WNBC (TV) signs off for good 

Something so unsettling about this - almost like an "end of the world" tape they decided to use for the analog shutdown.

We just saw a TV station's life flash before its eyes...

This video feels incredibly chilling and bittersweet to me. An analog transmitters life calmly flashes before it's eyes, before giving one final goodbye. The music ties it all together, and it is oddly beautiful. Makes me think of the innocence of my youth and the inevitability of death, but in an accepting way rather than a fearful one.

This is beautiful. It sends chills down my spine no matter how many times I watch it. This is hands down the single greatest sign off. Ever.

As quickly as it goes from saying "GOODBYE" to when that abyss of static ends the last creative statement to ever come from that analog transmitter... That's how quickly you and I will go from being alive to dead.

NBC definitely nailed the analog to HD transition. We basically see the network's history flash before our very eyes! Kudos, NBC!

The last screen, saying “Goodbye” reminds me of the ORACLE teletext system’s shutdown: it started with the outer layer turning back, then over the last fifteen minutes the black moved further and further in until five seconds before midnight, when it was replaced by a small white square in the centre and the words “ORACLE GONE 1978-1993”. They shut it all down at midnight and replaced it with a new system immediately. Incidentally, the last ads were for the British versions of Sonic 2 and Streets of Rage.

We just saw WNBC's life flash before its eyes.

0:27 - 0:42 something about the composition of the Nightly News theme from 1982-1985 or so that is just ... beautiful... hard to describe.

This is the best final sign-off to an analog station I’ve ever seen. Literally goes from 2009 to the 60s one last time before saying goodbye and cutting the signal off. Chilling and beautiful.

Im british and honestly. This. This wins my personal reward for the best analog sign off i've seen so far. Props to you americans for making this absolute beauty ♥︎

As a 90's kid, I recall the days of analog TV with fond memories... I remember picking up Fox5 from the WTC antenna, and twisting my "bunny ears" in all sorts of directions trying to watch Seinfeld and Simpsons. This video feels like the ultimate goodbye to those memories, to times when I didn't know the evils of the world and when life was plain and simple.

I have had insomnia my entire life (I'm 56) and TV at night was always my friend. But up through the 1970's, stations stop broadcasting not too long after midnight. NBC would go dark after Johnny Carson, ABC about the same time and CBS after the late movie around 1:00 a.m. You'd hear the National Anthem and then *poof* all you saw was snow. On weekends our local CBS station (I was in DC) would play Laurel & Hardy movies until 3:00. Things changed around the time SNL came on the air.

A very simple but classy analog shutdown for America's first and oldest commercial TV station. The early 80's "NBC Nightly News" theme song with the teletype was a nice touch. Too bad nobody saw it as the audience moved on to WNBC-DT two weeks earlier. "Goodbye" may be a little creepy, but this is how regular network satellite feeds to affiliates end, with "Goodnight" before the scheduled feed ends and another feed on the same sat channel begins.

Classy, eerie and strangely beautiful.

I was fortunate enough to be on vacation the week the local New York City tv stations made the switch to digital. I saw the NBC analog signoff as it happened. It had me mesmerized as it played, and then when it was over it took a few seconds for me to fully take in what I had witnessed: the end of the only type of tv I had ever known to that point in my life. Sentimental, sad...but in my opinion, a nicely done, heartfelt goodbye. : )

*_This is so sad... Saying goodbye to a memorable era..._*

0:21 The last time the transmitter would say its own name. WNBC NEW YORK

For those curious, the logos go from 2010 to 1956. In order, 1986-2010, 1979-1986, 1975-1979, 1956-1975, then 1958-1975. I'm not too sure about the weird jump from 1975 to 1958, but it just fits.

Out of all the analog sign-offs I've watched on RU-vid so far, this one had the most emotion in it, and the strongest one was sadness. Think about it: Analog TV has gone out FOREVER. It's never coming back. How does that make you feel? On the other hand, I realize that digital is much better, and I fully support it. But you can't help but feel sad for analog. It's like a good friend you've known for decades who just died of old age.

For some reason, watching this makes me cry.

this has a surreal feeling to this.

I actually like how TV stations 4 years ago at least tried to make a short mention of their history. all of the Youngstown, Ohio stations went cold. As for the Trapezoid N for the NBC logo...that's an interesting history as Nebraska's public broadcasting system raised a stink about it. Though, RCA (then owners) decided to settle it and was able to keep it.

In England analog television ended finally in 2012 when London became the last place to move from the old four channel world. Currently everyone in England receives 18-60 channels on Freeview, 200 if you have a satellite subscription. I've had digital for 8 years, my town was the first in the country to abandon analog.

What a nice way though for nbc to say good bye showing off all the logos they used to use back in the analog days

This reminds me of my favorite radio station signing off during my high school years. I recorded it and literally cried for hours when it happened. It became something that we already had 4 of. A Top 40 pop music station called Mix 96.1.

This is crazy seeing (basically) the very last analog TV signal ever broadcasted.

Man,I wish analog and digital TV were both together,not one shoved the other out of its place.People grew up on that,it was their childhood,it's really sad too.My childhood was watching Back At the barnyard and Spingebill,on a big 40 inch Sony CRT TV,it was Goliath,as my family liked to call it.

R.I.P WNBT TV/WNBC TV 1933-2009

so sad after the transmitter was shut down I bet everything was scrapped

We just watched history

For those of us who cant afford cable, the conversion is a great deal. For just the price of one converter box, my number of stations multiplied by a factor of ten. Not only that but the quality is better than cable and it never cuts off plus no monthly fees. Honestly, I really like it.

I'm glad NBC still remembers their history.

This was the only memorable sign off of analog TV in the US. Wish that we did analog sign offs like Ceefax and BBC NI did. The BBC analog sign off (specifically the main channel) informed the public about the switch, told a brief history of analog TV, and explained why the switch had to take place, before saying goodbye to viewers. I'll leave a link here for the sign off if anyone is interested: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vuOKkkJ6UBM.html

The goodbye at the end is so chilling.

It might have been a little better to write, "Goodbye, New York," and even tack on a "Thank you," like the WB did. I realize that not many were watching, but it still seems a bit . . . curt.

Dun, Dun, Dun. NBC Analog TV will be missed.

0:34 NBC Nightly News, with Tom Brokaw in New York, Roger Mudd in Washington, and commentary by John Chancellor.

This is in my opinion the best Nationwide Along Signoff. Even if it is good it is really sad to watch, I agree with what CrazedComposure said 100%. This really was the end of an era. My local stations waited until the final day to make the switch over, and they handled it well. WGHP and WFMY's are actually on You Tube. The other stations did either crappy ones or not one at all.

0:26: NBC Nightly News intro from 1980's 0:31: NBC Old Logos 0:57: Final Word before Static Appears 1:02: Static

And so, WNBC-TV fades into history, venturing into the night. Never to return.

Thank you for capturing and sharing this. It seems that something incredibly significant took place without an ounce of notice. I feel a pang as I watch and wish I could explain it.

WNBC-TV 1976 testcard.

*Why is this so scary yet also beautiful?*

One of the most eerie videos I have watched.

This is. The best. Final sign off. I HAVE EVER SEEN!!!!

This has such a weird feeling It's like being forgotten

it's like a life flashing before one's eyes, and then, goodbye.

Interesting final sign off of WNBC analog, didn't see this one, glad you have it here

NBC Nightly News Theme from 1980s

That station started life as W2XBS in 1939, the first regularly scheduled television station. .It became WNBT, one of the charter stations that started commercial television broadcasting in 1941. It changed to WRCA in 1954 and then to WNBC in 1960.

Gone but not forgotten.

Actually it was Nebraska Educational Television that was using that "N" logo. NBC gave them a boatload of money and several satellite trucks to settle a lawsuit.

I had been recording on 6/12, but only got the transition to the nightlight status, and had been checking back once in a while to see if they were still there. Great to know that someone DID get the ultimate sign off and to know that someone at WNBC cared enough to do this. How did you know this was coming? Most of the sign offs were rather crass and potentially illegal since they are required to sign off with a legal ID on either audio or video, and most I saw did neither.

I was only 2 months old when this Happened! Almost 11 years ago, old times....

Thanks for the memories.

When WNBC radio signed off in 1988, WNBC-TV legally dropped its TV suffix but kept using it in on-air promos until 1992. History repeated itself in June when the analog TV signal finally said "goodbye". WNBC-DT legally dropped the DT suffix (but still used in on-air promos) as plain ol' WNBC migrated from radio to analog TV to digital TV. The suffixes are for multiple stations with the same letters, like WCBS-AM (889), FM (101.1), HD (digital radio) and DT (channel 2).

remembering the teletype sounds and NBCs 3-tone signature 👍

It’s not already an goodbye, it’s just a “see you later.”

In Vietnam, our analog ended in December 29th, 2020. However, no station did the end have like this, they just straight up shut down without anything (although we have a warning during programs). But it is actually good for me. The reasons is because little amounts of people don't use digital. Government propagates the people, and poor people got free converter box. So, there's no need for stop the programming then do something like US nightlight station did. (Plus, no memories idents or anything played either) For VTV, since the station is nationwide (plus analog end in 4 stage) that means this station can't be like US nightlight ends. Local TV (not broadcast in 24/24) do have memories ends too, but that's because it is almost the same how it ends when it's 1990s/2000s and the analog feed (almost) look the same of digital feed, only difference is how it broadcast. That's why. But even though they don't add any memories, they are still miss it and even post about it. If you want to see how analog end on Vietnam look like, here is the video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-6sA0j5B54BE.html

Of all the analog signoffs I've seen here, this is certainly the most dramatic, and the most respectful. What would you expect out of NBC's flagship station? It's just a shame the NBC has become a victim of a series of bad decisions and was put in the place it is in today. But NBC is coming back! There was a lot of men and women who worked their' asses off in the 1910s-1940s so that the U.S. could be the first country on television, and their work won't be for naught!

Happy 15th anniversary to this random video that appeared on my recommendations.

RIP,WNBT-WRCA-WNBC Analog TV,1941-2009.

Out of all the analog shutdowns, this is the best one.

Thumbs up if this video made you cry.

The "N" on the testcard was the NBC logo between '76 to '79, so I'd say that's probably a late 70s testcard.

Watching this again today was a big mistake lol. I have things I need to do and instead I’m sobbing in the bathroom 😭

When I first saw this as a kid I thought the entire station had signed off for good but then I realized it was just the analog signal 😂

This logo looks amazing!

Even though It's now digital,I still like to watch on my old CRT set !

Ugh, why do I want to cry now! This was so sad and deep.

The NBC Chimes at the end hit way harder then it used too.

"I can't believe he didn't cry during Titanic! Do boys even have feelings?" Boys:

That's correct; I just checked the FCC's TV query database on the 1992 call sign change. WNBC-TV dropped the suffix officially on June 1, 1992.

i hope the australian tv stations do something like this when we turn our analog signals off in 2013, but the word goodbye is bloody creepy, i'd hate to be sleeping, then wake up and see "GOODBYE" before the TV signal dies

NOOOO MY FAVORITE TV NETWORK

This would scare me if this played in the middle of the night. It truly looks like something that would be played at the end of the world.

there's something weirdly beautiful about this

I miss analog tv too. My late aunt had a box with a dial next to the tv that you would turn and a motor on the roof would turn the antenna. This was to receive a German station which would never be fully clear always snowy but was for watching schlagerparade and naughty movies on ZDF 2 this was in Belgium BTW

That was just for the analog signal, I thought.

What a great way to move from analog to digital 😭

@SailorCallie Not to mention that NBC News theme was also the final one the old NBC Radio newscasts used, from 1981 until eventual owner Westwood One killed off the original service in 2003.

At the end of the montage, there's the NBC Snake ident.

...and all the transmitter's meter needles fall to the left, never to awaken again...

@BrokenHedgehog I agree...That goodbye at the end was like bidding farewell to a relationship.

That was interesting. I understand the DTV sentiment here. I have 2 TVs not on cable and they could get all the networks before DTV with rabbit ears and now it's a struggle to get reception on them because you either get it or you don't, there's no in between. In many areas, you almost have to have cable/satellite now to get TV now. Makes me wonder if DTV was such a good idea.

To correct some typos in my post, WCBS-AM is 880 on the dial, and channel 2's suffix is WCBS-TV. But I live in L.A., so what do I know (LOL)... :)

This feels like a fever dream

I wish I could have seen my local station sign-offs, but I was still mad with the converter boxes. We have an SDTV with a digital receiver built-in, so I could see how our other TVs would look after hooking them up, and I wasn't happy. You watch a widescreen channel airing a full screen program, you get both the letter box AND sidebars! The monitor isn't all that big to begin with, so what I saw was a waste of precious screen, and I don't think those TVs have any zoom in, like newer TVs do.

When networks started digital broadcasting in the mid 90s they had the ability to multiplex the station feed into several channels, which they still use to this day. I remember when ABC had a channel called Accuweather Now or something like that, and they replaced it with LiveWell SD and HD which reduced the HD quality of the ABC Feed by half. The downside of some standard def channels on digital cable on analog tv is that the broadcast channels that don't use the AFD for SD get the sides cut off for 4:3 images. This as the majority of tv sales are HDTV.

@KyleFN New York's NBC station (Ch.4). NBC started there. It's the oldest TV station around.

This gives me Nightmares.

Was that the equivalent of NBC's life flashing before its eyes?

Long Live the NBC Peacock! 🙏

y'know, the nbc snake logo was pretty smoothly animated. I wonder if it was made by computer (I doubt, but I still wonder) or if it were made by hand.

That goodbye thing at the end was creepy

AM radio stations don't use a suffix officially. We use it to differentiate them from other stations using the same call sign. It has more to do with the heritage of the AM band more than anything else. So, officially, it's WCBS [(AM) or (Radio)] , WCBS-FM, and WCBS-TV in New York.

Goodbye, W2XBS....

Much better than most stations that just cut off the signal with little to no fanfare (WRGB to name one, which kinda was disappointing because it's historically important for TV)

@KyleFN This was during the switchover. I guess their way of saying "we've come a long way". Other stations used the national anthem (ala Poltergeist) since that was the way the stations signed off before they started airing 24/7.