WKYT-DT, the CBS affiliate in Lexington, KY, will soon be relocating its digital channel from VHF to the UHF spectrum, as per recent approval from the FCC.
The station previously was transmitting in the UHF range and found that when the FCC ordered it to switch last June to VHF, some viewers with UHF-only antennas had trouble picking it up.
Mike Kanarek, WKYT's vice president of operations, said the VHF signal doesn't travel as well as the UHF signal does because they are susceptible to interference across uneven terrain, building construction, weather “or something as simple as electrical wires inside your house,” he said.
The local Fox affiliate, WDKY (Channel 56), was also moved from UHF to VHF last February — during the mandated analog shutoff — and successfully petitioned the FCC to be changed back.
WKYT plans to make the change in the next few months and announce it with a publicity campaign. Viewers who receive television over the air will need to rescan their TVs to pick up WKYT-DT on a new channel.
