NEW ORLEANS—Six local TV stations have announced that they’ve launched NextGen TV broadcasts in New Orleans, bringing NextGen TV aka ATSC 3.0 signals to more than 660,000 households in the market.
The launch includes Tegna's WUPL (MyNetwork; channel 54), which is serving as the shared signal for the market, and WWL (CBS; channel 4); Gray Television's WVUE (Fox; channel 8); Hearst Television's WDSU (NBC; channel 6); Nexstar Media Inc.'s WGNO (ABC; channel 26) and WNOL (CW; channel 38).
The stations noted that NextGen TV is the first major overhaul to the Advanced Television Systems Committee's standard for receiving over-the-air (OTA) signals in 25 years.
In addition to providing the capabilities for a number of advanced features, NextGen TV also enables New Orleans broadcasters to strengthen its emergency alert systems, helping to make area communities safer during natural disasters or severe weather events. The new standard enables improved location-targeting with notifications sent to precise areas and viewers can choose the language in which they want to receive the emergency information. Multimedia files can also be added, upgrading the alerts with details such as maps or images. In times of crisis, NextGen TV's sophisticated emergency alerting will enable viewers in that market to get all the information they need without affecting those not in the path of the emergency.
"Local broadcast stations play an important news and information role in the communities we serve," said Anne Schelle, managing director of Pearl TV. "With changes in the broadcast television market over time, the value in bringing more innovation to newsrooms and viewers with smart solutions like NextGen TV is crystal clear. Launching NextGen TV enables broadcasters to deliver the latest news and emergency alerting information, which is critical in a geography such as New Orleans, where extreme weather events are common and local news updates and information is vital."
TV Tech has been tracking all the launches of NextGen TV/ATSC 3.0 broadcasts here.
Upcoming launches of NextGen TV are expected to occur in January of 2023 in Boston and Miami.
