Anne Schelle on NextGen TV’s progress and the fight for a hard cutoff

The promise of NextGen TV has been in the works for nearly a decade. But as the technology reaches 76% U.S. coverage and approaches 20 million compatible TV sets by year’s end, the broadcast industry faces a critical question… how does it move from gradual adoption to mainstream technology baked into every TV?

Anne Schelle, managing director of Pearl TV, a consortium of major broadcast groups working to advance ATSC 3.0 implementation, sat down with NCS to discuss the current state of the rollout, emerging use cases and the challenges still ahead.

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Her message: While significant progress has been made in deploying features like HDR and immersive audio, the industry needs regulatory certainty — specifically, a firm transition deadline — to achieve the scale necessary for true market transformation.

The adoption challenge

About 10% of all TV sets sold currently have NextGen TV capability, with Sony as the most deployed manufacturer. Schelle noted that Sony has reported customers returning non-NextGen models specifically to purchase sets with the technology.

But the numbers reveal a chicken-and-egg problem.

Broadcasters haven’t heavily promoted NextGen TV features because receiver penetration remains relatively low. Meanwhile, TV manufacturers, now deeply invested in connected TV platforms and advertising revenue from FAST channels, have limited incentive to prioritize NextGen TV without a mandate.

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“TV manufacturers have discovered that they can launch FAST channels, they can do advertising,” Schelle explained. “They’re really becoming more walled gardens, controlled environments around advertising.”

This dynamic mirrors what’s happening in Europe, where manufacturers are demanding up to 50% of ad revenue from broadcasters seeking prominence on their platforms, even for free over-the-air signals.

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Despite these adoption challenges, technical deployment has accelerated with broadcasters testing the new formats on regional and local sports broadcasts. Gray Media, in partnership with the Phoenix Suns, is distributing games over the air with an accompanying app and giving away antennas to fans. Similar antenna giveaway programs are happening in San Francisco and Washington state for the Warriors.

Pearl TV is also working on initiatives to address the affordability barrier for existing TV owners who don’t want to upgrade to a new set, with plans to share more details at the annual CES Show in January.

The case for a hard deadline

Underlying Schelle’s entire roadmap is the belief that NextGen TV needs a regulatory mandate — a firm date when ATSC 1.0 transmissions will cease.

“A marketplace movement in any global transition for something like television has languished unless there’s a hard transition date,” she said, pointing to international examples. “Until they set the date… then it took off.”

The Federal Communications Commission issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on NextGen TV transition requirements in October.

The comment period will close in January with reply comments due in February. Pearl TV plans to participate actively in the comment cycle.

Nielsen data shows over-the-air viewership has grown 20% since spring, with certain regions approaching 30% to 40% over-the-air penetration. Yet on smart TVs, finding local channels often requires navigating multiple menu layers as TVs increasingly route viewers toward proprietary FAST channels.

“On some of these TVs, you have to click five, six levels deep if you have your antenna connected,” Schelle said. “The competition for the consumer and where consumers are getting driven is away from local. Consumers are looking for those channels… they just can’t find them.”

NextGen TV’s IP-based architecture, Schelle argued, provides tools to address this prominence issue while enabling interactive features that complement rather than compete with streaming services.

Sinclair and Gray Media have launched several channels available exclusively through over-the-air NextGen TV reception, including interactive gaming through GameLoop TV and a music service called ROXi. The channels work by embedding URLs in the broadcast signal that trigger server-based content delivery.

“It’s not an either/or, it’s an and,” Schelle noted on competing with streaming content.

The platform also allows broadcasters to innovate using the same digital advertising workflows and technologies they’ve developed for online platforms.

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With the regulatory process now underway and new initiatives planned for CES, the question remains whether the industry can build enough momentum to secure the transition deadline Schelle believes is essential.

Pearl TV has run national advertising campaigns promoting NextGen TV for several years, directing viewers to watchnextgentv.com, which has received over 3 million visits. The site serves as both a promotional tool and a research mechanism, allowing Pearl TV to track consumer questions and gauge interest levels as the technology rolls out.

“We need a hard cutoff date,” she said. “Without that, it’s going to be difficult for it to flourish.”