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WBRA-TV Blue Ridge PBS Logo
WBRA-TV (channel 15) is a PBS member television station in Roanoke, Virginia, United States, owned by Blue Ridge Public Television, Inc. The station's studios are located on McNeil Drive in southwest Roanoke, and its transmitter is located on Poor Mountain in unincorporated southwestern Roanoke County. From 1981 to 2013 and again from 2014 to 2017, Blue Ridge PBS served all of Southwest Virginia with two satellite stations, WSBN-TV (channel 47), and WSMY-TV (channel 52). Both stations sign off on June 30, 2013, before returning to the airwaves on March 29, 2014, before shutting down for good on March 27, 2017. History WBRA-TV signed on for the first time on August 1, 1967. It claims to be the first all-color educational station in the country. It was originally a member of National Educational Television (NET), before that organization was replaced by PBS in 1970. In the 1980s, WBRA began identifying on-air as Blue Ridge Public Television, due to its location near the Blue Ridg ...
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Very High Frequency
Very high frequency (VHF) is the ITU designation for the range of radio frequency electromagnetic waves ( radio waves) from 30 to 300 megahertz (MHz), with corresponding wavelengths of ten meters to one meter. Frequencies immediately below VHF are denoted high frequency (HF), and the next higher frequencies are known as ultra high frequency (UHF). VHF radio waves propagate mainly by line-of-sight, so they are blocked by hills and mountains, although due to refraction they can travel somewhat beyond the visual horizon out to about 160 km (100 miles). Common uses for radio waves in the VHF band are Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) and FM radio broadcasting, television broadcasting, two-way land mobile radio systems (emergency, business, private use and military), long range data communication up to several tens of kilometers with radio modems, amateur radio, and marine communications. Air traffic control communications and air navigation systems (e.g. VOR and ILS) wo ...
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Southwest Virginia
Southwest Virginia, often abbreviated as SWVA, is a mountainous region of Virginia in the westernmost part of the commonwealth. Located within the broader region of western Virginia, Southwest Virginia has been defined alternatively as all Virginia counties on the Appalachian Plateau, all Virginia counties west of the Eastern Continental Divide, or at its greatest expanse, as far east as Blacksburg and Roanoke. Another geographic categorization of the region places it as those counties within the Tennessee River watershed. Regardless of how borders are drawn, Southwest Virginia differs from the rest of the commonwealth in that its culture is more closely associated with Appalachia than the other regions of Virginia. Historically, the region has been and remains a rural area, but in the 20th century, coal mining became an important part of its economy. With the decline in the number of coal jobs and the decline of tobacco as a cash crop, Southwest Virginia is increasingly tu ...
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Channel (broadcasting)
In broadcasting, a channel or frequency channel is a designated radio frequency (or, equivalently, wavelength), frequency assignment, assigned by a competent frequency assignment authority for the operation of a particular Radio broadcasting, radio station, television station or television channel. See also *Frequency allocation, ITU RR, article 1.17 *Frequency assignment, ITU RR, article 1.18 *Broadcast law *Television channel frequencies References International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Broadcasting {{Broadcast-stub ...
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City Of License
In American, Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator. In North American broadcast law, the concept of ''community of license'' dates to the early days of AM radio broadcasting. The requirement that a broadcasting station operate a ''main studio'' within a prescribed distance of the community which the station is licensed to serve appears in United States federal law, U.S. law as early as 1939. Various specific obligations have been applied to broadcasters by governments to fulfill public policy objectives of broadcast localism (politics), localism, both in radio and later also in television, based on the legislative presumption that a broadcaster fills a similar role to that held by community newspaper publishers. United States In the United States, the Communications Act of 1934 requires that "the Commission s ...
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Spectrum Reallocation
The 2016 United States wireless spectrum auction, officially known as Auction 1001, allocated approximately 100 MHz of the United States Ultra High Frequency (UHF) spectrum formerly allocated to UHF television in the 600 MHz band. The spectrum auction and subsequent reallocations were authorized by Title VI (The Spectrum Act) of the payroll tax cut extension passed by the United States Congress on February 17, 2012. Background The 2008 United States wireless spectrum auction, dealing with allocations for UHF television in the 700 MHz band, generated $19.6 billion from companies such as AT&T and Verizon Communications. This auction re-allocated the UHF space formerly occupied by channels 52–69, after the completion of the primary digital television transition in the United States from NTSC to ATSC in 2009. In effect, the digital transition had eliminated 25% of the space allocated for UHF television in the United States. Wireless broadband internet access interest ...
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The Roanoke Times
''The Roanoke Times'' is the primary newspaper in Southwestern Virginia and is based in Roanoke, Virginia, United States. It is published by Lee Enterprises. In addition to its headquarters in Roanoke, it maintains a bureau in Christiansburg, covering the eastern New River Valley and Virginia Tech. According to the 2011 Scarborough “Ranker Report,” ''The Roanoke Times'' ranks fifth in the country in terms of percentage of adults reading a newspaper on weekdays in that newspaper's coverage area. History The ''Roanoke Daily Times'' began publication in 1886. The paper's original owner, M. H. Claytor, eventually added a companion evening newspaper, ''The Roanoke Evening News''. In 1909, he sold the paper to a group headed by banker J. B. Fishburn. The Fishburn group bought the ''Roanoke Evening World'' in 1913, merging it with the ''Evening News'' and changing its name to the ''Roanoke World-News''. At the same time, Times-World Corporation was formed as the owner of both ...
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East Tennessee PBS
WETP-TV (channel 2) is a non-commercial educational television station licensed to Sneedville, Tennessee, United States. It is simulcast full-time over satellite station WKOP-TV (channel 15) in Knoxville. Both are member stations of PBS and jointly brand as East Tennessee PBS. Owned by the East Tennessee Public Communications Corporation, the two stations form a regional network serving both the Knoxville and Tri-Cities areas of East Tennessee. The network's studios and offices are located on East Magnolia Avenue in downtown Knoxville. WETP-TV's transmitter is located atop Short Mountain near Mooresburg, while WKOP-TV's transmitter is situated on Sharp's Ridge in North Knoxville. History Early years WETP-TV was founded on March 15, 1967 as WSJK (Sneedville– Johnson City–Knoxville), the first in a series of four stations that the Tennessee Board of Education would establish over the next 12 years, the others being WLJT in Martin, WTCI in Chattanooga and WCTE in Cookeville ...
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Dish Network
DISH Network Corporation (DISH, an acronym for DIgital Sky Highway) is an American television provider and the owner of the direct-broadcast satellite provider Dish, commonly known as Dish Network, and the over-the-top IPTV service, Sling TV. Additionally, Dish offers mobile wireless service, Dish Wireless. On July 1, 2020, Dish acquired prepaid service Boost Mobile and intends to add postpaid service as well in the future. Based out of unincorporated Douglas County, Colorado the company has approximately 16,000 employees. History In January 2008, EchoStar Communications Corporation, which was founded by Charlie Ergen as a satellite television equipment distributor in 1980, changed its name to DISH Network Corporation and spun off its technology arm as a new company named EchoStar Corporation. The company had begun using DISH Network as its consumer brand in 1996, after the launch of its first satellite, EchoStar I, in December 1995. That launch marked the beginning of its ...
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DirecTV
DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. It also provides traditional linear television service delivered by IP through its U-verse TV brand and a Virtual MVPD service through its DirecTV Stream brand. Its primary competitors are Dish Network, traditional cable television providers, IP-based television services, and other over-the-top video services. On July 24, 2015, after receiving approval from the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice, AT&T acquired DirecTV in a transaction valued at $67.1 billion. As of the end of Q1 2021, AT&T had 15.9 million pay-TV customers, including DirecTV, U-Verse, and DirecTV Stream subscribers. On February 25, 2021, AT&T announced that it would spin-off DirecTV, U-Verse TV, and DirecTV Stream into a separate e ...
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Marion, Virginia
Marion is a town in, and the county seat of, Smyth County, Virginia, United States. It is positioned upon Interstate 81, in the Blue Ridge portion of the Southern Appalachian mountains in Southwest Virginia. The town is named for American Revolutionary War officer Francis Marion. The town limits had a population of approximately 6,000, per 2020 Census estimates. However, together with the neighborhoods, an additional 9,000 residents residing in unincorporated Smyth County have Marion mailing addresses, granting the Marion, VA ZIP code (24354) a total population of about 14,500, which is around half of the county's total population. Geography Marion, Virginia is the location of two large side-by-side ground storage water tower tanks, which are separately labeled "HOT" (in red letters) and "COLD" (in blue). The landmarks, positioned just off of Marion exit 47, are visible to both north and south bound Interstate 81 traffic lanes. Marion is located at (36.8370, −81.5165). Acc ...
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Norton, Virginia
Norton is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, located in the far western tip of the state in Wise County, Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,687, making it the least populous city in Virginia. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Norton with surrounding Wise County for statistical purposes. History The settlement was originally known as "Prince's Flats," but in a bid to convince the Louisville and Nashville Railroad to build a depot there, the town was renamed after the then-current head of the railroad, Eckstein Norton. Norton was located on the Wilderness Trail, which had been blazed by Daniel Boone, and later extensively mapped and settled by Christopher Gist. The settlement developed as a central hub for the timber trade until the coal boom of the 1830-40s. The Hotel Norton is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Education Norton City Schools is the school division of the city, operating John I. Burton ...
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Broadcast Relay Station
A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or transponds) the signal of a radio or television station to an area not covered by the originating station. It expands the broadcast range of a television or radio station beyond the primary signal's original coverage or improves service in the original coverage area. The stations may be (but are not usually) used to create a single-frequency network. They may also be used by an AM or FM radio station to establish a presence on the other band. Relay stations are most commonly established and operated by the same organisations responsible for the originating stations they repeat. However, depending on technical and regulatory restrictions, relays may also be set up by unrelated organisations. Types Broadcast translators In its simplest form, ...
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