More than two decades after it began, America’s transition to all-digital television broadcasting is finally set to be complete on July 13.
Though all full-power TV stations in the U.S. were required to turn off their analog signals in 2009, low-power TV stations and TV translators were allowed to continue broadcasting in analog.
Now, the FCC has reminded licensees that 11:59 p.m. on July 13 is the absolute, final, drop-dead date and time for all analog TV signals in the U.S. Stations that are still transmitting in analog and haven’t applied to switch to digital will have their licenses cancelled after that date.
Stations with unbuilt construction permits to transmit digitally will still have to turn off their analog signals. The FCC is still accepting applications from the stations that haven’t filed.
FCC records show just over a dozen stations in the Upper Midwest are still authorized to transmit in analog, but it’s not clear how many of them are actually on the air. They include:
- Starcom’s WCMN-LP/13 (St. Cloud, MN), which has a construction permit to operate digitally on channel 14.
- Hubbard Broadcasting’s K28DD (Bemidji, MN), K32FY (Park Rapids, MN), and K17FE (Wadena, MN), which all carry ABC from KSTP/KSAX. All three have construction permits to flash-cut to digital.
- K11KW and K13EH (Ainsworth, NE), which are owned by the City of Ainsworth and were last known to relay network affiliates. They have not applied to convert to digital.
- Gray TV’s K18DH (Broken Bow, NE) and KAQY-LP/35 (Lexington, NE), which were last known to relay NBC-KNOP and have not applied for digital facilities.
- K04EG (Trenton, NE), owned by the Village of Trenton and last known to relay a network affiliate. It has not applied to convert to digital.
- Edge Spectrum’s K17HG (Grand Forks, ND), K32FW (Pierre, SD), W30BU (Green Bay, WI), and W02CF (Minocqua, WI), which all have construction permits for digital operation.
- Polnet Communications’ WPVS-LP/9 (Milwaukee), which has a construction permit to flash-cut to digital.
Analog TV broadcasting continues in rural Canada and Mexico.