View source for WOUB-TV

{{Short description|Television station in Athens, Ohio}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox television station dual
| image = PBS WOUB logo 2020.webp
| image_size = 220px
| branding = PBS WOUB
| affiliations = {{ubl|'''20.1/44.1:''' [[PBS]]|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| country = US
| owner = [[Ohio University]]
| licensee = WOUB Public Media
| sister_stations = {{hlist|[[WOUB (AM)|WOUB]]|[[WOUB-FM]]}}
| former_affiliations = [[National Educational Television|NET]] (1963–1970)
| licensing_authority = [[FCC]]
| website = {{url|https://woub.org}}
| name1 = WOUB-TV
| name2 = WOUC-TV
| virtual1 = 20
| former_channel_numbers1 = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 20 (UHF, 1963–2009)|'''Digital:''' 27 (UHF, mid 2000s–2019)}}
| facility_id1 = 50147
| digital1 = 32 ([[UHF]])
| airdate1 = {{start date and age|1963|01|07|p=y|br=yes}}
| coordinates1 = {{coord|39|18|52|N|82|8|59|W|type:_region:_source:enwiki}}
| haat1 = {{convert|245.5|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| erp1 = 250 [[kW]]
| callsign_meaning1 = "Ohio University Broadcasting"
| city1 = {{ubl|[[Athens, Ohio|Athens]]–[[Marietta, Ohio]]|[[Parkersburg, West Virginia]]}}
| city2 = [[Cambridge, Ohio|Cambridge]]–[[Zanesville, Ohio]]
| digital2 = 6 ([[VHF]])
| virtual2 = 44
| airdate2 = {{start date and age|1973|07|26|p=y|br=yes}}
| callsign_meaning2 = "Ohio University, Cambridge"
| former_channel_numbers2 = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 44 (UHF, 1973–2009)|'''Digital:''' 35 (UHF, mid 2000s–2019)}}
| erp2 = 7.11 kW
| haat2 = {{convert|337.8|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| facility_id2 = 50141
| coordinates2 = {{coord|40|5|32|N|81|17|18|W|type:_region:_source:enwiki}}
}}

'''WOUB-TV''' (channel 20) is a [[PBS]] member [[television station]] in [[Athens, Ohio]], United States. The station's transmitter is located west of the city off [[Ohio State Route 56|SR 56]]. Its programming can also be seen on [[broadcast relay station#satellite stations|satellite station]] '''WOUC-TV''' (channel 44) in [[Cambridge, Ohio|Cambridge]], with transmitter near [[Fairview, Ohio]].

The WOUB/WOUC studios and offices are located in the Radio-TV building on the Athens campus of [[Ohio University]], which owns the stations' [[broadcast license|licenses]] through the WOUB Center for Public Media. The Center is a non-academic unit of the Scripps College of Communication. The two stations, combined, serve southeastern [[Ohio]] and portions of neighboring [[West Virginia]] and [[Kentucky]]. The public media center also serves as a laboratory for Ohio University students who are interested in gaining experience in broadcasting and related technologies. In addition to radio ([[WOUB (AM)|WOUB AM]] and [[WOUB-FM|FM]]) and television, WOUB is also active in online services and media production.

Unlike most PBS stations, the channel produces a regular local newscast by university students studying and training on television newscasts at Ohio University. With that, they mainly focus on the area around Athens, which is mostly ignored by the [[Columbus, Ohio|Columbus]], [[Zanesville]] and [[Huntington, West Virginia|Huntington]]–[[Charleston, West Virginia|Charleston]] stations that serve the Athens area.

==Coverage area==
Athens and surrounding [[Athens County]] are located in the fringes of the Columbus market, which is primarily served by [[WOSU-TV]]. However, the combined power of the two stations reaches most of the Huntington–Charleston and Zanesville markets, as well as portions of the Columbus, [[Parkersburg]] and [[Wheeling, West Virginia|Wheeling]]–[[Steubenville]] markets. The station leases commercial fiber line to permit it to be carried on the Columbus local feeds of the [[Direct broadcast satellite|DBS]] providers under ''[[must-carry]]'' provisions.

WOUC-TV serves as the PBS station of record for the Zanesville, Parkersburg, and Wheeling–Steubenville markets; in the latter case, that market is no longer able to receive [[WQED (TV)|WQED]] in [[Pittsburgh]] due to WQED selling off its spectrum in exchange for a low [[VHF]] frequency assignment in the [[2016 United States wireless spectrum auction|spectrum incentive auction]] that makes reception hard to get even within the city limits of Pittsburgh, much less distant areas.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sciullo |first=Maria |date=May 21, 2019 |title=WQED viewers who watch free, over-the-air content must re-scan after station moves to new frequency |url=https://www.post-gazette.com/ae/tv-radio/2019/05/21/WQED-new-frequency-move-summer-viewers-re-scan/stories/201905210126 |access-date=November 4, 2024 |website=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |language=en}}</ref> WOUB-TV is the secondary PBS station in Columbus to WOSU-TV, while it shares the primary status in the Huntington–Charleston market alongside [[West Virginia Public Broadcasting]] and [[Kentucky Educational Television]].

==Technical information==
As of April 11, 2018, when they expanded to six broadcast streams per transmitter,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://woub.org/2018/04/06/woub-tv-double-content-offerings-starting-april-11/|title=WOUB-TV to Double Content Offerings Starting April 11 - WOUB Digital|date=April 6, 2018|publisher=}}</ref> WOUB-TV and WOUC-TV share the same programming.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://woub.org/woubtvschedules/|title=WOUB-TV Schedules - WOUB Digital|publisher=}}</ref>

===Subchannels===
The stations' signals are [[Multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]]:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannels of WOUB-TV<ref>{{cite web|title=RabbitEars TV Query for WOUB|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WOUB#station|website=[[RabbitEars]]|access-date=August 8, 2023}}</ref> and WOUC-TV<ref>{{cite web|title=RabbitEars TV Query for WOUC|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WOUC#station|website=[[RabbitEars]]|access-date=August 8, 2023}}</ref>
! scope = "col" colspan="2"|[[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! scope = "col" rowspan="2"|[[Display resolution|Res.]]
! scope = "col" rowspan="2"|[[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! scope = "col" rowspan="2"|Short name
! scope = "col" rowspan="2"|Programming
|-
! scope = "col" | {{small|WOUB-TV}}||{{small|WOUC-TV}}
|-
! scope = "row" | 20.1 || 44.1
| [[1080i]] || rowspan=7|[[16:9]] || WOUB-HD || [[PBS]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 20.2 || 44.2
| rowspan="4" | [[480i]] || Classic || WOUB Classic
|-
! scope = "row" | 20.3 || 44.3
| World || [[World Channel|World]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 20.4 || 44.4
| Create || [[Create (TV network)|Create]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 20.5 || 44.5
| Ohio || [[The Ohio Channel]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 20.6 || 44.6
| 1080i || Kids || [[PBS Kids]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 20.7 || 44.7
| 480i || VoiceCo || Audio
|}

===Analog-to-digital conversion===
In 2009, when the analog to digital conversion was completed, WOUB-TV and WOUC-TV used channels 27 and 35, respectively for digital television operations. Following the transition, the stations remained on those channels; however, they use 20 and 44 as their respective [[virtual channel]]s.<ref name="Analog to Digital">{{cite web|url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-07-138A2.pdf |title=Data |website=hraunfoss.fcc.gov }}</ref> In 2019, both stations moved to new physical channels as part of the FCC's spectrum repack process.

==Images==
<gallery>
File:WOUB-FM_&_TV_transmitter-building.jpg|Transmitter facility for WOUB-FM/TV, Athens, Ohio. Photo taken in 1993.
File:WOUB-FM_&_TV_transmitter-tower.jpg|Transmitter tower for WOUB-FM/TV, Athens, Ohio. Photo taken in 1993.
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://woub.org/ Official website]

{{Ohio University}}
{{Columbus TV}}
{{Zanesville TV}}
{{Parkersburg TV}}
{{Ohio TV}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woub-Tv}}
[[Category:Ohio University]]
[[Category:PBS member stations]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1963]]
[[Category:Television stations in Ohio|OUB-TV]]