WJSP-TV

WJSP-TV

Satellite of WGTV, Athens/Atlanta, Georgia
Columbus/Warm Springs, Georgia United States
City	Columbus, Georgia
Channels	Digital: 5 (VHF) Virtual: 28 (PSIP)
Branding	GPB PBS
Programming
Affiliations	28.1: GPB/PBS 28.2: Create 28.3: GPB Knowledge 28.4: PBS Kids
Ownership
Owner	Georgia Public Broadcasting (Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission)
Sister stations	TV: WGTV, WXGA-TV, WVAN-TV, WABW-TV, WNGH-TV, WCES-TV, WACS-TV, WMUM-TV Radio: WJSP-FM
History
First air date	August 10, 1964 (1964-08-10)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 28 (UHF, 1964–2009) Digital: 23 (UHF, until 2019)
Former affiliations	NET (1964–1970)
Call sign meaning	James S. Peters
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	23918
ERP	21.4 kW
HAAT	431.5 m (1,416 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	32°51′6.8″N 84°42′5.5″W
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Website	www.gpb.org

WJSP-TV, virtual channel 28 (VHF digital channel 5), is a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member television station licensed to Columbus, Georgia, United States. Owned by the Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission, it is a sister station to National Public Radio (NPR) member WJSP-FM (88.1 MHz). WJSP-TV's transmitter is located in Warm Springs, Georgia. The station is operated as part of the statewide Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) television network.

WJSP-TV is one of only two GPB stations actually licensed to a major Georgia city, the other being WVAN-TV in Savannah. However, to conform to GPB's pattern of naming two cities in its legal identifications, the station is listed as "WJSP-DT 28, Columbus/Warm Springs".

Background

The station's signal reaches about a 45-mile (72 km) radius from the transmitter site, though this is variable since it uses a directional antenna. The signal also reaches far south-southwest metro Atlanta, and is a better source for GPB in that area than its main station, WGTV. Meriwether County, where Warm Springs is located, is part of the Atlanta television market.

WJSP-TV primarily serves the northern and central portions of the Columbus market. The southern portion of the Columbus market, including much of Columbus itself, is served by Americus' WACS-TV. While WJSP-TV is the GPB station of record for Columbus, its signal is marginal at best in much of the city even though Warm Springs is 45 minutes north of Columbus. By comparison, WACS' transmitter in Parrott is almost an hour south of Columbus.

There was also one translator, W49AD, channel 49 in downtown Carrollton, in the southwest corner of the Atlanta market. That translator's digital companion channel is W13DJ-D on channel 13, and it has been on-air since July/August 2009. However, it is officially part of WGTV's license. It is east-southeast of town, immediately southeast of the Oak Mountain Championship Golf Course.

History

The channel 28 frequency was originally home to WTVM from 1953 to 1960, when it moved to channel 9.

WJSP-TV's call sign is from the initials of long-time Georgia legislator and member of the state's board of education, James S. Peters of Manchester, Georgia.

WJSP-TV signed on August 10, 1964, as the fifth public television station in Georgia. Its somewhat reduced-power digital signal, on channel 23, began in 2003. WJSP-TV has been digital-only since February 17, 2009.

The station had originally chosen to return to channel 28 for digital TV during the first-round digital channel election, but due to an interference conflict it was forced to remain on channel 23. On November 30, 2018, WJSP-TV was to be moved to channel 5; the station was licensed to operate on channel 5 effective April 5, 2019.

External links

• GPB Website
  • GPB stations map — includes WJSP coverage area
• Template:TVQ
  • Template:TVQ
• Template:BIA
• RECnet query for DW49AD