WGVU-TV

Last updated

WGVU-TV
WGVU-TV logo.png
Channels
BrandingPBS WGVU Public Media
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner Grand Valley State University
History
First air date
December 17, 1972(51 years ago) (1972-12-17)
Former call signs
WGVC (1972–1987)
Former channel number(s)
Analog: 35 (UHF, 1972–2009)
Call sign meaning
Grand Valley State University
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID 24784
ERP 41.5 kW
HAAT 259.9 m (853 ft)
Transmitter coordinates 42°57′34.7″N85°53′44.9″W / 42.959639°N 85.895806°W / 42.959639; -85.895806
Links
Public license information
Website www.wgvu.org/television/
Satellite station
WGVK
Channels
Programming
Affiliations
History
First air date
October 1, 1984(39 years ago) (1984-10-01)
Former channel number(s)
Analog: 52 (UHF, 1984–2009)
Call sign meaning
"WGVU Kalamazoo"
Technical information [2]
Facility ID 24783
ERP 10 kW
HAAT 169 m (554 ft)
Transmitter coordinates 42°18′23.1″N85°39′25″W / 42.306417°N 85.65694°W / 42.306417; -85.65694 (WGVK)
Links
Public license information

WGVU-TV (channel 35) is a PBS member television station in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. It operates a full-time satellite station, WGVK (channel 52) in Kalamazoo. The two stations are owned by Grand Valley State University, and maintain studios in the Meijer Public Broadcast Center, located in the Eberhard Center on the GVSU Pew Campus in downtown Grand Rapids. WGVU's transmitter is located near the GVSU main campus in Allendale, while WGVK's transmitter is based in Kalamazoo's Westwood neighborhood.

Contents

History

The station signed on the air on December 17, 1972, as WGVC, owned by what was then Grand Valley State College. Channel 35 originally operated from the basement of Manitou Hall on GVSC's Allendale campus.

WGVC's signal was somewhat marginal in the southern portion of the vast West Michigan market (Kalamazoo and Battle Creek). It must conform its signal to protect fellow PBS member WNIT in South Bend, Indiana, on adjacent channel 34. In much of this area, WGVC could only be seen on cable. This was very similar to what the area's main ABC affiliate, WZZM-TV (channel 13), faced due to the presence of WTVG in Toledo, Ohio. To make up for this shortfall in coverage, Grand Valley State signed on WGVK as a satellite station in 1984. In 1986, the station relocated to its current studio facility at the Meijer Public Broadcast Center. The station's callsign was changed to WGVU-TV in 1987, when Grand Valley State was elevated to university status.

Programming

WGVU produces numerous local programs. It also carries national shows from PBS, American Public Television, and the National Educational Telecommunications Association. NPR and PRX programming heard on WGVU-FM is aired on the fifth digital subchannel's SAP channel.

Weekly

Specials

Documentaries

Notable documentaries produced by WGVU include LZ Michigan (A "Landing Zone" to Remember, Honor, and Celebrate our Community's Veterans and Their Families), Time and Chance: Gerald Ford's Appointment with History,Surviving Auschwitz: Children of the Shoah and Defying Hitler.

Technical information

Subchannels

The stations' digital signals are multiplexed:

Subchannels of WGVU-TV [3] and WGVK [4]
Channel Res. Aspect Short nameProgramming
WGVU-TVWGVKWGVU-TVWGVK
35.152.1 1080i 16:9 WGVUPBSWGVKPBSMain programming / PBS
35.252.2 720p PBSKIDSPBSKids PBS Kids
35.352.3 480i LIFELifePBS Encore
35.452.4World World
35.552.5WGVUMLCWGVKMLCMichigan Learning Channel
35.652.6GuideSchedule and WGVU-FM

WGVU/WGVK's main channel offers programming in 1080i high definition; standard definition programs are shown with pillarboxing. WGVU/WGVK's sixth subchannel offers a scrolling still screen featuring schedule information for the station's five other subchannels, along with background audio and NPR news updates. WGVU-FM is available through the SAP channel on the DT1 channel outside programs carrying Descriptive Video Service audio.

Analog-to-digital conversion

Both stations shut down their analog signals respectively, on June 12, 2009, as part of the federally mandated transition from analog to digital television: [5]

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References

  1. "Facility Technical Data for WGVU-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. "Facility Technical Data for WGVK". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. RabbitEars TV Query for WGVU
  4. RabbitEars TV Query for WGVK
  5. List of Digital Full-Power Stations