WFYI (TV)

WFYI, virtual channel 20 (UHF digital channel 21), is a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member television station licensed to Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Owned by Metropolitan Indianapolis Public Media, Inc., it is a sister station to National Public Radio (NPR) member WFYI-FM (90.1). The two stations share studios between Pierson and Illinois Streets (using a North Meridian Street address) north of downtown Indianapolis, within the city's Television Row section. The TV station's transmitter is located on West 79th Street and Township Line Road on the city's northwest side (near Meridian Hills).

This article is about the television station. For the FM radio station, see WFYI-FM.
WFYI
Indianapolis, Indiana
United States
ChannelsDigital: 21 (UHF)
Virtual: 20 (PSIP)
BrandingWFYI
SloganFor Your Information
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
OwnerMetropolitan Indianapolis Public Media, Inc.
WFYI-FM
History
First air date
October 4, 1970 (1970-10-04)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog:
  • 20 (UHF, 1970–2009)
NET (October 4–5, 1970)
Call sign meaning
For Your Information
or
For You, Indiana
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID41397
ERP225 kW
HAAT251 m (823 ft)
Transmitter coordinates39°53′56.9″N 86°12′02.4″W
Links
Public license information
Profile
LMS
Websitewww.wfyi.org

On cable, WFYI is available on Comcast Xfinity channel 3 and on Charter Spectrum and AT&T U-verse channel 20.

Background

Local community leader Ardath Y. Burkhart formed a small grassroots campaign to launch a non-commercial educational television station to serve Indianapolis. Burkhart (whose group became known as "Ardath's Army") quickly gained support in the community by stating her case to residents in Indianapolis and surrounding counties. The volunteers raised enough funds over the course of a few weeks to cover a year's worth of operating expenses.

The station first signed on the air on October 4, 1970; for its first two days on the air, it served as a member station of National Educational Television (NET), before becoming a member of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) when it launched on October 6, 1970. WFYI's transmitter originally operated at low power, providing a signal reach not far outside of downtown Indianapolis. It started with a small staff of nine employees from its Meridian Street studio facilities (located just north of downtown), which formerly housed the headquarters of utility company Indiana Gas. Despite the fact that color television had become commonplace at the time, the station could afford to purchase only three cameras that were capable of recording locally produced programming in black-and-white, not color. The station eventually increased its transmitter power to allow its signal to cover a 58-mile (93 km) radius from the tower, expanding to cover a larger portion of Central Indiana.

In the early 1980s, WFYI's programming was relayed on translator station W39AA in Fort Wayne (the low-powered repeater previously relayed fellow PBS station WBGU-TV in Bowling Green, Ohio). That translator was a stopgap to provide educational programming to Fort Wayne, as UHF channel 39 was allocated for educational use. Channel 39 became a separate, full-powered PBS member outlet, WFWA, in December 1986.

The station's current president and CEO, Lloyd Wright, also serves on PBS' national board of directors.

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[1]
20.11080i16:9WFYI 1Main WFYI programming / PBS
20.2WFYI 2PBS Kids
20.3480iWFYI 3Create (4 a.m.–4 p.m.) / Indiana Channel (4 p.m.–1 a.m.) /
Classic Arts Showcase (1–4 a.m.)

On digital subchannel 20.2, the station carries children's programming from PBS Kids during the 24/7 hours. Digital subchannel 20.3 airs a mix of programming from Create during the daytime hours, programming from the Indiana Channel during the late afternoon and evening hours and Classic Arts Showcase during the overnight hours.

Analog-to-digital conversion

WFYI signed on its digital signal in 2003. The station shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 20, at 11:59 p.m. on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. WFYI ran a video in the minutes leading up to the shutdown of the analog signal overviewing its primary digital channel and two subchannels ("WFYI 2" and "WFYI 3"), which re-aired following a retrospective on the station's history. The station's digital signal continued to broadcast on its pre-transition UHF channel 21.[2] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 20.

Programming

WFYI's most notable locally produced programs include the travel programs Across Indiana and Indiana Expeditions with Rick Crosslin, the business discussion program INside Indiana Business, legal advice program Indiana Lawmakers, film showcase Reel Time and the public affairs programs Indiana PrimeTime and Indiana Week in Review. The station's locally originated programming has earned WFYI over 30 Regional Emmy Awards since the mid-2000s.

References
  1. RabbitEars TV Query for WFYI
  2. "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-03-24.
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