WNBC (TV) signs off for good

As received over the air on 6/26/09, WNBC, New York signs off its analog transmitter on VHF channel 4.
Regular programming had ended 2 weeks earlier, on June 12, but WNBC continued to operate as a "nightlight" station, with continuous showings of the NAB's DTV instructional videos.
At 11 AM on June 26, the nightlight was turned off. This recording is the last minute of analog WNBC(TV), which included a slightly modified (the "-TV" was artistically deleted from the callsign) test pattern from the late 70s, followed by a montage of many of the logos used by NBC over the years. The music under the logo montage was used by NBC Nightly News in the early 80's.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• WNBC
• WNBC(TV)
• WNBC-TV
• analog
• sign-off
• signoff
• nightlight
• television
• NBC
• logos
• chimes
• snake
• logo
• channel
• test
• pattern

[richartrod]

When WNBC radio signed off in 1988, WNBC-TV legally dropped its TV suffix but kept using it in on-air promos until 1992. History repeated itself in June when the analog TV signal finally said "goodbye". WNBC-DT legally dropped the DT suffix (but still used in on-air promos) as plain ol' WNBC migrated from radio to analog TV to digital TV. The suffixes are for multiple stations with the same letters, like WCBS-AM (889), FM (101.1), HD (digital radio) and DT (channel 2).

[kiotr2009]

In 1992 WNBC-TV requested (and was granted) FCC permission to change the station call letters to WNBC. Until then, the legal calls were still WNBC-TV, even though there had been no WNBC radio for nearly 4 years.

After analog shutdown, by default, the FCC would assign the analog call sign to the digital station. That's what WNBC decided to do, and that change became effective once it turned off the analog nightlight on June 26th.

[BrokenHedgehog]

I kinda feel like I just watched someone die...

[LJK193]

Why do I feel so empty after watching this?

[thelyniezian]

Well at least they said goodbye. Some stations are not so ceremonious.

[kizzume]

This was oddly sad to watch. It marks the end of an era.

[johnnyd63]

@BrokenHedgehog I agree...That goodbye at the end was like bidding farewell to a relationship.

[letticiarsd898]

On June 12th,2009, I saw CBS2 do the same thing around 2:50 PM, but with the final playing of the National Anthem. Then the NAB Digital TV thing came on for at least a week.

[LuigiGodzillaGirl]

I wish I could have seen my local station sign-offs, but I was still mad with the converter boxes. We have an SDTV with a digital receiver built-in, so I could see how our other TVs would look after hooking them up, and I wasn't happy. You watch a widescreen channel airing a full screen program, you get both the letter box AND sidebars! The monitor isn't all that big to begin with, so what I saw was a waste of precious screen, and I don't think those TVs have any zoom in, like newer TVs do.

[bikebeerrun1960]

Even though It's now digital,I still like to watch on my old CRT set !

[CrazedComposure]

Was that the equivalent of NBC's life flashing before its eyes?

[meanstreet81]

When I first saw this video, I was in the basement at midnight just bored looking for stuff similar to this, then I watched this video......and it really gave me the creeps. Very classy way for WNBC to sign off, though.

[easfan]

It's sad on the music and the word that says goodbye and it go's away and sad for people who still don't have dtv. We should have stayed analog forever but it was bush to make it digital