WVIF
Encyclopedia
WVIF was a full-power television station in Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands
licensed to transmit over analog channel 15. The station was owned by Corporate Media Consultants Group (CMCG), which is 49 percent owned by Max Media
.
For much of its history, WVIF was silent
, occasionally returning to the air as an independent station. At one time, it had planned to affiliate with the Fox
network.
WPXO. WPXO was operated under a joint services agreement
(JSA) with Alpha Broadcasting Corporation's WSVI
in Christiansted
. Paxson Communications (now Ion Media Networks
) sold WPXO (along with WMPX-TV, now WPFO
, in Waterville, Maine
) to CMCG in December 2002. Soon afterward, the JSA with WSVI was dissolved due to station financial losses of over a quarter-million dollars.
Upon assuming control of the station in April 2003, CMCG changed the call letters to WCAV and temporarily discontinued operations, leaving channel 15 silent for 12 months less a day; the station returned to the air at 2 p.m. on April 4, 2004 as an independent station, relying largely on syndicated core programming, after having failed to obtain cable television
carriage and having lost its bid for the Fox affiliation (which ultimately went to WEON-LP
). Shortly afterward, the station changed its call letters to WVIF (the WCAV
call letters were then picked up by the CBS
affiliate in Charlottesville, Virginia
).
The station again went silent in 2005 and remained silent throughout 2006-07 despite attempts to return to operation.
Located in the University of the Virgin Islands
Research and Technology Park, the station had two employees but, , broadcast antenna facilities had not been constructed. In 2007, the station's owner had estimated that construction of the necessary facilities "could take at least another year". The use of WVIF production facilities in engaging and training UVI students in various station operation tasks had also been promoted, but as of 2007 no such program is yet operational.
As of September 2008, the station had moved to a new antenna tower, resuming analog television broadcast operation.
WVIF never operated a digital television
station. It had intended to apply to the Federal Communications Commission
for permission to turn off any analog signal
s and begin broadcast of a digital signal
on the same channel (called a "flash-cut
") at the end of the digital TV conversion period for full-service stations (June 12, 2009) The station never did so, and its license was canceled on March 29, 2011.
Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands
Christiansted is a town on Saint Croix, one of the main islands composing the United States Virgin Islands, an unincorporated territory of the United States. It is a former capital of the Danish West Indies and home to the Christiansted National Historic Site...
licensed to transmit over analog channel 15. The station was owned by Corporate Media Consultants Group (CMCG), which is 49 percent owned by Max Media
Max Media
Max Media is a company that owns radio and television stations throughout the United States. It is based out of Virginia Beach, Virginia.-History:Max Media was founded in 2001...
.
For much of its history, WVIF was 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...
, occasionally returning to the air as an independent station. At one time, it had planned to affiliate with the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
network.
History
Channel 15 signed on in 2000 as Pax (now Ion) owned-and-operated stationOwned-and-operated station
In the broadcasting industry , an owned-and-operated station usually refers to a television station or radio station that is owned by the network with which it is associated...
WPXO. WPXO was operated under a joint services agreement
Local marketing agreement
In U.S. and Canadian broadcasting, a local marketing agreement is an agreement in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another licensee...
(JSA) with Alpha Broadcasting Corporation's WSVI
WSVI
WSVI is an ABC-affiliated, full-power television station in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands transmitting over digital channel 8.1. The station is owned by the Figgie Family Equity Fund....
in Christiansted
Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands
Christiansted is a town on Saint Croix, one of the main islands composing the United States Virgin Islands, an unincorporated territory of the United States. It is a former capital of the Danish West Indies and home to the Christiansted National Historic Site...
. Paxson Communications (now Ion Media Networks
ION Media Networks
ION Media Networks is an American television broadcasting company that owns and operates over 60 television stations in most major American markets. It is now a privately owned company.-History:...
) sold WPXO (along with WMPX-TV, now WPFO
WPFO
WPFO is the Fox-affiliated television station for Southern Maine and Northern New Hampshire that is licensed to Waterville, Maine. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 23 from a transmitter on Oak Hill in Litchfield near the Androscoggin and Kennebec County line...
, in Waterville, Maine
Waterville, Maine
Waterville is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States, on the west bank of the Kennebec River. The population was 15,722 at the 2010 census. Home to Colby College and Thomas College, Waterville is the regional commercial, medical and cultural center....
) to CMCG in December 2002. Soon afterward, the JSA with WSVI was dissolved due to station financial losses of over a quarter-million dollars.
Upon assuming control of the station in April 2003, CMCG changed the call letters to WCAV and temporarily discontinued operations, leaving channel 15 silent for 12 months less a day; the station returned to the air at 2 p.m. on April 4, 2004 as an independent station, relying largely on syndicated core programming, after having failed to obtain cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
carriage and having lost its bid for the Fox affiliation (which ultimately went to WEON-LP
WEON-LP
WEON-LP is a Fox-affiliated, low-power television station in Frederiksted, U.S. Virgin Islands transmitting over analog channel 60. The station is owned by LKK Group along with sister stations WVGN-LP channel 14, WVXF channel 17, and WVGN ....
). Shortly afterward, the station changed its call letters to WVIF (the WCAV
WCAV
WCAV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Charlottesville, Virginia. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 19 from a transmitter on Carters Mountain. The station can also be seen on Comcast channel 6 and in high definition on digital channel 212...
call letters were then picked up by the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliate in Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...
).
The station again went silent in 2005 and remained silent throughout 2006-07 despite attempts to return to operation.
Located in the University of the Virgin Islands
University of the Virgin Islands
The University of the Virgin Islands is a public university located in the United States Virgin Islands.-Academics:The university has five academic divisions: Business, Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, Nursing, and Science and Mathematics. UVI offers several graduate degree programs and...
Research and Technology Park, the station had two employees but, , broadcast antenna facilities had not been constructed. In 2007, the station's owner had estimated that construction of the necessary facilities "could take at least another year". The use of WVIF production facilities in engaging and training UVI students in various station operation tasks had also been promoted, but as of 2007 no such program is yet operational.
As of September 2008, the station had moved to a new antenna tower, resuming analog television broadcast operation.
WVIF never operated a digital television
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
station. It had intended to apply to 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...
for permission to turn off any 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...
s and begin broadcast of a 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 the same 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...
") at the end of the digital TV conversion period for full-service stations (June 12, 2009) The station never did so, and its license was canceled on March 29, 2011.