Gray Media will broadcast Super Bowl LIX using High Dynamic Range (HDR) on all of the company’s FOX-affiliated television stations available via the ATSC 3.0-powered NEXTGEN TV digital broadcast standard.
This means consumers with NEXTGEN TV-compatible devices can tune to the ATSC 3.0-powered FOX affiliates in eight markets.
In New Orleans, playing host to this year’s “big game,” Gray-owned WVUE-8 recently launched both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ formats. So did other Gray FOX affiliates: WHNS-TV in Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville; WBRC-TV in Birmingham; KPTV in Portland, Ore.; and WALA in Mobile-Pensacola.
Gray previously launched HDR enhancements at FOX affiliates KVVU-5 in Las Vegas; WXIX-19 in Cincinnati; and WFLX-29 in West Palm Beach, a Gray-owned station operated by The E.W. Scripps Co. via a shared services agreement.
“Live sports events are the perfect venue to experience the vivid imagery and immersive audio of NEXTGEN TV,” Gray Chief Operating Officer Sandy Breland said. “With these upgrades, millions of fans in our markets can enjoy the highest quality in picture and sound, over-the-air and for free this weekend.”
In addition, Gray added GameLoop, a new NEXTGEN TV free gaming channel, to WVUE on HD multicast channel 2. GameLoop is also new to Gray’s CBS-affiliated flagship property, WANF-46 in Atlanta, via its HD2 multicast channel 20.
GameLoop allows users to play video games like Pac-Man, Tetris, and Doodle Jump on select NEXTGEN TVs by using their remote or mobile phone. The slate of games also includes Planet Crossword, the first collaborative crossword experience designed for television.
Gray plans to launch GameLoop in additional markets soon.
“NEXTGEN TV enables countless advanced features to boost viewer experience,” said SVP Rob Folliard, Gray’s chairperson of NEXTGEN TV consortium PearlTV. “We are excited to offer this new interactive option and will continue to increase NEXTGEN TV offerings and value to our audience.”
