LAS VEGAS—With the ATSC 3.0 next-gen TV standards officially set, Sinclair Broadcast Group and Imagine Communications are co-developing an ATSC 3.0 advertising management software platform.
Sinclair and Imagine will work together on business process systems for traffic, ad sales and data analytics that allow for unit- and impression-based buys, according to a news release. Sinclair will consult on technical and business requirements ahead of the launch and it will conduct beta testing for both ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 models.
“ATSC 3.0 provides broadcasters with a rich palette of IP-based service offerings that enhance and complement our over-the-air capabilities,” said Del Parks, CTO at Sinclair, in a statement. “Our development partnership with Imagine will ensure that we maximize the monetization opportunities these new capabilities that an IP delivery model offers by utilizing business systems that provide precise targeting and geographical positioning across all distribution and consumption models.”
RELATED: Sinclair announces nationwide ATSC 3.0 deployment after FCC OK
“[Sinclair] is a major champion of broadcast innovation—across technology and business processes,” said Sarah Foss, chief product officer of Advertising Management Solutions at Imagine Communications, in a statement. “This agreement provides both Sinclair and Imagine with a unique opportunity to bring the capabilities of our ad management solutions, including zone-based targeting and dynamic ad insertion, that have gained market leadership among MVPDs to the broadcast realm. It’s a win-win for both companies—and, ultimately, the North American broadcast market.”
Sinclair, and it subsidiary One Media, this week also entered an agreement with SK Telecom to co-develop an ATSC 3.0 next-gen TV platform, which they intend to build in the first half of 2018. The platform aims to offer UHD content over the air, customization and interactivity, targeted advertising, fixed and mobile broadcast, and emergency alerts.
Sinclair’s partnership with Imagine comes after the broadcast group, a big vocal proponent of ATSC 3.0, declared its intentions to enable the standards across its entire broadcast footprint.