WKHA

WKHA, virtual channel 35 (UHF digital channel 33), is a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member television station licensed to Hazard, Kentucky, United States. Owned by the Kentucky Authority for Educational Television, the station is operated as part of the statewide Kentucky Educational Television (KET) network. WKHA's transmitter is located near Viper, in southern Perry County.

Not to be confused with WAKH or WKMA-TV.
WKHA
Satellite of WKLE Lexington
CityHazard, Kentucky
ChannelsDigital: 33 (UHF)
Virtual: 35 (PSIP)
BrandingKET (general)
KET: The Kentucky Network (secondary)
SloganWhere Learning Comes to Life
Programming
Affiliations35.1: KET/PBS
35.2: KET2
35.3: KY Channel
35.4: KET PBS Kids
Ownership
OwnerKentucky Authority for Educational Television
History
First air dateSeptember 23, 1968 (1968-09-23)
Former channel number(s)Analog:
35 (UHF, 1968–2009)
Digital:
16 (UHF, 2002–2019)
Former affiliationsNET (1968–1970)
Call sign meaningW Kentucky Hazard
Technical information
Licensing authorityFCC
Facility ID34196
ERP55.9 kW
HAAT384.8 m (1,262 ft)
Transmitter coordinates37°11′35″N 83°11′17″W
Links
Public license informationProfile
LMS
Websitewww.ket.org

History

The station began broadcasting on September 23, 1968, as one of the ten charter stations of the Kentucky Educational Television (KET) network, with Lexington's WKLE acting as the network flagship.[1][2] All of the network's satellite stations were strategically located to serve as much of the state as possible. WKHA, along with fellow KET satellites WKPI-TV and WKSO-TV, were the first television stations to serve areas of the Eastern Kentucky Coalfield and Mountains region, which was one of the last remaining areas of the United States without a local television station. Together, the three satellites almost guaranteed that an over-the-air viewer in the region could receive a KET affiliated signal.

The area did not get its first commercial television station until the October 1969 sign-on of NBC affiliate WKYH-TV. That station, which has since become CBS affiliate WYMT-TV (a semi-satellite of Lexington-based WKYT-TV) in 1985, is the only full-power commercial station based in this region. Cable or satellite television service is necessary to receive all other networks (e.g. ABC, Fox, NBC, and/or The CW) since Lexington's commercial stations do not operate any low-powered translators in the area. This area is highly penetrated with cable subscribers. Some areas southwest of Hazard, however, are close enough to the Knoxville, Tennessee area to pick up those signals over-the-air. The mountains curb the Bristol, Tennessee–Virginia television signals to come into the area.

In the 1980s and as late as 1994–95, at least three low-powered translators were repeating the WKHA signal, including W09AX in Cowan Creek,[3] W66AH in Whitesburg, and W67AN in Letcher, which broadcast over VHF channel 9 and UHF channels 66 and 67, respectively.[4]

Digital television

The station's digital television companion signal, WKHA-DT, along with the digital companions of thirteen other KET stations (except WKPC and WKMJ) signed on the air in May 2002.[2]

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming
35.1720p16:9KETMain KET programming / PBS
35.2480i4:3KET2KET2
35.3KET KYKentucky Channel
35.4KETKIDSPBS Kids

[5]

Analog-to-digital conversion

On April 16, 2009, WKHA-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 35, as part of the mandatory analog-to-digital television transition of 2009.[6] The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 16. Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 35.

Spectrum auction results

WKHA obtained a construction permit to move its signal to digital UHF channel 33, and to boost its effective radiated power from 38.2 kW to 55.9 kW. This was part of KET's involvement in the 2016–17 FCC Spectrum incentive auction. The station relocated its digital signal to the new elected allocation at some point in June 2019.[7][8]

Availability

Over-the-air coverage

WKHA-TV's signal can cover an area from London to Pikeville, as far north as West Liberty, and as far south as Harrogate, Tennessee. The signal can also cover three counties and two independent cities in far southwestern Virginia.[9]

WKHA's over-the-air signal partially overlaps with those of other KET stations, including WKMR in Morehead, WKPI-TV in Pikeville, and WKSO-TV in Somerset. Signal coverage of all KET stations are subject to change as a result of the FCC spectrum auction.

Cable carriage

All cable systems in Kentucky carry at least the flagship KET service. A few also carry KET2 and the Kentucky Channel, especially in the areas served by bigger cable companies such as Charter Spectrum and Suddenlink Communications. Much of the area between London and Pikeville is served by locally owned cable companies, all of which carry at least the main KET service. The network is also available via Dish Network and DirecTV. However, network flagship WKLE is the only KET station uplinked to the Lexington media market.

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See also

References
  1. “Historical marker unveiled for KET’s 50th anniversary” Archived 2018-10-17 at the Wayback Machine. WKYT-TV. September 18, 2018. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  2. ”Directory of Radio Stations in the United States and Canada”. Broadcasting Yearbook 2003-2004. Washington, DC: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 2003-04.pp. B37-B39.
  3. Frontline Funding and Washington Week Funding PBS/KET (February 1988). 9 July 2012. Archived from the original on 27 December 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2018 – via YouTube.
  4. Washington Week Ending, Wall Street Week Opening & PBS/KET Commercials (February 1988). 10 July 2012. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2018 – via YouTube.
  5. "Digital TV Market Listing for WKHA". Archived from the original on 2018-10-17. Retrieved 2018-10-16.
  6. "Calls come after KET, WKYT digital TV transition". Lexington Herald-Leader. April 17, 2009. Archived from the original on May 8, 2014. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-10-17. Retrieved 2018-10-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. "Post Incentive Auction Television Data Files". Archived from the original on 2018-02-09. Retrieved 2018-10-16.
  9. Signal coverage maps of all full-power stations -- Lexington, Kentucky Archived 2010-05-28 at the Wayback Machine. (Federal Communications Commission, 2009)
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