Sinclair's 'Next Gen TV' Is Positioned to Start Data Collection on 72% of US Households
"We will have perfect data all the time" says Sinclair exec about new TV broadcast technology that enables them to collect data on consumers through TV sets and mobile devices.
By Kendra Chamberlain
April 10, 2018
https://broadbandnow.com/report/sinclair-next-gen-tv/
Overview
Outdated local broadcast TV is being replaced by a new, broadband-enabled standard called 'Next Gen TV'.
'Next Gen TV' will allow broadcasters to track and collect data on consumers through their TVs and other connected devices, much like Google and Facebook.
Many of the patents underpinning 'Next Gen' technology are owned by Sinclair, a conservative-leaning media group.
Sinclair is close to FCC approval on a merger deal with Tribune, giving them access to 72% of US households. [1]
Privacy advocates are concerned about comprehensive nationwide data collection and consumer targeting by one dominant media group.
A new IP-based broadcast technology is being rolled out which will enable
local television broadcasters to track consumers and serve targeted advertisements the same way Facebook, Google and YouTube already do.
The new technology, called "next Gen TV," promises to revolutionize broadcast TV by modernizing over the air video delivery for the 21st century, and bringing data-driven advertising solutions to antenna TV broadcasts.
Next Gen TV is supported by the new standard ATSC 3.0, an update from the current antiquated ATSC 1.0 standard....
....Sinclair Broadcast Group is a major backer of next gen TV. Sinclair has invested
over $30 million in Next Gen technology, and holds
a handful of patents that are
baked into the ATSC 3.0 standard.
In fact, Sinclair executives have routinely stated that ATSC 3.0 — and the new advancements in advertising technology for linear TV — will lay the foundation of Sinclair's future growth strategy, encompassing terrestrial broadcast, Internet-delivered video, subscription services and even video delivery to connected cars.
But the technology will also give Sinclair — the largest broadcaster in the US — unprecedented access to viewer data. As Sinclair executive chairman David Smith described in a recent interview:
"We'll know where you are, who you are, and what you're doing — just like you do now, just like everybody does now, the Internet does, or Google, or a Facebook. We will have perfect data all the time." [3]
...ATSC 3.0 is a hybrid broadcast and IP-based delivery standard. The technology was designed to accommodate new viewing behaviors, such as watching TV shows on-demand or on mobile devices, and offering new video technologies like 4K resolution or HDR (high dynamic range). The ATSC 3.0 standard is considered the biggest technological
update to antenna TV since the transition to high definition digital signals in 2009.
ATSC 3.0 enables broadcasters to take advantage of video codec HEVC (H.265), which will allow them to pack more information into a broadcast, including things like:
Multiple audio or captioning tracks
On-demand viewing of popular shows without the need for a DVR
delivering 4K UHD and HDR versions of content to compatible TV sets
The broadcast signals can be received and decoded by any display device with a tuner, which means devices like tablets and smartphones could also receive the signals, if hardware makers decide to build these devices with tuners inside. That would give broadcasters the ability to deliver "Mobile TV" — TV programming delivered directly to mobile devices.
And because the technology supports
two-way communication between the broadcast station and the end user, ATSC 3.0 will also enable broadcasters to
collect data about consumers' viewing habits, much
like Netflix and Comcast do.
Broadcasters can then use that data for a variety of things, such as analyzing precisely how many people tuned in to a specific show or sports event. That data will also be used to help determine which ads should be served to you while you are watching your favorite TV show, just as Facebook uses its data to personalize your feeds with videos and advertisements....
...But it will take years before the new broadcast standard is available in most households in the US.
First, broadcasters have to upgrade their station infrastructure, which takes
time and money. The FCC has mandated that ATSC 1.0 signals continue to be transmitted for at least the next five years, and because the FCC has not allocated any new channel space for ATSC 3.0, broadcasters will need to be able to support both....
...Consumers will also have to buy new hardware in order to
receive the new signals, a fact that will introduce more friction in the technology's deployment. At CES this year, LG was the only TV maker showing an ATSC 3.0-compatible TV set. [7] The other TV manufacturers will likely wait until the broadcast technology has more penetration across the US before committing to it at scale. Sinclair is also hoping that phonemakers will put ATSC 3.0 tuners into the new models of their
phones. Sinclair has tried to entice phone makers to support next gen TV by offering ATSC 3.0 chips to them for free. [8]...
...Sinclair is in a unique position to benefit from ATSC 3.0 in ways that other broadcasters won't. The company has successfully doubled its footprint through a number of strategic acquisitions over the past two decades, including the recent acquisition of Bonten Media and the
proposed acquisition of Tribune Media last year. With those two acquisitions in the fold, Sinclair will operate
233 stations in 108 markets, including
39 of the top 50 markets, covering some
72% of US households.
This is the first time the country has seen such consolidation of broadcasting power and influence into the hands of one station group. By comparison, Nexstar Media reaches 39% of US households,
CBS reaches 38%, and
Fox reaches 37%, according to Nielsen data. [9]
In other words, Sinclair will have nearly twice the reach of any of the other major broadcasters in the country.
The ramifications of that consolidation are still being drawn out. Sinclair's proposed acquisition of Tribune Media drew significant criticism from politicians and consumer advocacy groups, who argued that such consolidation was not in the public interest. The acquisition is still being reviewed by the Justice Department for antitrust violations. [10] Sinclair is now facing criticism for its "must-run" editorial segments, which the company has been accused of using to push out a political agenda, masqueraded as local news, across huge swaths of the country.
Sinclair executives have argued that such consolidation has become necessary for broadcasters to be able to compete effectively against cable TV and streaming video providers. The company's extra-large coverage footprint will enable Sinclair to pool audiences in order to sell ad inventory on an impression-basis with enough scale to compete favorably with all the other ad-supported video platforms that are currently vying for advertising dollars — including the digital kings Google, Facebook, Amazon and Twitter....