Four Hartford TV stations launch NEXTGEN TV

Tuesday, October 12th, 2021 
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Four Hartford Television Stations Launch NEXTGEN TV

  • Transition Delivers Enhanced Broadcast Video, Audio, and Enables Future Interactive Applications

HARTFORD, Conn. — The future arrived today for Hartford area television viewers, as four local TV stations launched NEXTGEN TV, a revolutionary new digital broadcast technology based on the same fundamental technology as the internet and digital apps. NEXTGEN TV provides viewers with an enhanced live broadcast experience, delivering higher-quality audio, visual capabilities, and enabling a range of future internet-based innovations.

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. NEXTGEN TV offers the best combination of the online experience and broadcast television.

Located in one of the country’s top 50 media markets, Hartford viewers will now be able to get the most out of live news, events, and sports programming, as NEXTGEN TV can incorporate internet content so that viewers are informed and entertained. Fans of news, sports, and entertainment programming will be excited about the revolutionary way in which they can interact with their television screen.

“NEXTGEN TV will fundamentally change the broadcast industry and make it better,” said Kurt Rao, senior vice president and chief technology officer, TEGNA. “NEXTGEN TV is a thorough upgrade to traditional television, offering 4K resolution, HDR content, and better volume and audio consistency across channels. We know Hartford viewers will appreciate the current and future news and entertainment enhancements made possible by this new technology.”

NEXTGEN TV is a feature built into select new TV models manufactured by LG Electronics, Samsung, and Sony—and widely available to consumers with a rapidly growing number of television sets in homes across the U.S. While features available on NEXTGEN TV will vary by device and by broadcaster as commercial service becomes available in local markets, it is designed to be upgradable, enabling a viewer’s television set to advance in lockstep with the latest technology.

“Launching Hartford is another milestone in the rollout of NEXTGEN TV in the northeast, where area residents are excited to engage with their screens and broadcast content,” said Anne Schelle, managing director of Pearl TV, a broadcaster business association managing the NEXTGEN TV rollout. “As more features are added by broadcasters and set manufacturers, viewers will not only look to their NEXTGEN TV television sets for entertainment, but also for deeper local and global news experiences.”

Hartford viewers can now find four channels over-the-air with NEXTGEN TV: TEGNA’s WCCT (CW, channel 20) and WTIC (FOX, channel 61), Meredith Local Media Group’s WFSB (CBS, channel 3), and Nexstar Media Group’s WTNH (ABC, channel 8). Viewers watching these channels can look forward to enhanced television viewing provided by NEXTGEN TV as a complement to streaming platforms, as NEXTGEN TV is provided as a free OTA service to viewers.

The participating stations have worked together to ensure that current programming remains available to all viewers, regardless of whether their television service is provided OTA or by a cable or satellite company. Antenna viewers can simply rescan their TV sets to ensure full service.

Links: Pearl TV; TEGNA; Nexstar