FCC Permits WGHP To Move Signal To Pre-DTV Transition Channel

The Federal Communications Commission has proposed allowing WGHP High Point, N.C. to move its over-the-air DTV signal from VHF ch. 8 to its pretransition digital channel, UHF ch. 35.

The station had moved from ch. 35 to ch. 8 on June 12, when it ended analog transmissions on ch. 8, but found that "a sizeable number" of its viewers could no longer get the station over the air.

The FCC granted the station a temporary waiver to operate on both ch. 8 and 35. After monitoriting over the past few months, the station concluded it would be "best served" by the move to the UHF channel. The FCC agreed and proposes to allow the move.

Approximately a half-dozen stations are still deciding whether to switch channels, an FCC spokesperson said Thursday.  

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.