WETA-TV

WETA-TV

Washington, D.C.
Branding	WETA TV 26
Channels	Digital: 27 (UHF) Virtual: 26 (PSIP)
Subchannels	26.1 WETA HD 26.2 WETA UK 26.3 WETA Kids Channel 26.4 WETA-TV
Affiliations	PBS
Owner	Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association
First air date	October 2, 1961 (1961-10-02)[1]
Call letters' meaning	Washington Educational Television Association
Sister station(s)	WETA (FM)
Former callsigns	WETA (1961–1980)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 26 (UHF, 1961–2009)
Former affiliations	NET (1961–1970)
Transmitter power	90 kW
Height	254 meters (833 ft)
Class	Non-commercial educational
Facility ID	65670
Transmitter coordinates	38°57′1.4″N 77°4′45.9″W / 38.950389°N 77.079417°W / 38.950389; -77.079417Coordinates: 38°57′1.4″N 77°4′45.9″W / 38.950389°N 77.079417°W / 38.950389; -77.079417 (NAD83)
Website	www.weta.org/tv

WETA-TV, virtual channel 26 (UHF digital channel 27), is a non-commercial educational PBS member television station located in the capital city of Washington, District of Columbia, United States. The station is owned by the Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association, alongside sister radio outlet and NPR member station WETA (90.9 FM). WETA-TV's studios are located in nearby Arlington, Virginia,^[2] and its transmitter is located in the Tenleytown neighborhood on the northwest side of Washington.

Among the programs produced by WETA that are distributed nationally by PBS include the PBS Newshour, Washington Week,^[3] and several nationally broadcast cultural and documentary programs, such as the Ken Burns' documentaries^[4] and A Capitol Fourth.

History

In 1952, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocated 242 channels for non-commercial use across the United States. Channel 26 was allocated for use in Washington, D.C.^{[citation needed]} In 1953, the Greater Washington Educational Television Association was formed to develop programming for channel 26.^{[citation needed]} GWETA credits Elizabeth Campbell with having founded the organization.^[5] In the early days, before it was granted a license for its own channel, the GWETA produced educational programming for WTTG.^{[citation needed]}

The Greater Washington Educational Television was eventually granted a license by the FCC to activate channel 26; WETA-TV first signed on the air on October 2, 1961. WETA originally operated out of Yorktown High School; the station later relocated its operations to the campus of Howard University in 1964.^{[citation needed]} In 1967, WETA began producing Washington Week in Review (now simply titled Washington Week), a political discussion program that became the station's first program to be syndicated nationally program to other non-commercial educational stations.^{[citation needed]}

Around 1970, the Greater Washington Educational Television Association changed its name to the Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association to reflect the oversight of the new WETA-FM.^{[citation needed]} In 1992, WETA broadcast the first over-the-air high-definition television signal in the United States^{[citation needed]} In 1995, WETA acquired CapAccess, an interactive computer network. From that acquisition, WETA helped connect public schools, public libraries and local government agencies to the Internet.^{[citation needed]}

In 1996, WETA launched its first national educational project, LD Online, a website that seeks to help children and adults reach their full potential by providing accurate and up-to-date information and advice about learning disabilities and ADHD. It was joined in 2001 by Reading Rockets, a multimedia project offering information and resources on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help. In 2003, Reading Rockets spun off Colorín Colorado, a free, web-based, service that provides information, activities, and advice for educators, and Spanish-speaking families of English language learners (ELLs).^{[citation needed]} To support the parents and educators of older students who struggle with reading, WETA launched Adlit.org in 2007. AdLit.org is a multimedia educational initiative offering research,[articles, instructional strategies, school-based outreach events, professional development webcasts, and book recommendation] to develop teens' literacy skills, prevent school dropouts, and prepare students for the demands of college.^{[citation needed]} Seeing a need to educate the public about brain injuries, in 2008 WETA, in partnership with the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, launched BrainLine.org. The site features videos, webcasts, recent research, personal stories, and articles on preventing, treating, and living with traumatic brain injuries.^[6]

In 1997, WETA tested its new full-power digital transmitter and which was activated for full-time broadcasting in 1999. In 2002, WETA became one of the first^{[citation needed]} stations in the county to offer digital subchannels, which initially included WETA Prime, WETA Plus and WETA Kids. In January 2006, WETA changed its subchannel lineup with WETA Create, WETA Family, and WETA World, after the closure of national services PBS You and PBS Kids.^{[citation needed]}

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:^[7]

Despite its positioning, digital subchannel 26.4 serves as WETA-TV's main programming feed. 26.4 is broadcast in standard definition and is the equivalent of the former analog channel 26. Therefore, channel 26.4 is the channel that is provided on the standard-definition tiers of local cable providers.^{[citation needed]}

Digital channel 26.1 simulcasts any programming seen on the 26.4 subchannel that is available in high definition, as well as 26.4's entire primetime and overnight lineup regardless of whether the programming is broadcast in high or standard definition. At other times, 26.1 shows reruns of PBS high definition programming. Schedules for 26.1 and 26.4 are different for those reasons.^{[citation needed]}

Channel 26.3 shows repeats of PBS children's programming.[7]

Analog-to-digital conversion

On June 12, 2009, WETA-TV terminated its analog signal, on UHF channel 26, as part of the federally mandated transition from analog to digital television. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 27.^[9] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display WETA-TV's virtual channel as its former analog channel 26.

References

External links

• WETA – WETA-TV official website
  • National Education Projects - links to WETA's other websites
  • History of WETA (requires proprietary software)
• WETA's First Broadcast: A New Era (1961) Documentary produced by WETA-TV
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WETA
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WETA-TV