West Virginia Public Broadcasting

West Virginia Public Broadcasting
statewide West Virginia
Channels Analog: see table below
Digital: see table below
Affiliations PBS
Owner West Virginia Educational Broadcasting Authority
First air date 1969
Call letters' meaning see table below
Former affiliations NET (1969-1970)
Transmitter power see table below
Height see table below
Facility ID see table below
Transmitter coordinates see table below
Website www.wvpubcast.org

West Virginia Public Broadcasting (WVPB) is the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member Non-commercial educational Public television state network in West Virginia, whose primary station is WPBY, based in Charleston, West Virginia. Its studios are located at 600 Capitol Street. The state network carries a basic PBS schedule, along with several local programming television shows.

WVPB also operates a statewide network of NPR affiliates.

Contents

Television

WPBY was the first public television station in West Virginia. It signed on July 14, 1969 under the callsign WMUL.

In 1980 WMUL and the public station at West Virginia University, WWVU (now WNPB) received new call letters to underline that the operations were managed by the state educational broadcasting authority, and not the university system.

In 1992 the state completed a microwave link that permitted it to convert WNPB and the state's third PBS station, WSWP in Beckley, West Virginia to become repeaters of WPBY and form a state network.

The state network has a total of eight low-powered repeaters serving other areas out of the range of the three full-powered stations, most notably Wheeling and Parkersburg. In the past the channel showed some Marshall University and West Virginia University sports content, but has abandoned this practice due to Conference USA/Big East exclusivity agreements with commercial and cable outlets.

The current local content consists of a daily recap of the state legislative session, half hour weekly shows produced by the State Bar and by the West Virginia University medical school, and student produced news from campus weekly products from Marshall University and West Virginia State University.

Stations

Station City of license
(other cities served)
Channels First air date Call letters’
meaning
Former callsigns ERP HAAT Facility ID Transmitter Coordinates
WPBY-TV Huntington
(Charleston)
34 (UHF)
PSIP 33
July 14, 1969 Public
Broadcasting
for You
WMUL-TV
(1969-1981)
60.1 kW 378.3 m 71657
WSWP-TV Grandview
(Beckley, Bluefield)
10 (VHF)
PSIP 9
November 1, 1970 Southern
West Virginia
Public Television
24 kW 317.9 71680
WNPB-TV Morgantown
(Clarksburg, Weston, Fairmont)
33 (UHF)
PSIP 24
February 23, 1969 West Virginia
(Northern)
Public
Broadcasting
WWVU-TV
(1969-1983)
108 kW 440.7 m 71676

Translators

The following station repeats WPBY:

Station City of license Channel ERP HAAT Facility ID Transmitter Coordinates
W51EG-D Parkersburg 51 (UHF) 15 kW 106 m 167359

The following stations repeat WNPB:

Station City of license Channel ERP HAAT Facility ID Transmitter Coordinates
W07DN-D Wardensville 7 (VHF) 0.3 kW 511 m 167352
W08EE-D Martinsburg 8 (VHF) 0.3 kW 281 m 167357
W09CT-D Mathias 9 (VHF) 0.24 kW 198 m 167353
W23DR-D Romney 23 (UHF) 15 kW 267 m 167358
W30CO-D Wheeling 30 (UHF) 4.5 kW 140 m 167354
W41DK-D Keyser 41 (UHF) 7 kW 402 m 167356

Two translators that repeated WSWP have not yet been converted to digital.

Digital television

All digital signals are multiplexed:

Channel Programming
xx.1 Main WVPB programming / PBS
xx.2 Create
xx.3 xx.1 in HD

Analog-to-digital conversion

After the analog television shutdown and digital conversion took place by law on June 12, 2009: [1]

Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers will display virtual channels for each WVPBS station corresponding to their previous analog channel numbers.

Radio

WVPB's state radio network includes nine full-powered stations and seven low-powered translators, all on the FM band.

The state network carries programs from National Public Radio and other distributors such as Public Radio International. WVPB produces Mountain Stage for distribution by NPR and the Voice of America.

Stations

Station City of license Frequency
(MHz)
WVPN Charleston 88.5
WVPW Buckhannon 88.9
WVEP Martinsburg 88.9
WAUA Petersburg 89.5
WVWV Huntington 89.9
WVNP Wheeling 89.9
WVPG Parkersburg 90.3
WVPM Morgantown 90.9
WVPB Beckley 91.7

Translators

In addition to five low-powered, separate-frequency translators, two low-powered boosters also extend coverage. Boosters are licensed on the same frequency as the parent station but at a different location. They are given the same callsign as the parent station with a number added to differentiate the transmitter site.

Translators of WVPW
Call sign MHz City of license Additional Information
W203AE 88.5 FM Elkins, West Virginia FCC
W297AA 107.3 FM Clarksburg, West Virginia FCC
Translators of WVEP
Call sign MHz City of license Additional Information
WVEP-1 88.9 FM Charles Town, West Virginia FCC
Translators of WVNP
Call sign MHz City of license Additional Information
WVNP-1 89.9 FM Charles Town, West Virginia FCC
Translators of WVPB
Call sign MHz City of license Additional Information
W218AT 91.5 FM Union, West Virginia FCC
W219BM 91.7 FM Matewan, West Virginia FCC
W220BK 91.9 FM Logan, West Virginia FCC

Additional Translators

In Moorefield, West Virginia WNPB-TV is rebroadcast on W22CV.[5][6] W22CV is not owned and operated by West Virginia Public Broadcasting and is owned by Valley TV Cooperative, INC. WNPB-TV also is rebroadcast in Hampshire, West Virginia on W41AO that is owned and operated by the West Virginia Educational Broadcasting Authority.[7] W41AO does not seem like on the FCC data that W41AO is a digital translator.

The West Virginia Educational Broadcasting Authority has two construction permits for two digital low-powered translators for WSWP-TV of which these digital translators may not be on the air yet.[8] [9]

References

External links