By: Alex Nogales – National Hispanic Media Coalition Over 4.8 million Hispanic households across the nation rely on over-the-air television, representing 15.8 million Hispanic over-the-air viewers. In fact, 29 percent of Hispanics use an antenna to receive their programming, a number that increases to 38 percent when accounting for Spanish-speaking households. Latino communities depend heavily on over-the-air television for their news, weather, educational programming and emergency information. In fact, many people in our communities rely exclusively on free local broadcasts. Viewers who watch local TV stations for free with an antenna may soon have to rescan their TVs or converter
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Keeping African American-owned businesses and the communities we serve connected
By: Ron Busby African-American communities rely more than ever on over-the-air television for local and national news, emergency alerts, community information, weather and entertainment. Today, nearly 23 percent of African-American households view local television using an antenna, as opposed to relying on cable or satellite service, and all of those homes will be affected when many TV stations change to new frequencies over the coming year as required by law. It is critical that African-American business owners and our consumers know when and how to rescan their antenna televisions when stations in their areas move to new frequencies. This is
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Rescan Roundup – March 2019
More than half of all TV stations in the United States will move to new frequencies now through 2020. If you use an antenna to access free, over-the-air television, head to TVAnswers.org to find out when stations in your area are moving, help spread the word and sign up for text and email alerts. Here’s a rundown of stations expected to move frequencies during March 2019. As always: rescan dates may be subject to change, so check back frequently and be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates. March 1 K50LZ-D (Santa Barbara – Santa Maria
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What We Learned During Repack: Handling Viewer Questions
Stations preparing to move to new frequencies as part of the spectrum repack should expect and prepare for an increase in viewer questions. On the phone and through e-mail and social media, viewers are raising issues ranging from the conceptual to the technical—and training station staff to handle higher inbound question volume is one key way to ensure a smooth transition. Reno’s KTVN did a particularly excellent job handling viewer queries, and their experience may help stations preparing for repack anticipate and respond to over-the-air viewers who run into issues while rescanning their antenna televisions. To learn more about KTVN’s
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What We Learned During Repack: Tips for Stations
What is the broadcast repack like from a station’s perspective? How should stations gear up to move frequencies? What helpful advice might smooth the transition? To answer these questions, we enlisted the help of Tracy Oliver, creative services director at WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh. Serving an audience spanning three states, and having built a loyal, multi-generational following over more than half a century on the air, WTAE took a proactive approach to communicating the station’s transition to over-the-air viewers. Their experience may help other stations have a (relatively) seamless transition to a new frequency. Here are Tracy’s tips for stations: As
Continue ReadingRescan Roundup – January 7 – January 31
More than half of all TV stations in the United States will move to new frequencies now through 2020. If you use an antenna to access free, over-the-air television, head to TVAnswers.org to find out when stations in your area are moving, help spread the word and sign up for text and email alerts. Happy New Year from the TV Answers team! Here’s a rundown of stations expected to move frequencies through the end of January 2019. As always: rescan dates may be subject to change, so check back frequently and be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and
Continue ReadingRescan Roundup – December 10 – December 31
More than half of all TV stations in the United States will move to new frequencies now through 2020. If you use an antenna to access free, over-the-air television, head to TVAnswers.org to find out when stations in your area are moving, help spread the word and sign up for text and email alerts. Happy holidays! Here’s a rundown of stations expected to move frequencies through year’s end. Rescan dates are subject to change, so check back here frequently and be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates. December 14 KMLM-DT (Odessa-Midland, Texas) December 20 KPXN-TV (Los
Continue ReadingRescan Roundup – November 26 – December 1
More than half of all TV stations in the United States will move frequencies now through 2020. If you use an antenna to access free, over-the-air television, head to TVAnswers.org to find out when stations in your area are moving, help spread the word and sign up for text and email alerts. Here’s a rundown of stations expected to move frequencies over the next week. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. November 27 KMEG (Sioux City, Iowa) KITV (Sioux City, Iowa) KRNS (Reno, Nevada) KRXI (Reno, Nevada) KTVN (Reno, Nevada) WBGU (Toledo, Ohio) KWTV (Oaklahoma
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“Frequency”-Asked Questions: What Is Low-Power TV?
You may have heard that nearly 1,000 local television stations must move to new frequencies over the next two years as a result of what’s called the spectrum repack. But that number doesn’t tell the whole story. In fact, more than 2,000 low-power TV (LPTV) stations and TV translators are also affected. TV Answers receives lots of questions regarding low-power TV stations and TV translators (these two terms are sometimes used interchangeably and sometimes distinctly; it’s complicated, and will be explained below), and what impact the spectrum repack has on them. To learn more about LPTV, we sat down with
Continue Reading“Frequency”-Asked Questions: What does a Tower Technician Do?
What goes on behind (or, in this case, above) the scenes before you need to rescan your antenna television? A lot. Around the country, tower technician crews are modifying local TV broadcast towers so viewers can continue to receive free, over-the-air access to news, emergency information and entertainment when stations move frequencies to make room for wireless services. Tower crews perform dangerous, important work thousands of feet above the ground to make this happen. So, when you hear the phrase “moving frequencies,” it’s not conceptual, it’s literal. To learn more about what tower technicians do, the TV Answers team spoke
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