WVXF, virtual and

UHF Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter (on ...

digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Technology and computing Hardware *Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals ** Digital camera, which captures and stores digital ...

channel 17, is a dual This TV/ Fox- 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 ea ...

serving the

United States Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...

that is licensed to Charlotte Amalie, Saint Thomas. Owned by Caribbean Broadcasting Network, it is a

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

to low-powered NBC affiliate WVGN-LD (channel 19). WVXF's transmitter is located on Signal Hill. The station broadcasts Fox programming in high definition on its second

digital subchannel In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compres ...

, with This TV on the main channel in standard definition; this is a quirk of the Fox subchannel's former analog home of WEON-LP, which had a high definition simulcast placed on WVXF-DT2 until the station went dark in order to consolidate Caribbean Broadcasting Network's Virgin Islands operations onto WVXF. Viya Cable carries WVXF-DT2 on channel 6, and WVXF-DT1 on channel 9. WVXF is also available in Puerto Rico on

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

, and as part of the Puerto Rico locals package on

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 ...

History

WVXF signed on for the first time on July 1, 1999 as a CBS affiliate. Prior to WVXF's sign-on, CBS programming was seen on Charlotte Amalie's

WBNB-TV WBNB-TV, VHF analog channel 10, was a CBS- affiliated television station licensed to Charlotte Amalie, on the island of Saint Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands. The station operated from 1961 until 1989. History WBNB-TV was the firs ...

(channel 10). However, that station went dark permanently following

Hurricane Hugo Hurricane Hugo was a powerful Cape Verde tropical cyclone that inflicted widespread damage across the northeastern Caribbean and the Southeastern United States in September 1989. Across its track, Hugo affected approximately 2 million peopl ...

in 1989, when its transmitter was destroyed and the cash-strapped

Benedek Broadcasting Benedek Broadcasting was a television broadcasting company, who owned and operated 22 network-affiliated television stations throughout the United States, all affiliated with major television networks, serving mainly small and medium-size markets ...

(owner of several network affiliates in small and mid-sized markets on the mainland) could not afford to rebuild; Benedek retained that station's license until 1995, when it was surrendered on grounds of abandonment. Starting in 1990, CBS service was only available by satellite via network flagship WCBS-TV (from New York) and later

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

affiliate WSEE-TV (which became available on the

Primetime 24 {{unreferenced, date=September 2015 Primetime 24 (PT24) was a special package offered on C band satellite sent out to viewers who mainly live in remote and distant locations. The package consisted of local ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox affiliates on the Ea ...

package in 1997); the latter is currently carried by most cable and satellite providers in the Caribbean. On July 1, 2009, shortly after the

digital television transition The digital television transition, also called the digital switchover (DSO), the analogue switch/sign-off (ASO), the digital migration, or the analogue shutdown, is the process in which older analogue television broadcasting technology is con ...

, WVXF switched affiliations, from CBS to This TV. Since July 13, CBS programming is available on TV2. In preparation,

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. I ...

and Dish Network dropped WVXF in favor of WSEE-TV shortly before the affiliation change (the station has since returned to Dish Network). In January 2010, WVXF rebranded as EFN Caribbean, adding some syndicated shows and a local fashion-oriented program, ''Fashion Today'', to its This TV programming. The station relaunched once more on May 1, 2011, joining Disney-ABC's Live Well Network as its first primary-channel affiliate, along with giving WEON's Fox feed a high definition home on the second subchannel, which eventually became its sole channel when WEON-LP went dark on December 31, 2011. In late 2014, WVXF-DT1 reverted to This TV, ahead of Live Well ending national distribution in April 2015.

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

References

External links

* * {{Caribbean Broadcasting Network Television channels and stations established in 1999 1999 establishments in the United States Virgin Islands VXF Fox network affiliates This TV affiliates