Fox's Richard Friedel to Chair ATSC

WASHINGTON – The Advanced Television Systems Committee board of directors has elected industry veteran Richard Friedel of Fox Networks as ATSC board chairman for 2016.

Friedel is the executive vice president and general manager for Fox Networks Engineering & Operations. He oversees long-term technology strategy and day-to-day operations for the Fox Network Center in Los Angeles and the Fox Houston Technical Operations Center, home of Fox Sports’ regional networks, and provides technical support for 14 regional production centers. Before joining Fox, Friedel served in various positions at Capital Cities/ABC, NBC News and local television stations.

He is a fellow of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers and a member of the Audio Engineering Society, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Society of Broadcast Engineers and Society of Cable Television Engineers. In addition to his ATSC responsibilities, he serves as President of the Video Services Forum and is a member of the North American Broadcasters Association Board of Directors.

Friedel was honored by the National Association of Broadcasters with the 2015 NAB Engineer-ing Achievement Award, bestowed to individuals nominated by their peers for significant contributions to advancing the state of the art in broadcast engineering.

“Richard has been an active and insightful member of the ATSC board, and his leadership will be critical during this important year as the next-generation ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard is finalized,” said ATSC President Mark Richer, who also thanked outgoing Board Chairman Glenn Reitmeier of NBC Universal for his service. Reitmeier, who has served three terms as ATSC Chairman, continues on the board.