WNYF-CD
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| WNYF-CD: Watertown, New York WWNY-CD: Massena, New York United States |
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|---|---|
| Branding | Fox 28 (general) 7 News (newscasts) WWNY-TV 7 (on DT2) |
| Channels | Digital: WNYF-CD: 35 (UHF) WWNY-CD: 18 (UHF) & WWNY-DT 7.2 (VHF) Virtual: 28 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels | 28.1 Fox 28.2 CBS |
| Owner | United Communications Corporation |
| First air date | 2001 (as separate station) |
| Call letters' meaning | Watertown, New York's Fox |
| Sister station(s) | WWNY-TV, KEYC-TV |
| Former callsigns | For cancelled WNYF-LP: W25AB (1982–2001) WNYF-LP (2001–2002) WNYF-CA (2002–2015) WNYF-CD: WNYF-CD (2008–2013) WNYF-LD (2013–2014) WWNY-CD: W28BC (1994–2002) WNYF-LP (2002–2010) WNYF-LD (2010–2013) WNYF-CD (2013–2014) |
| Former channel number(s) | For cancelled WNYF-LP: 25 (UHF analog, 1987–2002) 28 (UHF analog, 2002–2015) WWNY-CD: 28 (UHF analog, 1994–2010) |
| Former affiliations | ABC (as WWTI repeaters) UPN (secondary) |
| Transmitter power | WNYF-CD: 15 kW WWNY-CD: 4 kW WWNY-DT2: 24.9 kW |
| Height | WNYF-CD: 204 m WWNY-CD: 241 m WWNY-DT2: 219 m |
| Class | Class A |
| Facility ID | WNYF-CD: 168478 (16743, for cancelled WNYF-LP) WWNY-CD: 16744 WWNY-DT2: 68851 |
| Transmitter coordinates | WNYF-CD & WWNY-DT2: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. WWNY-CD: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
WNYF-CD is a low-powered television station licensed to Watertown, New York. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 35 (PSIP virtual channel 28) from a transmitter along State Street/NY 126 in the Carthage section of Wilna. WWNY-CD is a Class A television station licensed to Massena. This broadcasts a digital signal on UHF channel 18 (PSIP virtual channel 28) from a transmitter southeast of South Colton along NY 56. Together, the two serve as the North Country's Fox affiliates.
The stations can also be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 2 and in high definition on digital channel 878. Owned by United Communications Corporation, WNYF is sister to CBS affiliate WWNY-TV and the two share studios on Arcade Street in Downtown Watertown. Syndicated programming on this station includes: My Name Is Earl, Everybody Loves Raymond, America's Funniest Home Videos, and According to Jim. WNYF can also be seen in Watertown on WWNY's second digital subchannel (VHF channel 7.2) from the Wilna tower.
Digital television
WNYF-CD 35 (Watertown - Champion Hill NY)
| Channel | Video | Aspect | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28.1 | 720p | 16:9 | Main WNYF-CD programming / Fox |
WWNY-CD 18 (Massena - South Colton NY)
| Channel | Video | Aspect | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28.1 | 480i | 16:9 | Simulcast of WNYF-CD |
| 28.2 | 1080i | Simulcast of WWNY-TV[1] |
History
Before becoming a separate entity, WNYF-CD and WWNY-CD were repeaters for ABC affiliate WWTI with the call signs W25AB[2] and W28BC.[3] During that time, WWTI and WWNY had secondary affiliations with Fox. WWNY's secondary affiliation was for National Football League games during the years CBS did not have broadcasting rights of the league. When that network acquired the rights to the American Football Conference, WWTI then aired NFL from Fox, in addition to ABC's Monday Night Football (now on fellow Disney network ESPN).
In 2001, United Communications Corporation and WWNY entered into an agreement with Smith Broadcasting to make W25AB and W28BC full-time Fox affiliates; Smith formerly owned WWTI, but did not include the translators in that station's sale to Ackerley Group in 2000. W25AB then changed its call letters to WNYF-LP and eventually moved from channel 25 to channel 28; after the Watertown station upgraded to Class A status in October 2002 (making it WNYF-CA),[2] W28BC inherited the WNYF-LP call sign.[3] WNYF-LP's low-powered analog signal on UHF channel 28 aired from a transmitter on NY 420 in Massena.
An agreement with Time Warner Cable in Fall 2001 placed the station on channel 2. After a year of joint operation of WNYF by Smith Broadcasting and United Communications, the latter took complete ownership and made it a full sister to WWNY. Until September 18, 2006 when UPN shut down and merged with The WB to form The CW, WNYF also ran some programming from the network as a secondary affiliate.
On August 25, 2008, WNYF-CA received Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval to begin its own high definition digital broadcasts as WNYF-CD on UHF channel 35 after WWNY-DT returned to its former analog position on VHF channel 7 (which happened February 17, 2009). On September 14, WNYF-CD signed-on using WWNY-DT's existing UHF antenna structure. The change represented the first time WNYF was available over-the-air in high definition. [4]
On June 30, 2009, United Communications applied to the FCC for a digital version of WNYF-LP on UHF channel 18. This allocation was formerly used for WNPI-DT's analog signal. It was approved for construction on June 8, 2010. [5] Taking on the WNYF-LD call sign,[3] it features Fox as well as a simulcast of WWNY on a second digital subchannel. This helps St Lawrence County viewers who had experienced difficulty receiving WWNY's digital signal after that station transitioned to digital-only broadcasts.
On December 16, 2010, WNYF began to be seen on Time Warner Cable systems in the Burlington, Vermont/Plattsburgh, New York market after the provider dropped that area's affiliate WFFF-TV because of an ongoing retransmission dispute. [6] The dispute was eventually resolved and the home station was added back to the system.
On May 15, 2013, WNYF-CD and WNYF-LD swapped call signs,[3][7] as the Massena station is licensed as a class A facility while the Watertown digital station, at that time, was not. On February 6, 2014, WNYF-CD changed its call letters to WWNY-CD;[3] on March 13, 2014, the class A status for the Watertown station was transferred from the analog channel 28 license (which remains active as of 2014[update] and now holds the WNYF-LP call sign) to the digital channel 35 license (which is the digital companion channel to analog channel 28), retaking the WNYF-CD call sign.[7][8]
Newscasts
On April 11, 2001, WWNY began airing a 35 minute weeknight prime time broadcast at 10 on WNYF called 7 News Tonight on Fox. However, it was only seen by a handful of viewers able to receive that station's two low-powered over-the-air signals because WNYF was not yet being offered on cable. An agreement with Time Warner Cable in Fall 2001 placed the station on the system and the prime time news debuted for the rest of the area on October 4. WNYF simulcasts the 6 o'clock hour of WWNY's weekday morning news and then offers a second hour at 7 seen exclusively on WNYF while WWNY airs CBS This Morning. The simulcast and separate show is known on WNYF as 7 News This Morning on Fox. Although there is no weekday morning or noon meteorologist, news anchor Beth Hall presents the weather forecast. During the weeknight weather segment, the station features a live National Weather Service weather radar based in the Parkers section of Montague.
References
- ↑ WNYF-LP Now on the Air Digitally, Mr James Corbin, WWNY/WNYF DTV Transition blog, Tuesday, October 5, 2010
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.wwnytv.com/about/96043719.html[dead link]
- ↑ Denied Locals, TWC Importing Distant Signals | TVNewsCheck.com
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
