 | |
| |
|---|---|
| City | Schenectady, New York |
| Channels | |
| Branding | WMHT |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
|
| Ownership | |
| Owner | WMHT Educational Telecommunications |
| WMHT-FM,WEXT | |
| History | |
First air date | March 26, 1962 (63 years ago) (1962-03-26) |
Former channel number(s) |
|
| NET (1962–1970) | |
Call sign meaning | Mohawk–Hudson Television |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 73263 |
| ERP | 445kW |
| HAAT | 426 m (1,398 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 42°37′31.3″N74°0′36.7″W / 42.625361°N 74.010194°W /42.625361; -74.010194 (WMHT) |
| Translator(s) | W23ER-DPoughkeepsie |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
WMHT (channel 17) is atelevision station licensed toSchenectady, New York, United States, serving theCapital District as a member ofPBS. It is owned by WMHT Educational Telecommunications alongsideNPR memberWMHT-FM (89.1). The two stations share studios in theRensselaer Technology Park inNorth Greenbush (with aTroymailing address); the TV station's transmitter is located in theHelderberg Escarpment inNew Scotland.
WMHT operates digitaltranslatorW23ER-D (channel 23) inPoughkeepsie (part of theNew York Citymarket). The translator's ownership was transferred fromDutchess Community College to WMHT in 2014.[2]
The Mohawk-Hudson Council on Educational Television was formed in 1953, through financial support from commercial stationWRGB (channel 6), its then-parent companyGeneral Electric (which was based in Schenectady) and many supporters and local businesses in theAlbany/Capital Region. In the beginning, Mohawk-Hudson produced educational programs on WRGB; however, due to the station's tight scheduling, the council decided to form anon-commercial educational television station of its own. WMHT signed on the air on March 26, 1962, on UHF channel 17 as the second educational TV station in the state of New York (afterWNED inBuffalo). From the outset the station was a member ofNational Educational Television (NET) and became one of PBS' charter members after the two stations merged in 1970. In 1972, WMHT expanded intoFM radio by launching the first non-commercialclassical music station in the United States[citation needed] (a format that continues to this day).
In 1987, WMHT purchased the assets ofindependent station WUSV (channel 45) and made it a secondary programming service under the calls WMHX. Due to financial difficulties, WMHT shut WMHX down in 1991 and returned it to the air three years later under the call letters WMHQ. In the late 1990s, WMHQ's commercial license became attractive and WMHT sold it to theTribune Company for $18.5 million in 1999 with the station becomingWB affiliate WEWB that September (it is nowCW affiliateWCWN, owned by theSinclair Broadcast Group). The money from this sale allowed WMHT to expand into digital television. It also allowed the station to replace its original facility inRotterdam with a state-of-the-art facility in the Rensselaer Tech Park in town ofNorth Greenbush, New York.
Programming produced by WMHT includes the state public affairs showNew York NOW. The program is also aired on all public Television and radio stations across the state of New York in addition to being aired online and in a podcast format.[3]
The station's signal ismultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | WMHT-HD | PBS |
| 17.2 | 480i | WMHT-Cr | Create | |
| 17.3 | WMHT-Wo | World Channel | ||
| 17.4 | WMHT-Ki | PBS Kids |
WMHT shut down its analog signal, overUHF channel 17 at noon on April 16, 2009. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 34, usingvirtual channel 17.[5] During the 2019 digital television repack, WMHT relocated from UHF channel 34 to channel 25.