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City | Daytona Beach, Florida |
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Ownership | |
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History | |
First air date | 1988 |
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Former channel number(s) |
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Call sign meaning | Orlando Telefutura (former name of UniMás) |
Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 131 |
ERP | 130 kW |
HAAT | 428 m (1,404 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 28°55′11.1″N 81°19′6.6″W / 28.919750°N 81.318500°W |
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Public license information |
WOTF-TV (channel 26) is a television station licensed to Daytona Beach, Florida, United States, serving the Orlando area as an affiliate of the digital multicast network Grit. The station is owned by Entravision Communications, and has a transmitter near Orange City, Florida.
History
The station was assigned on February 9, 1987, with the call sign of WLSY. On December 10 of that year, the call sign was changed to WAYQ. In 1988, Beach TV Partners signed on WAYQ at channel 26 as a simulcast of Melbourne's WAYK, giving them a signal in Daytona Beach. In early August 1990, owner Beach Television Partners based in Vero Beach filed for Chapter 11 reorganization over an inability to renegotiation loan payment schedule. At the time, the station was only carried part-time on CableVision of Central Florida, Orlando's major cable system. WAYK was affiliated with the Beach TV investor, Harry Handley, who founded the Star Television Network.[2] The network launched in September 1990 only to close down on January 14, 1991.[3]
In 1992, WAYK and WAYQ were both sold to Robert Rich, who changed their format to feature more paid programming. The two stations' callsigns were respectively changed to WIRB and WNTO on July 22, 1996.
WVEN and WOTF
In 1996, the two stations were split up with Paxson Communications acquiring WIRB (whose call letters would be changed to the present day WOPX-TV), while WNTO was purchased by Entravision Communications. On November 23, 2000, WVEN-TV became the station's call sign and the station also affiliated with Univision.
On December 4, 2017, as part of a multi-market realignment, the programming and call signs of WVEN-TV and sister station WOTF were swapped: WVEN-TV and its Univision programming moved to the Univision-owned channel 43 facility, while Entravision's digital channel 49 and virtual channel 26 facility became the new home of UniMás affiliate WOTF-TV.[4]
On October 13, 2021, Univision announced it would take over operation of WVEN, as well as Tampa Bay Univision affiliate WVEA-TV, effective January 1, 2022, coinciding with the end of licensing agreements on December 31, 2021, effectively ending WOTF's UniMás affiliation.[5]
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's signal is multiplexed:
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
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26.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | WOTF-DT | Grit |
26.2 | 480i | LATV | LATV | |
26.3 | Comet | Comet | ||
26.4 | Charge | Charge! | ||
26.5 | CourtTV | Court TV | ||
26.6 | Newsmax | Jewelry TV | ||
26.7 | ShopHQ | ShopHQ |
Analog-to-digital conversion
WOTF-TV (as WVEN-TV) ended programming on its analog signal, on UHF channel 26, on June 12, 2009, as part of the federally mandated transition from analog to digital television.[7] The station's digital signal continued to broadcast on its pre-transition UHF channel 49, using virtual channel 26.
Former translators
WOTF-TV (as WVEN-TV) also previously operated low-power analog translator stations WVCI-LP (channel 16) in Orlando and W46DB (channel 46) in Melbourne.
References
- ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WOTF-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ↑ Strother, Susan G. (August 11, 1990). "Independent Tv Stations Struggle To Work Out Financial Problems". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
- ↑ Strother, Susan G. (January 17, 1991). "Tv Network Signs Off – Out Of Cash". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
- ↑ "Cambios programación UniMas y Univision". Entravision Communications. November 10, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
- ↑ Marcial Ocasio, Jennifer A. (October 13, 2021). "Univision taking over Spanish-language TV stations in Orlando, Tampa". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
- ↑ "Digital TV Market Listing for WOTF". RabbitEars.Info. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
- ↑ List of Digital Full-Power Stations