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Channels | |
Branding | Telemundo Cleveland |
Programming | |
Affiliations | |
Ownership | |
Owner |
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WOIO, WUAB, WOHZ-CD | |
History | |
First air date | November 30, 1989 |
Former call signs |
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Former channel number(s) |
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Call sign meaning | "Telemundo Cleveland" |
Technical information [3] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 6699 |
Class | LD |
ERP | 15 kW |
HAAT | 306.8 m (1,007 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 41°22′45″N81°43′11″W / 41.37917°N 81.71972°W |
Links | |
Public license information | LMS |
Website | telemundocleveland |
WTCL-LD (channel 6) is a low-power television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, affiliated with Telemundo. It is owned by Gray Media alongside CBS affiliate WOIO (channel 19), CW affiliate WUAB (channel 43) and independent station WOHZ-CD (channel 22); WTCL and WOHZ also function as ultra high frequency (UHF) repeaters for WOIO. All four stations have studios at Reserve Square in downtown Cleveland; WTCL-LD's transmitter is located in suburban Parma. WTCL's visibility is extended to the southern part of the Cleveland market via repeaters WOHZ and W28FG-D in Akron; WOHZ is additionally relayed over WTCL.
Founded as a mostly obscure low-power station in the Cleveland area on UHF channels 47 and 65, this station moved to channel 6 in 2012 after several failed attempts to convert the station for digital broadcasting, enabling it to operate as WLFM-LP, a de facto radio station on 87.7 FM . After briefly carrying a hybrid modern rock/talk format, a lease to TSJ Media resulted in the installation of a Spanish language radio format as "La Mega 87.7", the first such format to operate on a full-time basis in the market. Increasing technical complications and limitations forced WLFM-LP to convert to digital in July 2020. A sale to Gray Television the following year saw the station relaunched as the market's first Telemundo affiliate.
This station signed on as a low-power station on channel 47 on November 30, 1989, [4] using the sequentially assigned W47BE call sign. [5] Moving to channel 65 (which had been previously reserved for commercial UHF broadcasts in the early 1950s which were never built [6] [7] ) on April 15, 1998, [8] the calls were changed to W65DL, then adopted the WXOX-LP calls on January 12, 2000. [5] In the final years as WXOX, the station was affiliated with the Home Shopping Network (HSN).
WXOX-LP filed paperwork requesting the station move to channel 44 and increase power to 120 kW, [9] but amended the request for digital conversion. [10] Federal Communications Commission (FCC) findings stated channel 44 would cause interference with adjacent WNEO, [11] prompting WXOX-LP to request broadcasting over a subchannel of WCDN-LP. [12] WXOX-LP was then forced off the air on October 27, 2009, when wireless carrier Verizon purchased the part of the wireless spectrum where the station had been broadcasting. [13] An attempt was made to convert WXOX to a low-power digital station on channel 31, [14] which WJW broadcast from prior to the June 12, 2009, analog shutoff date. Due to potential co-channel interference issues with CITY-DT-2 in Woodstock, Ontario, which also broadcast on RF channel 31, the application was abandoned.
In May 2011, the station's then-owner, Venture Technologies Group, filed a new FCC request to move the station to channel 6 analog, [15] leading to speculation that it could carry the audio feed of an FM radio station due to analog transmissions on that frequency also being audible over 87.7 FM . [16] After entering into an operating agreement with Murray Hill Broadcasting—headed by former WWWE, [17] WRMR and WDOK co-owner Tom Wilson and aligned with Venture executive Paul Koplin [18] —Wilson announced the launch of a personality-driven alternative rock/talk format, [19] using the WLFM-LP call sign [5] which Venture transferred from their low-power channel 6 station in Chicago. [20]
With studios located within the Cleveland Agora, [21] what became known as "87.7 Cleveland's Sound" was originally scheduled to launch in July 2012, but did not debut until September 9, 2012. [22] WLFM-LP aired a taped loop of Cleveland-themed sports songs and "My Town" as a prolonged stunt, [19] while the TV signal displayed either a loop of slides of local landmarks, or a screensaver for Western Digital. [23] A casting call was conducted for possible air talent, with former WKRK-FM host Rachel Steele named as afternoon host and former WFBQ program director Marty Bender assuming like duties. [22] Former WMMS personalities Dan Stansbury [24] and Chad Zumock were later added to the airstaff. [25]
Readers of Cleveland Scene awarded WLFM-LP as "Best Local Radio Station" in 2013. [26] The station also featured area local music show Inner Sanctum but the program was cancelled in September 2013; host Pat Johnson said the station "was hoping for a big summer and that hasn't translated into sales yet". [27]
Murray Hill Broadcasting announced a local marketing agreement (LMA) with Cincinnati-based TSJ Media on December 11, 2013, effectively changing WLFM-LP to a Spanish language radio format, de facto becoming the first full-time Hispanic radio station in Cleveland proper. Tom Wilson viewed Murray Hill's LMA with TSJ Media as "a significant upgrade of an opportunity... sometimes you just don't realize what opportunity is there until somebody presents it to you. It's really the way to go". [21] When the LMA took effect on January 1, 2014, [28] WLFM-LP was renamed "La Mega 87.7: Latino and Proud", boasting an airstaff that included several area disc jockeys. [29] TSJ Media would later be acquired by Columbus-based La Mega Media, Inc., on April 16, 2019. [30]
Beginning with the 2014–15 NBA season, WLFM-LP carried Spanish-language broadcasts of the Cleveland Cavaliers, then added Spanish-language broadcasts of the Cleveland Browns in 2018; Rafael Hernandez Brito served as play-by-play announcer for both teams. [31] [32]
WLFM-LP suspended operations on February 26, 2019, when WOUC-TV in Cambridge, Ohio, moved to RF channel 6 during the repacking of broadcast spectrum initiated by the FCC's 2016 auction; [33] WLFM-LP returned to the air several days later with a power reduction to 3 watts. [34] While low-power television stations operating as "Franken-FMs", including WLFM-LP, had deadlines for digital conversion extended multiple times by the FCC, [35] the spectrum repack forced the station to convert to digital broadcasting on RF channel 20. Thus, WLFM-LP discontinued analog broadcasting on June 30, 2020, with the "La Mega 87.7" format moved to an internet-only platform. [36]
On July 29, 2020, the renamed WLFM-LD launched, carrying Jewelry Television as a temporary affiliation. [18]
Murray Hill Broadcasting sold WLFM-LD to WOIO and WUAB owner Gray Television on July 29, 2021, for $1.65 million, [18] which the FCC approved on September 13. [2] Shortly thereafter, Gray announced WLFM-LD would adopt the WTCL call sign and join Telemundo on January 1, 2022; prior to this, Cleveland was the largest market in the United States not to have a dedicated Telemundo affiliate. [1] The new station would also have evening newscasts in Spanish produced by WOIO, the first such newscasts to be broadcast in the Cleveland market, as Univision-owned WQHS-DT only carries remotely-produced news briefs. [1] [37] WOIO previously produced a daily Spanish-language newscast, Al Día, for their website, social media and OTT services, but was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic; WOIO retained both Al Día reporters and planned to hire two additional bilingual reporters. [38]
WLFM-LD was renamed WTCL-LP on October 15, 2021, and adopted the -LD suffix on August 5, 2022. [5]
WTCL-LD is simulcast full-time over WOHZ-CD, licensed to Canton, Ohio, and W28FG-D, licensed to Akron, Ohio. All three stations carry the same multiplexed signal:
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
---|---|---|---|---|
6.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | TLMD | Telemundo |
19.10 | 1080i | WOIOHD | CBS (WOIO) | |
22.1 | 720p | RESN | Rock Entertainment Sports Network |
Call sign | City of license | Channel | ERP | HAAT | Facility ID | Transmitter coordinates |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
WOHZ-CD | Canton | 34 | 15 kW | 252.9 m (830 ft) | 41892 | 40°53′24″N81°16′11″W / 40.89000°N 81.26972°W |
W28FG-D | Akron | 28 | 15 kW | 564.2 m (1,851 ft) | 184642 | 41°3′52.7″N81°34′58.3″W / 41.064639°N 81.582861°W |
WOIO is a television station licensed to Shaker Heights, Ohio, United States, serving the Cleveland area as an affiliate of CBS. It is owned by Gray Media alongside CW affiliate WUAB, Telemundo affiliate WTCL-LD and independent station WOHZ-CD ; WTCL and WOHZ also serve as relays for WOIO. All four stations have studios on the ground floor of the Reserve Square building in Downtown Cleveland. WOIO shares full-power spectrum with WUAB via a channel sharing agreement and both stations have transmitter facilities in suburban Parma.
WYFX-LD is a low-power television station in Youngstown, Ohio, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside CBS affiliate WKBN-TV ; Nexstar also provides certain services to ABC affiliate WYTV through joint sales and shared services agreements (JSA/SSA) with Vaughan Media, LLC. The three stations share studios on Sunset Boulevard in Youngstown's Pleasant Grove neighborhood, where WYFX-LD's transmitter is also located.
WNEU is a television station licensed to Merrimack, New Hampshire, United States, serving as the Boston-area outlet for the Spanish-language network Telemundo. It is owned and operated by NBCUniversal's Telemundo Station Group alongside Nashua, New Hampshire–licensed Class A NBC station WBTS-CD, which shares spectrum with Boston-based PBS member station WGBX-TV to provide full-market coverage.
WYCN-LD is a low-power television station in Providence, Rhode Island, United States, broadcasting the Spanish-language network Telemundo. Owned and operated by NBCUniversal's Telemundo Station Group, the station has studios on Kenney Drive in Cranston, Rhode Island, and its transmitter is located on East Main Street in Norton, Massachusetts.
WRIW-CD is a Class A television station in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is a standard-definition translator of Telemundo owned-and-operated station WYCN-LD which is owned by the Telemundo Station Group subsidiary of NBCUniversal. WRIW-CD's parent station maintains studios on Kenney Drive in Cranston.
WRDM-CD is a Class A television station licensed to Hartford, Connecticut, United States, serving as the Hartford–New Haven market's outlet for the Spanish-language network Telemundo. It is owned and operated by NBCUniversal's Telemundo Station Group alongside NBC outlet WVIT. The two stations share studios on New Britain Avenue in West Hartford and transmitter facilities on Rattlesnake Mountain in Farmington, Connecticut. Despite WRDM-CD legally holding a low-power Class A license, it transmits using WVIT's full-power spectrum. This ensures complete reception across the Hartford–New Haven market.
KCYU-LD is a low-power television station in Yakima, Washington, United States, affiliated with Fox and Telemundo. The station is owned by Imagicomm Communications, and maintains studios on West Lincoln Avenue in Yakima; its transmitter is located on Ahtanum Ridge.
WJMF-LD, virtual and VHF digital channel 6, is a low-power television station licensed to Jackson, Mississippi, United States. The station is owned by Rainey Radio. WJMF-LD's transmitter is located on Kerr Drive on Jackson's south side. Programming is currently unknown.
WTSJ-LD is a low-power television station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, owned by Innovate Corp. The station's transmitter is located at the Milwaukee PBS tower on North Humboldt Boulevard in Milwaukee's Estabrook Park neighborhood.
WHNH-CD is a low-power, Class A independent television station serving Hartford, Connecticut, United States, but nominally licensed to Manchester, Vermont. Owned by Vision Communications, the station maintains a transmitter on Rattlesnake Mountain in Farmington, Connecticut. It currently brands as YCN, an initialism for "Yankee Communications Network".
WRME-LD is a low-power television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, affiliated with Jewelry Television. The station's audio channel, transmitting at 87.75 MHz, lies within the FM band; as a result, WRME-LD's audio channel operates as a radio station at 87.7 FM. Owned by Venture Technologies Group and operated under a local marketing agreement (LMA) by Weigel Broadcasting, the station airs a soft adult contemporary/oldies format via the 87.75 MHz audio channel under the brand 87.7 MeTV FM, a brand extension of Weigel's MeTV television network. The WRME-LD studios are co-located with Weigel's headquarters in Chicago's Greektown neighborhood, while the transmitter resides atop the John Hancock Center.
KTLE-LD is a low-power television station licensed to Odessa, Texas, United States, affiliated with the Spanish-language network Telemundo. It is owned by Gray Media alongside CBS affiliate KOSA-TV, MyNetworkTV affiliate KWWT, Big Spring–licensed CW+ affiliate KCWO-TV, and Midland-licensed low-power The365 affiliate KMDF-LD. The five stations share studios inside the Music City Mall on East 42nd Street in Odessa, with a secondary studio and news bureau in downtown Midland; KTLE-LD's transmitter is located on US 385 just north of downtown Odessa.
WTBL-LD is a low-power television station serving Biloxi and Gulfport, Mississippi, United States, as a dual affiliate of MeTV and Telemundo. It is nominally licensed to Pascagoula, Mississippi; however, it only provides a marginal signal to that area. WTBL-LD is owned by Gray Television alongside dual ABC/CBS affiliate WLOX. The two stations share studios on DeBuys Road in Biloxi.
WRUF-LD is a low-power independent television station in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is owned by the University of Florida alongside PBS member WUFT, NPR member WUFT-FM (89.1), and commercial radio stations WRUF and WRUF-FM (103.7). The five stations share studios at Weimer Hall on the University's campus; WRUF-LD's transmitter is located on Northwest 53rd Avenue in Gainesville.
This is a review of low-power television stations (LPTV) in the United States, transmitting on VHF channel 6, which also operate as radio stations capable of being picked up by many standard FM receivers. These stations are colloquially known as "Franken FMs", a reference to Frankenstein's monster, because TV stations functioning as radio stations had not been envisioned by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC commonly refers to these stations as "FM6" operations. All of these FM transmissions are authorized for operation on a center frequency of 87.75 MHz.
KGHD-LD is a low-power television station in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. The station is owned by Obidia Porras.
WXOX may refer to:
The Rock Entertainment Sports Network (RESN) is a broadcast television network in Ohio, United States. Based in Cleveland, it is owned by Gray Media and co-managed by Rock Entertainment Group, headed by Dan Gilbert, and its programming consists primarily of local sporting events. RESN operates alongside CBS affiliate WOIO, CW affiliate WUAB and Telemundo affiliate WTCL-LD. It is broadcast by Canton, Ohio–licensed low-power station WOHZ-CD from a transmitter located northeast of Canton; in Cleveland on a subchannel of WTCL-LD, with transmitter located in Parma; in Akron on W28FG-D, a translator for both WOHZ and WTCL; in Columbus on low-power station WDEM-CD ; and in Cincinnati as a subchannel of Gray-owned WXIX-TV.