‘Better Pictures’ Not the ‘Ultimate Best Use’ of ATSC 3.0, Says Sinclair CEO
The PyeongChang Olympics "were a great success" for Korean broadcasters that showcased ATSC 3.0 for Ultra HD video reception with high dynamic range, said Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley on a Wednesday earnings call. The “first iteration” of 3.0 for Korean broadcasters “has just been focused on better resolution, better pictures, which we don’t think is the ultimate best use of that technology, and I think they’ll agree,” said Ripley. He also said Sinclair feels "we're getting close" to landing DOJ and FCC approval of the proposed Tribune buy, but opponents of the deal disagree (see 1802280047).
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Korean broadcasters lack government “permission” to do mobile 3.0 transmissions and reception, “but they understand that is a core feature of this technology and are pushing to have that as a reality,” said Ripley. Several broadcasters “in a small area” tested 3.0 mobile reception “successfully” during the Olympics, “and I anticipate a big push in Korea for the broadcasters to be allowed to do mobility in the future,” he said.
The plans of a consortium of Sinclair, Nexstar, Univision and American Tower to run 3.0 market trials in Dallas (see 1801170053) are designed to test “multiple different aspects” of the next-generation broadcast technology, said Ripley. Dallas will be “a business test, in terms of getting the transition done and coming to an agreement with multiple broadcasters,” said Ripley. The “business side” of 3.0 “quite frankly is probably the most complicated part of the transition,” he said.
The Dallas trials will include a “fully functioning” single-frequency network with three additional towers added to give “high-quality” coverage to the “entire population” of the local metroplex, said Ripley. As a “technical test,” the Dallas trials will include “all the features that we’ve been talking about around 3.0,” he said. Those include targeted advertising, mobile reception, availability of subscription-based content, putting more channels “through the pipe” and having a platform based on internet protocol “end to end,” he said. He made no mention of 3.0's attributes in immersive audio or Ultra HD video with HDR.
The consortium picked Dallas “for a lot of different reasons,” said Ripley. “It’s a large metro, easy to get to. Samsung being there was a factor. There is a desire for many developers, Samsung being one of those, to have a sandbox, sooner rather than later, a high-quality sandbox, which is what Dallas will be, so they can start testing different products around ATSC 3.0.” Samsung representatives didn’t comment. The company runs an 800-employee-strong R&D and customer care campus in Richardson, Texas, about 15 miles northeast of downtown Dallas.
From Sinclair’s perspective, “the sky’s the limit” for “what can be done” to advance 3.0 in the Dallas trials, said Ripley. “We’re very excited about the core benefits to the TV product, in terms of addressable ads and subscription-based offerings, and just more offerings. But beyond that, we think there are incredible opportunities around connected cars, skinny bundles and mobile video viewing. We’re just at the beginning of unpacking some of those opportunities, but Dallas will be a great playground, or sandbox, for that to be proved out.”