Paying for cable along with other household expenses can create quite the bill, so many people across the globe have utilized digital antennas to have access to free over-the-air channels. But those people will need to rescan due to nearly 1,000 channels undergoing frequency changes nationwide.
What We Know:
- If you get your TV signals using an antenna, that means you’ll have to rescan for channels to keep receiving those stations. Those who get TV from cable or a streaming service aren’t affected. The transition started back in April 2017 but won’t be completed until July 2020.
- Rescanning allows your TV’s tuner to automatically search for channels. Though the frequency may be new, the channel numbers you use won’t change.
- These stations are moving due to Congress authorizing the Federal Communications Commission several years ago to hold a spectrum auction, freeing up some over-the-air broadcast TV frequencies to make room for new high-speed wireless services.
- Now that the auction is complete, about 1,000 TV stations must change their frequencies.
There are numerous online resources to help users learn what and which channels are moving and when, such as the National Association of Broadcasters who created the website, TVAnswers.org. You can find out when your favorite channels are moving just by entering your address or Zip Code.
