WSEC

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WSEC
CityJacksonville, Illinois
Channels
BrandingPBS WSIU
Programming
AffiliationsPBS
Ownership
Owner
WSIU-TV/WUSI-TV
History
First air date
August 11, 1984; 40 years ago (1984-08-11)
Former call signs
WJPT (1984–1989)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 14 (UHF, 1984–2009)
  • Digital: 15 (UHF, 2009-2020)
Call sign meaning
"Springfield's Educational Channel"[1]
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID70536
ERP75 kW
HAAT297 m (974 ft)
Transmitter coordinates39°36′9″N 90°2′47″W / 39.60250°N 90.04639°W / 39.60250; -90.04639 (WSEC)
Links
Public license information
WMEC
Satellite of WSEC
Channels
History
First air date
October 1, 1984 (40 years ago) (1984-10-01)
Former call signs
  • Analog: WIUM-TV (1984–1989)
  • Digital: WMEC-DT (2003–2009)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 22 (UHF, 1984–2009)
  • Digital: 21 (UHF, 2009–2020)
Call sign meaning
"Macomb's Educational Channel"
Technical information[3]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID70537
ERP75 kW
HAAT131 m (430 ft)
Transmitter coordinates40°23′54″N 90°43′55″W / 40.39833°N 90.73194°W / 40.39833; -90.73194 (WMEC)
Links
Public license information
WQEC
Satellite of WSEC
CityQuincy, Illinois
Channels
History
Former call signs
  • Digital: WQEC-DT (2003–2009)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 27 (UHF, 1985–2009)
Call sign meaning
"Quincy's Educational Channel"
Technical information[4]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID71561
ERP58.6 kW
HAAT153 m (502 ft)
Transmitter coordinates39°58′41″N 91°18′32″W / 39.97806°N 91.30889°W / 39.97806; -91.30889 (WQEC)
Links
Public license information

WSEC (channel 14) is a PBS member television station licensed to Jacksonville, Illinois, United States. Owned by Southern Illinois University, it is a sister station to WSIU-TV in Carbondale. WSEC's transmitter is located south of Franklin, Illinois; master control and most internal operations are based on the SIU campus in Carbondale.

WSEC operates two full-time satellites, WMEC (channel 22) in Macomb and WQEC (channel 27) in Quincy. WMEC's transmitter is located near Colchester, while WQEC's transmitter is on Ellington Road northeast of Quincy. A digital translator located in Springfield, W08DP, formerly broadcast on VHF channel 8 for full coverage in that metropolitan area. W08DP's license was cancelled by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on August 4, 2021, due to the translator not obtaining a license for digital operation by the July 13 deadline.

The three-station network serves as the PBS member for the Quincy television market (defined by Nielsen), as well as the western portion of the Champaign–Springfield–Decatur market.[5] It serves a large and mostly rural area of western Illinois, northeastern Missouri and southeastern Iowa.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference rural was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WSEC". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WMEC". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  4. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WQEC". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  5. ^ "Nielsen Television DMA rankings" (PDF). Nielsen. September 23, 2017. Retrieved June 21, 2018.