KMPH Fox 26 is one of at least six local broadcast stations transitioning to NextGen TV.

After a decade of planning and preparation, the Fresno-Visalia market will benefit from NextGen TV expansion to five local broadcast television stations.

NextGen TV is heralded as a revolutionary new digital broadcast technology launching on KGPE (CBS), KMPH-TV (Fox 26), KSEE (NBC), KNSO (Telemundo) and KFRE-TV (CW). The conversion to ATSC 3.0 transmission, which powers NextGen TV, is seen as the most significant technology upgrade since 2009 when TV broadcasts transitioned to high-definition digital signals.

In a KMPH story announcing NextGen TV, Fox 26 General Manager Matt Morse said: “It means you’ve (sic) gonna get a quality television picture that you’ve never had before. The true 4K experience, also sound. You’re gonna have amazing sound quality just like movie theater style.”

This comes in addition to KMCF-Channel 6’s recent adaptation of NextGen TV by Cocola Broadcasting.

NextGen TV is based on the same fundamental technology as the internet and digital apps and improves broadcasters’ reach to viewers and offers brilliant color, sharper images and deeper contrast to the picture on screen, according to a news release.

It also adds a new dimension to TV viewing called Voice+ dialogue enhancement, which brings voices to the foreground for better audio. Uniform sound quality will transfer across channels so viewers can avoid excessive volume changes when switching channels.

All programming of participating stations will continue to be available in the existing high-definition format. BitPath, a broadcast data network, led the planning process and coordinated efforts across the Fresno-Visalia market.

NextGen TV services are already available in more than 45 cities across the country. Viewers can learn more at www.watchnextgentv.com

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