WPXN-TV
|
New York City United States |
|
|---|---|
| Branding | Ion Television |
| Slogan | Positively Entertaining |
| Channels |
Digital: 31 (UHF) Virtual: 31 () |
| Subchannels | 31.1 - Ion HD (720p) 31.2 - qubo (480i) 31.3 - Ion Life (480i) 31.4 - Ion Shop (480i) 31.5 - QVC 31.6 - HSN |
| Translators | WPXU-LD 12.1 Amityville, New York |
| Affiliations | Ion Television |
| Owner |
Ion Media Networks (Ion Media License Company, LLC) |
| First air date | November 5, 1961 |
| Call letters' meaning | PaXsoN, after Paxson Communications (former name of founder Ion Media Networks), also can be letter for PaX NYC |
| Former callsigns | WUHF (1961–1962) WNYC-TV (1962–1996) WBIS-TV (1996–1997) |
| Former channel number(s) |
Analog: 31 (UHF, 1961–2009) Digital: 30 (UHF, 1999–2009) |
| Former affiliations |
Independent (1961–1962, 1996–1998) Non-commercial educational independent (1961–1962) NET (1962–1970) PBS (1970–1996) |
| Transmitter power | 100 kW |
| Height | 360 m (1,181 ft) |
| Class |
DT (Digital Television) |
| Facility ID | 73356 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 40°44′54.4″N 73°59′8.4″W / 40.748444°N 73.985667°WCoordinates: 40°44′54.4″N 73°59′8.4″W / 40.748444°N 73.985667°W |
| Licensing authority | FCC |
| Public license information: |
Profile CDBS |
| Website | iontelevision.com |
WPXN-TV is the flagship station of the Ion Television network, formerly known as Pax TV and i. Licensed to New York City, the station broadcasts on UHF channel 31, and is owned and operated by Ion Media Networks.
The City of New York, which was one of the United States' first municipalities to enter into broadcasting with the 1924 sign-on of WNYC radio, was granted a construction permit to build a new commercial television station in 1954. Seven years later, on November 5, 1961, WUHF took to the air for the first time. Through the Municipal Broadcasting System, which held the channel 31 license, the City (led by then-mayor Robert F. Wagner, Jr.) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) used WUHF as an experiment to determine the viability of ultra-high frequency (UHF) broadcasts within an urban environment. Some of the early programming on WUHF included simulcasts of New York's existing commercial VHF stations; educational films produced by WNYC's Television Film Unit, established in 1949; college-level distance learning telecourses; and, reportedly, a nightly rundown of the New York City Police Department's "wanted" criminals list. The experiment was carried out through the installation of UHF receivers in several hundred test homes, public schools and businesses, with reception monitored by FCC and City engineers.
After a year of test broadcasting was deemed successful, full control of WUHF was then transferred to the City. The station became a full-time operation on November 5, 1962, with new call letters WNYC-TV to match its sister radio stations WNYC (then at 830 AM and now at 820 AM) and WNYC-FM (93.9 MHz). (NOTE: The WUHF call sign is now residing on a station that is also on channel 31, the Fox affiliate in Rochester, New York.) Though the channel 31 license was classified as commercial, WNYC-TV was operated as a non-commercial station. Some of the programming from the experimental period continued, and now included live broadcasts of the United Nations' General Assembly meetings. As a municipally-owned station, WNYC-TV also devoted airtime to shows focused on civic affairs, along with other public-interest programs. The station also carried some programming from National Educational Television (NET) and its successor, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), but later increasingly ran more independent educational television programs. For many years WNYC-TV ran a 15-minute newscast on weekdays, called News from City Hall (later called News City and expanded to 30 minutes), highlighting the day's events in municipal government.
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Wikipedia