and other aspects are being tested in Raleigh and Cleveland, Ohio, said Pearl Managing Director Anne Schelle. The multiple test beds are “complementary,” Schelle said. “The industry is spreading around its investment.”
In Dallas, two stations will shift to broadcasting in 3.0, while their 1.0 signals are simulcast through sharing agreements, as was outlined in the FCC order authorizing the new standard last year. The stations involved haven’t been released because final details are being negotiated, Aitken said, saying the consortium is working with other broadcasters as part of the deal-making. Nexstar, Univision, ATSC, CTA and the FCC didn’t comment.
The 3.0 signal will be broadcast using a new single frequency network (SFN) that allows better reception. Though Sinclair has tested SFNs in the Washington, D.C., area, the one in Dallas will be larger, with a main transmission site and three smaller transmitters. Starke believes it to be the first such SFN intended for commercial use in the U.S.
The SFN, which distributes transmission among multiple sites, will allow targeted and hyper-local “zoned” programming and ads, said Sinclair, Nexstar, Univision and American Tower. Sinclair also is working on a test vehicle for mobile and pedestrian 3.0 service, Aitken said. The installation, connectivity and performance of the SFN is one of the things being tested in the trial, Starke said. Since American Tower owns over 40,000 tower sites, the procedures developed through the Dallas trial can be carried on to other markets as they transition to the new standard, Starke said.
Though the Dallas market will have two channels broadcasting on 3.0, no commercial devices will be there to receive them for some time, Aitken said, saying such devices are still under development and none was on the show floor at the recent CES. For consumers of broadcast TV in the Dallas market, the 1.0 simulcast will be available, officials said. The intent is to be as minimally disruptive as possible, Aitken said.
One point of the trial market is to test everything about the 3.0 transition, “soup to nuts,” Aitken said, including consumer notifications. Since simulcasting involves changing the transmission point and possibly the power of a TV signal, some consumers could lose their reception as markets move to 3.0 (see 1711140053). The FCC order penalizes losses of more than 5 percent of a broadcaster’s coverage area. Texas Association of Broadcasters President Oscar Rodriguez said it’s not expected to be disruptive, and consumers watching 1.0 streams likely won’t notice a change.
Construction on the SFN has been going on for roughly six months and the system is expected to be lit up in Q2, Starke said. Aitken expects it to be turned on for the NAB Show in April. According to the ATSC 3.0 order, transitioning a channel to 3.0 will require some FCC filings, plus notifications to MVPDs and consumers ahead of the switch.