RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. A Broadcasters' Panel has been a fixture at the HPA Tech Retreat program for years, with representatives from networks, station groups and industry organizations sharing their thoughts on contemporary TV industry developments and issues. This year was no exception, with Dave Folsom from Pearl TV; Fox TV's Richard Friedel; Del Parks from the Sinclair Broadcast Group; and the NAB's Skip Pizzi assembling to field questions from moderator Matthew Goldman of MediaKind in a Wednesday morning session.
Topics this time ranged from the Phoenix Model Market project to the evolution of IP and cloud for broadcasters.
Goldman kicked off the discussion by asking Folsom to describe the Phoenix Model Market and explain why it was important in the effort to rollout NextGen TV.
It's the result of the FCC in the late fall of 2017 coming out with a Report and Order allowing broadcasters to make use of the newly-developed ATSC 3.0 standard, replied Folsom. How do you make that [initiation of 3.0 service] happen? Pearl, which is made up of nine large station groups, decided to create a model market, or model station, in Phoenix to see how this transition could be done without adding spectrum. We also provide a forum for manufacturers of technical equipment for the new standard to test their equipment, as well as for receiver manufacturers to test their products.
Goldman asked how NextGen TV would be implemented, as TV broadcast spectrum space is at a premium now with the loss of channels in connection with the current repack.
Matthew Goldman served as moderator of the Broadcasters Panel' discussion. (Image credit: James ONeal) When we went from analog to ATSC 1.0, this was mandated by the government, said Goldman. That's not happening now. Without the aid of additional channels and bandwidth, how will the transition to the new service be possible without negatively impacting over-the-air service?
It's going to take a little bit of legerdemain, said Folsom. There is a little bit of extra bandwidth in [the ATSC 1.0] signal that we have now. If we can, by market, essentially clear one channel at a time of those individual services and move them and share them on other channels, to the viewer there will not be any difference.
This will free up a channel, and this channel can carry up to five services because new codecs are much more efficient, Folsom continued. This will provide the mechanism on a rolling basis to clear spectrum for new services without losing your ATSC 1 audience.
With so many options for video delivery available now, why should consumers even care about a new over the air broadcast standard, Goldman asked the panel.
For the consumer, one of the largest impacts that [NextGen TV] will have is that it finally addresses the idea of broadcast and broadband convergence, Pizzi said. Today, smart TV's are already connected to the internet and a conventional television source, but you're switching between the two. ATSC 3.0 puts those two together in a continuously variable way.
It's about better pictures and sound, Friedel added. This is really going to impact the industry. There will also be a bunch of new business opportunities to capitalize on.
Sinclair's Parks thought that NextGen TV would return television broadcasting to a more local and live presence.
When you look at where entertainment syndicated television is going, it's really not going anywhere, said Parks. Much of the shows produced are for streaming services. Linear TV is migrating to live broadcast very local and very live sports, news and local programming. It's just not viable for Hollywood to produce syndicated programs like they used to. It just doesn't work.
OTT is anything but live and local, said. Pizzi. This live, local-focused service [brought about by NextGen TV] can co-exist on a more even parity in terms of quality and interactivity with those other services said Pizzi. NextGen TV really gives broadcasters a level playing field going forward.
THE MOVE TO DATA
The discussion then shifted to the relationship of NextGen TV to cloud and its relevance to broadcasting.
I think the cloud is very important, replied Sinclair's Parks. I don't believe we'll get to a NextGen TV distribution system without moving to the cloud. NextGen is not just about delivering pictures, but about delivering data. The cloud is extremely important to our operation.
Pizzi added that NextGen TV was about delivering data both to and from the consumer and he saw the cloud serving as a collection point for this data, which could be used for rating programs and other functions.
The panel then turned to the difficulty in finding qualified broadcast engineering personnel, as stations and production facilities alike move further and further into IP.
They aren't making broadcast engineers anymore, said Friedel. The truth is that we're really building our own, and I think everyone else is too. We try to find bright young people and we teach them. We don't have much of a choice.
The good news is that it's allowing us to change the diversity of our employment too, he continued. A lot more women are attracted to the IP industry [than to broadcasting]; the same is true of minorities too. This will help us create better programming and better serve our communities.
The discussion ended with Goldman asking how broadcasters were faring in light of the move to streaming and away from conventional television.
Business is still pretty strong, said Friedel, citing viewership for the recent Super Bowl. The economics are there. We're still delivering an audience. I hate to bring up politics, but Bloomberg is spending a lot of money in targeting his advertising, and you see his poll numbers are just
North America Stories
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it's given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what ...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First-Look Images from Villaflor, Santiago Mitre's New Film
Entertainment
12 June 2026
GlobalArgentina
Link copied to ...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Cross the Boundaries of the Real World into the Spirit Realm i...
12/06/2026
A fentanyl countermeasure that adapts to combat future black-market drugs Scripps Research scientists developed a vaccine that teaches the immune system to rapi...
11/06/2026
The immense size of the tourney and its Atlantic-spanning operation also disting...
11/06/2026
Nielsen has released a new soccer fandom consumer research report, The Fans Behind The Game: FIFA World Cup 2026 Edition, examining the soccer audience in the...
11/06/2026
Telemundo will launch its FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage on Thursday, June 11 with...
11/06/2026
FuboTV Inc. has announced a distribution agreement with NBCUniversal. Fubo customers can now stream Telemundo and Universo, with NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), NBC...
11/06/2026
DAZN has announced its in-app features for FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage in Spain...
11/06/2026
Roblox has released the 2026 Roblox Digital Expression Report: Wave 4 - Sports D...
11/06/2026
FIFA has unveiled DNA, the Official FIFA World Cup 2026 Anthem, performed by A...
11/06/2026
ESPN will provide English- and Spanish-language news and information coverage of FIFA World Cup 2026 across its U.S. media platforms from June 11 through July 1...
11/06/2026
The latest product of the outstanding RIT Sports Network program, this recent grad from Long Island is carving out a promising path in broadcast engineering
In...
11/06/2026
DAZN has announced a multi-year agreement to make DSPORTS channels available to ...
11/06/2026
Laura Dern at the 1986 Sundance Institute Directors Lab (Photo by Eric Edwards)
By Lucy Spicer
It takes a village to bring together the Sundance Institute lab...
11/06/2026
MTI FILM acquires Mango/New Edit Posted by MTI Film on June 10, 2026
LOS ANGELES, CA - June 2026 - MTI FILM, the multiple Emmy Award winning Hollywood post-p...
11/06/2026
Study underscores the need for authoritative content intelligence to build trust...
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. A Broadcasters' Panel has been a fixture at the HPA Tech Retreat program for years, with representatives from networks, station groups and industry organizations sharing their thoughts on contemporary TV industry developments and issues. This year was no exception, with Dave Folsom from Pearl TV; Fox TV's Richard Friedel; Del Parks from the Sinclair Broadcast Group; and the NAB's Skip Pizzi assembling to field questions from moderator Matthew Goldman of MediaKind in a Wednesday morning session.
