subchannel

English

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *upó

Proto-Italic *supo

Latin sub

Latin sub-der.

English sub-

English channel

English subchannel

From sub- + channel.

subchannel (plural subchannels)

(radio) A distinct division of a channel or frequency band.
(television) An additional frequency owned by a television broadcaster used for less lucrative content.
- 2020, Michael R. Miller, My TV for Seniors:
  […] TV shows you watched when you were younger, you'll likely find them on the subchannels of your local TV stations — which are available free to anyone with a TV set and a good antenna.
- 2001, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Energy and Commerce. Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, Digital Television: A Private Sector Perspective on the Transition: Hearing..., page 98:
  It may well be that our viewers are going to say, "You know what? We don't care as much about 10801. We would rather have you rerun 'CBS News' on a subchannel and show your prime time entertainment in a lesser definition of digital television" […]
(computing) A distinct part of an I/O channel associated with a specific device.