The ATSC 3.0 standard, marketed as NextGen TV, is narrowing the gap between traditional over-the-air broadcasting and internet-based streaming services. Its deployment across the U.S. is addressing key competitive disadvantages broadcasters faced in the streaming era. The ability to offer on-demand features is a significant shift, giving viewers control previously unavailable with an antenna.
“Start over” capability is a priority feature, letting viewers restart programs from the beginning. Anne Schelle of Pearl TV notes, “NBC rolled out across all their platforms in next gen, the NBC application in preparation for the Olympics that had start over, which is the first feature ever been deployed here. It’s been deployed and something that consumers know well in streaming.” Gray Media plans to extend this to local news, with Rob Folliard, SVP of government relations and distribution, stating, “We want to enable start over in all of our newscasts…So that’s a project that’s on the fast track.” He adds, “NBC definitely raised the bar…And start over, I think was very popular with the Olympics. I think it’ll be just as popular with local news because it’s an on demand world.”
NextGen TV also enables time-shifting beyond program restarts. Mary Crebassa, VP of major accounts at LTN, highlights, “Consumers enjoy new functionality and enhanced programming, including the ability to pause and rewind programs, a feature previously mainly reserved for streaming services.” The integration of broadcaster-controlled applications creates a more interactive viewing experience. Schelle describes it as, “NextGen TV creates an environment that very much mimics what Gen Zs are used to, which is the ability to start over, to have applications, to find out more information, more content, more access to the news, ways of looking at things in very modernized viewing environment.”
The Internet Protocol foundation of ATSC 3.0 facilitates web-like interactivity. Suzana Brady, SVP of worldwide sales and marketing for Cobalt Digital, explains, “NextGen TV is based on Internet Protocol (IP), just like online video services, and uses web languages for interactivity, so you can expect more innovation and new services, bringing consumers the best combination of online and broadcast television.” Broadcast applications can deliver supplementary content alongside linear programming. Crebassa emphasizes, “NextGen TV unlocks new interactive features that transform local programming…NextGen TV changes how viewers consume and engage with content.”
ATSC 3.0 integrates over-the-air delivery with internet connectivity. Costa Nikols, executive-team strategy advisor for media & entertainment at Telos Alliance, points out, “Speaking specifically about NGA, I think the biggest shift is going from channel-based audio to object-based. Streaming and hybrid broadcast-OTT are much more adaptable to implementing these new technologies, and even approaching NGA staged implementation phases.” This hybrid approach allows efficient linear programming delivery via broadcast, with additional content and services via broadband. Steve Edwards, VP, broadcast distribution, Rohde & Schwarz, adds, “Investments in new transmitters and middleware solutions are also key, allowing broadcasters to deliver hybrid broadcast-internet experiences while maintaining efficiency.”
NextGen TV improves content discovery and personalization. Nikols notes, “The enhancements around immersive and personalization features can be added based on takeup and adoption.” This extends to advertising, offering more relevant commercial content. Crebassa explains, “A viewer seeing an addressable ad can also be served an interactive overlay showing sales or offers specific to the nearest store. With just one click, the consumer can access more details or personalized offers.” Enhanced EPGs with detailed metadata boost engagement and monetization opportunities. Crebassa states, “Relevant and interactive content keeps consumers ‘switched on’ and boosts engagement, opening up more monetization opportunities for broadcasters and advertisers.” Improved audience measurement provides detailed viewership data, making over-the-air television more attractive to advertisers. Edwards observes, “Improved audience measurement and targeted advertising could make over-the-air television far more attractive to advertisers, helping broadcasters compete more effectively for ad revenue.”
NextGen TV supports advanced formats for improved visual and audio quality. Edwards highlights, “NextGen TV is a huge leap from traditional broadcasting, making a real difference in picture and sound quality with 4K, HDR, and immersive audio.” Folliard mentions their focus on HDR and Dolby Atmos implementation. Nikols points out the benefit of dialogue enhancement, stating, “With dialogue enhancement, every word is clear, so viewers don’t have to rewind, and won’t miss out on important parts.”
EdgeBeam Wireless plans to leverage ATSC 3.0 for datacasting services, addressing streaming’s vulnerability to bandwidth constraints. Their documentation states, “EdgeBeam will be able to deliver data across the country to any civilian or military device with an ATSC 3.0 receiver…” They see content delivery network assistance as a key application, noting, “EdgeBeam can help provide a significantly improved viewer experience for streaming services, without buffering or lag…” The broadcast standard offers reliability that internet-only delivery cannot match. Tsviatko Jongov, product manager at MainConcept, adds, “It also enhances transmission robustness through a hybrid OTA and OTT delivery model.”
Despite advancements, adoption challenges remain. Crebassa acknowledges, “I think we need to get the ATSC3 technology in more devices…to see more devices with that technology enabled in it.” Schelle notes industry efforts to increase adoption, stating, “We’ve really spent this last year focusing on the delivery of new services for consumers…worked really hard to get TV manufacturers to adopt next gen TV as well as set-top box makers.”
The industry aims to maintain broadcast’s content advantage while adopting streaming-like technologies. Folliard emphasizes, “Really broadcast without a doubt has the most popular and the best content that’s out there…The most popular programming…live sports, news, and other big events, they’re on broadcast. What we’ve missed is that we don’t have the usability features, the easy features that streaming offers. And that’s what NextGen is going to give us…It’s going to give us the same viewing experience that consumers like with streaming. So it’s taking the best content, which is on broadcast, and marrying it with the best technology. And I think if you put that together, that is a very powerful combination.”
The transition timeline will affect the speed of full implementation. Streaming and NextGen TV are not mutually exclusive, offering different pros and cons. For local stations, these features provide an advantage in leveling the means of distribution. The National Association of Broadcasters has petitioned the FCC to sunset ATSC 1.0 by 2028 in major markets, with complete transition by 2030.