On November 12, 2017, UNC-TV won first place in the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) PILOT Innovation Challenge. The PILOT Innovation Challenge "recognizes creative ideas that leverage technological advances in the production, distribution and display of engaging content."
UNC-TV's proposal for the challenge was "Next Gen TV—Saving Lives One Alert at a Time." Next Gen TV, also known as ATSC 3.0, is a new broadcast standard that will revolutionize television. Among the new capabilities, this new technology will enable public television stations to enrich emergency communications with real-time video, voice and data information for first responders, localized event mapping and evacuation routes.
After discussions with the public safety community, UNC-TV put together a proposal for this PILOT Innovation Challenge which will allow the station to work with public safety officials in North Carolina to utilize Next Gen TV to deliver this critical public safety communication. These improved communications could serve as the backbone for enhanced emergency messaging across the state.
UNC-TV was awarded $30,000 and will use this funding to implement North Carolina's enhanced emergency services communications.
Congratulations to UNC-TV on this impressive proposal and its first place win.
For more information, read the UNC-TV press release and the NAB press release.