WVFW-LD

WVFW-LD
Translator of WGEN-TV Key West
Channels
BrandingEstrella TV Canal 8
Programming
AffiliationsEstrella TV
Ownership
Owner
WGEN-TV
History
FoundedJune 21, 1979
First air date
October 24, 1983 (1983-10-24)
Former call signs
  • W30AB (1979–1989)
  • W29AW (1989–1994)
  • W24CA (1994–2003)
  • WVFW-LP (2003–2010)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog:
  • 30 (UHF, 1983–1992)
  • 29 (UHF, 1992–1995)
  • 24 (UHF, 1995–2003)
  • 34 (UHF, 2003–2010)

Digital:
34 (UHF, 2010-2021)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID6040
ERP2 kW
Transmitter coordinates25°59′35.32″N 80°10′26.17″W / 25.9931444°N 80.1739361°W / 25.9931444; -80.1739361
Links
Public license information
LMS
Websitewww.estrellatv.com

WVFW-LD, virtual and VHF digital channel 8, is a low-power Estrella TV owned-and-operated television station in Miami, Florida, United States. The station is owned by Estrella Media. It was the network's second affiliate in the market; Estrella TV previously affiliated in Miami with the second subchannel of Sunbeam Television's Fox affiliate, WSVN (channel 7) to provide full-market coverage to South Florida. WSVN-DT2 switched to Light TV on July 14, 2017, temporarily leaving Estrella without much Miami cable coverage.[2] The station allows homes that have trouble receiving WGEN's VHF signal or only a UHF antenna to receive WGEN in some form.

WVFW-LD's signal also served a second purpose, as it provided the signal source for Estrella's national feed carried by pay television providers in markets without an Estrella TV affiliate on terrestrial TV. This was seen in the feed top-of-the-hour station identification sequence, which formerly identified WVFW-LD. Previously, the station was owned by and aired programming from Almavision, and its life dates back to 1983, when it was launched as a Monroe County-owned repeater station of PBS member station WPBT (channel 2) licensed to Marathon.

WVFW-LD's future fate is undetermined in the wake of Liberman's announcement of the purchase of Key West-licensed WGEN-TV (channel 8) on January 8, 2018 (it began to carry Estrella TV on March 1 and also became the national pay television source), though WGEN has guaranteed full carriage in the Miami area.[2] However, it has been retained as its transmitter decently covers Miami and Fort Lauderdale, whereas WGEN has to use several repeaters to cover the inner core of the Miami/Fort Lauderdale metro.

  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WVFW-LD". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ a b Jacobson, Adam (January 5, 2018). "Exclusive: 'Estrella TV' Ready For A Big Miami Return". Radio & Television Business Report. Retrieved January 7, 2018.