A low-power TV station in St. Cloud is the first NextGen TV (ATSC 3.0) station in Minnesota, and possibly the Upper Midwest.
This week, Starcom filed a license to cover application telling the FCC that WCMN-LD (St. Cloud) has constructed its new digital facility on channel 14 and is operating in ATSC 3.0 format.
Starcom owner Dennis Carpenter tells NorthPine.com that WCMN-LD is currently airing “Through the Bible” with Les Feldick but that other programming will be announced once the FCC formally approves the station’s license to cover.
The station’s rooftop antenna coverage area extends about 30 miles from St. Cloud, though viewers would need an ATSC 3.0 tuner to receive WCMN’s new signal. It appears some of the newer TVs sold at the St. Cloud Best Buy do have the new tuners.
St. Cloud is within the Minneapolis TV market. No date has been announced for the Minneapolis stations to begin NextGen TV broadcasts, and no major network affiliate in the Upper Midwest has made the switch.
ATSC 3.0 provides stations with more bandwidth, allowing them to potentially carry 4K programming, more channels, and datacasting services.
WCMN had previously broadcast in analog on channel 13 and never constructed an ATSC 1.0 facility, leaving the air in July 2020 at the FCC deadline for analog broadcasts to end.
Due to its new operation of channel 14, which uses 470 to 476 MHz, WCMN had to conduct equipment tests to confirm that it was not interfering with 46 land mobile radio operations using frequencies between 460 to 470 MHz prior to submitting its license to cover.