NextGen TV faces hurdle with LG decision to pull ATSC 3.0 tuners

LG Electronics has announced it will not include ATSC 3.0 NextGen TV tuners in its 2024 TV lineup for the U.S. market. The decision comes after LG lost a patent infringement lawsuit earlier this year brought by Constellation Designs, LLC, over technology used in NextGen TV.

NextGen TV, also known as ATSC 3.0, is the latest over-the-air broadcast standard that promises enhanced features like 4K resolution, HDR, and interactive capabilities. It’s promoted as the future of free over-the-air TV in the U.S.

In a statement to the FCC, LG said the “challenging and uncertain patent landscape” around ATSC 3.0 forced it to halt support for the standard in upcoming models. The company was ordered to pay $1.68 million in a patent suit over ATSC 3.0 technology, which LG says would amount to a 125% increase in patent fees per TV sold with NextGen capability.

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“This challenging and uncertain patent landscape has forced LG to make the difficult decision to suspend the inclusion of ATSC 3.0-compatibility in its 2024 television lineup for the United States. This decision was not made lightly, because LG has been a vocal ATSC 3.0 advocate, a strong supporter of local broadcasters, and a leading developer of television products with the latest NEXTGEN TV technologies. Going forward, LG will, of course, continue to monitor the patent landscape and its effect on LG’s own product roadmap and overall industry dynamics,” LG noted in the statement.

LG stated it will monitor the patent landscape and overall industry dynamics in the future. For now, the 2024 LG lineup will lack the built-in ATSC 3.0 support offered in prior models.

The situation underscores ongoing issues around intellectual property and standards that have slowed wider adoption of NextGen TV. To counteract that, a task force was formed in April 2023 with government and industry players to address the complexity of rolling out the new standard.

Consumer electronics makers have also cited the high licensing costs associated with ATSC 3.0 technologies like Dolby’s AC-4 audio codec as a barrier to integration. Most TV manufacturers currently limit NextGen TV support to premium models.

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With LG dropping ATSC 3.0 from upcoming TVs, it raises concerns other brands like Sony and Samsung may follow suit. But so far, no other company has announced plans to remove NextGen tuners from future products – and none have offered comment on the patent situation specifically.

Anne Schelle of Pearl TV, the industry trade group for NextGen TV, projects sales will cumulatively top 10 million units by year-end despite LG’s decision.

The FCC requires TV stations to maintain ATSC 1.0 signals through at least 2027. No definitive “cutoff” for the current DTV standard has been set as broadcasters work to expand NextGen TV coverage across the U.S.