OKLAHOMA CITY, Oct. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Five leading
local television stations in Oklahoma
City, OK, including KOCO-TV (ABC), KFOR-TV (NBC), KOKH-TV
(Fox), KOCB (CW) and KAUT (IND), 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.
Powered by ATSC 3.0, NEXTGEN TV is the most significant
broadcast technology upgrade ever. Today's launch in Oklahoma City 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.
"KOCO-TV and Hearst Television are excited to be among the first
in the country to launch NEXTGEN TV, providing the viewers in
Oklahoma the most innovative
television viewing experience available," said Brent Hensley, KOCO-TV President and General
Manager.
"Nexstar is extremely pleased to be rolling out NEXTGEN TV in
yet another one of our markets," said Brett Jenkins, Executive Vice President and
Chief Technology Officer for Nexstar Media, owner of KFOR-TV and
KAUT. "Today's roll-out continues the momentum established during
the last several months and is a clear demonstration that the
deployment process is getting more and more efficient. We are
excited to begin delivering an enhanced visual and audio experience
for our viewers and to begin exploring new Internet-based products
and services for our advertising and marketing clients in
Oklahoma City."
Mark Aitken, Senior
Vice President of Advanced Technology for Sinclair Broadcast
Group, owner of KOKH-TV and KOCB, said, "Settled by courageous
pioneers, Oklahoma City is rightly
proud of its traditions as an innovation leader. We are
excited to usher in the latest revolution in broadcast technology
to the Big Friendly, bringing our viewers an unparalleled new TV
experience."
John Hane, President of
BitPath, said, "Oklahoma City
marks the seventh launch of ATSC 3.0 for BitPath this year and our
second launch on the important I-35 corridor. We congratulate
Nexstar, Sinclair and Hearst on their tireless efforts to keep the
rollout of ATSC 3.0 on track in this challenging year. Four of
the stations launching today - KFOR-TV, KOKH-TV, KOCB
and KAUT - will be charter members of BitPath's broadcast data
network. These leading stations will bring new coverage
to BitPath's network and exciting new wireless data broadcasting
services to Oklahoma
City."
About KOCO-TV - Hearst
KOCO 5, a Hearst Television station, is
Oklahoma City's home for Live,
Local, Late Breaking news and First Alert Weather coverage. In
2020, KOCO 5 First Alert Weather was independently certified as the
Most Accurate Forecast by WeatheRate for the eighth year in a
row. In 2019 KOCO was honored with the Community Service
Award from the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters. In 2018,
KOCO 5 News was honored with Best In Show, Best Evening Newscast,
Best Morning Newscast and Best Weathercast by the Oklahoma
Association of Broadcasters and won the 2018 Emmy Award for Team
Coverage. The station's web address is www.koco.com.
About KFOR-TV and KAUT – Nexstar
KFOR-TV and KAUT are leading television stations in Oklahoma City, 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. KFOR-TV is affiliated with the NBC network and
KAUT is an Independent station.
About KOKH-TV and KOCB - Sinclair
KOKH-TV and KOCB are leading Oklahoma
City television stations owned and operated by Sinclair
Broadcast Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SBGI), a diversified media company
and leading provider of local sports and news. KOKH-TV is
affiliated with the Fox network and KOCB is affiliated with the CW
network. 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 https://okcfox.com/, http://cwokc.com/,
and sbgi.net.
View original
content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/major-broadcasters-launch-nextgen-tv-on-five-local-television-stations-in-oklahoma-city-ok-301149100.html
SOURCE BitPath