WEDU

Coordinates: 27°50′51.5″N 82°15′49.4″W / 27.847639°N 82.263722°W / 27.847639; -82.263722
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WEDU
CityTampa, Florida
Channels
BrandingWEDU PBS
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
OwnerFlorida West Coast Public Broadcasting, Inc.
WEDQ
History
First air date
October 17, 1958 (65 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[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID21808
ERP
  • 25 kW
  • 38 kW (application)
HAAT
  • 470.9 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; -82.263722
Links
Public license information
Websitewww.wedu.org

WEDU (channel 3) is a PBS member television station licensed to Tampa, Florida, United States, 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]

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.[2][3]

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;[4][5] on August 11, it announced that the station would go off the air on October 15.[6]

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;[7] the transfer was completed on January 24, 2018.[8]

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."

Technical information[edit]

Subchannels[edit]

Subchannels of WEDU and WEDQ[9]
License Channel Video Aspect Short name Programming
WEDU 3.1 1080i 16:9 WEDU-HD Main WEDU programming / PBS
3.2 480i WEDU WD World
3.3 WEDU FL The Florida Channel
WEDQ 3.4 720p WEDQ Main WEDQ programming / PBS
3.5 480i WEDQK PBS Kids
3.6 WEDU CR Create

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.[10][11] 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,[12] using virtual channel 3.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WEDU". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ WEDU history section from 2002 archive of Website
  3. ^ "WEDU.org". Florida West Coast Public Broadcasting, Inc. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  4. ^ McNeill, Claire. "Auction nets USF $18.8M, but spells end to WUSF-TV". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
  5. ^ WUSF TV License Sold; Station Will End Operations
  6. ^ "WUSF TV to shut down Oct. 15". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
  7. ^ WUSF-WEDU CSA
  8. ^ "Consummation Notice". Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  9. ^ "Digital TV Market Listing for WEDU". RabbitEars. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  10. ^ Congress delays digital TV switch, but WEDU will switch this month, Eric Deggans, St. Petersburg Times, February 5, 2009
  11. ^ List of Digital Full-Power Stations
  12. ^ WEDU FCC DTV status report

External links[edit]