Six New Orleans television stations launch NEXTGEN TV

Six New Orleans Television Stations Launch NEXTGEN TV Broadcasts

NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans television viewers can now experience the future of broadcast television as six local TV stations join to launch NEXTGEN TV. Delivering more expansive audio and video options, as well as other innovative capabilities, NEXTGEN TV brings an enhanced live broadcast viewing experience to more than 660,000 households, according to Nielsen media data, in the metro and outlying areas of New Orleans.

New Orleans viewers can now find six channels over-the-air with NEXTGEN TV: TEGNA’s WUPL (MyNetwork; channel 54), which is serving as the shared signal for the market, and WWL (CBS; channel 4); Gray Television’s WVUE (FOX; channel 8); Hearst Television’s WDSU (NBC; channel 6); Nexstar Media Inc.’s WGNO (ABC; channel 26) and WNOL (CW; channel 38). Viewers watching these channels can look forward to enhanced television viewing provided by NEXTGEN TV as a complement to streaming platforms, as NEXTGEN TV doesn’t compete for household bandwidth with over-the-top content, but is provided as a free over-the-air service to viewers.

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. Now broadcasting in more than 50 markets, NEXTGEN TV is expected to reach 60% of U.S. television households by the end of 2022.

NEXTGEN TV also enables New Orleans broadcasters to strengthen its emergency alert systems, helping to make area communities safer during natural disasters or severe weather events. The new standard enables improved location-targeting with notifications sent to precise areas and viewers can choose the language in which they want to receive the emergency information. Multimedia files can also be added, upgrading the alerts with details such as maps or images. In times of crisis, NEXTGEN TV’s sophisticated emergency alerting will enable viewers in that market to get all the information they need without affecting those not in the path of the emergency.

“Local broadcast stations play an important news and information role in the communities we serve,” said Anne Schelle, managing director of Pearl TV. “With changes in the broadcast television market over time, the value in bringing more innovation to newsrooms and viewers with smart solutions like NEXTGEN TV is crystal clear. Launching NEXTGEN TV enables broadcasters to deliver the latest news and emergency alerting information, which is critical in a geography such as New Orleans, where extreme weather events are common and local news updates and information is vital.”

Viewers can find NEXTGEN TV-enabled televisions from Hisense, Sony, LG Electronics and Samsung at local and national retailers, starting at $599. While features available on NEXTGEN TV will vary by device and broadcaster as commercial service launches in local markets, it is designed to be upgraded, enabling a viewer’s television set to advance seamlessly with the latest technology—in addition to sophisticated day-one video and audio features.

Associated with NEXTGEN TV is the RUN3TV web platform that brings interactive experiences and streaming content to over-the-air viewers. Built by broadcasters for broadcasters, RUN3TV’s web-based platform architecture enables stations to easily develop, innovate, and differentiate at the application services layer, allowing a consistent viewer experience across all NEXTGEN TV devices. The broadcaster can leverage advanced advertising in live and streaming content, audience insights, and premium content distribution thanks to the new platform.

“New Orleans will now get the most out of live news, events and sports programming, while giving its broadcasters a more compelling and interactive way to deliver their content,” continued Schelle. “These stations all share a commitment to provide their viewers with the best content and service and the launch of NEXTGEN TV enables that by creating a more inspired and personalized viewing experience.”

The participating stations have worked together 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. Cable and satellite subscribers do not need to take any action.