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WXXI-TV

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(Redirected from Assignment: The World)

WXXI-TV
Channels
BrandingWXXI
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
OwnerWXXI Public Broadcasting Council
History
Founded1966
First air date
September 6, 1966 (58 years ago) (1966-09-06)
Former call signs
  • WROH (CP, 1952–1966)[1]
  • WXXI (1966–1984)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 21 (UHF, 1966–2009)
  • Digital: 16 (UHF, 2003–2019)
NET (1966–1970)
Call sign meaning
"XXI" is the Roman numeral for 21
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID57274
ERP273 kW
HAAT152 m (499 ft)
Transmitter coordinates43°8′7″N 77°35′2″W / 43.13528°N 77.58389°W / 43.13528; -77.58389
Links
Public license information
Websitewww.wxxi.org

WXXI-TV (channel 21) is a PBS member television station in Rochester, New York, United States. It is owned by the WXXI Public Broadcasting Council alongside NPR members WXXI (1370 AM), WXXI-FM (105.9), and WXXO (91.5 FM). The three outlets share studios at 280 State Street near downtown Rochester; WXXI-TV's transmitter is located on Pinnacle Hill on the border between Rochester and Brighton.

Programming

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National productions

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WXXI-TV's national public television productions include A Warrior in Two Worlds, Echoes from the Ancients, Out of the Fire, Albert Paley: Man of Steel, Biz Kid$, and Flight to Freedom. WXXI-TV also produced Assignment: The World, a weekly current-events program for schools, which aired on approximately 100 public television stations nationwide, and was the nation's longest-running instructional television program. Due to funding cuts, it was canceled and its last episode aired on May 23, 2013.

Former programming

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Headquarters in Rochester, New York

ThinkBright, broadcast from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. on 21.3 until the digital transition.

Technical information

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Subchannels

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WXXI-TV entered the digital era in September 2003 when it signed on with Rochester's first full-power digital television signal.

The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of WXXI-TV[3]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
21.1 1080i 16:9 WXXI-HD PBS
21.2 480i 4:3 WXXI-W World
21.3 WXXI-C Create
21.4 WXXI-K PBS Kids
22.7
Audio only
WXXI-FM WXXI Classical
(WXXI Readout Radio is on the subchannel's SAP)
31.4 480i 16:9 TBD TBD (WUHF-DT4)
  Broadcast on behalf of another station

Channel 21.4, now PBS Kids since February 1, 2016, was originally a digital standard definition simulcast of WXXI-TV's analog signal.

Analog-to-digital conversion

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WXXI-TV discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over UHF channel 21, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 16,[4] using virtual channel 21.

As part of the SAFER Act,[5] WXXI-TV kept its analog signal on the air until July 10, 2009, to inform viewers of the digital television transition through a loop of public service announcements from the National Association of Broadcasters. WXXI-TV had been awarded a $202,498 federal contract for an outreach initiative to help Rochester's over-the-air viewers prepare for the digital transition.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "History Cards for WXXI-TV".
  2. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WXXI-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ^ RabbitEars TV Query for WXXI
  4. ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  5. ^ "UPDATED List of Participants in the Analog Nightlight Program" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. June 12, 2009. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
  6. ^ "WXXI Awarded Digital Television Contract | interactive.wxxi.org". interactive.wxxi.org. Archived from the original on February 12, 2009.
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