WUVG-TV

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WUVG-TV

Atlanta, Georgia
City of license	Athens, Georgia
Branding	"Univision 34"
Channels	34 (UHF) analog, 48 (UHF) digital
Affiliations	Univision TeleFutura on DT2
Owner	Univision
Founded	October 3, 1987
Call letters meaning	UniVision Georgia
Former callsigns	WNGM-TV (1987-1999) WHOT-TV (1999-2002)
Former affiliations	Independent (1987-1993) Home Shopping Network (1993-1996) Independent (1996-2002)
Website	www.univision.com/

WUVG-TV is a television station in the greater Atlanta area, on analog TV channel 34, and DTV channel 48. The all-Spanish station is the owned and operated television station of Univisión.

The analog station and digital channel 48.1 carry Univision, and beginning in early June 2006, digital channel 48.2 carries TeleFutura, both in 480i (SDTV). The only other Spanish-language channel in the area is WUVM-LP, an LPTV station which carries Azteca America on analog channel 4 only.

[edit] History

The station went on air on October 3, 1987 as WNGM-TV with the callsign standing for North Georgia Mountains. Initially the station ran a general entertainment format with cartoons, classic and recent sitcoms, old movies and syndicated first-run shows.

The station's transmitter was located 60 miles (nearly 100km) away from Atlanta, reaching Athens with a grade A signal while sending a very weak signal into eastern metro Atlanta. As a result, many syndicators sold the rights for shows that were already on the Atlanta stations to WNGM. The station provided an alternative to viewers in areas which had moderate VHF reception and poor UHF reception from Atlanta. However, the station floundered in the ratings. By late 1988, the station was running a blend of infomercials, low-rated syndicated shows and movies, and shop-at-home programming.

In 1989, after the Home Shopping Network failed to buy WVEU (now WUPA 69), it arranged for Whitehead Media to buy WNGM. The station started to air HSN's programming 24 hours a day.

In 1993, it moved its transmitter closer to Atlanta, covering the city with a grade A signal strength.

In 1996, it switched to an all music videos format as an affiliate of The Box.

The station was bought by USA Broadcasting (which was under the same ownership as HSN, under Barry Diller) in 1997. It became WHOT-TV in October 1999 (for Hotlanta, one of the city's nicknames) and added syndicated cartoons, off-network sitcoms, dramas, old movies and syndicated talk/reality shows to its lineup, along with Fox Kids which it picked up from WATL TV 36. (Currently, the successor to Fox Kids, 4Kids TV, does not air at all in the Atlanta area.) The station didn't receive spectacular ratings, but was still performing decently.

In 2000, WHOT obtained the rights to the Atlanta Hawks basketball games.

USA then planned to sell its stations to ABC-Disney, but Univision outbid its competition in a close race. In markets which already had Univision affiliates, the newly acquired stations became affiliates of Telefutura, a new network started by Univision. However, WHOT was Univision's only station in Atlanta (which had a relatively low, but growing, Spanish-speaking population). As such, the station changed its call sign to WUVG (for Univision Georgia) in November 2001 and became Atlanta's Univision affiliate on January 14, 2002.

Despite still being licensed to Athens, Georgia, the station's digital TV transmitter and antenna will be located near downtown Atlanta. This is also very unusual because the FCC normally requires analog and digital coverage to be nearly identical, which this station will not have.

[edit] External links

v • d • e

Television stations in the Atlanta market (Nielsen DMA #9)

WSB 2 (ABC) - WUVM-LP 4 (Azteca América) - WAGA 5 (Fox) - WGTV 8 (PBS/GPB) - WXIA 11 (NBC, WX Plus on DT2) - WPXA 14 (ION) - WTBS 17 (TBS) - WCLP 18 (PBS/GPB) - W24AL 24 (HSN) - WANX-LP 26 (Jewelry TV) - WPBA 30 (PBS) - WANN-LP 32 (Ind) - WNEG 32 (CBS) - WUVG 34 (UNI) - WATL 36 (MNTV) - W38CU 38 (TEL) - WIRE-CA 40 (MTV2) - WAGC-LP 42 (Ind) - WGCL 46 (CBS) - WDTA-LP 53 (DS) - WYGA 55 (Ind) - W55BM 55 (JCTV) - WATC 57 / WSKC-CA 22 (Religious) - WHSG 63 (TBN) - WUPA 69 (The CW)
Local digital television channels WTHC-LP 42 (TIS)
Local/Regional cable/satellite television channels SportSouth - FSN South - CSS - AIB - Cobb edTV (Cobb County)