Today, ATSC 3.0 went live in Austin, Texas, with four local TV stations beginning to broadcast NextGen TV – KXAN-TV (NBC), KEYE-TV (CBS), KNVA (CW), and KBVO-CD (MyNet).
“The future of television is NextGen TV and we know that our viewers will embrace the multitude of services this new technology offers. This is an important day for KNVA and the city of Austin.” said TJ Vaughan of Vaughan Media, owner of KNVA.
The four stations have agreed to continue making current programming available to all viewers throughout the transition to NextGen TV. Antenna viewers can simply rescan their TV sets to ensure full service. Cable and satellite viewers won’t need to take any actions to keep watching.
“We are extremely pleased to be adding more markets to the growing list of areas where NextGen TV is available over the air,” said Brett Jenkins, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for Nexstar Media, owner of KXAN-TV and KBVO-CD. “These consistent upgrades to the transmission technology of our stations enable Nexstar to serve its existing viewers with better products while also opening up greater optionality for the company to pursue a variety of new business opportunities.”
Mark Aitken, Senior Vice President of Advanced Technology for Sinclair Broadcast Group, owner of KEYE-TV, said, “We are quite excited to bring the game-changing benefits of NextGen TV to our viewers in Austin, a city with a rich history of driving innovation and progress. Going forward, residents in the area can look for a more enjoyable viewing experience, with future upgrades to the system offering a more personalized and immersive viewing experience.”