User:Nemesis63/testing

This is a private testing page for ideas put forth by User Nemesis63.

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WUCF-TV is a Public Broadcasting Service television station serving the Central Florida television market. The station, operated by the University of Central Florida, is the regions sole PBS member station, serving Brevard, Flagler, Highlands, Indian River, Lake, Marion, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Putnam, Seminole, Sumter and Volusia counties, reaching an estimated population of 4.6 million people.

Following the sale of long-time Orlando PBS affiliate WMFE, the University of Central Florida (UCF) and Brevard Community College (BCC) partnered to approve the creation of a new PBS station to serve the Central Florida market. Days after the agreement was reached to replace WMFE, Daytona Beach PBS station WDSC announced that it would cease its affiliation with PBS due to financial hardship, leaving WUCF as the only PBS affiliate in Central Florida. In 2012, UCF programming returned to WMFE, as the station's ownership announced that it would sell all of the station's assets, except the studio facilities, to UCF for $3.3 million, pending approval from the UCF Board of Trustees and the FCC.

WUCF-TV is co-owned with WUCF-FM (89.9 MHz.) by the University of Central Florida, and is a sister station of WBCC, which is a partnership between UCF and BCC.

WMFE (1965–2012)
In 1963, the public school systems of Orange, Volusia, Lake, Osceola, Seminole, Brevard and Flagler counties formed Florida Central East Coast Educational Television with the goal of winning the license for channel 24. In the meantime, WDBO-TV (now WKMG-TV) and WLOF-TV (now WFTV) donated air time for Educational television Spanish and Florida history programs produced by the group.

WMFE finally went on the air on March 15, 1965 from the campus of Mid-Florida Tech. After only two years of operation, the Orange County school board became the sole operator of the station. In the early 1970s, the school district sold the station to a non-profit community board of trustees that still operates the station today. In 1978, WMFE moved to its current home in the Union Park neighborhood east of Orlando, on the corner of SR 50 and O'Berry Hoover Road at the studios previously used by defunct independent station WSWB-TV.

In Fall 2010, WMFE indicated that they were facing financial hardships that had led to furloughs. On April 1, 2011, WMFE announced that it would sell the station due to these financial difficulties and "critical uncertainties in federal and state funding".

WUCF-TV (2011–present)
When news spread of the sale, a campaign was undertaken by local residents and students at UCF to try and keep an active PBS station in the Orlando market. On May 26, 2011, the UCF Board of Trustees approved a partnership with BCC to create WUCF-TV, the new primary PBS station for Central Florida. The new station would lease WUCF's primary digital channel, and operate from WBCC's facilities. However, WBCC would retain its license and call letters. On June 2, PBS approved the creation of WUCF and announced that it would become Central Florida's primary PBS channel. The new station serves as the Orlando market's only PBS station, as WDSC-TV in Daytona Beach left PBS on July 1, concurrent with WMFE's departure from PBS and the launch of WUCF.

On June 21, 2012, Community Communications - the owners of WMFE - announced that it planned to sell all of WMFE-TV's assets, except the studio facilities, to UCF. Ownership of WMFE's license by UCF would dissolve WUCF's partnership with BCC. WMFE provided WUCF with its stronger signal and caused WMFE to return being Orlando's main PBS member station.

Programming
WUCF-TV currently airs PBS programming, such as NewsHour and Nova, and has plans to add local content and university-related programs. The station will also air seven hours of PBS Kids daily. However, as of recently, the station currently airs a full twelve hours of PBS Kids just as WUCF's predecessor, WMFE had done.

Digital Television
WUCF's digital channel is multiplexed, airing PBS-HD programming, while UCF-TV continues as a service of UCF, offering original content, such as university sporting events, as well as partnership programs.