WNEO

WNEO is a non-commercial educational television station serving northeastern Ohio. Licensed to Alliance, Ohio, and operating on UHF channel 45, it is the PBS station of record for the Youngstown television market. The station is operated in a full-time simulcast arrangement with WEAO, a satellite station licensed to Akron that serves the Akron and Cleveland areas. Together, the two outlets are presented under the PBS Western Reserve identity and provide national PBS programming alongside locally produced and regionally relevant public-media content. The station is owned by Northeastern Educational Television of Ohio, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The organization previously involved the University of Akron, Kent State University, and Youngstown State University in its ownership or governance structure. Station operations and studios are based on Kent State University's campus in Kent, northeast of Akron and west of Youngstown. WNEO's full-power transmitter is located near Salem, Ohio, while WEAO's transmitter is in Copley Township. WNEO began broadcasting on May 30, 1973. Its original conception was to provide coverage across a broad portion of northeastern Ohio, from Youngstown through the Akron and Cleveland region. Because Alliance sits near the boundary of the Cleveland and Youngstown television markets, the service plan was later reorganized around WNEO's role in Youngstown and the creation of a complementary station for the Akron-Cleveland area. WEAO joined the operation on September 21, 1975, establishing the two-station configuration that remains central to the service. For many years the stations used the joint on-air name PBS 45 & 49. In 2008, the parent organization adopted the broader Western Reserve Public Media identity, and the stations subsequently shifted their presentation to Western Reserve PBS. This branding emphasizes the shared regional service rather than treating WNEO and WEAO as unrelated local broadcasters. WNEO has also used digital multicasting to distribute additional public-media services. Earlier digital offerings included Create, the Ohio Channel, an analog simulcast, Western Reserve PBS Fusion, MHz Worldview, and V-Me at different points in the station's digital history. Several of these services were replaced or discontinued as spectrum capacity, programming priorities, and digital television arrangements changed. A low-power digital translator serving Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley extends reception into areas that may not receive the principal WNEO signal effectively. The translator originated as analog station W58AM in 1980, converted through an interim digital designation in 2009, and moved to channel 13 as W13DP-D in 2019. WNEO completed its own transition from analog broadcasting in November 2008, ahead of the nationwide full-power digital transition. Its digital signal moved from pre-transition channel 46 to channel 45 for post-transition operation. As a PBS member station, WNEO's public-service role centers on educational, cultural, informational, and public-affairs programming rather than commercial advertising. Its strategic importance comes from linking the Youngstown area with the broader Western Reserve public-media network while complementing the primary PBS service available in Cleveland.

WNEO signed on May 30, 1973, as a non-commercial educational television station licensed to Alliance, Ohio. The station was initially planned as a broad northeastern Ohio service intended to reach communities between Youngstown and Cleveland. Alliance's location presented a market-coverage challenge because the city spans the geographic and television-market boundaries associated with Cleveland and Youngstown. The eventual solution was to focus WNEO more directly on the Youngstown market and establish a separate satellite station for the Akron-Cleveland region. That complementary station, WEAO, began broadcasting on September 21, 1975. WNEO and WEAO thereafter operated as a coordinated public-television service, sharing programming and branding while using separate transmitters to cover different parts of northeastern Ohio. WNEO's transmitter is located in Salem, and WEAO's transmitter is in Copley Township. The two stations are owned by Northeastern Educational Television of Ohio, a nonprofit entity that was historically associated with the University of Akron, Kent State University, and Youngstown State University. The stations' operating base is located on Kent State University's campus in Kent, Ohio. Their regional role developed around two complementary assignments: WNEO became the PBS station of record for Youngstown, while WEAO offered PBS programming to Akron and a second PBS option for Cleveland viewers alongside WVIZ. For much of their history, the stations were identified collectively as PBS 45 & 49, referring to WNEO's channel 45 and WEAO's channel 49. The operation expanded its digital television services during the 2000s. WNEO and WEAO carried services such as Create and the Ohio Channel on digital subchannels before those feeds were removed to accommodate high-definition capacity. WNEO stopped regular analog programming on November 19, 2008, and moved its post-transition digital operation to channel 45 two days later. WEAO completed its analog shutdown on June 12, 2009, the federally designated date for the nationwide full-power digital transition. Digital services subsequently included Western Reserve PBS Fusion, MHz Worldview, and V-Me at different times. V-Me was discontinued in April 2017, reflecting the changing economics and availability of multicast networks. In 2008, the parent organization adopted the Western Reserve Public Media name and the stations moved away from the older PBS 45 & 49 presentation. The current PBS Western Reserve identity presents WNEO and WEAO as parts of a shared regional public-media service. This approach supports a unified schedule and public-facing brand while retaining the two stations' distinct licenses, transmitters, and coverage areas. WNEO's service has also been supplemented by a low-power translator in Youngstown. The facility first operated as analog W58AM beginning in May 1980. It later converted to digital operation under the W44CR-D designation in November 2009 and moved to channel 13, becoming W13DP-D, in November 2019. The translator helps reach low-lying areas of the Mahoning Valley that may not receive the main Salem-based WNEO signal reliably. Today, WNEO remains an active PBS member station and a core component of Western Reserve Public Media. Its role combines national PBS distribution with local and regional public-media service for the Youngstown area and broader northeastern Ohio.

• 2019

  Translator moves to channel 13

  [1]WNEOen.wikipedia.org

  The Youngstown translator moves to its current channel and operates as W13DP-D from November.

• 2017

  V-Me multicast service ends

  [1]WNEOen.wikipedia.org

  The V-Me service carried on the stations' digital subchannels is discontinued in April.

• 2009

  WEAO completes digital transition

  [1]WNEOen.wikipedia.org

  WEAO ends analog broadcasting on June 12, the nationwide full-power television digital-transition date.

• 2009

  Translator converts to digital

  [1]WNEOen.wikipedia.org

  The Youngstown-area translator converts from analog operation to digital service under the W44CR-D designation in November.

• 2008

  Western Reserve branding introduced

  [1]WNEOen.wikipedia.org

  The stations move from the PBS 45 & 49 presentation toward the Western Reserve Public Media and Western Reserve PBS identities.

• 2008

  WNEO ends analog broadcasting

  [1]WNEOen.wikipedia.org

  WNEO ends regular analog programming on November 19 and relocates its digital operation to channel 45 two days later.

• 1980

  Youngstown translator launches

  [1]WNEOen.wikipedia.org

  The facility that later becomes W13DP-D begins operation as analog translator W58AM in May.

• 1975

  WEAO joins the regional service

  [1]WNEOen.wikipedia.org

  Satellite station WEAO signs on in Akron on September 21, creating the two-station public-television operation serving northeastern Ohio.

• 1973

  WNEO begins broadcasting

  [1]WNEOen.wikipedia.org

  WNEO signs on May 30 as a non-commercial educational television station licensed to Alliance, Ohio.

A nonprofit PBS member station providing educational, cultural, informational, and public-affairs television to Youngstown and northeastern Ohio, while operating within the regional PBS Western Reserve network.

• Broadcast television station · 1973

  WNEO channel 45

  The primary WNEO over-the-air service, licensed to Alliance and transmitted from Salem. It serves the Youngstown market with PBS programming and related public-media content, including educational, cultural, informational, and locally relevant programming.

• Regional public-media service · 2008

  PBS Western Reserve

  The shared public-facing identity for WNEO and WEAO. The service combines national PBS programming with regional public-media distribution across Youngstown, Akron, Cleveland, and surrounding areas.

• Low-power digital translator · 1980

  W13DP-D

  A low-power digital translator serving Youngstown and portions of the Mahoning Valley that may be difficult to reach from WNEO's main Salem transmitter. The facility began as analog W58AM in 1980, converted to digital in 2009, and moved to channel 13 in 2019.

1. 1WNEOen.wikipedia.org
2. 2PBS Western Reservewesternreservepbs.org