Display Technology
The future of NextGen TV and interactive broadcasting
In the second installment of our interview with industry leader Anne Schelle of Pearl TV, we discuss the future of NextGen TV in various sectors, its growth beyond its American birthplace to nations like Jamaica, and how consumers and advertisers can start taking advantage of the technology today.
September 29, 2022 by Daniel Brown — Editor, Networld Media Group
This is part two of a two-part series. Click here for part one.
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Anne Schelle is managing director at Pearl TV. Provided by Pearl TV. |
Accessible today
Consumers will have many ways to take advantage of NextGen TV, from new TV sets to adapters. "There will be upgrade accessories that allow you to upgrade your device for NextGen and these will come in the form of a USB stick that you can plug in for Android TVs at price points below $50," Schelle said, among other options in development. Consumers should see wide availability of such devices in 2023 and 2024. Schelle said that consumers can check www.watchnextgentv.com to stay up to date on platform news.
Versatile for tomorrow
"The other interesting thing to note about NextGen TV is [that] it's basically web over the air," Schelle said. "It's like a web page over the air. I mean, these are really big files, but we can move files, it's data. It's all bits. So we could send movies."
Incidentally, TV ratings can now be far more accurate than was previously possible, especially for OTA data, in terms of measuring audience engagement.
This versatility can also enhance digital signage. "Companies that have big digital signs that need to send out the latest [update], we could easily send it. It's very inexpensive for us to do that because we are one-to-many, so if you wanted to send something to a thousand signs across 20 markets, we could do that," Schelle said. "We utilize the return channel to do the interactive on the TV, so we connect it to the Internet [and] it sort of hooks it into the hybrid environment that exists on these TVs."
DST asked if the platform can include mobile. Schelle explained that there will be room in the future to explore ways OTA televisions can interact more with mobile or other devices. One hypothetical example could be tying mobile apps into OTA broadcast content. Still, this will heavily depend on rights providers and distribution deals, and it's not necessarily the focus now.
"It's a business issue, not a technology issue," Schelle explained. "So, it's possible, it just depends on how the various distribution partners will play that out," a process that could take time to evolve. "For now, we're focusing on the living room, where the majority of longform content is actually watched."
And broadcasters are already leveraging NextGen TV to offer viewers the option of customizing not just text-based emergency alerts, but program audio. "The main program might be in Spanish, but we can send in an English feed, and it's simultaneous, so there's no timing issues, so you don't have to turn on the closed captioning."
Schelle also mentioned that audio descriptor technology is available as well for audio description of visual scenes. "It makes everything much more elegant because it's IP based."
In higher ed, a university's existing digital signage fleet can add an accessory to tune into emergency alerts as needed. One of the biggest advantages, Schelle said, is that NextGen TVs don't need an Internet connection to receive emergency info. As long as the TV is powered, it can receive rich content via OTA signals without Internet connection.
Campuses can also have their own channel in this system, like D.C. based Howard University, which now runs an interactive branded channel. Content includes commencement, speaker series, and other live content and events. Such custom channels can easily integrate multiple languages or other accessibility tools.
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An example of how NextGen TV can make live cooking shows interactive. Provided by Pearl TV. |
Targeted ads, interactivity and privacy
The information on viewing preferences, device information and so forth can be used to target content, but only with consumer permission. All information is anonymized, and data only reflects information on a given screen's usage (not the person or persons viewing it), plus a permissions system must be navigated to activate various interactive- and data-based features.
A perfect example of content customization is a station owned by Gray Television that covers Valdosta and Thomasville in Georgia.
Viewers range across different cities, political markets, sports teams and more. NextGen TV allows a customized viewing experience for consumers in both towns even though the content originates from the same station, including advertising and emergency alerts.
"So, I'm a car dealership in Thomasville and I only want my ad to go to Thomasville. I can target my ads and really maximize my dollar spend," Schelle said, assuming the customer has opted in to the relevant services. "You know, we get excited about it from both the content perspective and also emergency alerting. So we can let consumers know the flood is affecting Thomasville and not the other cities."
NextGen TV is happening now
"We expect to be at over eight million connected NextGen TV sets by 2024," Schelle said. "That's why we're urging advertisers to have conversations to start to learn about this, because it will be a great new environment for them as well as for broadcasters to have those conversations."
But where do businesses get started?
"One of the first things is lead generation. We can easily do overlays that you could click on a car ad and pull up a menu and go to their website," Schelle said.
A lot of this promotional power circles around interactivity. "Broadcasters have a lot of content they do in local markets on lifestyle shows," Schelle said, "so restaurants for example — a restaurant might want to promote a giveaway or menu or recipe, or have a chef on the show, you could do a QR code or you could click on it, and get additional information sent."
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NextGen TV allows NASCAR fans to change cameras and audio feeds during live races. Provided by Pearl TV. |
In live news, content viewers who caught the tail end of a multi-part local story can easily access previous installments from their TV menu. A viewer can now change the camera angle or switch to their favorite driver's audio feed during a live NASCAR race. And that's only the beginning, since new features are constantly under development. TV can now be as passive or interactive as a consumer wants it to be.
Though the future is hard to predict, Schelle said she expects to see more bleed-over from OTT to OTA, along with growth in local events and lifestyle content. Smaller companies will be able to launch affordable, targeted campaigns in a medium they once shunned for cost and other reasons. People will likely see much more targeted local emergency alerting, including rich media like maps and other information that is not available on other platforms.
OTA is here to stay
So, why do media outlets keep printing pieces on the so-called "death of TV"?
"That's been a story for 40 years!" Schelle said, laughing. Thanks to evolving technology, TV is here to stay.
"I like to say it's not an 'either-or', it's an 'and,'" Schelle said. "OTA is actually on the rise." Future-proofing is at the center of NextGen TV's IP-based design. Schelle believes that the system will be compatible with new innovations, with backwards compatibility, for the foreseeable future.
Jamaica is already transitioning to the system, Brazil is considering adoption and other countries are considering it. Unlike the European proprietary standard of smart television, NextGen TV is based on the Internet, Schelle explained, and will keep pace with Internet standards over time. The American and European smart TV systems have a level of compatibility at the software level, and they are learning from each other, but they remain distinct.
In our last minutes, DST asked what Schelle is most excited about with NextGen TV.
Schelle is most excited about the power of this platform as the first IP broadcast platform, and she is proud that it was developed in the U.S. It also serves a vital public service, particularly with local news.
"I was recently on a phone call," Schelle said. "It was a representative who experienced a tornado, and the reason why they're okay is they turned on the television and that meteorologist knew exactly where it was. It went through their back yard, and he climbed into a closet. I experienced it with my daughter in hurricanes. Broadcasters are on the ground. They know when things are happening. Broadcasters have the news trucks." Further, local news stations carry verified video. "And I think in this day and age, verified video is incredibly important, and we are seen as and are unbiased news reporters.
"The other piece to this I think is really important, especially as our kids grow up, is the connection to the local," Schelle continued. "The community representation, having a station that's representing the community is really important for all those reasons I mentioned, but it's up to us to make sure that we're delivering in a way that consumers want to watch. This platform gives us that and so much more."
About Daniel Brown
Daniel Brown is the editor of Digital Signage Today, a contributing editor for Automation & Self-Service, and an accomplished writer and multimedia content producer with extensive experience covering technology and business. His work has appeared in a range of business and technology publications, including interviews with eminent business leaders, inventors and technologists. He has written extensively on AI and the integration of technology and business strategy with empathy and the human touch. Brown is the author of two novels and a podcaster. His previous experience includes IT work at an Ivy League research institution, education and business consulting, and retail sales and management.
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