This week, the International Bluegrass Music Association’s annual World of Bluegrass is taking over Raleigh, NC. That means tons of amazing musicians are taking the numerous stages while thousands of bluegrass fans head to the city to take it all in. Here at Mohu, we’re huge fans of great music, so we’re excited to have this event right here in our backyard.
What’s even more exciting though is that our friends at WNCN, the Triangle’s NBC affiliate, are broadcasting tonight’s 25th Annual IBMA Awards Show LIVE for folks in the area to tune in and enjoy if they can’t make the festivities in person. The awards show will air at 7:30 p.m. tonight on WNCN channel 17-2. If you’re thinking that channel looks funky because of the “-2,” that’s because it’s the WNCN digital sub-channel.
Like tonight’s IBMA Awards Show, digital sub-channels offer a lot of entertaining, unique content that you can enjoy in addition to the main broadcasts. The catch? Well, if you’re a satellite subscriber, unfortunately you won’t be able to watch these sub-channels. Since satellite providers are limited to how many local stations they can carry, they focus on the primary channels for as many local networks as they can. And if you’re a cable subscriber, chances are the sub-channels are buried deep in your channel guide and hard to find.
Fortunately, it’s incredibly easy to pick up your local broadcast networks sub-channels with an HDTV antenna, so even if you aren’t a cord-cutter, you can still take advantage of these free, over-the-air broadcasts using an antenna in addition to your cable or satellite subscription. The antenna can also serve as a back-up in case you experience blackouts or satellite signal disruptions.
Curious what kind of sub-channels you can get in your area? Check out this listing to find your local broadcast market. You’ll be able to see the OTA channels available, and you can click each to see if and what sub-channels are also available through that network.
