After introducing ATSC 3.0 tuners to some of their TV models in 2020, LG has now confirmed to the FCC that the NextGen tuners will be absent in its 2024 lineup. Earlier this year, LG lost a patent case to Constellation Designs LLC over some of the technology that makes up the ATSC 3.0 tuners, which has led the company to move away from the feature.
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“This challenging and uncertain patent landscape has forced LG to make the difficult decision to suspend the inclusion of ATSC 3.0-compatibility in its 2024 television lineup for the United States. This decision was not made lightly, because LG has been a vocal ATSC 3.0 advocate, a strong supporter of local broadcasters, and a leading developer of television products with the latest NEXTGEN TV technologies,” reads a statement from LG to the FCC.
Going forward, LG is still looking for an alternative resolution to the dispute that would allow them to include ATSC 3.0 tuners in future device.
“LG’s decision to suspend support for NEXTGEN TV products in 2024 because of an ongoing patent dispute is unfortunate, but we are hopeful that the matter can be resolved. In the meantime, we continue to project that total NEXTGEN TV sales will cumulatively top 10 million units by year end,” said Anne Schelle, the managing director of the Pearl TV broadcaster group.
