WVIA-TV

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = WVIA-TV
city =
station_
station_slogan = The Leader in Local Programming
station_branding =
analog = 44 (UHF)
digital = 41 (UHF)
other_chs = W20CP 20 Mansfield
W25AQ 25 Towanda
W48AQ 48 Clarks Summit
affiliations = PBS
network =
founded =
airdate = September 26, 1966
location = Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
callsign_meaning = The World Via Television
former_callsigns =
former_channel_numbers =
owner = Northeast Pennsylvania Educational Television Association
licensee =
sister_stations = WVIA-FM
former_affiliations = NET (1966-1970)
effective_radiated_power = 1000 kW (analog)
51.1 kW (digital)
365 kW (digital) (fall 2008)
HAAT = 509 m (analog)
431 m (digital)
510 m (digital) (fall 2008)
class =
facility_id = 47929
coordinates = coord|41|10|55.5|N|75|52|15.2|W|type:landmark_scale:2000
homepage = [http://www.wvia.org/ www.wvia.org]

WVIA-TV is the PBS member station broadcasting on channel 44 to most of northeastern and central Pennsylvania. It is licensed to Scranton, with studios in Jenkins Township (which shares a post office with Pittston) and transmitter at the northeast Pennsylvania tower farm on Penobscot Knob.

History

In 1963, several men first met at Coughlin High School in Wilkes-Barre to discuss bringing an educational station to northeastern Pennsylvania. Twelve of the men formed the Northeast Pennsylvania Educational Television Association, chaired by Wilkes-Barre superintendent of schools Walter Wood. They received a license for channel 44 a year later.

The station's first employee, general manager George Strimel, Jr., was hired in 1965 and given two years to get the station on the air. He was able to do so within nine months, and WVIA-TV signed on for the first time on September 26, 1966. The fledgling station received a considerable assist from the area's commercial stations. WNEP-TV donated the old transmitter and tower facility from WARM-TV (one of the two stations that merged to form WNEP 10 years earlier), while WBRE-TV and WDAU-TV (now WYOU) made their studios available for local productions. All production work was done from the transmitter site.

The station grew rapidly, and within a year moved its offices from First Presbyterian Church in Wilkes-Barre to office space donated by King's College, and later to a school in Scranton. In 1969, WVIA moved to a specially-built studio at Marywood College in Scranton. In 1971, WVIA moved to its current studio in Jenkins Township.

The station didn't take long to become a part of the community; it won the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's award for community involvement for two straight years in the 1970s. It was the only public television station in Pennsylvania to stay on the air during a 1970 budget crisis. When Hurricane Agnes struck the area in 1972, WVIA preempted its programming to air weather reports around the clock, and lent its equipment to WBRE so it could stay on the air.

In 1978, WVIA activated its current tower on Penobscot Knob. It increased the station's coverage by 20%, enabling it to reach 20 counties and giving it a coverage area comparable with most of the area's commercial stations. The station also operates the largest translator network in Pennsylvania.

Digital Television

WVIA currently broadcasts four digital channels at 480i resolution typically (except from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. when one HD channel is broadcast at 1080i resolution):

*WVIA-DT (44.1) - WVIA's flagship digital service. Often it is a digital simulcast of programming available on the analog channel. Each weeknight from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., it broadcasts local and national programs in high definition (1080i resolution) and with surround sound audio, including PBS shows "Nature", "NOVA", "History Detectives" and "The American Experience".

*WVIADT2 (44.2) - Typically it is a duplicate of programming available on the analog channel. However, occasional special programming is carried. It is typically not available from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

*WVIA Create (44.3) - This channel offers a special separate program stream focusing mainly on creative programming such as cooking, gardening, home fix-it, and travel shows. It is typically not available from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

*WVIADT4 (44.4) - This channel offers mainly locally produced shows such as "Call The Doctor", "Homegrown Concerts", and shows focusing on Pennsylvania and Northeast Pennsylvania politics and issues. It is typically not available from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Translators

WVIA serves one of the largest coverage areas east of the Mississippi River. This area is very mountainous meaning that some areas cannot get a clear signal from channel 44. WVIA faces an additional problem because the Scranton / Wilkes-Barre television market is a "UHF island" because it is too close to Philadelphia and New York City for VHF analog service.

#WVIA currently has a construction permit for a Digital TV translator on this channel.
#WVIA was granted this channel under special temporary authority from the FCC. The site is owned and operated by Florida Power & Light.
#The channel will be a digital flash cut.

Partial Collapse of WVIA Broadcast Tower

On December 16, 2007, the top section of WVIA's tower collapsed due to severe ice, wind, and snowcite news|title=Ice Storm affects WVIA-TV Signal - FM and TV 44 still on the air|author=WVIA-TV|date=December 17, 2007|accessyear = 2007|accessmonthday = December 17|publisher = WVIA|url=http://www.wvia.org] . The felled top section of the tower supported the antennas for the analog TV signal on channel 44 and the digital TV signal on channel 41. WVIA-FM's antenna survived since it was located on the portion of the tower which did not collapse. After the incident, WVIA quickly put the analog TV signal back on the air through the use of a shorter back-up tower and antenna also located on Penobscot Knob. However, due to the shorter height, the service area has been limited.

Earlier that same day, the neighboring tower supporting the antennas for analog WNEP-TV (channel 16) and WCLH-FM 90.7 MHz collapsed completely due to the ice and windscite news|title=Storm tips TV towers|author=Steve Mocarsky and Mark Sowers|date=December 17, 2007|accessyear = 2007|accessmonthday = December 17|publisher = The Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania)|url=http://www.timesleader.com/news/20071217_17storm_sm_ART.html] . The tower collapse also destroyed the transmitter building but no one was hurt in either incidentscite news|title=Storm tips TV towers|author=Steve Mocarsky and Mark Sowers|date=December 17, 2007|accessyear = 2007|accessmonthday = December 17|publisher = The Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania)|url=http://www.timesleader.com/news/20071217_17storm_sm_ART.html] .

External links

* [http://www.wvia.org/ WVIA web site]
*TVQ|WVIA
*TVQ|W20CP
*TVQ|W25AQ
*TVQ|W47DH-D
*TVQ|W48AQ
*BIA|WVIA|TV|TV

References