NEW YORK—In a major step forward in the broadcast industry’s move to ATSC 3.0, NBCUniversal announced that it is launching personalized broadcast experiences through its NextGen TV (ATSC 3.0) over-the-air channels on NBC- and Telemundo-owned stations in four markets.
Up until now, content for viewers of NextGen TV has mostly been limited to simulcasts of a local station’s primary 1.0 signal. The new service represents a significant milestone in realizing NextGen TV’s full potential by introducing personalization, hyper-localization and enhanced content capabilities to broadcast television to improve the viewer experience and enable advanced engagement, advertising, and measurement opportunities, services that have been promised but not realized until now.
The new experience—which automatically launches when viewers tune into a NextGen TV over-the-air channel—is now available on NBC- and Telemundo-owned stations in the New York (NBC 4 / WNBC and Telemundo 47 / WNJU), Los Angeles (NBC4 / KNBC), Philadelphia (NBC 5 / WCAU) and Miami (NBC6 / WTVJ and Telemundo 51 / WSCV) markets. Additional NBC- and Telemundo-owned stations, which are part of NBCUniversal Local, will soon deploy the new application in major media markets across the nation, NBCUniversal said.
NBCUniversal and its partners are demonstrating the new product at this week’s 2024 NAB Show in Las Vegas through April 17.
“The launch of this innovative experience is a considerable milestone for broadcast television and demonstrates the immense potential and possibilities NextGen TV has for viewers, programmers, stations and advertisers,” said Shawn Makhijani, Senior Vice President of Business Development and Strategy & NBC Spot On, NBCUniversal Advertising & Partnerships. “We are proud to further our leadership position in ATSC 3.0 by developing this innovative product with our partners and look forward to the continued evolution of its capabilities and benefits. We are truly excited to present these enhancements to our NBC and Telemundo viewers in several top markets, with more to come.”
Created in partnership with Fincons, Ease Live (an Evertz company) and Pearl TV, features of NBCUniversal’s new product are highlighted by the ability to restart programs when joined in progress; hyper-localized elements integrated into the TODAY show; and access to personalized weather information—including radar, forecasts and meteorologist reports—and severe weather alerts. The experience also provides expanded and enhanced access to content, including clips, full episodes and alternate programming from NBC and Telemundo’s local and national news, sports and entertainment shows and events, NBCUniversal said.
NBCUniversal’s new experience also expands safety controls and access to public service notifications, while enabling near-real time viewer and program metrics. The data integration delivers rich public safety alerts from both the FEMA Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) and The Weather Channel (TWC) customized to viewers’ locations and specific households.
In addition, data tracking enables rich, near real-time audience metrics that can be leveraged to inform personalized editorial, programming and advertising in a privacy-minded way. In the future, advertisers will be able to target strategic audiences on broadcast through new enhancements such as dynamic ad insertion, creating a more relevant experience for viewers and effective strategy for marketers.
Now broadcasting in more than 70 markets, NextGen TV is currently available to 75% of U.S. television households.
