Ultra High Frequency: Difference between revisions

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With most prime big-city VHF stations affiliated to the strongest networks before the end of [[The Fifties]], the rest of the spectrum became a motley array of struggling independents, small-market stations, ethnic or minority-language outlets, fourth networks and educational broadcasters. Stations on the less-desirable UHF channels (TV 14-83, 470-890 MHz in North America) operated at a substantial disadvantage in the early years and not all survived.

[[Word of God|According]] to [["Weird Al" Yankovic]] at the time his ''[[UHF (film)|UHF]]'' film (1989) invoked this trope: "It was a total anachronism even when it came out — it was on the tail end of UHF even being a thing. But as a kid, that was where you went to see all the weird programming. You know, you had your UHF dial, and you flipped it around, and [[https://film.avclub.com/we-got-it-all-on-uhf-an-oral-history-of-weird-al-yan-1798278657 there was everything] from PBS stations to Spanish-speaking stations to low-budget public stations, to just out-and-out weirdness."

[[Word of God|According]] to [["Weird Al" Yankovic]], at the time his ''[[UHF (film)|UHF]]'' film (1989) invoked this trope: "It was a total anachronism even when it came out — it was on the tail end of UHF even being a thing. But as a kid, that was where you went to see all the weird programming. You know, you had your UHF dial, and you flipped it around, and [[https://film.avclub.com/we-got-it-all-on-uhf-an-oral-history-of-weird-al-yan-1798278657 there was everything] from PBS stations to Spanish-speaking stations to low-budget public stations, to just out-and-out weirdness."

Now largely a [[Forgotten Trope]] or [[Dead Horse Trope]], with satellite TV and digital OTA TV as [[Trope Breaker]]s.

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* In Japan, the [[Otaku O'Clock]] pattern of programming [[anime]] in the wee hours is closely associated with small, independent UHF outlets.

* In the US, educational [[PBS]], fourth commercial network [[Fox]] and Spanish-language [[Univision|Univisión]] rely disproportionately on UHF stations. Marginal network providers like [[ION]], the [[infomercial]]s' own network, tend to own and operate disproportionate numbers of outlying UHF stations. See [[American Television Stations]] and [[Broadcasting in the United States]] for the history of these.

** [[Averted Trope|Averted]] by [[PBS]] member stations WHYY 12 and WNET 13, who changed their intended community of licence to [[Delaware]] and [[New Jersey]] (respectively) to obtain the last available spots on the VHF TV dial.

* In ''[[UHF (film)|UHF]]'', [["Weird Al" Yankovic]] [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshades]] the pattern of independent [[Struggling Broadcaster]]s landing on some of the worst spots on over-the-air TV by having a fictional "Channel U-62" struggle to broadcast [[Cloudcuckoolander]] nonsense as a [[No Budget]] operation in a desperate attempt to remain on-air.

* Alas, [[Technology Marches On]]. The UK moved all of the telly channels to UHF during the transition from monochrome to colour. Digital TV caused many long-established North American stations (typically [[CBS]] and [[NBC]] in the US, [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] in Canada) to abandon once-valuable low-VHF channels which they held since [[The Fifties]] due to impulse noise and interference. As high-UHF channels are lost to mobile telephone companies, available channels for over-the-air HDTV are becoming increasingly scarce and UHF is valuable. The distinction in frequency has become less significant with modern equipment and with the widespread adoption of cable and satellite.