Sinclair Broadcast Group is preparing 10 stations for mobile
DTV and aims to broadcast mobile-capable signals to them over the next six
months. The stations are KEYE Austin, WBFF Baltimore, WKRC Cincinnati,
WKEF-WRGT Dayton, WLOS Asheville, WPGH Pittsburgh, KUTV Salt Lake City, WPEC
West Palm Beach and KDNL St. Louis.
WSYX-WTTE Columbus are already doing so.
Consumers in these markets will get over-the-air content
from the stations by adding a plug-in adaptor to their smartphones and tablets.
"As local broadcasters who serve our communities every
day, we witness firsthand the value our content and services provide to
millions of viewers and businesses," said Mark Aitken, VP of advanced
technology at Sinclair and chairman of the ATSC A/153 Mobile DTV
standardization activity. "The pace of technology makes it imperative for
broadcasters to continue to lead in serving our communities. Broad adoption of
Mobile DTV, as a part of our local broadcast television offering, is the next
step."
Sinclair, a founding member of the Mobile500 Alliance, has
agreed to commit certain of its Fox affiliates to operate within the Mobile
Content Ventures' Dyle initiative.
Sinclair has been growing its local TV footprint
considerably, spending well over a billion dollars in the past 18 months on
acquisitions.
