Tuesday, February 17, 2009

February 17th is Here And The DTV Switchover Begins For Some

We've stayed away from talk of the DTV switchover for the most part because of two things:  First, most readers of GeekTonic will be unaffected by the switchover because they already use CableTV, SatelliteTV or Over-the-Air HDTV.  Second, there has been enough confusion to this point thanks to our politicians and bureaucrats.  Still, now that the original switchover date has arrived and some TV stations are switching officially today I thought I'd cover what it means today and who will be affected.

Originally the DTV switchover was to happen today, February 17th for ALL TV stations around the U.S.  Basically, all OTA analog transmission would have been switched off and those whose TVs were grabbing their TV content from their antenna and who don't have either an HDTV tuner or a converter box would get nothing on their TV sets.  Simple right?  it all would have happened on one day, you know you needed to get that converter box, switch to cable or satellite or get a new TV by today.  Well our trusty politicians spent some of their energy confusing the issue by delaying the deadline for the DTV switchover to June 12th, 2009.  Even better this date is simply a deadline so stations could still save a little money by turning off their analog broadcasts before the June 12th deadline if approved by the FCC.

If you are one of those who might be affected, take a gander at the list below sorted by state to see if your local TV station got approval to switch on February 17th.  The list seems to be mostly made up of more rural areas with some exceptions.  If you're in one of these areas let us know in the comments how things are going.  Some stations even switched well before now as well.

 

 

City State Network Call-Sign
MOBILE AL CBS WKRG-TV
MOBILE AL FOX WALA-TV
MOBILE AL NBC WPMI-TV




EL DORADO AR NBC KTVE




BAKERSFIELD CA ABC KERO-TV
BAKERSFIELD CA CBS KBAK-TV
BAKERSFIELD CA NBC KGET-TV
SANTA MARIA CA CBS KCOY-TV
SANTA BARBARA CA ABC KEYT-TV
SAN LUIS OBISPO CA NBC KSBY




PENSACOLA FL ABC WEAR-TV




SIOUX CITY IA ABC KCAU-TV
SIOUX CITY IA CBS KMEG
SIOUX CITY IA FOX KPTH
SIOUX CITY IA NBC KTIV




QUINCY IL NBC WGEM-TV
ROCKFORD IL ABC WTVO
ROCKFORD IL FOX WQRF-TV
ROCKFORD IL NBC WREX-TV
FREEPORT IL CBS WIFR




SOUTH BEND IN CBS WSBT-TV
SOUTH BEND IN NBC WNDU-TV
ELKHART IN FOX WSJV




TOPEKA KS ABC KTKA-TV
TOPEKA KS CBS WIBW-TV
TOPEKA KS NBC KSNT
SALINA KS FOX KAAS-TV
GOODLAND KS CBS KBSL-TV
GARDEN CITY KS ABC KUPK-TV
GARDEN CITY KS NBC KSNG
ENSIGN KS CBS KBSD-TV




BOWLING GREEN KY NBC WNKY




WEST MONROE LA FOX KARD
MONROE LA CBS KNOE-TV
COLUMBIA LA ABC KAQY




NEW BEDFORD MA ABC WLNE-TV
SPRINGFIELD MA NBC WWLP




SALISBURY MD CBS AND FOX WBOC-TV




ALPENA MI CBS WBKB-TV
HANNIBAL MO CBS KHQA-TV




WEST POINT MS FOX WLOV-TV
TUPELO MS NBC WTVA
GREENWOOD MS ABC WABG-TV
GREENVILLE MS CBS WXVT
MERIDIAN MS ABC WTOK-TV
MERIDIAN MS CBS WMDN
MERIDIAN MS NBC WGBC




HARDIN MT FOX KHMT
BILLINGS MT ABC KSVI
BILLINGS MT CBS KTVQ
BILLINGS MT NBC KULR-TV




VALLEY CITY ND CBS KXJB-TV
FARGO ND NBC KVLY-TV
DEVILS LAKE ND ABC WDAZ-TV




SUPERIOR NE FOX KSNB-TV
LINCOLN NE ABC KLKN
LINCOLN NE CBS KOLN
KEARNEY NE ABC KHGI-TV
HAYES CENTER NE ABC KWNB-TV
NORTH PLATTE NE NBC KNOP-TV




BINGHAMTON NY CBS WBNG-TV
BINGHAMTON NY FOX WICZ-TV
BINGHAMTON NY NBC WIVT
NORTH POLE NY NBC WPTZ
WATERTOWN NY ABC WWTI
CARTHAGE NY CBS WWNY-TV




DAYTON OH ABC WKEF
DAYTON OH CBS WHIO-TV
DAYTON OH FOX WRGT-TV
DAYTON OH NBC WDTN
STEUBENVILLE OH NBC WTOV-TV
EUGENE OR ABC KEZI
EUGENE OR CBS KVAL-TV
EUGENE OR FOX KLSR-TV
EUGENE OR NBC KMTR
COOS BAY OR CBS KCBY-TV
COOS BAY OR NBC KMCB




PROVIDENCE RI CBS WPRI-TV
PROVIDENCE RI FOX WNAC-TV
PROVIDENCE RI NBC WJAR




FLORENCE SD CBS KDLO-TV
ABERDEEN SD ABC KABY-TV




SAN ANGELO TX CBS KLST
SAN ANGELO TX NBC KSAN-TV
VICTORIA TX ABC KAVU-TV
VICTORIA TX FOX KVCT
WACO TX ABC KXXV
WACO TX CBS KWTX-TV
WACO TX FOX KWKT
TEMPLE TX NBC KCEN-TV
BRYAN TX FOX KYLE




CHARLOTTESVILLE VA CBS WCAV
CHARLOTTESVILLE VA NBC, CW WVIR-TV
HARRISONBURG VA ABC WHSV-TV




HARTFORD VT NBC WNNE
BURLINGTON VT ABC WVNY
BURLINGTON VT CBS WCAX-TV




LA CROSSE WI ABC WXOW-TV
LA CROSSE WI CBS WKBT
LA CROSSE WI FOX WLAX
EAU CLAIRE WI ABC WQOW-TV
EAU CLAIRE WI NBC WEAU-TV
CHIPPEWA FALLS WI FOX WEUX
MADISON WI ABC WKOW-TV
MADISON WI CBS WISC-TV
MADISON WI FOX WMSN-TV
MADISON WI NBC WMTV
WITTENBERG WI FOX WFXS
WAUSAU WI ABC WAOW-TV
WAUSAU WI CBS WSAW-TV
RHINELANDER WI NBC WJFW-TV
EAGLE RIVER WI ABC WYOW




BLUEFIELD WV NBC WVVA
HUNTINGTON WV CBS WOWK-TV
HUNTINGTON WV NBC WSAZ-TV
CHARLESTON WV ABC WCHS-TV
CHARLESTON WV FOX WVAH-TV
PARKERSBURG WV NBC WTAP-TV
WHEELING WV CBS WTRF-TV
RIVERTON WY FOX KFNE
LANDER WY CBS KGWL-TV
CHEYENNE WY FOX KLWY
ROCK SPRINGS WY CBS KGWR-TV

 

List was provided by FCC