WGCU (TV)

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WGCU
Blue letters W G C U with a wave line running through them next to the PBS logo
CityFort Myers, Florida
Channels
BrandingWGCU PBS
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
OwnerBoard of Trustees, Florida Gulf Coast University
WGCU-FM
History
First air date
August 15, 1983 (40 years ago) (1983-08-15)
Former call signs
WSFP-TV (1983–1996)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 30 (UHF, 1983–2009)
  • Digital: 31 (2004–2020)
Call sign meaning
Florida Gulf Coast University
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID62388
ERP750 kW
HAAT276 m (906 ft)
Transmitter coordinates26°48′55″N 81°45′42″W / 26.81528°N 81.76167°W / 26.81528; -81.76167 (WGCU)
Links
Public license information
Websitewgcu.org

WGCU (channel 30) is a PBS member television station in Fort Myers, Florida, United States. Owned by Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU), it is a sister station to NPR member WGCU-FM (90.1). The two stations share studios on the FGCU campus in Fort Myers and transmitter facilities in unincorporated southern Charlotte County.

Public television came to Southwest Florida when channel 30 began broadcasting as WSFP-TV on August 15, 1983. It was founded as a service of the University of South Florida (USF), which had a campus in Fort Myers. The station repeated USF's station in Tampa, WUSF-TV. In 1988, WSFP-TV moved into its first local studio facilities, enabling it to begin producing local programming and qualify for federal grants.

USF–Fort Myers was absorbed by Florida Gulf Coast University in stages: WSFP-TV became WGCU on July 1, 1996, when the new university took over operations of both stations—a year before it held its first classes. The Myra Janco Daniels Public Media Center, which houses the studios of WGCU radio and television, was completed on the FGCU campus in 1998. The station offers PBS national and local programming.

History[edit]

University of South Florida ownership[edit]

The University of South Florida (USF) filed on February 21, 1978, for a construction permit to build a new public television station on channel 30 in Fort Myers.[2] After obtaining an $800,000 federal grant and state funds to help finance construction,[3] the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted the permit on September 16, 1980.[2] To this project was later added a radio station, both of which would be broadcast from a tower to be built in the Cecil M. Webb Wildlife Management Area in southern Charlotte County.[4] WSFP-TV and WSFP-FM would initially serve to rebroadcast the university's stations in Tampa, WUSF-TV and WUSF-FM, though USF intended for the two to become separate, locally focused stations at a later date.[5]

After delays in construction caused by the legal description of the deed to the tower site[6] and rainy weather,[7] WSFP-TV signed on on August 15, 1983, filling a void in national public television coverage.[8] The new station had limited capability beyond rebroadcasting WUSF-TV with no local studios, though it had an agreement to use facilities of Edison Community College and USF owned a remote studio van that could be sent to Southwest Florida if needed.[9] Less than a month after the TV station, USF brought public radio to Southwest Florida with the launch of WSFP-FM 90.1.[10] WSFP's television and radio debut coincided with an increasing presence of the University of South Florida in the Fort Myers area. USF had been offering courses in the area since 1971, but in 1982, the USF–Fort Myers campus was completed adjacent to Edison Community College.[11]

In 1988, WSFP-TV moved in to WEVU's former studios in Bonita Springs when that station relocated to new facilities in town. The move made WSFP-TV eligible for grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the state government as a full station with its own production facilities.[12] The station began producing local programs such as Southwest Florida Business Week, a series on fishing in Sanibel,[13] and profiles of local legislators.[14]

Florida Gulf Coast University ownership[edit]

In 1991, state legislators authorized the creation of a tenth state university to be built in Southwest Florida. Three years later, they named it Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU).[15] USF–Fort Myers formed the backbone of the student body for FGCU, which would open to students for the fall 1997 semester.[16] The new university would become the licensee of the WSFP stations on July 1, 1996, as part of the transition of people and responsibilities from USF–Fort Myers,[17] and the new university began seeking architects to design a broadcast center in the first phase of campus construction. The broadcast center would unite WSFP-TV, based in Bonita Springs, with WSFP-FM, which operated on the USF–Fort Myers campus.[18][19]

When the transfer became effective on July 1, 1996, WSFP radio and television changed their call signs to WGCU. At that time, construction began on the broadcast center at the FGCU campus, which would feature a 3,000-square-foot (280 m2) television studio.[20] During this time, the station aired a weekly update show on the progress of campus construction.[21] When WSFP-TV moved into the new broadcast center in January 1998, it eliminated the 45-minute drive from the Bonita Springs studio to the master control facility at the transmitter site, necessary to play out recorded programs.[22]

In 2016, Myra Janco Daniels, an advertising executive and arts philanthropist, donated $3 million to WGCU to support arts programming on television. After the gift, the broadcast center was renamed the Myra Janco Daniels Public Media Center.[23]

Local programming[edit]

In 2003, WGCU began producing Untold Stories, a series of history documentaries on Southwest Florida.[24] The station also airs daily local news minutes produced by the WGCU radio news staff.[25]

Funding[edit]

WGCU TV had total revenue in fiscal year 2022 of $4.57 million. $1.5 million of this total came from the station's 11,392 members. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting contributed $1.1 million, mostly in the form of a Community Service Grant. Florida Gulf Coast University appropriated $444,000.[26]

Technical information[edit]

Subchannels[edit]

The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of WGCU[27]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
30.1 1080i 16:9 WGCU-HD Main WGCU programming / PBS
30.2 480i WORLD World
30.3 CREATE Create
30.4 FLCH The Florida Channel
30.5 PBSKids PBS Kids

Analog-to-digital conversion[edit]

WGCU began broadcasting a digital signal in February 2004.[28] The station discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, on UHF channel 30, 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 continued to broadcast on its pre-transition UHF channel 31, using virtual channel 30.[29]

WGCU relocated its signal from channel 31 to channel 22 on March 10, 2020, as a result of the 2016 United States wireless spectrum auction. The work also included a rebuild of the station's tower.[30][31]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WGCU". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ a b "FCC History Cards for WGCU". Federal Communications Commission. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  3. ^ Reiman, Cathy (July 3, 1980). "USF gets grant for TV station". News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. p. 1A. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Musgrave, Jane (January 22, 1982). "Public TV to be available without antennas, cable". News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. p. 3B. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Bartlett, Allen (May 6, 1982). "USF public television, radio stations to premiere in December". News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. p. 1B. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Greene, Tywana (August 4, 1982). "Premiere of USF public TV, radio station delayed". News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. p. 2B. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Andersen, Mark (March 14, 1983). "Rains still keeping public TV, radio off the air". News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. p. 2B. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Price Parker, Betty (August 13, 1983). "Going public: New PBS station takes to the air over Southwest Florida beginning Monday". News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. p. 1D. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Greene, Tywana (June 29, 1983). "Public TV will make regional debut in mid-August". News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. p. 2B. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Gray, Jennifer (September 11, 1983). "Radio listeners get classical, jazz on new station". News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. p. 2B. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Tutino Polito, Josephine (November 18, 1982). "The birth of a campus: USF Fort Myers". News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. p. 9B. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Nichols, Bunnie (September 21, 1988). "Studio will upgrade WSFP-TV programming". News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. p. Close Up 7. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Nichols, Bunnie (June 15, 1988). "Channel 30 will make Sanibel-based fishing series". News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. p. Close Up 3. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Nichols, Bunnie (February 22, 1989). "Locally produced public affairs series to debut on WSFP-TV". News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. p. Close Up 2. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Peltier, Michael (April 9, 1994). "School gets name: Florida Gulf Coast U." The Naples Daily News. Naples, Florida. pp. 1A, 3A. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Wozniak, Mary (September 7, 1994). "USF fall enrollment up: 22 percent more than last fall". News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. p. 3B. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Wozniak, Mary (June 29, 1995). "FGCU starts assuming USF-Fort Myers duties". News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. p. 2B. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ Wozniak, Mary (December 8, 1994). "Designers compete for FGCU center". News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. p. 14A. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ Wozniak, Mary (February 3, 1995). "Architect selected for broadcast center". News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. p. 10A. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ Wozniak, Mary (June 23, 1996). "FGCU takes over radio, TV stations". News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. p. 1C. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ Wozniak, Mary (September 10, 1996). "Show will follow FGCU". News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. p. 2C. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ Runnells, Charles (May 22, 2001). "WGCU grows up: TV station lures viewers with educational shows, local productions". News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. pp. 1E, 3E. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ Anderson, Alyssa (May 12, 2016). "Florida's WGCU receives 'transformative' $3 million gift". Current. Archived from the original on June 2, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  24. ^ Misener, Jessica (August 1, 2003). "Telling the untold story: WGCU-TV producing new series on history of Southwest Florida". News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. pp. 1E, 3E. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "Local Content and Services Report" (PDF). 2022. 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  26. ^ "Annual Financial Report, WGCU-TV, Fiscal Year 2022" (PDF). WGCU. January 13, 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 2, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  27. ^ "TV Query for WGCU". RabbitEars. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
  28. ^ Wadsworth, Chris (August 1, 2005). "Fox4 to name Southwest Florida Idol". News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. p. D2. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. May 23, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  30. ^ "FCC TV Spectrum Phase Assignment Table" (CSV). Federal Communications Commission. April 13, 2017. Archived from the original on April 17, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  31. ^ Berney, Louis (February 1, 2020). "Disruptions in store as some TV stations change frequencies". News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. pp. 5A, 7A. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

External links[edit]

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