WGBY-TV

Last updated

WGBY-TV
City Springfield, Massachusetts
Channels
BrandingNew England Public Media
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner WGBH Educational Foundation
Operator New England Public Media via program service agreement
Radio: WFCR
History
First air date
September 26, 1971(53 years ago) (1971-09-26)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 57 (UHF, 1971–2008)
  • Digital: 58 (UHF, 2000–2009), 22 (UHF, 2009–2019)
Call sign meaning
 Great Blue Yonder (referring to WGBH's transmitter and distance from mother station; all WGBH television stations include these two letters)
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 72096
ERP 63 kW
HAAT 303.2 m (995 ft)
Transmitter coordinates 42°14′29.5″N72°38′54.1″W / 42.241528°N 72.648361°W / 42.241528; -72.648361
Links
Public license information
Website nepm.org

WGBY-TV (channel 57) is a PBS member television station in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. Owned by the Boston-based WGBH Educational Foundation, it is a sister station to that organization's flagship and namesake, WGBH-TV, channel 2 (however, WGBY-TV brands as a separate, locally focused PBS outlet). WGBY-TV is operated by New England Public Media under a program service agreement with the WGBH Educational Foundation; NEPM also operates Amherst-licensed NPR member WFCR (88.5 FM) under a separate program service agreement with the University of Massachusetts. The two stations share studios in the Irene Mennen Hunter Public Media Center on Hampden Street alongside I-91 in downtown Springfield (named for the heiress to the Mennen personal care fortune and former WGBY-TV board member). WGBY-TV's transmitter is located on the peak of Mount Tom in Holyoke with the area's commercial television stations. WGBY-TV is also available on Comcast Xfinity channel 2 in Windham County, Vermont (alongside Vermont Public).

Contents

History

The station first signed on the air on September 26, 1971, as a PBS member station. [2] Prior to the station's sign-on (and for the network's first year of existence), viewers in Western Massachusetts could watch PBS programming over the air on outskirt public television stations, including WGBH-TV to the east, WMHT from Albany from the west, or WEDH from Hartford (the latter remains available on most cable providers in the Springfield market). In October 2006, WGBY became the first television station in New England to produce all of its local programming content in high definition. Some Spanish-language programming is also broadcast for Springfield's Hispanic and Latino community.

Unlike its Boston counterpart, WGBY had no affiliation with an NPR member station in the area previously; the area has been served by the Five College Consortium's WFCR and WNNZ/WAIC, collectively known as New England Public Radio. The WGBH Educational Foundation held the license of WFCR from 1961 until its transfer to the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1967, four years before WGBY-TV began operations.

On April 11, 2019, WGBY and WFCR announced that they would consolidate operations under the New England Public Media banner, effective in July; the WGBH Educational Foundation will retain the WGBY-TV license, with NEPM operating the station under a program service operating agreement. [3] [4] All of the various NEPR stations and WGBY will continue to have their licenses and facilities owned by their individual organizations and schools. In July 2020, WGBY officially rebranded as a part of New England Public Media, rather than being a part of WGBH's overall September 1, 2020, rebranding of their Boston operations to remove the "W" as branding for their radio and television stations.

Programming

WGBY features several locally produced programs, including the daily program Connecting Point, which has local features and roundtables involving aspects of Pioneer Valley arts, issues, economic, criminal, and educational issues. The Friday edition of the series is entitled The State We're In and deals with local and Commonwealth political issues, along with debate programming in election years.

As Schools Match Wits is a long-running local quiz bowl program which originated on WWLP in 1961, and moved to WGBY in 2007 under license from WWLP due to costs associated with newly enacted FCC regulations involving closed captioning. The program is co-produced with Westfield State University.

Finally, Presencia is a weekly bilingual program which spotlights the region's Hispanic-American community, and uses captioning, dubbing, and subtitling to allow both Spanish and English-speaking viewers to equally watch the program. [5]

Technical information

Subchannels

The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of WGBY-TV [6]
Channel Res. Aspect Short nameProgramming
57.1 1080i 16:9 WGBYDT1 PBS
57.2 480i 4:3 WGBYDT2 NEPM World
57.3WGBYDT3 NEPM Kids
57.4WGBYDT4 NEPM Create

Analog-to-digital conversion

On August 4, 2008, WGBY filed a request with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to discontinue regular programming on its analog signal, over UHF channel 57, on November 5, 2008—some three months prior to the original mandated analog shut-off date. The petition cited the need to replace the current analog antenna with the post transition digital 22 antenna. [7] WGBY also filed for an STA to operate at 50% analog power prior to the early shut down date due to equipment failure [8] Although it had an assigned digital channel that it would move to post-transition that differed from its original digital channel, WGBY continued to broadcast its digital signal on its pre-transition allocation (UHF channel 58). On April 27, 2009, the station's digital signal later moved to UHF channel 22, [9] using virtual channel 57.

As a result of the FCC's 2016 spectrum auction, the WGBH Educational Foundation accepted a $57 million offer to moved WGBY-TV to the VHF spectrum on July 22, 2019, on channel 13, along with WGBH-TV for $161.7 million. [10]

On January 16, 2017, the station launched the newest iteration of the PBS Kids Channel on their third subchannel. [11]

Related Research Articles

Iowa PBS, formerly Iowa Public Television (IPTV), is a network of Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member stations in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is operated by the Iowa Public Broadcasting Board, an agency of the state education department which holds the licenses for all the PBS member stations in the state. Iowa PBS' headquarters are located at 6450 Corporate Drive in Johnston, Iowa, a suburb of Des Moines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WGBH-TV</span> PBS member station in Boston

WGBH-TV, branded GBH or GBH 2 since 2020, is the primary PBS member television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WGGB-TV</span> ABC/Fox affiliate in Springfield, Massachusetts

WGGB-TV is a television station in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, affiliated with ABC, Fox, and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power CBS affiliate WSHM-LD. The two stations share studios on Liberty Street in Springfield; WGGB-TV's transmitter is located on Mount Tom in Holyoke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alabama Public Television</span> PBS member network serving Alabama, United States

Alabama Public Television (APT) is a state network of PBS member television stations serving the U.S. state of Alabama. It is operated by the Alabama Educational Television Commission (AETC), an agency of the Alabama state government which holds the licenses for all of the PBS member stations licensed in the state. The broadcast signals of the nine stations cover almost all of the state, as well as parts of Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee. The network produces public affairs, cultural, natural history, and documentary programming; broadcast and online education programs for classroom use and teacher professional development; and electronic field trips serving K-12 students.

KHET, branded PBS Hawai'i, is a PBS member television station in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, serving the Hawaiian Islands. Owned by the Hawaii Public Television Foundation, the station maintains studios on Sand Island Access Road in Honolulu, and its main transmitter is located on Palehua Ridge, north of Makakilo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WMHT (TV)</span> PBS member station in Schenectady, New York

WMHT is a television station licensed to Schenectady, New York, United States, serving the Capital District as a member of PBS. It is owned by WMHT Educational Telecommunications alongside NPR member WMHT-FM (89.1). The two stations share studios in the Rensselaer Technology Park in North Greenbush ; the TV station's transmitter is located in the Helderberg Escarpment in New Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maryland Public Television</span> PBS member network serving Maryland, USA

Maryland Public Television (MPT) is the PBS member state network for the U.S. state of Maryland. It operates under the auspices of the Maryland Public Broadcasting Commission, an agency of the Maryland state government that holds the licenses for all PBS member stations licensed in the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WGBX-TV</span> PBS member station in Boston

WGBX-TV, branded GBH 44, is the secondary PBS member television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is owned by the WGBH Educational Foundation, alongside WGBH-TV, WFXZ-CD, and multiple public radio stations in Boston and on Cape Cod. WGBX-TV, WGBH-TV and the WGBH and WCRB radio stations share studios on Guest Street in northwest Boston's Brighton neighborhood; WGBX-TV's transmitter is located on Cedar Street in Needham, Massachusetts.

WFCR is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Amherst, Massachusetts. It serves as the National Public Radio (NPR) member station for Western Massachusetts, including Springfield. The station operates at 13,000 watts ERP from a transmitter on Mount Lincoln in Pelham, Massachusetts, 968 feet above average terrain. The University of Massachusetts Amherst holds the license. The station airs NPR news programs during the morning and afternoon drive times and in the early evening. Middays and overnights are devoted to classical music and jazz is heard during the later evening hours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWLP</span> NBC/CW affiliate in Springfield, Massachusetts

WWLP is a television station in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, affiliated with NBC. Its second digital subchannel serves as an owned-and-operated station of The CW. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, the station has studios at Broadcast Center in the Sandy Hill section of Chicopee at the northwest corner of the I-391/MA 116/Chicopee Street interchange, and its transmitter is located on Provin Mountain in the Feeding Hills section of Agawam.

WSIU-TV is a PBS member television station in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. It is owned by Southern Illinois University alongside NPR member WSIU. The two stations share studios on the university's campus in Carbondale; WSIU-TV's transmitter is located along US 51 near Tamaroa, Illinois.

New Hampshire PBS (NHPBS), known as New Hampshire Public Television (NHPTV) prior to October 1, 2017, is a PBS member network serving the U.S. state of New Hampshire. It is operated by New Hampshire Public Broadcasting (NHPB), a community-based organization which holds the licenses to all of the PBS member stations licensed in the state. Its studios are located just outside the University of New Hampshire campus in Durham.

WNEO is a non-commercial educational television station licensed to Alliance, Ohio, United States. It is simulcast full-time over satellite station WEAO in Akron, Ohio. Both are member stations of PBS and jointly brand as PBS Western Reserve. WNEO is the Youngstown market's PBS station of record, while WEAO provides the Cleveland market with a second choice for PBS programming alongside the market's primary PBS station, WVIZ.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WSHM-LD</span> CBS affiliate in Springfield, Massachusetts

WSHM-LD is a low-power television station in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Gray Television alongside ABC/Fox/MyNetworkTV affiliate WGGB-TV. The two stations share studios on Liberty Street in Springfield; WSHM-LD's transmitter is located on Mount Tom in Holyoke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WSBE-TV</span> PBS member station in Providence, Rhode Island

WSBE-TV is a PBS member television station licensed to Providence, Rhode Island, United States, serving the entire state as well as Southeastern Massachusetts. The station is owned by the Rhode Island PBS Foundation, a non-profit organization. WSBE-TV's studios are located on Park Lane in Providence, and its transmitter is located on Pine Street in Rehoboth, Massachusetts.

WSEC is a PBS member television station licensed to Jacksonville, Illinois, United States. Owned by Southern Illinois University, it is a sister station to WSIU-TV in Carbondale. WSEC's transmitter is located south of Franklin, Illinois; master control and most internal operations are based on the SIU campus in Carbondale.

Nebraska Public Media, formerly Nebraska Educational Telecommunications (NET), is a state network of public radio and television stations in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is operated by the Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission (NETC). The television stations are all members of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), while the radio stations are members of National Public Radio (NPR).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connecticut Public Television</span> PBS member network

Connecticut Public Television (CPTV) is the PBS member network for the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is owned by Connecticut Public Broadcasting, a community-based non-profit organization that holds the licenses for all PBS member stations licensed in the state, and also owns the state's NPR member, Connecticut Public Radio (WNPR). Together, the television and radio stations make up the Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network (CPBN). CPBN is the state's only locally owned media organization producing TV, radio, print and Internet content for distribution across the state. As of 2019, Mark Contreras was announced as the new President / CEO. The organizational structure of CPTV also includes a Board of Trustees. The network co-produced the long-running children's television series, Barney & Friends until the show were transferred to WNET.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WGBH Educational Foundation</span> Public broadcasting organization in Boston

The WGBH Educational Foundation, doing business as GBH since August 2020, is an American public broadcasting group based in Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1951, it holds the licenses to all of the PBS member stations in Massachusetts, and operates its flagship station WGBH-TV, sister station WGBX-TV, and a group of NPR member stations in the state. It also owns WGBY-TV in Springfield, which is operated by New England Public Media under a program service agreement.

New England Public Media is a non-profit organization that operates the public broadcasting outlets in Western Massachusetts, including the Springfield area. It operates the region's NPR member, Amherst-licensed WFCR and its associated satellites, and the region's PBS member, Springfield-licensed WGBY-TV.

References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WGBY-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ FCC History Cards for WGBY-TV. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ↑ Kinney, Jim (April 11, 2019). "New England Public Radio, WGBY-TV in Springfield to merge; boosting local news coverage". masslive.com . Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  4. ↑ Falk, Tyler (April 11, 2019). "New England Public Radio and WGBY to combine operations". Current . Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  5. ↑ Sefton, Dru; Editor, Senior (April 14, 2016). "Bilingual magazine show premieres this week on Massachusetts' WGBY". Current. Retrieved February 26, 2019.{{cite web}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  6. ↑ "RabbitEars TV Query for WGBY". RabbitEars.info . Retrieved November 27, 2024.
  7. ↑ "CDBS Print".
  8. ↑ "CDBS Print".
  9. ↑ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds" (PDF). Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  10. ↑ "FCC Broadcast Television Spectrum Incentive Auction Auction 1001 Winning Bids" (PDF). April 13, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  11. ↑ Kelly, Ray (January 13, 2017). "WGBY-TV, Channel 57, making PBS Kids a 24/7 offering". The Republican. MassLive Media. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.