Jump to content

WWSI

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WWSI
CityMount Laurel, New Jersey
Channels
BrandingTelemundo 62; Noticiero Telemundo 62
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
FoundedSeptember 9, 1987
First air date
January 17, 2001; 23 years ago (2001-01-17) (in Atlantic City, New Jersey; license moved to Mount Laurel in 2018[1])
Former call signs
  • WDKZ (1987–1989)
  • WACI (1989–2000)
  • WPHA (2000–2001)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 62 (UHF, 2001–2009)
  • Digital: 49 (UHF, 2002–2018), 34 (UHF, 2018–2019)
Call sign meaning
"Sí" is Spanish for "yes"
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID23142
ERP745 kW
HAAT399.8 m (1,311.7 ft)
Transmitter coordinates40°2′30.1″N 75°14′10.1″W / 40.041694°N 75.236139°W / 40.041694; -75.236139
Links
Public license information
Websitewww.telemundo62.com

WWSI (channel 62) is a television station licensed to Mount Laurel, New Jersey, United States, serving as the Philadelphia-area outlet for the Spanish-language network Telemundo. It is owned and operated by NBCUniversal's Telemundo Station Group alongside NBC outlet WCAU (channel 10); it is also sister to regional sports network NBC Sports Philadelphia.

WWSI and WCAU share studios within the Comcast Technology Center on Arch Street in Center City, with some operations remaining at their former main studio at the corner of City Avenue and Monument Road in Bala Cynwyd, along the Philadelphia–Montgomery county line. Through a channel sharing agreement, the two stations transmit using WCAU's spectrum from a tower in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia.

History

[edit]

In 1980, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposed assigning channel 62 to Atlantic City, New Jersey, as part of a proposal to improve television service in the state.[3] The proceeding and channel addition were finalized in 1984,[4] and in August 1986, the FCC designated a group of five applications for the channel for comparative hearing.[5] A settlement agreement was registered with the FCC in 1987, though Garden State Communications was not immediately granted the permit on the issue of short-spacing with other stations.[6] The permit remained dormant for the next decade. In 1990, the Securities and Exchange Commission sued a Philadelphia company for illegally raising funds on behalf of Garden State to build the proposed WACI-TV.[7]

Council Tree Communications filed to acquire a majority stake in the construction permit in 1999.[8] Council Tree was a Longmont, Colorado—based firm in which one of the investors was an Alaska Native-owned corporation.[9] During this time, construction on the station started and faced considerable difficulty. In May 2000, work on the tower along County Route 539 in Little Egg Harbor Township briefly came to a halt as opponents objecting on radiation concerns claimed they had an injunction to stop it.[10] Opponents also decried its proximity to homes and claimed it did not receive proper zoning approval.[11] The dispute was in part resolved when Little Egg Harbor Township agreed to assume ownership of the tower when completed.[12] This was key because it allowed for the exemption from planning board approval, though objectors continued to fight construction.[13] Other objections concerned the potential danger to birds posed by the mast.[14] During the construction process, Council Tree had become involved in Spanish-language broadcasting, principally the Telemundo network. In April 2000, it acquired KSBS-TV, the Telemundo affiliate for the Denver market,[9] and the firm moved to acquire a stake in the network four months later.[15]

After approximately six months of preparations,[16] channel 62 signed on as Telemundo affiliate WWSI on January 26, 2001.[17] It restored the Telemundo network to the Philadelphia market after the previous affiliate, WTVE (channel 51), disaffiliated from the network at the start of 2000.[18] It had local offices near Penn Treaty Park in Philadelphia and in Northfield, New Jersey.[19] Council Tree sold its ownership interest to NBC later in 2001 but did not relinquish WWSI.[20]

The WWSI logo used from 2004 to 2012

ZGS Communications acquired WWSI for $10 million in 2008.[21] It retained the station until agreeing to sell it to NBCUniversal for $20 million in a sale completed in July 2013. The deal created a duopoly with NBC's Philadelphia station, WCAU.[22][23] Following the acquisition, NBC announced its intent to expand WCAU's news department to serve WWSI.[24] It hired a total of 15 new employees,[25] including bilingual reporters who filed stories for WCAU;[26] Ramón Luis Zayas, former news anchor of Telemundo's morning program Un Nuevo Día, was named anchor of the evening newscasts.[27] Noticiero Telemundo 62 began airing at 6 and 11 p.m. on January 13, 2014, from WCAU's studios.[26]

After the news launch, WWSI has been included in several group-wide news expansions at Telemundo. In November 2014, the owned-and-operated stations launched news at 5:30 p.m.,[28] followed by 6 a.m. and noon newscasts on April 2, 2018.[29]

On October 21, 2018, Telemundo 62 debuted its new studio in the new Comcast Technology Center, the same day that NBC 10 debuted its new studio.[30]

Technical information

[edit]

Subchannels

[edit]
Subchannels of WCAU and WWSI[31]
License Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
WCAU 10.1 1080i 16:9 WCAU-TV NBC
10.2 480i COZI-TV Cozi TV
10.3 NBCLX NBC LX Home
10.4 OXYGEN Oxygen
WWSI 62.1 1080i WWSI-DT Telemundo
62.2 480i T-Xitos TeleXitos[32]

Analog-to-digital conversion

[edit]

WWSI discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over UHF channel 62, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 49,[33] using virtual channel 62, which was among the high band UHF channels (52-69) that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition. Until 2018, 49.3 (virtual 10.3) was utilized as a simulcast of WCAU. The subchannel was signed on in order to keep NBC programming available in areas channel 10's main signal does not reach over the air after the network terminated their affiliation with Wildwood-licensed WMGM-TV.

Spectrum reallocation

[edit]

On April 13, 2017, it was revealed that WWSI's over-the-air spectrum had been sold in the FCC's spectrum reallocation auction, fetching $125.9 million. WWSI did not sign off, but is sharing broadcast spectrum with sister station WCAU.[34] NBC stated that WCAU had a better signal than that of WWSI.[35] Because WCAU's signal does not sufficiently cover Atlantic City proper, WWSI changed its city of license from Atlantic City to Mount Laurel.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Section 307(b) Showing for New COL of Mount Laurel, NJ
  2. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WWSI". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ^ "3 Networks Oppose UHF Affiliate Plan". Press of Atlantic City. Atlantic City, New Jersey. Associated Press. July 16, 1980. p. 18. Retrieved August 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Vineland Gets TV Channel". Press of Atlantic City. Atlantic City, New Jersey. Associated Press. June 28, 1984. p. 27. Retrieved August 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Notice". Press of Atlantic City. Atlantic City, New Jersey. September 4, 1986. p. 36. Retrieved August 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "In Contest". Broadcasting. August 3, 1987. p. 80. ProQuest 1014715205.
  7. ^ Burke, Richard (May 25, 1990). "Phila. firm accused over investments". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. pp. 16-C, 21-C. Retrieved August 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Public Notice". Press of Atlantic City. Atlantic City, New Jersey. August 5, 1999. p. C7. Retrieved August 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ a b Caulk, Steve (April 15, 2000). "Spanish TV Station Sold". Rocky Mountain News. p. 4B.
  10. ^ Mc Laughlin, Bill (May 11, 2000). "Tower construction stopped: Opponents claim they have obtained an injunction". Asbury Park Press. Asbury Park, New Jersey. pp. B1, B4. Retrieved August 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Volpe, Gregory J. (June 13, 2000). "LEHT man files suit over cell tower". Press of Atlantic City. Atlantic City, New Jersey. p. C5. Retrieved August 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Mc Laughlin, Bill (June 28, 2000). "Little Egg OKs new plan to lease tower". Asbury Park Press. Asbury Park, New Jersey. p. B2. Retrieved August 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Volpe, Gregory J. (September 30, 2000). "LEHT man signals opposition to cell tower". Press of Atlantic City. Atlantic City, New Jersey. pp. C1, C3. Retrieved August 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Kaskey, Jack (October 23, 2000). "Danger for birds soon may tower over southern N.J." Press of Atlantic City. Atlantic City, New Jersey. pp. A1, A10. Retrieved August 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Schwab, Robert (August 15, 2000). "Council Tree network share to grow: Longmont firm plans to buy stake in Spanish-TV Telemundo". The Denver Post. p. A1.
  16. ^ Bennett, Elizabeth (November 20, 2000). "Spanish-language TV station to debut in Phila". Philadelphia Business Journal.
  17. ^ Colon, Vanessa (February 2, 2001). "Local Spanish TV channel on air". Courier-Post. Camden, New Jersey. pp. 1A, 5A. Retrieved August 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ Horn, Patricia (December 31, 1999). "WTVE-51 will take Telemundo off the air". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. pp. C1, C2. Retrieved August 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Spanish TV station opens Northfield office". Press of Atlantic City. Atlantic City, New Jersey. March 11, 2001. p. F2. Retrieved August 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ Van Allen, Peter (October 22, 2001). "For WWSI, Telemundo deal signals fiesta time". Philadelphia Business Journal.
  21. ^ "Deals". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved January 24, 2008.
  22. ^ "NBCUniversal doubles in Philadelphia with Telemundo outlet". Radio & Television Business Report. March 21, 2013.
  23. ^ "Telemundo Closes On Purchase of WWSI". TVNewsCheck. July 2, 2013.
  24. ^ "Telemundo's WWSI Gets Ready To Make News". TVNewsCheck. December 10, 2013.
  25. ^ "WWSI Philly Hiring 15 To Launch Local News". TVNewsCheck. September 11, 2013.
  26. ^ a b Darrow, Chuck (January 13, 2014). "La gran historia: NBC10 and WWSI-TV team to create a Spanish-language news program, starting today". Philadelphia Daily News. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. pp. 27, 31. Retrieved August 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ "Zayas to anchor upcoming Telemundo Philly newscast". Media Moves. October 21, 2013.
  28. ^ Villafañe, Veronica (September 18, 2014). "Telemundo adds new 30 min newscast at 14 local stations". Media Moves. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  29. ^ Miller, Mark (March 12, 2018). "Telemundo's WWSI Adding Two Newscasts". TVNewsCheck. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  30. ^ "With 4K and IP, NBC 10 and Telemundo 62 Philadelphia debut upgrade".
  31. ^ "Digital TV Market Listing for WCAU". RabbitEars.info. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  32. ^ Malone, Michael (December 2014). "Telemundo Station Group Launches Telexitos Multicast Net". www.broadcastingcable.com. NewBay Media, LLC. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
  33. ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds" (PDF). Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  34. ^ All Purpose Exhibit for WWSI CP Application to Channel Share
  35. ^ "NBC Makes Over $480 Million From Auction". TVNewsCheck. April 13, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to WWSI.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WWSI&oldid=1242730313"