KPRC will lose a half-hour of Local 2 First @4

[KTN Corp]

With digital becoming law in the next couple of years, UHF and VHF will be like 8-track: OBSOLETE.

Who's to say that a legislator might pull a stunt that will remove the flash-cut? Wonder which bill will it be hidden in? They did that with metrication, something sorely needed more than HDTV. It's sad that the government makes high-cost changes like HDTV instead of low-cost ones like using dollar coins instead of carbon producing bills or metricating.

The last time any station considered a move from UHF to VHF was Channel 39 back in the late 80's. Gaylord Broadcasting (then owner of ch 39) had made initial petitions to the FCC for moving Ch 39 to Channel 5, 6 or 9, or 12, but the GM that was spearheading the move back then was transferred to Dallas and the petition move just died.

Ch. 6 is right next to KFDM, 9 is next to KUHT, and 12 is between KHOU and KTRK. So 5 is the only logical frequency left. Remember WCIX and WDBO/WCPX/WKMG-TV in Florida?

 

[jd]

Ch. 6 is right next to KFDM, 9 is next to KUHT, and 12 is between KHOU and KTRK. So 5 is the only logical frequency left. Remember WCIX and WDBO/WCPX/WKMG-TV in Florida?

Unlike the situation in Florida slipping a station into the Houston area on channel 5 would have been relatively simple, and it's surprising it never happened. It would have required either a new tower location (other than Missouri City) or reduced power, moving KENS-TV San Antonio a little further west or using a directional pattern for one or both of the stations. Channel 12 was assigned to Beaumont with full power back in the 1960's doing just that, with a pattern that still affords protection to a station in Shreveport.