ION Media Networks announced the launch of its Digital Broadcast “Triple Play” in NYC and Washington D.C. The offering includes the broadcast of the ION Television, in high-definition, two additional digital networks, plus Mobile DTV. ION is among the first broadcasters to demonstrate the viability of all three technologies in one broadcast stream in the nation’s largest TV market and the nation’s capital.
ION’s focus on Washington D.C. is part of a broader initiative in support of the Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC), a trade group of over 800 broadcast television stations, working to create a showcase for Mobile DTV in the nation’s capital to highlight the potential for expanding broadcast television beyond the living room to all mobile devices in the digital age.
ION is using technology known as ATSC-M/H — developed by the ATSC — specifically enables delivery of television to mobile and handheld devices. In New York, where the signal is transmitted from ION’s owned and operated station, WPXN, the mobile stream is broadcast alongside WPXN’s HD signal and ION’s two multicast channels. But it has additional formatting that allows it to be picked up by receivers that are mobile, such as phones or an in-vehicle screen. The signal is “in-band,” meaning that it uses the existing DTV spectrum allocated to the station.
