WNVT-TV is first "digital-only" broadcast station in Washington, D.C.

WNVT-TV, one of the few independent public televisions stations in the country, is the first broadcast station in Washington, D.C.'s metropolitan area to be granted permission from the FCC to cease analog broadcasting and begin operating as a digital-only television station. WNVT (MHz2) is the first public station nationwide to have received such permission.

The request from the FCC was originally sought because operation of both analog and digital facilities through the DTV transition process at the same time was not a feasible option. By operating as a digital-only station, WNVT will save on operational costs and construction costs.

In preparation for the digital transition, such large-scale projects as installing a combined antenna and strengthening the WNVT Tower would have been required and further strained resources. By ceasing analog operations, WNVT can now appropriate more of those resources toward the digital conversion.

After relinquishing its NTSC license for Channel 53, WNVT will operate under its new "digital-only" status as WNVT-DT on DTV Channel 30. The anticipated date of the transitional switch to digital is November 1, 2003.