NBCUniversal has launched a new personalized broadcast experience for viewers on its NBC and Telemundo stations in New York, LA, Miami and Philadelphia.
The offering relies on NextGen TV technology, the more felicitous handle for tools developed as ATSC 3.0, the set of standards introduced several years ago by the Advanced Television Systems Committee. NextGen TV brings enhancements to the audio, video and interactivity of over-the-air television, offering features like hyper-targeted weather alerts and the ability to restart programming joined in progress.
Long touted by broadcast station owners as a way for them to better compete with streaming, NextGen TV is now available in 75% of U.S. TV households and actively broadcasting in 70 markets. NBCU has been offering demos of the new setup in Las Vegas this week at the NAB Show.
The new NBCU experience automatically launches when viewers tune into a NextGen TV over-the-air channel. It has just gone live on WNBC and WNJU in New York, KNBC in Los Angeles, WCAU in Philadelphia and WTVJ and WSCV in Miami. The rollout will reach additional NBC- and Telemundo-owned stations “soon,” the company said.
Created via a partnership with Fincons, Ease Live and Pearl TV, NBCUniversal’s new broadcasts include a number of features. Among them are hyper-localized elements integrated into the TODAY show; personalized weather information; and clips, full episodes and alternate programming from NBC and Telemundo’s local and national news, sports and entertainment shows and events.
The experience also expands safety controls and access to public service notifications, while enabling near-real-time viewer and program metrics. The data integration delivers public safety alerts from both the FEMA Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) and The Weather Channel, customized to viewers’ locations and specific households.
Advertising is another aspect of NextGen TV that is seen by station owners as an advantage over traditional linear TV. Data tracking enables rich, near real-time audience metrics, enabling advertisers to target strategic audiences on broadcast with dynamic ad insertion, which is seen as making ads more relevant and effective.
“The launch of this innovative experience is a considerable milestone for broadcast television and demonstrates the immense potential and possibilities NextGen TV has for viewers, programmers, stations and advertisers,” said Shawn Makhijani, SVP of Business Development and Strategy & NBC Spot On, NBCUniversal Advertising & Partnerships. “We are proud to further our leadership position in ATSC 3.0 by developing this innovative product with our partners and look forward to the continued evolution of its capabilities and benefits. We are truly excited to present these enhancements to our NBC and Telemundo viewers in several top markets, with more to come.”