WXTV-DT
WXTV-DT, virtual channel 41 (UHF digital channel 26), is a Univision owned-and-operated television station licensed to Paterson, New Jersey, United States and serving the New York City television market. It is one of two East Coast flagship stations of the Spanish-language network (alongside WLTV-DT in Miami–Fort Lauderdale, Florida). WXTV-DT is owned by the Univision Local Media subsidiary of Univision Communications, as part of a de facto triopoly with Newark, New Jersey-licensed UniMás co-flagship WFUT-DT (channel 68) and Smithtown, New York-licensed True Crime Network affiliate WFTY-DT (channel 67). The three stations share studios on Frank W. Burr Boulevard in Teaneck, New Jersey; WXTV and WFUT share transmitter facilities at the Empire State Building in Midtown Manhattan.
Paterson, New Jersey New York, New York United States | |
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Channels | Digital: 26 (UHF) (shared with WFUT-DT) Virtual: 41 (PSIP) |
Branding | Univision 41 Nueva York (general) Noticias Univision 41 (newscasts) |
Slogan | La que nos Une (The one that unites us) Tu gente. Tu voz. (Your People. Your Voice.) |
Programming | |
Subchannels | See § Digital channels |
Affiliations | 41.1: Univision (O&O) 41.2: Bounce TV |
Ownership | |
Owner | Univision Communications (WXTV License Partnership, G.P.) |
TV: WFTY-DT, WFUT-DT Radio: WADO, WQBU-FM, WXNY-FM | |
History | |
First air date | August 4, 1968 |
Former channel number(s) | Analog: 41 (UHF, 1968–2009) Digital: 30 (UHF, until August 2019) |
| |
Call sign meaning | X = "Crossroads of the World" (referring to Times Square) |
Technical information | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 74215 |
ERP | 195 kW (STA) 155 kW (CP) |
HAAT | 397 m (1,302 ft) (STA) 439 m (1,440 ft) (CP) |
Transmitter coordinates | 40°44′54″N 73°59′9″W |
Links | |
Public license information | Profile LMS |
Website | www |
WXTV's programming is simulcast to Long Island on WFTY's third digital subchannel (UHF channel 23.3 or virtual channel 67.3 via PSIP) from its transmitter in Middle Island, New York.
History
WXTV first signed on the air on August 4, 1968, originally operating as an independent station, carrying programs in both English and Spanish. The station originally operated from studios at 641 Main Street in Paterson, New Jersey; the station later moved to 24 Meadowlands Parkway in Secaucus, New Jersey and then to its current facilities in Teaneck.
In 1970, WXTV became an entirely Spanish-language station, and affiliated with the Spanish International Network, which became Univision in 1987. Since the mid-1980s, WXTV has used the slogan A su lado, an adaptation for the Hispanic market of the On Your Side campaign created by Frank Gari, and even used the similarly named news music package for a time.
The September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the World Trade Center did not affect WXTV's over-the-air signal, as WXTV's transmitter is located at the Empire State Building. WXTV and WCBS-TV (channel 2), who had a full-powered backup transmitter at the Empire State Building, were the only major New York City stations whose over-the-air signals were not disrupted. For a time until the other English stations could re-establish emergency transmission bases at Empire or the Armstrong Tower, WXTV's anchors reported in both languages for viewers without pay access to local English stations.
From the 1980s to 2002, WXTV operated a low-powered repeater in Philadelphia, first on channel 35 as W35AB and then on channel 28 as WXTV-LP. In 2002, Univision acquired a full-power outlet in Philadelphia, WUVP-DT, and the former WXTV-LP joined Telefutura as WFPA-CD.
Digital television
Digital channels
The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP Short Name | Programming[1] |
---|---|---|---|---|
41.1 | 720p | 16:9 | WXTV-DT | Main WXTV-DT programming / Univision |
41.2 | 480i | Bounce | Bounce TV | |
Analog-to-digital conversion
WXTV discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over UHF channel 41, on June 12, 2009, as part of the federally mandated transition from analog to digital television.[2] The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 40,[3] using PSIP to display WXTV's virtual channel as 41 on digital television receivers.
News operation
WXTV-DT presently broadcasts 17 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with three hours each weekday and one hour each on Saturdays and Sundays); in addition, the station produces an hour-long extension of its morning newscast Noticias 41 Al Despertar en UniMás for sister station WFUT which airs weekdays at 7:00 a.m., a newscast for Altice USA's News 12 Networks on weekdays,[4] and the 15-minute sports highlight program Accion Deportiva 41, which airs Sunday nights at 11:15 p.m. as part of the 11 p.m. newscast. WXTV also maintains news partnerships with CNN en Español, the Dominican Republic's Noticias SIN, Peru's América Televisión, and Mexico's Enlace Publica and utilizes the reporting staff of sister radio station WADO (1280 AM) for on-air reports.
The 6 and 11 p.m. weekend newscasts tend to be preempted by Univision programming that runs longer than it is scheduled to air (which is rare for the primetime schedule, unless a football (soccer) match airs). In the event that there is a technical fault occurring during either of WXTV's weekday newscasts, WXTV will cut to Univision's satellite feed until it is able to rejoin the East Coast feed for the national Univision news bulletins. Univision's satellite feed features entertainment programming and Primer Impacto Extra from 6–6:30 and 11–11:30 p.m. for stations that do not have local newscasts.
WXTV is known for having newscasts whose ratings frequently rival its English-language counterparts. From 1972 until 2013, the station's lead news anchor was Cuban-born Rafael Pineda; his 41 years at channel 41 gave him the distinction of being the longest-serving news anchor on a New York City television station, English or Spanish, until Chuck Scarborough of WNBC surpassed him in 2016.
WXTV won the July 2008 sweeps period and also became the first Spanish-language television station to win all three evening slots (local newscasts and 6 and 11 and the national news at 6:30 p.m.). WXTV's 6 p.m. newscast was also #1 among the 25–54 demographic, followed by WABC-TV (channel 7), WCBS-TV, WNJU (channel 47), WNYW (channel 5) and WNBC (channel 4).[5] On June 22, 2010, WXTV-DT became the first Spanish-language television station in the New York City market to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition.
On January 5, 2012, it was announced that WXTV's 6 p.m. newscast ended the 2011 calendar year as #1 newscast in that timeslot in the entire United States among adult demographics. WXTV outperformed all early evening local newscasts in the country, regardless of language among Adults 18–49.[6] On May 7, 2012 beginning with WXTV's 6 p.m. newscast, the station's moved its newscasts to a temporary set and announced on the next day (May 8) on their morning newscast that WXTV was constructing a new set to debut on July 23. On May 2, 2012, WXTV's weeknight 11 p.m. newscast was extended by five minutes to 11:35 p.m. (expanding to 35 minutes in length), while the weekend late newscasts continued to run for a half-hour from 11 to 11:30 p.m.
Notable current on-air staff
- Adriana Vargas – weeknights anchor
- Rafael Bello – weekdays meteorologist and entertainment anchor
- Alex Roland – general assignment reporter
References
- "Digital TV Market Listing for WXTV-DT". RabbitEars.Info. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
- "List of Digital Full-Power Stations" (PDF). fcc.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 14, 2019.
- CDBS Print
- "Univision New York and Altice USA's News 12 Networks Partner to Bring Spanish-Language News Updates to Viewers". Univision Communications. May 14, 2019. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
- Univision's WXTV N.Y. Claiming Weekday Newscast Victory
- WXTV ends the calendar year at #1 at 6pm
External links
- Official website
- WXTV in the FCC's TV station database