The gang is growing as Northwest Broadcasting has joined a consortium promoting ATSC 3.0 and spectrum aggregation alongside Sinclair, Nexstar Media and Univision.
Northwest is the first affiliate member of the consortium, which has agreed to collaborate on a nonexclusive basis and continues to welcome the inclusion of other television broadcasting entities. Together, the four broadcasters that are party to the consortium reach approximately 90% of the country, according to a news release.
Northwest is the second new member to join this month after Univision. The consortium was originally announced by Sinclair and Nexstar.
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"The consortium will provide broadcasters the ability to control their future rather than having it dictated by others," said Northwest CEO Brian Brady in a statement. "We are excited to be at the table with the industry's leading broadcasters as we collaboratively reimagine that future."
"On behalf of Sinclair, Nexstar and Univision, we are excited as we gain momentum in growing the list of broadcasters partnering in the consortium through the addition of Northwest," said Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley in a statement. "We invite other broadcasters to join us as we continue to advance the Next Generation Broadcast Standard for our industry."
Northwest owns and operates 12 television stations in six markets including stations in California, Idaho, Mississippi, New York, Oregon and Washington.
In March, Nexstar and Sinclair announced the consortium, which is particularly invested in developing products and services associated with ATSC 3.0 and monetization opportunities such as spectrum utilization, virtual MVPD platforms, multicast channels, automotive applications, single-frequency networks and wireless data applications.
The ATSC 3.0 next-gen TV standards are nearing finalization and are currently undergoing a public rulemaking process at the FCC. The standards are expected to deliver features like improved picture and sound quality, heightened viewer safety features, and the ability for mobile devices to receive OTA broadcast signals.