The National Association of Broadcasters says its technology incubator division, NAB Labs, is being renamed PILOT and that Google, Yahoo!, Nielsen and Accenture will be among its charter members.
Google and NAB have been on opposite sides of the spectrum tug-of-war as the FCC reclaims spectrum for broadcasters for wireless broadband, but in PILOT they will be joined in working on the tech and media delivery systems of the future with a focus on multiplatform digital distribution. They will even be members, at least associate members, of NAB and participate in tech program development and conventions, according to NAB.
“As the definition of what it means to be a broadcaster broadens, it is critical to work with traditional and new media partners on innovations to better meet the needs of future generations of consumers,” said NAB executive VP and CTO Sam Matheny. “PILOT will build these partnerships among visionaries who share the goal of tackling the challenges and opportunities facing the broadcast industry in the 21st century."
PILOT will be piloted by John Clark from the Reese News Lab at the University of North Carolina.
