President’s Memo: ATSC’s Vibrant Success at the 2025 NAB Show

Posted on April 16, 2025 in ATSC News

ATSC is very gratified that the FCC has started the ball rolling to collect public comments on the completion of the ATSC 3.0 transition. This is fortuitous as we’ve returned from an incredible week at the 2025 NAB Show! I am thrilled to share that the ATSC exhibit booth in West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center was a shining example of innovation, collaboration, and momentum as the NEXTGEN TV ecosystem continues to thrive.

Our booth was a hub of energy and excitement, boasting a 30% increase in visitors over last year and showcasing the broad and growing support for ATSC 3.0. It was also notable that Brazilians attended the show in force, as the second-most represented country at the show after the U.S. With the initial launch of DTV+, largely based on ATSC 3.0, scheduled for later this month in Rio, excitement about the possibilities in Brazil continues to expand.

I want to extend my heartfelt thanks and congratulations to all who participated, visited, and supported our presence at this year’s show. Here are just a few highlights that demonstrate the strength and diversity of our community:

Four Major ATSC Booth Sponsors Supporting Our Mission

A special thank you to our four large exhibit sponsors whose support was critical in creating a compelling and visually stunning booth experience. Their contributions helped us tell the story of ATSC 3.0 in bold, impactful ways:

• AT&T Business demonstrated enhanced connectivity and engagement with ATSC 3.0 enabling instant and reliable communications at venues and in high-traffic environments.
• HCLTech showcased its Broadcast Core Network, a cloud solution that allows flexible deployment of applications and services across different markets leveraging AI.
• Sinclair and ONE Media showcased ATSC 3.0 features that will be possible when ATSC 1.0 sunsets, including 4K HDR video, emergency alerting and information, and new data services.
• Tejas Networks showed direct-to-mobile content delivery, integrating broadcast and broadband, enabling real-time media access with low network congestion.

Eight International Booth Kiosk Exhibitors Demonstrating the Power of ATSC 3.0

We proudly featured eight dynamic international exhibitors (Advanced HDR by Technicolor, Fraunhofer, Happiest Minds, Mirakulo, Run3TV, Tolka, VBox and Yotta Media Labs), each demonstrating cutting-edge technologies, interactivity, and real-world applications of ATSC 3.0. From enhanced picture quality to interactive platforms and datacasting, these exhibits captured the attention and imagination of attendees.

Six NEXTGEN TV Manufacturers On Display

Momentum continues to build for NEXTGEN TV receivers in the United States! Our exhibit showcased NEXTGEN TVs from six manufacturers (Hisense, Panasonic, RCA, Samsung, Sony, and TCL), all supporting ATSC 3.0. These displays reinforced the expanding availability of consumer products and underscored the consumer electronics industry’s growing investment in NEXTGEN TV.  And to enhance the viewing experience for NEXTGEN TV, broadcasters are ramping up High Dynamic Range using HDR 10, Dolby Vision and HDR10+ to reach 86 million households.

Six Upgrade Receivers for Consumer Access

We also featured six innovative upgrade accessory receivers from ADTH, MyVelo, Stavix, VBox, Zapperbox, and Zinwell that are opening new doors for consumer access to NEXTGEN TV. These solutions are critical for reaching households who want to enjoy the benefits of ATSC 3.0 without purchasing a new TV. The entire display was powered by an over-the-air antenna on the convention center rooftop provided by Televes.

Let’s not forget how thankful we are for American Tower and the Brazil Implementation Team for hosting the happy hour receptions that supplied us with welcomed libations and treats as we networked with our friends. It was an elbow-to-elbow turnout!

ATSC 3.0 was well represented at the NAB Broadcast Engineering and IT Conference, held from Saturday April 5 to Tuesday April 8. The conference was well attended, notably two sessions on the Broadcast Positioning System (BPS). Updates on deployment and testing of BPS were provided, in addition to plans for future development. Other popular sessions included cloud-based implementations of ATSC 3.0 facilities and public safety/first responder applications and trials.

I am proud of the success of our members at the NAB Show. Innovation was on display across the show floor from drones equipped with enhanced GPS (eGPS) to AI-manipulation of 8K content to direct-to-mobile demonstrations and much more throughout the show floor. Our members’ achievements and accolades are a testament to the innovation and dedication that define our community. An overview of the awards and recognition is included in this issue of The Standard.

The energy in our ATSC booth was unmistakable. Well over 1,300 attendees from around the globe were engaged at the booth, asked thoughtful questions, and shared their own visions for the future of broadcast. As we reflect on this milestone event, I want to thank each and every one of you who makes the ATSC community so vibrant. Whether you’re advancing standards, building technology, creating content, or engaging consumers, your contributions are moving the industry forward.

And while many of us were in Las Vegas last week, standards development activity at ATSC continues apace. Many projects are in flight, and since the last issue of The Standard newsletter, two documents are in process in TG3:

• S31-487r6, “Working Draft: ATSC Standard: Revision of A/300:2024-04, ATSC 3.0 System,”
• S38-576r0, “ATSC Candidate Standard Working Draft: Revision of A/344:2025-02, ATSC 3.0 Interactive Content

For a detailed overview, please refer to the Standards Update column.

Just around the corner is the annual ATSC NextGen Broadcast Conference, June 12-13 in Washington, D.C. Registration is now open, and sponsorship and exhibit opportunities are available. A preliminary program is posted. All these details can be found at this link: https://www.atsc.org/events/nextgen-broadcast-conference/

Here’s to continued progress, partnership, and the bright future of ATSC 3.0!

Madeleine Noland
President, ATSC

Posted in ATSC News