Back in March 2014, I wrote a post on this blog listing the various TV channels that I was receiving for free over the air using an antenna that I bought at a store for $29.99. In October 2014, I wrote an update to that post where I mentioned that I had since lost and gained some channels. (This can sometimes happen due to atmospheric conditions or if one changes the direction of the rabbit ears on one's antenna. Incidentally, I'm still using the same antenna.)
[Please note that this post is all about free over-the-air broadcasting; I am quite aware of "free" streaming services that offer more channel choices (I wrote a long post about them on this blog in February, which you can read here), but those services require paying a monthly bill to your internet provider to be viewed. Whereas over-the-air broadcasts require no internet connection; they can be viewed with the one-time purchase of an antenna plus your regular monthly electric bill (which you are paying anyway to keep the power on). By the way, if you are interested in the topic of receiving TV through an antenna, you will want to check out the "Antenna Man" YouTube channel. For Detroit-area viewers, you may also want to check out the Michigan Radio and TV Buzzboard to keep current with the latest developments in the ever-changing broadcasting field.]
Now that it's 2021 (soon to be 2022), I figured that another update on my blog was warranted. So the post below describes the TV channels that I'm currently able to pick up in my viewing area (Detroit). The "tv guide" screencaps shown here are taken from the website On TV Tonight (which I recommend using to view one's own local TV listings). At the end of this post I'll also show screencaps of TV guide listings for local channels that I'm NOT able to currently receive.) There is also a local channel that is not listed on the site but which I'm also occasionally able to pick up (just barely).
In March 2014, I was able to receive 34 channels, which included 4 channels from Toledo, Ohio that I can no longer receive. (By the way, when I refer to channels in this post, I am listing each subchannel separately. Therefore Ch. 2.1 and Ch. 2.2 are counted as two channels, not one.) Back then I was also able to receive 4 religious channels (Ch. 18.1-18.3 and Ch. 23.1) that I also no longer get. I'm sure that if I adjusted the rabbit ears on my antenna to a different direction, there's a possibility that I might pick them up, but then I'd risk losing other channels that I prefer to have. In October 2014, I was able to receive a "new" channel, WHNE (Ch. 14.1-14.5), but in 2018 this station moved to a low-power VHF frequency that I'm not able to receive. I will discuss these missing local channels at the end of this post.
So, how does the overall situation in 2014 compare to today? I'm currently able to receive around 50 channels (although three of them are repeated on other channels). This is nearly comparable to the amount of free channels that my cable TV provider offered with basic cable back in the 1980s.
Here's a rundown on the TV channels that I can receive today, along with a snapshot of what each channel is airing in primetime tonight, to give a flavor of their offerings.
Channel 2 (WJBK)
This is the local Fox station for the metro Detroit area. The station was founded in 1948. You can read about its history on its Wikipedia page. Ch. 2.1 ("FOX2") allows viewers to watch their local news programming on their website. There are currently five channels here:
Ch. 2.1 (Fox)
Ch. 2.2 (MOVIES!) [old movies]
Ch. 2.3 (BUZZR) [old game shows]
Ch. 2.4 (H&I: Heroes & Icons) [old action/adventure TV series]
Ch. 2.5 (DECADES) [nostalgia/old TV shows]
Channel 4 (WDIV)
This is the local NBC affiliate. It is the oldest TV station in Michigan, having been broadcasting since 1947. You can read about its history on its Wikipedia page. There are currently four channels here:
Ch. 4.1 (NBC)
Ch. 4.2 (THIS TV) [semi-old movies & TV shows]
Ch. 4.3 (ME TV) [nostalgia/old TV shows]
Ch. 4.4 (COZI TV) [old TV shows]
Channel 7 (WXYZ)
This is the local ABC affiliate. It has been broadcasting on television since 1948. You can read about the station's history on its Wikipedia page. Channel 7 has a partnership with Channel 20 (see below) so that Ch. 20 airs a Channel 7 local newscast at 10pm weeknights (during a timeslot where Ch. 7 is airing national ABC programming). There are currently four channels here:
Ch. 7.1 (ABC)
Ch. 7.2 (BOUNCE) [African-American entertainment]
Ch. 7.3 (LAFF) [semi-old TV sitcoms]
Ch. 7.4 (COURT TV) [which also airs on Ch. 31.2]
Channel 9 (CBC)
This is a Canadian channel, CBET, the Windsor Ontario CBC affiliate. It has been broadcasting since 1954. You can read about the channel's history on its Wikipedia page. Unfortunately it (as well as the other Canadian channel on this list, Ch. 32) has no subchannels.
Channel 15 (WHPS)
There wasn't a TV guide screencap available for this channel, and very often it is difficult to receive on my antenna. You can read about the channel's history on its Wikipedia page. Currently there are four channels here (there is no Ch. 15.3):
Ch. 15.1 (THE COUNTRY NETWORK) (country music videos)
Ch. 15.2 (local talk/radio simulcast)
Ch. 15.4 (SHOP LC) [home shopping]
Ch. 15.5 (JTV: Jewelry TV) [home shopping]
Channel 20 (WMYD)
This is an independent station, formerly part of the MyTV network (which recently moved to Ch. 38.1). The station has been broadcasting since 1968. You can read about its history on its Wikipedia page. There are currently four channels here (although only three are shown in the screencap below):
Ch. 20.1 (WMYD)
Ch. 20.2 (ANTENNA TV) [old TV shows, mostly sitcoms]
Ch. 20.3 (MYSTERY) [crime dramas]
Ch. 20.4 (HSN: Home Shopping Network) [which also airs on Ch. 38.7]
Channel 31 (WPXD)
This channel is the local ION affiliate. You can read about the station's history on its Wikipedia page. There are currently seven channels here:
Ch. 31.1 (ION) [crime dramas]
Ch. 31.2 (COURT TV) [which also airs on Ch. 7.4]
Ch. 31.3 (GRIT) [old westerns]
Ch. 31.4 (DEFY TV) [reality TV shows]
Ch. 31.5 (TRUE REAL) [reality TV shows]
Ch. 31.6 (GET TV) [old TV dramas]
Ch. 31.7 (NEWSY) [24-hour news]
Channel 32 (TVO) [TV Ontario]
This Canadian station actually appears on Channel 19, having moved awhile back due to a digital shuffling of frequencies. The station has been broadcasting since 1970. You can read about its history on its Wikipedia page. Before 7pm, the channel airs children's programming. Documentaries (sometimes from the BBC) and the public affairs talk show "The Agenda" air between 7pm and 11pm, and are then repeated overnight.
Channel 38 (WADL)
This independent station based in Mt. Clemens, MI recently became affiliated with the MyTV network (such as it is). WADL has been broadcasting since 1989; you can read about its history on its Wikipedia page. There are currently eight channels airing here:
Ch. 38.1 (WADL) [MyTV; syndicated programming]
Ch. 38.2 (TWIST) [reality TV shows]
Ch. 38.3 (QUEST) [reality TV shows]
Ch. 38.4 (QVC) [home shopping] [which also airs on Ch. 50.6]
Ch. 38.5 (THE WORD) [religious]
Ch. 38.6 (CRIME) [true crime shows]
Ch. 38.7 (HSN: Home Shopping Network) [which also airs on Ch. 2.4]
Ch. 38.8 (DIGI-TV) [mix of British & Australian shows, mostly reality/lifestyle TV]
Channel 50 (WKBD)
This is the local CW affiliate. The station has been broadcasting since 1965; you can read about its history on its Wikipedia page. In recent years a 10pm newscast was added to the lineup, which uses weather reports from Ch. 62's Karen Carter. (Apart from her occasional brief weather report, Ch. 62 does not have a regular local newscast.) There are currently five channels here (although the screencap shows four):
Ch. 50.1 (The CW)
Ch. 50.2 (COMET) [sci-fi movies & TV shows]
Ch. 50.3 (CHARGE) [action]
Ch. 50.4 (TBD) [viral clips/mishaps]
Ch. 50.5 (CIRCLE) [country music]
Ch. 50.6 (QVC) [home shopping] [which also airs on Ch. 38.4]
Channel 56 (WTVS)
This is the local PBS affiliate. The station has been broadcasting since 1955; you can read about its history on its Wikipedia page. There are five channels here:
Ch. 56.1 (PBS)
Ch. 56.2 (PBS KIDS) [children's programming, mostly educational cartoons]
Ch. 56.3 (CREATE) [instructional/lifestyle/cooking shows]
Ch. 56.4 (WORLD) [documentaries]
Ch. 56.5 (MLC: Michigan Learning Channel) [educational/homeschool instruction, much of it for pre-school children]
Channel 62 (WWJ)
This has been the local CBS affiliate since 1995. (Prior to that, Ch. 2 WJBK was the local CBS station.) The station began as WGPR in 1975. You can read about the station's history on its Wikipedia page. As noted earlier, there is very little original programming on this station (aside from the national CBS programming), with no daily local news program. (Which explains why they play so much "Family Feud" during the timeslots that most other stations would be airing their local newscasts.) On Sunday mornings, the station does air the local public affairs talk show "Michigan Matters." There are currently four channels here (the screencap shows a fifth one, Ch. 62.5, which nothing on it ("Off-air") but there actually is no Ch. 62.5 yet):
Ch. 62.1 (CBS)
Ch. 62.2 (START TV) [women's TV drama]
Ch. 62.3 (DABL) [lifetyle/reality shows]
Ch. 62.4 (FAVE TV) [mostly reality TV, and the occasional movie]
And finally, here are some of the local TV channels that I don't currently receive, given the preferred position of my antenna:
Channel 3 (WHNE)
I had mentioned in my October 2014 post that I had begun receiving this channel, which at that time was on Channel 14 and had only five subchannels: Ch. 14.1 thru Ch. 14.5. In 2018 the station moved to Ch. 3 on the lower-power VHF band, which my antenna is unable to pick up. (I was able to watch their channels on the Locast website, but that site was permanently taken down earlier this year.) You can read about WHNE's history on its Wikipedia page. According to the On TV Tonight website, WHNE currently has 12 subchannels (Ch. 3.1 thru Ch. 3.12), which are slightly out of numerical order in the screencap below. Ch. 3.6 (DRIVE IN) airs old public domain movies, usually without commercial interruption. The channel I miss the most is Ch. 3.7 (RETRO TV) which airs old episodes of classic Doctor Who (although admittedly I can get that series anytime on Pluto TV). Here's WHNE's current lineup of subchannels:
Channel 18 (WDWO)
Back in 2014, I was able to pick up this local channel, but no longer (at least without moving my antenna). It was mostly religious programming of little interest, however, so I'm not that concerned about not having it. You can read about the history of this station on its Wikipedia page.
Channel 19 (WUDL)
This is also a mostly-religious channel that I no longer receive on my antenna (and didn't receive too well even when I did). Again, no great loss, though. You can read about the station's history on its Wikipedia page.
Channel 23 (DAYSTAR)
And yet another religious station that I don't receive on my antenna. The call letters of this station is WUDT, and it is part of the Daystar Network. You can read about the channel's history on its Wikipedia page.
And that's it! It's possible (even probable) that some of the repeated stations above will switch out to different channels, and that more channels will be added in the years ahead. It will be interesting to see what my next update might look like!
UPDATE (June 7, 2023):
There have been a few changes since December 2021 (when I wrote the above), so I thought I would note them here.
For the Channel 2 subchannels, there have been two changes:
Ch. 2.5 used to be Decades, but the network recently changed its name to Catchy.
Ch. 2.6 was added: a Fox Weather channel called Fox WX.
No changes for Ch. 4 and its subchannels; they are the same as they were in 2021.
Ch. 7.5 was added: a home shopping channel called ShopLC.
No changes for Ch. 9, the CBC station CBET, except that I have my antenna positioned in a direction now that currently prevents me from receiving it.
Ch. 15.3 is now ShopLC (same as Ch. 7.5 except that the audio is louder). In 2021, it was on Ch. 15.4 (there was no 15.3 back then).
Ch. 15.4 is JTV, another home shopping channel, that used to be on Ch. 15.5.
Ch. 15.5 has been added: it is currently another home shopping channel, called RCTV, that is entirely about selling coins. Prior to last month or so, Ch. 15.5 had been NewsMax2, a spin-off channel of the conservative political network, until RCTV replaced it. Too bad, because I had found myself enjoying the low-budget documentaries that NewsMax2 was playing regularly.
No change for Ch. 19.1 (TVOntario) which I had listed as Ch. 32 above.
No changes for Ch. 20 and its subchannels.
Ch. 31.5 used to be True Real, but that network is no more. So Ch 31.5 is now the Scripps News channel. (It was previously called Newsy and had been on Ch. 31.7.)
Ch. 31.7 is JTV, the same home shopping channel that is on Ch 15.4 (although at lower audio volume).
Ch. 31.8 and Ch. 31.9 have been added: but unfortunately they are both home shopping channels, HSN and HSN2 respectively. (The HSN channel is also on Ch. 38.7.)
There is now no longer a Ch. 38.2 for some reason, and thus no longer a Twist channel.
Ch. 38.8 is now the SBN religious channel, run by Jimmy Swaggert (yes, he is still on the air). Back in 2021, the Digi-TV network was here, but I believe that it (like True Real) went defunct.
Ch. 50.5 is now StartTV (women's dramas) instead of Circle (country music). Which is a bit pointless since StartTV is also on Ch. 62.2. I suspect that eventually 62.2 will become something else, since there is no reason for it to be on two major channels in this market.
In 2021, I had written that aside from a "brief weather report, Ch. 62 does not have a regular local newscast." That has changed. CBS News has local news operations in various cities, which can be viewed on Pluto TV. It was long rumored that Ch. 62.1 would get its own local news department, too, and that finally happened in January. You can read more about it on the channel's Wikipedia page.
And that's it for the changes. Everything else is the same as it was in Dec. 2021.
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