on channel 24 in the 1950s see wtve elmira ny . this article may require cleanup to meet wikipedia s quality standards . no cleanup reason has been specified . please help improve this article if you can . june 2008 learn how and when to remove this template message wtve reading allentown philadelphia pennsylvania united states city reading pennsylvania branding tv 51 channels digital 25 uhf virtual 51 psip subchannels 51.1 wtve dt 51.2 wtve sd 51.3 vietv affiliations independent 1980 1998 and since 1999 owner nrj tv llc operated by titan tv broadcast group nrj tv philly license co. llc first air date may 4 1980 sister station s wphy cd former channel number s analog 51 uhf 1980 2009 former affiliations telemundo 1998 1999 dt2 plum tv 2004 2013 transmitter power 0.763 kw height 225.3 m facility id 55305 transmitter coordinates 40 21 15.57 n 75 53 56.96 w 40.3543250 n 75.8991556 w 40.3543250 ; 75.8991556 licensing authority fcc public license information profile cdbs website www.wtve.com wtve virtual channel 51 uhf digital channel 25 is an independent television station serving the delaware valley region that is licensed to reading pennsylvania united states . the station is owned by nrj tv llc . wtve maintains studios on north 11th street and its transmitter is located on skyline drive in reading . contents 1 history 2 programming 2.1 newscasts 2.2 sports programming 3 digital operation 3.1 digital channels 3.2 analog to digital conversion 4 see also 5 references 6 external links history edit the station first signed on the air on may 4 1980 . 1 when it launched wtve initially maintained a general entertainment format with a mix of off network sitcoms from the 1960s and early 1970s movies drama series and talk shows as well as a local newscast . however the station did not carry many cartoons . while the station received sizeable viewership it was not profitable . beginning in september 1981 wtve began running the subscription television service selectv which aired feature films just finished with their theatrical runs each evening from 8 to 10 p.m. by january 1982 selectv programming expanded to 8 p.m. to midnight . that spring the station began running selectv from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. on weekdays and from 3 p.m. to 5 a.m. on weekends . in the fall of 1982 wtve added financial news network programming each weekday from noon to 5 p.m. and began carrying religious programs on saturday and sunday mornings . wtve switched to selecttv programming after 6 p.m. weekdays and after noon on weekends . wtve s logo in its later years of reading broadcasting ownership . by the fall of 1983 wtve was running selectv full time with the exception of weekday broadcasts of the 700 club and the independent network news along with other religious and public affairs shows on saturday and sunday mornings . selectv was dropped in the late 1980s and was replaced with home shopping programming from shop at home and infomercials . in 1998 wtve affiliated with the spanish language telemundo network before switching back to an english language format after a year . wtve s primary analog transmitter prior to the digital transition was located in reading ; the analog signal barely reached the philadelphia suburbs and lebanon in the eastern part of the harrisburg market . as a result wtve depended heavily on must carry rules to reach viewers in the philadelphia market on cable . wtve at one point had a repeater in philadelphia on channel 7 ; citation needed that station now operates independently as wwjt lp . wtve had been in chapter 11 bankruptcy managed by trustee george miller 2 until its 13.5 m takeover by wrnn tv associates received fcc approval on may 15 2008 . 3 wrnn tv associates subsequently sold the station to nrj tv a company unrelated to european broadcaster nrj radio in 2011 . 4 programming edit wtve s schedule consists mostly of infomercials and paid religious programs however it does carry some limited syndicated programming on weekday early evenings . syndicated programming seen on wtve includes inside edition that 70s show and everybody loves raymond . newscasts edit wtve aired nightly newscasts from its on air inception in 1980 until late 1983 when the station switched to a full time schedule of selectv programming . the original news programs were called tv51 total news and aired weeknights at 5 30 and 10 p.m. total news was targeted primarily at viewers in berks and schuylkill counties in an effort to fill a void in local news coverage for viewers living on the far western edge of the philadelphia television market . original wtve anchors included longtime weeu radio newsman bob smith frank mooney longtime reading radio and television personality and voice of boscov s department stores and sports anchor ross maccallum . later local radio personality and newscaster suzy sands joined the station as anchor of the 10 p.m. newscast . weekend newscasts were anchored by mike reinert and karen kaye . at this same time jeffrey d. miller one time night mayor on reading radio hosted a late night talk show called nightbeat . miller also anchored and reported for the nightly news programs . wtve was also one of the first to air independent network news a nationally syndicated nightly news program produced by wpix in new york city that was distributed to independent stations each night at 10 30 p.m. during the 1980s . local news programming was re established on the station in 2000 with the debut of philly tv news . this program was an attempt to build up the station as a player in the philadelphia television news arena but the production failed to attract viewers and was eventually cancelled . sports programming edit in the 1980s wtve was known for airing high school football games featuring berks and schuylkill county schools via tape delay on saturday evenings . albright college basketball was also broadcast in a similar manner . the station aired various football games involving pennsylvania teams . in 2007 wtve broadcast four albright college football games ; in 2008 the station became an affiliate of the pa sports fever network . digital operation edit digital channels edit the station s digital channel is multiplexed channel video aspect psip short name programming 5 51.1 480i 4 3 wtve tv main wtve programming 51.2 16 9 theworks the works prior to 2016 jan 18 this page showed that channel 51.3 carried vietv ; as of that date only 51.1 & 51.2 are broadcast . 6 analog to digital conversion edit wtve received authorization by the federal communications commission to terminate its analog signal no earlier than september 30 2008 7 after expressing severe concerns that the existing analogue klystron tube transmitter was expected to fail . 8 wtve shut down its analog signal over uhf channel 51 on that date . the station s digital signal remained on its pre transition uhf channel 25 . 9 through the use of psip digital television receivers display the station s virtual channel as its former uhf analog channel 51 . wtve is one of the first stations in the u.s. to transmit using a distributed transmission system 10 having received special temporary authority from the fcc to operate wtve dt via eight mostly low powered transmitters scattered across its coverage area rather than relying on a singular full power signal . 11 the station transmits with on channel boosters from sites in or near wtve dts1 reading pennsylvania 225m 0.76 kw da wtve dts2 bethlehem pennsylvania 155m 2.8 kw da wtve dts3 north east maryland 87m 0.11 kw da wtve dts4 quarryville pennsylvania 193m 1.0 kw da wtve dts5 myerstown pennsylvania 63m 1.15 kw da wtve dts6 lambertville new jersey 95m 0.6 kw da wtve dts7 philadelphia 378m 126 kw da wtve dts8 brockton pennsylvania 138m 4.25 kw da this pattern effectively creates a tailored coverage area corresponding to one large main signal centered on philadelphia plus a series of boosters . in late 2009 all eight boosters were upgraded to the atsc m h format to be capable of mobile dtv broadcast . 12 the station s mobile dtv signal which will be a simulcast of subchannel 51.1 was expected to sign on sometime in 2011 ; 13 14 however it has not yet begun operations as of november 2013 . see also edit media in the lehigh valley references edit http www.wtve.com wtvehistory.htm archived november 2 2005 at the wayback machine . fcc oks sale of bankrupt philly station tvnewsday may 15 2008 . tvnewsday.com . retrieved february 9 2012 . fcc allows french to take a ride in reading radio business report may 16 2008 . rbr.com . may 16 2008 . retrieved february 9 2012 . nrj holdings takes a ride on the reading with wtve . television business report . september 29 2011 . retrieved october 16 2011 . rabbitears tv query for wtve rabbitears info for wtve wtve dtv status report oct 10 2008 . fjallfoss.fcc.gov . retrieved february 9 2012 . northeast radio watch by scott fybush . fybush.com . august 4 2008 . retrieved february 9 2012 . dtv tentative channel designations for the first and second rounds pdf . retrieved 2012 03 24 . http fjallfoss.fcc.gov edocs public attachmatch da 06 2447a1.pdf tech one of one with merrill weiss ; sfn are many transmitters better than one tvnewsday sep 13 2007 . tvnewsday.com . retrieved february 9 2012 . wtve tv deploys atsc m h mobile dts trial . broadcastengineering.com . retrieved february 9 2012 . rabbitears.info . rabbitears.info . retrieved february 9 2012 . mobile dtv station guide www.omvcsignalmap.com . mdtvsignalmap.com . retrieved february 9 2012 . external links edit official website query the fcc s tv station database for wtve query the fcc s tv station database for wwjt lp biafn s media web database information on wtve tv fcc tv station profiles & public inspection files wtve program information for wtve at titantv.com v t e broadcast television in the delaware valley including philadelphia delaware south jersey and the lehigh valley reception may vary by location and some stations may only be viewable with cable television local stations kjwp 2.1 metv 2.2 escape 2.3 grit 2.4 justice network kyw tv 3.1 cbs 3.2 decades wpvi tv 6.1 abc 6.2 lwn hd 6.3 laff wefg ld 7.1 ssn 7.2 tuff tv 7.3 fam 7.4 nazca network telos tv 7.5 tvc 7.6 vmas well ld 8.1 daystar wcau 10.1 nbc 10.2 cozi tv 62.3 telemundo whyy 12.1 pbs 12.2 y2 12.3 y info wphl tv 17.1 mntv 17.2 antenna tv 17.3 this tv 17.4 comet wnjs 23.1 pbs njtv 23.3 audiovi wfpa cd 28 unim s wtxf 29.1 fox 29.2 movies 29.4 buzzr wzpa ld 33.1 qvc 33.2 hsn 33.3 sbn 33.4 latv 33.5 color bars 33.6 peace tv 33.7 aza wqav cd 34 av ind wybe 35.1 public ind 35.2 nhk world 35.3 france 24 35.4 rt 35.5 wnyj dt1 simulcast wpha cd 38.1 38.2 38.3 38.4 infomercials wdum lp 41 hsn wgtw 48.1 tbn 48.2 hillsong 48.3 smile juce tv 48.4 enlace 48.5 salsa wpsg 57.1 cw wppx tv 61.1 ion 61.2 qubo 61.3 ion life 61.4 ion shop 61.5 qvc over the air 61.6 hsn wuvp tv 65.1 uni 65.2 wfpa cd 65.3 gettv 65.4 bounce tv outlying stations atlantic city wacp 4.1 ind 4.2 wacp .2 4.3 sonlife 4.4 wacp wpsj cd 8.1 mundomax 8.2 sbn 8.3 god 8.4 a1 wmgm 40.1 ind wmcn 44.1 ind 44.2 ssn wwsi 62.1 tmd 62.2 telexitos 10.3 nbc lehigh valley w07dc d 7.1 abc 7.2 antenna tv 7.3 justice network wlvt 39.1 pbs 39.3 v me 39.4 create wbph 60.1 ind 60.2 biztv wfmz 69.1 ind 69.2 accuwx 69.3 heroes & icons 69.4 retro tv reading wtve 51.1 ind 52.2 the works 51.3 vietv vietnamese trenton wphy cd 25.1 a1