11:32 AM EDT, 10/16/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Sinclair's (SBGI) Sinclair Broadcast Group unit and Nebraska Public Media said Wednesday that they have launched the first free Broadcast-Enabled Streaming TV, or BEST, channel in Omaha, Nebraska.

The channel will provide programming over-the-air to smart TVs by using a host broadcaster's NEXTGEN data channel capacity, the company said.

The launch is part of a deal between Sinclair and America's Public Television Stations, or APTS, under which Sinclair agreed to carry APTS member stations for free in markets where Sinclair has deployed its NEXTGEN Broadcast Service and a public television station has not, according to the statement.

Following the launch, Nebraska Public Media said its public broadcasting service as local programming will be hosted on Sinclair's KPTM FOX 42 station in Omaha as a free virtual channel.

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