Tulsa television has hidden gems on low power stations

June 24, 8:50 PMTulsa Television ExaminerJon Holley

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Don Francisco (born Mario Kreutzberger) host of
Sábado Gigante (AP Photo/Alan Diaz, file)

Most people in the United States have never seen the highest rated television show in the world. This show has been a trendsetter for over 40 years and most Americans do not know that it exists. It is called Sábado Gigante ("Giant Saturday"). And it is available over the air for free in Tulsa, Oklahoma on analog channel 25 KUTU-CA which carries the Univision network. It is a cross between a variety show and a game show with celebrity interviews.

It takes some work for citizens of Tulsa without cable to see it but it is well worth it.

First of all it is in Spanish, but it is a visually orientated show and can be easily followed by non Spanish speakers.

Secondly it is broadcast in analog format whose tuners will be quickly disappearing with the transition to digital TV. Since the transition to DTV, most people have abandoned analog signals and have gotten a digital TV or a digital to analog converter (DAC) set top box. With a DAC, in order to receive both analog and digital signals, A user can take a splitter from the antenna feed and send one signal into the DAC. Then use a switch with the output going into the TV and one input consisting of the output of the DAC and the other input coming directly from the splitter. With Some DAC set top boxes this is unnecessary because they have pass through capabilities which means that the setting can be changed at the menu to allow analog signals to pass through. Newer digital TVs have the ability to switch back and forth from digital to analog from the setup menu but given the lobbying power of the broadcast, cell phone,  and electronics industries, analog tuners will surely be dropped as a requirement.

Thirdly but most important Sábado Gigante is broadcast in Tulsa on a low power station.  So it is available in only a small portion of the Tulsa viewing area. A signal booster can be used but make sure it can boost UHF signals as well as VHF. Also it is likely that VHF/UHF signal boosters will no longer be manufactured so buy one now while supplies last. 

A signal booster is a good investment because channel 25 isn't the only low power analog station in the Tulsa area. Throughout the years low power TV stations pop up from time to time offering a wide variety of viewing choices. A local plumbing supply company once created a station that offered Southeastern Conference football games that were not available anywhere else is Tulsa. For a short time another station for some reason offered Brigham Young University sporting events. During the infancy of the internet a third offered a TV show called NetTalkLive and it was interesting watching the show move from what looked like a basement with no budget to a sleek studio and being sponsored by companies like Microsoft. Before channel 25 changed to Univision it had been MTV2 which showed music videos by request. A viewer could call a 900 number and for a fee, MTV2 would broadcast the requested music video. This was at a time when MTV stopped largely showing music videos, so the only outlet to see music videos in the Tulsa area was on low power channel 25. Music videos, sporting events, and internet help shows are just some of the offerings that pop up from time to time on Tulsa's largely hidden television stations including one of the biggest shows in the world: Sábado Gigante.