This post was originally published on this site
Sinclair Broadcast Group and Nebraska Public Media announced the launch of the “first free Broadcast-Enabled Streaming TV (BEST) channel in Omaha, Neb.” Nebraska Public Media’s PBS and local programming is now hosted on KPTM, Sinclair’s Fox affiliate in Omaha, as a free, virtual channel in addition to its other programming offerings.
BEST channels are transmissions that provide programming directly over-the-air to smart TVs using the NextGen broadcast data channel capacity of a host broadcaster. Viewers with NextGen TVs can view and select the channel in their programming guide and access the channel seamlessly over the internet.
Sinclair and America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) previously announced that Sinclair would provide carriage of APTS member stations for free in markets where Sinclair has deployed NextGen Broadcast Service (ATSC 3.0) and a public television station has not. This launch, Sinclair said, is the first under this arrangement. Nebraska Public Media’s virtual channel delivers programming in high dynamic range (SL-HDR1), significantly enhancing video quality for viewers.
Peter Clowney, Nebraska Public Media chief operating officer, said: “We are proud to be the vanguard in offering this unique service to our Omaha viewers. Our partnership with KPTM will help prime the pump for full NextGen Broadcast Service as the national rollout of this technology continues.”
Kate Riley, APTS president-CEO, added: “This is an excellent example of commercial and public broadcasters cooperating to bring the remarkable NextGen Broadcast Service to more public television viewers and to enhance public television stations’ services to their local communities.”
“We are thrilled to announce the successful launch of this