CUNY TV Station Turns Over an Old Leaf, Transmitting by Air to Widen Its Reach

The rest of the television industry may be worrying about competition from streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. But the City University of New York’s television operation has started broadcasting the old-fashioned way — over the air.

That is the way most viewers got their television signals before cable and the Internet came along, starting in the days when television was still something of a novelty and programs like “The Honeymooners” and “Your Show of Shows” were hits. But now, in the wired and wireless world of the 21st century, broadcasting over the air has expanded the reach of CUNY TV beyond the five boroughs, where CUNY TV has had a steady, modest presence on cable systems since the 1980s. Its fans say it is public television without the pledge drives.