Celebrating the Launch of NextGen TV in Washington, D.C.

The Howard University NextGen TV Broadcast Collaborative presented a virtual celebration of the launch of Next Generation TV service in the nation’s capital on Thursday, Dec. 16, at 10 a.m. ET. NextGen TV is an exciting, new broadcasting standard that combines the free accessibility of over-the-air television with the interactive features of the internet.

Five local Washington, D.C., stations are working together to bring NextGen TV service to their viewers. Howard University’s WHUT (PBS), the first and only public TV station owned and licensed to a historically Black institution, is serving as the host station for these stations’ NextGen TV broadcasts. In addition to WHUT, the NextGen TV stations include WJLA (Sinclair Broadcast Group), WRC (NBCUniversal), WTTG (Fox Television Stations) and WUSA (TEGNA).

The event, emceed by TEGNA WUSA9 anchor and Howard University alumna Lesli Foster, honors several students who completed a foundational knowledge of the NextGen TV certificate program that was available only to Howard University students. The recipients of a first-of-its-kind NextGen TV fellowship are also recognized.

Speakers include:

• Dr. Wayne Frederick, president, Howard University
• Sen. Gordon H. Smith, president and CEO, National Association of Broadcasters
• Geoffrey Starks, commissioner, Federal Communications Commission
• Sean D. Plater, general manager, WHUR 96.3 and WHUT-TV, Howard University
• Sam Matheny, executive vice president and chief technology officer, National Association of Broadcasters