In this week’s issue… ATSC3 comes to Boston – iHeart moves in NYC – Callahan returns to Pamal – Canadian low-power AM flips to FM
By SCOTT FYBUSH
Jump to: ME – NH – VT – MA – RI – CT – NY – NJ – PA – Canada
*The new ATSC3 digital TV standard has been rolling out slowly in medium markets around the region, but until now, cutting-edge viewers in the biggest NERW-land markets haven’t been able to try out the promise of more robust signals, higher-definition pictures and more interactivity.
Univision’s WUNI (Channel 66) will be the host station for the new digital technology, using its RF channel 27 signal from its tower in west suburban Marlborough to carry programming from public WGBH-TV (Channel 2), CBS-owned WBZ-TV (Channel 4), Hearst’s ABC affiliate WCVB (Channel 5), Cox’s Fox affiliate WFXT (Channel 25) and NBC’s WBTS-LD (Channel 15), as well as its own Univision programming from WUNI and True Crime TV from channel-share partner WWJE (Channel 50).
The arrangement will send WUNI’s ATSC 1.0 signals to be hosted by Univision’s partners across the market: the main WUNI 66.1 Univision signal will be hosted by NBC’s Telemundo outlet WNEU, Bounce (66.2) and Get TV (66.3) by WFXT, Court TV (66.4) by WBZ’s sister station WSBK, and Twist TV (66.5) by WGBH. And since WUNI itself is the host for a channel share with True Crime TV outlet WWJE (50.1), the WWJE programming will be hosted on WCVB.
The new WUNI ATSC 3.0 multiplex will actually the second 3.0 signal in town, following last summer’s launch of several diginets over WCRN-LD (Channel 30). Across the region, it joins Hartford, Albany, Syracuse and Buffalo in having most major networks available in 3.0; there are also smaller 3.0 launches from Nexstar in Springfield and Harrisburg and Sinclair in Pittsburgh.
What about other big markets? We’re expecting an announcement from one of them any day now… stay tuned.
THE 2025 TOWER SITE CALENDAR IS SHIPPING NOW!
Behold, the 2025 calendar!
We chose the 100,000-watt transmitter of the Voice Of America in Marathon, right in the heart of the Florida Keys. This picture has everything we like in our covers — blue skies, greenery, water, and of course, towers! The history behind this site is a draw, too.
Other months feature some of our favorite images from years past, including some Canadian stations and several stations celebrating their centennials (can you guess? you don’t have to if you buy the calendar!).
We will ship daily through Christmas Eve. Place your order now for immediate shipping!
This will be the 24th edition of the world-famous Tower Site Calendar, and your support will determine whether it will be the final edition.
It’s been a complicated few years here, and as we finish up production of the new edition, we’re considering the future of this staple of radio walls everywhere as we evaluate our workload going forward.
The proceeds from the calendar help sustain the reporting that we do on the broadcast industry here at Fybush Media, so your purchases matter a lot to us here – and if that matters to you, now’s the time to show that support with an order of the new Tower Site Calendar. (And we have the new Broadcast Historian’s Calendar for 2025 ready to ship, too. Why not order both?)
Visit the Fybush Media Store and place your order now for the next calendar, get a great discount on previous calendars, and check out our selection of books and videos, too!