WYCC
 |
|
| Chicago, Illinois | |
|---|---|
| City of license | Chicago, Illinois |
| Branding | Wise TV WYCC |
| Slogan | Change Your Mind |
| Channels | Digital: 21 (UHF) Virtual: 20 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels | 20.1 PBS 20.3 MHz Worldview |
| Affiliations | PBS |
| Owner | City Colleges of Chicago (College District #508, County of Cook) |
| Founded | February 17, 1983 |
| Call letters' meaning | We're Your City Colleges |
| Former callsigns | Digital: WYCC-DT (2000–2009) |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 20 (1983–2009) |
| Transmitter power | 98.9 kW |
| Height | 378 m |
| Facility ID | 12279 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 41°53′55.7″N 87°37′22.5″W / 41.898806°N 87.622917°W |
| Website | http://www.wycc.org |
WYCC is a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member public television in Chicago, Illinois which broadcasts over digital channel 21, also reached as 20.1, and two other digital channels, 20.2 and 20.3. Owned and operated by the City Colleges of Chicago, the station's studios are based at Kennedy-King College and the transmitter is atop the John Hancock Center.
WYCC is in a market which features two other member stations of PBS, WTTW in Chicago and WYIN, which is based in nearby Gary, Indiana and targets viewers in Northwest Indiana. As the Chicago market is well-served by PBS national programming by those two stations, WYCC focuses more on airing adult educational and other instructional programming, along with other programming obtained by producers outside of PBS, which provides only 13% of WYCC's weekly schedule. On its digital channel 20.3, it offers a wide variety of international news programs in English.
Funding for the station is provided by the usual mix of member donations, pledge drives, and CPB funding, along with that of the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago via the City Colleges division.
The station makes the claim of being the largest public television station run by a minority operation, and reaches the 3.5 million households of Chicago, along with 6 million households in a four-state area.
Contents |
[edit] Digital television
WYCC's digital signal is multiplexed:
| Channel | Video | Aspect | Name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | WYCC-HD | Main WYCC programming / PBS HD |
| 20.2 | 480i | 4:3 | WYCC-SD | Main WYCC programming / PBS SD |
| 20.3 | MHZ | MHz Worldview |
[edit] Analog-to-digital conversion
On April 16, 2009 at 6 a.m. CDT, WYCC switched to all-digital broadcasting, becoming Chicago's first television station to stop broadcasting in an analog signal.[1] At the same time, the "WYCC" callsign was legally transferred from the now-defunct analog channel 20 to digital channel 21 and channel 21's pre-transition callsign "WYCC-DT" was officially discontinued. Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display its virtual channel as 20.
Channel 20.3 offers international programming from MHz Networks' Worldview.[2]
[edit] Programming
[edit] Locally-produced programming
As part of the City Colleges of Chicago, the television station provides distance learning courses in the late night schedule. These courses, when viewed, may be credited towards an associate degree at any of the city colleges. The city colleges also use WYCC to air informational programs for neighborhood outreach and community service. Also, locally produced, is the political talk show Beyond the Beltway, which also airs nationally on radio. In the last two years, WYCC has altered the program line-up, picking up new BBC offerings and making good use of the English language international news shows to offer news and views not available elsewhere, particularly for viewers who watch broadcast television over the air in the Chicago area market.
[edit] How-to programming
In 2010, weekday afternoons and Saturday midday include many "how to" shows, on sewing, quilting, cooking, art/painting, gardening and home improvement programs.
[edit] British and Irish programming
WYCC is the Chicago-area carrier for Out of Ireland.[3] It formerly carried "Tartan TV," which focuses on Scotland. In addition, it carried Monarch of the Glen, Last of the Summer Wine, Are You Being Served?, and Monty Python's Flying Circus. In 2010, it carries reruns of the Canadian program The Red Green Show.[4] [5]
It has also carried Ballykissangel, an Irish comedy soap opera. As of this writing, WYCC and WTTW show a similar number of scripted British shows. Both broadcast Antiques Roadshow[6] and Masterpiece,[7] though on different dates. In 2010, it showed Touching Evil.[8] It is airing Lark Rise to Candleford since 2009, which began in the UK in 2008.[9] This series is from BBC One, which anticipates a fourth season.[10] It began Midsomer Murders Episode 1 in November 2010. Midsomer Murders first aired in the UK in 1997. The show has programs in 14 series. [11] Series 14 is airing in the UK in fall 2010.[12]
With its large variety of mystery programs, WYCC runs Mystery Marathons on some holiday weekends, tied with fund raising.
[edit] Children's programming
As a Public Broadcasting Service television station, WYCC provides children's programming. Favorites include Clifford the Big Red Dog, whose lead character was voiced by the late John Ritter. Weekday mornings are filled with children's programming.
[edit] News programming
WYCC offers comprehensive international news coverage and national news discussion. It offers Germany's DW TV Journal, France 24,[13] "NHK Newsline", "RT News", formerly called Russia Today [14], and Euronews on digital channel 21/20.1. Popular news talk shows include those hosted by Charlie Rose and Tavis Smiley. The greatest variety of international news programs airs only on digital channel 20.3.
Some programs aired on digital channel 20.3 are in English, while others are broadcast in foreign language with subtitles, Spanish without subtitles. MHz_Networks originates from Washington DC. Programs include news from Asia, South America, and the Middle East (e.g., Al Jazeera English, Bolivian News, Arab Net News, South Asia News). The full schedule of programs is shown at the WYCC web page.[15] This digital channel, in addition to the programs aired on digital channel 20.1, greatly expands the news broadcasts available to viewers without cable or satellite, who rely on "over the air" broadcasting in the service area.[16]
Additionally, local news programming produced by undergraduate and graduate students at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism airs on WYCC. Students from the City Colleges of Chicago contribute to the production of these shows, too. WYCC produced programs for the Illinois elections in fall 2010.
The public affairs and editorial program "Off 63rd with Garrard McClendon" airs on WYCC on Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. The show is funded by the McCormick Foundation and the Field Foundation. Professor and author, Dr. Garrard McClendon, hosts the show.
[edit] References
- ^ http://blogs.suntimes.com/media/2009/03/wycc-channel_20_goes_all-digit.html
- ^ http://www.wycc.org/media/mhz/aboutmhz.aspx
- ^ http://www.outofirelandtv.com/site/page7.cfm
- ^ http://www.redgreen.com/
- ^ http://www.pbs.org/redgreen/
- ^ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/
- ^ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118497/
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1077744/
- ^ http://www.larkrisetocandleford.com/
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118401/
- ^ http://www.midsomermurders.org/
- ^ http://www.france24.com/en/
- ^ http://rt.com/
- ^ http://wycctv20.wordpress.com/program-schedule/
- ^ http://tv.about.com/od/hdtv/a/hdantenna.htm
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Public Broadcasting Service
- Query the FCC's TV station database for WYCC
- BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WYCC-TV
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||
