LAS VEGAS—Sinclair Executive Chairman of the Board David Smith called ATSC 3.0 the “single biggest opportunity ever available to the broadcast industry” at a Monday press event.
Also present at the press conference was ONE Media President Mark Aitken, who presented plaques to representatives from DigiCap, Ateme and Enensys for helping Sinclair roll out ATSC 3.0. ONE Media is a subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group.
Smith mentioned Bill Gates’ prediction that the internet was the beginning of the end for broadcasting.
“It wasn’t the beginning of the end. … This show is really the end of the beginning. [ATSC] 3.0 really is ready for deployment, and it’s time for this industry to get out of its own way,” said Smith.
Smith added that the industry needs to coalesce market by market to get the build-out done and said the kinds of data possible with 3.0 will keep broadcasters afloat for the next generation. While some digital outlets are selling consumer data, broadcasters have, until quite recently, been encumbered in their data efforts by handwritten Nielsen diaries, he noted. Smith said broadcasters’ advertising challenges were based on the inability to deliver modern data to advertisers.
Also, Smith said when public safety personnel and politicians hear what is possible for enhancing emergency alerts and safety aspects of 3.0, they want the technology.
Smith concluded, “The future success of our industry depends on our ability to deliver 3.0 to every device in the marketplace. … Getting access to the consumer is the sole determinant of industry success.”
