In their Chat Room this month, THE STANDARD sat down with Marc Hand, CEO and co-founder of Public Media Company, who also leads the Public Media Venture Group, a coalition that includes stations that serve more than 188 million Americans – and that group is squarely focused on the potential for ATSC 3.0 with public TV broadcasters. Since its founding more than a quarter...
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Going into the Consumer Electronics Show next week (Jan. 9-12) in Las Vegas, broadcasters will have one eye on exciting new products and services and the other on the rollout of the new ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard that the FCC authorized last November. “It’s an implementation year,” said Anne Schelle, Pearl CEO. Pearl, a coalition of major TV station groups, is “developing deployment plans...
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(Via FCC News) The Federal Communications Commission today adopted new rules to let television broadcasters use the Next Generation broadcast television transmission standard, also called ATSC 3.0, on a voluntary, market-driven basis. The Next Generation TV standard will let broadcasters provide consumers with more vivid pictures and sound, including Ultra High Definition television and superior reception, mobile viewing capabilities, advanced emergency alerts, better accessibility...
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(Via TVNewsCheck) Spectrum speculator OTA Broadcasting has donated the license and other assets of low-power WEBR-CD New York to noncommercial WNET New York, according to the transfer application filed with the FCC. OTA has also agreed to donate $12,500 to WNET. OTA may need the tax deduction. Earlier this year, it sold the WEBR’s UHF spectrum in the FCC incentive auction for $72.8 million,...
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(From TVTechnology.com) A group of public TV stations have formed the Public Media Venture Group, which aims to explore operating models and revenue opportunities around the conversion to ATSC 3.0 next-generation broadcast protocol. The coalition says it will coordinate plans for an effective shift to ATSC 3.0, as well as focus on a variety of efforts including emergency communications, increased program streams, and revenue-generating...
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Public Media Company announces the launch of the Public Media Venture Group, a coalition of public media television stations serving over 150 million Americans. Public Media Venture Group member stations are committed to working together and investing collaboratively in “Next Generation TV” for the benefit of the American people. Public Media Company will help Public Media Venture Group members plan an effective conversion to...
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Worried about paying for auction-related equipment costs, ATSC 3.0 upgrades or general equipment needs? Public Media Company has secured over $20 million from a combination of non-profit and traditional bank lenders to assist public television stations with equipment financing needs through an affordable loan program. Additionally, there might be other lenders interested in providing financing solutions to public TV stations on a case-by-case basis....
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By PMC CEO Marc Hand, writing in Current: Despite eye-popping windfalls for some stations, the FCC broadcast spectrum auction was a disappointment for public media. Here’s why: Prior to the start of the auction, the prevailing wisdom was that the forward auction would generate anywhere between $30 billion and $60 billion in gross proceeds. Some experts were even more bullish — predicting numbers of...
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The new ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard won’t wash your car, fold your laundry or provide tomorrow’s winning lottery numbers. Beyond that, though, broadcasters attending PBS TechCon are being promised a wide array of benefits from the next-generation digital TV system that’s a focus of this year’s convention. “There is really a significant opportunity for increased service,” Public Media Company CEO Marc Hand told a...
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As we transition from the FCC spectrum auction and the FCC auction quiet period, public television stations may face unique and interesting post-auction opportunities that could allow them to improve their service, generate additional revenue, or both. To take advantage of these opportunities, however, public television stations will need to move quickly: Broadcasters will have until sometime in mid-July to file their construction permit...
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