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Stations offering the Most Subchannels

T

Tim from Springfield IL

At one time IIRC WCIU-26 Chicago had six subchannels (Me-TV, Me-Too, etc.)--or at least "room" for six subs.

Closer to home WWTO-35 (TBN LaSalle, IL/Chicago but has better Peoria-area coverage than Chicago) has the most subchannels in downstate Illinois (main TBN plus their other subs such as Church Channel, TBN Enlace, etc.).

Within the last month or so in another thread on this board I recall reading that one of the ethnic stations in LA had a whopping TEN subchannels (KXLA digital 51, virtual 44 Rancho Palos Verdes/LA).

What other stations offer between 6-10 subchannels, if not more than 10, and if so what is the programming like on the main channel and their many subs?
 
Atlanta has 2 low power sister stations (WANN 32, WTBS 26) which have great signals for LP as each covers about 75% or more of the metro population. They have about 10 sub channels and 8 radio signals. You'll find pretty much the same channels on both but on different channels. One or two are found only on WTBS.

THIS TV is their only major channel. TUFF TV and UNTAMED SPORTS are also there along with 3 Spanish subs, a French news channel, another local movie channel and a local OLDIE GOLDIE channel. A sales channel is on one sub also.
 
Doesn't a station offering more subchannels affect their main HDTV signal compared to TV Stations without subchannels.
 
KAXT in Santa Clara, California has twelve video channels along with eight audio-only channels.

Madmansam said:
Doesn't a station offering more subchannels affect their main HDTV signal compared to TV Stations without subchannels.
Click to expand...

All stations have the same amount of digital bandwidth to work with. Just depends how it is divided up.

Not all digital stations have an HDTV channel. Going all standard-def allows for more subchannels. And if HDTV is involved, 720p uses less bandwidth than 1080i.
 
A few years ago when OPB were in the process of moving all its subchannels about, there was a point when they had 7 subchannels due to a fluke in their PSIP track: 10-01 through 10-05 (the then-standard TV mux plus an "experimental" KOPB-FM simulcast) then 10-07 and 10-08. 10-07 and -08's payloads were really 10-01 and -02, respectively.

(But I don't think there's ever been anyone in this area actually carrying 6+ subchannel *streams* proper.)
 
The most KC has is 2 so far with KCPT 2 and maybe MKSMOTV with 2 and others just have one. Metro Weather Has none. Metro Sports has Metro Sports 2. KTWU also gets MZ Worldview. CFNEWS13 has a Couple so does some stations in Orlando,FL,Springfield,MO or better yet closer to MO/AK boarder and Whichtia,KS
 
mgsports said:
Metro Weather Has none. Metro Sports has Metro Sports 2.CFNEWS13 has a Couple...
Click to expand...

We're not counting services that are available only on cable -- just those that are available terrestrially.
 
mgsports said:
Metro Sports might be added to AT@T U-Verse and Yes Network,Sun Sports are available on AT@T Verse,S. Dish and so on.
Click to expand...

If you're referring to the availablity comment I have made, for all practicalities, AT&T and Dish Network (and their equivalents) are the same as cable.
 
Tim mentioned KXLA here in Los Angeles...their sister stations KJLA and KVMD (owned by the same family, but under separate licensees) also each offer at least eight or nine subchannels, including a couple simulcast from the other's set of digital subs. Like KXLA, the KJLA and KVMD sets of channels are all foreign language: Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese, just an example. KSCI, another mutli-ethnic station, has nine digital subchannels as well.

As far as primary English-language stations, each of the local PBS stations offer about three diginets; KOCE has the OC Channel (jointly-programmed between the station and Chapman University), Daystar, and PBS World, KCET has a kids/family channel, V-me, and MHz Worldview, and KLCS has a locally-programmed PBS Kids channel, Create, and a channel offering instructional programming.

Besides that and the usual suspects (MeTV, Antenna, This, Nonstop, and Live Well), there isn't much more variety among English-language offerings locally.
 
I can't think of anyone outside of California with all that many HD subchannels. Pittsburgh market has four stations with four subs apiece:

WTAE-4.1 main ABC service from Elizabeth Township tower (RF 51).
WTAE-4.2 ThisTV Pittsburgh from Elizabeth Township.
WTAE-4.3 main ABC service from Oakland translator (RF 22).
WTAE-4.4 This TV Pittsburgh from Oakland.

WQED-13.1 main PBS service.
WQED-13.2 Create. Also delayed-play PBS dinnertime news shows.
WQED-13.3 Neighborhood.
WQED-13.4 (NEW) Showcase, will come on this fall, basically with stuff from national, local pledge drives.

WINP-16.1 ShopNBC.
WINP-16.2 ION
WINP-16.3 Qubo
WINP-16.4 IONLife

WBGN-59.1 main infomercial/late afternoon-nighttime programming.
WBGN-59.2 HSN.
WBGN-59.3 Retro.
WBGN-59.4 Universal Sports.

KDKA (CBS) has one channel, WPXI two (NBC; MeTV), WPCW (CW) one, WPMY two (MyTV; Cool TV), WPCB three (main religious channel; Bible Discovery Network; main channel in HD) and WPGH two (Fox; The Country Network).
 
We have TBN O&O WDLI/17 here, with the usual complement of five total channels.

PBS affiliate WVIZ/25 has:

25.1 Main WVIZ/PBS/HD feed
25.2 Ohio Channel (state public affairs, co-operated by WVIZ)
25.3 PBS World
25.4 PBS Create
25.9 Cleveland Sight Center Network (radio reading for the blind, audio only, can be picked up on most tuners)
 
OhioMediaWatch said:
We have TBN O&O WDLI/17 here, with the usual complement of five total channels.

PBS affiliate WVIZ/25 has:

25.1 Main WVIZ/PBS/HD feed
25.2 Ohio Channel (state public affairs, co-operated by WVIZ)
25.3 PBS World
25.4 PBS Create
25.9 Cleveland Sight Center Network (radio reading for the blind, audio only, can be picked up on most tuners)
Click to expand...

Given Pittsburgh's likely loss of Radio Information Service in the near future from the WESA-90.5 sub-lineup, I wonder if a TV version of RIS might be possible. I like that choice on WVIZ. I'd also love to see Pennsylvania Cable Network (our equivalent of Ohio Channel) as a subchannel in this market (not likely as long as it is a cable-and-cable-only service).
 
This is a whole other topic, but when are stations going to start offering the main channels as subchannels of related stations? I know of one case with two network affiliates where the owners are the same and the tower is the same, and there are two subchannels total. It would be so easy to make both subchannels and the one main channel subchannels of the first.
 
vchimpanzee said:
This is a whole other topic, but when are stations going to start offering the main channels as subchannels of related stations? I know of one case with two network affiliates where the owners are the same and the tower is the same, and there are two subchannels total. It would be so easy to make both subchannels and the one main channel subchannels of the first.
Click to expand...

In many cases across the country, it's like that. In several cases, you have in-market sister stations often simulcasting the other's main signal on a secondary subchannel. As an example, in Central Illinois, CBS affiliate WCIA simulcasts its main signal (I believe in standard-def form) on the second subchannel of its sister station WCFN (a MyTV station), and vice-versa. WCFN was originally a repeater of WCIA for the southern half of Champaign-Decatur-Springfield market for many years until WCFN became a stand-alone station.

As is the case with some other Fox-owned stations, KCOP carries the standard-def signal of KTTV on its second subchannel; KCOP 13.2 is actually mapped to KTTV 11.2. Also, going back to my KJLA/KXLA/KVMD post, KVMD's main signal is also simulcast on KXLA 44.10, while KXLA's main signal is on KVMD 31.2.
 
ShawnHill1 said:
vchimpanzee said:
This is a whole other topic, but when are stations going to start offering the main channels as subchannels of related stations? I know of one case with two network affiliates where the owners are the same and the tower is the same, and there are two subchannels total. It would be so easy to make both subchannels and the one main channel subchannels of the first.
Click to expand...

In many cases across the country, it's like that. In several cases, you have in-market sister stations often simulcasting the other's main signal on a secondary subchannel. As an example, in Central Illinois, CBS affiliate WCIA simulcasts its main signal (I believe in standard-def form) on the second subchannel of its sister station WCFN (a MyTV station), and vice-versa. WCFN was originally a repeater of WCIA for the southern half of Champaign-Decatur-Springfield market for many years until WCFN became a stand-alone station.

As is the case with some other Fox-owned stations, KCOP carries the standard-def signal of KTTV on its second subchannel; KCOP 13.2 is actually mapped to KTTV 11.2. Also, going back to my KJLA/KXLA/KVMD post, KVMD's main signal is also simulcast on KXLA 44.10, while KXLA's main signal is on KVMD 31.2.
Click to expand...
Now keep in mind I don't mean a simulcast. I mean eventually some channels will be taken away and stations will have to do this.
 
KAXT, a low power (56 kW) station serving the Santa Clara/San Jose, CA market, might be the sub-channel winner. Their virtual channel is 1 although they broadcast on 42.

1.1 Electronic program guide
1.2 My Family TV
1.3 Diya TV
1.4 South Asian TV
1.5 Vietnamese TV
1.6 NetV
1.7 EMTV
1.8 FAN (Filipino)
1.9 TVHS (Taiwan)
1.10 Tiempos Finales
1.11 Jewelry Television
1.12 Peanut TV (real estate)
The rest are radio on TV
1.13 Brioso Classical music
1.14 QH Radio
1.15 Classic Country
1.16 Classic Hindi/Bollywood
1.17 Bhajans - Spiritual
1.18 Desi Jams (modern Hindi music)
1.19 Tagalog
1.20 Punjabi Radio USA

Shows you what is possible on just 6 MHz of spectrum. Warren Trumbly, whom I've met, is one of the owners. They use Harmonic equipment for all of their encoding and multiplexing.
 
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