Greensboro, North Carolina Broadcasters Make Switchover to NextGen TV

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Nexstar, Sinclair, Hearst stations coordinate on ATSC 3.0 transition

NextGen TV
(Image credit: NextGen TV)

Stations in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Wednesday began broadcasting using the new NextGen TV technology.

Greensboro is the 36th market using ATSC 3.0 or NexGen TV signals. About 34% of TV households are expected to be able to get NextGen TV signals by the end of the year and that should climb to  85% by next summer.

Also: 10 Stations Coordinate in Houston To Launch NextGen TV

NextGen TV uses the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard and provides better picture and sound quality, access to internet-based content and other digital services.

Stations participating in the NextGen TV launch are WXLV-TV and WMYV-TV owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, WGHP-TV owned by Nexstar Media and WXII-TV owned by Hearst.

The switchover required coordination so that people with older sets will continue to get programming. In Greensboro, WMYV is carrying the programming from all four stations on its new ATSC 3.0 transmission. WMYV’s main signal and its digital subchannels are being broadcast by the other stations using the current ATSC 1.0 standard. The other stations will start broadcasting using ATSC 3.0 as the number of receivers in the market increases.

The NextGen TV launch in Greensboro was coordinated by BitPath, which is developing new wireless services carried by the ATSC 3.0 signals. ■

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.