MHz Networks

WNVT / WNVC
WNVT: Goldvein, Virginia
WNVC: Fairfax, Virginia
Branding MHz Networks
Slogan Programming for Globally-Minded People
Channels Digital:
WNVT: 30 (UHF)
WNVC: 24 (UHF)
Subchannels (see article)
Affiliations Non-commercial Independent
Owner Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corporation
First air date WNVT: March 1, 1972 (1972-03-01)
WNVC: June 6, 1981 (1981-06-06)
Call letters' meaning Northern Virginia Television
Northern Virginia College
Former channel number(s) Analog:
WNVT: 53 (UHF, 1972–2003)
WNVC: 56 (UHF, 1981–2008)
Digital:
WNVC: 57 (UHF)
Former affiliations PBS (1972–2001)
Transmitter power WNVT: 160 kW
WNVC: 160 kW
Height WNVT: 229 m
WNVC: 221 m
Facility ID WNVT: 10019
WNVC: 9999
Transmitter coordinates WNVT:
38°37′43″N 77°26′21″W / 38.62861°N 77.43917°W / 38.62861; -77.43917 (WNVT)Coordinates: 38°37′43″N 77°26′21″W / 38.62861°N 77.43917°W / 38.62861; -77.43917 (WNVT)
WNVC:
38°52′28″N 77°13′24″W / 38.87444°N 77.22333°W / 38.87444; -77.22333 (WNVC)
Website http://www.mhznetworks.org

MHz Networks is a Northern Virginia based independent, non-commercial educational broadcaster that serves the Washington, D.C. area with 12 digital broadcast channels. The legal broadcast callsigns for the two stations are WNVC (channel 24) and WNVT (channel 30), rebranded as MHz Networks. WNVC is licensed to Fairfax, Virginia with studios in Falls Church, Virginia and WNVT is licensed in Goldvein, Virginia.

MHz Networks headquarters and studios are located in Falls Church, VA with an additional business office/studio located at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.

Available as digital broadcast channels 30.1–30.12, MHz Networks channels are also available on all cable, satellite and telco providers in the Washington, DC area, including Comcast, Cox, RCN, Verizon FiOS, DirecTV and Dish Network.

MHz Networks also distributes its national channel, MHz Worldview, throughout the U.S. to more than 40 million households through its network of digital broadcast, cable, satellite and telco affiliates.

History

WNVT first signed on March 1, 1972 on Channel 53 as a public broadcaster independent of Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). On June 6, 1981 Channel 56 signed on as a similar station (as WIAH) and in 1982, changed its call letters to WNVC. Since channel 56 signed on, the two stations were operated from the same Northern Virginia studios, and were run as sister stations. The WNVT studios were originally at Northern Virginia Community College. When the station was under construction, the school offered an associate of arts in broadcast engineering technology. Prior to WNVT, channel 53 had a brief experimental transmission from somewhere in downtown Washington, D.C.

In 2001, the two stations became known as MHz Networks, with WNVC becoming MHz and WNVT becoming MHz2. In 2003, WNVT became digital-only on channel 30. On September 1, 2008, WNVC ceased broadcasting in analog permanently and took the digital broadcast silent to perform technical modifications. WNVC has a construction permit (now on-air) to relocate its digital signal to channel 24, after WUTB in Baltimore vacated its analog signal on June 12, 2009.[1]

In July 2009, Washington, D.C. TV stations became a test market for Mobile DTV, and WNVT was one of the participating stations.[2]

Like all of the DC-area Mobile DTV broadcasters, WNVC-TV commenced ATSC-M/H broadcasting on February 27, 2011. WNVC-TV also has two Mobile DTV feeds, one of subchannel 30.1 (MHz Worldview), labelled "MHz 1", and a feed of sister station WNVT's 30.7 (France 24, showing up as 30.2), labelled "MHz 7", broadcasting at 3.67 Mbit/s.[3][4]

Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corporation owns the licenses for WNVC and WNVT, which MHz then programs under contract. CPBC announced on March 31, 2017 that it had sold the licenses in the Federal Communications Commission's ongoing spectrum reallocation auction for $182 million. The two stations will go off the air in the near future and have their channel space turned over to the FCC for sale to wireless companies. Although access to MHz Worldview in the Washington, D.C. market will be lost, MHz is otherwise not affected.[5]

Programming

Channel numbers given are digital virtual channels, with six being transmitted by each station. Both stations feature international programming 24 hours daily.[6]

WNVC
WNVT

Services formerly offered

These digital subchannels are no longer offered:

See also

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.