WCES-TV

WCES-TV, virtual channel 20 (VHF digital channel 6), is a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member television station serving Augusta, Georgia, United States that is licensed to Wrens. Owned by the Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission, it is a sister station to National Public Radio (NPR) member WACG-FM (90.7 MHz). WCES-TV's transmitter is located northeast of Wrens in unincorporated Jefferson County. The station is operated as part of the statewide Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) television network.

WCES-TV
(satellite of WGTV,
Athens/Atlanta, Georgia)
Wrens/Augusta, Georgia
United States
CityWrens, Georgia
BrandingGPB
SloganTelevision Worth Sharing
ChannelsDigital: 6 (VHF)
Virtual: 20 (PSIP)
TranslatorsW11DD-D 11 Hartwell/Royston
Affiliations20.1: GPB/PBS
20.2: Create
20.3: GPB Knowledge
20.4: PBS Kids
OwnerGeorgia Public Broadcasting
LicenseeGeorgia Public Telecommunications Commission
First air dateSeptember 12, 1966 (1966-09-12)
Call sign meaningW Central-
East Georgia and
South Carolina
Sister station(s)TV: WGTV, WXGA-TV, WVAN-TV, WABW-TV, WNGH-TV, WACS-TV, WJSP-TV, WMUM-TV
Radio: WACG-FM
Former channel number(s)Analog:
20 (UHF, 1966–2009)
Digital:
2 (VHF, 2003–2009)
Former affiliationsNET (1966–1970)
Transmitter power7.9 kW
Height426 m (1,398 ft)
Facility ID23937
Transmitter coordinates33°15′33″N 82°17′7.4″W
Licensing authorityFCC
Public license information
(satellite of WGTV,
Athens/Atlanta, Georgia) Profile

(satellite of WGTV,
Athens/Atlanta, Georgia) CDBS
Websitewww.gpb.org

WCES-TV serves Augusta, surrounding east-central Georgia, west-central South Carolina, and the Savannah River valley (also known locally as the Central Savannah River Area [CSRA]).

History

WCES-TV's first broadcast was on September 12, 1966, on the National Educational Television (NET) network as the sixth educational station in Georgia and the fifth station in what was then known as Georgia Educational Television. On October 5, 1970, WCES-TV and all nine stations in what was by then Georgia Public Television became a part of the new PBS network. Its digital television signal on channel 2 started in 2003.

The station chose to keep its digital signal on channel 2 in the first-round digital channel election, but requested channel 6 in the third round. This is because low VHF (band I) has a lot of RF noise, which is worse on the lowest channels.

The radio tower was built in 1966.[1]

Digital programming

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming
20.11080i16:9WCES-TVMain GPB programming / PBS
20.2480iCreateCreate
20.3KnowledgeGPB Knowledge
20.4KidsPBS Kids

[2]

Translators

Both translators are, or were, located near the state's border with South Carolina, in areas where coverage from a full-powered GPB transmitter is insufficient. This is due to the distance from the main transmitters and the hilly terrain in northeast Georgia.

W22AC was temporarily off-air for two months in early 2008, when GPB broadcast engineers had to borrow its TV transmitter to get WACS-TV back on-air. That station was destroyed by a tornado in March 2007, and had to begin broadcasting again within a year, or its license would have been automatically canceled by law.

See also

References
  1. "ASR Registration Search: Registration 1018796". Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved 2006-06-28.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link) fcc.gov. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  2. RabbitEars TV Query for WCES
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