WNDU-TV 16, South Bend,
Indiana Final Analog Sign-off

The final few moments of northern Indiana's long-time NBC affiliate. The clip starts out with station staffers throwing a giant light-switch signifying the end of its analog transmission and the beginning of digital (aired in black-and-white, interestingly). From there its an "old-school" sign-off announcement with a static station ID graphic and voice-over. The Star Spangled Banner follows, a computer-generated animation of the U.S. flag. After a final station ID ("This WAS WNDU-TV, Channel 16, Souh Bend"), we're treated to 30 seconds of a video blizzard. From its inception in 1955 to 2006 WNDU was owned by Notre Dame University (hence the call letters) and operated on Channel 46 its first two years of business.

WSRE-TV 23, Penascola,
Florida Final Analog Sign-off

The Public Broadcasting Servive (PBS) station for the Florida Panhandle concludes 42 years of analog transmission. This clip features portions of previous WSRE-TV sign-offs along with an explanation of TV sign-offs in general (I have an early 1990s clip of a WSRE-TV sign-on someone donated that will be posted here in the future), and some vintage photos of Channel 23 studios and programming. The station bids its analog viewers adieu with an image of a 1970s-era portable TV with snow (after this, the carrier was cut, which is not on this recording).

WDEF-TV 12, Chattanooga,
Tennessee Final Analog Sign-off

Chattanooga's long-time CBS affiliate ceases analog service just two months shy of its 55th birthday. The clip commences with several seconds of The Late Show with David Letterman, which is interrupted by a News 12 DTV Update hosted by noontime news anchor Joe Legge. The update features a brief history of WDEF-TV which includes a re-creation of the initial sign-on, some info on the DTV conversion, and concludes with photos and video of WDEF-TV's past. After this, the Letterman show resumes for about five seconds before the analog signal is cut off for good, shown in this recording as the "blue screen of death".

WOWT, Channel 6, Omaha,
Nebraska Final Analog Sign-off

Omaha's first TV station ended its analog era with this brief piece, running a little over one minute in length. it begins with film footage of the station's transmitter being turned on for Channel 6's premiere on 29 August 1949. Following that it goes to a brief America The Beautiful video with a voice-over announcer inviting the viewers to join WOWT as it goes to digital, and ends with a WOWT-DT ID graphic. The station was originally WOW-TV and gave legendary Tonight Show host Johnny Carson his first job in television as a meterorologist and host of a daily local program called The Squirrel's Nest.

WNTZ "FOX 48", Natchez MS
Final Analog Sign-off

The FOX station for the Alexandria, Louisiana Designated Market Area ended its analog transmission at 9:03 pm local time after that evening's episode of American Idol. The closing minute of Idol is seen here. It is immediately followed by an early-1950s vintage color film of a Star Spangled Banner sing-a-long. The U.S. flag at that time had 48 stars (Two more would be added in 1959 when Alaska and Hawaii became states). The SSB is followed by a plain graphic inviting FOX 48 viewers to channel 48.1 (49) on their digital TVs or converter boxes. This recording was apparently made from the digital transmission, for an episode of the police show Street Patrol immediately follows the FOX 48 station ID.

WWNY-TV 7, Watertown,
NY Final Analog Sign-off

This is , IMHO, one of the lesser of the analog farewells I've seen so far, but it might appeal to fans of CBS's The Late Show with David Letterman. The clip kicks off with Dave's Top 10 piece for that evening about Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's first tour of other countries, then is followed by Dave interviewing a character named Lyle the Intern. About 4 minutes and 38 seconds into the clip, a graphic is flashed on the screen informing viewers of WWNY-TV's end of analog broadcasting and switch to digital (the audio of Letterman's show continues to play in the background). After two minutes of the graphic, the analog carrier is cut for good.

WGEM-TV 10, Quincy, Illinois Final Analog Sign-off

The NBC affiliate station for western Illinois, northeastern Missouri and southeastern Iowa ended their analog career after their 12 noon newscast with anchor Natalie Will and meterorologist Rich Cain. The honor of turning off the analog signal for the final time is given to co-anchor Katie Walls, stationed at the transmitter controls. This clip was obviously recorded "over the air" from great distance from the station, judging from the fuzziness in the signal.

WMTV 15, Madison, Wisconsin
Final Analog Sign-off

Wisconsin's capital city's NBC station is one of the oldest UHF stations in the U.S., going all the way back to July, 1953. It's analog farewell consisted of only a static station ID graphic and a voice-over announcer, similar to its sister station WNDU-TV in South Bend, IN (posted above), followed by a live shot of the U.S. and Wisconsin state flags waving, presumably from the State Capital building. After that is a minute or so of the classic "Indian Head" black-and-white test patter before the analog signal is shut down.

WAAY-TV 31, Huntsville,
Alabama Final Analog Sign-off

The final few moments of Huntsville's ABC network station, consisting only of a message concerning the termination of the analog signal, the need for a digital converter, where to buy them and a phone number for help concerning DTV. The recording was definitely made from the analog "over the air" signal, and probably from a distant location, judging from the shifting and extreme fuzziness of the reception.