For generations, free, over-the-air television has connected Americans to the moments that matter most: breaking news, severe weather warnings, election coverage, local sports and the shared experiences that bring communities together.
That mission is not changing, but the technology broadcasters use to fulfill it must. NextGen TV, powered by the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard, gives local stations the tools to offer stronger signals, improved picture and sound, more accessible emergency information and new public safety capabilities. It represents an essential investment in the future of free, local television. Modernization is not a retreat from broadcasters’ public service mission. It is how broadcasters preserve that mission for the next generation.
Free television will remain free
Broadcasters remain deeply committed to free, local television. The question is not whether that service should continue – it absolutely should. The question is whether broadcasters are able to equip that service with the modern technology it needs to compete and thrive in a media marketplace that changes every year. Content protection does not turn free, over-the-air television into a subscription service. Viewers will not need to pay a monthly fee to receive a local station’s free broadcast signal simply because that signal is protected against theft. The overwhelming majority of NextGen TV receivers, including NextGen TV television sets and a growing range of affordable converter devices, are designed to receive and display protected channels seamlessly. ATSC 3.0 includes security and service-protection mechanisms as part of its technical framework, just as modern communications and entertainment platforms routinely protect their content and distribution systems.
There is an important reason for these protections. Broadcasters invest substantial resources to secure sports, entertainment and other high-value programming. They also invest every day in local journalists, meteorologists, production professionals and the technology needed to keep communities informed and safe.
Without reasonable safeguards, unauthorized businesses can capture local stations’ signals and resell them at scale without permission or compensation. We have seen operations build commercial services around broadcast programming while returning nothing to the stations that acquired the programming or to the creators who produced it.That is not consumer choice. It is signal theft. Allowing widespread unauthorized resale would make it increasingly difficult for local stations to secure the rights to major sports and entertainment programming. It would also weaken the economic foundation that supports local news, investigative reporting, weather coverage and emergency operations. Content protection helps ensure that viewers can continue receiving valuable local programming for free by antenna. It protects the system that makes free television possible.
Every communications platform must be able to improve
ATSC 1.0 has served viewers well, but it reflects technology developed roughly three decades ago. The first ATSC 1.0 broadcasts began in the 1990s, and the nationwide digital television transition concluded in 2009.
Since then, Americans have moved through multiple generations of smartphones, wireless networks, internet connections and home entertainment devices. Cellular technology advanced from 2G to 3G, 4G and 5G. Wi-Fi standards have repeatedly improved. No one argues that those technologies should have been frozen in place indefinitely because older equipment could not support every future upgrade. Yet, local television broadcasters are sometimes held to exactly that expectation. Requiring broadcasters to operate a decades-old standard forever would effectively make free, over-the-air television the only major communications platform that is never permitted to modernize. That would not protect viewers. Over time, it would leave viewers with an increasingly outdated service while streaming platforms, wireless providers and global technology companies continue to innovate.
A responsible transition can protect consumers
Technology transitions should be thoughtful, transparent and focused on viewers. Broadcasters recognize that some households will need new equipment when ATSC 1.0 service eventually ends, just as consumers needed converter boxes during the transition from analog to digital television. That is why the industry is supporting the development of affordable converter devices and working with policymakers, manufacturers and consumer groups on a clear transition framework. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is considering the appropriate steps for advancing ATSC 3.0, including how to minimize disruption and support consumer readiness.
The answer, however, cannot be to prohibit progress indefinitely.
NextGen TV delivers more robust reception, enhanced accessibility, advanced emergency alerts and improved audio and video. Innovation is already underway. Through the NAB NextGen TV News Technology Lab, broadcasters are using ATSC 3.0 as a platform to develop and test new ways to deliver news, emergency information and community-focused services. Those experiments illustrate an important point: the value of NextGen TV lies not only in better picture quality, but in giving local stations the flexibility to continue innovating as viewers’ needs evolve. Its internet protocol-based architecture also supports innovative public safety applications, including the Broadcast Positioning System, which could provide a resilient backup to GPS during a disruption. NAB has urged the FCC to establish a firm transition plan so broadcasters, manufacturers and viewers have the certainty needed to prepare.
Modernization protects the future of local service
The central question is not whether broadcasters should preserve free television or modernize it. Broadcasters must do both. Local stations compete every day against global streaming services and technology platforms with enormous financial resources. Those companies can upgrade their technology whenever the marketplace demands it. Broadcasters need the same opportunity to innovate, improve their service and protect the programming investments that sustain local journalism. Free, local television has endured because broadcasters have continually adapted while remaining committed to serving their communities. NextGen TV continues that tradition. It will help ensure that local stations can deliver trusted news, lifesaving emergency information, sports and entertainment to every viewer, without a subscription, for decades to come.
There is no tension between preserving free television and modernizing it. Modernizing free television is how we ensure television remains free, local and relevant for decades to come.