United States | |
---|---|
City | Gainesville, Florida |
Branding | WRUF-TV Gator Weather |
Channels |
Digital: 5 (VHF) Virtual: 10 () |
Subchannels | 10.1 Independent |
Affiliations | Independent (2011–present) |
Owner |
University of Florida (Board of Trustees, University of Florida) |
First air date | November 1989 |
Call letters' meaning |
Radio University of Florida (from sister radio stations WRUF-AM-FM) |
Sister station(s) | WRUF, WRUF-FM, WUFT, WUFT-FM |
Former callsigns | W10BR (1989–1995) WLUF-LP (1995–2010) WLUF-LD (2010) |
Former channel number(s) | 10 (VHF analog, 1989–2010) |
Former affiliations | PBS (1989–2011) |
Transmitter power | 300 watts |
Facility ID | 4200 |
Transmitter coordinates | 29°42′34.0″N 82°23′40.0″W / 29.709444°N 82.394444°W |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Public license information: |
Profile CDBS |
Website | www |
WRUF-LD is the callsign of a low-power television station that operates from the University of Florida's main campus in Gainesville, broadcasting on VHF channel 5, the former analog channel of sister station WUFT. Through the use of , WRUF maps to virtual channel 10 (reflecting its former analog channel). The station is carried by Cox Communications in Gainesville on channel 6; this is reflected in its logo. Most of WRUF's programming is devoted to local weather, with some news and sports coverage.
The station was granted a construction permit for analog broadcasting on VHF channel 10 on July 29, 1988 (after having applied for the channel in 1981), and was issued the call sign W10BR; it filed for a license to cover on November 27, 1989, which was granted on December 29. The call letters were changed to WLUF-LP in 1995. As WLUF, the station served as a PBS member station, broadcasting mainly second runs of PBS and WUFT programming, plus telecourses for UF students. The station converted to digital broadcasting, becoming WLUF-LD, in 2010.
The station was relaunched as a commercially based 24-hour weather channel on June 1, 2011; this came after state funding to Florida's public radio and television stations was vetoed by Governor Rick Scott in May. The call letters had been changed to WRUF-LD, matching the University of Florida's commercially operated WRUF radio stations (850 AM, 95.3 FM, and 103.7 FM), on November 19, 2010. Regular WLUF programming ended on May 23, 2011, with WRUF-LD carrying NASA TV's coverage of the final mission of Space Shuttle Endeavour in the interim.