WVUA-CD

WVUA-CD is a low-power, Class A commercial television station serving Tuscaloosa and Northport, Alabama. It is owned by the University of Alabama and operates from the university's Digital Media Center at Bryant–Denny Stadium. The station is affiliated with the classic-television network Cozi TV and is paired with full-power satellite station WVUA, which extends the service into the wider Birmingham–Tuscaloosa–Anniston television market. The station began broadcasting in 1998 as WJRD-LP on UHF channel 49. Its early service was associated with Pax TV, later known as Ion Television, and its local operation was initially based in facilities on Jug Factory Road in Tuscaloosa. The University of Alabama acquired the station in 2001 through a $1 million gift from the family of Alabama Crimson Tide football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. After the acquisition, the operation moved to the university campus and adopted the WVUA-CA call sign in January 2002. The call letters were derived from WVUA-FM, the university's radio station at the time. In 2004 and 2005, the university expanded its television presence by accepting the donation of full-power station WLDM, channel 23. That station became WUOA and was converted into a satellite of WVUA-CA, allowing the university's television service to reach more of the regional market. The full-power station later adopted the WVUA call sign in 2015. WVUA-CA received authorization for digital operation in 2015 and changed its call sign to WVUA-CD. WVUA-CD is unusual among low-power and Class A stations because it produces local news. Its weekday early-evening broadcasts and nightly 10 p.m. newscast provide coverage of west-central Alabama. The news operation relies heavily on students from the University of Alabama's Department of Journalism and Creative Media, while professional employees provide management, sales, reporting, production, and editorial supervision. Approximately 80 percent of the station's staff has consisted of University of Alabama students in paid or unpaid roles, giving the station an educational function alongside its commercial broadcasting role. The station also carries university-related programming, including Alabama Crimson Tide magazine and sports programs produced in association with Crimson Tide Productions. Examples include The Nick Saban Show, Tide TV This Week, and Tider Insider. Its commercial schedule has included syndicated programming and network programming from This TV, which it carried part time beginning in 2008. By October 2020, Cozi TV was the primary network affiliation, although the station's schedule remained subject to local, syndicated, university, and sports programming commitments. WVUA-CD's signal does not cover the entire regional market, so programming is simulcast or otherwise distributed through WVUA, the full-power channel 23 satellite licensed to Tuscaloosa and transmitted from Red Mountain near Birmingham. The combined service is commercially funded primarily through advertising, despite the university ownership. WVUA/WVUA-CD has been described as one of only two commercial television operations in the United States owned by a public institution, alongside the University of Missouri's KOMU-TV.

WVUA-CD traces its origins to an FCC construction permit issued in 1994 for UHF channel 49 under the call letters W49BO. The permit was held by Krypton Broadcasting, which intended to use the station as a repeater for Birmingham independent station WABM. The station eventually signed on in 1998 as WJRD-LP. Its original studio facilities were located on Jug Factory Road in Tuscaloosa, in a building that had previously housed WDBB operations. At launch, the station became a charter affiliate of Pax TV, a network later known as Ion Television. In 1999, it became the secondary Pax outlet for the Birmingham–Tuscaloosa–Anniston market after the market's former CBS station in Gadsden was converted to a Pax owned-and-operated outlet. The University of Alabama acquired WJRD-LP in 2001 through a $1 million gift from the family of longtime Alabama Crimson Tide football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. The acquisition moved the station's operations to the university and connected the television service more closely with the institution's journalism, media, and athletics activities. In January 2002, after the station received Class A status, it changed its call sign to WVUA-CA. The new calls referenced WVUA-FM, the university-owned radio station, and the television station subsequently affiliated with America One. The university expanded the service in 2004 and 2005 by accepting the donation of full-power station WLDM, channel 23. After the donation was completed in March 2005, the station became WUOA, using call letters associated with the university's former public-radio operation. WUOA was converted into a full-power satellite of WVUA-CA, extending the university's television programming beyond the limited coverage area of the low-power Tuscaloosa station. Dish Network and DirecTV added WVUA-CA to their Birmingham-area broadcast lineups in 2006. The full-power satellite changed its call sign from WUOA to WVUA on May 8, 2015. WVUA-CA became a part-time This TV affiliate in November 2008. Because the station combined portions of the network's film-heavy schedule with syndicated programs, local news, and university-related sports content, it did not always carry the network's complete schedule. The station's digital transition followed a different path from that of many full-power stations. It had not received a companion digital channel under the original allotment plan, and the associated full-power WVUA station therefore had to terminate its analog signal and begin digital operation by means of a flash cut in 2009. WVUA-CA later received authorization for a digital signal on UHF channel 23 and adopted the WVUA-CD call sign in 2015. The station's local news operation began when it signed on in 1998. It provided a local news presence in west-central Alabama after earlier stations in the area shifted their focus toward the Birmingham market. WVUA-CD produces weekday early-evening broadcasts and a 10 p.m. newscast seven nights a week, totaling approximately eight and one-half hours of local news each week. Student participation is central to the operation: roughly four-fifths of the workforce has been made up of University of Alabama students, who have worked in reporting, production, sales assistance, and other on-air and behind-the-scenes roles under the direction of professional staff. The station's facilities were originally housed in the basement of Reese-Phifer Hall. Portions of its local newscasts, particularly weather segments, began appearing in high definition in June 2012. In April 2014, WVUA and the full-power satellite operation moved into the newly completed Digital Media Center at Bryant–Denny Stadium. University ownership also supports a substantial slate of Alabama Crimson Tide programming, much of it produced through Crimson Tide Productions. By October 2020, Cozi TV was the primary affiliation, while the station continued to balance network programming with syndicated shows, local news, and university sports content. WVUA-CD remains a commercial, advertising-supported station despite being owned by the University of Alabama.

• 2020

  Cozi TV becomes primary affiliation

  [1]WVUA-CDen.wikipedia.org

  Cozi TV was identified as the primary affiliation of the WVUA service, with the schedule also containing local, syndicated, and university programming.

• 2015

  Digital Class A identity adopted

  [1]WVUA-CDen.wikipedia.org

  The station received authorization for digital operation on UHF channel 23 and changed from WVUA-CA to WVUA-CD.

• 2014

  Move to Digital Media Center

  [1]WVUA-CDen.wikipedia.org

  WVUA operations moved from Reese-Phifer Hall to the Digital Media Center at Bryant–Denny Stadium.

• 2012

  Local news begins partial high-definition production

  [1]WVUA-CDen.wikipedia.org

  Selected local newscast segments, especially weather coverage, began being broadcast in high definition.

• 2008

  This TV affiliation begins

  [1]WVUA-CDen.wikipedia.org

  WVUA-CA began carrying This TV on a part-time basis alongside syndicated, local, and university-related programming.

• 2006

  Satellite carriage begins

  [1]WVUA-CDen.wikipedia.org

  Dish Network and DirecTV began carrying WVUA-CA among Birmingham-area broadcast stations.

• 2005

  Full-power satellite added

  [1]WVUA-CDen.wikipedia.org

  Donated station WLDM became WUOA and was converted into a full-power satellite of WVUA-CA.

• 2002

  WVUA-CA identity introduced

  [1]WVUA-CDen.wikipedia.org

  The station received Class A status, changed its calls to WVUA-CA, and later affiliated with America One.

• 2001

  University of Alabama acquisition

  [1]WVUA-CDen.wikipedia.org

  The University of Alabama acquired the station through a gift associated with the family of Paul “Bear” Bryant.

• 1998

  Station signs on as WJRD-LP

  [1]WVUA-CDen.wikipedia.org

  The station began broadcasting from Tuscaloosa as WJRD-LP and became a charter Pax TV affiliate.

• 1994

  Construction permit issued

  [1]WVUA-CDen.wikipedia.org

  The FCC issued an original construction permit for UHF channel 49 under the call letters W49BO.

A university-owned commercial television station combining local news, regional broadcast service, classic television programming, and Alabama Crimson Tide content with a substantial student workforce.

• Television news · 1998

  Local news broadcasts

  WVUA-CD produces local news for west-central Alabama rather than operating solely as a network retransmitter. Its schedule includes weekday early-evening newscasts and a 10 p.m. newscast every night, for approximately eight and one-half hours of locally produced news each week. Student reporters and production staff work alongside professional employees connected with the University of Alabama's journalism and media programs.

• Television network affiliation · 2020

  Cozi TV programming

  WVUA-CD carries Cozi TV programming, including classic television and film content. The affiliation is integrated with local newscasts, syndicated programs, and university-related programming, so the station's schedule may not match a continuous full-network feed at every time of day.

• Sports and university programming

  Alabama Crimson Tide programming

  Through its University of Alabama ownership, WVUA-CD carries programs focused on the Alabama Crimson Tide. The lineup has included The Nick Saban Show, Tide TV This Week, and Tider Insider, with much of the material produced by the university's Crimson Tide Productions unit.

• 2015

  Transition from WVUA-CA to WVUA-CDGeneration change

  Background

  The station was authorized to operate a digital signal on UHF channel 23 after previously operating under the WVUA-CA Class A designation.

  Action taken

  The FCC granted the digital operating authorization and the station changed its call sign to WVUA-CD.

  Aftermath

  WVUA-CD became the station's digital Class A identity while the full-power satellite used the WVUA call sign.

  Source

• 2008

  Adopt a part-time This TV affiliationStrategy

  Background

  WVUA-CA needed to balance network programming with local news, syndicated shows, and university-related sports content.

  Action taken

  The station began carrying This TV on a part-time basis, using other programming to fill portions of the schedule.

  Aftermath

  The arrangement created a mixed schedule in which the station did not carry the network's complete program lineup at all times.

  Source

• 2005

  Convert WUOA into a satellite of WVUA-CAStrategy

  Background

  The University of Alabama acquired full-power station WLDM after its proposed donation and renamed it WUOA. WVUA-CA's low-power signal did not reach the entire Birmingham–Tuscaloosa–Anniston market.

  Action taken

  The university converted WUOA into a full-power satellite carrying the WVUA service, substantially extending the station's regional reach.

  Aftermath

  The combined low-power and full-power operation became the university's principal commercial television service for the broader regional market.

  Source

1. 1WVUA-CDen.wikipedia.org
2. 2WVUA official websitewvuatv.com