One of the great benefits of the digital transition is the increase in program capacity it brings to over-the-air free broadcast television stations. One such use is taking place in California’s Inland Empire east of Los Angeles, where KVCR-DT is using one of the three digital side channels it runs for a 24/7 Native American channel.
The station is owned by San Bernardino Community College District, which also owns KVCR-FM.
The channel is called FNX, or First Nations Experience Television. According to a KABC-TV report, the channel went live 9/25/11. KVCR described the channel, saying “FNX is a new multimedia platform featuring authentic voices and stories reflecting the reality of the Native American experience and that of indigenous peoples worldwide.”
The station, which already has access to 18M potential viewers in Southern California, has even bigger plans. It hopes to tap the potential of over-air, internet and cable and satellite to expand its availability.
SBCCD says it is the first channel of its kind.
RBR-TVBR observation: It is just crazy for the federal government to put broadcasters through a lengthy and expensive digital transition, watch it just begin to blossom to the benefit of the general public overall and niche groups in particular, and then blow it all up because telco companies can’t be bothered to develop the spectrum they already hold.
