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WEDU
WEDU (channel 3) is a PBS member television station licensed to Tampa, Florida, United States, serving the Tampa Bay area. It is owned by Florida West Coast Public Broadcasting alongside WEDQ (channel 3.4). The two stations share studios at the Berkman Family Broadcast Center on North Boulevard in Tampa and transmitter facilities in Riverview, Florida.
WEDU began broadcasting on October 27, 1958, as a service to regional schools. During the day, it aired local and national educational programs for telecast in schools, while programs for adults from National Educational Television were telecast in the evenings. The station flourished over the course of the 1960s as schools' use of its programming grew rapidly; in the early 1970s, it suffered as some of that support was reduced. In early 1980, WEDU moved to its present, purpose-built facility on North Boulevard, abandoning its original studios, a surplus United States Navy power plant in dilapidated condition.
In 1984, WEDU proposed to switch channels with WTOG-TV (channel 44), a commercial independent station. The proposed deal with WTOG-TV's owner, Hubbard Broadcasting, would have moved WEDU to channel 44 and given it nearly $50 million in cash and incentives; Hubbard sought channel 3 for WTOG-TV so it could shed the stigma of being a UHF station and achieve parity with the region's three VHF network affiliates. The deal sparked a sharp local and national reaction as other commercial and public broadcasters decried the proposal. It was eventually barred by a clause inserted into the Federal Communications Commission budget by Congress. WEDU and Hubbard ultimately reached an understanding that moved channel 3's transmitter to WTOG-TV's tower, replacing its outdated, failing facility.
In the 1990s, WEDU grew its stature in national programming production but failed to find promised revenue in the sector; the ten-year management tenure of Steve Rogers ended with layoffs of nearly a third of the station's staff amid a downturn in viewer contributions. Dick Lobo, a retired broadcast executive, came out of retirement to run the station and succeeded in improving its corporate underwriting and financial reputation. In 2017, WEDU absorbed the license and programming that had been associated with competing public station WUSF-TV, owned by the University of South Florida, when the university sold its spectrum. WEDU produces local public affairs and cultural programming focused on the Tampa Bay area.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocated channel 3 to Tampa for educational broadcasting in 1952. As early as the following year, regional education leaders from five area counties—Hillsborough, Manatee, Pinellas, Polk, and Sarasota—came together to incorporate the Florida West Coast Educational Television Corporation. State legislators representing the area refused to back the plan, finding it variously premature and expensive.
The organization was reformed in 1955. By 1956, pressure from groups who sought channel 3 for commercial use was spurring action. In March, a meeting was held by Tampa mayor Curtis Hixon, at which Tampa radio station WTSP—owned by the St. Petersburg Times newspaper—reiterated its offer of a tower site if necessary. As planning began in earnest in Tampa, Gene Dyer, permittee of the unbuilt UHF station WTVI at Fort Pierce, Florida, proposed to have channel 3 moved there for his use. This heightened the urgency to convey to the FCC that there was interest in keeping channel 3 as an educational channel in Tampa. A steering committee was formed to spearhead a fundraising drive, and plans were more definite by January 1957, with leadership chosen and contributions from Tampa's two existing commercial stations, WFLA-TV (channel 8) and WTVT (channel 13).
A second group took an interest in using channel 3 for commercial use. WSUN-TV (channel 38) in St. Petersburg offered to swap channel 38 for channel 3, seeking parity with its commercial competitors and claiming that Florida West Coast Educational Television could get on the air earlier from the existing channel 38. The offer was rebuffed, but the two groups were now racing to see who would file first at the FCC.
Florida West Coast Educational Television applied on April 5, 1957, for channel 3. In expectation of getting the construction permit, the station began organizing program proposals and contacting regional school superintendents to solicit ideas for educational telecasts. The permit was granted by the FCC on September 19, 1957, and Florida West Coast Educational Television announced that their station would have studios in St. Petersburg and Tampa and would begin fundraising drives in both areas. Briefly called WFCE in the local press, it was WEDU by November, when planning began for station programming. For its Tampa studios, WEDU moved into a former Navy power plant on 20th Street, on land that been deeded to the Hillsborough County school board. The facility had high enough ceilings to accommodate a television studio with little conversion. To help raise funds, a dinner was held, featuring Governor LeRoy Collins among its guests. In August, courses and teachers were announced, with contributions from multiple counties in the channel 3 coverage area. On weekends, WTVT trained staff members in television production.
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WEDU
WEDU (channel 3) is a PBS member television station licensed to Tampa, Florida, United States, serving the Tampa Bay area. It is owned by Florida West Coast Public Broadcasting alongside WEDQ (channel 3.4). The two stations share studios at the Berkman Family Broadcast Center on North Boulevard in Tampa and transmitter facilities in Riverview, Florida.
WEDU began broadcasting on October 27, 1958, as a service to regional schools. During the day, it aired local and national educational programs for telecast in schools, while programs for adults from National Educational Television were telecast in the evenings. The station flourished over the course of the 1960s as schools' use of its programming grew rapidly; in the early 1970s, it suffered as some of that support was reduced. In early 1980, WEDU moved to its present, purpose-built facility on North Boulevard, abandoning its original studios, a surplus United States Navy power plant in dilapidated condition.
In 1984, WEDU proposed to switch channels with WTOG-TV (channel 44), a commercial independent station. The proposed deal with WTOG-TV's owner, Hubbard Broadcasting, would have moved WEDU to channel 44 and given it nearly $50 million in cash and incentives; Hubbard sought channel 3 for WTOG-TV so it could shed the stigma of being a UHF station and achieve parity with the region's three VHF network affiliates. The deal sparked a sharp local and national reaction as other commercial and public broadcasters decried the proposal. It was eventually barred by a clause inserted into the Federal Communications Commission budget by Congress. WEDU and Hubbard ultimately reached an understanding that moved channel 3's transmitter to WTOG-TV's tower, replacing its outdated, failing facility.
In the 1990s, WEDU grew its stature in national programming production but failed to find promised revenue in the sector; the ten-year management tenure of Steve Rogers ended with layoffs of nearly a third of the station's staff amid a downturn in viewer contributions. Dick Lobo, a retired broadcast executive, came out of retirement to run the station and succeeded in improving its corporate underwriting and financial reputation. In 2017, WEDU absorbed the license and programming that had been associated with competing public station WUSF-TV, owned by the University of South Florida, when the university sold its spectrum. WEDU produces local public affairs and cultural programming focused on the Tampa Bay area.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocated channel 3 to Tampa for educational broadcasting in 1952. As early as the following year, regional education leaders from five area counties—Hillsborough, Manatee, Pinellas, Polk, and Sarasota—came together to incorporate the Florida West Coast Educational Television Corporation. State legislators representing the area refused to back the plan, finding it variously premature and expensive.
The organization was reformed in 1955. By 1956, pressure from groups who sought channel 3 for commercial use was spurring action. In March, a meeting was held by Tampa mayor Curtis Hixon, at which Tampa radio station WTSP—owned by the St. Petersburg Times newspaper—reiterated its offer of a tower site if necessary. As planning began in earnest in Tampa, Gene Dyer, permittee of the unbuilt UHF station WTVI at Fort Pierce, Florida, proposed to have channel 3 moved there for his use. This heightened the urgency to convey to the FCC that there was interest in keeping channel 3 as an educational channel in Tampa. A steering committee was formed to spearhead a fundraising drive, and plans were more definite by January 1957, with leadership chosen and contributions from Tampa's two existing commercial stations, WFLA-TV (channel 8) and WTVT (channel 13).
A second group took an interest in using channel 3 for commercial use. WSUN-TV (channel 38) in St. Petersburg offered to swap channel 38 for channel 3, seeking parity with its commercial competitors and claiming that Florida West Coast Educational Television could get on the air earlier from the existing channel 38. The offer was rebuffed, but the two groups were now racing to see who would file first at the FCC.
Florida West Coast Educational Television applied on April 5, 1957, for channel 3. In expectation of getting the construction permit, the station began organizing program proposals and contacting regional school superintendents to solicit ideas for educational telecasts. The permit was granted by the FCC on September 19, 1957, and Florida West Coast Educational Television announced that their station would have studios in St. Petersburg and Tampa and would begin fundraising drives in both areas. Briefly called WFCE in the local press, it was WEDU by November, when planning began for station programming. For its Tampa studios, WEDU moved into a former Navy power plant on 20th Street, on land that been deeded to the Hillsborough County school board. The facility had high enough ceilings to accommodate a television studio with little conversion. To help raise funds, a dinner was held, featuring Governor LeRoy Collins among its guests. In August, courses and teachers were announced, with contributions from multiple counties in the channel 3 coverage area. On weekends, WTVT trained staff members in television production.