WBTS-LD

Last updated

WBTS-LD
WBTS-LD NBC 10 Boston logo.png
Boston, Massachusetts
United States
City Boston, Massachusetts
(to change to Providence, Rhode Island [1] )
BrandingNBC 10 Boston (general)
NBC 10 Boston News(newscasts)
SloganBoston's Ten
Channels Digital: 46 (UHF)
(to move to 36 [UHF])
Virtual: 8 (PSIP)
Translators WYCN-CD 15 (32 UHF) Nashua, NH
(shared with WGBX-TV)
Affiliations 8.1: NBC ( O&O )
8.2: Telemundo
8.3: Cozi TV
8.4: TeleXitos
Owner NBCUniversal
(Station Venture Operations, LP)
First air dateApril 3, 1995(24 years ago) (1995-04-03)
Call letters' meaning Boston Television Station
Sister station(s) WYCN-CD, WNEU, NECN, NBC Sports Boston
Former callsigns
  • W32AY (1995–2002)
  • WTMU-LP (2002–2016)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog:
  • 32 (UHF, 1995–2004)
  • 67 (UHF, 2004–2010)
  • 46 (UHF, 2010–2016)
Former affiliations
Transmitter power 11.2 kW
15 kW (CP) [1]
Height 235.3 m (772 ft)
42.4 m (139 ft) (CP) [1]
Facility ID 64996
Transmitter coordinates 42°18′37″N71°14′12″W / 42.31028°N 71.23667°W / 42.31028; -71.23667 (WBTS-LD) Coordinates: 42°18′37″N71°14′12″W / 42.31028°N 71.23667°W / 42.31028; -71.23667 (WBTS-LD)
41°59′49″N71°9′14″W / 41.99694°N 71.15389°W / 41.99694; -71.15389 (CP) [1]
Licensing authority FCC
Public license information Profile
CDBS
Website www.nbcboston.com

WBTS-LD, virtual channel 8 (UHF digital channel 46), is a low-powered NBC owned-and-operated television station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Owned by the NBC Owned Television Stations (NBCOTS) subsidiary of NBCUniversal (itself a subsidiary of Comcast), it is sister to Merrimack, New Hampshire-licensed Telemundo owned-and-operated station WNEU (channel 60). The two stations share studios with co-owned regional cable news channel New England Cable News (NECN) on Wells Avenue in Newton; WBTS-LD's transmitter is located in Needham.

In most telecommunications organizations, a virtual channel is a method of remapping the program number as used in H.222 Program Association Tables and Program Mapping Tables to a channel number that can be entered via digits on a receiver's remote control. A "virtual channel" was first used for DigiCipher 2 in North America and then later used and referred to as a logical channel number (LCN) for private European Digital Video Broadcasting extensions widely used by the NDS Group and NorDig in other markets.

Ultra high frequency The range 300-3000 MHz of the electromagnetic spectrum

Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter. Radio waves with frequencies above the UHF band fall into the super-high frequency (SHF) or microwave frequency range. Lower frequency signals fall into the VHF or lower bands. UHF radio waves propagate mainly by line of sight; they are blocked by hills and large buildings although the transmission through building walls is strong enough for indoor reception. They are used for television broadcasting, cell phones, satellite communication including GPS, personal radio services including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, walkie-talkies, cordless phones, and numerous other applications.

Digital terrestrial television is a technology for terrestrial television in which land-based (terrestrial) television stations broadcast television content by radio waves to televisions in consumers' residences in a digital format. DTTV is a major technological advance over the previous analog television, and has largely replaced analog which had been in common use since the middle of the 20th century. Test broadcasts began in 1998 with the changeover to DTTV beginning in 2006 and is now complete in many countries. The advantages of digital terrestrial television are similar to those obtained by digitising platforms such as cable TV, satellite, and telecommunications: more efficient use of limited radio spectrum bandwidth, provision of more television channels than analog, better quality images, and potentially lower operating costs for broadcasters.

Contents

The station was founded in 1995 as W32AY by the Spanish-language television network Telemundo (which was then under separate ownership). Later, as WTMU-LP, it carried that network as a translator of WNEU, whose signal did not reach the entire city of Boston.

Spanish language in the United States Dialect of Spanish written and spoken in the United States

The United States of America has 41 million people aged five or older that speak Spanish at home, making Spanish the second most spoken language of the United States by far. Spanish is the most studied foreign language in the United States, with about six million students. With over 50 million native speakers, heritage language speakers and second language speakers, the United States now has the second largest Spanish-speaking population in the world after Mexico, although it is not an official language of the country. About half of all American Spanish speakers also assessed themselves as speaking English "very well" in the 2000 U.S. Census. This percentage increased to 57% in the 2013-2017 American Community Survey. The United States is among the Spanish-speaking countries that has its own Academy of the Spanish Language.

On January 7, 2016, NBCOTS President Valari Staab confirmed that NBC had declined to renew its affiliation with Boston-based WHDH (channel 7), and that it planned to launch an owned-and-operated outlet to be known as NBC Boston on January 1, 2017. At the time, NBC did not announce which station(s) would be used to carry the new service over-the-air, and WHDH's owner Sunbeam Television sued NBCUniversal under the presumption that it planned to only use WNEU, contending that doing so would have considerably reduced the ability of viewers to receive the network over the air in Boston, thus bolstering the cable services provided by NBC's parent company Comcast in the area.

WHDH (TV) Independent TV station in Boston

WHDH, virtual channel 7, is an independent television station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The station is owned by Sunbeam Television, as part of a duopoly with Cambridge-licensed CW affiliate WLVI. The two stations share studios at Bulfinch Place in downtown Boston and transmitter facilities in Newton, Massachusetts.

New Years Day Holiday

New Year's Day, also simply called New Year or New Year's, is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar.

Sunbeam Television American television broadcast company

Sunbeam Television Corporation is a privately held broadcasting company based in Miami, Florida that owns three television stations in the United States.

On August 31, 2016, NBCUniversal filed to acquire the low-power station from its owner ZGS Communications. The following month, ZGS filed a request to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to upgrade the station to a digital signal. NBC later announced that the station, renamed WBTS-LD, would serve as the main station of the NBC Boston service as part of a simulcast with WNEU-DT2 (virtual channel 60.2). Until April 1, 2018, NBC also leased a subchannel of WMFP (virtual channel 60.5) in Lawrence, Massachusetts to provide an alternate full-power signal for viewers in the Boston area. On January 18, 2018, it started an additional transmission service in the Boston area through a channel sharing agreement with PBS member station WGBX-TV (channel 44), under the license of WYCN-CD.

ZGS Communications American television and radio broadcast company

ZGS Communications, also referred to as the ZGS Group or ZGS Broadcasting, was a television and radio station operator in the United States, based in Arlington, Virginia. The company operated 11 stations: 10 television stations and one radio station. All of their television stations and one radio station broadcast in Spanish.

Federal Communications Commission

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government created by statute to regulate interstate communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable. The FCC maintains jurisdiction over the areas of broadband access, fair competition, radio frequency use, media responsibility, public safety, and homeland security.

WMFP SonLife affiliate in Foxborough, Massachusetts

WMFP, virtual channel 62, is a Sonlife Broadcasting Network-affiliated television station serving Boston, Massachusetts, United States that is licensed to Foxborough. The station is owned by NRJ TV, LLC. WMFP's studios are located on Lakeland Park Drive in Peabody, and its transmitter is located off Pleasant Street in West Bridgewater. The station is available on Atlantic Broadband and Comcast Xfinity channel 20, Verizon FiOS channel 23, Charter Spectrum channel 25, and DirecTV and Dish Network channel 62.

WBTS-LD is carried on channel 10 by most local cable television providers; [2] [3] hence the station's on-air branding (since 2018) as NBC 10 Boston.

Cable television Television content transmitted via signals on coaxial cable

Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fiber-optic cables. This contrasts with broadcast television, in which the television signal is transmitted over the air by radio waves and received by a television antenna attached to the television; or satellite television, in which the television signal is transmitted by a communications satellite orbiting the Earth and received by a satellite dish on the roof. FM radio programming, high-speed Internet, telephone services, and similar non-television services may also be provided through these cables. Analog television was standard in the 20th century, but since the 2000s, cable systems have been upgraded to digital cable operation.

History

Early years

The station first signed on the air in April 1995 as W32AY, operating on UHF channel 32 [4] from the Prudential Tower in Boston as a Telemundo owned-and-operated station. [5] In September 2000, the station began to simulcast its programming on WWDP (channel 46), giving it a chance to better compete with Univision affiliate WUNI (channel 27), the established Spanish-language station in the area. [6] [7] Telemundo sold W32AY to ZGS Communications in 2001. [8] In February 2002, W32AY changed its call letters to WTMU-LP, and on July 1, WWDP discontinued its relay of the station's programming. [6] [7]

Prudential Tower architectural structure

The Prudential Tower, also known as the Prudential Building or, colloquially, The Pru, is an International Style skyscraper in Boston, Massachusetts. The building, a part of the Prudential Center complex, currently stands as the 2nd-tallest building in Boston, behind 200 Clarendon Street, formerly the John Hancock Tower. The Prudential Tower was designed by Charles Luckman and Associates for Prudential Insurance. Completed in 1964, the building is 749 feet (228 m) tall, with 52 floors, and is tied with others as the 96th-tallest in the United States. It contains 1,200,000 sq ft (110,000 m2) of commercial and retail space. Including its radio mast, the tower stands as the tallest building in Boston, rising to 907 feet (276 m) in height.

WWDP, virtual channel 46, is a dual Shop LC/ShopHQ-affiliated television station serving Boston, Massachusetts, United States that is licensed to Norwell. The station is owned by WRNN-TV Associates. WWDP maintains studios on Bert Drive, and its transmitter is located off Pleasant Street, both in West Bridgewater.

Univision US-based Spanish-language TV channel

Univision is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network that is owned by Univision Communications. It is the country's largest provider of Spanish-language content, followed by American competitor Telemundo. The network's programming is aimed at Hispanic Americans and includes telenovelas and other drama series, sports, sitcoms, reality and variety series, news programming, and imported Spanish-language feature films. Univision is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and has its major studios, production facilities, and business operations based in Doral, Florida.

In December 2002, NBC (which had acquired Telemundo in 2001) purchased WPXB (channel 60, now WNEU); [9] WNEU began to carry Telemundo programming as a satellite of WTMU in April 2003. [10]

WTMU went off-the-air in 2004, as the channel 32 allocation had been assigned to WBPX for its digital signal, [11] and the station's attempt to move to channel 67 was hindered by interference from WBPX's analog signal on channel 68. [12] WTMU resumed broadcasting operations in December 2006; it reduced its effective radiated power and relocated its transmitter to a tower in Medford to alleviate the interference. [12]

Although low-power stations were exempt from the 2009 analog shutdown that full-service stations were subject to, WTMU initiated plans for a digital signal on October 27, 2006 by applying for a construction permit for a digital companion channel on VHF channel 3. [13] On August 28, 2008, WTMU changed its plans and applied to flash-cut to channel 42, which was to have become available after WHDH moved its digital signal to VHF channel 7; [14] the original application was dismissed by the FCC on March 27, 2009, [15] but a new application was filed on May 21. [16] A move was necessary, as the spectrum that channel 67 is located within had been auctioned off and was being removed from the television bandplan as a result of the transition. [16]

Before WTMU's application could be approved, WHDH requested to return its digital signal to channel 42, leading WTMU to withdraw its application for the channel on August 24 and filing instead to move to channel 46; [17] the FCC dismissed the channel 42 application on August 26, 2009, [18] at the same time also canceling the construction permit for the previously-proposed digital companion channel. [13] In the meantime, WTMU was unable to get a digital signal on the air before being forced to terminate the analog signal on April 9, 2010, resulting in the station suspending operations. [19] To avoid losing its license due to not broadcasting for a year, WTMU resumed broadcasting on April 4, 2011, using its existing analog facilities but operating on channel 46 under special temporary authority (STA). [20] [21] It again suspended operations on April 9, but returned to the air on March 14, 2012. [22]

Sale and switch to NBC

On August 31, 2015, Broadcasting & Cable reported that NBCUniversal was considering the possibility of purchasing former NBC affiliate WHDH, whose affiliation was set to expire at the end of 2016. [23] On October 1, 2015, The Boston Globe reported that NBC had considered moving the affiliation to its cable channel NECN rather than to an over-the-air channel, although the company declined to comment. [24] On December 15, 2015, New England One reported, citing internal sources, that NBCUniversal had declined to renew its affiliation with WHDH, and was in the process of preparing WTMU-LP's parent station, WNEU, to become an NBC O&O by hiring staff for an English-language news operation, including former WHDH meteorologist Pete Bouchard. [25] [26] The Boston Herald reported two days later that the station would prospectively be branded as "NBC Boston", and that WNEU's existing Telemundo programming could be moved to a different subchannel. Following the reports, Paul Magnes, WHDH's vice president and general manager, told the Herald that the station still expected its NBC affiliation to be renewed, while NBCUniversal again declined to comment. [25]

Sunbeam argued that WNEU's signal served 4 million fewer viewers than WHDH because it is located in Merrimack, New Hampshire, which is northwest of Boston, rather than in Boston proper. WNEU's signal only has overlap with the northwest portion of WHDH's signal. [27] [28] Sunbeam's owner, Ed Ansin, told the Globe that "No network has elected to give up such a strong station and go to a startup station," after having disclosed that he had rejected a $200 million offer to sell WHDH to NBC in September 2015, leading the network to threaten to shift its programming to WNEU; however, he still predicted that NBC would remain on channel 7. [29]

On January 7, 2016, Valari Staab, president of NBC Owned Television Stations, confirmed that NBC had declined to renew its affiliation with WHDH beyond the end of 2016, and would launch NBC Boston on January 1, 2017, Staab explained that with NBC's recent investments into the studio facilities of NECN and WNEU, "we have built a very strong news organization in the Boston market both from a personnel and facilities perspective—which puts us in a great position to launch an NBC-owned station locally." The station is led by NECN and Telemundo Boston's general manager Mike St. Peter. Staab did not outright confirm whether WNEU would carry NBC programming, but iterated that the network would remain available over-the-air following the transition, and that NBCUniversal was "committed to expanding our over-the-air coverage of the market and are currently looking at a variety of options to accomplish that". [30] [31] [32]

On March 10, 2016, Sunbeam Television sued Comcast in the District Court for the District of Massachusetts, arguing that moving NBC to WNEU would violate antitrust law by strengthening its near-monopoly position in the market, and FCC conditions on Comcast's acquisition of NBC, as the company had agreed not to reduce over-the-air coverage of NBC, nor use its cable holdings to influence affiliation negotiations. [28] [33] [34] On May 16, 2016, the lawsuit was thrown out, with the judge arguing that the possible loss of OTA coverage was "not a concern that WHDH has standing to redress", and that "absent any actionable harm attributable to Comcast, it is simply an indurate consequence of doing business in an competitive and unsentimental marketplace." [35]

On May 18, 2016, the Boston Herald reported that NBCUniversal was considering acquiring Ion Television station WBPX-TV (channel 68). The Ion Media Networks-owned station covers a similar coverage area to WHDH, lessening the impact of a potential switch. [36] On June 13, 2016, the Herald also suggested that NBC could purchase or trade for Fox affiliate WFXT (channel 25) to use as its O&O instead (which would cause WHDH to theoretically switch from NBC to Fox, the same affiliation as its Miami sister station), believing that Cox Media Group (which had received the station in a trade with Fox Television Stations for its San Francisco station KTVU) would be interested in divesting the station due to declines it has faced since the sale. WFXT's general manager, WHDH's general manager, and NBC denied that any of these ideas were being considered. [37]

On August 31, 2016, ZGS Communications agreed to sell WTMU-LP to NBCUniversal's Station Venture Operations subsidiary for $100,000. Concurrently, ZGS entered into a local programming and marketing agreement with another NBCUniversal subsidiary, WBTS Television, LLC, to operate WTMU-LP. [38] The sale was approved by the FCC on October 28, 2016 [39] and completed on November 4, 2016. [40] On September 14, 2016, ZGS filed for a license to cover WTMU's digital construction permit: that is, to upgrade the station to a digital signal; [41] the license was granted on September 21, 2016. [42] On September 19, 2016 (four days after the sale of WTMU was filed with the FCC), NBCUniversal announced that it was in the process of acquiring a Boston station to supplement WNEU's coverage, which it said would "factor into our plan" to create the NBC owned-and-operated station that would replace WHDH; [43] [44] the company did not confirm that the station was WTMU. [44] The station's call letters were changed to WBTS-LD on October 6, 2016, [45] and on October 25, 2016, the station received FCC approval to switch its PSIP virtual channel number from 46 to channel 8, allowing it over-the-air parity within Boston proper with other low-numbered stations. [46]

NBCUniversal would later purchase the entirety of ZGS for $75 million in April 2018, reuniting WBTS-LD with its fourteen sister stations (all of them Telemundo affiliates converted to network O&Os) after a year-long interregnum. [47]

Launch

The Countdown NBC Boston Logo used from November 10, 2016 to December 31, 2016 Bostoncountdown-logo-black.png
The Countdown NBC Boston Logo used from November 10, 2016 to December 31, 2016

On November 1, 2016, NBCUniversal officially announced that it would broadcast its new NBC Boston service across WBTS-LD and WNEU-DT2, and unveiled details surrounding the station's launch programming and news department. Mike St. Peter pointed out that although the two stations combined would not have the same over-the-air coverage as WHDH, 97% of viewers in the Boston market were pay television subscribers, and NBC would "continue to look for how we can improve over-the-air service". [48] [49] [2]

On November 10, 2016, WBTS-LD and WNEU-DT2 began to carry a transitional programming service branded as Countdown NBC Boston. The service was designed to promote the switch and assist viewers in locating NBC Boston's over-the-air channels, it featured NBC Boston's future syndicated programming, programs from Cozi TV, and newscasts simulcast from NECN. The NBC Boston website and social media outlets were also launched at this time. [49] On December 12, 2016, NBC announced that it would lease a digital subchannel on WMFP in Lawrence to further expand WBTS-LD's coverage in Greater Boston. [50] [51] The WMFP subchannel used WNEU's virtual channel 60, mapping to 60.5 in order to avert confusion with any of WMFP's other subchannels and help over-the-air viewers determine if WNEU-DT2 or WMFP-DT5 provided a better signal source for their home. The WMFP-DT5 simulcast was scaled to 720p (rather than being presented in NBC's native 1080i) resolution, likely due to WMFP having both bandwidth limitations and its transmission facilities not being upgraded yet to allow a multiplexed signal with two HD subchannels. [52] [3]

Logo used as NBC Boston NBC Boston logo.png
Logo used as NBC Boston

The change in affiliation officially took effect at 3:00 a.m. ET on January 1, 2017, making WBTS the third station in Boston to carry NBC after WBZ-TV (channel 4) and WHDH. As a final pre-launch promotion for the switch, WBTS broadcast coverage of Boston's First Night New Year's Eve festivities hosted by the station's lead news anchors Phil Lipof and Shannon Mulaire, which was also simulcast across NECN, WNEU, and CSN New England. Meanwhile, WHDH carried its final night of NBC prime time programming on December 31, 2016, including the network's national New Year's coverage. [3] [48] [2] [53]

Later developments

During 2017, the station referred to itself in most promotions as "NBC Boston Channel 10", citing its cable channel number in most of the market rather than its virtual channel 8 for WBTS-LD or virtual channel 60 for the simulcasts on WNEU or WMFP. On December 31, 2017, in conjunction with its First Night coverage, WBTS-LD introduced a new logo and brand designation as NBC 10 Boston, to indicate its position on most area cable TV providers, [54] although the nearby Providence, Rhode Island NBC affiliate WJAR, which has broadcast as channel 10 since 1953, also uses the brand designation "NBC 10".

WMFP sold its frequency rights as part of the FCC's 2017 spectrum auction; [55] in the auction, the station indicated that it would continue operations through a channel sharing agreement. [56] In August 2017, WMFP entered into a channel sharing agreement with WWDP, whose signal does not cover the entire market (and is marginal in Boston proper) due to its VHF channel, short transmitter tower height and location 25 miles (40 km) south of Boston. [57] [58]

On October 18, 2017, NBC agreed to purchase WYCN-CD, [59] a Nashua, New Hampshire-based Class A station that had also sold its frequency rights as part of the spectrum auction. [55] [60] Previous owner OTA Broadcasting then entered into a channel sharing agreement with the WGBH Educational Foundation to carry WYCN-CD's signal over WGBX-TV to serve as the full market simulcast for WBTS-LD once NBC acquired WYCN's license. [61] The sale of WYCN-CD to NBC was completed on January 18, 2018; [62] the station began channel sharing with WGBX the same day. The WMFP simulcast ended at exactly midnight on April 1, 2018; WMFP began channel sharing with WWDP on September 7. [63]

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP short name Programming [64] [65]
8.1 1080i 16:9 WBTS-LDMain WBTS-LD programming / NBC
8.2 TeleSimulcast of WNEU / Telemundo
8.3 480i Cozi Cozi TV
8.4 TeleXoSimulcast of WNEU-DT2 / TeleXitos

Repeaters

While WBTS-LD is technically considered the main station and official NBC affiliate for the Boston–Manchester market, the signal of the low-powered WBTS-LD is simulcast on WYCN-CD (which for all intents and purposes is a full-power station transmitting via WGBX's spectrum, as stated above) to ensure adequate reception across eastern Massachusetts, southern and central New Hampshire and some adjacent areas. [53] [51]

Station City of license Channels
(VC / RF)
Subchannels
(Video / Aspect)
LicenseeFirst air date ERP HAAT Transmitter
coordinates
Facility ID Public license
information
WYCN-CD 2 Nashua, New Hampshire 15 (PSIP)
32 (UHF)
(shared with WGBX-TV)
15.1: NBC
(1080i 16:9)
15.2: Cozi TV
(480i 16:9)
NBC Telemundo License LLC 1988(31 years ago)922  kW 388.3 m (1,274 ft) 42°18′37″N71°14′12″W / 42.31028°N 71.23667°W / 42.31028; -71.23667 (WYCN-CD) 9766 Profile
CDBS

Until August 2019, WBTS-LD was relayed on WNEU's second digital subchannel to cover the northern portion of the market. The FCC considers WNEU as the parent license of WBTS-LD. [66]

Station City of license Channels
(VC / RF)
Subchannels
(Video / Aspect)
LicenseeFirst air date ERP HAAT Transmitter
coordinates
Facility ID Public license
information
WNEU 1 Merrimack, New Hampshire 60 (PSIP)
29 (UHF)
60.2: NBC
(1080i 16:9)
60.4: Cozi TV
(480i 16:9)
NBC Telemundo License LLCAugust 14, 1987(32 years ago)700 kW (STA) [67]
540 kW (CP)
318.2 m (1,044 ft)(STA) [67]
374 m (1,227 ft)(CP)
42°18′37″N71°14′12″W / 42.31028°N 71.23667°W / 42.31028; -71.23667 [67] 51864 Profile
CDBS

News operation

WBTS-LD broadcasts 43 hours, 55 minutes of locally produced newscasts each week (with 7 hours, 5 minutes each weekday, 3½ hours on Saturdays and five hours on Sundays); in addition, the station produces the half-hour lifestyle program The Hub Today, which airs weekday afternoons, and the weekly half-hour public affairs program This is New England, which airs Sunday mornings. [2] [48] It also utilizes a news helicopter (SkyRanger), a storm-chaser satellite truck (Weather Warrior), mobile weather radar vehicles (StormRanger), a consumer affairs unit (NBC 10 Boston Responds) and an investigative reporting unit (The Investigators). [2]

Notable current on-air staff

Canadian and out-of-market coverage

WBTS is one of several Boston television stations uplinked to provide U.S. network programming to television providers in Canada, particularly in Atlantic Canada. [68] On November 11, 2016, Canadian telecommunications company Bell Canada, which distributes Boston's broadcast network affiliates on its satellite, IPTV, and cable TV services in much of eastern Canada and via satellite uplink to other providers, filed a request with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to add WBTS' main feed to the CRTC's list of foreign television channels authorized for distribution in Canada, which was additionally supported by Rogers Cable for their systems in Atlantic Canada. [69] The request was approved by the CRTC on December 20, 2016; television providers who carried WHDH, including Bell, Eastlink, and Rogers among others, replaced the station with WBTS. [68]

See also

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KNSO, virtual channel 51, is a Telemundo owned-and-operated television station serving Fresno, California, United States that is licensed to Merced. The station is owned by the NBC Owned Television Stations subsidiary of NBCUniversal. KNSO's studios are located on River Park Place in northwest Fresno, and its transmitter is located near Meadow Lakes, California.

KTVH-DT NBC/CW affiliate in Helena, Montana

KTVH-DT, virtual and VHF digital channel 12, is an NBC affiliated television station licensed to Helena, Montana, United States. Owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, it is a sister station to low-powered CBS affiliate KXLH-LD. The two stations share studios on West Lyndale Avenue in Helena; KTVH's transmitter is located on Hogback Mountain.

WRTD-CD Telemundo TV station in Raleigh, North Carolina

WRTD-CD, virtual channel 54, is a Class A Telemundo owned-and-operated television station licensed to Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. The station is owned by the NBC Owned Television Stations subsidiary of NBCUniversal. WRTD-CD's transmitter is located near Auburn, North Carolina.

WZTD-LD Telemundo TV station in Richmond, Virginia

WZTD-LD, virtual and UHF digital channel 45, is a low-powered, Telemundo owned-and-operated television station licensed to Richmond, Virginia, United States. The station is owned by the NBC Owned Television Stations subsidiary of NBCUniversal, which is itself a subsidiary of Comcast. WZTD's transmitter is located in Bon Air, Virginia.

WBTS-CD NBC TV station in Nashua, New Hampshire

WBTS-CD, virtual channel 15, is a Class A television station serving Boston, Massachusetts, United States that is licensed to Nashua, New Hampshire. It is a satellite of Boston-licensed low-powered NBC owned-and-operated station WYCN-LD that is owned by the NBC Owned Television Stations subsidiary of NBCUniversal, and is also sister to Merrimack, New Hampshire-licensed Telemundo owned-and-operated station WNEU. WYCN and WNEU share studios with co-owned regional cable news channel New England Cable News (NECN) on Wells Avenue in Newton.

WCEA-LD independent Spanish-language television station in Boston

WCEA-LD, virtual channel 58, is a Spanish language low-power television station serving the Boston market. The station is owned by C&M Broadcasting Corporation. WCEA is co-owned with El Planeta, a local Spanish language newspaper.

NBC Owned Television Stations is the division of NBCUniversal Owned TV Stations (NBCUniversal), a subsidiary of Comcast that oversees their owned-and-operated television stations, Cozi TV network, LXTV and Skycastle Entertainment, its in-house marketing and promotion company.

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