RALEIGH, N.C., Nov. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Five leading local television stations in Raleigh, NC, including WTVD (ABC), WNCN (CBS), WUVC (Univision), WLFL (CW), and WRDC (MyNet), today became among the first in the nation to begin broadcasting with NEXTGEN TV, a revolutionary new digital broadcast technology. Based on the same fundamental technology as the Internet, digital applications, and other web services, NEXTGEN TV can support a wide range of features currently in development, such as immersive audio and video (up to 4K), broadcasting to mobile devices, personalized viewing tools, and advanced emergency alerts providing rich media instead of simple text messages. NEXTGEN TV also allows full integration with 5G and other broadband-delivered Internet content.

Powered by ATSC 3.0, NEXTGEN TV is the most significant broadcast technology upgrade ever. Today's launch in Raleigh is one of the first in the country for NEXTGEN TV and follows a decade of development of the new technology and months of planning and preparation by the local stations. BitPath, which is developing new data broadcasting services, led the planning process and coordinated efforts across the five television stations.

The participating stations have cooperated to ensure that current programming remains available to all viewers, regardless of whether their television service is provided over-the air or by a cable or satellite company. Antenna viewers can simply rescan their TV sets to ensure full service.  Rescan instructions are available at: fcc.gov/rescan. Cable and satellite subscribers do not need to take any action.

Mark Aitken, Senior Vice President of Advanced Technology for Sinclair Broadcast Group, owner of WLFL and WRDC, said, "As one of the anchor points of the Research Triangle, where innovation is ingrained in its culture, it's only appropriate for us to usher in the latest revolution in broadcast technology to Raleigh.  We are thrilled to bring the benefits of NEXTGEN TV to this high-tech mecca, bringing a brand-new paradigm in broadcasting to the viewers in the area."

"Bringing NEXTGEN TV to Nexstar's Raleigh television station enables us to continue moving forward with the roll-out of this highly sophisticated technology across all of our 115 markets," said Brett Jenkins, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for Nexstar, owner of WNCN. "The faster we deploy NEXTGEN TV, the faster we can begin delivering important upgrades for our viewers and advertisers—improving the visual experience, adding interoperability with the Internet, and enabling more narrowly focused targeting of consumers."

"Univision is excited to rollout NEXTGEN TV at our Univision Raleigh station, which marks our third market where we'll be deploying this groundbreaking broadcast technology," said Luis Fernandez-Rocha, Regional Vice President, Western Region, for Univision, which owns WUVC. "Raleigh-Durham is well known as a major technology hub so we are pleased that our viewers will be among the first in the country to have access to this new and innovative TV viewing experience."

John Hane, President of BitPath, said, "Raleigh-Durham marks our ninth market launch this year, and our seventh top-40 market. WRDC, WNCN and WLFL will be charter stations in BitPath's broadcast data network. Pending expected launch of WRAL (NBC), WRAZ (Fox) and WUNC (PBS) later this year, the Research Triangle will be one of most fully deployed ATSC 3.0 markets in the country."

About WLFL and WRDC - Sinclair

WLFL and WRDC are leading Raleigh, NC television stations owned and operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SBGI), a diversified media company and leading provider of local sports and news. WLFL is affiliated with the CW network and WRDC is affiliated with the MyNetworkTV. Sinclair owns and/or operates 23 regional sports network brands; owns, operates and/or provides services to 190 television stations in 88 markets; is a leading local news provider in the country; owns multiple national networks; and has TV stations affiliated with all the major broadcast networks. For more information, please visit http://myrdctv.com/ and sbgi.net.

About ABC11/WTVD-TV Raleigh-Durham

The only local news station with three downtown newsrooms (Raleigh/Fayetteville/Durham), ABC11 Eyewitness News provides 45.5 hours of local news every week, serving more than 1 million households in a 23-county area in North Carolina and Virginia. Eyewitness News also provides news, weather and sports information 24 hours a day on ABC11.com, the ABC11 mobile news app and the new connected TV app available on Roku, Fire, Apple, and Android TVs. ABC11 WTVD is one of eight ABC Owned Stations as part of the Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution division.

About WNCN – Nexstar

WNCN is a leading television station in Raleigh, NC, owned and operated by Nexstar Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ: NXST).  Nexstar is the nation's largest operator of local television stations and a leading diversified media company that leverages localism to bring new services and value to consumers and advertisers through its broadcasting, digital and mobile media platforms. WNCN is affiliated with the CBS network.

About WUVC - Univision 

WUVC 40 Univision Raleigh is owned and operated by Univision Communications Inc., the leading Hispanic media company in the U.S. dedicated entertaining, informing and empowering Hispanics with news, sports and entertainment content across broadcast and cable television, audio and digital platforms. WUVC 40 Univision Raleigh has served Latino audiences in the area since 2003. For more information, visit corporate.univision.com.

About BitPath

BitPath is building the nation's first dedicated broadcast data network to provide innovative new wireless services at a fraction of the cost of cellular systems. Based in Arlington, Virginia, the BitPath network will launch in early 2021 covering at least seventeen cities, with dozens covered by 2022.  For more information visit bitpath.com.

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SOURCE BitPath