OMAHA, Neb.—In an important milestone in the rollout of new streaming services and programming for connected TVs using NextGen TV, Sinclair and Nebraska Public Media have announced the launch of the first free "Broadcast-Enabled Streaming TV" (BEST) Channel in Omaha, Nebraska.
As a result of the launch, Nebraska Public Media’s PBS and local programming is now hosted on KPTM, Sinclair’s Fox affiliate in Omaha, as a free, virtual channel in addition to its other programming offerings. Nebraska Public Media’s virtual channel delivers programming in high dynamic range (SL-HDR1), significantly enhancing video quality for viewers.
BEST channels are transmissions that provide programming directly over-the-air to smart TVs using the NextGen broadcast data channel capacity of a host broadcaster. Viewers with NextGen TVs can view and select the channel in their programming guide and access the channel seamlessly over the internet.
The launch builds on the March announcement by Sinclair and America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) that Sinclair would provide carriage of APTS member stations for free in markets where Sinclair has deployed NextGen Broadcast Service (ATSC 3.0) and a public television station has not.
The launch in Omaha is the first under this arrangement, which will help public stations roll out NextGen TV services. “We are proud to be the vanguard in offering this unique service to our Omaha viewers,” Peter Clowney, chief operating officer for Nebraska Public Media, said. “Our partnership with KPTM will help ‘prime the pump’ for full NextGen Broadcast Service as the national rollout of this technology continues.”
Kate Riley, president and CEO of APTS, added: “This is an excellent example of commercial and public broadcasters cooperating to bring the remarkable NextGen Broadcast Service to more public television viewers and to enhance public television stations services to their local communities.”
“We are thrilled to announce the successful launch of this service in conjunction with our public broadcasting friends at Nebraska Public Media,” said Rob Weisbord, Sinclair’s chief operating officer and president of broadcast. “For public television stations that have not yet launched NextGen service, we hope that this partnership will demonstrate the tremendous upside to using this new transmission technology.”
