WXXI-TV
Headquarters on State Street in Rochester | |
| |
| Channels | |
|---|---|
| Branding | WXXI |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner | WXXI Public Broadcasting Council |
| History | |
| Founded | 1966 |
First air date | September 6, 1966 |
Former call signs |
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Former channel numbers |
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| NET (1966–1970) | |
Call sign meaning | "XXI" is the Roman numeral for 21 |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 57274 |
| ERP | 273 kW |
| HAAT | 152 m (499 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 43°8′7″N 77°35′2″W / 43.13528°N 77.58389°W |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
WXXI-TV (channel 21) is a PBS member television station in Rochester, New York, United States. It is owned by the WXXI Public Broadcasting Council alongside NPR members WXXI (1370 AM), WXXI-FM (105.9), and WXXO (91.5 FM). The four stations share studios at the WXXI Public Broadcasting Center on State Street near downtown Rochester; WXXI-TV's transmitter is located on Pinnacle Hill on the border between Rochester and Brighton. WXXI's portfolio also includes The Little Theatre, an art house cinema, and CITY magazine.[3]
History
WXXI-TV held a construction permit under the call sign WROH from 1952 before launching on September 6, 1966, as a member of the National Educational Television (NET) network. When NET was succeeded by the Public Broadcasting Service in 1970, WXXI-TV became a PBS member station. The station's call letters derive from the Roman numeral XXI for 21, its former analog and now virtual channel number.
John S. Porter served as the station's first president and general manager from 1966 to 1969.[4] Norm Silverstein subsequently led the organization for nearly 29 years before stepping down in 2024.[5]
In September 2024, Chris Hastings, a Peabody Award–winning documentary producer and former executive producer of the World Channel at WGBH, was named as the third president and CEO in WXXI's history.[5][6] He assumed the position in November 2024.[7] Under Hastings' leadership, WXXI achieved record membership income of $5.3 million and added 1,600 new members.[8] In August 2025, he appointed Julio Saenz as WXXI's first chief content officer, a new position created to unify content strategy across all platforms.[9]
Programming
National productions
WXXI-TV's national public television productions include A Warrior in Two Worlds, Echoes from the Ancients, Out of the Fire, Albert Paley: Man of Steel, Biz Kid$, and Flight to Freedom. WXXI-TV also produced Assignment: The World, a weekly current-events program for schools, which aired on approximately 100 public television stations nationwide, and was the nation's longest-running instructional television program. Due to funding cuts, it was canceled and its last episode aired on May 23, 2013.
Former programming
ThinkBright, broadcast from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. on 21.3 until the digital transition.
Technical information
Subchannels
WXXI-TV entered the digital era in September 2003 when it signed on with Rochester's first full-power digital television signal.
The station's signal is multiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | WXXI-HD | PBS |
| 21.2 | 480i | WXXI-W | World | |
| 21.3 | WXXI-C | Create | ||
| 21.4 | WXXI-K | PBS Kids | ||
| 22.7 | Audio only |
WXXO-FM | WXXI Classical (SAP: Readout Radio) | |
| 31.4 | 480i | 16:9 | TBD | Roar (WUHF-DT4) |
Channel 21.4, now PBS Kids since February 1, 2016, was originally a digital standard definition simulcast of WXXI-TV's analog signal.
Analog-to-digital conversion
WXXI-TV ended regular programming on its analog signal, over UHF channel 21, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 16, using virtual channel 21.[11]
As part of the SAFER Act,[12] WXXI-TV kept its analog signal on the air until July 10, 2009, to inform viewers of the digital television transition through a loop of public service announcements from the National Association of Broadcasters. WXXI-TV had been awarded a $202,498 federal contract for an outreach initiative to help Rochester's over-the-air viewers prepare for the digital transition.[13]
References
- ^ "History Cards for WXXI-TV".
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WXXI-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "How WXXI's CEO Sees Its Future". Rochester Beacon. July 24, 2025. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
- ^ "John S. Porter papers". University of Maryland Libraries. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
- ^ a b "WXXI Names WORLD Channel Executive Chris Hastings as Next CEO". Current. September 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
- ^ "WXXI Welcomes Chris Hastings, Award-Winning Executive Producer and Public Media Leader, as the New President & CEO". WXXI. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
- ^ "Chris Hastings Starts His Tenure as New President and CEO of WXXI Public Media". WXXI News. November 11, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
- ^ "WXXI Reinvents After Federal Funding Cuts". Rochester Business Journal. November 6, 2025. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
- ^ "WXXI Appoints Julio Saenz as Chief Content Officer". WXXI. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
- ^ "RabbitEars TV Query for WXXI". RabbitEars. Retrieved February 20, 2026.
- ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Retrieved March 24, 2012.
- ^ "UPDATED List of Participants in the Analog Nightlight Program" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. June 12, 2009. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
- ^ "WXXI Awarded Digital Television Contract | interactive.wxxi.org". interactive.wxxi.org. Archived from the original on February 12, 2009.
External links
- Official website
- John S. Porter papers, at the University of Maryland Libraries. Porter served as the president and general manager from 1966 to 1969.