CAST.ERA (CEO Kevin Gage), a media tech company affiliated with SK Square, has begun full-scale testing of its ATSC 3.0 service in the United States, laying the groundwork for the expansion of its global service.

Cast.era announced on the 30th that it signed a business agreement with the Radio Promotion Association of Korea (RAPA) and Sinclair, the largest terrestrial broadcaster group in North America, in Washington, D.C., to promote ATSC 3.0 services and expand its global business.

ATSC 3.0 is a UHD broadcasting standard established by the American Digital Television Standardization Organization (ATSC). It can transmit high-quality video at high speeds by adding data to video and audio and carrying it over the frequency.

The three companies agreed to expand global services based on the results of the ATSC 3.0 service demonstration between Korea and the United States.

There is a plan to participate in the 'Broadcasting Cloud Demonstration Consortium' currently being promoted by the Korea Radio Promotion Association and others, and to jointly exhibit the results of this demonstration model at NAB 2024, the largest broadcasting technology exhibition in North America.

This agreement is expected to create significant synergy with Sinclair Broadcast Group’s vision of commercializing a Data Distribution as a Service (DDaaS) platform across North America. Cast.era and Sinclair Broadcast Group are advancing cloud-based management and control platforms for U.S. regional broadcast stations and real-time data casting technology.

Cast.era is a joint venture established in 2019 by the U.S. Sinclair Broadcast Group and SK Square. The company built an ATSC 3.0 broadcast transmission system based on SK Telecom's 'Media Edge' platform and, in collaboration with the Korea Radio Promotion Association last year, successfully transmitted ATSC 3.0 terrestrial broadcasts in the Jeju region using edge cloud virtualization technology.

The Korea Radio Promotion Association is also identifying transmission infrastructure and services for ATSC 3.0 service demonstration, and is supporting the promotion and overseas expansion of domestic broadcasting equipment companies.

Sinclair Broadcast Group is a media company with a diverse range of broadcast media, including local broadcast networks, digital channels, and streaming, and owns over 190 local terrestrial broadcast stations in the United States.

Song Jeong-su, Executive Vice President of the Korea Radio Promotion Association, expressed his ambition, stating, “We will actively promote the expansion of ATSC 3.0 services between Korea and the U.S. by cooperating with Sinclair Broadcast Group in North America, a major demand source for ATSC 3.0 services, and Cast.era, a next-generation broadcasting technology company.”

Del Parks CEO and Chief Technology Officer Sinclair emphasized, “Based on the DDaaS platform, a next-generation broadcasting service, we will play a leading role in accelerating the digital transformation of broadcasting systems not only in Korea and the U.S. but also around the world through various demonstration cases.”

Park Kyung-mo, CTO (Chief Technology Officer) of Cast.era, stated, “We expect that this agreement will further accelerate the development of global next-generation broadcasting services by sharing business status between the two countries more closely.”