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WNDT-CD, (channel 14) is a class A low–power,
First Nations Experience First Nations Experience (FNX) is a non-profit television network in San Bernardino, California, owned by the San Bernardino Community College District. The network, created by Executive Director Charles Fox, is broadcast from the KVCR-TV studios ...
- affiliated
television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth ...
,
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to
New York, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Uni ...
. Owned by The WNET Group (formerly known as the Educational Broadcasting Corporation and later as WNET.org), it is
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to the city's two
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
member stations
Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.WNET WNET (channel 13), branded on-air as "Thirteen" (stylized as "THIRTEEN"), is a primary PBS member television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area. Owned by The WNET Group (formerly known as the ...
(channel 13) and
Garden City, New York Garden City is a village located on Long Island in Nassau County New York. It is the Greater Garden City area's anchor community. The population was 23,272 at the 2020 census. The Incorporated Village of Garden City is primarily located within ...
-licensed WLIW (channel 21)—and Class A station
WMBQ-CD WMBQ-CD (channel 46) is a class A low–power, First Nations Experience- affiliated television station, licensed to New York, New York. Owned by WNET, the station is sister to the city's two PBS member stations, Newark-licensed WNET (channel 13), ...
(channel 46). Under a
channel sharing In telecommunication, frequency sharing or channel sharing is the assignment to or use of the same radio frequency by two or more stations that are separated geographically or that use the frequency at different times. It reduces the potential for ...
arrangement, WNDT-CD and WMBQ-CD share transmitter facilities with WNET at
One World Trade Center One World Trade Center (also known as One World Trade, One WTC, and formerly Freedom Tower) is the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Designed by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Mer ...
. Despite WNDT-CD and WMBQ-CD legally holding low-power class A licenses, they transmit using WNET's full-power spectrum. This ensures complete reception across the New York City
television market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...
. In addition to FNX programming, WNDT-CD airs some news and public affairs shows from WNET and
NJ PBS NJ PBS (known as NJTV prior to 2021) is a public television network serving the U.S. state of New Jersey. The network is owned by the New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority (NJPBA), an agency of the New Jersey state government which owns the ...
.


History


W73AP and W17AC (1973–1992)

The station was
signed on Signing may refer to: * Using sign language * Signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on do ...
over UHF channel 73 in 1973 by its original owner, WPIX, Inc., as W73AP. It was one of multiple television broadcast translators in New York City that operated at the upper end of the UHF television band in order to provide reliable coverage to sections of New York City where reception was compromised by the construction of the
World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...
. It relayed WPIX, which operates over VHF channel 11. Originally, most of the New York City television stations operated their main transmitters from the
Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the st ...
. However, reliable reception was compromised for some viewers once the majority of the World Trade Center was constructed, thus necessitating the use of the UHF translators. In response, nearly all of the TV stations, including WPIX, relocated to the North Tower of the World Trade Center in 1975. In 1982, UHF channels 70 through 83 were decommissioned for use as television stations, and the frequencies were reassigned for the
Advanced Mobile Phone System Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS) was an analog mobile phone system standard originally developed by Bell Labs and later modified in a cooperative effort between Bell Labs and Motorola. It was officially introduced in the Americas on October ...
(AMPS), an analog mobile phone system standard developed by
Bell Labs Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mult ...
that was officially introduced in the Americas in 1983. TV stations operating on these channels were either displaced to in-core broadcast channels, sold, or deleted. WPIX filed for displacement around this time, and the station's translator was reallocated to channel 17 with the new alpha-numeric
call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...
W17AC, reflecting the station's new channel number. The station continued to operate as a relay for WPIX. More than a year after WPIX became a
Tribune Broadcasting Tribune Broadcasting Company, LLC was an American media company which operated as a subsidiary of Tribune Media, a media conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois. The group owned and operated television and radio stations throughout the United Sta ...
station outright in 1991 and expanded coverage in New York City,
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
and
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
over the air and through cable, it was unnecessary to keep channel 17 as a backup translator. WPIX sold channel 17 to Trimtab Productions, Inc., in 1992, and the station went off the air shortly thereafter.


W17BM (1992–1997)

On November 9, 1992, the call sign was changed to W17BM, reflecting the station's transfer of ownership. Empire Broadcasting at that point became the operator through Trimtab Productions. It was then programmed as an affiliate of The Box, airing music videos. In 1995, the station branded as KTV airing KBS/Korean programming along with The Box during the day and on weekends.


WEBR-LP (1997–2001)

On April 22, 1997, the call-sign was changed to WEBR-LP, which stands for Empire BRoadcasting. Trimtab Productions and Empire Broadcasting were later sold to K Licensee, Inc., the owner of NY Radio Korea, who programmed the station as the affiliate of KBS with Korean programming. K Licensee, Inc., later changed its corporate name to K Media, Inc. In 1997, The Box was removed and it ran Korean programming full-time. Over the years it added news programming called KTV news and 1 hour radio public affairs each week along with foreign news like YTN, which was added later that year. Also, community a calendar was added during weeknights after the local news programming ended. During the day, it aired most of the KBS programming along with a 30-minute children's program from that station in
Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...
.


WEBR-CA (2001–2009)

On March 5, 2001, the call-sign suffix was changed to WEBR-CA, reflecting the station's new Class A status. Korean programming and KBS were broadcast from 5 p.m. to 1 p.m., while HSN Spanish ran from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and on weekends. On September 11, 2001, the affiliate temporarily switched to
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
, which aired news coverage as a backup after the planes hit the main transmitter on the north tower. In 2002,
HSN HSN, an initialism of its former name Home Shopping Network, is an American free-to-air television network owned by the Qurate Retail Group, which also owns catalog company Cornerstone Brands. Based in the Gateway area of St. Petersburg, Flo ...
Spanish was replaced with the Korean shopping channel KNH. The format stayed the same. Later that year, it ran from 1 a.m. to 7 a.m. This lasted until mid-2005, when the programming was temporarily changed back to KBS along with Korean programming. GCN (Global Christian Network) programming began on September 1, 2005. At that time, it aired three hours of repeated programming for six weeks. Some of the programming came from out-of-market religious ministries such as sermons by Korean pastor Jaerock Lee, ''Quick Study'', ''Day Of Discovery'', and some of the promo programming throughout most of the day for a couple of weeks. Children's programming was added on Saturdays from 7 to 10 a.m. and from 8 to 10 p.m. to fill most of the gaps. Also, testimony concerts aired each week on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Additional programming was added in multiple languages on October 10, 2005. After the transition, some of the promos were dropped and more religious programming was added. Children's programming was extended to one hour each day and 2 hours during the morning and evenings on weekends. The following year, religious news programming was added from CBN along with Worship Network music videos. Later that year, movies were added each week.


WEBR-CD (2009–2018)

On September 16, 2009, the call sign was changed to WEBR-CD. The religious format stayed mostly the same except the station ID was classified as WEBR 17 New York, while WEBR-CD 17 was only used on 17.2, re-branding as KTV. As a condition for its continued operation on Channel 17, WEBR-CD cannot cause harmful interference to operations on Channel 16, as frequencies on that channel are utilized for public safety communications systems within New York City. The station has an agreement with the New York Metropolitan Advisory Committee (NYMAC) that requires any operation on Channel 17 to be reduced or ceased should any interference occur to the public safety operations. Any proposed modifications to the respective operations by either the NYMAC or Channel 17 must be made known to the other party, and responses from the other party must be included within such public filings. WEBR-CD operates at significantly less wattage than its analog predecessor. It also operates with a stringent mask filter, which reduces emissions so the channel 17 signal will not exceed -123 DBM within the NYMAC assigned spectrum. On March 20, 2012, K Licensee Inc., agreed to sell WEBR-CD to
OTA Broadcasting OTA Broadcasting, LLC was a broadcasting company founded in 2011 by Michael Dell. The company is based in Fairfax, Virginia. History OTA Broadcasting was founded in 2011 by Michael Dell's MSD Capital. It had been rumored that Dell formed OT ...
, a company controlled by
Michael Dell Michael Saul Dell (born February 23, 1965) is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Dell Technologies, one of the world's largest technology infrastructure companies. He is ranked the 2 ...
's
MSD Capital MSD Capital is an American private investment firm that manages the capital of Michael Dell and his family. The firm, which is based in New York and has offices in Santa Monica and West Palm Beach, was formed in 1998. In 2009, the principals of ...
, for $6.6 million. On April 30, 2012, the license was officially transferred. The deal closed on June 15, 2012. Prior to the transfer of ownership of OTA Broadcasting, the GCN format stayed the same for a couple of months before being taken off the air in 2013. With GCN moving to sub channel 17.3, another format was added and it is currently airing
infomercial An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of dire ...
s. Later in 2013, it switched to the Universal Affiliates Network, which airs movies, local programming, religious programming, and mostly infomercials during the day. In 2015, WEBR moved to digital channel 49 for the first time in 32 years. In the
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
(FCC)'s
incentive auction 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 spe ...
, WEBR-CD sold its spectrum for $72,817,599 and indicated that it would enter into a post-auction channel sharing agreement. On October 30, 2017, the station entered into a channel sharing agreement with
WNET WNET (channel 13), branded on-air as "Thirteen" (stylized as "THIRTEEN"), is a primary PBS member television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area. Owned by The WNET Group (formerly known as the ...
(channel 13); concurrently, OTA Broadcasting agreed to donate the WEBR license to WNET. The donation was completed on December 22, 2017; the next day, WEBR-CD was taken off the air while WNET prepared to move the shared transmitter to the
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.


WNCT-CD and WNDT-CD (2018–present)

The call letters were changed to WNCT-CD on March 15, 2018, and to WNDT-CD on March 22. In November 2018, WNDT-CD returned on its new channel 13 as a non-commercial
network affiliate In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or a ...
of
MHz Worldview MHz Networks is an American public broadcaster that specializes in international television programming. Washington, D.C., broadcast operations MHz (pronounced "M-H-Z") Networks began as a project of the Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corpora ...
. WNDT currently is seen on its virtual channel 14. In addition to multi-ethnic programming, it also
simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...
s NJTV news along with the daily public affairs program ''Metrofocus''. Local programming children's shows air on Saturday afternoons from
WNET WNET (channel 13), branded on-air as "Thirteen" (stylized as "THIRTEEN"), is a primary PBS member television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area. Owned by The WNET Group (formerly known as the ...
. After MHz Networks announced in January that MHz Worldview will cease operations by March 1, 2020, in favor of digital
streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
, WNET switched its programming to
First Nations Experience First Nations Experience (FNX) is a non-profit television network in San Bernardino, California, owned by the San Bernardino Community College District. The network, created by Executive Director Charles Fox, is broadcast from the KVCR-TV studios ...
.Here's How to Keep Watching MHz Worldview Programming After March 1st
/ref>


Digital television


Digital channel

In late November 2009, WEBR added MBC-D after
Newton, New Jersey Newton, officially the ''Town of Newton'', is an incorporated municipality located in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is situated approximately by road northwest of New York City. As the location of the county's administrati ...
-based WMBC-TV dropped it in favor of a new network, CGN, a Korean Christian network that was later moved to 63.2 and is now a Sinovision English affiliate. A couple of weeks later, NY Radio Korea, an aural service, was added on 17-4. Effective March 1, 2011, MBC-D programming was discontinued on 17-2. Replacing it is a slide reading "KTV 17.2" with audio from NY Radio Korea – the same as is carried on 17-4 – albeit slightly louder. The PSIP information still identifies 17-2 as MBCD. In summer 2011, a fourth subchannel, 17-3, was added as GCN, replacing primary channel 17.1 as
infomercial An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of dire ...
s. However, as of January, the entire GCN programming was removed, leaving only two subchannels blank without audio. The KTV slide was discontinued with the KRB audio remaining. The same aural programming is replicated on 17-4. As of mid-2013, subchannels were removed, leaving only the main channel 17.1. Earlier that year, GCN programming returned to channel 17.3. Following the donation to WNET, UAN and GCN subchannel programming was replaced with its current affiliate
MHz Worldview MHz Networks is an American public broadcaster that specializes in international television programming. Washington, D.C., broadcast operations MHz (pronounced "M-H-Z") Networks began as a project of the Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corpora ...
. Originally All Arts was supposed to air on WNDT-CD in late January, but it was picked up by WLIW as a fourth subchannel.


Analog-to-digital conversion

In August 2009, the station flash-cut to its present low-power DTV signal, and the call-sign suffix was changed to CD, reflecting the station's Class A status using digital transmission.


Achievements

WEBR won awards in broadcasting for 5 straight years for best programming. *1998 KBS Seoul Prize Award *1999 KBS Seoul Prize Award *2000 KBS Seoul Prize Award *2001 KBS Seoul Prize Award *2002 KBS Seoul Prize Award WEBR becoming the third Korean-owned-and-operated station behind
WMBC-TV WMBC-TV (channel 63) is an independent television station licensed to Newton, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York metropolitan area. The station is owned by the Mountain Broadcasting Corporation, and maintains studios on Clinton R ...
and
WKOB-LD WKOB-LD, virtual channel 42 (VHF digital channel 13), is an affiliate of the Vision Latina (Spanish-language) television network licensed to New York, New York, United States (alongside W16CC-D in the Miami market). The station is owned and o ...
to be owned by K license from 1997 to 2012. WEBR was the third over-the-air station behind WFME-TV, now
WNYJ-TV WNYJ-TV (channel 66) was an independent non-commercial television station licensed to West Milford, New Jersey, United States. The station's transmitter was located in West Orange, New Jersey. Its broadcast license was owned by the Oakland, Calif ...
, and
WTBY-TV WTBY-TV (channel 54) is a religious television station licensed to Jersey City, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area as an owned-and-operated station of the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). It is a sister station to Edi ...
to air religious programming in New York City from September 1, 2005, to January 2013. WEBR was the second over-the-air station behind
WPIX WPIX (channel 11) is a television station in New York City. Owned by Mission Broadcasting, it is operated under a local marketing agreement (LMA) by Nexstar Media Group, making it a ''de facto'' owned-and-operated station and flagship (broadcas ...
, WMUN-CD, and
WCBS-TV WCBS-TV (channel 2) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside Riverhead, New York–licensed independent station WL ...
. WEBR was the only low-power station to operate two translator stations. As of 2015 both translator stations remain inactive. WNDT-CD is the one of two oldest surviving continuous low-power stations in New York City. WNDT-CD is currently one of two low-power television stations, along with WMBQ-CD, to be transmitted from One World Trade Center.


References


External links


FNX official website
{{Other New York Stations NDT-CD First Nations Experience affiliates Low-power television stations in the United States Television channels and stations established in 1970