“Radio” Stations On TV Channel 6 To Go Silent In 2015

It was too good to be true, the loophole that allows a number of low-power TV stations broadcasting on channel 6 to operate as radio stations.

According to an order [PDF] released by the FCC July 15, all remaining analog television signals will have to convert to digital by September 1, 2015. This includes low-power TV stations, which were permitted to keep broadcasting in analog after the 2009 transition.

As Paul Riismandel at radiosurvivor,com reports, TV channel 6 sits just below the left end of the FM dial which allows its analog audio signal to be heard at 87.7 FM. This is not an officially licensed FM frequency, but most FM radios will tune it in. This fact has allowed a few savvy LPTV operators on channel 6 to operate like radio stations, with minimal video content to keep the FCC happy.

However, the audio portion of a digital TV broadcast cannot be received on an analog radio. This means that channel 6 stations like Chicago’s WLFM-LP, calling itself Smooth 87.7, will lose their back door into the FM dial once they go digital in 2015.

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