KOAA Over the Air Signal Interrupted in Trinidad, Viewers Advised Alternatives

Residents of southern Las Animas County experienced an interruption to local television service when KOAA suffered a failure of a translator service that affected over the air reception in the Trinidad area on December 17, 2025. Station engineers moved to order repairs and issued guidance asking viewers dependent on antenna reception to use KOAA streaming services or the station app for newscasts while technicians worked to address the problem.

Translator facilities extend broadcast signals into valleys and other terrain shadow areas where direct reception from a primary transmitter is unreliable. In this instance the translator outage left households that rely solely on antennas without live over the air access to KOAA newscasts and programming. For viewers without reliable broadband or streaming capable devices, the interruption reduced immediate access to local reporting, weather updates, and community information on the day the issue occurred.

The station notification was posted to inform viewers of the limited reception and to point to alternate platforms. Streaming and app delivery provide continuity for many households, but they require internet service and compatible devices, a constraint for parts of Las Animas County where broadband access remains uneven. The disruption underscores the continued importance of multiple information channels for local residents especially during winter weather and other events that can produce rapidly changing conditions.

Local emergency managers and elected officials rely on broadcasters and other media outlets to reach residents. A translator outage highlights how infrastructure problems can create gaps in public information and emergency communication. Station repairs were ordered promptly, and residents were directed to digital alternatives while the technical work proceeded.

As the situation develops, those affected should monitor digital platforms for updates on service restoration, and county officials may consider reviewing communication redundancy for areas dependent on translator services. Restoring the translator will return over the air reception for antenna users, but the incident serves as a reminder of the practical limits of single channel reliance for vital local information.