As part of the FCC’s last phase of the spectrum auction, WPBT-WXEL-WURH (The Health Channel), channels 2-1, 2-2, 2-3, 25-1 and 42-1, along with other TV stations in the area must area must repack or change their existing transmission facilities to new facilities.
On February 1st or shortly thereafter, when South Florida PBS plans to move to our new frequency, viewers using an antenna to watch TV for free, must rescan their TV. Once they rescan, they’ll still find all their favorite programs on the same channels. Again, this only affects viewers who watch us directly over the air using a DTV antenna and not those viewers who use paid services such as cable and satellite television service providers.
Rescanning is straightforward and requires no new equipment or services. Select “scan” or “autotune” from your TV or converter box menu. Instructions are often found by pressing the “set-up” or “menu” buttons on your remote control.
If you watch TV through a cable or satellite service, you do not need to rescan. Your service provider will do it for you.
It is very important to South Florida PBS that the South Florida communities that we serve continue to receive free access to public television for the cultural, educational and entertainment programs that have become an essential part of their lives and that an integral part of our mission to serve the people of South Florida.
Our technicians will be working diligently with our over-the-air viewers to help them through this process. For assistance viewers can contact us at wpbt2.org/contact or wxel.org/contact/. For more information on repacking and rescanning go to: https://www.fcc.gov/TVrescan or http://tvanswers.org/.
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About South Florida PBS
South Florida PBS is Florida’s largest public media company, including Public Broadcasting stations WXEL-TV, serving the Palm Beaches and WPBT2, serving Miami-Dade and Broward counties. South Florida PBS connects organizations and institutions across our region and preserves South Florida's history. Leading the way in this global society, South Florida PBS serves diverse communities from Key West to the Sebastian Inlet and from the Atlantic Ocean west to Lake Okeechobee. South Florida PBS is committed to creating and presenting unique arts, education and cultural heritage programming, and serves as a model for telling unique local stories across a variety of digital media platforms. National productions presented to public television stations by South Florida PBS include James Patterson’s Kid Stew, Battleground Everglades, Changing Seas, and Blue Chip Kids. For more information, visit http://www.southfloridapbs.org/home/.