WVEA-TV

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WVEA-TV
Venice / Tampa, Florida
Branding	Univision 62/Noticias Univision Tampa
Channels	62 (UHF) analog, 25 (UHF) digital
Affiliations	Univision
Owner	Entravision
Founded	early-1980s
Call letters meaning	WVEA: "vea" is Spanish for "I see" (present subjunctive)
Former callsigns	WBSV (ch.62) W50AC (ch.50) W61BL (ch.61)
Former affiliations	On chs. 50 & 61: SIN; on ch.62: Independent
Website	www.wvea.entravision.com

WVEA (channel 62) is Tampa Bay, Florida's first Spanish-language TV station, which had its start in the early-1980s as low-powered W50AC ch.50, which offered programming from the Spanish International Network (SIN), the forerunner of today's Univision. In 1988, to make way for new HSN flagship WBHS (now WFTT-TV), the station relocated to channel 61 and became W61BL. In the mid-1990s, the station was re-called "WVEA-LP". In 2000, WVEA's parent company, Entravision, acquired Sarasota English independent WBSV channel 62, with the intent of moving the transmitter from Venice to the antenna farm at Riverview.

WBSV signed on May 3, 1991 as Venice's own independent station, designed to compete against WWSB and the other stations in the Tampa Bay and nearby Ft. Myers markets. Licensed to Venice, Florida the call letters stood for Bradenton, Sarasota, Venice, the three cities it primarily served. WBSV had a variety of syndicated and local programming, plus infomercials and home shopping programs. early on, they also had its own newscast. But, WBSV was eternally in red ink, and relied more on home shopping and infomercials to keep the station afloat.

WBSV's history ended in early 2001, when the station left the air for a few weeks, to move the transmitter to Riverview, and establish WVEA's new studios. In March 2001, channel 61 moved to channel 62, which was re-called "WVEA-TV".

WVEA's current studios are located on Hillsborough Avenue in Tampa, in a former Barnett Bank building west of Armenia Avenue. WVEA also is partnered with the Univision-owned WFTT channel 50, on a channel that was once WVEA's first home.

WVEA is now operating a full powered DTV transmitter in Riverview.

WVEA hasn't left its low-powered roots completely -- it operates a low-powered channel in downtown Tampa as WVEA-LP channel 46, which covers most of Tampa, into Pinellas County, and currently carries the Home Shopping Network.

WVEA can be seen on Bright House and Comcast cable -- channel 8 in Hillsborough, channel 7 in Pinellas and channel 15 in Manatee and Sarasota counties.

[edit] External links

• Query the FCC's TV station database for WVEA
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WVEA-LP
• mcsittel.com: 1990s DX screengrabs from Tallahassee -- includes a 1993 WBSV test pattern