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<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2010/10/wmfe-avoids-layoffs-asks-employees-to-go-on-two-week-furloughs.html |title=WMFE avoids layoffs, asks employees to go on two-week furloughs – The TV Guy – Orlando Sentinel |publisher=Blogs.orlandosentinel.com |date= |accessdate=2012-06-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2010/09/wmfe-fund-raising-radio-is-terrific-but-television-is-off.html |title=WMFE fund-raising: Radio is terrific, but television is off – The TV Guy – Orlando Sentinel |publisher=Blogs.orlandosentinel.com |date= |accessdate=2012-06-07}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2010/10/wmfe-avoids-layoffs-asks-employees-to-go-on-two-week-furloughs.html |title=WMFE avoids layoffs, asks employees to go on two-week furloughs – The TV Guy – Orlando Sentinel |publisher=Blogs.orlandosentinel.com |date= |accessdate=2012-06-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2010/09/wmfe-fund-raising-radio-is-terrific-but-television-is-off.html |title=WMFE fund-raising: Radio is terrific, but television is off – The TV Guy – Orlando Sentinel |publisher=Blogs.orlandosentinel.com |date= |accessdate=2012-06-07}}</ref>


On September 26,2012 WMFE-TV Changed call letters to WUCF-TV making PBS available again Channel 24 in Central Florida
On September 26,2012 WMFE-TV Changed call letters to WUCF-TV making PBS available again on Channel 24 in Central Florida


====Sale to Daystar====
====Sale to Daystar====

Revision as of 02:08, 28 September 2012


{{Infobox broadcast}} may refer to:

{{Template disambiguation}} should never be transcluded in the main namespace.

WUCF-TV, channel 24, is currently a V-me affiliated public television station located in Orlando, Florida. The station previous call letters were WMFE-TV was a former member station of the Public Broadcasting Service, WUCF-TV is currently in a partnership with Brevard Community College and is currently operating on WBCC-TV Ch 68-1. Until sometime in November, 2012 where the UCF 68-1 PBS programming will move to WUCF-TV 24 , and WUCF-TV is co-owned with WUCF-FM and UCF TV by the University of Central Florida.

WMFE-TV

In March 2012 WMFE-TV owner Community Communications cancelled a previously-announced sale of the station to Daystar Television Network, a religious broadcaster, citing an unexpectedly lengthy sale process and an improving market for station sales. The station is still for sale, and Community Communications still intends to exit the public television business.[1] The decision came several days after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on March 13 raised questions as to whether Daystar, through associated nonprofit companies, was qualified to purchase WMFE-TV and Waco, Texas station KDYW.[2]

In June 2012, Community announced that it would sell WMFE-TV to the University of Central Florida for $3.3 million. As part of the deal, UCF acquired all of WMFE's assets except the studios, which would be rented to UCF on an as-needed basis. UCF presently has a partnership with Brevard Community College's WBCC (Channel 68) for UCF to carry PBS programming under the "WUCF-TV" banner over that station's 68.1 channel (and secondary leases of 68.2 and 68.3). However, this partnership wil be dissolved in November 2012, and UCF will move the WUCF-TV call letters and intellectual unit to the stronger channel 24.[3][4]

History

In 1963, the public school systems of Orange, Volusia, Lake, Osceola, Seminole, Brevard and Flagler counties formed Florida Central East Coast Educational Television with the goal of winning the license for channel 24. In the meantime, WDBO-TV (now WKMG-TV) and WLOF-TV (now WFTV) donated air time for Educational television Spanish and Florida history programs produced by the group.

WMFE finally went on the air on March 15, 1965 from the campus of Mid-Florida Tech. After only two years of operation, the Orange County school board became the sole operator of the station. In the early 1970s, the school district sold the station to a non-profit community board of trustees that still operates the station today.

In 1978, WMFE moved to its current home in the Union Park neighborhood east of Orlando, on the corner of SR 50 and O'Berry Hoover Road at the studios previously used by defunct independent station WSWB-TV.[5][6]

WMFE-TV signs off every night on its over the air, satellite and cable HDTV signal at approximately 1 am. Previously, the Bright House feed would insert a national PBS feed during times that WMFE was not on the air; this ended following WMFE's disaffiliation with PBS.

In Fall 2010, WMFE indicated that they were facing financial hardships that had led to furloughs. [7][8]

On September 26,2012 WMFE-TV Changed call letters to WUCF-TV making PBS available again on Channel 24 in Central Florida

Sale to Daystar

On April 1, 2011, WMFE announced that it would sell channel 24 due to financial difficulties and "critical uncertainties in federal and state funding". In preparation for the sale, the station left PBS, which remained available to Orlando market viewers on WBCC from Cocoa,[9][10] which (like WMFE) also broadcasts from the central Florida tower farm in Bithlo.[11] The announcement of the sale came shortly after WMFE-TV's March pledge drive was completed.[11]

On April 4, 2011, it was revealed that "Community Educators of Orlando, Inc.", a licensee owned by the Daystar Television Network (a Christian broadcaster based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas), had agreed to purchase WMFE-TV for a reported price of $3 million.[12][13] PBS programming aired on WMFE until the end of June, 2011.;[11] Daystar would have changed channel 24's call letters upon taking over the station.[12] While WMFE-TV waited for FCC approval of the sale of the station to Daystar, it continued to operate as an independent public television station.[14] On June 2, 2011, it was announced that the primary affiliation for the Central Florida market will be taken over by a partnership of Brevard Community College and UCF, which began airing PBS programming on WBCC's primary signal under the "WUCF-TV" branding on July 1, 2011. (Its legal calls remained WBCC.)[15][16] Although WMFE had indicated that WDSC-TV in Daytona Beach, which also transmits from Bithlo, would also continue as a PBS station,[9] that station announced on June 16 that it would also leave PBS on July 1 for financial reasons, though that station will continue to air programming from other non-CPB funded public television organizations such as American Public Television.[17] These moves left WBCC as the only PBS station in the Central Florida television market.[17]

After WMFE-TV disaffiliated from PBS, it moved V-me to its primary signal (the only such arrangement for the network), while Florida Channel was expected to replace one of WMFE's subchannels.[18]

Sister station WMFE-FM, which remains successful, will not be affected.[11]

On March 16, 2012 an article appeared in the Orlando Sentinel that WMFE had called off the planned sale to Daystar Communications because "the current deal we had in place was being drawn out longer than we anticipated" and that "The market conditions have changed in a favorable way to be able to pursue other options for WMFE."[19] Daystar's programming already appears on its own separate channel on Bright House Networks, Cox and Comcast cable systems in Central Florida which was one of the contentions of those cable systems that they would be duplicating the same programming on two separate channels.

Programming

WMFE's broadcasts have been digital-only since February 17, 2009.[20] As mentioned above, V-me airs on all three channels offered, with 24.4, which carried educational programs for schools from the Florida Knowledge Network on weekdays and PBS Kids programs on weekends, discontinued after July 1, 2011. On local cable, WMFE-TV can be seen on Bright House Networks analog channel 20 or digital channel 1024.

References

  1. ^ WMFE says deal to sell TV station is off, seeks better offer, Orlando Sentinel, March 16, 2012
  2. ^ "Re: Form 314 Application for Consent to Assignment of License of…". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. March 13, 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2012.
  3. ^ Boedecker, Hal (June 21, 2012). "WMFE to sell Channel 24 license, equipment to UCF". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
  4. ^ Boedecker, Hal (August 15, 2012). "FCC grants UCF the license for Channel 24". Orlando Sentinel.
  5. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  6. ^ WMFE (January 1, 1970). "wmfe orlando - Google Maps". Maps.google.com. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  7. ^ "WMFE avoids layoffs, asks employees to go on two-week furloughs – The TV Guy – Orlando Sentinel". Blogs.orlandosentinel.com. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  8. ^ "WMFE fund-raising: Radio is terrific, but television is off – The TV Guy – Orlando Sentinel". Blogs.orlandosentinel.com. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  9. ^ a b "WMFE press release: "WMFE Officials Announce Shift to Radio-Focused Public Media", April 1, 2011" (PDF). Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  10. ^ Boedeker, Hal (April 1, 2011). "WMFE selling its Orlando TV station". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  11. ^ a b c d "WMFE: "Questions & Answers about the Sale of WMFE-TV", April 1, 2011" (PDF). Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  12. ^ a b "WMFE: "Questions & Answers about the Sale of WMFE-TV", April 4, 2011" (PDF). Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  13. ^ "WMFE sale: Dallas religious broadcaster is the buyer – The TV Guy – Orlando Sentinel". Blogs.orlandosentinel.com. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  14. ^ Published in Current, April 18, 2011 By Dru Sefton (April 18, 2011). ""With WMFE out, there's a hole in PBS map", April 18, 2011". Current. Retrieved June 7, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ "PBS to play on WUCF in Orlando". Orlando Sentinel. May 26, 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
  16. ^ "WUCF TV will be Central Florida's PBS station". Orlando Sentinel. June 2, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
  17. ^ a b Bodeker, Hal (June 17, 2011). "PBS: Daytona Beach station will stop PBS lineup July 1". The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
  18. ^ Boedeker, Hal (June 27, 2011). "What happens to programming at former PBS stations WMFE, WDSC?". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
  19. ^ Orlando Sentinel Newspaper (Retrieved April 28, 2012)
  20. ^ [2][dead link‍]

Orlando TV history: WMFE TV becomes WUCF TV

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