.

An unprecedented 175 free over-the-air television signals will sign off on their current channels for good in return for an average of tens of millions in compensation paid by Comcast, Dish Networks, and various wireless companies that want their frequencies to bolster their mobile networks.

The UHF dial compression comes courtesy of the latest FCC spectrum auction, which allowed bidders to entice over-the-air television stations to give up their frequencies to make room for wireless companies trying to bolster their 4G LTE networks. At least 957 stations across the country will have to move to new channels as the FCC compresses the TV dial to make room for wireless providers.

Virtually all the affected stations won’t disappear from free over-the-air TV for good, however. Of the 175 stations, 133 plan to make a deal with another local station to relaunch as a secondary digital channel, 29 will move from a UHF channel to a new VHF channel (2-13), and one channel will move from a high VHF channel to a low numbered one.

The move was very profitable to some major market stations, where the TV dial is already crowded with signals. WWTO-TV, a TBN affiliate airing Christian TV programming in LaSalle/Chicago, Ill. won the highest amount of any station in the country to put its transmitter off the air – $304 million. The biggest non-commercial auction winner was New Jersey’s Public Broadcasting Authority, which won $194 million to switch off WNJN in Montclair, N.Y.

The winners are 50 wireless bidders who want the frequencies to improve their wireless networks by increasing the amount of spectrum they can use in the coveted 600MHz band. Signals at these frequencies do a better job penetrating buildings and around natural obstacles and terrain. The result will be improved coverage and signal quality, with fewer dropped calls.

“The conclusion of the world’s first incentive auction is a major milestone in the FCC’s long history as steward of the nation’s airwaves,” said FCC chairman Ajit Pai. “Consumers are the real beneficiaries, as broadcasters invest new resources in programming and service, and additional wireless spectrum opens the way to greater competition and innovation in the mobile broadband marketplace.”

Stations can begin vacating their frequencies this year. Among the 957 stations that have to change channel numbers, the first of a series of channel changes will begin on Nov. 30, 2018. The last changes should take place just over three years from now.

Are you affected? Here is the list of channels going off the air or relocating to a different band:

Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y.

• WCDC-TV UHF Going off the air

Augusta, Ga.

• WAGT-TV UHF Going off the air

Baltimore, Md.

• WUTB-TV UHF Going off the air

Boston, Mass.

• WBIN-TV UHF Going off the air
• WDPX-TV UHF Going off the air
• WFXZ-CD UHF Going off the air
• WGBH-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel
• WLVI-TV UHF Going off the air
• WMFP-TV UHF Going off the air
• WYCN-CD UHF Going off the air
• WYDN-TV UHF Going off the air

Buffalo, N.Y.

• WIVB-TV UHF Going off the air
• WNYB-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel
• WVTT-CD UHF Moving to High VHF Channel

Burlington, Vt.-Plattsburgh, N.Y.

• WNNE-TV UHF Going off the air
• WVTA-TV UHF Going off the air

Charleston-Huntington, W.V.

• WPBO-TV UHF Going off the air
• WTSF-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel

Charlotte, N.C.

• WLNN-CD UHF Going off the air
• WMYT-TV UHF Going off the air
• WTBL-CD UHF Going off the air

Charlottesville, Va.

• WVIR-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel

Chattanooga, Tenn.

• WNGH-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel
• WTNB-CD UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel

Chicago, Ill.

• WOCH-CD UHF Going off the air
• WPWR-TV UHF Going off the air
• WSNS-TV UHF Going off the air
• WWTO-TV High VHF Channel Going off the air
• WXFT-TV UHF Going off the air
• WYCC-TV UHF Going off the air

Cincinnati, Oh.

• WOTH-CD UHF Going off the air

Cleveland-Akron, Oh.

• WAOH-CD UHF Going off the air
• WDLI-TV UHF Going off the air
• WGGN-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel
• WRLM-TV UHF Going off the air
• WUAB-TV UHF Going off the air

Columbus, Ga.

• WJSP-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel

Columbus, Oh.

• WOUC-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel
• WSFJ-TV UHF Going off the air

Dallas-Ft. Worth, Tex.

• KATA-CD UHF Going off the air

Dayton, Oh.

• WBDT-TV UHF Going off the air
• WKOI-TV UHF Going off the air

Flint-Saginaw-Bay City, Mich.

• WCMZ-TV UHF Going off the air

Greensboro-High Point-Winston, N.C.

• WCWG-TV UHF Going off the air
• WLXI-TV UHF Going off the air

Greenville-New Bern-Washington, N.C.

• WFXI-TV High VHF Channel Going off the air

Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.

• WGGS-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel
• WRET-TV UHF Going off the air
• WYCW-TV UHF Going off the air

Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York, Pa.

• WGCB-TV UHF Going off the air
• WLYH-TV UHF Going off the air
• WPMT-TV UHF Going off the air

Harrisonburg, Va.

• WAZH-CD UHF Going off the air
• WVPY-TV UHF Going off the air

Hartford-New Haven, Conn.

• WCTX-TV UHF Going off the air
• WEDY-TV UHF Going off the air
• WRDM-CD UHF Going off the air
• WUVN-TV UHF Going off the air

Huntsville-Decatur-Florence, Ala.

• WHDF-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel

Indianapolis, Ind.

• WCLJ-TV UHF Going off the air
• WHMB-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel
• WNDY-TV UHF Going off the air

Johnstown-Altoona, Pa.

• WKBS-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel

Knoxville, Tenn.

• WAGV-TV UHF Going off the air

Lansing, Mich.

• WHTV-TV UHF Going off the air
• WLNS-TV UHF Going off the air

Lima, Oh.

• WTLW-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel

Los Angeles, Calif.

• KAZA-TV UHF Going off the air
• KBEH-TV UHF Going off the air
• KDOC-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel
• KILM-TV UHF Going off the air
• KJLA-TV UHF Going off the air
• KLCS-TV UHF Going off the air
• KNET-CD UHF Going off the air
• KOCE-TV UHF Going off the air
• KRCA-TV UHF Going off the air
• KSFV-CD UHF Going off the air
• KVCR-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel
• KWHY-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel

Louisville, Ky.

• WBKI-TV UHF Going off the air
• WWJS-CD UHF Going off the air

Madison, Wisc.

• WISC-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel

Memphis, Tenn.

• WWTW-TV UHF Going off the air

Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

• WDLP-CD UHF Going off the air
• WIMP-CD UHF Going off the air
• WLPH-CD UHF Going off the air

Milwaukee, Wisc.

• WCGV-TV UHF Going off the air
• WMLW-TV UHF Going off the air
• WMVT-TV UHF Going off the air
• WVCY-TV UHF Going off the air

Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.

• KCCO-TV High VHF Channel Going off the air

Monterey-Salinas, Calif.

• KSMS-TV UHF Going off the air

Myrtle Beach-Florence, S.C.

• WGSI-CD High VHF Channel Going off the air

New York, N.Y.

• WEBR-CD UHF Going off the air
• WMBQ-CD UHF Going off the air
• WMUN-CD UHF Going off the air
• WNBC-TV UHF Going off the air
• WNJN-TV UHF Going off the air
• WNYJ-TV UHF Going off the air
• WRNN-TV UHF Going off the air
• WTBY-TV UHF Going off the air
• WXTV-TV UHF Going off the air
• WZME-TV UHF Going off the air

Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, Fla.

• WACX-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel
• WTGL-TV UHF Going off the air

Philadelphia, Pa.

• WFMZ-TV UHF Going off the air
• WGTW-TV UHF Going off the air
• WLVT-TV UHF Going off the air
• WMCN-TV UHF Going off the air
• WNJT-TV UHF Going off the air
• WTSD-CD UHF Going off the air
• WTVE-TV UHF Going off the air
• WUVP-TV UHF Going off the air
• WWSI-TV UHF Going off the air
• WYBE-TV UHF Going off the air

Pittsburgh, Pa.

• WBOA-CD UHF Going off the air
• WEMW-CD UHF Going off the air
• WEPA-CD UHF Going off the air
• WNNB-CD UHF Going off the air
• WPCP-CD UHF Going off the air
• WQED-TV High VHF Moving to Low VHF Channel
• WQVC-CD UHF Going off the air
• WVTX-CD UHF Going off the air

Providence, R.I.-New Bedford, Mass.

• WLWC-TV UHF Going off the air
• WRIW-CD UHF Going off the air
• WSBE-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel

Puerto Rico

• WDWL-TV UHF Going off the air
• WELU-TV UHF Going off the air
• WIRS-TV UHF Going off the air
• WKPV-TV UHF Going off the air
• WMEI-TV UHF Going off the air
• WSJU-TV UHF Going off the air
• WTCV-TV UHF Going off the air

Raleigh-Durham, N.C.

• WFPX-TV UHF Going off the air
• WHFL-CD UHF Moving to High VHF Channel
• WNCN-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel
• WRAY-TV UHF Going off the air
• WZGS-CD UHF Going off the air

Richmond-Petersburg, Va.

• WUPV-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel

Roanoke-Lynchburg, Va.

• WFFP-TV UHF Going off the air

Rockford, Ill.

• WIFR-TV UHF Going off the air

San Diego, Calif.

• K35DG-TV UHF Going off the air
• KSEX-CD UHF Going off the air

San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, Calif.

• KEMO-TV UHF Going off the air
• KEXT-CD UHF Going off the air
• KMPT-TV UHF Going off the air
• KOFY-TV UHF Going off the air
• KQEH-TV UHF Going off the air
• KRCB-TV UHF Moving to Low VHF Channel
• KRON-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel
• KTLN-TV UHF Going off the air
• KTNC-TV UHF Going off the air
• KTSF-TV UHF Going off the air

Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-San Caballero, Calif.

• KMMA-CD UHF Going off the air

Springfield, Mo.

• KSPR-TV UHF Going off the air

Springfield-Holyoke, Mass.

• WGBY-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel

Syracuse, N.Y.

• WNYI-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Sarasota, Fla.

• WUSF-TV UHF Going off the air
• WTTA-TV UHF Going off the air

Tri-Cities, Tenn.

• WAPG-CD UHF Going off the air
• WMSY-TV UHF Going off the air
• WSBN-TV UHF Going off the air

Tyler-Longview, Tex.

• KCEB-TV UHF Going off the air

Washington, D.C.

• WAZF-CD UHF Going off the air
• WDCA-TV UHF Going off the air
• WDCW-TV UHF Going off the air
• WJAL-TV UHF Going off the air
• WMDO-CD UHF Going off the air
• WNVC-TV UHF Going off the air
• WNVT-TV UHF Going off the air
• WZDC-CD UHF Going off the air

West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce, Fla.

• WFGC-TV UHF Moving to High VHF Channel
• WXEL-TV UHF Going off the air

Wilkes Barre-Scranton, Pa.

• WKBN-TV UHF Going off the air
• WVIA-TV UHF Going off the air

Frontier Communications has told Sinclair Broadcast Group the asking price to renew carriage of the Tennis Channel and several Sinclair over-the-air stations is too rich for their blood, and as a result will drop the channels Jan. 1, 2017.

The most affected network will be Sinclair’s Tennis Channel, which is seen in several hundred thousand homes subscribed to Frontier FiOS, U-verse, or its new IPTV service Vantage TV.

“We are not close,” Barry Faber, Sinclair’s executive vice president and general counsel, told the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.

Sinclair is the largest owner of local television stations in the country — owning or operating 173 stations in 81 cities. But only a handful are threatened by this contract dispute:

Frontier called Sinclair’s proposed renewal price “unreasonable” and stopped responding to Sinclair’s follow-up offers, according to Faber.

“And that’s where it stands,” Faber added. “We view it as negotiations are over.”

If you cut the cord and are watching all of your HD programming over-the-air, we have some bad news. Your current television set will soon be obsolete.

TV stations across the country are making plans to switch to the next generation of digital television — ATSC 3.0, and it isn’t compatible with millions of television sets and adapter boxes still in daily use across the United States.

The other night I talked with a station engineer who reminded me that consumers are going to have a nasty surprise when local stations start disappearing from existing sets starting a few years from now. Consumer electronics stores will continue to slash prices to clear current television inventory without telling buyers they will eventually need an adapter or rely on cable or satellite television to keep that set working after ATSC 3.0 is fully implemented.

Broadcasters have already started to budget for replacement equipment, necessary to support the new standard. For them, it opens the door to significant new revenue streams and a better quality TV picture. For you, it could mean a bill for a new set, an adapter, or a paid subscription to keep your favorite shows.

At present, over-the-air digital stations in the United States use ATSC 1.0, developed more than 20 years ago. Despite the standard, it took until February 2009 for most television stations to discontinue their analog television broadcasts. To ease the transition, Congress mandated a DTV Converter Box Coupon Program, which subsidized the cost of digital adapters for every household in the country still using an analog-only television set. No such luck this time around. Consumers relying on over-the-air broadcasts will either have to replace their current sets or purchase adapters or dongles out-of-pocket to keep watching.

To avoid a firestorm from the public, some station owners are thinking about a stop-gap measure that would launch a “digital bouquet” of participating local stations using lower bit rate Standard Definition on a single legacy ATSC 1.0 transmitter for at least a year or two until consumers upgrade their existing equipment. Then, one by one, existing HD stations would switch to ATSC 3.0 and effectively disappear from the dial of sets made before 2016. The good news is you would still have access to free television. The bad news is the picture will be significantly degraded.

Television stations are highly motivated to push for ATSC 3.0 as quickly as possible because it allows them to further monetize the spectrum the FCC allows them to use for free. For the first time, local stations will also be able to charge consumers directly to access broadcast television channels on portable devices like tablets and smartphones. ATSC 3.0 is based on Internet Protocol, allowing stations to blend broadcast and internet content. One of the unique changes ATSC 3.0 will allow is geographical or viewer-targeted commercials. A viewer in the suburbs could theoretically get a different commercial than another living in the city while watching the same station.

Television shows, transmitted in much higher-quality 4K, will also be accompanied by improved high quality audio and will integrate with online content that will run along with the show a viewer is watching. Theoretically, a viewer can lose over the air reception and have their internet connection seamlessly continue to stream the station in fringe reception areas. But viewers will likely be charged for that privilege.

ATSC 3.0 is also considerably more efficient than the current standard, which allows stations to add more digital sub-channels to their lineup, and deliver them in higher quality. That is a very important consideration as the FCC auctions away much of the current UHF television dial to mobile phone companies looking for boost wireless data capacity. ATSC 3.0 likely won’t be on the scene in a major way until after the FCC repacks current UHF stations closer together on the reduced number of UHF channels still left.

Some stations are expected to lease sub-channel space to third parties, which could start another avalanche of religious and home shopping channels, which often pay for coverage. If you have an Ion TV affiliate in your area, you already have an idea of what that looks like. In addition to a primary Ion TV channel, the broadcaster multiplexes 6 sub-channels – Qubo, Ion Life, The Worship Network, Ion Shop, QVC, and Home Shopping Network.

Currently, many major commercial stations support one or two sub-channels, often used for networks like Bounce, Antenna TV, MeTV, local weather and news, and shopping. But with an abundance of extra bandwidth, stations could add ethnic channels, time-shifted network shows, and a plethora of additional channels. That’s good news for cord-cutters looking for more over-the-air entertainment, but it will require an investment in a new set or an adapter to participate.

An introduction to ATSC 3.0 produced by the committee working on the standard. It doesn’t mention you will need a new television or adapter to watch. (3:15)

More than five million Dish Network customers in 36 states can once again watch Sinclair-owned TV stations on the satellite service after the head of the Federal Communications Commission intervened to end the largest TV station blackout in U.S. history.

On Tuesday, Sinclair ordered its 129 stations to pull the plug on Dish subscribers after the satellite company failed to reach terms on extending its carriage agreement.

Dish accused Sinclair of “failing to negotiate in good faith” and noted the two companies had reached an agreement on a price to continue carrying the TV stations. What derailed the deal? Sinclair demanded Dish carry a new cable network focusing on high school and college sports it was planning to eventually launch. The TV station group owner also wanted to right to negotiate carriage contracts for another 23 stations Sinclair does not own, but operates under joint-sales agreements. Last March, the FCC prohibited such agreements but Sinclair believed its stations were grandfathered and not subject to the FCC’s ruling.

The large number of stations involved and the potential subscriber impact of dropping more than 100 stations all at once may have given Sinclair extra confidence to pull off a game of hardball. Dish lost 81,000 pay-TV customers in the second quarter of 2015, compared with a loss of 44,000 a year earlier. Dish is also no stranger to these kinds of disruptive disputes, having been involved in 32 of 74 major programming blackouts since 2013.

Earlier this month, Sinclair executives also told investors during an earnings call that the retransmission consent contracts with 75% of its distribution partners (cable, telephone and satellite companies) were up over the next year, giving Sinclair the chance to reset renewal rates higher to boost revenue.

Sinclair owned television stations (the numbers show the number of TV stations Sinclair owns and operates in a region.)

In a research note, BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield said Sinclair’s “greed” was likely to backfire on the company.

“Sinclair’s actions vis-à-vis Dish look to us like lighting a match in a dry brush field,” Greenfield wrote. “The government is looking for reasons to get more involved to help consumers. Sinclair may have finally given them a blatant enough excuse.”

Greenfield was right.

The dispute attracted the attention of FCC chairman Thomas Wheeler who requested “an emergency meeting” with the two companies yesterday to focus on the dispute. Wheeler had previously warned the FCC was taking a closer look at the growing number of station and network interruptions that anger paying customers. So far this year, there have been 145 station and network blackouts according to the American Television Alliance. Last year there were 107. In 2010, there were 12.

While most carriage disputes are about a disagreement over the fair value of a network’s programming, this high-profile battle already reached a settlement on that issue.

“At first blush, Sinclair’s actions sound crazy,” says Greenfield. He is convinced Sinclair has blatantly violated FCC rules by demanding to negotiate for stations it does not own. He also thinks demanding fees for a future cable network could run afoul of federal antitrust laws.

In this latest standoff, and under pressure from the FCC, Sinclair appears to have blinked first and programming was restored for Dish subscribers beginning late Wednesday, as an agreement between Sinclair and Dish was reached. The terms were not disclosed.

“On behalf of more than 5 million consumers nationwide, I am pleased Dish and Sinclair have agreed to end one of the largest blackouts in history and extend their negotiations,” Wheeler said before a final agreement was announced. “The FCC will remain vigilant. Use of the public airwaves is a public trust.”

Mediacom subscribers in 15 cities lost 16 Media General-owned over the air stations from the cable lineup in a retransmission consent dispute just as a Major League Baseball All-Star Game to be shown on some of them was about to get underway.

Most of the stations are in smaller cities served by Mediacom and include:

• Alabama: WIAT (CBS) Birmingham, WFNA (CW) Mobile
• California: KRON (CW) San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose
• Indiana: WANE (CBS) Fort Wayne, WTHI (CBS) Terre Haute
• Kansas: KSNT (NBC) Topeka, KTMJ Topeka, KSNW (NBC) Wichita-Hutchison
• Iowa: KWQC (NBC) Davenport,  KIMT (CBS/My Network TV) Mason City
• Michigan: WOTV (ABC) Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, WOOD (NBC) Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek
• South Dakota: KELO (CBS/My Network TV) Sioux Falls
• Tennessee: WKRN (ABC) Nashville
• Virginia: WAVY (NBC) Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News, WVBT Norfolk
• Wisconsin: WBAY (ABC) Green Bay-Appleton

Mediacom claims Media General was seeking excessive compensation to renew its carriage agreement with the television stations. Customers were told in a letter signed by Tom Curtis that some stations were demanding more than double the old rate to renew the contract.

“Not only was Media General demanding more than double the money, the price they set for KWQC [in Davenport, Iowa] was significantly more than any other broadcast station we carry,” Curtis wrote. “If we agreed to Media General’s demands, KWQC would have become the most expensive broadcast channel in all of the 1,500 communities that Mediacom serves across 22 states. Further, other broadcasters would follow and begin demanding to be paid the same as Media General, driving up costs for other channels on your lineup.”

This is the second time in four years customers have lost the stations. When LIN Media owned several of the outlets in 2011, it refused cable carriage for more than a month over a similar dispute.