WNYI
Encyclopedia
WNYI is a television station in Ithaca, New York
, serving the Elmira
and Syracuse
television markets. The station, now owned by Daystar Television Network
, had formerly broadcast on analogue UHF
channel 52 before going silent
in 2009 as a result of the US digital TV transition
.
deadline. The initial broadcast consisted of 26 kW of colour bars
from a tower location near Ithaca College
.
The station was sold to Caroline Pawley in June 2003 and to Equity in 2004; as a Univisión
affiliate it had been fed remotely via satellite from Equity Broadcasting
's central automated satellite hub
in Little Rock, Arkansas
since 2004. WNYI, licensed as a full service
station despite its low signal power terrestrially, had applied for must-carry
access to Time Warner Cable
in Syracuse, New York
in May 2005. While Ithaca is nominally in the Syracuse market area, the terrestrial WNYI signal had always been inadequate to reach Syracuse or other communities outside of Ithaca itself. The station had made various applications for an increase in licensed power but no decisions had been made by the Federal Communications Commission
on these requests.
WNYI was the only full-service television station in upstate New York to provide Spanish language programming.
At auction on 16 April 2009, Daystar Television Network
bought WNYI, pending approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. It is likely that Daystar will change programming to its namesake network imminently. Univision programming briefly moved to WOBX-LP
channel 35, formerly a local The Box affiliate, in the Syracuse market; it had since switched affiliations to AMGTV
, leaving the region with no aerial Spanish-language television station.
According to Time Warner Cable listings, WNYI appears on channel 66 with Univision programming (September 2010)
DVB-S
satellite television
due to its use of the Equity C.A.S.H. centralcasting
facility, the station has never had a terrestrial digital
signal.
Because it was granted an original construction permit
after the FCC
finalized the DTV
allotment plan on April 21, 1997 , the station did not receive a companion channel for a digital television station
. Instead, at the end of the digital TV conversion period for full-service stations, WNYI would be required to turn off its analog signal
and turn on its digital signal
on another channel (called a "flash-cut
"). WNYI planned to move to channel 20
.
Both the ability of WNYI to transition to digital and its ability to continue broadcasting were directly jeopardised as on December 8, 2008, the licensee's parent corporation filed a petition for bankruptcy
relief under chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy
code, case #4:08-BK-17646-M, US district court
for the district of Arkansas
, notifying the FCC
that "This station must obtain post-petition financing and court approval before digital facilities
may be constructed. The station must cease analogue broadcasting on (the end of DTV transition in) 2009
, regardless of whether digital facilities
are operational by that date. The station will file authority to remain silent
if so required by the FCC."
While the DTV Delay Act extended this deadline to June 12, 2009, Equity had applied for an extension of the digital construction permit
in order to retain the broadcast license
after the station went dark. WNYI could not continue analogue operations as it was a full service
station on a frequency which is to be reallocated for non-broadcast use at the end of the digital television transition
.
On June 12, 2009 a license to cover was granted to Word of God Fellowship for WNYI by the FCC. That firm was required to construct digital television facilities on an in-core frequency before WNYI could be returned to the air, which needed to occur before June 12, 2010, lest the license be automatically forfeited to the FCC. On the weekend of May 22-23, WNYI commenced digital broadcasts on channel 20, within weeks of its license deadline.
Ithaca, New York
The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
, serving the Elmira
Elmira, New York
Elmira is a city in Chemung County, New York, USA. It is the principal city of the 'Elmira, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses Chemung County, New York. The population was 29,200 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Chemung County.The City of Elmira is located in...
and Syracuse
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
television markets. The station, now owned by Daystar Television Network
Daystar Television Network
The Daystar Television Network is an American evangelical Christian television religious broadcasting network headquartered near Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Bedford, Texas...
, had formerly broadcast on analogue UHF
Ultra high frequency
Ultra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres...
channel 52 before going silent
Dark (broadcasting)
In the broadcasting industry, dark is a term used to describe a radio station or television station that has gone off-the-air for an indefinite period of time, or as defined by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission , a "silent" station...
in 2009 as a result of the US digital TV transition
DTV transition in the United States
The DTV transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...
.
History
The original construction permit was issued to "Ithaca 52 Inc." in December 1999, valid for three years, with the first program tests run in late 2002 to meet an FCCFederal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
deadline. The initial broadcast consisted of 26 kW of colour bars
Test Pattern
Test Pattern may refer to:* Test Pattern , a Canadian game show* Test Pattern , an album by Sonia Dada* Test pattern or test card, a television test signal...
from a tower location near Ithaca College
Ithaca College
Ithaca College is a private college located on the South Hill of Ithaca, New York. The school was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music. The college has a strong liberal arts core, but also offers several pre-professional programs and some graduate programs. The college is...
.
The station was sold to Caroline Pawley in June 2003 and to Equity in 2004; as a Univisión
Univision
Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
affiliate it had been fed remotely via satellite from Equity Broadcasting
Equity Broadcasting
Equity Media Holdings was a broadcasting company based in Little Rock, Arkansas that owned and operated television stations across the United States. Prior to March 30, 2007, the company was known as Equity Broadcasting, which is now used for its broadcast station subisdary...
's central automated satellite hub
Centralcasting
In terrestrial radio and television broadcasting, centralcasting refers to the use of systems automation by which customised signals for broadcast by multiple individual stations may be created at one central facility.- :...
in Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
since 2004. WNYI, licensed as a full service
Full service
Full service is a term that has many different uses. In general the term implies that the customer will receive as much service as is reasonably possible.-Gas station:...
station despite its low signal power terrestrially, had applied for must-carry
Must-carry
In cable television, governments apply a must-carry regulation stating that locally-licensed television stations must be carried on a cable provider's system.- Canada :...
access to Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
in Syracuse, New York
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
in May 2005. While Ithaca is nominally in the Syracuse market area, the terrestrial WNYI signal had always been inadequate to reach Syracuse or other communities outside of Ithaca itself. The station had made various applications for an increase in licensed power but no decisions had been made by the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
on these requests.
WNYI was the only full-service television station in upstate New York to provide Spanish language programming.
At auction on 16 April 2009, Daystar Television Network
Daystar Television Network
The Daystar Television Network is an American evangelical Christian television religious broadcasting network headquartered near Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Bedford, Texas...
bought WNYI, pending approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. It is likely that Daystar will change programming to its namesake network imminently. Univision programming briefly moved to WOBX-LP
WOBX-LP
WOBX-LP is a television station in Syracuse, New York. The station, owned by Metro TV Inc. , broadcasts on UHF channel 35....
channel 35, formerly a local The Box affiliate, in the Syracuse market; it had since switched affiliations to AMGTV
AMGTV
AMGTV is an American family-oriented television network, featuring programming including sitcoms, lifestyle programs, sports, films and more...
, leaving the region with no aerial Spanish-language television station.
According to Time Warner Cable listings, WNYI appears on channel 66 with Univision programming (September 2010)
Digital television
While WNYI was available nationally on Galaxy 18Galaxy 18
Galaxy 18 is a Space Systems/Loral 1300-series hybrid communications satellite owned by Intelsat and located in geosynchronous orbit at 123° W longitude, serving the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico, and Canada with 24 C-band, and 24 Ku band transponders...
DVB-S
DVB-S
DVB-S is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Satellite; it is the original Digital Video Broadcasting forward error coding and demodulation standard for satellite television and dates from 1994, in its first release, while development lasted from 1993 to 1997...
satellite television
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
due to its use of the Equity C.A.S.H. centralcasting
Centralcasting
In terrestrial radio and television broadcasting, centralcasting refers to the use of systems automation by which customised signals for broadcast by multiple individual stations may be created at one central facility.- :...
facility, the station has never had a terrestrial digital
ATSC
ATSC standards are a set of standards developed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee for digital television transmission over terrestrial, cable, and satellite networks....
signal.
Because it was granted an original construction permit
Construction permit
A construction permit or building permit is a permit required in most jurisdictions for new construction, or adding on to pre-existing structures, and in some cases for major renovations. Generally, the new construction must be inspected during construction and after completion to ensure compliance...
after the FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
finalized the DTV
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
allotment plan on April 21, 1997 , the station did not receive a companion channel for a digital television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
. Instead, at the end of the digital TV conversion period for full-service stations, WNYI would be required to turn off its analog signal
Analog signal
An analog or analogue signal is any continuous signal for which the time varying feature of the signal is a representation of some other time varying quantity, i.e., analogous to another time varying signal. It differs from a digital signal in terms of small fluctuations in the signal which are...
and turn on its digital signal
Digital signal
A digital signal is a physical signal that is a representation of a sequence of discrete values , for example of an arbitrary bit stream, or of a digitized analog signal...
on another channel (called a "flash-cut
Flash-cut
A flash-cut, also called flash-cutover, is an immediate change in a complex system, with no phase-in period.Some telephone area codes were split immediately, rather than being phased in with a permissive dialing period. An example is telephone area code 213, which was split into 213 and 714 all at...
"). WNYI planned to move to channel 20
Channel 20
Channel 20 refers to several television stations:...
.
Both the ability of WNYI to transition to digital and its ability to continue broadcasting were directly jeopardised as on December 8, 2008, the licensee's parent corporation filed a petition for bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
relief under chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy
Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure
The Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure are a set of rules promulgated by the Supreme Court of the United States under the Rules Enabling Act, directing procedures in the United States bankruptcy courts...
code, case #4:08-BK-17646-M, US district court
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
for the district of Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, notifying the FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
that "This station must obtain post-petition financing and court approval before digital facilities
ATSC
ATSC standards are a set of standards developed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee for digital television transmission over terrestrial, cable, and satellite networks....
may be constructed. The station must cease analogue broadcasting on (the end of DTV transition in) 2009
DTV transition in the United States
The DTV transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...
, regardless of whether digital facilities
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
are operational by that date. The station will file authority to remain silent
Dark (broadcasting)
In the broadcasting industry, dark is a term used to describe a radio station or television station that has gone off-the-air for an indefinite period of time, or as defined by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission , a "silent" station...
if so required by the FCC."
While the DTV Delay Act extended this deadline to June 12, 2009, Equity had applied for an extension of the digital construction permit
Construction permit
A construction permit or building permit is a permit required in most jurisdictions for new construction, or adding on to pre-existing structures, and in some cases for major renovations. Generally, the new construction must be inspected during construction and after completion to ensure compliance...
in order to retain the broadcast license
Broadcast license
A broadcast license or broadcast license is a specific type of spectrum license that grants the licensee the privilege to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses are generally straddled with additional restrictions that...
after the station went dark. WNYI could not continue analogue operations as it was a full service
Full service
Full service is a term that has many different uses. In general the term implies that the customer will receive as much service as is reasonably possible.-Gas station:...
station on a frequency which is to be reallocated for non-broadcast use at the end of the digital television transition
Digital television transition
The digital television transition is the process in which analog television broadcasting is converted to and replaced by digital television. This primarily involves both TV stations and over-the-air viewers; however it also involves content providers like TV networks, and cable television...
.
On June 12, 2009 a license to cover was granted to Word of God Fellowship for WNYI by the FCC. That firm was required to construct digital television facilities on an in-core frequency before WNYI could be returned to the air, which needed to occur before June 12, 2010, lest the license be automatically forfeited to the FCC. On the weekend of May 22-23, WNYI commenced digital broadcasts on channel 20, within weeks of its license deadline.