WEDU
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Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida United States | |
---|---|
City | Tampa, Florida |
Channels | Digital: 13 (VHF) (shared with WEDQ) Virtual: 3 |
Branding | WEDU PBS |
Programming | |
Affiliations | 3.1: PBS 3.2: World 3.3: The Florida Channel |
Ownership | |
Owner | Florida West Coast Public Broadcasting, Inc. |
WEDQ | |
History | |
First air date | October 17, 1958 |
Former channel number(s) | Analog: 3 (VHF, 1958–2009) Digital: 54 (UHF, until 2009) |
NET (1958–1970) | |
Call sign meaning | EDUcation |
Technical information | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 21808 |
ERP | 25 kW 38 kW (application) |
HAAT | 470.9 m (1,545 ft) 471.9 m (1,548 ft) (application) |
Transmitter coordinates | 27°50′51.5″N 82°15′49.4″W / 27.847639°N 82.263722°WCoordinates: 27°50′51.5″N 82°15′49.4″W / 27.847639°N 82.263722°W |
Links | |
Public license information | Profile LMS |
Website | www |
WEDU, virtual channel 3 (VHF digital channel 13), is a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member television station licensed to Tampa, Florida, United States and serving the Tampa Bay area. Owned by Florida West Coast Public Broadcasting, it is a sister station to fellow PBS member WEDQ (channel 3.4). The two stations share studios on North Boulevard in Tampa, and transmitter facilities in Riverview, Florida.
History[edit]
![]() | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September 2017) |
The station first signed on the air on October 17, 1958. For many years, WEDU has been one of the highest-rated stations in the PBS system. At one point, it was the third most-watched PBS member station in the country.[1][2]
On February 8, 2017, USF announced that the license for secondary PBS outlet WUSF-TV had been sold for $18.8 million in the FCC spectrum auction, and that it would cease operations;[3][4] on August 11, it announced that the station would go off the air on October 15.[5]
On October 8, it was announced that WUSF-TV had entered into a channel sharing agreement with WEDU, enabling the station to continue operations. WUSF-TV's broadcast license would also be transferred to WEDU's owner, Florida West Coast Public Broadcasting;[6] the transfer was completed on January 24, 2018.[7]
On October 16, 2017 at midnight, WEDU began airing two of WUSF-TV's former subchannels, PBS Kids and Create, located on 3.5 and 3.6, respectively. Also on that date, WUSF-TV changed its calls to WEDQ, and began airing the secondary lineup of PBS programming that had previously aired on WEDU's fourth subchannel under the branding "WEDU Plus."
Digital television[edit]
Digital channels[edit]
The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP Short Name | Programming[8] |
---|---|---|---|---|
3.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | WEDU-HD | Main WEDU programming / PBS |
3.2 | 480i | WEDU WD | World | |
3.3 | WEDU FL | The Florida Channel |
Analog-to-digital conversion[edit]
WEDU shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 3, on February 17, 2009, to conclude the federally mandated transition from analog to digital television.[9][10] The station moved its digital signal from its pre-transition UHF channel 54. That channel was among the high band UHF channels (52-69) that were removed from broadcast service. On June 12, 2009, it moved to VHF channel 13. Channel 13 originally was the analog channel for Fox owned-and-operated station WTVT but that station vacated Channel 13 on the rescheduled date of the digital television transition,[11] using PSIP to display WEDU's virtual channel as 3 on digital television receivers.
References[edit]
- ^ WEDU history section from 2002 archive of Website
- ^ "WEDU.org". Florida West Coast Public Broadcasting, Inc. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
- ^ McNeill, Claire. "Auction nets USF $18.8M, but spells end to WUSF-TV". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
- ^ WUSF TV License Sold; Station Will End Operations
- ^ "WUSF TV to shut down Oct. 15". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
- ^ WUSF-WEDU CSA
- ^ "Consummation Notice". Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
- ^ http://www.wedu.org/channels/
- ^ Congress delays digital TV switch, but WEDU will switch this month, Eric Deggans, St. Petersburg Times, February 5, 2009
- ^ List of Digital Full-Power Stations
- ^ WEDU FCC DTV status report