WEDU

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WEDU
New WEDU PBS logo 2021.png
Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida
United States
CityTampa, Florida
ChannelsDigital: 13 (VHF)
(shared with WEDQ)
Virtual: 3
BrandingWEDU PBS
Programming
Affiliations3.1: PBS
3.2: World
3.3: The Florida Channel
Ownership
OwnerFlorida West Coast Public Broadcasting, Inc.
WEDQ
History
First air date
October 17, 1958 (63 years ago) (1958-10-17)
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 ID21808
ERP25 kW
38 kW (application)
HAAT470.9 m (1,545 ft)
471.9 m (1,548 ft) (application)
Transmitter coordinates27°50′51.5″N 82°15′49.4″W / 27.847639°N 82.263722°W / 27.847639; -82.263722Coordinates: 27°50′51.5″N 82°15′49.4″W / 27.847639°N 82.263722°W / 27.847639; -82.263722
Links
Public license information
Profile
LMS
Websitewww.wedu.org

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[]

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[]

Digital channels[]

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect 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[]

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[]

  1. ^ WEDU history section from 2002 archive of Website
  2. ^ "WEDU.org". Florida West Coast Public Broadcasting, Inc. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  3. ^ McNeill, Claire. "Auction nets USF $18.8M, but spells end to WUSF-TV". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
  4. ^ WUSF TV License Sold; Station Will End Operations
  5. ^ "WUSF TV to shut down Oct. 15". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
  6. ^ WUSF-WEDU CSA
  7. ^ "Consummation Notice". Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  8. ^ "How To Watch".
  9. ^ Congress delays digital TV switch, but WEDU will switch this month, Eric Deggans, St. Petersburg Times, February 5, 2009
  10. ^ List of Digital Full-Power Stations
  11. ^ WEDU FCC DTV status report

External links[]

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