WTIU
 | |
| |
|---|---|
| City | Bloomington, Indiana |
| Channels | |
| Branding | WTIU TIU News(news briefs) |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WFIU | |
| History | |
First air date | March 3, 1969 |
Former channel number(s) |
|
| NET(1969–1970) | |
Call signmeaning | Television Indiana University |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 66536 |
| ERP | 797kW |
| HAAT | 219 m (719 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 39°8′31″N86°29′42.9″W/ 39.14194°N 86.495250°W |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | indianapublicmedia |
WTIU,virtual channel30 (UHFdigitalchannel 33), is a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)membertelevision stationservingIndianapolis,Indiana,United States that islicensedtoBloomington.Owned byIndiana University,it is asister stationto National Public Radio (NPR) memberWFIU(103.7 FM). The two stations share studios on the Indiana University campus on East 7th Street in Bloomington; WTIU's transmitter is located on Sare Road on the city's southeast side.
Oncable,WTIU is available onComcast Xfinitychannel 5 in Bloomington &AT&T U-versechannel 30 in Indianapolis instandard definition,and inhigh definitionon Xfinitydigitalchannel 1022 in Bloomington & AT&T U-verse channel 1030 in Indianapolis.
The station also serves as the default PBS member station for theTerre Hautemarket, despite havingWVUT(channel 22) in Vincennes from theVincennes University.It is carried by most cable providers in west-central Indiana.
History
[edit]
In late 1968, after receiving support from University president Herman B. Wells, Indiana University applied for alicensefrom theFederal Communications Commission(FCC) to operate aneducationaltelevision station. The station first signed on the air on March 3, 1969 as a member station ofNational Educational Television(NET); the first program ever broadcast on WTIU wasThe Friendly Giant,a Canadian-produced children's show. WTIU became a member of PBS when NET was reorganized on October 6, 1970.
Channel 30 originally maintained a very small staff of only three employees, and initially broadcast on Mondays through Saturdays for five hours a day during the afternoon hours. As the station was unable to afford equipment to allow programming to be transmitted incolor,much of the programming broadcast by WTIU was aired inblack and whitein the early years. Through PBS' Program Differentiation Plan, the network's programming was eventually divided between it and three other PBS members in the Indianapolis market –WFYI(channel 20),Muncie-basedWIPB(channel 49) and by 1992, WTBU (channel 69, nowDaystarowned-and-operated stationWDTI).
Digital television
[edit]Digital channels
[edit]The station's digital signal ismultiplexed:
| Channel | Video | Aspect | Short name | Programming[2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30.1 | 720p | 16:9 | WTIU-HD | Main WTIU programming /PBS |
| 30.2 | 480i | WTIU-D2 | World( "TIU World" ) | |
| 30.3 | WTIU-D3 | Create( "TIU Create" ) | ||
| 30.4 | WTIU-D4 | Echo ( "TIU Echo" )- two-day delays of PBS' signature series, plus same-day repeats of news shows[3] | ||
| 30.5 | WTIU-D5 | PBS Kids( "TIU Kids" ) |
In 2009, WTIU upgraded the station's primary digital channel to allow the transmission of programming inhigh definition,originally maintaining a schedule separate from that of WTIU's main channel. The station also launched a secondary service on digital subchannel 30.2, branded as "TIU-2," which primarily aired educational programming and collegetelecourses;the subchannel was converted into "TIU World," serving as an affiliate of PBS World in 2010. At the same time, WTIU added two additional subchannels, respectively carrying programming from the lifestyle and how-to service Create (branded as "TIU Create" ), safety and emergency network Echo (branded as "TIU Echo" ) and the respectively carrying programming from the children's service PBS Kids (branded as "TIU Kids" ).
Analog-to-digital conversion
[edit]WTIU began operating its digital signal in 2007, broadcasting on UHF channel 14. WTIU shut down its analog signal, overUHFchannel 30, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television in the United Statestransitioned from analog to digital broadcastsunder federal mandate. The station's digital signal continued to broadcast on its pre-transition UHF channel 14.[4]Through the use ofPSIP,digital television receivers display the station'svirtual channelas its former UHF analog channel 30.
Programming
[edit]WTIU's flagship original production is thepublic and cultural affairsprogramThe Weekly Special,in production since 2005.The Friday Zone,in production since 1999, is a children's program syndicated on seven PBS stations across Indiana. WTIU also regularly producesdocumentaries,typically focusing on local or regional topics. Documentary series produced by the station have includedOur Town(which focus on a single community's culture and history) andThe Spirit ofMonroe County(which focuses on the people and places of interest in Monroe County). WTIU also produces news updates in the form of twice-daily five-minuteNewsBreaksegments as well as the half-hour weekly newsmagazineIndiana Newsdesk.In 1973, WTIU collaborated with the IU Opera Theater to produce a telecast of the operaMyshkin,which earned the station aPeabody Award.
References
[edit]- ^"Facility Technical Data for WTIU".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
- ^RabbitEars TV Query for WTIU
- ^"April 2019 - TV Guide by Indiana Public Media - Issuu".
- ^"DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2013-08-29.Retrieved2012-03-24.
External links
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