WASA-LD

WASA-LD
Port Jervis, New York
United States
Branding Estrella TV WASA 24
Channels Digital: 24 (UHF)
Virtual: 24 (PSIP)
Affiliations Estrella TV
Owner Liberman Broadcasting
(KRCA License LLC)
Founded 1970s as W64AA
Former callsigns W64AA (1970-1983 and 2001)
W64CW (2003-2007)
WASA-LP (2007-2010)
Former channel number(s) 64 (UHF analog, 1970-2010)
Former affiliations Independent via WNEW-TV (1970-1983)
silent 1983-2001
The WB via WPIX (briefly in 2001)
independent (2003-2010)
informercials (2010-2012)
Transmitter power 15 kW (digital)
Height 544.1 m (both)
Facility ID 130880
Website http://www.estrellatv.com/

WASA-LD is a low-power television station officially licensed in Port Jervis, New York, but is technically serving the New York City market, formerly assigned to UHF RF channel 25 (virtual channel 24). WASA is owned by Liberman Broadcasting, and broadcasts its digital signal from its transmitter on the Conde Nast Building in Manhattan.

WASA briefly used virtual channel 64 to match its former analog channel number, then later changed its virtual channel to 24. WNYE-TV, the former long-time analog occupant of channel 25 which selected RF channel 24 for its post-transition operations, already uses virtual channel 25. WASA, therefore, could not use virtual channel 25.

In April 2009 it was announced that Venture would sell this station to Liberman Broadcasting for $6 Million, making NYC the 6th market to be served by Liberman if the sale was approved by the Federal Communications Commission.[1] The deal closed on March 1, 2010.

History: As W64AA

This station was signed on over UHF channel 64 in the 1970s by its original owner MetroMedia as W64AA. It was one of multiple television broadcast translators in New York City which operated at the upper end of the UHF television band in order to provide reliable coverage to certain New York boroughs whose reception was ultimately compromised by construction of the World Trade Center. This translator station relayed WNEW-TV (now WNYW), which at the time operated over VHF channel 5.

Originally, most of the New York City television stations operated their main transmitters from the Empire State Building. However, reliable reception was ultimately 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 WNEW-TV, 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 (AMPS), an analog mobile phone system standard developed by Bell Labs which 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, depending on the owners desired intentions.

While some of the stations, such as WPIX and WCBS-TV, continued broadcasting relay translators by moving to lower channels, WNEW-TV ultimately decide to shut down channel 64. The allocation remained inactive for eighteen years, until WPIX temporarily used channel 64 as a translator station following the September 11, 2001 attacks. Within a few weeks, WPIX service over channel 11 was fully restored. The channel 64 allocation was once again deleted by the end of 2001.

As W64CW and WASA LD

Two years later, W64CW was signed on over UHF channel 64 on January 30, 2003 by Venture Technologies. It originally operated with 30 watts, and its transmitter was located at a site just west of "downtown" Port Jervis, at the triangle where New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania all come together. The call-sign was changed on January 12, 2007 to WASA-LP. The station had planned to carry Estrella TV in September 2008, but it was picked up instead by a subchannel of WPIX. WASA had a problem where it appeared their signal would go off air every few minutes and then turn back on, resulting in a tear-down pixelation visual effect; however, this problem no longer exists. It was ultimately corrected when the station dropped the NYC Slideshow video airing on Virtual 64.2 since its DTV inception in favor of two new sub-channels promoting a launch of English and Chinese feeds of ICN (Information Culture News) Channel. WASA airs a looping rotation of five half-hour infomercials running 24 hours a day on its primary channel. Technically, the five shows each interspersed with the legal station ID are recorded on one DVD and played on a Philips DVD player (whose screensaver is seen when the loop ends and is not restarted). The infomercials include the Nu-Wave Oven, TriVita Super B-12, Sweet Soul of the '70s, Montel William's Living Well Health Master Blender, and The H2O Ultra Steam Mop. This looping rotation was ceased in January 2011. The Philips Screensaver had been airing on 24-1 ever since. On April 22, 2011, the looping infomercial programming was restored.

Digital television

As a low-power station, WASA-LP was not required to turn off its analog signal on June 12, 2009, which was the end of the digital TV conversion period for full-service stations.[2]

WASA-LP has since built its construction permit to broadcast on digital channel 25 from the Condé Nast Building in Manhattan, with its calls changed to WASA-LD.

The ICN (Information Culture News) Channel, a Chinese-American channel, was expected to commence broadcasting on 64.2 (English) and 64.3 (Chinese)[3] in October 2010. That programming has launched on February 23, 2011.

As of February 23, 2011, ICN has been launched on 24-2. IAVC has also launched on 24-3. Between launch and 2/25/2011, a technical problem existed in which only the audio for this service aired on 24-3 with an EBU Test Pattern. This has since been corrected. WASA-LD is identifying itself as WASA 24-1 and 24-4, ICN 24-2 and IAVC 24-3 through PSIP. Presently, it is not clear which virtual channel ID they will eventually use. A loop promoting the start of Chinese programming on 64-2 and 64-3 had been running for several months.

April 22, 2011: The looping infomercial programming was restored to WASA 24-1 and 24-4. 24-2 is renamed ICNCH. 24-3 is renamed ICN TV. A fourth sub channel was added relaying Estrella TV as WASA SD. In 2015 two new sub channels was added thus dropping ICN TV and adding Sinovision and Sinovision English Channel which is currently shown on WMBC-TV 63.3 and 63.4. WASA SD moved to its new 5th sub channel which is still relaying Estrella TV.

The station's digital channel is multiplexed:

Channel Name Video Aspect Programming
24.1 Estrella 720p 16:9 Estrella TV (HD)
24.2 ICNCH 480i 4:3 ICN (Chinese Mandarin)
24.3 WASA 3 480i 4:3 Sinovision English Channel
24.4 WASA 4 480i 4:3 Sinovision
24.5 WASA SD 480i 4:3 Estrella TV

References

  1. ↑ "Estrella TV Inks Affil. Deal With Sunbeam". Mediaweek. April 6, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-11.
  2. ↑ TV Converter Box Coupon Program Website - Low Power Stations
  3. ↑ http://www.iavcusa.com/iavc_english/en_about_us01.html

4. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XXRWaRB9tHc

5. http://m.youtube.com/?reload=7&rdm=zrezq2uz#/watch?v=dXeISIe5UHM

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