As part of the digital TV transition, on June 12, 2009, WAZE turned off its full-power analog signal on channel 19. The station's digital signal on channel 20 operated under special temporary authority (STA) at only 1,110 watts (equivalent to a low-power analog station). The signal was so weak that it was barely viewable more than from the transmitter near Hanson. As a result, it did not even reach Evansville itself, and was barely watchable in the market's second-largest city, Owensboro. By 2010, "Evansville Courier & Press" media columnist and Owensboro resident Jacob Newkirk reported that the station's digital signal had deteriorated to the point of unacceptability; the video often froze, skipped and shook. The picture from the translators was only marginally better; it was rather snowy.