Sony Announces Plans to Develop a 3.0 OTA Guide For The Phoenix Test Market

Today Sony and Pearl TV announced plans to work together to build an on-screen television program guide that will work with the new 3.0 OTA standard that is going to be tested by 10 Phoenix TV stations. To our knowledge, this is the first time a major TV manufacturer like Sony has committed to joining the 3.0 OTA test in Phoenix.

“Our finished product for the Phoenix Model Market will be the first Electronic Service Guide with program information from both broadcasters and multichannel providers built with ATSC 3.0 technology.  This innovative platform will bring a state-of-the-art experience to the viewer with interactivity, personalization and voice command support, both directly to the TV and indirectly through companion devices, such as tablets and mobile phones,” said Anne Schelle, Managing Director of Pearl TV.  Pearl is a business organization of U.S. broadcast companies with a shared interest in exploring forward-looking broadcasting opportunities, including innovative ways of promoting local broadcast TV content and developing digital media and wireless platforms for the broadcast industry.

Phoenix will serve as the first test market for deployment of 3.0 OTA TV. As part of this partnership, Sony will be involved in Pearl’s Phoenix Model Market later in 2018.

“Sony appreciates the vision and leadership that Pearl and the Model Market participants have demonstrated in establishing the Phoenix open test bed. As a result, next-generation TV will greatly expand consumer choices as ATSC 3.0 can be used to deliver pristine Ultra HDTV with expansive audio and also bring together broadcast and broadband sources,” stated Mike Fasulo, President and COO of Sony Electronics Inc. “We believe this work will lead to better viewer experiences for consumers as well as provide a great resource for the industry at large.”

“This will be the first fully-compliant implementation of an ATSC 3.0 interactive environment.  New applications developed for the ATSC 3.0 platform will control interactive advertising and offer consumers new capabilities, such as accessing digital coupons,” stated Pearl’s Schelle.  “The system will bring together broadcast over-the-air signals, cable and satellite retransmission, and streaming over-the-top channels for viewers of next-gen TV.  Recognizing that broadcasting needed to evolve, Sony has played an integral role in the development of ATSC 3.0 since the beginning of its development more than seven years ago as a key contributor of technology and industry leadership”.

“ATSC 3.0 is essential to the future of the terrestrial broadcast industry. Sony believes strongly in the convergence of broadcast, broadband, and mobile viewing made possible by ATSC 3.0,” said Paul Hearty, Vice President of Technical Standards at Sony Electronics Inc.

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