The Media Notepad: Chicago stations soon to launch ATSC 3.0
Also: Bally Sports facing eventual end; SiriusXM goes through an extensive overhaul; Detroit CW battle heats up
After a years-long wait, Chicago TV stations will finally launch the next generation of over-the-air signals.
Named ATSC 3.0, the new technology enables viewers to watch shows in 4k (2160p) definition, superb Dolby Atmos sound, and in HDR (high dynamic range.) The signals have been testing since 2018 and are now being rolled out. ATSC stands for Advanced Television Systems Committee, which is an American set of standards for digital television transmission over terrestrial, cable, and satellite networks launched with the conversion from analog to digital in 2009 as ATSC 1.0.
So far, WRME-LD (with a home shopping channel) is the only station on the air with a 3.0 signal. The rollout of the rest of Chicago’s signals takes place early next year according to Pearl TV, a collation of broadcasters and set manufacturers promoting it under the moniker of NextGenTV.
With Chicago online, ATSC 3.0’s will now reach 75 percent of U.S. Households. The city has been on the sidelines as antenna issues were worked out, as other cities already launched ATSC 3.0 including the Champaign-Decatur-Springfield market downstate.
There have been a few problems with the rollout however, as viewers who’ve used the technology complained of signals using DRM (digital rights management) to encrypt signals, preventing users from recording programs – which could run afoul of the 1984 Supreme Court ruling allowing home viewers to record television shows. DRM was a thorn to Microsoft users way back when, forcing the tech giant to scrap it altogether. Another problem is South Korean tech giant LG ceased producing sets with the ATSC 3.0 technology for the time being due to a patent dispute (LG bought Chicago-area electronics giant Zenith, who had a hand in developing high-def television, in the late 1990s.)
Despite the odious TV commercial claiming you can receive a 4k signal using some dime antenna (which you can’t), 4k definition is on its way. The only question now is will it be adapted by viewers – keep in mind it took a long time for broadcasters and viewers to adapt color TV and HDTV.
[Editor’s Note: This story was updated with new information.]
The fate of the Bally Sports regional sports networks became clearer this week as the NBA announced Tuesday it reached an agreement to end their contracts after this current season, followed by another agreement revealed Wednesday in court filings stating MLB would also follow suit as the Diamond Sports Group bankruptcy continues to play out.
Bally Sports has rights to fifteen NBA teams, including the Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks. After this season, the NBA teams in those cities regain those television rights and can do anything they want with them. Already two teams – the Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz, have struck deals with over-the-air carriers. High-profile Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban recently stated he would look at expanding reach for his team once the Bally Sports contract expires, which is now next year.
Bally has eleven teams left with the Minnesota Twins – as expected – became the latest team to bail on the RSN Wednesday.
Reports indicate Bally is looking to make a similar deal with eleven NHL teams it has rights to including the St. Louis Blues and Detroit Red Wings. Some broadcasters are already looking to bring live sports to their stations including Tegna and CBS, whose now-independent stations jettisoned The CW last August 31.
Bally parent Diamond Sports is still in bankruptcy court as its future remains in doubt- especially as pacts with Spectrum/Charter and Comcast/Xfinity expire soon and if Diamond fails to reach a deal with either, the NBA can terminate all their deals – even before the agreed-upon end date.
“Our newly-signed agreements with the NBA, Comcast, and our creditors reflect significant progress on Diamond’s path forward,” Diamond Sports said in a statement. “Upon court approval, these agreements will enable Diamond to continue delivering live game broadcasts to fans throughout the 2023–24 NBA, NHL, and MLB seasons. Diamond has been broadcasting NBA and NHL games and will continue to do so while the court considers our motions, and while discussions with the NHL finalize with respect to their own new deal.”
Despite the deal, those teams could re-up with Bally Sports if they choose to, but with teams reclaiming rights, it looks like the end is near for Bally Sports.
SiriusXM announced a major overhaul Wednesday, including a new logo and tons of lineup and channel changes for the fifteen-year-old satellite programming service.
To reach those who don’t own a car, SiriusXM is launching a new app and a new $9.99 price point with tons of improvements for users, including a better experience and making new music more visible.
“The introduction of the new SiriusXM streaming experience marks a pivotal moment in our history, one that kicks off a new era of innovation at our company,” CEO Jennifer Witz said in her opening address at SiriusXM’s Press Preview on Wednesday. “This launch is just the beginning; we will continue to iterate and develop our product offerings throughout the next year and beyond. With the new SiriusXM, we are putting our differentiators at the forefront and welcoming in a new generation of listeners, bringing them closer to what they love.”
To be sure, SiriusXM’s main attraction is still Howard Stern, who maintains his 100 and 101 channels. But the company is adding new celebrity-curated channels including those from Kelly Clarkson, John Mayer, James Corden, and Shaggy (not the cartoon character.) SiriusXM is also bringing on R&B legend Smokey Robinson to helm a revamped Soul Town. SiriusXM also unveiled a new logo and brought back Stella, the mascot for Sirius before it merged with XM in 2008.
Also new is a brand new true-crime channel anchored by podcaster Ashley Flowers, obviously tapping into the continued growing popularity of the genre.
SiriusXM also announced numerous channel shifts and unveiled new channels devoted to music from the 2000s and 2010s. The channels feature classic alternative rock (Alt2K), classic hip-hop (Flex 2k), and classic R&B (The Flow). SiriusXM also renewed agreements with several carmakers including Audi and Volkswagen, and renewed other content deals.
Some of these new changes took place today; others are taking place on December 14.
The battle of who would be Detroit’s CW affiliate is heating up as WADL – who was a CW station for all of eight weeks, plans to sue both Scripps and Nexstar for signing up another station in the market.
WADL owner Kevin Adell sent a cease-and-desist letter to Scripps’ WMYD looking to prevent the station from airing CW programming starting November 13. Formerly known as WXON, the station was known as WDWB from 1995 to 2006 as a WB affiliate. When WB and UPN merged to form The CW moved to WKBD in 2006, while WDWB became WMYD and aired MyNetworkTV programming until 2019 when WADL picked it up (despite the affiliation shift, WMYD has retained its call letters.) When Nexstar took over The CW, WKBD owner Paramount Global dropped its affiliation and became independent.
WMYD is a sister station of WXYZ, a former ABC-owned station sold to Scripps in 1986. WADL signed on in 1985 and added more general entertainment fare to its schedule in 2007.
All of this goes back to Mission Broadcasting – an LMA partner of Nexstar, agreeing to buy WADL with Adell claiming Nexstar would pay the station to be a CW affiliate until the deal is finalized, an unusual arrangement in this day and age. But the FCC held up signing off on the deal due to numerous lawsuits against Mission over their ties to Nexstar as the checks stopped coming and Adell dumped the CW after two months (for more on the potential lawsuit against Scripps and the explanation Adell gave which is too complicated and long to cover in this space, click here.)
Legal battles over network affiliations aren’t new – in the late 1960s, then-independent KCST San Diego (now NBC-owned KNSD) sued to acquire the ABC affiliation from XETV Tijuana (and won) as it claimed a Mexican station couldn’t serve as a network affiliate in the United States. 25 years later in the same market, independent KUSI sued to acquire Fox from XETV for almost the same reasons. They lost.
In 1988, former NBC affiliate WSVN in Miami sued the network and its then-parent General Electric for buying former CBS affiliate WTVJ a year earlier. Citing its success as an independent (Fox) station, WSVN dropped the suit a year later.
It’s unknown how this would play out, but if Adell is consistent on keeping a low-rated network off TV in Detroit and nobody notices…