Just had to ask: FCC quickly grants CBS11 new digital channel
07/26/09 04:21 PM
By ED BARK
D-FW-based CBS11 (KTVT) is getting what it wanted from the Federal Communications Commission -- and at WARP speed.
The oft-slow moving government body has said yes to the station's "urgent" request earlier this month that its post-analog digital signal for over-the-air viewers be switched from the allocated Channel 11 to Channel 19. The switch will take effect on Monday, August 4th, with CBS11's sister station, TXA21, moving from Channel 19 to Channel 18 on that same date. The Channel 11 frequency also will continue to be used, director of engineering Don Dobbs says in a memo to staffers. And there's a pending proposal that TXA21 be moved yet again, from Channel 18 to Channel 29.
As previously reported on unclebarky.com, CBS11 had cited thousands of viewer complaints and significant ratings losses after the federal government-mandated analog-to-digital transition on June 12th. Many North Texans without cable or satellite capabilities were unable to get the station's allocated Channel 11 digital signal, the petition to the FCC said.
Viewers relying on converter boxes and antennas will have to "rescan" their televisions to receive Channel 19. Dobbs said that CBS11 will run announcements and on-screen "crawls" leading up to the changeover. The station also is planning a "Countdown Clock" that will start ticking at 11:45 a.m. on August 4th.
That will leave WFAA8 as the only remaining major D-FW broadcast station with a VHF band signal in the digital age. The station's Channel 8 digital frequency is working fine and there are no current plans to petition the FCC for a UHF frequency, WFAA management says.
D-FW-based CBS11 (KTVT) is getting what it wanted from the Federal Communications Commission -- and at WARP speed.
The oft-slow moving government body has said yes to the station's "urgent" request earlier this month that its post-analog digital signal for over-the-air viewers be switched from the allocated Channel 11 to Channel 19. The switch will take effect on Monday, August 4th, with CBS11's sister station, TXA21, moving from Channel 19 to Channel 18 on that same date. The Channel 11 frequency also will continue to be used, director of engineering Don Dobbs says in a memo to staffers. And there's a pending proposal that TXA21 be moved yet again, from Channel 18 to Channel 29.
As previously reported on unclebarky.com, CBS11 had cited thousands of viewer complaints and significant ratings losses after the federal government-mandated analog-to-digital transition on June 12th. Many North Texans without cable or satellite capabilities were unable to get the station's allocated Channel 11 digital signal, the petition to the FCC said.
Viewers relying on converter boxes and antennas will have to "rescan" their televisions to receive Channel 19. Dobbs said that CBS11 will run announcements and on-screen "crawls" leading up to the changeover. The station also is planning a "Countdown Clock" that will start ticking at 11:45 a.m. on August 4th.
That will leave WFAA8 as the only remaining major D-FW broadcast station with a VHF band signal in the digital age. The station's Channel 8 digital frequency is working fine and there are no current plans to petition the FCC for a UHF frequency, WFAA management says.