HUNT VALLEY, Md.—Sinclair Broadcast Group has announced its acquisition of two Class A TV stations located in the Washington, D.C., market: WIAV-CD and WDCO-CD. With the acquisition, Sinclair plans to demonstrate NextGen TV capabilities.
WMTM LLC sold WIAV-CD (Channel 30, D.C.) and WDCO-CD (Channel 24, Woodstock, Va.) to Sinclair for $8.5 million. WIAV is a high-power Class A facility that can transmit 48 kW, while WDCO provides a standard 15 kW Class A signal. The two stations will operate from their own transmitter facilities but will be coordinated with Sinclair’s D.C. ABC affiliate, WJLA.
Sinclair will use WIAV’s channel capacity to provide broadcast internet services, demonstrating the "mobile first" capabilities of the ATSC 3.0 NextGen TV standard, including datacasting, IP-based delivery of UHD video, advanced emergency alerting and more. NextGen TV can be integrated with broadband and 5G communications, supporting these services across multiple device platforms.
“We now have a prime showcase for the amazing features of NextGen TV that members of Congress and the Federal Communications Commission can witness first-hand,” said Chris Ripley, Sinclair president and CEO. “This platform will enable us to show to policy makers directly the incredible advantages broadcasters can bring to the public through the efficient use of our broadcast spectrum. Looking ahead, as we deploy this technology throughout the country, we are eager for continued collaboration within our industry to realize the promise of NextGen TV fully and are excited to bring this innovation to audiences everywhere, forever changing the way we use, and think of, broadcast television.”
WIAV will continue to operate an ATSC 1.0 service as well, which will provide UniMás programming pursuant to a channel sharing agreement with Entravision and the TBD Network. WDCO will also broadcast TBD Network programming.
