As promoted, but a little late...a bit of a Digital TV Update. As of this writing, we're about 6 weeks away from the digital TV transition on February 17th, where, by 11:59:59 PM, all full-power stations will turn off their signals.Well, almost all.We've told you about the so-called "nightlight" analog TV bill, which was approved and signed into law. It allows a certain number of stations to keep their analog TV transmitters up for 30 days after February 17, carrying information about the … [Read more...]
Rolling Into 2009
Posted on January 5, 2009 · Leave a Comment
And here it is...with the exception of our special "Breaking News" over the weekend - more on that later - our first regular update for 2009.Since we've been mostly gone since just before Christmas, it'll be a long one...SUNDAY NEWS: With TV groups looking to save money, the latest focus is on Sunday mornings.As we hinted earlier, Local TV Fox affiliate WJW/8 in Cleveland has indeed scrapped its Sunday morning edition of "FOX 8 News", which had been airing from 8 to 9 AM.We hear from our … [Read more...]
Heading Off
Posted on December 23, 2008 · Leave a Comment
As promised, this is our final regular news update for 2008.We'll do our best to put up any major breaking media news (station sales, major format or personality/anchor changes) during the Christmas holiday period...but we won't be updating regularly until January 5, 2009.We will put up a very brief, non-newsy personal "Year End" message from your Primary Editorial Voice(tm) somewhere around the end of 2008.So, if it's not here in this update, it'll have to wait until...next year. (No, we're … [Read more...]
WNEO’s Continuing Transition Work
Posted on December 22, 2008 · Leave a Comment
UPDATE 12/22/08 10:08 AM: OMW hears from Western Reserve PBS that Time Warner Cable is indeed now using the station's digital feed to feed the station to its analog cable subscribers.It's not known yet, however, when (or if) TWC's former Adelphia systems in the Cleveland area will add the HD version of WEAO/49.TWC systems in other parts of Northeast Ohio already carry the HD feed of Western Reserve PBS. When Time Warner took over the Adelphia systems, it added the HD feed of WEAO to the paper … [Read more...]
Digital TV Hiccup
Posted on December 18, 2008 · Leave a Comment
The two Cleveland TV stations with the biggest over-air digital TV problems may - or may not - see those problems resolved before the February 17 digital transition date.Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3 and ideastream PBS affiliate WVIZ/25 will transmit their post-transition signals from a new tower at the WKYC facility, but it's an open question if the construction - which was reportedly set to begin this week - will now be complete in time for the transition date.In an FCC filing, WKYC says that … [Read more...]
DTV Test Day
Posted on December 17, 2008 · Leave a Comment
As we reported earlier, Ohio TV stations will take part in a statewide "analog shutoff soft test" tonight for five minutes, tonight starting at 7:31 PM.During the five minutes, the stations' analog signals will display a message telling viewers that their TV set is not ready for the coming national digital TV transition, which officially takes place just two months from now...late at night on February 17, 2009.Full-power analog stations are required to shut off those signals at 11:59:59 PM on … [Read more...]
Update On WNEO Power Increase
Posted on December 11, 2008 · Leave a Comment
As we reported earlier, Western Reserve PBS now has a construction permit to increase power at its Youngstown-market station, WNEO/45, from 44KW to 500KW. WNEO signed off its analog signal on channel 45 last month, and lit up the 44KW digital facility on 45 shortly thereafter.We have a tentative answer about when Western Reserve PBS will be able to "up the juice" on the new digital channel 45, which serves mostly the Youngstown/Warren area and parts of eastern Stark and Portage Counties from … [Read more...]
Television Facility Changes
Posted on December 10, 2008 · Leave a Comment
This is an item about two proposed local facilities changes - one approved, one on the consideration table - and oddly enough, a very indirect link between them.First, thanks to the many tipsters who have let us know that Western Reserve PBS' Youngstown-market WNEO/45 Alliance has indeed received FCC approval of a construction permit to increase its new Channel 45 digital facility from 44KW to 500KW.The "maximization" permit was approved after WNEO and Post-Newsweek Detroit NBC affiliate WDIV/4 … [Read more...]
Wrapping Up December’s First Week
Posted on December 5, 2008 · Leave a Comment
UPDATE 10:29 PM 12/5/08: Umm, oops.Our apologies to Akron Beacon Journal popular culture writer and OMW reader Rich Heldenfels, for posting this item without yet reading his detailed story on the WKYC changes in Friday's paper.Rich's item even contains some of the information we listed as "not confirmed 100%" below, including the weekend anchor moves involving Jeff Maynor and Kim Wheeler. We guess "not confirmed" meant "we hadn't read the Beacon yet" in this case.Since we're pretty sure Rich … [Read more...]
Just Some Monday Stuff
Posted on November 24, 2008 · Leave a Comment
There's nothing particularly pressing, right now...we just wanted to clear the Friday deck:WNEO: We have yet to check in with the folks at Western Reserve PBS, so we're just putting this item up as a placeholder until we're able to get with them for an update on the newly-returned WNEO-DT/45 Alliance signal.But our own observations - far afield from the WNEO transmitter in Salem - saw the WNEO digital signal lighting up on and off over the weekend, but not quite locking a signal from OMW World … [Read more...]
