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| Channels | |
| Branding | PBS Charlotte |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner | Central Piedmont Community College |
| History | |
First air date | August 27, 1965 (60 years ago) (1965-08-27) |
Former channel numbers |
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Call sign meaning | Television Information |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 10645 |
| ERP | 2.57kW |
| HAAT | 359 m (1,178 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 35°17′15″N80°41′44″W / 35.28750°N 80.69556°W /35.28750; -80.69556 |
| Translator(s) | 28 (UHF)Hickory |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
WTVI (channel 42) is aPBS membertelevision station inCharlotte, North Carolina, United States, owned byCentral Piedmont Community College. The station's studios are located on Commonwealth Avenue in the Chantilly-Commonwealth section of east Charlotte, and its transmitter is located in the unincorporated area ofNewell in northeasternMecklenburg County (just northeast of the Charlotte city limits). It is the onlypublic television station in North Carolina that is not operated byPBS North Carolina, and is one of three PBS member stations serving theCharlotte metropolitan area, along with PBS North Carolina's WUNG-TV (channel 58) inConcord andSouth Carolina Educational Television (SCETV)'sWNSC-TV (channel 30) inRock Hill.
The station first signed on the air on August 27, 1965;[2] it was originally owned by theCharlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education. The WTVI call letters were first used by what is nowFoxaffiliateKTVI inSt. Louis, Missouri, from 1953 to 1955, when it was licensed toBelleville, Illinois, on the east side of theMississippi River; they were then held from 1955 to 1962 bya station in Fort Pierce, Florida. WTVI's original station manager was Donna Lee Davenport, who was also instrumental in creating the station. In 1982, WTVI's license was transferred to the not-for-profit Charlotte–Mecklenburg Public Broadcasting Authority, turning the station into a community-owned entity.
Mecklenburg County covered the debt on WTVI's digital broadcasting equipment and maintains the station's studios, located on Commonwealth Avenue in Charlotte. The county also paid WTVI $95,000 annually to broadcast county commission meetings.[3]
In 2004, WTVI cut back on more well-known PBS programs. Ratings increased for a while with "alternative" shows, but after several years the station ended up in trouble.[4] On June 30, 2011, WTVI's board was advised that the station was running a $300,000 deficit and that its long-term operation was questionable if its financial situation did not improve.[3] On March 13, 2012, Central Piedmont Community College offered to take over the station. The college requested $1.35 million from Mecklenburg County; $357,000 to complete the purchase and about $800,000 to give the station a significant technical overhaul. The Mecklenburg County Commission approved funding for the deal on March 20.
Without county money, Central Piedmont Community College would have been unable to complete the purchase and the station would have likely ceased operations on June 30, 2012.[5] The deal was approved by theFederal Communications Commission on May 21, 2012,[6] and the acquisition of WTVI was completed on July 1, 2012, with the broadcast licenses being transferred the following day.[7] As a result, WTVI became operated by an educational licensee for the second time in its history. At that time, it became one of seven full-time PBS member stations to be operated by a community college (alongsideMilwaukee PBS;WDCQ-TV inBay City, Michigan;WVUT-TV inVincennes, Indiana;KACV inAmarillo, Texas;KNCT inKilleen, Texas;WSRE inPensacola, Florida and WBCC inOrlando, Florida (WBCC, nowWEFS, has since left PBS, while KNCT would leave PBS six years later).
Three months after taking over operations, Central Piedmont Community College brought back familiar PBS shows such asSesame Street,Downton Abbey,Nova andNature to the schedule. Additional local programming is planned, including some previously aired on the college's cable channel. Among the new shows isOff the Record, hosted by David Rhew and similar to Jerry Hancock'sFinal Edition, dropped in 2009 for budgetary reasons.[4]
WTVI is one of the few PBS member stations that do not clear the weekend edition ofPBS NewsHour.
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | WTVI-HD | PBS |
Prior to February 17, 2009, WTVI carried "The Civic Channel" on digital subchannel 42.2,Create on digital subchannel 42.3,PBS Kids on digital subchannel 42.4, and a high definition feed of WTVI on digital subchannel 42.5; the fourth and fifth subchannels were dropped on February 17 with Create moving to 42.3 and the main channel on 42.1 upgrading to high definition. In July 2010, "The Civic Channel" was replaced byMHz Worldview. In November 2015, MHz Worldview was dropped and a simulcast of Create was placed on subchannel 42.2 until February 2016, when it was replaced withNHK World. On January 30, 2022, Create was dropped and the subchannel was deleted. On March 15, 2025, NHK World was dropped and the subchannel was deleted.
WTVI began broadcasting its digital signal onVHF channel 11, carrying four digital subchannels, including one high-definition channel. WTVI was the first television station in Charlotte to produce programming inhigh-definition in 2000. The station shut down its analog signal, overUHF channel 42, on February 17, 2009, the original target date on which full-power television stations in the United States were totransition from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transitionVHF channel 11, usingvirtual channel 42.[9]
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