Sinclair Broadcast Group said it completed a demonstration of how it can use NextGen TV signals to deliver a variety of in-vehicle services to equip automobiles.
Sinclair worked with Hyundai Mobis and Cast.Era, a joint venture of Sinclair and SK Telecom, during the demo, which took place in Arlington, Virginia, on December 22.
A live ATSC 3.0 feed was delivered to a Hyundai Palisade equipped with a Wi-Fi gateway. The feed enabled individualized in-car video entertainment, including location-targeted ad insertions, GPS services and emergency alerts.
Broadcasters including Sinclair have been upgrading their stations to transmit ATSC 3.0 signals and have been forecasting that NextGen TV will enable businesses to generate billions in incremental revenue for the industry.
“This achievement demonstrates Datacasting as one of the critical designed-in ‘Mobile First’ features of the NextGen Broadcast standard,” Mark Aitken, president of Sinclair’s One Media 3.0 unit, said. “As we build out our national wireless IP data distribution network, it is easy to see that the use cases of the automotive sector are centrally aligned with the efficient nature of a broadcast-enabled data distribution platform. This is simply the tip of the iceberg — natural synergy ripe for further development.”
The demonstration was the first collaboration under the recently executed Memorandum of Understanding between Hyundai Mobis and Sinclair. The companies agreed to partner on the development and implementation of NextGen Broadcast-enabled automotive business models in both South Korea and the U.S.
“The one-to-many architecture of ATSC 3.0, paired with 5G, enables the delivery of highly efficient mobile data and entertainment services,” said Kevin Gage, Cast.Era’s chief operating officer. “We are excited to share a first look for the US of our work with Hyundai Mobis for hybrid ATSC 3.0 / 5G geotargeted, in-vehicle usage, furthering our commitment to enhancing mobile services.” ■
