The Mysterious Case of Channel One: A Blast from the Past

If you've ever flipped through channels out of boredom, you might have noticed something curious - where is channel one? This question might seem trivial, but it's actually rooted in a fascinating piece of history. In the 1940s, when commercial television was just starting to become a thing, the FCC in the United States assigned certain frequencies to specific channels.

Channel one was assigned to the space between 50 and 56 megahertz, which is a little ways below today's FM radio stations, which start around 88 megahertz. There actually were several TV stations operating on channel one back then, including what is now WNBC, a major station out of New York City. At first glance, it might seem that the existence of channel one wasn't a big deal, but as we'll see, there's more to the story.

The issue of channel one dates back to the end of World War II, when the FCC had to make decisions about how to allocate spectrum for radio and television broadcasters. The demand for different slices of the broadcast spectrum was booming, thanks in part to rapid advancements in radiotechnology during the war. After the war ended, the FCC had to balance the needs of both radio users and TV broadcasters.

The agency decided that the 18 channels allocated to television during the first half of the 1940s was too many, so they cut the number down to 13 in 1946. Channel one actually survived this purge, but the FCC needed a piece of spectrum to reserve for low-power community television, designed to cover smaller areas than the major stations. As a result, channel one was bumped to an even lower frequency and was only allowed to be used for community TV.

However, radio and TV were still sharing lots of frequencies, which caused interference issues. In fact, channel six was the only channel that wasn't shared - it's interesting to note that this might have been due to a lack of competition or perhaps a deliberate decision by the FCC. To make matters worse, the FCC said that stations could be as close as 80 miles apart, exacerbating the interference problem.

In an effort to address these issues, the FCC decided to give even more of the spectrum exclusively to radio, the medium of the future. They also sacrificed channel one, especially since no low-power community TV stations were built between 1946 and 1948, when channel one was axed. The simple decision not to renumber the channels or convert the old channel two into a new channel one was enough to make channel one fade into obscurity.

Despite this, the convention of not having a channel one carried over into analog cable TV, and even today, after the digital transition, you don't usually see a whole lot of programming numbered as channel one. However, cable operators and digital TV stations have leeway in channel numbering, which could mean that more things are possible on channel one if they wanted to.

In some cases, channel one is used for specialized purposes, such as pay-TV subscribers making on-demand selections or local news networks run by the cable provider, like what Spectrum customers get in New York. This might help clarify any confusion surrounding channel one's existence - so the next time you flip through channels and wonder where channel one is, now you know its fascinating history.

Speaking of other things that are interesting, if you're curious about more topics, check out our other videos. And if you have something that you want us to talk about on Techquickie, leave a comment below - maybe we'll do a video on it.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- If you've ever beenflipping through channelsout of boredom, so yeah,all of us, (laughs)just kidding, I don't have cable.At some point, you've probablynoticed something curious.Where the heck is channel one?I mean, when you thinkabout it, it's even weirderthan how your computerlikes to number drivesstarting with zero.At least it's not skipping any numbers,but your TV just acts likethe number one doesn't exist.You're like, get your head outta the sand.Well, it turns out thata really long time ago,there was a channel one.Back in the 1940s whencommercial television wasjust starting to become a thing,the FCC in the United Statesassigned certain frequenciesto certain channels, withfrequencies increasingas you went up the dial.Channel one was assigned to the spacebetween 50 and 56 megahertz,so a little ways belowtoday's FM radio stations,which start around 88 megahertz.There actually were severalTV stations operatingon channel one in the early and mid 1940s,including what is now WNBC,a major station out of New York City.And there's nothing inherently wrongwith channel one's frequency rangethat would make it moresusceptible to interferenceor some kind of technical problem.But after the end of World War II,the FCC had to deal with an issuethat didn't just affect TV broadcasters.You see, demand for different slicesof the broadcast spectrum boomedas during the war radiotechnology rapidly progressed.And now that the war was over,the FCC had to make both radio usersand TV broadcasters happy.So the agency decided to cut downhow many channels weregiven to TV broadcast.And remember, back thencable TV wasn't a thing yet.So if you were going to watch something,it was going to be over the airon a limited number of frequency bands.But even so, the FCC decidedthat the 18 channelsallocated to televisionduring the first half ofthe 1940s was too many,so they cut the number down to 13 in 1946.Channel one actually survived this purge,but the FCC needed a piece of spectrumto reserve for low-powercommunity television,designed to cover smallerareas than the major stations.So channel one was bumpedto an even lower frequencyand was only allowed tobe used for community TV.However, radio and TV werestill actually sharinglots of frequencies, whichcaused interference issues.In fact, channel six was the only channelthat wasn't shared.And to make matters worse, the FCC saidthat stations could be asclose as 80 miles apart,exacerbating the interface problem.I could've told ya thatwould've been an issue. (laughs)So the FCC decided to giveeven more of the spectrumexclusively to radio,the medium of the future.And they decided to sacrifice channel one,especially as no low-powercommunity TV stationswere even built between 1946 and 1948when channel one was axed.Although the FCC could haverenumbered the channelsand made the old channeltwo the new channel one,they simply decided not to bother.And channel one faded intothe dustbin of history.Now, the convention of nothaving a channel one carried overinto analog cable TV.And even today, afterthe digital transition,you don't usually see a wholelot of programming numberedas channel one, eventhough cable operatorsand digital TV stations haveleeway in channel numberingand could've put morethings on channel oneif they wanted to.However, channel one is sometimes usedas a channel where pay-TV subscriberscan make on-demand selectionsor for local news networksrun by the cable provider,such as what Spectrumcustomers get in New York.So hopefully this clears up any confusion.I think now I'm gonna try and find outwhy James Bond workedfor MI6 instead of MI1.David?(crickets chirping)Speaking of that thing I just said,I'm gonna speak about our sponsor (laughs)Private Internet Access.PIA is a VPN that lets you mask your IPand encrypts your trafficto and from your devices.They're reliable toowith over 3,200 serversin 45 countries.PIA has no bandwidth caps,but they do have configurable encryptionand an Internet kill switchso you stay in control of your connection.When combined with private browsing,PIA can make websites thinkyou're in a different country.(laughs) Got 'em.You can try it now risk-freewith their 30-day money-back guaranteeand connect up to five devices at oncewith their clients on Windows, macOS,Android, iOS, and Linux.And you can forget about malwarebecause their MACE feature blocks requeststo known malware and tracking domains.So what are ya waiting for?Check it out atlmg.gg/piatechquickie today.All right, that's it for this video, guys.Thanks for watching.Hey, you wanna learn somemore stuff about other thingsthat are also interesting?Check out our other videos.And if you have somethingthat you want us to talk abouton Techquickie, leave a comment below.Maybe we'll do a video on it.\n"