Broadcasters and Technology Suppliers to Rethink the Economics of Television Delivery with Transition to NEXTGEN TV

Rick Dumont, Advanced HDR by Technicolor

Anne Schelle, Pearl TV

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, November 4, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The U.S. broadcast television industry faces a complex technology and infrastructure transition as the adoption of ATSC 3.0 introduces new requirements for content production, transmission efficiency, receiver interoperability and equipment manufacturing. The transition also raises important economic questions about how broadcasters and technology suppliers can modernize television delivery without imposing excessive costs on an industry already confronting changing consumer viewing habits.

Marketed as NEXTGEN TV, ATSC 3.0 represents a significant upgrade to the digital broadcasting infrastructure introduced more than two decades ago. The standard supports higher-resolution video, high dynamic range (HDR), enhanced audio, interactive services and improvements in signal reception along with public service capabilities such as advanced emergency alerting and enhanced accessibility, including multiple languages and audio description. However, delivering these capabilities requires coordinated investments across an ecosystem that includes content producers, broadcast networks, technology licensors, semiconductor suppliers, television manufacturers and consumer electronics companies.

The industry must also manage the transition while maintaining access to existing over-the-air services. Unlike the earlier analog-to-digital conversion, the migration from ATSC 1.0 to ATSC 3.0 involves two generations of digital broadcasting technology, creating operational and financial considerations for broadcasters and equipment manufacturers.

During a recent executive vidcast interview, Anne Schelle, managing director of Pearl TV, and Rick Dumont, head of business development at Advanced HDR by Technicolor, examined the technical, commercial and regulatory issues influencing the transition.

According to Schelle, NEXTGEN TV signals are now available to nearly 80% of U.S. households through participating broadcasters. However, expanding transmission coverage represents only one dimension of the transition. Achieving widespread adoption requires the industry to align content availability, receiver compatibility, manufacturing economics and regulatory expectations.

HDR Production and Bandwidth Efficiency Reshape Broadcast Infrastructure

The transition to ATSC 3.0 is coinciding with broader changes in television production, particularly the increasing use of native HDR formats for live sports and other programming.

Historically, improvements in television picture quality were driven primarily by higher resolution. HDR introduces another dimension by expanding the brightness and contrast information available in video signals, enabling more detailed images in scenes with substantial variations in lighting.

According to Dumont, the limitations of standard dynamic range production are especially apparent in outdoor sports, where changing sunlight and shadows can create overexposed or underexposed images. Over the past several years, more broadcasters and production companies have begun capturing programming in native HDR, creating opportunities to preserve higher-quality source material throughout the distribution chain.

That development has implications for broadcast engineering and infrastructure investment. Delivering HDR programming requires coordination among production equipment, encoding systems, transmission networks and receiving devices. Each stage must accommodate differences in image formats and display capabilities while minimizing the additional bandwidth and processing requirements associated with enhanced video.
Dumont described the challenge as managing the entire glass-to-glass process, extending from the camera lens to the consumer's television screen.

Advanced HDR by Technicolor's SL-HDR1 technology addresses part of this challenge by supporting HDR delivery while maintaining compatibility with standard dynamic range displays. The approach allows broadcasters to distribute enhanced video information while accommodating receivers with different technical capabilities. Dumont said the technology is designed to preserve bandwidth efficiency, enabling improved picture quality without requiring a proportional increase in transmission capacity.

For broadcasters, this has financial significance because transmission bandwidth remains a finite resource. Technologies that improve picture quality without substantially increasing bandwidth consumption can reduce the pressure to expand infrastructure capacity or compromise other services. The broader operational challenge involves integrating these capabilities into existing broadcast workflows while preparing for additional developments, including expanded 4K programming.

Schelle expects major sporting events beginning in 2027 to accelerate the availability of 4K HDR programming over the air. For broadcasters and technology suppliers, these developments create incentives to modernize production and transmission systems while preserving flexibility to accommodate evolving formats and equipment.

Equipment Costs and Licensing Economics Influence the Migration

The economics of receiver manufacturing represent another important factor in the industry's transition strategy. Although compatible televisions are available from manufacturers including Samsung, Hisense, TCL, Sony and Panasonic, ATSC 3.0 reception is not yet universal across television product lines.

That creates a challenge for broadcasters seeking to expand the addressable audience for NEXTGEN TV services. Consumers with existing televisions may require external converter boxes to receive ATSC 3.0 signals, while manufacturers must determine how to incorporate additional functionality without significantly increasing product prices.

Schelle said Pearl TV recognized that affordable converter equipment would be necessary to support the transition, particularly among households that depend on free over-the-air television.

Consumer research conducted with Magid reinforced that assessment. According to Schelle, approximately 86% of surveyed over-the-air viewers indicated they would seek a way to maintain access to broadcast programming through either a compatible television or converter box. The findings informed an industry initiative to reduce the manufacturing costs of entry-level ATSC 3.0 receivers.

Pearl TV has worked with intellectual property holders, component suppliers and equipment manufacturers to negotiate favorable pricing arrangements for devices intended to support the transition.
The effort reflects the absence of a federal converter box subsidy program comparable to the one established during the earlier analog-to-digital migration.

Dumont said Advanced HDR by Technicolor is participating in the initiative by providing more favorable licensing terms to manufacturers developing compatible receivers. Such arrangements can help reduce the bill of materials and associated intellectual property costs, potentially allowing manufacturers to offer devices at prices more acceptable to consumers.

Schelle said three companies are participating in the converter box program, with products expected to become available in 2027.

The initial focus is on relatively simple devices that connect existing antennas to televisions through HDMI. More sophisticated receivers could eventually incorporate interactive applications, recording capabilities and whole-home distribution functionality. The tiered approach allows manufacturers to address different market segments without imposing the cost of advanced functionality on consumers who primarily want continued access to broadcast programming.

Dumont emphasized that technology suppliers must consider the economics of implementation across the entire value chain. Additional capabilities cannot depend on substantial increases in hardware costs if manufacturers are expected to support them across a broad range of television models.

For the industry, the commercial challenge involves balancing near-term investments and licensing revenue against the longer-term benefits of wider technology adoption.

Regulatory Uncertainty Complicates Investment and Deployment Planning

The transition's ultimate pace will also depend on regulatory decisions and the industry's ability to coordinate the retirement of legacy broadcasting infrastructure.

Since NEXTGEN TV launched in 2020, broadcasters have operated within a framework that allows the introduction of NEXTGEN TV services while preserving existing ATSC 1.0 programming. This arrangement has supported gradual deployment without immediately requiring consumers to replace receiving equipment.

However, maintaining compatibility with two transmission standards creates operational complexity and limits the industry's ability to complete the migration. Schelle said Pearl TV is advocating for the Federal Communications Commission to establish a definitive transition deadline and require compatible receiving equipment as part of the migration framework.

A clearer regulatory timetable could help broadcasters plan infrastructure investments, give manufacturers greater certainty about product requirements and establish a more predictable schedule for equipment deployment Without such coordination, the industry faces the prospect of an extended transition in which legacy and next-generation systems must coexist. That uncertainty also affects the commercial decisions of technology suppliers, which must determine how aggressively to invest in new capabilities while continuing to support existing products and customers.

Receiver identification is another practical consideration. Schelle said Pearl TV is developing a NEXTGEN TV logo for certified converter boxes so consumers and retailers can easily identify compatible products. Standardized identification could improve equipment selection and reduce confusion among consumers, retailers and manufacturers.

Meanwhile, broadcasters must continue developing programming that provides a compelling reason for viewers to adopt the new technology. Live sports are expected to play an important role, particularly as native HDR production becomes more widespread and 4K distribution expands. The combination of improved programming, more affordable receivers and greater regulatory clarity could create the conditions for faster adoption.

However, the transition also depends on whether broadcasters and their technology partners can demonstrate sufficient economic value to justify investments across production, transmission and receiving infrastructure. The broader implications extend to the competitive position of free over-the-air television.

As households increasingly combine streaming subscriptions with antenna-based reception, ATSC 3.0 could help broadcasters improve service quality while retaining the economic advantages of terrestrial distribution. According to Nielsen, the share of U.S. TV households that rely solely on an antenna rose from about 16% to 19% in the past year, a 17% increase and the fastest growth of any way of receiving TV. In some markets, such as Albuquerque, Oklahoma City and Houston, it ranges from nearly 30% to almost 35%. For technology suppliers and manufacturers, the transition presents opportunities to introduce new capabilities, but also requires cost discipline, interoperability and coordinated development.

Ultimately, the industry's progress will be measured by more than the geographic availability of NEXTGEN TV signals. The more consequential milestone will be the establishment of a commercially sustainable broadcasting ecosystem capable of delivering advanced television services while completing the migration away from legacy infrastructure.

Airrion Andrews
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