TV channels & antenna towers in Brightwood, Virginia

Brightwood is a small community of about 1,000 people in Virginia. There are 36 licensed TV transmitters within 70 miles: 15 full-power, 9 Class A, 5 low-power and 7 translators. Based on each transmitter's power, antenna height and distance, 12 are likely to arrive at fair strength or better, and 5 at good or strong strength.

1 of them is within 25 miles of Brightwood, 11 sit 25 to 45 miles away and 24 are more than 45 miles out. Five of the 16 network stations in range are licensed to Washington, DC, so most of the network channels you will find here come from Washington's stations.

For the networks, the best local options are ABC on channel 3 (WHSV-TV), NBC on channel 4 (WRC-TV), Fox on channel 27.2 (WCAV), CW on channel 50 (WDCW), ION on channel 66 (WPXW-TV), Telemundo on channel 44 (WZDC-CD), Univision on channel 14 (WFDC-DT) and MeTV on channel 48.1 (WDME-CD). No CBS affiliate is listed within 70 miles; the nearest one in our data is WUSA in Washington, DC, 70 miles to the northeast. Spanish-language viewers can pick up Telemundo (very weak signal) and Univision (very weak signal). 5 full-power stations in range have no network listed in our data; these are typically public television, religious, shopping or independent stations.

The main network towers around Brightwood are in different directions: ABC 254° WSW (63 mi), NBC 59° ENE (70 mi) and Fox 207° SSW (34 mi). Aim at the farthest one you want first, or use a multi-directional antenna.

Four network stations, WCAV, WVAW-LD, WVIR-CD and WVIR-TV, transmit from the same tower site about 34 miles southwest of Brightwood (207° SSW). That one direction covers every station on the site.

Of the 7 full-power and Class A network signals that reach Brightwood at fair strength or better, 57% arrive from the southwest; the rest are spread across two other directions.

WRC-TV (NBC) lies beyond the radio horizon of its transmitter as seen from Brightwood. Past that point signals fade quickly, so antenna height matters more than amplification.

The farthest main network tower for Brightwood is WRC-TV (NBC), 70 miles away with a very weak estimated signal. That is why we suggest an outdoor directional antenna here. Skip that station and you may get away with a smaller antenna.

At this distance a low-noise preamplifier mounted on the mast, right below the antenna, helps more than an amplifier near the TV. It boosts the signal before cable loss eats into it. See the amplifier guide.

With 12 stations at fair strength or better, Brightwood ranks 246th of 381 places in Virginia: fewer than the typical Virginia town (16). Its nearest major network tower is 31 miles away, against a state median of 21 miles.

31% of Virginia's cities and towns get the same recommendation: an outdoor directional antenna. The nearest larger city is Charlottesville, 31 miles away.