Gary Cocola

Locally-owned Cocola Broadcasting will be on the cutting edge of Fresno’s airwaves as it upgrades its broadcasting standards for KMCF-LD Channel 6.

Channel 6 is enhancing its broadcast to 4K-quality programming – a considerably higher quality than high definition, according to a news release from Cocola. The upgrade is made possible by the launch of the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) 3.0, an international, nonprofit organization developing voluntary standards for digital television.

Nearly 50 U.S. markets have the new standard also known as NextGen TV, according to the ATSC.

“I have always tried to be on the cutting edge of new technology,” said Gary Cocola, founder of Cocola Broadcasting.

When the company launched in the early 1980s, it was the first TV station in Fresno to broadcast in stereo.

NextGen TV, approved by the Federal Communications Commission in 2017, is the biggest change to the broadcasting world since the digital conversion in 2009, according to the release. Cocola Broadcasting is one of the first in Fresno to launch NextGen TV.

While there is a limited supply of 4K programming available, Cocola Broadcasting will be able to add new 4K programming as it becomes available.

To experience the fullness of the new broadcasting quality, the public can buy NextGen TVs, which are adapted to the Federal Trade Commission’s standards. But unlike the conversion from analog to digital signals by local television stations, the switch to NextGen TV is not required.