Stuff on Digital TV

Recently, I've given a few lectures on the fragmentation of the broadcast audience. Most of that was due to satellite and cable tv supplanting national networks in the 1980s and 1990s. However, with the advent of digital broadcasting, the physical limitations on the number of broadcast outlets in a given market are largely lifted. Audience fragmentation is now affecting the over-the-air audience, as well.

In addition to the many non-English language channels that started up 24-hour broadcasting in the LA area after the introduction of digital broadcasting, a number of oldies tv stations have recently sprouted up. If you want to watch those older shows, all it takes is a tv with a digital tuner and an antenna. Choices:

Antenna TV, on channel 5.2

RTV,or Retro TV, on channel 8.1

ME TV, or Memorable Television Network, on channel 56.3.

This is in addition to regular KDOC, channel 56.1, which also plays a lot of "classic" tv, Channel 5.3, which often plays old movies, and channel 8.3 (TUFF TV, which has a heavy rotation of Daniel Boone.

Among the television shows I've been able to re-watch recently were Adam-12, Dragnet, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Patridge Family, Black Sheep Squadron, Battlestar Galactica, Mad About You, and Daniel Boone. It's the sort of television that used to be on the regular independent broadcast channels before they went with original syndicated stuff (shows with "judges") and local "news."