Broadcasters form JV to offer ATSC 3.0 data services in the US

Local Broadcasters Form Joint Venture to Provide High-Speed Data Transmission Services to Clients Across the United States

LAS VEGAS — Four of the nation’s largest independent local broadcasting groups have come together to form EdgeBeam Wireless, LLC, a joint venture created to provide robust wireless data services to a wide range of businesses and industries across the country.

The E.W. Scripps Company, Gray Media, Inc., Nexstar Media Group, Inc., and Sinclair, Inc. launched the new company ahead of meetings this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Leveraging broadcasters’ uniquely efficient network architecture and the ATSC 3.0 transmission standard, EdgeBeam Wireless will provide expansive, reliable, and secure data delivery services. Using the broadcasters’ existing ATSC 3.0 facilities to deliver data has immediate applications for industries that need to send data to multiple customers, often in real time. This approach delivers a notably cost-effective solution that complements and enhances current wireless solutions.

Among EdgeBeam’s potential applications:

• Automotive connectivity – including software updates, infotainment, precision navigation, and safety enhancements. The total addressable market for automotive connectivity services is as much as $3.7 billion per year according to internal estimates.
• Content delivery networks – EdgeBeam can help provide a significantly improved viewer experience for streaming services, without buffering or lag, particularly during high profile events with large audiences, such as live sports. The total addressable market for CDN services is estimated to be as much as $3.65 billion per year.
• Enhanced GPS – ATSC 3.0 can be used to improve the accuracy of GPS location information to mere centimeters as opposed to meters today. The total addressable market for enhanced GPS services is estimated to be as much as $220 million per year.

EdgeBeam will be able to deliver data across the country to any civilian or military device with an ATSC 3.0 receiver, such as cars and trucks, drones, marine vessels, phones, tablets, and television sets.

This partnership creates a spectrum footprint that no individual broadcaster could achieve on its own, unlocking the potential of ATSC 3.0 to offer nationwide coverage for data delivery to billions of potential devices on market-disrupting terms. EdgeBeam anticipates partnering with other broadcasters for additional capacity to offer truly nationwide services. A national ATSC 3.0 footprint could also allow broadcasters to provide a complementary backup to existing GPS capabilities in the event GPS satellites were subject to interference – helping to secure the U.S. economy.

“The launch of EdgeBeam Wireless is the culmination of many years of technological advancement, market development and, importantly, recognition by government regulators of the expanded services local broadcasters can provide through ATSC 3.0 technology,” said Scripps President and CEO Adam Symson. “Scripps is pleased to join forces with its peer companies to create not just a new company but a marketplace that will allow us to more deeply serve our local communities while providing a wide variety of industries with efficient data-transmission services nationwide.”

“With adoption of ATSC 3.0 receivers in television sets continuing to increase with more models available and sets sold every year, Gray Media is eager to join EdgeBeam Wireless to expand the user base for our broadcast signals to a new category of businesses and to spur the wider deployment of receiver chips in an expanded range of handheld units and vehicles,” explained Hilton Howell, Gray Media’s Executive Chairman and CEO.

Nexstar Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Perry Sook said, “Our long-held belief is that the transmission of high-speed data via our broadcast infrastructure represents a new way forward for the broadcast industry and a new stream of potentially significant revenue. Nexstar is pleased that these four broadcast groups have come together to create this important new venture.”

“This is a groundbreaking development for the broadcast industry,” said Sinclair, Inc. President and CEO Chris Ripley. “We’re thrilled to partner with other leaders in our industry to chart a new path forward and develop new revenue opportunities. EdgeBeam Wireless will have benefits for the entire wireless ecosystem, helping to relieve congestion while also offering competitive pricing for wide-area data distribution.”