Ion Media Networks : Open Mobile Video Coalition Encourages Participation in Developing ATSC Standard

The Open Mobile Video Coalition, an association of leading television broadcasters, is issuing the following open letter to companies in the technology industry in an effort to drive the development and adoption of mobile broadcast television.

Open Letter to the Technology Industry:

The Open Mobile Video Coalition is issuing this open letter to urge companies in the technology industry interested in introducing new mobile video capabilities for digital television broadcasting to actively participate in the inter-industry standardization process for mobile video launched by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC). The Open Mobile Video Coalition was formed by Belo Corp., FOX Television Stations, Gannett Broadcasting, Gray Television, ION Media Networks, the NBC & Telemundo Television Stations, Sinclair Broadcast Group, and Tribune Broadcasting Company, which together own and operate over 280 television stations covering 95 million homes, and has come together specifically to facilitate and accelerate the development of mobile video in the United States. The Coalition believes that adherence by the technology industry to the process set forward by the ATSC will result in the broadest and most timely deployment and adoption of mobile video services.

The Coalition and its members fully support and will participate in the process announced by the ATSC on April 9, 2007 for the development of an ATSC-M/H standard, a backward compatible mobile and handheld standard for television broadcasters, including the Request for Proposal (RFP) that was issued on May 21, 2007. Specifically, the Coalition views as critical the ATSC's RFP requirements that i) candidate technologies be incorporated into an open standard, with underlying intellectual property made available for licensing under reasonable and non-discriminatory terms; and ii) candidate technologies be submitted according to the schedule of the RFP, so that they can be evaluated under an expeditious, consistent and fair process. Because the Coalition places high importance on the rapid development of a standard, technologies that miss the deadlines of the ATSC process are unlikely to be looked upon favorably by Coalition members. As such, the Coalition urges interested technology companies to submit their preliminary proposals to the ATSC by June 21, 2007, and their detailed proposals by July 6, 2007, as called for by the RFP.

The Coalition believes that one of the major threats to the successful and timely introduction and adoption of new mobile video products and services is a marketplace ?format war? among incompatible approaches. In broadcasting, the AM Stereo debacle resulted in failure for all interested parties; fragmented approaches in other products ? such as for videocassettes (i.e. VHS vs. Betamax), rewriteable DVDs (i.e. DVD-R vs. DVD+R), and high-definition DVDs (i.e. Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD) ? may have significantly delayed or diminished consumer adoption. As such, the Coalition urges all interested technology companies to participate in the ATSC process ? we believe that reaching a single open standard that fosters healthy competition and encourages consumer confidence and rapid adoption is ultimately in everyone's best interests.

The Coalition looks forward to working with the technology industry in the ATSC process to bring exciting new mobile video products and services to the public.

Sincerely,

    Jack Abernathy
FOX Television Stations

Brandon Burgess
ION Media Networks

Jay Ireland
NBC Universal Television Stations

Ibra Morales
Telemundo Group

Roger Ogden
Gannett Broadcasting

Bob Prather
Gray Television

John Reardon
Tribune Broadcasting

Dunia Shive
Belo Corporation

David Smith
Sinclair Broadcast Group

About the Open Mobile Television Coalition Initial Members

The nine initial members of the Open Mobile Television Coalition collectively own and operate 281 television stations in 110 U.S. markets (including Puerto Rico), covering 95 million television homes, or 85% of total TV households. This includes coverage of at least one station in all top 20 DMA markets, 49 of the top 50 markets, and 83 of the top 100 markets. The current members own or operate an average of 5.5 stations in the top 10 markets, 5.0 stations in the top 20 markets, 3.7 stations in the top 50 markets, and 2.6 stations across all markets served. Of the 281 stations, 260 are already broadcasting in digital as of April, 2007.

About the Open Mobile Video Coalition

The Open Mobile Video Coalition is a voluntary association of television broadcasters whose mission is to accelerate the development of mobile digital broadcast television in the United States. Membership in the Coalition is open to all U.S.-based television broadcasters. Members are committed to fostering open competition in the development of products and services related to television.

The following coalition members are available to answer your questions:
Brandon Burgess		Roger Ogden		David Smith		Jay Ireland
President and C.E.O.		President and C.E.O.		Chairman		President
ION Media Networks		Gannett Broadcasting		Sinclair Broadcast Group		NBC Universal Television Stations
[phone]		[phone]
				[phone]		[phone]

Individual coalition members may be contacted via their
communication departments as follows:
Belo Corp. (NYSE:BLC)
Carey Hendrickson, 214-977-6626
or
FOX Television Stations (NYSE:NWS)
Jessica Schweitzer, 212-301-3817
[e-mail]
or
Gannett Broadcasting (NYSE:GCI)
Tara Connell, 703-854-6049
[e-mail]
or
Gray Television Inc. (NYSE:GTN)
Jim Ryan, Chief Financial Officer, 404-266-8333
or
For ION Media Networks, Inc. (AMEX:ION)
Brainerd Communicators
Joe Lobello, 212-986-6667
[e-mail]
or
NBC Universal
NBC Station Group and Telemundo (NYSE:GE)
Liz Fischer, 212-664-4825
[e-mail]
or
Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. (Nasdaq: SBGI)
David Smith, Chairman, 410-568-1504
or
Tribune Co. (NYSE:TRB)
Gary Weitman, 312-222-3394
[e-mail]