87.7: GOOD-BYE OLD FRIEND

Along with the auto industry, television is also going through changes. Change is good, or at least that’s what they keep telling me. Change leads to progress, and progress is good. That’s what they say. The changes that are now working their way through the auto industry will make both domestic and foreign manufacturers leaner and meaner, ultimately leading to better cars, sustained profitability and happy customers, or so they say. They say that the revised union contracts, the elimination of product lines and the closing of plants are all changes that will improve the auto industry. Meanwhile, with change comes sacrifice. With these auto changes comes the loss of thousands of jobs, leaving whole communities devastated. These are necessary evils to accomplish change, or so they say.

The television industry is also going through change with its biggest technological shift since the transition from black and white to color. That is, the recent change from analog transmission, to digital. This change is good, or at least that’s what they say. The viewer will benefit with an improved picture and sound, new multiple sub-channels, while the FCC gains valuable frequencies to use for other applications. As with the auto industry though, there is sacrifice. While improved in quality, the digital signal is now either on or off, there is no fuzzy reception somewhere in between. With inadequate signal strength or physical barriers, some viewers will no longer receive off-air the station(s) that they have enjoyed for decades. This change is progress, or so they say.

Another sacrifice of this new digital transmission is the loss of a benefit that we in Portland have enjoyed since cars first introduced FM radios as an option. That is, the ability to listen to Channel 6 in your car. This is change, but not exactly for the better. The audio of analog television was an FM signal. The frequency of 87.7 was the frequency of Channel 6’s sound. As an anomaly of the FM band, this television audio was able to be heard in some markets because it was on the fringe of the FM radio spectrum, and if there were no radio stations transmitting that low to compete with the audio of Channel 6, the listener could hear the television sound. This was the case in Portland, along with some other markets in the US. Auto manufacturers were aware of this benefit to certain customers, sensitive to the point of some modifying their FM tuners to tune lower, to ensure the reception of the television sound.

Throughout the country, drivers in television markets with a Channel 6 have now lost the ability to listen to their favorite television shows for FREE on their vehicle’s FM radio. No longer can we listen as we drive to work, trying to figure out “Where in the World is Matt Lauer”. Fans can no longer grieve over “Days of Our Lives” as they drive to the Mall at lunchtime. Tired workers can no longer catch up with NBC’s Nightly News on their drive home. Gone forever is smiling to Jay Leno, or Conan, as night owls make they way home. No longer will I be able to listen to “The Price Is Right”, as I drive through Albany, NY on the New York State Thruway.

As is the case with several other stations, Channel 6 in Portland anticipated this sacrifice and succeeded in negotiating a contract with two local radio stations to continue the transmission of some of its newscasts on AM radio. The frequencies of 870 and 1470 now air the Morning Report, 5:00 AM-7:00 AM, along with the evening block of newscasts from 5:00 PM-6:30 PM. Contract and copyright restrictions prevent any NBC, or additional content from airing. Not as good as good as 87.7, but it’s better than nothing.

They say that change is good, but it certainly does not come without sacrifice. We have sacrificed an old friend with the loss of 87.7, all in the name of progress. So in the spirit of change, Pontiac is now gone forever, thousands of jobs are lost, along with our ability to listen to television sound on our FM radios. Change is good, they say, but I miss my old friend 87.7.