PITTSBURGH—Pittsburgh joins the list of growing markets that have launched the ATSC 3.0 (aka NextGen TV) standard, as WPGH (Fox), WTAE (ABC) and WPNT (MyNet) stations began broadcasting ATSC 3.0 on this week.
WPGH and WPNT are owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, WTAE is owned by Hearst Television.
The three participating stations have cooperated to ensure that all existing programming remains available to viewers in the area. Viewers using antennas can ensure full service by rescanning their TVs—via instructions on www.22thepoint.com—while cable and satellite subscribers do not need to take any action
“Broadcasting started here in Pittsburgh 100 years ago,” said Kent Crawford, general manager at WPGH and WPNT. “It’s only appropriate then for us to usher in the latest in broadcast innovation. We are excited to continue this legacy and introduce our viewers to an extraordinary new TV experience.”
Pittsburgh joins the likes of Las Vegas, Phoenix, Dallas, Boise, Idaho, and Santa Barbara, Calif., as markets that have launched NextGen TV, which will help bring new services like higher resolution, advanced emergency alerting and personalization tools to broadcasts.
ATSC, the organization that developed the ATSC 3.0 standard, and NAB previously have announced that their goal was to have NextGen TV launch in 40 markets by the end of 2020.
