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|---|---|
| Channels | |
| Branding | WHRO |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner | Hampton Roads Educational Telecommunications Association |
| WFOS, WHRO-FM, WHRV | |
| History | |
First air date | October 2, 1961 |
Former channel number(s) |
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| NET (1961–1970) | |
Call sign meaning | Hampton Roads, the region the station serves |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 25932 |
| ERP | 1,000 kW |
| HAAT | 375.3 m (1,231 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 36°48′31.8″N 76°30′11.3″W / 36.808833°N 76.503139°W |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | whro |
WHRO-TV (channel 15) is a PBS member television station licensed to both Hampton and Norfolk, Virginia, United States. It is owned by the Hampton Roads Educational Telecommunications Association (HRETA), a consortium of 21 Hampton Roads and Eastern Shore school systems, alongside public radio stations WFOS (88.7 FM), WHRV (89.5 FM), and WHRO-FM (90.3). The four stations share studios at the Public Telecommunications Center for Hampton Roads next to the campus of Old Dominion University in Norfolk; WHRO-TV's transmitter is located in Suffolk, Virginia.
Educational television first came to Hampton Roads in 1957 when commercial station WVEC-TV began broadcasting a limited amount of programs for Norfolk city schools. In 1959, WVEC-TV moved from channel 15 to channel 13. When that station discontinued educational programs in 1961, the Hampton and Norfolk school systems formed the Hampton Roads Educational Television Association, bought the channel 15 tower and antenna in Hampton, obtained a new construction permit, and began broadcasting as WHRO-TV on October 2, 1961. Permanent studios were set up in Norfolk near what is now Old Dominion University in 1963. Later in the 1960s, more school divisions in southeastern Virginia joined the association; the station's educational programming earned it a Peabody Award for 1972.
Under the management tenure of John R. Morison, from 1975 to 2001, WHRO-TV merged with a struggling classical music station, today's WHRV; expanded its facilities in 1990; and was recognized as a model station by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. His successors navigated cuts in support for public broadcasting from the state of Virginia while expanding educational and other services.
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WHRO-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.