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Bham's ABC 3340 is now on 68.2

tomservo said:
I think I know the answer to the channel 37 part. ;)

But this is also my line of thinking. Birmingham's ABC affiliate has been on a low power station for years, so what does it matter which subchannel hosts the simulcast? It could 68.68 for all anyone cares, as long as it's easy to remember for the 15% who still depend on OTA.

It's all for naught, anyway. I've already been told that once the ducks are lined up, Sinclair is switching -.1 and -.2 around so that ABC is on first and My Network TV is on second. It's just going to be some time before that happens. James Spann seemed to hint that 33 and 40 would remain on air at least until December, which contradicts the information from the sale which required them to go off by the end of September.

The only unanswered question I have at this point is whether ABC will or already is being simulcast on WDBB (PSIP 17). I was told Sinclair was considering adding it to that station (which currently simulcasts WTTO, as if that isn't confusing enough) for the western half of the market.
Click to expand...

Channels 33 and 40 will go off the air this coming Monday ( I heard at 10:05 pm) Then ABC will go to 17 and 68 ( As well as remain on 58)

This is the lineup I would propose ( Heartland would go to cable only):

WABM and WBMA-LD:

.1=ABC

.2=My Network TV

.3=Weather Map

WDBB and WTTO:

.1 WDBB: ABC, WTTO: CW

.2 WDBB: CW, WTTO: Get TV

.3 WDBB: Get TV, WTTO:None
 
Unregistered said:
Channels 33 and 40 will go off the air this coming Monday ( I heard at 10:05 pm) Then ABC will go to 17 and 68 ( As well as remain on 58)

This is the lineup I would propose ( Heartland would go to cable only):

WABM and WBMA-LD:

.1=ABC

.2=My Network TV

.3=Weather Map

WDBB and WTTO:

.1 WDBB: ABC, WTTO: CW

.2 WDBB: CW, WTTO: Get TV

.3 WDBB: Get TV, WTTO:None
Click to expand...

I just found out it will be at 10:35 pm not 10:05 pm.
 
So are 33 and 40 signing off completely? It looks like it would make sense to at least still keep these for some sort of local stations for Tuscaloosa and Anniston.
 
Unregistered said:
This is the lineup I would propose:

WABM and WBMA-LD:

.1=ABC

.2=My Network TV

.3=Weather Map

WDBB and WTTO:

.1 WDBB: ABC, WTTO: CW

.2 WDBB: CW, WTTO: Get TV

.3 WDBB: Get TV, WTTO: Heartland
Click to expand...

Heartland should stay OTA, even if it has to move to WTTO-3.
 
mvcg66b3r said:
Heartland should stay OTA, even if it has to move to WTTO-3.
Click to expand...

Somehow as it was a deal negotiated by the old owners for a low-cost Luken network that quickly went off the rails, SBG's looking for any loophole to remove it like they did TheCoolTV, and this is one for sure.
 
Avid Listener said:
And how long has there been "subchannels" for OTA television? The process of changing over to digital didn't start until 1998, and wasn't very far along until they finally made the changeover mandatory in 2007.

Hell, for the vast majority of the history of the world, there was no television at all! For millennia, there were no TV channels anywhere on the face of the entire planet.

Talk about ridiculous hyperbole!
Click to expand...

I mean subchannels have been around for a long time, however, their hasn't been a Big 4 Affiliate in a subchannel and not in a main channel in a Top 50 market. Which will make Bham the biggest one to have one of these. :(
 
So will the signoff for 33 and 40 tonight be available online? If not is there a chance someone can make it available on YouTube? Thanks!
 
I watched the live news from ABC 3340 online and nothing was said about the change and the webcast ended with the news. Hopefully someone will be able to catch the signoff live and post it on You Tube.
 
ABC 33 40 is now on channel 67 on Direct TV in Birmingham apparently (I thought I would post this if anybody is wondering) Shows that were programmed to be recorded will need to be reset for people with Direct TV in Birmingham. I am wondering if putting ABC on WTTO 21 as well would help the new signal in east Alabama ( Anniston / Oxford area). I have a new proposed lineup below.

WDBB 17 and WTTO 21:

.1 ABC , .2 The CW, . 3 Get TV

WABM 68 and WBMA-LD 58:

.1 ABC , .2 My Network TV, . 3 Weather Map

Putting ABC on all four channels ( 17.1, 21.1, 58.1, 68.1) would help get the signal back to where it was with channels 33 and 40,

The CW would still have to signals ( WDBB 17.2 and WTTO 21.2),

My Network TV would gain an additional signal on WBMA-LD 58 ( 58.2) as well as on 68.2,

Get TV would come back at 17.3 ( as well as be on 21.3),

The Weather Map would now be at 58.3 ( as well as 68.3),

The Heartland Network would move to cable only ( I would not take it off the air because it would likely still do well on Cable)
because it is not a main network, and because I have run out of space to put it on a over the air feed.
 
OK, so this is the latest I've gathered from multiple sources. Sinclair is now running ABC on 68.2 and 17.2. James Spann Weather 24/7 is also on 68.3. WBMA-LD is still on, with ABC (58.1), weather (58.2) and Heartland (58.3). WJSU was on when two different people wrote me around 6 pm, as is WCFT. WCFT will probably go silent for a short period but Sinclair has apparently found a buyer (Howard Stirk Holdings, who'll pay $50,000 for 33) who may put it back on as an independent.

The switch from 33/40 to 68 & 17 has gone smoothly on the OTA end, but a few of the TV providers have had hiccups. DirecTV has moved ABC from 33 to 67 and AT&T U-Verse changed the PSIP from WCFT to WABMH2. The U-Verse change caused everyone's series recordings to fail and some people lost the channel in their guide, but it comes back with a reboot.

As far as I know, WCFT and WJSU and possibly WBMA were supposed to go off by midnight, so technically aren't they in violation of FCC rules?
 
Any chance of the cable system in Calhoun County (Anniston/Oxford) bringing in WSB for ABC? WSB and WAGA used to put a decent OTA signal into that area pre-digital (WXIA's, IIRC, left something to be desired and it's an NBC affiliate now anyway). Likewise, could WTOK, ABC in Meridian, MS, be brought in on cable in Tuscaloosa and points west?
 
Unregistered said:
ABC 33 40 is now on channel 67 on Direct TV in Birmingham apparently (I thought I would post this if anybody is wondering) Shows that were programmed to be recorded will need to be reset for people with Direct TV in Birmingham. I am wondering if putting ABC on WTTO 21 as well would help the new signal in east Alabama ( Anniston / Oxford area). I have a new proposed lineup below.

WDBB 17 and WTTO 21:

.1 ABC , .2 The CW, . 3 Get TV

WABM 68 and WBMA-LD 58:

.1 ABC , .2 My Network TV, . 3 Weather Map

Putting ABC on all four channels ( 17.1, 21.1, 58.1, 68.1) would help get the signal back to where it was with channels 33 and 40,

The CW would still have to signals ( WDBB 17.2 and WTTO 21.2),

My Network TV would gain an additional signal on WBMA-LD 58 ( 58.2) as well as on 68.2,

Get TV would come back at 17.3 ( as well as be on 21.3),

The Weather Map would now be at 58.3 ( as well as 68.3),

The Heartland Network would move to cable only ( I would not take it off the air because it would likely still do well on Cable)
because it is not a main network, and because I have run out of space to put it on a over the air feed.
Click to expand...

Here's how I would do it:

WABM 68
68.1 ABC HD (720p)
68.2 MNT HD (720p)
68.3 Weather SD

WDBB 17 / WBMA-LD 58
17.1/58.1 MNT HD (720p)
17.2/58.2 ABC HD (720p)
17.3/58.3 Heartland SD

WTTO 21
21.1 CW HD (1080i)
21.2 getTV SD
 
Last edited:
Things just get weirder and weirder when Sinclair's in control. E-mails this morning confirm that WBMA-LD is continuing on like nothing's changed. 33 is also still on but all subs show a black screen. 40 is down to just one channel: -.1 is now Heartland.
 
Last edited:
tomservo said:
Things just get weirder and weirder when Sinclair's in control. E-mails this morning confirm that WBMA-LD is continuing on like nothing's changed. 33 is also still on but all subs show a black screen. 40 is down to just one channel: -.1 is now Heartland.
Click to expand...

WBMA-LD Should be unaffected with the deal anyway since they are a low power station. As to the 40 and 33 issue, you are right it seems very strange right now.
 
tomservo said:
OK, so this is the latest I've gathered from multiple sources. Sinclair is now running ABC on 68.2 and 17.2. James Spann Weather 24/7 is also on 68.3. WBMA-LD is still on, with ABC (58.1), weather (58.2) and Heartland (58.3). WJSU was on when two different people wrote me around 6 pm, as is WCFT. WCFT will probably go silent for a short period but Sinclair has apparently found a buyer (Howard Stirk Holdings, who'll pay $50,000 for 33) who may put it back on as an independent.

The switch from 33/40 to 68 & 17 has gone smoothly on the OTA end, but a few of the TV providers have had hiccups. DirecTV has moved ABC from 33 to 67 and AT&T U-Verse changed the PSIP from WCFT to WABMH2. The U-Verse change caused everyone's series recordings to fail and some people lost the channel in their guide, but it comes back with a reboot.

As far as I know, WCFT and WJSU and possibly WBMA were supposed to go off by midnight, so technically aren't they in violation of FCC rules?
Click to expand...

Wonder if 33 will broadcast covering Tuscaloosa (old tower, perhaps) or will they continue on their current tower? Better yet, what kind of programming? Ion? Antenna TV?
 
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