A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth's surface to any number of tuned receivers simultaneously.
60-504: WCTV (channel 6) is a television station licensed to Thomasville, Georgia , United States, serving the Tallahassee, Florida , market as an affiliate of CBS and MyNetworkTV . It is owned by Gray Television alongside Live Oak, Florida –licensed MeTV affiliate WFXU (channel 57). The two stations share studios on Halstead Boulevard in Tallahassee (along I-10 ); WCTV's transmitter
120-737: A barter in some cases. WSWG WSWG (channel 44) is a television station in Valdosta, Georgia , United States, affiliated with CBS , serving the Albany, Georgia , market. It is owned by Marquee Broadcasting alongside Cordele -licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate WSST-TV (channel 55). WSWG's offices are located on Slappey Boulevard in Albany , and its transmitter is located in unincorporated Cook County , northeast of Adel, Georgia . Master control and some internal operations are based at WSST's studios on 7th Street South in Cordele. Although Valdosta
180-552: A local marketing agreement (LMA). The president of Southern Nights, Don Palmer, was unaware of the Venture Technologies deal until two months later. When Hutchens could not pay the loan to Venture, it sued for the money. A new lease agreement and deal to purchase 51 percent of the station was entered in September 1998, owing to HCI's heavy indebtedness. On its first attempt to buy the station alright, however, legal fallout from
240-426: A semi-satellite of WCTV (see below). The acquisition created a strong combined signal with just under 50% overlap. WCTV had been the default CBS affiliate for Albany for many years. In March 2006, WCTV moved from its longtime studios on County Road 12 in northern Leon County (approximately midway between Tallahassee and Thomasville) to new facilities on Halstead Boulevard in Tallahassee. The location formerly housed
300-467: A Tallahassee station from the very beginning. However, it has always identified as serving "Thomasville–Tallahassee," and has operated a live studio, news bureau and advertising sales office in Thomasville for many years. The station originally carried programming from all three networks, but was a primarily an NBC affiliate. This resulted in duplication with WALB-TV in nearby Albany, Georgia , which
360-535: A jury trial in Chatham County in July 1991. In February 1992, Morris Network reached a deal to sell WVGA to WTXL-TV owner ET Broadcasting. ET immediately dropped what local programming remained on the station—which had not aired local news in more than a year—and turned it into a full-time satellite of WTXL-TV, also an ABC affiliate. The FCC granted permission for the two stations to be commonly owned in September, citing
420-586: A local restaurant. In order to find cash, Hutchens struck deals with two different companies related to the station. One was Venture Technologies Group, which granted a $ 50,000 loan and also filed in April 1998 to have the FCC license transferred to it. The other was Southern Nights Entertainment Corporation (SNE), owner of W17AB/WVUP-LP in Tallahassee, which in March 1998 entered into an agreement with Hutchens to run channel 44 under
480-415: A much shorter wavelength, and thus requires a shorter antenna, but also higher power. North American stations can go up to 5000 kW ERP for video and 500 kW audio, or 1000 kW digital. Low channels travel further than high ones at the same power, but UHF does not suffer from as much electromagnetic interference and background "noise" as VHF, making it much more desirable for TV. Despite this, in
540-471: A result of the 2016 United States wireless spectrum auction . Marquee requested that WSWG's city of license be changed from Valdosta to Moultrie in 2021, in order to have a city of license within the Albany market; the station is assigned to Albany though Valdosta is in the Tallahassee market. In September 2023, the request was dismissed; the FCC noted it would have left no TV station licensed to Valdosta, which
600-436: A sale and the ultimate resignation of the company's namesake. After being steadied by changes in ownership and management, Gray Television acquired it in 2005, combined its operations with WCTV under the call sign WSWG, and then repurposed it the next year as a semi-satellite of WCTV for the Albany area. This continued until 2019, when Gray purchased Raycom Media and was forced to sell WSWG to remain under ownership limits in
660-570: A secondary ABC affiliation while airing some NBC shows on a per-program basis. It was still the only commercial VHF station in the market (the only other VHF stations were PBS members WFSU-TV on channel 11, and Georgia Public Broadcasting 's WXGA-TV on channel 8). It was the only commercial station in the area until WECA-TV (now WTXL-TV ) began operations in 1976 and took the ABC affiliation. The Phipps family sold channel 6 to Gray Communications, now Gray Television, in 1996. Gray's purchase of WCTV forced
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#1732884018819720-689: A semi-satellite, WSWG simulcasted all local newscasts from WCTV, except for weeknights at 5 and 5:30. Although that station did not produce any separate southwestern-Georgia-specific segments during the simulcasted shows, WCTV formerly operated a news bureau in Valdosta. It also formerly maintained bureaus in Thomasville on North Broad Street, and in Moultrie at WSWG's sales office. WCTV's former reporters assigned to southwest Georgia did not use any localized WSWG identification. WCTV did not provide news coverage of Albany despite WSWG being its CBS affiliate. However, there
780-548: A separate offering of syndicated programming; there were also separate station identifications and commercial inserts. Although master control and most internal operations of WSWG were based within WCTV's facilities, that outlet does currently maintains offices on Pine Avenue in Albany; it previously maintained a news bureau and advertising sales office on 2nd Avenue Southwest in Moultrie, Georgia . Even though WSWG technically serves as
840-501: A third party. On August 20, 2018, Gray announced that they would sell both WTXL-TV and KXXV (along with semi-satellite KRHD-CD in Bryan ) to the E. W. Scripps Company for $ 55 million. The deal was completed on January 2, 2019. From 2005 until 2019, WSWG operated as a semi-satellite of WCTV. As such, that station cleared all network programming as provided through its parent and simulcast most of WCTV's local newscasts (see below), but aired
900-425: A variety of ways to generate revenue from television commercials . They may be an independent station or part of a broadcasting network , or some other structure. They can produce some or all of their programs or buy some broadcast syndication programming for or all of it from other stations or independent production companies. Many stations have some sort of television studio , which on major-network stations
960-496: Is non-commercial educational (NCE) and considered public broadcasting . To avoid concentration of media ownership of television stations, government regulations in most countries generally limit the ownership of television stations by television networks or other media operators, but these regulations vary considerably. Some countries have set up nationwide television networks, in which individual television stations act as mere repeaters of nationwide programs . In those countries,
1020-470: Is broadcast via terrestrial radio waves. A group of television stations with common ownership or affiliation are known as a TV network and an individual station within the network is referred to as O&O or affiliate , respectively. Because television station signals use the electromagnetic spectrum, which in the past has been a common, scarce resource, governments often claim authority to regulate them. Broadcast television systems standards vary around
1080-562: Is located in unincorporated Thomas County, Georgia , southeast of Metcalf , along the Florida state line. WCTV was Tallahassee and southwest Georgia's first television station. On October 13, 1954, the Tallahassee Democrat first reported on plans for the new station. On August 29, 1955, the station began airing a test pattern. It signed on for the first time on September 15, 1955, from studios on North Monroe Street in Tallahassee. WCTV
1140-792: Is often used for newscasts or other local programming . There is usually a news department , where journalists gather information. There is also a section where electronic news-gathering (ENG) operations are based, receiving remote broadcasts via remote pickup unit or satellite TV . Outside broadcasting vans, production trucks , or SUVs with electronic field production (EFP) equipment are sent out with reporters , who may also bring back news stories on video tape rather than sending them back live . To keep pace with technology United States television stations have been replacing operators with broadcast automation systems to increase profits in recent years. Some stations (known as repeaters or translators ) only simulcast another, usually
1200-501: Is part of the Tallahassee, Florida , television market, which receives CBS programming from Thomasville, Georgia –licensed WCTV (channel 6), WSWG is the CBS affiliate for Albany. WSST-TV simulcasts two of WSWG's subchannels as 55.20 (CBS) and 55.2 (MeTV). Channel 44 in Valdosta went on the air in 1980 as ABC affiliate WVGA. It operated as a small station with limited local programming from December 1980 to February 1992. During this time, it
1260-405: The broadcast range , or geographic area, that the station is limited to, allocates the broadcast frequency of the radio spectrum for that station's transmissions, sets limits on what types of television programs can be programmed for broadcast and requires a station to broadcast a minimum amount of certain programs types, such as public affairs messages . Another form of television station
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#17328840188191320-534: The electricity bill and emergency backup generators . In North America , full-power stations on band I (channels 2 to 6) are generally limited to 100 kW analog video ( VSB ) and 10 kW analog audio ( FM ), or 45 kW digital ( 8VSB ) ERP. Stations on band III (channels 7 to 13) can go up by 5 dB to 316 kW video, 31.6 kW audio, or 160 kW digital. Low-VHF stations are often subject to long-distance reception just as with FM. There are no stations on Channel 1 . UHF , by comparison, has
1380-446: The Albany market) that are programmed separately. With the sale of WSWG to Marquee Broadcasting (enabling Gray to re-acquire WALB as part of its buyout of Raycom Media), that arrangement was formally broken in April 2019 after a transitional period. WCTV produces 31 hours per week of local news (five hours per day on weekdays; three hours per day Saturday and Sunday). Through a news-share agreement, WCTV also produces local newscasts for
1440-472: The CBS affiliate for the Albany market , its over-the-air broadcasting radius falls just short of Albany proper. This forces the station to rely on cable and satellite for most of its viewership. However, WCTV's more powerful digital signal reaches into Albany. Despite WSWG once being a semi-satellite of WCTV, it operates two digital subchannels (serving as the MyNetworkTV/ MeTV and CW affiliates for
1500-520: The FCC the next year and operate as a digital-only channel on UHF channel 43. In addition to WSWG, Gray had accounting and human resources offices in Albany, a legacy of its establishment in the city; these were closed in 2015, with operations being consolidated at corporate headquarters in Atlanta. By that year, WSWG also was broadcasting The CW to Albany as a subchannel. On August 16, 2018, Gray announced that it would sell WSWG to Marquee Broadcasting ;
1560-457: The FCC to grant the Phipps family a license for channel 6 in Thomasville, the nearest city to Tallahassee that had a VHF allocation available. This could provide city-grade coverage of Tallahassee and north central Florida as well as southwestern Georgia. By this time, the FCC had changed its regulations to allow a station to operate its main studio outside its city of license. As a result, WCTV has been
1620-621: The Norman Drive building. By 2003, Broadcasting & Cable considered the station to be the third television station in the Albany market, along with NBC affiliate WALB-TV and Fox affiliate WFXL . Control of Hutchens Communications shifted from Gary Hutchens and Robert Lee Hutchens Jr. to Paul Shok and Donald W. Meinke; the company was renamed Padon Communications and then P.D. Communications. P.D. Communications sold WVAG to Gray Television for $ 3.75 million in 2005. For Gray, which had founded Albany's The Albany Herald and WALB-TV but
1680-627: The U.S., the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is taking another large portion of this band (channels 52 to 69) away, in contrast to the rest of the world, which has been taking VHF instead. This means that some stations left on VHF are harder to receive after the analog shutdown . Since at least 1974, there are no stations on channel 37 in North America for radio astronomy purposes. Most television stations are commercial broadcasting enterprises which are structured in
1740-639: The air as an ABC affiliate. His Hutchens Communications (HCI) acquired the station for $ 1 million and announced in January 1994 that it would use its own studio facilities in conjunction with the Adel tower. Hutchens reopened the station on October 28, 1995, as WGVP, an affiliate of The WB . It originally operated from temporary studios in Remerton, Georgia , but it returned to the former WVGA building because no other suitable facility existed in Valdosta. The station's tower
1800-399: The air. For the next two years, several groups looked at purchasing the station, which Morris threatened to dismantle. Gary Hutchens, a local business owner whose Welcome Channel broadcast local programming on the Valdosta cable system and the owner of video production firm Georgia Video Professionals, mounted an effort to put the station back on the air, proposing initially to return it to
1860-629: The area's Fox affiliate WTWC-DT2 (owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group ): the hour-long Fox 49 Morning News ; and Fox 49 News at 10 - in both cases, the only local newscasts in their time periods. All news programming can be seen in high definition (down-converted to air in WTWC-DT2's 720p format) featuring a different graphics package and music theme than WCTV. The shows originate from this station's primary set at its studios but with unique graphics and branding. WCTV has traditionally been
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1920-505: The company to sell WALB, its flagship station in Albany, because WALB's signal has city-grade quality in most of the Georgia side of the market (including Thomasville and Valdosta ). WALB had doubled as the default NBC affiliate for Tallahassee for many years until WTWC signed on in April 1983. In 2004, Gray purchased WSWG in Valdosta, a UPN affiliate for the Albany market. The station dropped UPN in September of that year and joined CBS as
1980-488: The deal made it a sister station to WSST-TV (channel 22), an independent station that Marquee had earlier agreed to acquire. The sale was part of Gray's acquisition of Raycom Media , owner of WALB; Gray elected to keep WALB and sell WSWG. In April 2019, Marquee severed WSWG's ties to WCTV. Gray retained the CW affiliation, which moved to WGCW-LD . WSWG relocated its signal from channel 43 to channel 31 on November 30, 2018, as
2040-430: The fact that Morris had shopped the station to buyers since 1987 without success; company officials also noted that WVGA was sandwiched between two markets and national ratings services could not agree as to in which market the station belonged. However, the sale was never consummated due to what were described as technical differences. ET walked away from the deal on November 6, 1992. Without a programming source, WVGA left
2100-534: The highest bidder on the steps of the Lowndes County courthouse. Hutchens resigned in October 2000, the same month three lawsuits between Hutchens Communications and Southern Nights were consolidated and assigned to a special master . In 2001, the call letters were changed to WVAG, and a new antenna was installed to improve coverage. Studios were relocated to new facilities, with cable company Mediacom occupying
2160-420: The highest point available in the transmission area, such as on a summit , the top of a high skyscraper , or on a tall radio tower . To get a signal from the master control room to the transmitter, a studio/transmitter link (STL) is used. The link can be either by radio or T1 / E1 . A transmitter/studio link (TSL) may also send telemetry back to the station, but this may be embedded in subcarriers of
2220-400: The local television station has no station identification and, from a consumer's point of view, there is no practical distinction between a network and a station, with only small regional changes in programming, such as local television news . To broadcast its programs, a television station requires operators to operate equipment, a transmitter or radio antenna , which is often located at
2280-419: The main broadcast. Stations which retransmit or simulcast another may simply pick-up that station over-the-air , or via STL or satellite. The license usually specifies which other station it is allowed to carry. VHF stations often have very tall antennas due to their long wavelength , but require much less effective radiated power (ERP), and therefore use much less transmitter power output , also saving on
2340-419: The market's dominant station in the ratings due in part to the fact that it was the only commercial station in the area until WTXL's launch. WTWC has never been a contender in the market because its two attempts to air local newscasts were both unsuccessful. The second news department operated by that station (lasting from 1997 until 2000) was shuttered due to poor viewership and budget cuts. During its time as
2400-458: The market. It was then purchased by Marquee Broadcasting. Peachtree Telecasting, a consortium of out-of-state investors, applied to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1978 to build a new TV station in Valdosta. The permit was issued in April 1979, and Peachtree began meeting with the major television networks, seeking an affiliation. The group won the ABC affiliation for the Valdosta area;
2460-477: The nearest ABC affiliate, WECA-TV (now WTXL-TV ) in Tallahassee, Florida , did not adequately cover the city. Peachtree Telecasting investors also included Hi Ho Broadcasting, owner of ABC affiliate WDHN in Dothan, Alabama . Construction stretched through most of 1980: the station set up studios on Norman Drive and erected a tower near Adel . The station began broadcasting on the evening of December 24. However,
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2520-471: The now-defunct Florida's News Channel , a cable-only operation. On February 17, 2009, WCTV shut off its analog signal on channel 6, and became digital-exclusive on UHF channel 46. On June 25, 2018, Gray Television announced that it would acquire Raycom Media , who had owned ABC affiliate WTXL-TV since 2017. Because the FCC prohibits a direct duopoly between two of the top four stations in the same market, Gray opted to retain ownership of WCTV and sell WTXL to
2580-551: The pending Venture suit delayed the transfer. After Venture's suit was dropped in February 1999, Southern Nights reached another deal in February 2000 to buy the station. However, by the time the FCC had granted approval, HCI could not perform; Hutchens no longer owned 51 percent of the station, while Hutchens claimed that Southern Nights had constantly changing financial asks. The deal fell apart in August, and HCI had to reestablish control of
2640-476: The programmes seen on its owner's flagship station, and have no television studio or production facilities of their own. This is common in developing countries . Low-power stations typically also fall into this category worldwide. Most stations which are not simulcast produce their own station identifications . TV stations may also advertise on or provide weather (or news) services to local radio stations , particularly co-owned sister stations . This may be
2700-413: The station got off to a visibly bumpy start. It had presented a $ 16,000 check to the local chamber of commerce for office renovations in a goodwill gesture, but the check turned out to be bad; further, the studio-transmitter link was misaligned, leading to a degraded signal. Local programming slowly ramped up, first with commercial production and a local farm show before debuting evening newscasts. However,
2760-418: The station had a very difficult time obtaining national advertising, affecting its financial viability. WVGA had to compete with WALB in Albany and WCTV in Tallahassee, which drew higher ratings in the market. Morris Network acquired WVGA and WDHN in 1986. Two years later, however, tragedy struck. On the morning of August 17, 1988, a dense fog spread over the region. Frank Blaydes, a doctor from Cairo ,
2820-467: The station, dropping UPN programming for several days before it could be restored. MainStreet Broadcasting, a Pennsylvania management company with experience in turning around troubled TV stations, was brought in by the other stockholders in HCI to steady WGVP. Meanwhile, in September 2000—pursuant to early 1999 agreements between Southern Nights and HCI—SNE attempted to auction its rights to purchase Hutchens to
2880-440: The time. Until the 1964 FCC requirement that all new sets have all-channel capability, UHF stations were unviewable without a converter, and even with one, the picture quality was marginal at best. Additionally, the FCC had just collapsed a large portion of southwest Georgia into the Tallahassee market, and UHF stations have never carried well across large areas. Hoyt Wimpy, owner and founder of WPAX radio in Thomasville, persuaded
2940-429: The weather at Adel. The tower collapse knocked WVGA off the air until January 1989, costing it considerable advertising revenue. Blaydes's parents initially sued Peachtree Telecasting for wrongful death compensation, claiming the station had been negligent in maintaining the tower. That lawsuit was dropped and replaced with one against Morris, to which the company responded with a countersuit. The matter proceeded to
3000-455: The world. Television stations broadcasting over an analog system were typically limited to one television channel , but digital television enables broadcasting via subchannels as well. Television stations usually require a broadcast license from a government agency which sets the requirements and limitations on the station. In the United States, for example, a television license defines
3060-462: Was severe weather coverage for all of the Albany market when conditions warranted, such as during a tornado warning . WCTV upgraded its news production to high definition level on August 3, 2009, and the simulcasts on WSWG were included in the switch. The stations' signals are multiplexed : Television station The Fernsehsender Paul Nipkow ( TV Station Paul Nipkow ) in Berlin , Germany ,
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#17328840188193120-415: Was also a primary NBC affiliate; any time either station wanted to carry a CBS program, both stations had to agree to it. As a result, WCTV was forced to air some CBS programs on as much as a two-week delay, while some shows, including popular ones like I Love Lucy , were not seen at all. To resolve this issue, WCTV switched its primary affiliation to CBS on September 20, 1959; however, it continued to carry
3180-448: Was broadcast as the station's primary service, with MyNetworkTV on a subchannel. On January 30, 2007, WSWG's analog transmission unexpectedly went dark, and a technician's report showed a damaged transmission line and power divider at floor level. Rather than incur $ 180,000 in repair costs to the tower and power divider, because all WSWG viewers were already in the analog service area of WCTV, Gray opted to surrender its analog license to
3240-564: Was forced to divest the latter upon acquiring WCTV in 1996 due to signal overlap, the purchase marked a return to the Albany market. Under Gray, the station was renamed WSWG, for Southwest Georgia, in November 2005. WCTV oversaw operations of the station. In December 2005, Gray announced that it would add CBS programming to a subchannel of WSWG, the first-ever CBS affiliation with a subchannel. However, when The WB and UPN announced their merger into The CW in 2006, these plans changed. Instead, CBS
3300-474: Was off the air in late 1988 and early 1989 after a small airplane crashed into its tower. WTXL-TV , the ABC affiliate in Tallahassee, ran the station for seven months but ultimately withdrew from its attempt to buy it, after which time it was off the air for three years. Hutchens Communications rebuilt the station as WB affiliate WGVP in 1995, changing to UPN in 1997. Financial issues snarled Hutchens Communications ownership and led to several attempts to force
3360-424: Was originally owned by John H. Phipps. Although it has always considered itself a Tallahassee station, it was licensed to Thomasville because the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had allocated only one VHF channel to Tallahassee, channel 11. Florida State University had managed to have the FCC reserve channel 11 for noncommercial use so it could put WFSU-TV on the air. UHF was not considered viable at
3420-471: Was piloting a Cessna 172 and had been diverted from Valdosta's airport to Adel. He never made it; after apparently mistaking the lights on the WVGA tower for the lights at the Adel airport, he crashed his plane into the tower. The impact killed Blaydes and collapsed WVGA's tower. Investigators determined that the pilot was not rated to land in such weather conditions and that no information was available to him about
3480-429: Was the affiliate in the full market, its signal did not reach Tallahassee, leaving that city without UPN programming for more than a year until W17AB, later WVUP-LP , picked up the network as well in October 1998. Meanwhile, back in Valdosta, financial problems were beginning to arise. In September, some employees staged a walkout for lack of payment. Other employees would later speak of being paid in gift certificates to
3540-674: Was the first regular television service in the world. It was on the air from 22 March 1935, until it was shut down in 1944. The station was named after Paul Gottlieb Nipkow , the inventor of the Nipkow disk . Most often the term "television station" refers to a station which broadcasts structured content to an audience or it refers to the organization that operates the station. A terrestrial television transmission can occur via analog television signals or, more recently, via digital television signals. Television stations are differentiated from cable television or other video providers as their content
3600-541: Was the site of tragedy yet again on August 11, 1996, during a helicopter lift of the old antenna off the mast as part of its replacement. The helicopter clipped the tower and crashed into the forest; the pilot died instantly. WGVP switched to UPN on August 25, 1997, becoming the UPN affiliate of record in the Tallahassee and Albany media markets. In the switch, it retained its local news coverage, with newscasts at 6, 10, and 11 p.m., until January 1998. Even though it technically
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