WXGA-TV

WXGA-TV, virtual channel 8 and VHF digital channel 7, is a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member television station serving Valdosta, Georgia, United States that is licensed to Waycross. Owned by the Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission, it is a sister station to National Public Radio (NPR) member WXVS (90.1 FM). WXGA-TV's transmitter is located on TV Tower Road in unincorporated Ware County. The station is operated as part of the statewide Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) television network.

Not to be confused with WGXA, the Fox affiliate in Macon, Georgia.
WXGA-TV
(satellite of WGTV,
Athens/Atlanta, Georgia)
Waycross/Valdosta, Georgia
United States
CityWaycross, Georgia
BrandingGPB PBS
SloganTelevision Worth Sharing
ChannelsDigital: 7 (VHF)
Virtual: 8 (PSIP)
Affiliations8.1: GPB/PBS
8.2: Create
8.3: GPB Knowledge
8.4: PBS Kids
OwnerGeorgia Public Broadcasting
LicenseeGeorgia Public Telecommunications Commission
First air dateNovember 19, 1961 (1961-11-19)
Call sign meaningWay- X (-cross) GeorgiA
Sister station(s)TV: WGTV, WVAN-TV, WABW-TV, WNGH-TV, WCES-TV, WACS-TV, WJSP-TV, WMUM-TV
Radio: WXVS
Former channel number(s)Analog:
8 (VHF, 1961–2009)
Digital:
9 (VHF, 2001–2009)
Former affiliationsNET (1961–1970)
Transmitter power35.3 kW
150 kW (CP)
Height311.4 m (1,022 ft)
315.1 m (1,034 ft) (CP)
Facility ID23929
Transmitter coordinates31°13′22.8″N 82°34′40.5″W
Licensing authorityFCC
Public license information
(satellite of WGTV,
Athens/Atlanta, Georgia) Profile

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

WXGA serves most of far south Georgia, including most of the Georgia side of the Jacksonville, Florida market. It is available on the Jacksonville DirecTV and Dish Network local feeds; Waycross is part of the Jacksonville market. Notably, it is not carried on satellite in Valdosta, the largest city in its service area; Valdosta is part of the Tallahassee market and is served by Americus' WACS-TV on satellite.

History

The station first signed on the air on November 19, 1961 as the third educational television station in the state of Georgia (after WETV [now WPBA-TV] in Atlanta and sister station WGTV in Athens). It was the first in a group of three educational stations that were founded by the Georgia State Board of Education in the early 1960s, along with WVAN-TV in Savannah and WJSP-TV in Columbus. In 1965 the University of Georgia and the board merged their efforts as Georgia Educational Television, which evolved into the present GPB Television network.

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming
8.11080i16:9WXGA-DTMain GPB programming / PBS
8.2480iCreateCreate
8.3KnowledgeGPB Knowledge
8.4KidsPBS Kids

[1]

Analog-to-digital conversion

In 2001, WXGA began transmitting a digital signal on VHF channel 9; however, the signal operated at a low power of only 20 kilowatts in order to prevent interference with sister station WVAN, which broadcast its analog signal on channel 9.

WXGA-TV discontinued regular programming on its analog signal over VHF channel 8 on February 17, 2009, which was the original target date on which full-power television stations in the United States were to transition from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate (which was later pushed back to June 12, 2009). The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition VHF channel 9 to channel 8.[2]

References
  1. RabbitEars TV Query for WXGA
  2. "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-03-24.
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