Nexstar CEO Preaches Keeping Open Mind About Monetizing ATSC 3.0

Broadcasters should keep an open mind about how ATSC 3.0 will be monetized, said Nexstar CEO Perry Sook at a Media Institute lunch Tuesday. Responding to a question about whether he thinks 3.0 chips will make it into smartphones, Sook compared ancillary use of broadcast spectrum to landowners in his home state of Texas profiting on their mineral rights. It took years to develop techniques to extract oil from shale, and it could take many attempts to figure out the future of the new standard, he said. “We believe the flexibility of the platform will enable broadcasters to provide future services not conceived today,” Sook said. NAB later posted his remarks.