WTTW Viewers Need to Rescan Their TVs This Week

(Pxhere.com)(Pxhere.com)

WTTW will be off the air for several hours Tuesday morning as the station activates a new transmitter and changes frequencies, which will require some viewers to rescan their TVs in order to find the station.

Thanks to our sponsors:

View all sponsors

Starting at 12 a.m. Tuesday, WTTW11, WTTW Prime, WTTW World, WTTW Kids and WYCC will be off the air for two to three hours. Once broadcasts resume, viewers who watch WTTW and its sister stations over-the-air will need to rescan their TVs so they know where to find us.

To rescan, press “Menu” on your remote control. Select “Setup” and then choose “Antenna” and select “Auto-Tune” or “Channel Scan.”

Cable and satellite subscribers do not need to do anything. Service providers will do all the work, and viewers at home shouldn’t notice any change at all.

Viewers watching over-the-air signals of local stations will need to rescan again on Friday, Oct. 18 to see other Chicago broadcast channels. This is all due to a government-mandated change that has most broadcast stations in our area moving frequencies.

In 2017, the Federal Communications Commission had an auction that reallocated the broadcast spectrum. Now, the country is in the midst of a phased-in transition, reassigning stations’ broadcast frequencies.

After rescanning, viewers should enter the specific channel they would like to watch: 11.1 for WTTW11, 11.2 for WTTW Prime, 11.3 for WTTW Create and WTTW World, 11.4 for WTTW Kids and 20.1 for WYCC. (Find detailed information about how to watch WTTW here.)

This may be confusing, but for many years, WTTW has actually been broadcasting on channel 47. That’s right, channel 47. But your digital TV knows that when you enter 11.1, you want to watch WTTW so your TV tells you its 11.1 even though you’re watching channel 47.

Now, WTTW is moving to channel 25 because of the FCC’s reassignment of local broadcast frequencies. But don’t worry. Once you rescan, your TV will send you to the right place when you enter 11.1.


Related stories:

‘Chicago Tonight’ Expands Business Coverage with Crain’s Chicago Partnership

Angel Idowu Joins ‘Chicago Tonight’ as Arts Correspondent

Remembering ‘Chicago Tonight’ Founder John Callaway

WTTW News Takes Homes Chicago Journalism Awards


Thanks to our sponsors:

View all sponsors

Thanks to our sponsors:

View all sponsors

Tags: