Technical Profile: WMAE-TV

TV Technical Profile: WMAE

Channel:: 12
9 (STA)
9 (CP)
Programming:: 12.1 - MPB / PBS HD; 12.2 - PBS Kids (soon); 12.3 - PBS Create
12.4 - audio only: MPB Think Radio
12.5 - MPB Classroom TV
Transmitter Location:: [map] [street view] Between Booneville and Dumas in Mississippi, on County Road 600. Co-located with WMAE-FM.
Power (ERP):: 31 kW
35 kW (CP)
STA: 30 kW
Height Above Average Terrain (HAAT):: 732 feet
736 feet (CP)
STA: 732 feet
Antenna:: Omnidirectional
Other Information:: 36 dBu protected contour map, from the FCC.
AUX: 30 kW @ 582 feet.; [FCC]
[FCCdata]
[RabbitEars]; [Wikipedia]
[Facebook] Facebook for Mississippi Public Broadcasting, which covers both radio and TV.
History:: Came on the air in August of 1974, serving the northeastern part of Mississippi on VHF analog channel 12.

In the 90s, the station broadcast with a directional antenna towards Corinth and and New Albany. The station later went non-directional. After the digital transition, the station returned to RF channel 12.

On 12 December 2016 the MPB network of stations dropped the SD version of PBS and moved the HD to the -.1 space, making room for PBS Kids, which was said to debut sometime in the first quarter of 2017.

The station added "MPB Classroom TV" to the —.5 subchannel, most likely in 2020.

In January 2022, the station began operating with a Special Temporary Authority with lower power while work was done on the primary antenna. In April 2022, the station filed a construction permit for that work's facility, which includes a small bump in power and overall antenna height. This move will also have them permanently move to RF channel 9 as part of the repacking process. On 13 April, the station filed for an auxiliary permit, and then filed a license to cover for that backup facility just eight days later.