- WGTV
Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = WGTV
city =
station_
station_slogan = Bringing You the Best
station_branding = GPB
analog = 8 (VHF)
digital = 12 (VHF)
other_chs =
affiliations = PBS
network =
founded =
airdate =May 23 ,1960
location = Athens /Atlanta, Georgia
callsign_meaning = Georgia TeleVision
former_callsigns =
former_channel_numbers =
owner =Georgia Public Broadcasting
licensee = Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission
sister_stations =
former_affiliations = NET (1960-1970)
effective_radiated_power = 316 kW (analog)
16 kW (digital)
HAAT = 326 m (analog)
304 m (digital)
class =
facility_id = 23948
coordinates = coord|33|48|18.7|N|84|8|39.4|W|type:landmark_scale:2000
homepage = [http://www.gpb.org/ www.gpb.org]WGTV (channel 8, DTV 12) is the
metro Atlanta station and flagship forGeorgia Public Broadcasting (formerly Georgia Public Television), Georgia's PBS network.The station transmits from the top of
Stone Mountain in state-ownedStone Mountain Park , located just east ofAtlanta inStone Mountain, Georgia . Thecity of license remains asAthens, Georgia . It is considered theflagship station of GPB TV, and is the primary ("parent") station for one (originally two)LPTV broadcast translator , in thenorth Georgia mountains . Eight other full-power stations alsosimulcast the network across the state, originallyrelay ed viamicrowave radio towers and now viacommunications satellite .WGTV's
analog TV signal is the strongest of the GPB TV network, covering most of the northern part of Georgia, extending in about a 75-mile (120 km) radius from the transmitter site. WGTV's digital/HDTV facility started broadcasting onDecember 20 ,2007 on channel 12. However, it is at very low power, unable to be received through much (if not most) ofmetro Atlanta . It will move from on channel 12 to full power on channel 8 after the analog shutdown in 2009. This selection, made without conflict in the first-rounddigital channel election , is most likely due toWDEF-TV 12 (analog) inChattanooga , which will permanently stay digital on channel 47. WGTV was originally assigned channel 22 for DTV operations, but requested theallotment change to channel 12 by theFCC , also allowing a change to 22 (from 59) byWSKC-CA .History
In 1960, WGTV channel 8 signed on the air on
May 23 , licensed to theUniversity of Georgia and operating out of theGeorgia Center for Continuing Education . The station's VHF allocation was originally occupied byWSB-TV , which at that time was owned by the "Atlanta Journal". The "Journal"'s competitor inAtlanta , the "Atlanta Constitution", had applied for and received from the FCC aconstruction permit for channel 2, which was to be called WCON-TV. When the "Journal" and "Constitution"merge d,media ownership rules of the day did not permit one entity to own two television stations in the same market. Plans for WCON-TV were scrapped, WSB-TV moved to channel 2 from channel 8 in 1951. The ABC-TV affiliate WLTV broadcast on Channel 8 from 1951 to 1953, when the station moved to channel 11 (nowWXIA-TV ) to avoidradio interference with newly-launchedWROM-TV Rome, operating onadjacent channel 9.In 1953, channel 8 was given to the University for an
educational television station, which did not begin broadcasting until 1960. In 1982, ownership of the license was transferred from the University of Georgia to theGeorgia Public Telecommunications Commission , theoversight board for GPTV (now GPB TV).Programming
Programming on WGTV TV 8 and WPBA TV 30, both
PBS affiliates, is basically the same, with some important differences. Programs shown inprime time on one station, such as "Live from Lincoln Center ", will often be shunted on the other station to Sunday afternoons, which in some quarters is considered "viewing limbo", since many people are either at church, at sporting events, or at the movies. Sometimes a program carried by WPBA will not be shown at all by WGTV. Very often, WGTV has its own local programs, such as "Georgia Outdoors ".WPBA is owned by the Atlanta Public School System, and is only seen in metro Atlanta. Prior to 2001, both stations went off the air at midnight; WPBA still goes off the air on Sunday nights. WGTV used to sign off withRay Charles 's version of "Georgia On My Mind " which is the state's official song, while showing scenes from thenorth Georgia mountains to the Georgia coast.Broadcast translators
Both
broadcast translator s are or were located near the state's border withSouth Carolina , in areas where coverage from a full-powered GPB transmitter is insufficient, due to the distance from the main transmitters and the hilly or mountainous terrain in northeast Georgia.*W68AF Toccoa, which has applied for digital on 10 and has a
construction permit on 8
*W52AACarnesville, applied for digital on 12, dismissed October 2006, cancelled August 2007Three (originally several) other translators are assigned to other GPB TV stations
WNGH-TV (two) andWJSP-TV (one), though all stationssimulcast .Digital television (over the air)
The station's over the air digital channel is multiplexed:
In
2009 , WGTV will shut down analog operations on channel 8 and commence broadcastingdigital TV on channel 8 (operation on physical RF channel 12 will cease at the same time) when the analog to digital TV conversion is complete.http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf]References
External links
* [http://www.gpb.org/public/tv/ GPB Website]
*TVQ|WGTV
**TVQ|W68AF
**TVQ|DW52AA
*BIA|WGTV|TV|TV
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