Nexstar expects major money from NEXTGEN TV by 2030

Nexstar Media is anticipating NEXTGEN TV will generate a broadcast industry windfall by 2030 that will surpass what stations currently bring in through retransmission consent fees.

In a new investor presentation, the U.S.’s largest broadcast station group the conversion to ATSC 3.0 (or NEXTGEN TV), which will allow broadcasters to branch out into the broadband data transmission market, could generate up to $15 billion in revenue by 2030. That’s even more than the $13 billion broadcasters haul in annually from retransmission fees, which are charged to distributors looking to offer network affiliates and broadcast channels.

By the end of 2022, Nexstar expects to have converted stations to ATSC 3.0 reaching 50% of the population and anticipates consumer adoption of new standard TV sets will follow.

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Nexstar expects the transition to ATSC 3.0 will open up new revenue streams through the launch of additional multicast channels, through which the company already brings in a significant amount of its adjusted earnings. Other near- to medium-term opportunities for ATSC 3.0 include targeted advertising, sports betting and signal encryption.

Looking further down the road, Nexstar hopes to generate revenue from its datacasting business in verticals including agriculture, connected vehicles, digital signage, education and distance learning, GPS, IoT, public safety for emergency alerts and other features, telecom for hybrid NextGen TV/5G network applications, and telemedicine.

NEXTGEN TV markets have been steadily launching in the U.S. and now total 45, according to TV Techology. Major markets like New York City and Chicago could join the list this year. Nexstar claims to be leading the way among fellow U.S. broadcasters in the shift toward ATSC 3.0. As of November 2021, the company said it has deployed the technology in nearly 25 markets covering approximately 16 million U.S. TV households.