WPBS-TV

WNPI-DT
Satellite of WPBS-TV
Norwood, New York; United States
Channels	Digital: 23 (UHF); Virtual: 18
Branding	see WPBS-TV infobox
Programming
Affiliations	18.1: PBS; 18.2: Create; 18.3: World; 18.4: PBS Kids
Ownership
Owner	St. Lawrence Valley Educational Television Council, Inc.
History
First air date	September 5, 1971 (50 years ago)
Former call signs	WNPI-TV (1971−2009)
Former channel number(s)	Analog:; 18 (UHF, 1971–2009)
Call sign meaning	Watertown/; Norwood; Public; Instruction
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	62137
ERP	40 kW
HAAT	241.6 m (793 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	44°29′29″N 74°51′26″W / 44.49139°N 74.85722°W
Links
Public license information	Profile; LMS

WPBS-TV
Watertown, New York/Ottawa, Ontario; United States/Canada
Channels	Digital: 26 (UHF); Virtual: 16
Branding	WPBS PBS
Programming
Affiliations	16.1: PBS; 16.2: Create; 16.3: World; 16.4: PBS Kids
Ownership
Owner	St. Lawrence Valley Educational TV Council, Inc.
History
First air date	August 20, 1971 (50 years ago)
Former call signs	WNPE-TV (1971–1998); WPBS-TV (1998–2009); WPBS-DT (2009–2020)
Former channel number(s)	Analog:; 16 (UHF, 1971–2009); Digital:; 41 (UHF, 2005–2019)
Call sign meaning	Watertown; Public; Broadcasting; Service
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	62136
ERP	98 kW
HAAT	373.3 m (1,225 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	43°51′46″N 75°43′38″W / 43.86278°N 75.72722°W
Links
Public license information	Profile; LMS
Website	www.wpbstv.org

WPBS-TV, virtual channel 16 (UHF digital channel 26), is a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member television station licensed to Watertown, New York, United States and serving Upstate New York's North Country. The station is owned by the St. Lawrence Valley Educational TV Council. WPBS-TV's studios are located on Arsenal Street in Watertown, and its transmitter is located on St. Lawrence County Route 194 in Denmark.

WNPI-DT (virtual channel 18, UHF digital channel 23) in Norwood operates as a full-time satellite of WPBS; this station's transmitter is located in South Colton, New York. WNPI covers areas of northeastern New York that receive a marginal to non-existent signal from WPBS, although there is significant overlap between the two stations' contours otherwise. WNPI is a straight simulcast of WPBS; on-air references to WNPI are limited to Federal Communications Commission (FCC)-mandated hourly station identifications during programming. Aside from the transmitter, WNPI does not maintain any physical presence locally in Norwood.

The two stations combined have significant viewership in much of eastern Ontario, Canada, including Ottawa and Kingston; their slogan "Your Two-Nation Station" reflects this Canadian audience.

History[]

The St. Lawrence Valley Educational Television Council, which was organized in 1958, originally produced educational television programming to be carried by local CBS affiliate WWNY-TV (channel 7). In 1971, it established a free-standing PBS station, WNPE-TV, using WWNY's original studios on Champion Hill as the commercial station had already relocated to a larger facility in Watertown. Full-time satellite WNPI-TV signed on a few weeks later. Outgrowing the Champion Hill location itself, WNPE moved to a new building in Watertown in 1978.

Because of its large Canadian viewership, WNPE was one of the more successful PBS stations, with fundraising totals often exceeding those of stations in much larger markets.

For a minor sum, the rights to use the WPBS call letters were purchased from a small radio station in Conyers, Georgia in the late 1990s; the call sign change to WPBS-TV took effect on September 1, 1998. Following the shutdown of analog television signals, WPBS switched to a "-DT" suffix on July 2, 2009,^[3] as did WNPI;^[4] WPBS returned to the "-TV" suffix on March 11, 2020.^[3] Despite the calls, which mimic the callsign schemes used by stations owned by ABC, NBC and CBS in New York City and Los Angeles, WPBS-TV is not an owned-and-operated station (nor is similarly-named KPBS in San Diego, California), as PBS cannot own or operate any of its member stations or regional member networks due to the network's local and non-profit nature; the WPBS callsign reflects the station's affiliation and programming, but not any special status within PBS.

Despite its strong viewership in Canada, Rogers Cable, the main cable provider in Ottawa, announced in July 2009 that it would replace WPBS on its systems with Detroit's WTVS by mid-August to provide a higher-quality PBS feed, as WTVS could be fed via fiber optic cable rather than from over-the-air signals.^[5] Shortly after receiving this news, a Facebook campaign called 'Save WPBS in Ottawa' (later renamed 'Ottawa Loves WPBS') urging Rogers to reconsider its decision to pull the station was launched, attracting hundreds of supporters, as well as local Ottawa politicians. On July 30, 2009, it was announced that WPBS would offer a fiber-optic feed of the station for Rogers transmitted from Buffalo, New York.^[6]^[7]^[8]

Erie, Pennsylvania's WQLN, which serves viewers in the London, Ontario area through Rogers, was also threatened with removal from the Rogers system;^[9] as with WPBS, WQLN offered a fiber connection with Rogers.^[10]

Coverage area[]

WPBS-TV can be seen by a total of 2.2 million viewers.^[11] This is despite the fact it is the smallest PBS member in New York State; there are only 252,000 people in its American viewing area. However, the signal from its two towers reaches far enough to serve the Ottawa Valley region via cable. This market, with over 1.5 million people–almost six times the population of WPBS' American viewing area)–is the fourth-largest in Canada. Much of WPBS' viewer support has also come from Canadian viewers, as 70% of donations during recent pledge drives came from viewers in Ottawa.^[5] The station also maintains a mailing address in Gananoque, Ontario to service its Canadian donors.

WPBS' service area comprises mostly rural areas and small towns. The only major urban areas in its service area are Ottawa and Kingston.

In the past, reflecting its two-nation audience, the U.S. and Canadian national anthems were played on station sign-on and sign-off.

Digital television[]

Digital channels[]

The stations' digital signals are multiplexed:

Channel	Video	Aspect	PSIP short name	Programming
16.1 18.1	1080i	16:9	WPBS HD WNPI-HD	Main programming / PBS
16.2 18.2	480i		WPBS-2 WNPI-2	Create
16.3 18.3			WPBS-3 WNPI	World
16.4 18.4			WPBS-4 WNPI4	PBS Kids

The four digital subchannels are identical for both WPBS-TV and WNPI-DT.

The station had requested an increase in power from 40 kW to 60 kW for each digital transmitter. While this request had not been addressed by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission in time for WPBS/WNPI's April 12, 2009 analogue shutoff date, which was sooner than the June 12, 2009 date for American analogue stations to end, a construction permit was issued later that year for the increased-power digital facilities.

WPBS-TV's former analogue channel number (UHF 16) was in use by WXXI-TV in Rochester from 2003 until 2019. WNPI-TV's former analogue channel number (UHF 18) and antenna location has been reassigned to WWNY-CD, a Massena rebroadcaster of Fox affiliate WNYF-CD.

Programming[]

WPBS produces a variety of programming for both local and national distribution. For many outside New York and the surrounding region, WPBS is synonymous with programming ranging from Rod and Reel and Streamside (distributed to PBS member stations nationally from 1985–2006).^[12] to Classical Stretch (distributed nationally since 1999 by APT).^[13] They also carry other nationally distributed programs from PBS and American Public Television.

WPBS-produced TV series[]

Energy Efficiency: Enhancing Home Performance
Bill Saiff's Rod & Reel (1985–2001, nationally distributed by PBS)
Cabin Country
Camp Willie
Discovering Pets
The Gardener (2001, a thirteen-part series).^[14]^[15]
Journeys Of An Artist (2006, national) a thirteen-episode series combining art and travel.^[16]
Streamside with Don Meissner^[17]

National programming[]

WPBS-originated programming distributed to public television stations nationally by American Public Television^[18] includes:

The Artist's World
Artist's World Sketches
CD Highway
Classical Stretch^[19]^[20] (1999–2005)
Cottage Country
Flyfishing Destinations
From A Country Garden^[21]^[22]
Rod & Reel Streamside (2001–2006)^[23]

WPBS-originated programming distributed to public television stations by the National Educational Telecommunications Association^[24] includes:

Fishing Behind the Lines^[25]
The New Fly Fisher^[26]^[27]
Painting with ^[28]

WPBS local and regional television series[]

Jefferson's Table, local wines, history and cuisine.
Whiz Quiz, a quizbowl-style competition.
- Whiz Quiz Canada, Canadian version of Whiz Quiz.
WPBS-LIVE!, a live call-in show presenting topics of local interest to both nations.

References[]

^ https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getimportletter_exh.cgi?import_letter_id=84309
^ https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getimportletter_exh.cgi?import_letter_id=84310
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Call Sign History (WPBS-TV)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
^ "Call Sign History (WNPI-DT)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "WPBS of New York to disappear from Ottawa TV". CBC News. July 16, 2009. Retrieved July 20, 2009.
^ "WPBS to stay on in Ottawa". Watertown Daily Times. Retrieved 2015-09-04.
^ [1] Archived August 2, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
^ Ottawa Citizen: "PBS Watertown wins reprieve from Rogers", 7/30/2009.
^ London Free Press: "Loss of London viewers could sink Erie station", 7/22/2009.
^ London Free Press: "Rogers retains PBS affiliate WQLN", 7/31/2009.
^ About PBS: List of on-air auctions by state and market size
^ Public TV station evolves from using donated air time to entering the digital age, Chris Brock, Watertown NY Times, June 7, 2008
^ "All the right moves: Classical-Stretch class builds flexibility and self-confidence, Susan Schwartz, Montréal Gazette, April 10 2000". Archived from the original on 2008-01-18. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
^ Bio of Ed Lawrence, The Gardner
^ "National Capital Commission, Ottawa-Hull, Canada". Archived from the original on 2004-08-28. Retrieved 2004-11-21.
^ [2] Archived August 27, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
^ Fishing with Don Meissner, host of Streamside
^ "APT Programs". Archived from the original on 2008-11-19. Retrieved 2009-02-25.
^ [3] Archived October 13, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
^ Stretching for the next level Archived 2011-05-24 at the Wayback Machine, LYNN MOORE, The Gazette (Montréal), January 05, 2008
^ Gardening Grief and Glory: Ed Lawrence Answers Your Gardening Questions, ISBN 978-0-9681210-1-6
^ [4] Archived January 18, 2002, at the Wayback Machine
^ [5] Archived March 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
^ "NETA programming". Archived from the original on 2009-03-05. Retrieved 2009-02-25.
^ "Fishing Behind The Lines". www.wpbstv.org. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
^ [6]^{[dead link]}
^ [7] Archived April 3, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
^ "www.WPBSTV.org | Painting With Wilson Bickford". www.wpbstv.org. Retrieved 2016-08-11.

External links[]

Official website

[1] ttps://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getimportletter_exh.cgi?import_letter_id=84309

[2] ttps://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getimportletter_exh.cgi?import_letter_id=84310

[fcc-wpbscallsigns-3] Jump up to: ^a ^b "Call Sign History (WPBS-TV)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved March 12, 2020.

[fcc-wnpicallsigns-4] "Call Sign History (WNPI-DT)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved March 12, 2020.

[CBC-5] Jump up to: ^a ^b "WPBS of New York to disappear from Ottawa TV". CBC News. July 16, 2009. Retrieved July 20, 2009.

[6] "WPBS to stay on in Ottawa". Watertown Daily Times. Retrieved 2015-09-04.

[7] [1] Archived August 2, 2009, at the Wayback Machine

[8] Ottawa Citizen: "PBS Watertown wins reprieve from Rogers", 7/30/2009.

[9] London Free Press: "Loss of London viewers could sink Erie station", 7/22/2009.

[10] London Free Press: "Rogers retains PBS affiliate WQLN", 7/31/2009.

[11] About PBS: List of on-air auctions by state and market size

[12] Public TV station evolves from using donated air time to entering the digital age, Chris Brock, Watertown NY Times, June 7, 2008

[13] "All the right moves: Classical-Stretch class builds flexibility and self-confidence, Susan Schwartz, Montréal Gazette, April 10 2000". Archived from the original on 2008-01-18. Retrieved 2008-06-18.

[14] Bio of Ed Lawrence, The Gardner

[15] "National Capital Commission, Ottawa-Hull, Canada". Archived from the original on 2004-08-28. Retrieved 2004-11-21.

[16] [2] Archived August 27, 2008, at the Wayback Machine

[17] Fishing with Don Meissner, host of Streamside

[18] "APT Programs". Archived from the original on 2008-11-19. Retrieved 2009-02-25.

[19] [3] Archived October 13, 2008, at the Wayback Machine

[20] Stretching for the next level Archived 2011-05-24 at the Wayback Machine, LYNN MOORE, The Gazette (Montréal), January 05, 2008

[21] Gardening Grief and Glory: Ed Lawrence Answers Your Gardening Questions, ISBN 978-0-9681210-1-6

[22] [4] Archived January 18, 2002, at the Wayback Machine

[23] [5] Archived March 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine

[24] "NETA programming". Archived from the original on 2009-03-05. Retrieved 2009-02-25.

[25] "Fishing Behind The Lines". www.wpbstv.org. Retrieved 2016-08-11.

[26] [6]^{[dead link]}

[27] [7] Archived April 3, 2009, at the Wayback Machine

[28] "www.WPBSTV.org | Painting With Wilson Bickford". www.wpbstv.org. Retrieved 2016-08-11.

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show v t Broadcast television in Northern New York State and the St. Lawrence Valley, including Watertown
Reception may vary by location and some stations may only be viewable with cable television
Watertown / Carthage	WWNY-TV (7.1 CBS, 7.2 Fox SD) WPBS-TV (16.1 PBS, 16.2 Create, 16.3 FNX / World, 16.4 PBS Kids) WTKJ-LP 19 (Edge) WNYF-CD (28.1 Fox, 28.2 MeTV) WVNC-LD (45.1 NBC, 45.2 ANT/MNTV, 45.3 Grit, 45.4 Bounce TV, 45.5 Court TV, 45.6 QVC, 45.7 HSN) WWTI (50.1 ABC, 50.2 CW+, 50.3 Laff, 50.4 Mystery, 50.5 True Crime)
St. Lawrence County	WNPI-DT (18.1 PBS, 18.2 Create, 18.3 World / FNX, 18.4 PBS Kids) WWNY-CD (28.1 Fox, 28.2 CBS)
Cable	MSG Network MSG Plus Spectrum News Central New York SportsNet New York YES
Defunct	Spectrum Sports WLOT-LP 46 (UPN / A1, Watertown)
New York State television Albany/Schenectady Binghamton Buffalo Burlington/Plattsburgh Elmira New York City Rochester Syracuse Utica Watertown See also Ottawa-Gatineau Ontario (provincial)

show v t Broadcast television in the Champlain Valley and Northwestern New Hampshire including Burlington, Plattsburgh, Rutland, Lebanon, Claremont, Barre, and Montpelier
Reception may vary by location and some stations may only be viewable with cable television
Plattsburgh–Burlington stations	WCAX-TV (3.1 CBS, 3.2 Movies!, 3.3 Circle, 3.4 Start, 3.5 ION) WPTZ (5.1 NBC, 5.3 MeTV) WVNY (22.1 ABC, 22.2 Laff, 22.3 Grit, 22.4 Quest) WNNE (31.1 CW) WETK (33.1 PBS/VPBS, 33.2 PBS+/World, 33.3 Create, 33.4 PBS Kids) WYCI (40.1 H&I/MNTV, 40.2 Decades) WFFF-TV (44.1 Fox, 44.2 Mystery, 44.3 Bounce, 44.4 ANT) WCFE-TV (57.1 PBS, 57.2 NHK, 57.3 PBS Kids)
Outlying areas	WYCX-CD (2.1/2.2 H&I/MNTV, 2.3 Tuff TV) WVMA-CD (17.1 Antenna TV, Claremont, NH) WVTB / WVER / WVTA (20.1/28.1/41.1 PBS/VPBS, 20.2/28.2/41.2 PBS+/World, 20.3/28.3/41.3 Create, 20.4/28.4/41.4 PBS Kids) WYCU-LD (26.1/26.2 H&I/MNTV, 26.3 RSN; Charlestown, NH) WMUR-LP 29 / W38CB 38_Analog (ABC; Littleton, NH) WLED-TV (49.1 PBS/NHPBS, 49.2 NH Explore, 49.3 World, 49.4 Create, 49.5 PBS Kids; Littleton, NH)
Cable-only stations	MSG NBC Sports Boston NECN NESN SNY YES
Defunct stations	W16AL 16_Analog W27CP 27 (ABC; White River Jct., VT) WWBI-LP 27 (UPN/Daystar/Ion) WGMU-LP 39 (Ind./WB/UPN/A1/MNTV/Retro TV)
New York State television Albany/Schenectady Binghamton Buffalo Burlington/Plattsburgh Elmira New York City Rochester Syracuse Utica Watertown Vermont Broadcast television Albany/Schenectady Boston, MA Burlington/Plattsburgh See also Montreal Quebec (provincial) Portland, Maine

show v t Broadcast television in Central New York, including Syracuse
Reception may vary by location and some stations may only be viewable with cable television or over-the-air television
Digital television	WTVH (3.1 NBC, 3.3 Comet, 5.1 CBS, 5.2 Charge!, 5.3 TBD) WVOA-LP 6 (SRN Religious radio) WSYR-TV (3.2 CW, 9.1 ABC, 9.2 ANT, 9.3 Bounce, 9.4 Laff, 9.5 Crime) WCNY-TV (24.1 PBS, 24.2 Create, 24.3 GlobalConnect, 24.4 PBS Kids) WNYI (52.1 Daystar) WSPX-TV (56.1 Ion, 56.2 Court TV, 56.3 Grit, 56.4 Mystery, 56.5 Defy TV, 56.6 TrueReal) WSYT (68.1 Fox, 68.2 Cozi, 43.1 MNTV, 43.2 Dabl)
Low-power digital	(11.1 AMGTV, 11.2 ThisTV, ,11.3 NewsNet, 11.4 HSN2, 11.5 QVC) (16.1 Ind.) (22.1 CTVN, 22.2 HSN, 22.3 H&I, 22.4 Start, 22.5 Decades, 22.6 Movies!) WWLF-LD 35 (AMGTV) WDSS-LD (38.1 Daystar (HD), 38.2 Daystar (SD)) WMJQ-CD (40.1 MeTV, 40.2 Buzzr, 40.3 CTVN, 40.4 QVC2) (49.1 CTVN, 49.2 HSN, 49.3 Ind.) (51.1 Walk, 51.2 Local Now, 51.3 NASA, 51.4 JTV, 51.5 ARTS)
ATSC 3.0 digital	WSTM-TV (3.1 NBC, 5.1 CBS, 9.1 ABC)
Cable-only stations	Spectrum News Central New York CitrusTV ICTV NY Local Ithaca
Defunct	WSTQ-LP 14 WNYS-TV 43 Lucky 7
See also Binghamton TV Elmira TV Rochester TV Utica TV Watertown TV

Watertown, New York/Ottawa, Ontario United States/Canada

Channels	Digital: 26 (UHF) Virtual: 16
Branding	WPBS PBS
Programming
Affiliations	16.1: PBS 16.2: Create 16.3: World 16.4: PBS Kids
Ownership
Owner	St. Lawrence Valley Educational TV Council, Inc.
History
First air date	August 20, 1971 (50 years ago) (1971-08-20)^[1]
Former call signs	WNPE-TV (1971–1998) WPBS-TV (1998–2009) WPBS-DT (2009–2020)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 16 (UHF, 1971–2009) Digital: 41 (UHF, 2005–2019)
Call sign meaning	Watertown Public Broadcasting Service
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	62136
ERP	98 kW
HAAT	373.3 m (1,225 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	43°51′46″N 75°43′38″W / 43.86278°N 75.72722°W / 43.86278; -75.72722
Links
Public license information	Profile LMS
Website	www.wpbstv.org

Satellite of WPBS-TV
Norwood, New York United States
Channels	Digital: 23 (UHF) Virtual: 18
Branding	see WPBS-TV infobox
Programming
Affiliations	18.1: PBS 18.2: Create 18.3: World 18.4: PBS Kids
Ownership
Owner	St. Lawrence Valley Educational Television Council, Inc.
History
First air date	September 5, 1971 (50 years ago) (1971-09-05)^[2]
Former call signs	WNPI-TV (1971−2009)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 18 (UHF, 1971–2009)
Call sign meaning	Watertown/ Norwood Public Instruction
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	62137
ERP	40 kW
HAAT	241.6 m (793 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	44°29′29″N 74°51′26″W / 44.49139°N 74.85722°W / 44.49139; -74.85722 (WNPI-DT)
Links
Public license information	Profile LMS

show v t PBS Member Stations in the state of New York
WNET 13 (Newark / New York City) WPBS 16 / WNPI 18 (Watertown / Norwood) WMHT 17 (Schenectady) WNED 17 (Buffalo) WLIW 21 (Garden City / Long Island) WXXI 21 (Rochester) WCNY 24 / W22DO-D 22 (Syracuse / Utica) WSKG 46 / WSKA 30 (Binghamton / Corning) WCFE 57 (Plattsburgh)
See also ABC CBS CW Fox Ion MyNetworkTV NBC PBS Other stations in New York