TV stations can stop broadcasting old signals when they switch to new ones

The US communications regulator wants to remove a rule that forces TV stations to broadcast two signals at once during a technology upgrade. This means stations can switch to the new digital standard without the extra cost of running the old analog system simultaneously.

For years, TV stations wanting to upgrade to the new digital broadcast standard (ATSC 3.0) had to keep broadcasting their old signal too. This made the transition expensive and slow. Removing this rule means stations can move faster, which could speed up the adoption of new TV features like better picture quality and targeted advertising.