WPXD

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WPXD
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Branding	i
Channels	31 (UHF) analog, 33 (UHF) digital
Translators	W48AV 48, Detroit
Affiliations	i
Owner	ion Media Networks
Founded	January 13, 1981
Call letters meaning	W PaXson Detroit
Former callsigns	WRHT (January 1981) WIHT (February 1981-1989) WBSX (1989-1998)
Former affiliations	Independent (1981, 1983-1989), IT (1981-1983), HSN (1989-1998)
Transmitter Power	2880 kW/329 m(analog) 110 kW/329 m (digital)
Website	www.ionline.tv

WPXD is a television station licensed to Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is the i network (formerly PAX) affiliate for Metro Detroit.

WPXD's transmitter is located on Highway M-52 in Lyndon Township, Michigan located in Washtenaw County seven miles north of the town of Chelsea, Michigan. The station's transmitter is actually closer to Lansing and Jackson than it is to Detroit and is 55 miles from downtown Detroit. (Comcast systems in Lansing and Jackson get their "i" programming from Battle Creek's WZPX-TV, however.) WPXD's signal can be picked up as far away as St. Johns, Flint, and Owosso, and almost makes it to Battle Creek, Coldwater and Toledo. WPXD broadcasts its signal from an antenna that is 1,079 feet in height.

WPXD also has one translator station, W48AV channel 48 near Downtown Detroit.

However, according to the FCC coverage maps for both WPXD and W48AV ([1], [2]), neither the main WPXD signal nor the W48AV translator covers the entire Metro Detroit area. In fact, neither signal covers all of Detroit itself. WPXD's main signal barely reaches downtown Detroit, while its W48AV translator, on the shores of Lake St. Clair near the Grosse Pointes, is directional towards the west, covering Warren and Center Line and going as far west as Madison Heights, but only covering a small portion of northeastern Detroit. The new digital signal on channel 33, once it's activated, won't even make it to Detroit, as it'll only be 110kw from the same transmitter location as the analog channel 31 signal. Also, it will interfere with WHPR-TV, a Class-A station currently on channel 33 (but still officially has translator-style calls, "W33BY").

On cable, WPXD can be seen on Comcast Detroit channel 16, Wide Open West channel 19 and Bright House Livonia channel 21. It is not seen on Cogeco Windsor. Both of its over-the-air signals are so weak that many Detroit area viewers wishing to watch WPXD can only watch it on cable.

Contents 1 Digital Programming 2 Lansing and Jackson 3 History 4 External links

[edit] Digital Programming

The station's digital channel is multiplexed:

Digital channels

Channel	Programming
31.1 / 33.1	Main WPXD Programming
31.2 / 33.2	qubo (beginning early 2007)
31.3 / 33.3	i West
31.4 / 33.4	The Worship Network

[edit] Lansing and Jackson

Lansing and Jackson are within coverage of two "i" stations: WPXD and Battle Creek's WZPX, which also serves Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo. WPXD's transmitter in northwestern Washtenaw County is actually closer to Lansing and Jackson than to Detroit. However, WZPX's transmitter is in Vermontville Township, MI, Eaton County, which is within the Lansing broadcast market, and federal "must-carry" rules require Comcast cable systems in Lansing and Jackson to carry WZPX instead of WPXD. ([3], [4])

[edit] History

The station signed on as WRHT on January 13, 1981 as an independent station; its first program was, of all things, a basketball game between Texas Tech and Baylor University. Most of TV31's early programming was either locally produced or outsourced by other production companies; they also carried live news from cable financial network FNN (now known as CNBC). WRHT's callsign was changed to WIHT on February 1, 1981; IHT stood for "In-Home Theater", more commonly known as IT, an over-the-air subscription pay-TV service. Non-subscribers that tuned into WIHT during IT's airtime were treated to audio programming from NOAA Weather Radio station KIG83 in Alpena. WXON, Channel 20 in Detroit offered a similar service, ON-TV, at that time. IT and ON-TV both faded away in 1983 as cable TV became more prevalent in the Detroit area.

Channel 31 was purchased by Blackstar television and their call letters changed to WBSX on July 14, 1989; local/syndicated programming was phased out in favor of home shopping programming. On February 4, 1998, Paxson Communications of Palm Beach, Florida (now ion Media Networks) purchased WBSX to be part of a new "family network" called PAX (now called i in July 2005) and changed its call letters to WPXD-TV and moved it from its cramped offices in Ann Arbor, to its present location in downtown Detroit.

[edit] External links

• Official Website
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WPXD
• Query the FCC's TV station database for W48AV

Broadcast Television in the Lansing/Jackson market  (Nielsen DMA #110)
WLNS 6 (CBS) - WILX 10 (NBC) - WHTV 18 (MyNetworkTV) - WKAR 23 (PBS) - W27CN 27 (TBN / TCT) - WPXD 31 (i) - WZPX 43 (i) - WSYM 47 (Fox) - WLAJ 53 (ABC/The CW on DT2)
Local cable television channels JTV (Jackson) - JTV 21 (Jackson) - WBL 5 (The CW)