FCC Considering an Unwanted and Costly Change to Over the Air TV

 The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) is currently considering a proposal that would require all TV stations to implement NextGen TV within the next five years. The largest TV markets would need to transition by 2028, the other markets by 2030.

NextGen TV channels started increasing in 2020, but greatly slowed in 2024, and has virtually stopped in 2025. Less than 2% of TV channels are NextGen. There is little to no public interest.

NextGen TV advantages

• higher resolution,
• enhanced audio,
• better reception characteristics.

NextGen TV disadvantages

• transition cost for consumers and broadcasters,
• viewing habits can be tracked,
• some TV channels cannot be recorded, or have an expiration date if recording allowed,
• recorded programs can only be replayed from the DVR or tuner that recorded it,
• viewers can be blocked from using Pause, Rewind, Fast Forward, and Ad-Skip,
• opens the door for pay-for-view. Most people use over the air TV to get away from pay-for-view as well as another internet connected device.
• software updates may be required. Does anyone need any more updates. Many updates add little, and often cause multiple problems.

In 2009 the transitioned from analog to digital TV was a great success and well implemented. The number of channels greatly increased, as did the quality and variety of programs. Over the air TV consumers also greatly increased, and is still increasing.

The FCC should not force the public to use what it doesn't want or need, is highly unpopular, has far more disadvantages than advantages, and will be costly. If the proposal is adopted it will make things worse, not better.

DON'T FIX IT IF IT AIN'T BROKE!

New Cartoon Network

The Me-TV Toons network is a 24/7 cartoon channel scheduled to launch in 70 market cities on Monday June 25, 2024.  

Cartoons

Atom Ant	Inspector Gadget	Speed Racer
Beetlejuice	Jetsons	Super Mystery Boat
Bug Bunny	Joe 90	Supercar
Bullwinkle & Rocky	Peter Potamus	The Mask
Captain Planet	Popeye & Pals	Thunderbirds
Captain Scarlet	Real Ghostbusters	Tom & Jerry
Casper	Scooby-Doo	Underdog
Fireball XL5	Smurfs	Wacky Races
Flintstones	Police Academy	Woody Woodpecker
		Yogi Bear & Gang

 

Over-the-Air Channels

State	City	TV Ch	Call Sign	RF Ch and Band
AL	Huntsville	31.8	WAAY	RF-17 (UHF)
AL	Mobile	31.4	WMBP	RF-31 (UHF)
AZ	Kingman	6.5	KMOH	RF-19 (UHF)
AZ	Tucson	4.4	KVOA	RF-23 (UHF)
AZ	Phoenix	40.2	KEJR	RF-29 (UHF)
AZ	Tucson	4.4	KVOA	RF-23 (UHF)
CA	Chico-Redding	12.8	KHSL	RF-18 (UHF)
CA	Fresno-Visalia	43.5	KGMC	RF-11 (VHF-Hi)
CA	Los Angeles	54.3	KAZA	RF-21 (UHF)
CA	Monterey	27.5	KMBY	RF-27 (UHF)
CO	Glenwood Springs	3.8	KREG	RF-23 (UHF)
CO	Grand Junction	11.5	KKCO	RF-12 (VHF-Hi)
CT	Hartford	35-8	WHCT	RF-35 (UHF)
DC	Washington	48.5	WDME	RF-20 (UHF)
FL	Gainesville	19.3	WTGB	RF-34 (UHF)
FL	Jacksonville	47.4	WJAX	RF-19 (UHF)
FL	Orlando	9.4	WFTV	RF-19 (UHF)
FL	West Palm Beach	19.8	WBWP	RF-19 (UHF)
GA	Atlanta	47.7	WKTB	RF-23 (UHF)
GA	Perry	58.5	WPGA-TV	RF-23 (UHF)
HI	Honolulu	20.2	KIKU	RF-19 (UHF)
IA	Cedar Rapids	7.6	KWWL	RF-7 (VHF-Hi)
IA	Des Moines	45.4	KDIT	RF-17 (UHF)
IL	Chicago	26.7	WCIU	RF-23 (UHF)
IL	Rockford	13.2	WREX	RF-13 (VHF-Hi)
IN	Evansville	44.5	WEVV	RF-28 (UHF)
IN	South Ben - Elkhart	25.3	WCWW	RF-25 (UHF)
KS	Kansas	39.7	KGKC	RF-33 (UHF)
KY	Louisville	21.7	WBNA	RF-8 (VHF-Hi)
KY	Paducah	9.4	WQWQ	RF-18 (UHF)
LA	Monroe	11.8	KMLU	RF-11 (VHF-Hi)
MA	Boston	62.3	WMFP	RF-10 (VHF-Hi)
MI	Flint - Saginaw - Bay City	12.7	WJRT	RF-12 (VHF-Hi)
MI	Grand Rapids	64.7	WLLA	RF-22 (UHF)
MN	Carlsbed	19.5	KKAC	RF-19 (UHF)
MN	Rochester - Mason City	47.3	KXLT	RF-25 (UHF)
MO	St Louis	24-2	KNLC	RF-14 (UHF)
MS	Greenwood - Greenvile	13.4	WMEL	RF-13 (VHF-Hi)
MS	Jackson	35.5	WLOO	RF-36 (UHF)
MS	Memphis	35.6	WTME	RF-14 (UHF)
NC	Charlotte	18.9	WCCB	RF-18 (UHF)
NM	Silver City - Santa Fe	10.5	KKAD	RF-10 (VHF-Hi)
NV	Las Vegas	21-6	KHSV	RF-2 (VHF-Lo)
NY	New York	33.2	WJLP	RF-3 (VHF-Lo)
NY	New York	43.4	WZME	RF-21 (UHF)
OH	Cleveland - Akron	35.3	WOCV	RF-27 (UHF)
OK	Oklahoma City	30.7	KTUZ	RF-29 (UHF)
OR	Eugene	9.6	KEZI	RF-23 (UHF)
OR	Portland	29.8	KJYY	RF-29 (UHF)
PA	Philadelphia	2.10	WDPN	RF-2 (VHF-Lo)
SC	Myrtle Beach	43.9	WFXB	RF-36 (UHF)
SD	Sioux Falls	13.6	KSFY	RF-13 (VHF-Hi)
TN	Jackson	7.5	WBBJ	RF-35 (UHF)
TN	Nashville	44.8	WJFB	RF-25 (UHF)
TX	Dallas	55.3	KAZD	RF-31 (UHF)
TX	Lubbock	14.5	KMYL	RF-22 (UHF)
TX	Waco	46.7	KNCT	RF-17 (UHF)
UT	Salt Lake City	8.8	KCSG	RF-14 (UHF)
UT	Salt Lake City	27.8	KKEL	RF-27 (UHF)
VT	Burlington - Plattsburgh	40.7	WYCI	RF-34 (UHF)
WA	Bellingham	12.9	KVOS	RF-14 (UHF)
WA	Seattle - Tacoma	44.7	KFFV	RF-16 (UHF)
WI	Eau Claire	18.3	WQOW	RF-25 (UHF)
WI	Green Bay - Appleton	31.2	WMEI	RF-32 (UHF)
WI	La Crosse	19.3	WXOW	RF-28 (UHF)
WI	Madison	27.3	WKOW	RF-26 (UHF)
WI	Milwaukee	49.5	WMLW	RF-17 (UHF)
WI	Wausau	9.3	WAOW	RF-9 (VHF-Hi)
WI	Wausau	4.3	WMOW	RF-13 (VHF-Hi)
WV	Parkersburg	26.3	WIYE	RF-26 (UHF)

 See the TV TV Tower Locator for Broadcast Towers in your area.

New Over the Air News Network

The Salem Media Group announced on June 12th, 2024 a partnership with HC2 Broadcasting to broadcast the Salem News Channel in 55 market areas.   That’s about 25% of US markets. 

Salem News Channel

State	City	TV Ch	Call Sign	RF Ch & Band
AL	Huntsville	38.5	W34EY-D	RF-28 (UHF)
AL	Montgomery - Selma	36.5	WQAP-LD	RF-18 (UHF)
AL	Mobile	29.5	WEDS-LD	RF-14 (UHF)
AR	Fayetteville	20.5	KFLU-LD	RF-20 (UHF)
AZ	Phoenix - Prescott	22.2	K12XP-D	RF-27 (UHF)
CA	Bakersfield	14.5	KXBF-LD	RF-33 (UHF)
CA	Sacramento - Stockton	32.7	KFKK-LD	RF-33 (UHF)
CA	Morgan Hill	45.7	KQRO-LD	RF-31 (UHF)
CA	Santa Barbara	30.4	KDFS-CD	RF-21 (UHF)
CT	Hartford - New Haven	34.6	WTXX	RF-35 (UHF)
FL	Orlando -Daytona Beach	47.4	WATV-LD	RF-5 (VHF-Lo)
FL	Tampa - St Petersburg	30.7	WTAM-LD	RF-15 (UHF)
FL	West Palm Beach - Ft Pierce	10.4	WWCI-CD	RF-30 (UHF)
FL	Tallahassee	21.7	W21EL-D	RF-15 (UHF)
GA	Atlanta	34.7	WDWW-LD	RF-17 (UHF)
GA	Macon	44.3	WJDO-LD	RF-35 (UHF)
GA	Savannah	26.5	WDID-LD	RF-27 (UHF)
GA	Augusta	47.6	WIEF-LD	RF-29 (UHF)
IL	Chicago	36.2	W31EZ-D	RF-20 (UHF)
IL	Salem	29.7	W29CI-D	RF-23 (UHF)
IN	Evansville	30.1	WELW-LD	RF-34 (UHF)
IN	Indianapolis	28.3	WUDZ-LD	RF-24 (UHF)
KS	Topeka	35.1	K35KX-D	RF-35 (UHF)
LA	Baton Rough	43.7	K27NB-D	RF-28 (UHF)
ME	Bangor	20.7	W20ER-D	RF-15 (UHF)
MI	Flint - Saginaw Bay City	17.1	WFFC-LD	RF-29 (UHF)
MI	Traverse City - Cadillac	36.6	W36FH-D	RF-24 (UHF)
MN	Minneapolis - St Paul	15.5	KWJM-LD	RF-19 (UHF)
MO	Columbia -Jefferson City	35.6	K35OY-D	RF-15 (UHF)
MO	Kansas City	46.6	KQML-LD	RF-26 (UHF)
MO	St Louis	7.6	KPTN-LD	RF-23 (UHF)
MS	Biloxi-Gulfport	32.2	W33EG-D	RF-33 (UHF)
ND	Fargo - Valley City	19.5	K15MR-D	RF-2 (VHF-Lo)
NE	Lincoln	15.2	KIUA-LD	RF-21 (UHF)
NE	Omaha	25.7	KQMK-LD	RF-6 (VHF-Lo)
NV	Las Vegas	28.3	KVPX-LD	RF-29 (UHF)
NV	Reno	12.4	K07AAI-D	RF-25 (UHF)
NY	New York	45.7	W02CY-D	RF-12 (VHF-Hi)
OH	Cleveland - Akron	20.7	WQDI-LD	RF-17 (UHF)
OK	Tulsa	48.1	KUOC-LD	RF-20 (UHF)
OR	Eugene	15.7	KORY-CD	RF-7 (VHF-Hi)
OR	Portland	20.1	KOXI-CD	RF-25 (UHF)
PA	Philadelphia	18.2	W25FG-D	RF-32 (UHF)
PA	Pittsburgh	60.3	WJMB-CD	RF-2 (VHF-Lo)
PR	San Juan	26.1	W20EJ-D	RF-20 (UHF)
SC	Myrtle Beach - Florence	16.6	W33DN-D	RF-30 (UHF)
TN	Memphis	19.5	WPED-LD	RF-33 (UHF)
TX	Dallas-Ft. Worth	28.3	KPFW-LD	RF-19 (UHF)
TX	Brownsville	64.1	KNWS-LD	RF-21 (UHF)
TX	Houstion	45.7	KUVM-CD	RF-35 (UHF)
TX	Tyler	27.7	KDKJ-LD	RF-35 (UHF)
VA	Richmond - Petersburg	28.6	WWBK-LD	RF-36 (UHF)
WI	La Crosse - Eau Claire	53.6	W23FC-D	RF-33 (UHF)
WI	Madison	8.1	WZCK-LD	RF-27 (UHF)
WV	Charleston - Huntington	21.1	WOCW-LD	RF-10 (VHF-Hi)

 See the TV Tower Locator for Broadcast Towers in your area.

Next Gen TV Tradeoffs

 A Next Gen television is needed to receive broadcast using the new standard (ATSC 3.0), also called UHD. The new standard offers higher resolution, enhanced audio, interactivity, and has better reception characteristics. These improvements come with some tradeoffs.

Broadcasters can Content Protect TV channels using the Digital Rights Management (DRM) standard. Programs that can be recorded can only be replayed from the DVR / Tuner that recorded it. Broadcasters can prevent recording, or set an expiration date on a recording. They can also Block using Pause, Rewind, Fast Forward, and Ad-Skip.

Currently the number of ATSC 3.0 broadcast is small, and not growing very fast. Nationwide 81 out of 500 market areas have a few ATSC 3.0 TV channels. None of these channels are in 4k ultra high definition.

One of the first ATSC 3.0 television manufacturers (LG) will stop manufacturing televisions with the new standard in 2024. The decision was due to a licensing cost increase from $3 to $7 per television, and lack of sales.

The ATSC 3.0 standard is not fully developed and will probably require periodic software updates, much like computer and phone software updates. 

otadtv.com 

NextGen vs HD Broadcast November 2023

Currently the number of NextGen (ATSC 3.0)  broadcast is small, and not growing very fast. 

Only two HD stations plan to switch to NextGen broadcast by year end:

WPLG in Miami, Florida,
KBFW-LD in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas.

Check for NextGen broadcast in your area at TV Broadcast Tower Locator. 

 

NextGen TV - Encrypted Channels

Some NextGen TV channels are encrypted. NextGen televisions manufactured after 2022 should have an authorized tuner with a built-in decryption key. An Internet connection is not required. Televisions without a key should, but might not, be able to get a key by downloading (from the Internet) and installing a software update.

There are 2 types of encryption;

• Digital Rights Management (DRM 
  Also referred to as Content Protection.
  • Programs that can be recorded can only be replayed from the DVR / Tuner that recorded it.
  • Broadcasters can prevent recording, or set an expiration date on a recording.
  • Broadcasters can Block using;
    • Pause.
    • Rewind.
    • Fast Forward.
    • Ad-Skip.
  • Prevents rebroadcasting.
• Subscription Service
  Not currently used.
  This is pay TV, by the month or by the program(s). An Internet connection is required to download a decryption key as often as needed. The legality is in question. Spectrum allocated for TV broadcast is mandated by the Federal government to be Free for anyone to receive.
  
  Evoca TV network tried selling a monthly subscription service for $25 per month from January to December of 2022. They had stations in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, and Michigan. The service had local channels, some cable channels, and RSN's (Regional Sports Network). They didn't generate enough revenue to sustain operations and shut down after 1 year on December 31st, 2022.

 

The Number of UHD 4k Television Broadcast Drops

The number of UHD 4k broadcast TV stations is still very small. At the end of 2022 there were 113 UHD stations in the US.  In the first month of 2023 five UHD stations either changed to HD broadcasting or went off the air. That leaves 108 UHD broadcast stations. One station is planning to go to UHD in May. Apparently the public is not as interested in UHD TV as experts predicted.