BOCA RATON, FLA. — The “Big Four” broadcast television network affiliates and the low-power TV station airing Azteca América programming across Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast of Florida have collectively made the leap to deliver “a revolutionary new digital broadcast technology” to local consumers.
Only, who’s watching, and who knew of the rollout announced late Monday via a press release posted to Business Wire?
With much hoopla and industry fervor, NEXTGEN TV has seen its voluntary rollout come to market after market. On March 8, the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Vero Beach DMA became the newest part of the U.S. to gain access to the ATSC 3.0-powered signals.
Yet, is it a “build it, and viewers will come” introduction in a market that certainly has its upscale consumers likely willing to fork over at least $500 for a new television built for NEXTGEN TV — a necessity given its inability to offer backward compatibility with any current or older-model TV sets?
There has been little, if any, promotion of NEXTGEN TV in the marketplace, with nary an advertisement from retailers selling TVs capable of receiving the new digital broadcast standard nor any out-of-home, direct mail or experiential marketing literature sharing the news. At the February 26 Street Painting Festival in Lake Worth, representatives from The E.W. Scripps Co.’s WPTV-5 manned a booth, where magnets in the shape of the station’s news helicopter were handed out. Nothing regarding NEXTGEN TV was present.
Yet, as of today, WPTV is broadcasting in NEXTGEN TV — as are Gray-owned and Scripps-managed FOX affiliate WFLX-29; Hearst Television-owned ABC affiliate WPBF-25, which does have over-the-air coverage in southern Palm Beach County; Sinclair Broadcast Group-owned CBS affiliate WPEC-12 and Azteca-affiliated sibling WWHB-CD 48.
Despite the seemingly quiet rollout of NEXTGEN TV in the West Palm Beach DMA, home to former President Trump, Pearl TV Managing Director Anne Schelle has maintained a very upbeat and positive view of NEXTGEN TV — dismissing suggestions that it could become the next HD Radio, and greatly underperform based on initial expectations.
In an October 2021 InFOCUS Podcast, Schelle discussed with RBR+TVBR how consumers are purchasing approximately 10,000 NEXTGEN TV sets per day. Pearl TV also reported that more than three million total sets were anticipated to be sold by the end of 2021.
Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Anne Schelle” on Spreaker.
Today, the economic climate has evolved for the worse, with gasoline prices now as high as $4.79 per gallon in Palm Beach due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and inflation at its highest since President Reagan’s second year in office.
For the West Palm Beach launch, WWHB-CD is the “lighthouse station.” It uses a transmitter to the southwest of Hobe Sound that, for a Class A facility, offers over-the-air signal coverage receivable at RBR+TVBR‘s Delray Beach, Fla., editorial offices. To the north, it can be received across fast-growing Martin and St. Lucie Counties.
Thus, those with an ATSC 3.0-capable receiver have a good chance of picking up the WWHB-housed NEXTGEN TV signals.
BitPath, which is developing new data broadcasting services, led the planning process and coordinated efforts across the five television stations.
