New full-service TV station in Bath - On the air?

[dhett]

WFBT channel 14 in Bath applied for a license and permission to operate via program test authority last Friday. (I thought program test authority was automatic.) The digital-only station is owned by William "Bud" Walker, apparently from the Poughkeepsie area. Kind of a puny operation, stretching from Wayland to Horseheads from its transmitter near Savona, but it's a full-service license. Is it on? If so, has anyone seen it?

The station was first applied for in 1987 and was finally granted a construction permit in 2004, 17 years later.

Predicted coverage area: http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=DT1303831.html

 

[fybush]

That's the predicted coverage area from its previous CP - the new one, issued just before the license to cover was filed, knocked it down to just a few hundred watts, which means you'd pretty much have to be on the hill in Savona to see it.

At some point in the next few weeks, I'll try to take a drive down there (it's an hour and change away) to see if it's actually on with that fleapower signal.

 

[dhett]

Ahhh - I thought that was the new one. It was attached to the flea-powered CP. I guess the FCC didn't update the map when they updated the CP.

 

[tvlurker]

Ahhh - I thought that was the new one. It was attached to the flea-powered CP. I guess the FCC didn't update the map when they updated the CP.

It looks correct -- don't forget that this is 676 Watts digital. The coverage extends to part of Elmira.
The original megawatt analog station contour reached almost to Rochester, and south into PA.

 

[Mark Giardina]

I find this story so ironic because Corning, which has a larger population than Bath, doesn't even have a TV station in that city. (They depend on Elmira for TV coverage).

Having worked in Bath mucho years ago I can attest that while it's a nice rural community, I just can not envision them having their own TV station.

Is the station currently on the air? If so are they affiliated with any network? Is there any local programs or local news?

If anyone has answers, please post them.

 

[w9wi]

I find this story so ironic because Corning, which has a larger population than Bath, doesn't even have a TV station in that city. (They depend on Elmira for TV coverage).

Technically, there are two TV stations in Corning. Channel 30 is a relay of WSKG-TV (PBS) Binghamton, and channel 48 is Fox. Both are, best I can tell, digital-only operations. Both transmit from the same tower in Corning.

Those coverage maps do seem awfully optimistic. (for both Corning stations and WFBT)

 

[Mark Giardina]

Technically, there are two TV stations in Corning. Channel 30 is a relay of WSKG-TV (PBS) Binghamton, and channel 48 is Fox. Both are, best I can tell, digital-only operations. Both transmit from the same tower in Corning.

Those coverage maps do seem awfully optimistic. (for both Corning stations and WFBT)

I have family in Corning, and once worked there during my early days in radio and I always thought that Corning residents got their TV from WENY and another station in Elmira and the PBS station (WSKG) in
Binghamton. As far as I knew there was no TV station in Corning serving Corning.

 

[dhett]

Technically, there are two TV stations in Corning. Channel 30 is a relay of WSKG-TV (PBS) Binghamton, and channel 48 is Fox. Both are, best I can tell, digital-only operations. Both transmit from the same tower in Corning.

Those coverage maps do seem awfully optimistic. (for both Corning stations and WFBT)

I have family in Corning, and once worked there during my early days in radio and I always thought that Corning residents got their TV from WENY and another station in Elmira and the PBS station (WSKG) in
Binghamton. As far as I knew there was no TV station in Corning serving Corning.

The two stations licensed to Corning are recent: WYDC signed on in 1994 and WSKA in 2006.

Apparently WENY also broadcasts from the same location as WYDC and WSKA, and all three are now digital-only. Despite being licensed to Elmira, WENY, like WYDC and WSKA, puts out a signal that is barely received in Elmira due to terrain, according to TV Fool.

Contrast to the other station in the market: WETM. WETM still broadcasts in analog, as well as digital, and WETM originates from a mountaintop just outside of Elmira, so it covers the city well. In fact, WETM is the only station in the market that has any decent coverage in the region.

As for WFBT, it looks as if it was supposed to be a regional station, licensed to Bath, but covering Corning, Elmira and surrounding communities as well. At the last minute, the station owner cut its power and put its transmitter on an existing radio tower near Savona, just to get it on the air before its construction permit ran out on 4/3/2009. Once things stabilize, and perhaps also, when the economy improves, I wouldn't be surprised to see WFBT request to up their wattage.

 

[tripinva]

Apparently WENY also broadcasts from the same location as WYDC and WSKA, and all three are now digital-only. Despite being licensed to Elmira, WENY, like WYDC and WSKA, puts out a signal that is barely received in Elmira due to terrain, according to TV Fool.

You've jumped the gun just a bit. There's a permit for this, but WENY has not yet flash-cut. They've told the FCC 04/25/09 is their flash-cut date, but given how many times they've pushed it back, who knows if they'll actually stick to it.

- Trip