NAB: Local TV Stations to Test Interactive Services

The broadcast groups involved in the Pearl group have announced that they will be testing interactive content and advertising services delivered to LG Smart TVs in three markets during live newscasts and that they will be demoing the idea at the 2014 National Association of Broadcasters Show in Las Vegas. The move is an effort to capitalize on the growing availability of smart TVs that are connected to the Internet and to use that connectivity to bring the interactivity of the online world to the TV set. In their Global Digital Living Forecast Workbook from March 2014, Parks Associates estimates that the number of "smart TV" households in the US will reach 42 million in 2014, representing 36% of all TV households. The tests will occur in Atlanta, Cleveland and Orlando. Stations participating in Atlanta are WSB (Cox), WGCL (Meredith) and WXIA (Gannett). In Cleveland, WOIO (Raycom), WEWS (Scripps), and WKYC (Gannett) will test the idea and in Orlando, participating stations are WKMG (Post-Newsweek), WFTV (Cox), and WESH (Hearst).