| Community: | Worcester | ||
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| Digital channel: | 29 | ||
| PSIP: | 27-1 | ||
| Ownership: | Entravision Holdings, LLC (Entravision Communications [NYSE: EVC]) |
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| Studio: | 33 Fourth Ave. Needham, MA 02194-2704 |
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| Transmitter: | Stiles Hill Boylston, MA 01505 |
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| Phones: |
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| Network: | Univision |
WUNI transmits on digital channel 29 from the tallest broadcast tower in Massachusetts, which is located on Stiles Hill in Boylston, northeast of WUNI's city of license, Worcester. WUNI uses a horizontally-polarized ERI ATW25H7-HTO-27/29H dual-input-channel traveling-wave antenna, which was originally constructed for sharing with WUNI's former analog operation on channel 27. The antenna is 400 meters (1312 feet) above ground level, 468 m (1535 ft) above average terrain, and 613 m (2011 ft) above mean sea level; it has 0.75 degrees of electrical beam tilt. WUNI has operated since December, 2007, under Program Test Authority on its March, 2007, construction permit for 165 kW average ERP; WUNI holds a further construction permit to “maximize” its signal with 270 kW average ERP using the same antenna.
Channel 27 in Worcester went on the air for the first time on June 4, 1970, as WSMW, standing for the station's owner, the State Mutual insurance company. WSMW operated for several years as a locally-programmed independent station serving Worcester, with studios at 27 Beverly Road. WSMW's programming even included local Worcester news for several years.
By the late 1970s, WSMW's owners decided they could make more money with subscription TV. WSMW went scrambled for most of its programming day, serving both Worcester and the greater Boston area with movies and other pay-TV programming.
In the mid-1980s, WSMW returned to broadcasting in the clear, with syndicated fare aimed at the greater Boston market. The calls changed to WHLL under new ownership in the late 1980s.
By the early 1990s, Channel 27's owners decided to become the first full-power Spanish-language outlet in the Boston area, affiliating first with Telemundo, and later with Univision, under the new calls WUNI. The change to WUNI was accompanied by a change of studio location, from 15 Parker Road in Shrewsbury to the current 33 Fourth Avenue location in Needham, some 20 miles closer to downtown Boston.
WUNI received its first construction permit for digital television in December, 1998, and a subsequent CP in June, 2007; although the station filed for licenses to cover both permits, it has yet to be granted any license for digital operation. The reason for the lack of FCC action is not given in the Commission's public files. A fire at the transmitter site in February, 2009, forced WUNI to suspend analog operations prior to the Federally-mandated June 12 digital transition, although Commission also failed to act upon the station's two official requests for an early shutdown due to equipment failure.
This station profile was written by the editors of The Archives @ BostonRadio.org. We have no relationship with the station; please send any comments or questions about their programming directly to the station. Network connectivity courtesy of MIT CSAIL.