I've been wanting to do this for a long time because it's a hassle keeping
track of all the stations, their addresses, phone numbers, URLs, etc.
This is so I'll have access to the info from anywhere, home or work.
Since I haven't got very far, this page is very definitelyunder
construction!
The complete list of channels we
get as part of the "Extended Basic" cable -- basically everything you can
get without an extra box -- as of the latest change (August 3, 2000)
is at the lineup page
http://www.oocities.org/loisnotlane/TVchannellineup.html
I've broken this list into categories as follows:
Local Channels -- broadcast channels from the Pittsburgh
and Steubenville-Weirton-Wheeling markets. Also the Morgantown
and Akron-Youngstown PBS stations, which are shown on our cable
system. These are listed by their broadcast channel numbers, not by the
numbers of the channels they are seen on on cable.
Broadcast networks -- you know,
CBS, ABC, NBC, etc.
Cable stations I get (not ones that you need an adapter
box for, which includes digital)
Cable stations I don't get (because they require
an extra box and/or charge -- premium movie channels, digital-level channels,
etc.)
OUR CABLE SYSTEM ISAT&T
Broadband (formerly known as AT&T Cable; before that, TCI; and
before that. Dimension Cable)
Notes: channel 9 is on channel 8 on our cable -- it's mostly NBC
but carries some ABC sports programming, too. Channel 53 is on channel
12; channel 40 is on channel 5 (where channel 9 used to be!); channels
45 and 49 are on channel 19. Channel 18 is listed as a Wheeling station
but is "cable only" according to the network's list of affiliates; thus
it is not technically "broadcast", I suppose. Channel 22 (which is a broadcast
channel) was apparently dropped from our cable lineup in the last big shuffle,
but most of its programming is on channel 18, since they're both affiliated
with the WB. PCNC (channel 31 on our system) is also not technically a
broadcast channel, but it is local to the Pittsburgh area, and is affiliated
with WPXI, which is broadcast.
We don't get a UPN station now. (Channel 22 used to be UPN before they
switched to the WB, but we don't get 22 anymore either.) The closest one
listed on UPN's web site is
in Jeannette, Pa., and serves the Pittsburgh market but is apparently a
little too far east to reach all the way to the West Virginia panhandle.
If you don't live in this area, this list of channels might not help
you much. Search for stations seen in your area at some of the following
places:
Yahoo!, Google
or another search engine may find them for you -- look for the station's
call letters or try cross-referencing the name of the city and "TV" or
"television". However, when I first began this page, in May of 2000,
not all the TV stations in our area had web pages yet, so there may still
be some that don't; those that do don't always include their "snail"
mail and phone info, so you may still need to try some other sources:
Networks' sites usually list and often even link to their local affiliates.
Ultimate TV lists a lot of TV
and radio stations, info on programs, Nielsen ratings, etc. TV
Guide Online also has info on stations as well as listings and news
about shows.
Your local paper may have a list of TV and radio stations, in the paper
or on its web page, or both; for example the Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette does, though it doesn't have links to web sites for all
of them. The Sunday TV section sometimes has addresses and phone numbers
for stations and/or networks, and the TV Guide print edition often
has addresses for networks and cable channels.
There are other "fan" websites about broadcasting, and there may be one
for your area. I recently came across a site called Ohio
Valley Radio and TV, at http://www.oocities.org/ovrtv/
The OVRTV site deals with media, especially TV and radio, in our tri-state
area (West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania), up and down the Monongahela/Ohio
river valley from Fairmont to Wheeling, including inbetween places like
Morgantown, Pittsburgh, Washington (Pa., not that other one!), East Liverpool
and Steubenville. OVRTV doesn't do quite what I'm planning to do
here (which is listing addresses, phone numbers, and URLs), but it does
have news about stations, such as changes in call letters, personnel, formats,
etc. -- which, to be frank, I don't really care about unless it's a station
I watch or listen to a lot. But it links to all the stations' web
sites! OVRTV also has other interesting links,
including some to websites about other markets.
Your cable company's web page might list which stations are available on
your system and at which level (regular or premium, just like gasoline).
Our company, AT&T
Broadband, used to (when they were called "AT&T Cable"), but
seem to have either dropped this service during their recent reorganization
of the page, or buried it so deep down in the site I'm having trouble finding
it. (Again, try a search engine if you don't know the cable company's
web address any other way.)
If all else fails, the telephone book usually has addresses and phone numbers
-- look in the Yellow Pages under "Televisiion", or one of the "yellow pages"
web sites like "Big Yellow."
If you don't have the phone book or can't find the listing you need, try
calling the Reference department at your local public library.
under
construction!
