Sinclair Offers Public TV Stations ATSC 3.0 Virtual Channels
Sinclair Broadcast will provide free carriage of virtual channels from public TV stations that haven’t transitioned to ATSC 3.0 -- sometimes called NextGenTV -- in markets where Sinclair stations are broadcasting 3.0, Sinclair and America’s Public Television Stations said in…
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a joint release Wednesday. Virtual channels are essentially websites accessible by 3.0-enabled devices; to a viewer using a 3.0-enabled television they appear similar to other ATSC 3.0 channels but aren’t delivered over airwaves and don’t take up spectrum capacity (see 2203300052). The virtual channel would allow the public TV stations to take advantage of 3.0 capabilities such as high dynamic range video, said the release. Many public TV stations have been slower to transition to 3.0 due to the expense and a lack of channel-hosting partners in their markets. “This partnership with Sinclair will help serve local communities while we work with other public television stations to transition to NEXTGEN TV to advance their public service missions,” said APTS CEO Patrick Butler in the release. Sinclair has 3.0 stations in 43 markets, 36 of which have public TV stations without 3.0, the release said.