WETA-TV

WETA-TV
WETA with two red ribbons
Washington, D.C.
United States
Branding WETA TV 26
Channels Digital: 27 (UHF)
(to move to 31 (UHF))
Virtual: 26 (PSIP)
Subchannels 26.1 WETA HD
26.2 WETA UK
26.3 WETA Kids Channel
26.4 WETA-TV
Affiliations PBS
Owner Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association
First air date October 2, 1961 (1961-10-02)[1]
Call letters' meaning Washington Educational Television Association
Sister station(s) WETA (FM)
Former callsigns WETA (1961–1980)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog:
  • 26 (UHF, 1961–2009)
Former affiliations
Transmitter power 73 kW
1000 kW (CP)
Height 254 m (833 ft)
257 m (843 ft) (CP)
Class NCE DT
Facility ID 65670
Transmitter coordinates 38°57′1″N 77°4′46″W / 38.95028°N 77.07944°W / 38.95028; -77.07944Coordinates: 38°57′1″N 77°4′46″W / 38.95028°N 77.07944°W / 38.95028; -77.07944 (NAD83)
Licensing authority FCC
Public license information: Profile
CDBS
Website www.weta.org/tv

WETA-TV, virtual channel 26 (UHF digital channel 27), is a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member television station licensed to the American capital city of Washington, District of Columbia. The station is owned by the Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association, alongside sister radio outlet and National Public Radio (NPR) member station WETA (90.9 FM). The two outlets share studios in nearby Arlington, Virginia;[2] WETA-TV's transmitter is located in the Tenleytown neighborhood in the northwest quadrant of Washington. On cable, the station is available on channel 26 on most systems in the market.

Among the programs produced by WETA that are distributed nationally by PBS are the PBS NewsHour, Washington Week,[3] and several nationally broadcast cultural and documentary programs, such as the Ken Burns documentaries[4] and A Capitol Fourth.

History

In 1952, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocated 242 channels for non-commercial use across the United States. Channel 26 was allocated for use in Washington, D.C. In 1953, the Greater Washington Educational Television Association (GWETA) was formed to develop programming for channel 26. GWETA credits Elizabeth Campbell with having founded the organization.[5] In the early days, before it was granted a license for its own channel, GWETA produced educational programming for WTTG.

GWETA was eventually granted a license by the FCC to activate channel 26; WETA-TV first signed on the air on October 2, 1961. WETA originally operated out of Yorktown High School; the station later relocated its operations to the campus of Howard University in 1964. In 1967, WETA began producing Washington Week in Review (now simply titled Washington Week), a political discussion program that became the station's first program to be syndicated nationally to other non-commercial educational stations.

Around 1970, the Greater Washington Educational Television Association changed its name to the Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association to reflect the oversight of the new WETA (FM). In 1992, WETA broadcast the first over-the-air high-definition television signal in the United States In 1995, WETA acquired CapAccess, an interactive computer network. From that acquisition, WETA helped connect public schools, public libraries and local government agencies to the Internet.[6]

In 1996, WETA launched its first national educational project, LD Online, a website that seeks to help children and adults reach their full potential by providing accurate and up-to-date information and advice about learning disabilities and ADHD. It was joined in 2001 by Reading Rockets, a multimedia project offering information and resources on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help. In 2003, Reading Rockets spun off Colorín Colorado, a free web-based service that provides information, activities, and advice for educators, and Spanish-speaking families of English language learners (ELLs). To support the parents and educators of older students who struggle with reading, WETA launched Adlit.org in 2007. AdLit.org is a multimedia educational initiative offering research (articles, instructional strategies, school-based outreach events, professional development webcasts, and book recommendation) to develop teens' literacy skills, prevent school dropouts, and prepare students for the demands of college. Seeing a need to educate the public about brain injuries, in 2008 WETA, in partnership with the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, launched BrainLine.org. The site features videos, webcasts, recent research, personal stories, and articles on preventing, treating, and living with traumatic brain injuries.[7]

In 1997, WETA tested its new full-power digital transmitter which was activated for full-time broadcasting in 1999. In 2002, WETA became one of the first stations in the county to offer digital subchannels, which initially included WETA Prime, WETA Plus and WETA Kids. In January 2006, WETA changed its subchannel lineup with WETA Create, WETA Family, and WETA World, after the closure of national services PBS You and PBS Kids..

With the dropping of the PBS Kids network in 2005, WETA did not become a PBS Kids Sprout partner.[8] By April 2006, the station had added World programming to a subchannel prior to its January 2007 launch as a nationwide network.[9] In 2007, WETA started broadcasting a children's channel. In February 2009, WETA only program a 3-hour children's morning block on its primary channel, clearing the afternoon for adult show like Charlie Rose, travel shows, repeats of yesterday’s primetime shows, movies, documentaries and miniseries including the upcoming Make ’Em Laugh.[8]

WETA decided to drop Create due to the network moving to being fee based on July 1, 2012 and perceived lack of programming flexibility. WETA How-To lifestyle programming replaced Create in January 2012. How-To was replaced by WETA UK on July 4, 2012 after an analysis of audience and local viewers' demand for UK programs.[10]

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital channel is multiplexed:[11]

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[12]
26.11080i16:9WETA-HDWETA HD
26.2480i4:3WETA UKWETA UK
26.3KIDSWETA Kids
26.4TV26Main WETA-TV programming / PBS

Despite its positioning, digital subchannel 26.4 serves as WETA-TV's main programming feed. 26.4 is broadcast in standard definition and is the equivalent of the former analog channel 26.

Digital Channel 26.1 simulcasts any programming seen on the 26.4 subchannel that is available in high definition, as well as 26.4's entire primetime and overnight lineup regardless of whether the programming is broadcast in high or standard definition. At other times, 26.1 shows reruns of PBS high definition programming.

Channel 26.2, "WETA-UK", shows a schedule of programming produced in the United Kingdom.

Channel 26.3, "WETA Kids", shows repeats of PBS children's programming.[11]

Analog-to-digital conversion

WETA-TV shut down its analog signal, on UHF channel 26, on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal continued to broadcasts on its pre-transition UHF channel 27.[13] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 26.

References

  1. ↑ "WETA's First Broadcast". Washington, DC: Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
  2. ↑ "Television Studios". Washington, DC: Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
  3. ↑ "Ongoing Productions". Washington, DC: Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
  4. ↑ "Ken Burns". Washington, DC: Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
  5. ↑ "Our Founder". Washington, DC: Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
  6. ↑ Swisher, Kara (September 21, 1995). "WETA TO MANAGE CAPACCESS AREA COMPUTER NETWORK". Washington Post. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  7. ↑ http://www.brainline.org/downloads/PDFs/Press_release-08.pdf
  8. 1 2 Katy June-Friesen (January 12, 2009). "Many stations packaging their own kids' channels". Originally published in Current. Archived from the original on April 16, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2010.
  9. ↑ Egner, Jeremy (April 3, 2006). "World and Go! streams flow into PBS plans". Current. Archived from the original on April 25, 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
  10. ↑ Sefton, Dru (June 11, 2012). "Multicasts tailored to local priorities". Current. American University SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION. Archived from the original on April 17, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  11. 1 2 "Channel Guide: TV". WETA-TV. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
  12. ↑ RabbitEars TV Query for WETA
  13. ↑ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-03-24.
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