First Native High Dynamic Range Production Offers Football Fans a Spectacular Sideline View of the Future

With fall football in full swing and more sports choices returning to local broadcasters, viewers connected to NEXTGEN TV are now enjoying the enhanced benefits of next generation broadcasting. More than 250 channels are available with High Dynamic Range across the country, from virtually every next-generation TV broadcaster.

Football season began with eye-popping High Dynamic Range of a recent New Orleans preseason professional football game, when Gray Media presented the preseason game in native HDR, a first for a local broadcaster. Gray’s Tupelo Media Group and Gray’s New Orleans Fox affiliate, WVUE, broadcast the August 23 preseason game using end-to-end, native High Dynamic Range -- the first over-the-air broadcast in the United States of any programming that is produced in native HDR from the cameras to the production truck to the station to viewers with NEXTGEN TV television sets. Hometown viewers watching the over-the-air broadcast saw with their own eyes the improved contrast between the brightest and darkest colors on the screen that fulfilled one of the many promises that NEXTGEN TV brings to viewers.

Sinclair is also transmitting in upconverted High Dynamic Range through its NEXTGEN TV stations, in addition to offering the T2 Tennis Channel and Pickleball TV Channel in 45 markets through broadcast-enabled streaming virtual channels available to connected NEXTGEN TV viewers.

The technical achievements and promotions by Gray and Sinclair are a precursor to both international soccer and other international sporting events that are on the horizon.

“With NEXTGEN TV reaching more than three-quarters of viewing households, it’s exciting to see broadcasters enable High Dynamic Range on almost every channel to greatly enhance picture quality. Additionally, more than half of U.S. households also have access to broadcast Dolby Atmos audio, which adds a new dimension to entertainment and sports,” said Anne Schelle of Pearl TV, which has coordinated many of the market launches of the new broadcast technology.

The fall season leads up to a holiday NEXTGEN TV marketing effort that will again be launched by Pearl TV to promote the benefits of the broadcast technology on stations throughout the country. More than 620 services are available in NEXTGEN TV from both traditional broadcast and Internet-connected broadcasters in 78 Designated Market Areas, reaching 76% of U.S. households and more than 250,000,000 potential viewers.

“The best resource for consumers who are considering an upgrade to their viewing experience are the fast facts available on WatchNextGenTV.com, which offers details on available channels by zip code as well as a comprehensive listing of nearly 100 models of NEXTGEN TV sets available from five different manufacturers. Convenient and low-cost upgrade accessory receivers are also available for those looking to upgrade existing screens,” Schelle said.

More Music, More Games for Free

In addition to the picture and sound enhancements, broadcasters are adding new interactive innovations with the launch of free music video channel ROXi and free gaming with GameLoop – both services allow connected NEXTGEN TV sets to take advantage of new interactive capabilities.

FastStream Interactive and Sinclair recently partnered to bring ROXi, the world’s first fully interactive music TV channel, to NEXTGEN TV households in over 31 US TV markets. The revolutionary interactive music channel delivers easy, frictionless, and free on-demand access to 100 million music videos from Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and MERLIN.

NEXTGEN TV users tuning into the ROXi channel will discover interactive features never seen before on broadcast TV; an interactive app-like experience where viewers use their TV remote to skip through music videos TikTok-style, search on-demand for any artist, song, or mood - or sit back and enjoy curated music video playlists covering Pop, Rock, Country, Best of 80s, 90s, Gospel, Urban, and more. The ROXi music channel will be launched across additional US TV markets on NEXTGEN TV later this year.

NEXTGEN TV viewers are also having fun, beyond conventional television, with GameLoop, a streaming TV channel that brings gamers to smart TVs to watch and play with fun and familiar games like PAC-MAN, TETRIS, Planet Crossword, and Tomb Runner, among many other free choices. GameLoop unlocks a powerful new opportunity to transform traditional TV viewing into a fully interactive, dynamic two-screen experience.

Friendly GameLoop hosts introduce new games and bring viewers together for game play and discovery on the best screen in the house. GameLoop is carried by Gray Media and Sinclair in 49 NEXTGEN TV markets across the country.

About Pearl TV: Pearl TV is a business organization of U.S. broadcast companies with a shared interest in exploring forward-looking broadcasting opportunities, including innovative ways of promoting local broadcast TV content and developing digital media and wireless platforms for the broadcast industry. Pearl’s membership, comprising hundreds of TV stations, includes seven of the largest broadcast companies in America: Cox Media Group, Graham Media Group, Gray Television, Hearst Television Inc., Sinclair Broadcast Group, the E.W. Scripps Company, and TEGNA Inc.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250917784786/en/

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