| Schenectady/Albany/Troy, New York | |
|---|---|
| Slogan | WMHT Connects the World and our Community |
| Channels | Digital: 34 (UHF) |
| Subchannels | 17.1 PBS 17.2 ThinkBright/Create 17.3 PBS World |
| Translators | W04AJ Glens Falls W04BD Schoharie W42AE Poughkeepsie |
| Owner | WMHT Educational Telecommunications |
| First air date | March 26, 1962 |
| Call letters' meaning | Mohawk Hudson Television |
| Sister station(s) | WMHT-FM |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 17 (1962-2009) |
| Former affiliations | NET (1962-1970) |
| Transmitter power | 325 kW |
| Height | 426 m |
| Facility ID | 73263 |
| Website | www.wmht.org |
WMHT is the call sign for a television station and radio station in Schenectady, New York owned and operated by WMHT Educational Telecommunications (formerly known as Mohawk-Hudson Council on Educational Television, Inc.) A non-profit corporation. Its transmitter is located in the Helderberg Mountains in Albany County, New York.
The Mohawk-Hudson Council on Educational Television was formed in 1961, through the financial support from television station WRGB, its then-parent General Electric and many Capital District supporters and local businesses. In the beginning, Mohawk-Hudson produced educational programs on WRGB; however, due to tight scheduling on WRGB, The council decided to form a non-commercial educational television station of its own. WMHT signed on the air on March 26, 1962 on UHF channel 17 as the Capital District's first public television station and the second in the state of New York. From the outset the station was affiliated with National Educational Television (NET) and became one of Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) charter affiliates after the two stations merged in 1970. In 1972, WMHT expanded into FM radio by launching the first non-commercial classical music station in the United States (a format that continues to this day).
In 1987, WMHT purchased the assets of independent station WUSV channel 45 and made it a secondary programming service under the calls WMHX. Due to financial difficulties, WMHT shut WMHX down in 1991 and returned it to the air three years later under the calls WMHQ. In the late 1990s, WMHQ's commercial licence became attractive and WMHT sold it to the Tribune Company for $18.5 million in 1999 with the station becoming WB affiliate WEWB that September (it today is CW affiliate WCWN, owned by Freedom Communications). The money from this sale allowed WMHT to expand into digital television and build a new state-of-the-art studio in Troy to replace their original facilities in Rotterdam.
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WMHT switched-off its analog signal at 12 Noon on April 16, 2009.
WMHT-DT signed on in 2003 on channel 34, becoming the second digital television signal in the Capital Region (third if counting WCDC-DT). Currently there are three subchannels on WMHT-DT:
| Virtual Channel |
Video | Aspect | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | Main WHMT programming / PBS HD |
| 17.2 | 480i | 4:3 | ThinkBright |
| 17.3 | 480i | 4:3 | PBS World |
Also, W42AE in Poughkeepsie, owned by Dutchess Community College, repeats WMHT except for several hours a week when classes are in session.
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