Until now, the CBC operating in the U.S. — Capitol Broadcasting Co. — owns three television stations in North Carolina. Soon, the company led by Jimmy Goodmon will add a fourth property, a LPTV, to the mix.
What’s the plan for the company pioneering ATSC 3.0 and NEXTGEN TV in the Triangle region?
It’s all about ATSC 3.0 hosting, as NBC affiliate WRAL-5 and FOX sibling WRAZ-50 in Raleigh are both using WARZ-CD at digital channel 23 with a PSIP of Channel 34 as its NEXTGEN home by way of a hosting agreement forged Sept. 11.
That deal presages an outright purchase of WARZ-CD by Capitol from Waters and Brock Communications.
The seller is led by Gerald Waters, who years from now may be remembered as an integral player in the transition from ATSC 1.0 to ATSC 3.0.
WARZ is licensed to Smithfield-Selma, N.C., and is being sold for $725,000. A $36,250 deposit has been made and is being held by legal counsel Jeffrey Timmons
Capitol Broadcasting has been a pioneer of ATSC 3.0, with VP/GM Joel Davis hired in July 2018 to help lead WRAL & WRAZ into the next era of broadcast TV.
Two years before that, in June 2016, Capitol’s ATSC 3.0 experimental station was launched. Then, in February 2018, WRAL-5 co-hosted a demonstration of NEXTGEN TV Olympics broadcasts with the NAB and NBCUniversal. While this was the first public demonstration of Next Gen TV, it wasn’t a first for WRAL-5: It was the first station in the U.S. to air an ATSC 3.0 simulcast when it broadcast Next Gen coverage of the 2016 Summer Olympics from Brazil.
Project participant included ERI, GatesAir, Harmonic, Keepixo, LG, Meintel, Sgrignoli & Wallace, Monroe Electronics and Triveni Digital.
In addition to its TV holdings, Capitol owns and operates WRAL-FM “Mix 101.5,” WCMC-FM “WRAL SportsFan 99.9,” WDNC-AM “ESPN Triangle 620,” WCLY-AM 1550 “The Ticket,” and Wolfpack Sports Properties (a joint venture with Learfield) in Raleigh; WILM-LD 10 and Sunrise Broadcasting in Wilmington, N.C.; the Durham Bulls Baseball Club, Bull City Hospitality and Bull Durham Beer Co., and the American Underground startup hub in Durham; and real estate interests including the American Tobacco Historic District in Durham, Rocky Mount Mills in Rocky Mount and Professional Builders Supply (an equity partnership) in Morrisville, N.C.
