WGBY-TV

WGBY-TV
Springfield, Massachusetts
United States
Branding WGBY 57
Channels Digital: 22 (UHF)
Virtual: 57 (PSIP)
Subchannels 57.1 PBS
57.2 PBS World
57.3 PBS Kids
57.4 Create
Affiliations PBS
American Public Television
Owner WGBH Educational Foundation
First air date September 26, 1971
Call letters' meaning Great Blue Yonder
(referring to WGBH (FM)'s transmitter and distance from mother station; all WGBH television stations include these two letters)
Former channel number(s) Analog:
57 (UHF, 1971–2008)
Digital:
58 (UHF, 2000–2009)
Transmitter power 50 kW
Height 306 m
Facility ID 72096
Transmitter coordinates 42°14′29″N 72°38′56″W / 42.24139°N 72.64889°W / 42.24139; -72.64889
Licensing authority FCC
Public license information: Profile
CDBS
Website www.wgby.org

WGBY-TV, virtual channel 57 (UHF digital channel 22), is a PBS member television station located in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. The station is owned by the WGBH Educational Foundation, based in Boston, Massachusetts, but has its own independent web presence and local programming separate from that of WGBH-TV. Its transmitter is located on the peak of Mount Tom in Holyoke with the area's other commercial stations, and provides programming to much of western Massachusetts and northern Connecticut, with studios located at 44 Hampden Street alongside I-91 in downtown Springfield. WGBY can also be received in Windham County, Vermont on Comcast on channel 2.

Overview

Previous WGBY logo; variations of this logo (generally modifying the PBS logo) were used from 2000 until 2010.

The station was first signed on the air on September 26, 1971. The station's digital programming channels include WGBY Kids, Create and World, which are similar to the WGBH channels of the same names seen in Boston on WGBH-TV and WGBX-TV, but have some changes made to include locally produced WGBY programs. In October 2006, WGBY became the first television station in New England to produce all of its local programming content in high definition.

Unlike its Boston counterpart, WGBY does not operate an affiliated radio station; the area is instead served by WFCR (88.5) in Amherst, and Connecticut Public Radio satellite station WAIC (91.9). Some Spanish language programming is also broadcast for Springfield's Hispanic & Latino community.

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[1]
57.1 1080i 16:9 WGBYDT1 Main WGBY-TV programming / PBS
57.2 480i 4:3 WGBYDT2 World
57.3 WGBYDT3 PBS Kids
57.4 WGBYDT4 Create

Analog-to-digital conversion

On August 4, 2008, WGBY filed a request with the 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.[2] WGBY also filed for an STA to operate at 50% analog power prior to the early shut down date due to equipment failure[3] 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). The station's digital signal later relocated to UHF channel 22 on April 27, 2009, as the station's original digital channel allocation was among the high band UHF channels (52-69) that would be removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition,[4] using PSIP to display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 57.

References

  1. ↑ RabbitEars TV Query for WGBY
  2. ↑ http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101260834&formid=911&fac_num=72096
  3. ↑ http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101259115&formid=911&fac_num=72096
  4. ↑ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-03-24.

External links

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