| Urbana/Champaign, Illinois | |
|---|---|
| Branding | WILL-TV |
| Slogan | The Broadcasting Service of the University of Illinois |
| Channels | Digital: 9 (VHF) Virtual: 12 (PSIP) |
| Affiliations | PBS (1970–Present) |
| Owner | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois) |
| First air date | August 1, 1955 |
| Call letters' meaning | ILLinois |
| Sister station(s) | WILL (AM), WILL-FM |
| Former callsigns | Digital: WILL-DT (2003–2009) |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 12 (1955–2009) |
| Former affiliations | NET (1955-1970) |
| Transmitter power | 30 kW |
| Height | 302 m |
| Facility ID | 68939 |
| Website | www.will.illinois.edu/ |
WILL is the callsign of the three public broadcasting stations owned by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and directly operated by its Division of Broadcasting. WILL operates out of Campbell Hall for Public Telecommunications as well as Richmond Studio.
WILL-TV received its largest bequest, $1 million (USD), from Lois Dickson, who had been a contributor to the station for the thirty years before her death at the age of 95 in 2004.[1]
In April 2011, WILL eliminated its weather department due to budget cuts.
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The university operates two radio stations directly: WILL (AM) at 580 kHz and WILL-FM at 90.9 MHz. Both are members of NPR and affiliates of Public Radio International and American Public Media.
WILL (AM) signed on in 1922; from 1922 to 1928 it had the callsign WRM.
WILL-FM, first licensed in 1941 as WIUC and changed to WILL-FM in 1954, was the first university FM license in the United States. WILL-FM has translators on 106.5 in Danville and 101.1 in Urbana.
WILL-FM began an HD Radio multicast in July 2008. 90.9 HD 1 is a simulcast of WILL-FM's analog signal. 90.9 HD 2 and HD 3 rebroadcast WILL-AM's programming.
WILL-TV Channel 12 started operation on August 1, 1955 as an affiliate of The NET Network and on October 5, 1970 it became a member station of the PBS-TV Network and owned & operated by The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign along with Decatur & Illnois' Capitol City of Springfield. However, The Station's City of License is Urbana. WILL-TV produces a variety of local programing for the central Illinois region. One notable programing is the weekly, Mid-American Gardener. The show stars University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign professor Dianne Noland and a panel of gardening experts.[2] Callers can call in on air and receive answers to gardening, landscaping, and horticultural questions. The shows typically airs on Thursdays at 7:00PM and is rebroadcast on Saturdays at 11:30AM.
The WILL-TV station manager is Carl Caldwell. Caldwell is a regular seen on WILL's annual Pledge Drives.
In 2009, WILL-TV stopped analog broadcasting on channel 12, continuing digital broadcasts on channel 9, and continuing to use PSIP to display its virtual channel on ATSC tuners as 12. The "WILL-TV" callsign was transferred over from the former analog channel 12 to digital channel 9 and the pre-transition callsign "WILL-DT" was officially retired.
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