In July 2022, entrepreneur and low-power television industry champion “SuperFrank” Copsidas brought the first ATSC 3.0-powered television station to Boston.
Now, “after 17 months of frustration and expenditures,” he’s pulled the plug on the broadcast TV standard tied to the rollout of NEXTGEN TV.
Thus, WCRN-LD 31, which uses digital channel 25, is going back to ATSC 1.0.
The launch of ATSC 3.0 technology on WCRN was independent of any efforts involving the “Big Four” TV players in Boston, comprised of Cox Media Group, Hearst Television, CBS and NBC. That came in early 2023, with CBS O&O WBZ-4 in Boston; Cox Media Group-owned FOX affiliate WFXT-25; NBC O&O WBTS-CD; The E.W. Scripps Co.’s ABC affiliate, WCVB-5; TelevisaUnivision’s WUNI-66; PBS Member station WGBH-TV; and WWJE-TV in Derry, N.H., the MyNetwork TV affiliate serving greater Boston each launching ATSC 3.0 signals on a “lighthouse” station other than WCRN.
Meanwhile, Copsidas had simultaneously linked up with another LPTV figure — Bill Christian — in pioneering “5G Broadcasting,” with the FCC granting him an experimental license for Boston-market LPTV station WWOO-LD.
Explaining his decision regarding WCRN and abandoning ATSC 3.0, Copsidas, in the LPTV Broadcasters Association’s weekly member letter, said, “The LPTVBA stood behind ATSC 3.0 for the last two years as it lands on its feet. We continue to do so helping members deploy ATSC 3.0 as I write this. We have successfully been able to bring three solutions to the market for ATSC 3.0 for under $30,000 for our members. We also have found opportunities for our members to benefit from deploying ATSC 3.0. It is up to a station owner to decide the correct platform for their community and their business plan.”
To be clear, Copsidas’ company remains a ATSC member. But, he shares that while some LPTVBA members’ ATSC 3.0 deployments have been successful, “my experience with two different ATSC 3.0 vendors has been different.”
In particular, he invested $50,000 of his personal funds in labor and consulting over the past two years to get ATSC 3.0 to properly function at WCRN. This, he said, “means programming channels and data pipes for first responders working together.” He continued, “I have brought in ‘expert’ after ‘expert’ to no avail. In fairness, Digicap did offer to deploy their software solution but I am over testing. We have gone back to ATSC 1.0.”
Meanwhile, 5G Broadcasting tests are ongoing and Copsidas believes “it is a year away from being ready for prime time.” The problem? There are still no readily available receivers for the public.
“This is a positive in my eyes as it gives us the time to debug and enhance the modulator software and apps,” he said. The rollout year is envisioned as 2025, with a main focus on emergency alerts and first responders. “That is when I project my station values will increase as well due to a solid business model for revenue and serving the ‘best and highest’ use of the spectrum for the public good,” Copsidas concluded.
