LG will price the 88- and 77-inch models in its ZX series of 8K OLED TVs at $29,000 and $19,999, respectively, when they debut at retail in May, said the manufacturer Monday. Three series of 4K sets, plus the $4,999 WX “wallpaper” 4K TV will round out LG’s 2020 OLED offerings, it said. The top 4K tier is called the GX “gallery” series, with 55-, 65- and 77-inch models due in April priced $2,499 to $5,999, said LG. The gallery series is so named because the TVs in that line sport an ultra-thin form factor without the need for a separate control box, and can be mounted flush to the wall, it said. LG’s lowest-priced OLED TV for 2020 will be $1,599 for the 55-inch model in the BX series due in May. The three models in the GX series, the two 8K sets and the wallpaper TV all will have ATSC 3.0 functionality, said LG.
Edge Networks wants to leverage ATSC 3.0 to deploy a wireless nationwide subscription-based video service, CEO Todd Achilles told us Tuesday. It sees competitive openings in “underserved” secondary and tertiary video markets, plus larger populations with poor or overpriced broadband, and markets with a monopolistic MVPD. Edge is on-air with 3.0 on low-power stations in Boise it’s leasing from Cocola Broadcasting, KBSE-LD Channel 33 and KCBB-LB Channel 34, said Achilles. Those will be the keystone of a hybrid over-the-air/IP 3.0 commercial service launch this summer to homes in the Boise designated market area, accessible through a set-top box Edge is developing, he said. The set-top will have built-in internet connectivity, two dual OTA ATSC 1.0/3.0 tuners, plus onboard storage, said Achilles. Edge wants to price its service offering at about half that of the $109 average monthly U.S. cable bill. With executive stints with HTC and T-Mobile, “I’ve been through a bunch of these transitions in the mobile space,” said Achilles. He regards 3.0 as “the most efficient wireless protocol,” he said. “What we’ve done is basically built a pay-TV model around a foundation of 3.0,” and is aiming its focus on second- and third-tier markets around the U.S. “that are just chronically underserved by the legacy providers,” he said. The startup doesn’t “aspire to do a 200-channel bundle” but rather an offering of 80-100 channels that’s somewhat “curated for what works” in individual markets, said Achilles. That’s “one of the things that differentiates us in our approach” compared with “the big national virtual MVPDs,” said Achilles. Hulu Live and YouTube TV offer “this overarching national bundle that applies to all markets,” he said. The wireless veteran doesn’t think there’s “a good market opportunity” in the U.S. for 3.0 reception in smartphones, he said.
The FCC released drafts Tuesday of proposed items for the March 31 commissioners’ meeting, including details of proposals to deregulate voice incumbent pricing and require authentication of caller ID information, plus Media Bureau proposals on ATSC 3.0 and program carriage. Chairman Ajit Pai outlined the agenda Monday (see 2003090050).
Chairman Ajit Pai plans to further deregulate voice service providers and "examine whether certain pricing and tariffing regulations that the FCC imposed on incumbent phone companies when they held a monopoly on local telephone service still make sense today," he blogged Monday, outlining his agenda for the March 31 commissioners' meeting (see 2003090044). The meeting will also have a vote on robocall/caller ID authentication, as Pai disclosed last week (see 2003060055). Three Media Bureau items also were tentatively scheduled, including related to ATSC 3.0.
A dozen models in four series spanning sizes 65-85 inches make up Samsung’s QLED 8K TV line for 2020, announced the vendor. All the 8K models will have ATSC 3.0 functionality "ready out of the box," emailed a spokesperson Friday. Samsung said at CES it will offer 3.0 across its 2020 8K QLED lineup but wasn't specific on the number of models or the screen sizes. Pricing wasn't available for most of the 2020 models, including for three sets in the flagship Q950T 8K series. Samsung is pricing one 65-inch 8K model at $3,499 for April 10 availability. It’s one of three models in the Q800T series at the bottom tier of the 2020 8K offerings.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai circulated a plan to deregulate what he calls telephone access charges, among items tentatively up for a vote at commissioners' March 31 meeting. It would detariff "the last handful of interstate end-user charges that remain subject to FCC regulation," he blogged Monday afternoon.
An analysis of ATSC 3.0 transmission technology since the FCC approved its voluntary deployment in 2017 (see 1711160060) found the 3.0 “emission mask” may not adequately protect reserved-band FM noncommercial educational stations from interference, NPR told Media Bureau staff Monday. That’s because 3.0 transmissions “occupy additional bandwidth” beyond ATSC 1.0, and the interference risk “is particularly heightened at the perimeter of a DTV station’s coverage area,” it said in a notice posted Thursday in docket 19-193. NPR urged the commission to consider requiring DTV channel 6 stations to use “additional signal filtering” as it does for channels 14 and 17.
Nexstar and Sinclair expect a 2020 political advertising boom and didn’t lay out any immediate merger and acquisitions plans, in respective Q4 calls Wednesday. Nexstar CEO Perry Sook and Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley have opposite views on the upside of sports betting. Executives of both companies said their stocks are cheap. Sinclair ended the day down 15% at $23.36. Nexstar fell 6% to $107.02.
CTA’s application to register the NEXTGEN TV logo as a certification mark for ATSC 3.0-compliant consumer TVs was published for opposition Tuesday, confirmed the Patent and Trademark Office. The application, published in the agency's Trademark Official Gazette, advances to a notice of allowance if no one opposes it at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board by March 26. CTA would then have six months to file a statement of use as one of the final steps in the registration process. CTA unveiled the logo in the fall as the keystone of its consumer-facing branding campaign for when broadcasters in the top 40 U.S. markets begin rolling out 3.0 services later this year (see 1909190066).
Military training, precision agriculture and immigration enforcement are among possible uses for datacasting using public TV spectrum and ATSC 3.0, America’s Public Television Stations’ summit heard Tuesday. FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly endorsed public TV’s focus on datacasting, in a speech. “You may just be on to something here,” he said. “Please keep me posted.”