RAPA (Korea Radio Promotion Association) and PMVG (Public Media Venture Group) are pleased to announce a two-year collaborative effort to explore and implement various ATSC 3.0/NextGen TV applications and use cases. The partnership will help facilitate the full adoption of ATSC 3.0 in public stations across the United States, building on RAPA’s leadership experience as the primary architect of the NextGen TV transition in South Korea.
Under a recently executed Memorandum of Understanding, RAPA and PMVG have joined forces to establish an ATSC 3.0 demonstration site at a low power television (LPTV) station owned and operated by PMVG. The station, W35DZ-D in Algood, TN, was donated to PMVG in 2022 by Lowcountry 34 Media, an LPTV owner based out of Beaufort, SC. Constructed in collaboration with PMVG member station WCTE of Cookeville, TN, W35DZ-D will serve as a platform for showcasing the capabilities and benefits of ATSC 3.0 technology. These use cases and applications will be designed to be replicated and expanded to stations throughout the public media system.
RAPA has designated DigiCAP, an ATSC 3.0 solution provider based in Seoul, to provide the necessary technology solutions for the demonstration station. DigiCAP will collaborate with PMVG to set up the Cookeville station and work with PMVG and RAPA to develop the applications and use cases that will run on top of the demonstration station. PMVG and RAPA will also collaborate on securing deployment capital, equipment, and new partnerships. The Cookeville demonstration station is slated to launch in August 2023.
“We are thrilled to embark on this partnership with RAPA, DigiCAP, and WCTE Cookeville,” said PMVG CEO Marc Hand. “This collaboration will showcase the full capabilities and benefits of NextGen TV and help pave the way for new, vital business applications to sustain public media and to enable an exciting range of new services to local communities.”
“RAPA has been at the forefront of efforts to roll out ATSC 3 NextGen TV, not just in South Korea but also worldwide. We are very much excited to collaborate with PMVG to showcase more applications and services running on top ATSC 3.0 to public stations in the US,” said Jungsu Song, CEO & Vice Chairman of RAPA.
