NextGen TV is now available on six local Philadelphia television stations.
After a launch last week, Philadelphians can watch six NextGen TV over-the-air supported channels for free, including sports content from the NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL. Current programs will continue to be available to all viewers through over-the-air, cable, or satellite companies.
It’s the latest city to embrace NextGen TV, an upgrade to an older broadcast standard that offers better quality video and enhances emergency alerts and severe weather coverage by improving location targeting. Check out NextGen TV’s coverage map to see if it’s available in your city.
The available channels are CBS’s KYW-TV (CBS, channel 3) and WPSG-TV (CW, channel 57), ABC’s WPVI (ABC, channel 6), NBC’s WCAU-TV (NBC, channel 10), FOX’s WTXF-TV (FOX, channel 29), and Univision’s WUVP-TV (Univision, channel 65).
Pearl TV is a broadcasting business group at the forefront of the transition to NextGen TV, which is said to be “future proof” by enabling television sets to advance alongside technological innovations.
“Today, and in the future, Philly viewers will have a television experience that is more immersive, with better picture quality, and enhanced audio features, and it will continue to be enhanced as broadcasters continue to innovate with new features and content,” said Anne Schelle, managing director of Pearl TV. “Broadcast television is one of the leading platforms for local news and NextGen TV nurtures and enhances local services for all Philly viewers.”
NextGen TV is a free digital broadcast that uses the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard, slowly replacing ATSC 1.0. Both are available for now, but eventually, the Federal Communications Commission will end ATSC 1.0 broadcasts. Transitioning stations to ATSC 3.0 while phasing out ATSC 1.0 is an ongoing process with no end of 1.0 scheduled.
NextGen TV’s ability to track location allows it to send necessary information to specific areas. Residents can specify their preferred language to receive such alerts.
The FCC doesn’t plan to restrict access to ATSC 1.0 but rather hopes people will naturally gravitate to the updated system. ATSC 3.0 is already available in 65 markets. In July, five stations in Reno, Nevada, began offering the updated broadcast. More cities are preparing to offer ATSC 3.0, including Chicago, Illinois, Cleveland, Ohio, Providence, Rhode Island, Tucson, Arizona, and more.
NextGen TV is built into more than 100 TV models by Hisense, Sony, LG Electronics, and Samsung. Prices start at $599.
NextGen TV is on track to reach 75% of U.S. households in 2023.