RALEIGH, N.C., Nov. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Five leading local
television stations in Raleigh,
NC, including WTVD (ABC), WNCN (CBS), WUVC (Univision), WLFL
(CW), and WRDC (MyNet), today became among the first in the nation
to begin broadcasting with NEXTGEN TV, a revolutionary new digital
broadcast technology. Based on the same fundamental technology as
the Internet, digital applications, and other web services, NEXTGEN
TV can support a wide range of features currently in development,
such as immersive audio and video (up to 4K), broadcasting to mobile devices, personalized
viewing tools, and advanced emergency alerts providing rich media
instead of simple text messages. NEXTGEN TV also allows full
integration with 5G and other broadband-delivered Internet
content.
![](https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1337167/BitPath_Logo.jpg)
Powered by ATSC 3.0, NEXTGEN TV is the most significant
broadcast technology upgrade ever. Today's launch in Raleigh is one of the first in the country for
NEXTGEN TV and follows a decade of development of the new
technology and months of planning and preparation by the local
stations. BitPath, which is developing new data broadcasting
services, led the planning process and coordinated efforts across
the five television stations.
The participating stations have cooperated to ensure that
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. Rescan instructions are
available at: fcc.gov/rescan. Cable and satellite subscribers do
not need to take any action.
Mark Aitken, Senior
Vice President of Advanced Technology for Sinclair Broadcast
Group, owner of WLFL and WRDC, said, "As one of the anchor points
of the Research Triangle, where innovation is ingrained in its
culture, it's only appropriate for us to usher in the latest
revolution in broadcast technology to Raleigh. We are
thrilled to bring the benefits of NEXTGEN TV to this high-tech
mecca, bringing a brand-new paradigm in broadcasting to
the viewers in the area."
"Bringing NEXTGEN TV to Nexstar's Raleigh television station enables us to
continue moving forward with the roll-out of this highly
sophisticated technology across all of our 115 markets,"
said Brett Jenkins,
Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for Nexstar,
owner of WNCN. "The faster we deploy NEXTGEN TV, the faster we can
begin delivering important upgrades for our viewers and
advertisers—improving the visual experience, adding
interoperability with the Internet, and enabling more narrowly
focused targeting of consumers."
"Univision is excited to rollout NEXTGEN TV at our Univision
Raleigh station, which marks our third market where we'll be
deploying this groundbreaking broadcast technology,"
said Luis
Fernandez-Rocha, Regional Vice President, Western
Region, for Univision, which owns WUVC. "Raleigh-Durham is well known as a major
technology hub so we are pleased that our viewers will be among the
first in the country to have access to this new and innovative TV
viewing experience."
John Hane, President of
BitPath, said, "Raleigh-Durham
marks our ninth market launch this year, and our seventh top-40
market. WRDC, WNCN and WLFL will be charter stations in BitPath's
broadcast data network. Pending expected launch of WRAL
(NBC), WRAZ (Fox) and WUNC (PBS) later this year, the Research
Triangle will be one of most fully deployed ATSC 3.0 markets in the
country."
About WLFL and WRDC - Sinclair
WLFL and WRDC are leading Raleigh,
NC television stations owned and operated by Sinclair
Broadcast Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SBGI), a diversified media company
and leading provider of local sports and news. WLFL is affiliated
with the CW network and WRDC is affiliated with the
MyNetworkTV. Sinclair owns and/or operates 23 regional sports
network brands; owns, operates and/or provides services to 190
television stations in 88 markets; is a leading local news provider
in the country; owns multiple national networks; and has TV
stations affiliated with all the major broadcast networks. For more
information, please visit http://myrdctv.com/ and sbgi.net.
About ABC11/WTVD-TV Raleigh-Durham
The only local news station with three downtown newsrooms
(Raleigh/Fayetteville/Durham), ABC11 Eyewitness News provides 45.5
hours of local news every week, serving more than 1 million
households in a 23-county area in North
Carolina and Virginia.
Eyewitness News also provides news, weather and sports information
24 hours a day on ABC11.com, the ABC11 mobile news app and the new
connected TV app available on Roku, Fire, Apple, and Android TVs.
ABC11 WTVD is one of eight ABC Owned Stations as part of the Disney
Media & Entertainment Distribution division.
About WNCN – Nexstar
WNCN is a leading television station in Raleigh, NC, owned and operated by Nexstar
Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:
NXST). Nexstar is the nation's largest operator of local
television stations and a leading diversified media company that
leverages localism to bring new services and value to consumers and
advertisers through its broadcasting, digital and mobile media
platforms. WNCN is affiliated with the CBS network.
About WUVC - Univision
WUVC 40 Univision Raleigh is owned and operated by Univision
Communications Inc., the leading Hispanic media company in the U.S.
dedicated entertaining, informing and empowering Hispanics with
news, sports and entertainment content across broadcast and cable
television, audio and digital platforms. WUVC 40 Univision Raleigh
has served Latino audiences in the area since 2003. For more
information, visit corporate.univision.com.
About BitPath
BitPath is building the nation's first dedicated broadcast data
network to provide innovative new wireless services at a fraction
of the cost of cellular systems. Based in Arlington,
Virginia, the BitPath network will
launch in early 2021 covering at least seventeen cities, with
dozens covered by 2022. For more information visit
bitpath.com.
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SOURCE BitPath