WITF-TV
 | |
| Harrisburg/Lancaster/York, Pennsylvania United States | |
|---|---|
| Branding | WITF |
| Slogan | Live inspired |
| Channels |
Digital: 36 (UHF) Virtual: 33 (PSIP) |
| Translators |
W33CR-D 33 Chambersburg W24CS 24 Reading |
| Affiliations | PBS |
| Owner | WITF, Inc. |
| First air date | November 22, 1964 |
| Call letters' meaning | Where It's Top Flight |
| Sister station(s) | WITF-FM |
| Former channel number(s) |
Analog: 33 (UHF, 1964–2009) |
| Former affiliations | NET (1964–1970) |
| Transmitter power | 50 kW |
| Height | 411 m |
| Facility ID | 73083 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 40°20′43.5″N 76°52′7.5″W / 40.345417°N 76.868750°W |
| Licensing authority | FCC |
| Public license information: |
Profile CDBS |
| Website | www.witf.org |
WITF-TV, virtual channel 33 (UHF digital channel 36), is a PBS member television station serving Lancaster, York and its city of license Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. The station is owned by WITF, Inc., and is a sister station to the area's NPR member station, WITF-FM (89.5). WITF-TV maintains studio facilities located at the WITF Public Media Center in Swatara Township (though with a Harrisburg address), and its transmitter (which is shared with CBS affiliate WHP-TV, channel 21) is located in Susquehanna Township.
On cable television, the station is available on Comcast channel 6 and in high definition on digital cable channel 803. WITF's programming is relayed on two low-powered translator stations: W33CR-D (channel 33) in Chambersburg and W24CS (channel 24) in Reading.
History
The UHF channel 33 allocation in Central Pennsylvania was previously occupied by WEEU-TV, a commercial television station licensed to Reading that operated in the 1950s. The station shut down in June 1955 after the television stations out of Philadelphia boosted their signals to cover Reading.
The channel 33 allocation was reassigned to Harrisburg for non-commercial educational use. The South Central Educational Broadcasting Council was formed in 1963, and it quickly filed for the channel 33 license. WITF-TV first signed on the air on November 22, 1964 from a "temporary" studio facility located in Hershey, near the Hershey Theatre. In 1982, the station moved its operations to studio facilities in northeast Harrisburg. In 2007, it moved to a purpose-built facility in Swatara Township.
In 1998, WITF-TV made history in Pennsylvania by becoming the Commonwealth's first television station to operate a digital signal. As broadcasters across the country began the gradual federally mandated conversion from analog to digital broadcasts, WITF became one of the first in the nation to meet the technological, financial and educational challenges.
Digital television
Digital channel
| Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP Short Name | Programming[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | WITF-HD | Main WITF-TV programming / PBS |
WITF formerly carried PBS-HD on digital subchannel 33.3; however, that channel no longer exists.
Analog-to-digital conversion
WITF-TV discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over UHF channel 33, on February 17, 2009, the original date in which full-power television stations in the United States were to transition from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 36,[2] using PSIP to display WITF-TV's virtual channel as 33 on digital television receivers.
Programming
Locally produced programming
- Our Town
- Explore PA
- Virtual Field Trips
- Smart Talk
- Life Styles
- Health Smart
References
- ↑ RabbitEars TV Query for WITF
- ↑ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-03-24.
External links
- WITF-TV official website
- Query the FCC's TV station database for WITF
- Query the FCC's TV station database for W33CR-D
- Query the FCC's TV station database for W24CS
- BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WITF-TV
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