BOULDER, Colo.—The Public Media Venture Group (PMVG) announced it will collaborate with Washington, D.C.-based Convergence Services Inc. (CSI) to identify and develop NextGen TV services and new revenue opportunities for PMVG’s nationwide collective of public media stations.
John Lawson, president of CSI, will advise PMVG with a focus on what the group has dubbed “techno-political strategy,” which it defines as the intersection of business, technology and policy.
Together, the companies will develop new member revenue sources, including private and public funding, private investment and strategic partnerships. Their efforts will concentrate on expanding local program services, education and remote learning, emergency messaging, rural connectivity and data delivery, PMVG said.
“We are excited to join forces with PMVG,” said Lawson. “They have a national footprint with leading public television stations that reach almost 70% of U.S. households. Equally impressive is the organizational structure they’ve built that enables non-commercial licensees to pursue innovation and sustainability.”
Lawson also serves as executive director of the Advanced Warning and Response Network (AWARN) Alliance, a coalition of broadcasters, consumer electronics makers and B2B tech companies that is developing a voluntary framework for advanced emergency alerting, news and information using NextGen TV. Currently, four public broadcasters are members of the AWARN Alliance and PMVG, “a good indication of how the missions [of both organizations] intersect,” said Lawson.
“This collaboration with CSI will bring an important set of strategic links to PMVG and the PMVG stations.” said Marc Hand, CEO of PMVG.
“We think that by working together we can help to accelerate the adoption of NextGen TV among PMVG stations and the broader public television community, a priority for both our organizations. Viewers and communities around the country will benefit,” he added.
More information is available on the PMVG website.
