Important consumer information from the Federal Communications Commission involving around 1,000 television stations nationwide that have or will be transitioning to new frequencies. Viewers who use an antenna to watch local channels will need to rescan their TV. In the Hartford-New Haven area, viewers may have already seen announcements aired on their local TV stations.
The reason why television stations are changing frequencies is to make room for new 5G and other mobile broadband services. Nationwide, millions of U.S. households watch TV exclusively over-the-air with an antenna on local channels affiliated with the major networks and hundreds of independently owned-and-operated television stations. Cable and satellite subscribers aren’t affected by these changes.
Enclosed are instructions and a video by the FCC showing viewers how to rescan their TV.
“As an over-the-air TV viewer myself, I know that consumers sometimes need extra help re-scanning televisions when broadcast stations add channels or change frequencies," said Incentive Auction Task Force chair Jean Kiddoo. "That’s why it’s so important to make both online information and telephone assistance like the consumer help line available to viewers during the ongoing broadcast transition.” - Jean Kiddoo, Chair, FCC Incentive Auction Task Force.
In the Hartford-New Haven area, these are the seven TV stations that will be transitioning to new frequencies until August 2, 2019:
- WFSB-TV (CBS3)
- WVIT-TV (NBC30)
- WTIC-TV (Fox61)
- WCCT-TV (CW200
- WHPX-TV (Ch26)
- WEDH-TV (Ch24: Connecticut Public Television/PBS)
- WUTH-CD (UniMás Hartford Ch47)
Instructions and Tips From the FCC to Help TV Viewers Rescan Their TVs:
- Most viewers don’t need any new devices, equipment, or services to rescan their TV.
- The FCC has posted an instructional video showing viewers how to rescan their TV.
- To rescan, viewers will need their TV remote control or analog TV converter box, then choose “Channel Scan,” “Channel Tuning,” or “Auto Search” in the “Setup” or “Channel” menu. Once you find either the “Channel Scan” or “Channel Tuning” buttons, choose the automatic option to rescan.
- By rescanning, viewers who watch TV for free using an antenna will keep their existing channels, and may even discover new channels in their broadcast area.
- TV stations are changing frequencies on a rolling basis, so consumers will likely need to rescan their television more than once.
For further assistance, TV viewers can visit www.fcc.gov/TVrescan or call the consumer help line at 1-888-CALLFCC (1-888-225-5322) and press “6” to speak with a dedicated help desk representative, seven days a week, from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. (EST). The call center is available in English and Spanish and the information on the website is available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Tagalog.