Gray Television said it powered up its first TV station using the NextGen TV ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard with the low-power WNXG in Tallahassee, Florida.
WNXG will simulcast five programming services that Gray’s full-power stations currently carry in the market, with CBS, Me/My, Circle and Ion airing in high definition and Justice in standard definition.
"We constructed this low power station with the NextGen TV transmission standard using off-the-shelf components and our own internal engineering and IT professionals in order to gain valuable first-hand knowledge about this exciting new technology,” explained Gray’s chief technology officer David Burke. “Over the coming months, we will be putting WNXG through numerous experiments to test the capabilities and versatility of the NextGen TV standard to further understand how we might implement better services for our local viewers and advertisers.”
TV set makers have started to sell models with NextGen receivers. Gray expected to begin to transition some of its other markets to NextGen broadcasting in 2021.
“Although many people contributed to the success of this project, Gray must recognize the indispensable efforts of corporate engineers Michael Watson and Peter Gogas, WCTV engineers Chris Cantrell and Austin Pelnar, and corporate IT specialist John Jacob,” said Gray Co-CEO and president Pat LaPlatney. “We also appreciate the resources and leadership provided by WCTV/WFXU General Manager Heather Peeples, our CTO David Burke, and our senior VP Rob Folliard. What this team created with WNXG is remarkable in its own right and also creates a significant Gray Television milestone.”
