WVUA-CA
Encyclopedia
WVUA-CA is a Class A
commercial television
station owned by the Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama
, affiliated with This TV
. The station is licensed to Tuscaloosa, Alabama
, with studios on the university's campus. It operates within the university's College of Communication and Information Sciences
, drawing on the resources of its Department of Telecommunication and Film.
WVUA's primary transmitter is low power. WUOA-DT
is the station's full power repeater, located atop WIAT
's mast in Birmingham. Even though the station operates a full power repeater, it is still classified as a Class A station because of its low power channel 7 primary signal in Tuscaloosa.
WVUA is a commercial station because it relies mostly on advertising from outside sources for funding; this makes WVUA one of only two commercial television stations in the U.S. owned by a public institution. WVUA has a full-time, paid staff, including station and sales executives, anchors, production staff and a news director. The station relies heavily on UA students who act as on-air staff, production staff, and sales assistants.
on Channel 49, bringing local news coverage to west Alabama for the first time since WDBB (17) and WCFT (33) shifted focus to the Birmingham area. It affiliated with the Pax Network shortly after it signed on, remaining affiliate with the network until 2002.
A $1 million gift from the family of legendary University of Alabama coach Paul "Bear" Bryant allowed the university to acquire WJRD in 2001. After moving its operations onto the university campus, the station adopted the call sign WVUA in January 2002. Although the station is owned by UA
, it remains financially independent from the University.
In addition to repeaters in Greensboro
(WDVZ-CA Channel 3) and Demopolis
(WJMY-CA Channel 25 and WJMY-LD Channel 22), WVUA's signal is carried by cable operators Comcast
in Tuscaloosa and Charter Communications
and Bright House Networks
in Birmingham.
In November 2004, Channel 23 LLC filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) to donate its full-power station, WLDM, to the university. Today WUOA-DT broadcasts on digital channel 6 from atop Red Mountain and covers the whole Birmingham DMA. WUOA is also carried by virtually all Birmingham DMA cable companies. WUOA is a repeater of WVUA and can be found on channel 23.
In 2006, WVUA was added to the Birmingham local stations lineup for both Dish Network
and DirecTV
, adding a substantial number of potential viewers.
In late 2008, WVUA/WUOA began a partial affiliation with This TV
.
after the FCC
finalized the DTV
allotment plan on April 21, 1997 http://www.transmitter.com/FCC97115/chanplan.html, WUOA did not receive a companion channel for a digital television station
. Instead, on June 12, 2009, the end of the digital TV conversion period for full-service stations, WUOA was required to turn off its analog signal
and turn on its digital signal
(called a "flash-cut
"). The University was granted a construction permit for WUOA to move to channel 6, and through PSIP it is seen on channel 23.
WVUA, as a low-power station, is exempt from a mandatory turn-off of its analog signal.
weekday mornings from 5 to 8 a.m. The station aired a midday newscast until the hour-long late afternoon newscast, First at Four, was introduced.
WVUA has eventual plans to move its studio and news operations from Reese Phifer Hall to UA's New Digital Media Center which will be built in the north end zone of Bryant-Denny Stadium
.
The station relies heavily on University of Alabama students for news gathering and production. Student duties include:
Weather team
Sports team
Class A television service
The class A television service is a system for regulating some low-power television stations in the United States. Class A stations are denoted by the broadcast callsign suffix "-CA" or "-CD" , although very many analog -CA stations have a digital companion channel that was assigned the -LD...
commercial television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
station owned by the Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
, affiliated with This TV
This TV
This TV is a United States general entertainment television network, with a large emphasis in its programming on movies....
. The station is licensed to Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west central Alabama . Located on the Black Warrior River, it is the fifth-largest city in Alabama, with a population of 90,468 in 2010...
, with studios on the university's campus. It operates within the university's College of Communication and Information Sciences
University of Alabama College of Communication and Information Sciences
The College of Communication and Information Sciences is the University of Alabama's college for mass media and information studies. It enrolls nearly 2,700 students, including 400 graduate students. Tracks of study include an undergraduate bachelor of arts, as well as multiple graduate degrees...
, drawing on the resources of its Department of Telecommunication and Film.
WVUA's primary transmitter is low power. WUOA-DT
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
is the station's full power repeater, located atop WIAT
WIAT
WIAT, virtual channel 42, is the CBS-affiliated television station in the Birmingham/Tuscaloosa/Anniston/Gadsden, Alabama television market. Licensed to Birmingham, it broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 30, although through the use of PSIP, the station's virtual channel number is...
's mast in Birmingham. Even though the station operates a full power repeater, it is still classified as a Class A station because of its low power channel 7 primary signal in Tuscaloosa.
WVUA is a commercial station because it relies mostly on advertising from outside sources for funding; this makes WVUA one of only two commercial television stations in the U.S. owned by a public institution. WVUA has a full-time, paid staff, including station and sales executives, anchors, production staff and a news director. The station relies heavily on UA students who act as on-air staff, production staff, and sales assistants.
History
The station began in 1998 as WJRDWJRD
WJRD is a radio station licensed to serve Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA. The station is owned by JRD, Inc. WJRD simulcasts on FM translators W271AM and W292DU in Tuscaloosa....
on Channel 49, bringing local news coverage to west Alabama for the first time since WDBB (17) and WCFT (33) shifted focus to the Birmingham area. It affiliated with the Pax Network shortly after it signed on, remaining affiliate with the network until 2002.
A $1 million gift from the family of legendary University of Alabama coach Paul "Bear" Bryant allowed the university to acquire WJRD in 2001. After moving its operations onto the university campus, the station adopted the call sign WVUA in January 2002. Although the station is owned by UA
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
, it remains financially independent from the University.
In addition to repeaters in Greensboro
Moundville, Alabama
Moundville is a town in Hale and Tuscaloosa Counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. At the 2000 census the population was 1,809. It is part of the Tuscaloosa Metropolitan Statistical Area. Moundville is known for its quintessential southern landscapes and Indian Mounds.-Geography:Moundville is...
(WDVZ-CA Channel 3) and Demopolis
Demopolis, Alabama
Demopolis is the largest city in Marengo County, Alabama, United States. The population was 7,483 at the time of the 2010 United States Census....
(WJMY-CA Channel 25 and WJMY-LD Channel 22), WVUA's signal is carried by cable operators Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
in Tuscaloosa and Charter Communications
Charter Communications
Charter Communications is an American company providing cable television, high-speed Internet, and telephone services to more than 4.7 million customers in 25 states. By revenues, it is the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States, behind Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cox Communications...
and Bright House Networks
Bright House Networks
Bright House Networks is a cable television company, the seventh largest cable operator and the sixth largest traditional multiple system operator in the United States owned by Advance/Newhouse, headquartered in Syracuse, New York...
in Birmingham.
In November 2004, Channel 23 LLC filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) to donate its full-power station, WLDM, to the university. Today WUOA-DT broadcasts on digital channel 6 from atop Red Mountain and covers the whole Birmingham DMA. WUOA is also carried by virtually all Birmingham DMA cable companies. WUOA is a repeater of WVUA and can be found on channel 23.
In 2006, WVUA was added to the Birmingham local stations lineup for both Dish Network
Dish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
and DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
, adding a substantial number of potential viewers.
In late 2008, WVUA/WUOA began a partial affiliation with This TV
This TV
This TV is a United States general entertainment television network, with a large emphasis in its programming on movies....
.
Digital television
Because it was granted an original construction permitConstruction permit
A construction permit or building permit is a permit required in most jurisdictions for new construction, or adding on to pre-existing structures, and in some cases for major renovations. Generally, the new construction must be inspected during construction and after completion to ensure compliance...
after the FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
finalized the DTV
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
allotment plan on April 21, 1997 http://www.transmitter.com/FCC97115/chanplan.html, WUOA did not receive a companion channel for a digital television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
. Instead, on June 12, 2009, the end of the digital TV conversion period for full-service stations, WUOA was required to turn off its analog signal
Analog signal
An analog or analogue signal is any continuous signal for which the time varying feature of the signal is a representation of some other time varying quantity, i.e., analogous to another time varying signal. It differs from a digital signal in terms of small fluctuations in the signal which are...
and turn on its digital signal
Digital signal
A digital signal is a physical signal that is a representation of a sequence of discrete values , for example of an arbitrary bit stream, or of a digitized analog signal...
(called a "flash-cut
Flash-cut
A flash-cut, also called flash-cutover, is an immediate change in a complex system, with no phase-in period.Some telephone area codes were split immediately, rather than being phased in with a permissive dialing period. An example is telephone area code 213, which was split into 213 and 714 all at...
"). The University was granted a construction permit for WUOA to move to channel 6, and through PSIP it is seen on channel 23.
WVUA, as a low-power station, is exempt from a mandatory turn-off of its analog signal.
News operation
Unlike most low-power or Class A television stations, WVUA-CA produces its own local newscasts. The station produces 13½ hours of local newscasts each week (2½ hours on weekdays, and a half-hour on Saturdays and Sundays). It does not carry a local morning newscast, instead airing the nationally-syndicated morning news program The Daily BuzzThe Daily Buzz
The Daily Buzz is a nationally syndicated breakfast television news and infotainment program. The show is produced by Fisher Communications and is owned and distributed by ACME Communications; it is broadcast every weekday morning from studios at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida...
weekday mornings from 5 to 8 a.m. The station aired a midday newscast until the hour-long late afternoon newscast, First at Four, was introduced.
WVUA has eventual plans to move its studio and news operations from Reese Phifer Hall to UA's New Digital Media Center which will be built in the north end zone of Bryant-Denny Stadium
Bryant-Denny Stadium
Bryant–Denny Stadium, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, is the home stadium for the University of Alabama football team. The stadium opened in 1929, and was originally named Denny Stadium, in honor of former Alabama president George Hutchenson Denny...
.
The station relies heavily on University of Alabama students for news gathering and production. Student duties include:
- Production
- Studio Camera Operation
- Teleprompter
- Audio
- Graphics
- ENG
- Videography
- Reporting
- Tape editing and rolling
- Producing and writing
- Sales
- Commercial Production
- Master Control Operation
Current on-air staff
Current anchors- Terri Brewer - weeknights at 5 p.m.; also assistant news director
- Lynn Brooks - weeknights at 5 and 6 p.m.; also news director
- Phillip Coleman - weeknights at 6 p.m.
- Matt McCoy - weekends at 10 p.m.
- Danny Salter - weekdays at 4 and 4:30 p.m.
- John Huddleston - weeknights at 10 p.m.
Weather team
- Richard Scott - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 4, 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
- Daniel Sparkman - weather anchor; weekends at 10 p.m.
Sports team
- Gary Harris - sports director; weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
- John Huddleston - sports anchor (Crimson Tide Kick-off)
- Todd Hoyer - sports anchor; weekends at 10 p.m.