Misplaced Pages

WTJX-TV

Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
Channels	Digital: 36 (UHF) Virtual: 12
Branding	PBS WTJX
Programming
Affiliations	12.1: PBS 12.2: PBS Kids 12.3: WTJX Business
Ownership
Owner	Virgin Islands Public Broadcasting System
Sister stations	WTJX-FM
History
Founded	1968 (56 years ago) (1968)
First air date	August 29, 1972 (52 years ago) (1972-08-29)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 12 (VHF, 1972–2009) Digital: 44 (UHF, 2003–2018)
Call sign meaning	St. Thomas St. John St. Croix
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	70287
ERP	42.9 kW
HAAT	505.6 m (1,659 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	18°21′20.8″N 64°56′51.5″W / 18.355778°N 64.947639°W / 18.355778; -64.947639
Translator(s)	W05AW-D Christiansted
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Website	www.wtjx.org

WTJX-TV (channel 12) is a PBS member television station serving the United States Virgin Islands that is licensed to Charlotte Amalie, Saint Thomas. Owned by the Virgin Islands Public Broadcasting System, it is sister to NPR member WTJX-FM (93.1 MHz). The two stations share studios on Haypiece Hill in Charlotte Amalie; WTJX-TV's transmitter is located on Signal Hill.

WTJX-TV also operates a translator facility in Christiansted on Saint Croix: W05AW-D on VHF channel 5. In July 2007, WTJX St. Croix moved to a larger facility, with a full studio, control room, and editing bays.

The station has also created its own mascot, "Langford the Lizard", primarily displayed on their website.

History

WTJX-TV launched on August 29, 1972. Before its launch, Sesame Street was carried by commercial outlet WSVI-TV, a practice similar to certain markets in the U.S. mainland where PBS stations had not launched yet. In July 1972, WTJX-TV had fixed its schedule in anticipation for the opening of its facilities. With the start of the fall season of programming in October 1972, the station started carrying public affairs programs from PBS during prime time hours.

WTJX was building a low-power relay on St. Croix in November 1978, facing stiff competition from ZBTV from Tortola, which broadcast on channel 5—the same frequency as the relay WTJX wanted to build. WTJX opposed a petition from ZBTV on the grounds that a foreign company did not have the superior right to serve U.S. citizens—those of the USVI.

WTJX-TV ended regular programming on its analog signal, over VHF channel 12, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. As part of the SAFER Act, WTJX kept its analog signal on the air until July 12 to inform viewers of the digital television transition through a loop of public service announcements from the National Association of Broadcasters.

Subchannels

The station's signal is multiplexed:

References

1. "Facility Technical Data for WTJX-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
2. "Public TV Observes 2nd Anniversary". The Virgin Islands Daily News. August 27, 1974.
3. "'Sesame Street' Schedule Set". The Virgin Islands Daily News. July 13, 1972.
4. "WTJX Begins Public Affairs Programs". The Virgin Islands Daily News. October 17, 1972.
5. "Tortola TV Station Fights Channel 12 Plans". The Virgin Islands Daily News. November 17, 1978.
6. "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
7. "UPDATED List of Participants in the Analog Nightlight Program" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. June 12, 2009. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
8. "RabbitEars TV Query for WTJX". RabbitEars.info. Retrieved February 4, 2019.

External links

• Official website
• Facility details for Facility ID 70286 (W05AW-D) in the FCC Licensing and Management System

This article about a television station in the United States is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e

This United States Virgin Islands-related article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e

This PBS article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e

• PBS member stations
• 1972 establishments in the United States Virgin Islands
• Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
• Public broadcasting in insular areas of the United States
• Television channels and stations established in 1972
• Television stations in the United States Virgin Islands
• United States television station stubs
• United States Virgin Islands stubs
• PBS stubs