WUVF-LD

WUVF-LD
Fort Myers/Naples, Florida
United States
City Naples, Florida
Branding Univision Southwest Florida
Channels Digital: 18.1 / WLZE-LD 51.1 (UHF) Fort Myers
Affiliations 18.1 / 51.1: Univisión
18.2 / 51.2: UniMás
Owner Media Vista Group, LLC
(Media Vista SW Florida, LLC)
First air date
Call letters' meaning W
UniVisión
Florida
Former callsigns W02CB (–1996)
WTIG-LP (1996–2004)
WSFU-CA (2004)
WUVF-CA (2004–2009)
Transmitter power 3 kW
Height 113 m
Class LPTV
Facility ID 71138
Licensing authority FCC
Public license information: Profile
CDBS
Website Univisión SW Florida

Univision Southwest Florida or WUVF-LD is a network affiliate of Univision serving the Fort Myers-Naples DMA. WUVF is licensed to Naples, Florida and was upgraded to High Definition television service in early 2014. The station is owned by Media Vista Group, LLC, which also owns and operates Univision affiliates in Minneapolis and Kansas City. WUVF maintains studio facilities in Naples FL, and its transmitter is located in Bonita Springs. WUVF's programming is simulcast on low-power translator station WLZE-LD (channel 51) in Fort Myers.

Univision Southwest Florida airs D'Latinos Monday-Friday 6-6:30P and 11-11:30P, the first local Spanish Television program to air regularly in Ft. Myers-Naples, which debuted in August 2002. D'Latinos opens with Local News and offers Weather, Sports, community affairs, interviews and features.

History

On April 4, 2008 Equity Media Holdings announced the sale of all five of its Southwest Florida stations (including WUVF and WLZE) to Luken Communications for $8 million. Equity has cited corporate financial losses as a reason for the sale.[1] Equity Media Holdings filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2008;[2] offers by Luken Communications to acquire Equity-owned stations in six markets were later withdrawn.[3]

WUVF and WLZE were sold at auction to private equity firm Silver Point Capital on April 16, 2009.[4] The sale was finalized on August 17, 2009.[5] Following the purchase, WUVF surrendered its class A classification.

WLZE began to be carried on Dish Network on October 7, 2009; the satellite provider had earlier obtained WUVF's programming via sister station WEVU-CA (channel 4), which had served as a WUVF satellite since 2006 (and simulcast the 6 p.m. newscast for some time before adding the remainder of WUVF's schedule), that station was taken silent on August 14, 2009 – three days before the completion of the sale to Silver Point.[6] SP Television reached a deal to sell WUVF and WLZE to Media Vista Group on December 21, 2012.[7]

Newscasts

During the mid-2000s after joining Univision, WUVF began airing half-hour Spanish-language local newscasts at 6 and 11 p.m. The broadcasts were produced out Equity Media's headquarters in Little Rock, Arkansas, with news reports filed by reporters based in Southwest Florida. The newscasts were canceled in June 2008, after Equity instituted a companywide suspension of news programs as a cost-cutting measure.[8] Local News returned to the station in 2013 as part of the D'Latinos program, produced and aired locally by Media Vista.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6548102.html
  2. ↑ Larson, Erik (December 8, 2008). "Equity Media, U.S. TV Station Owner, Seeks Bankruptcy". Bloomberg News. Retrieved December 9, 2008.
  3. ↑ Equity's Management Cause of Downfall, Former CEO Asserts, Mark Hengel, Arkansas Business, February 2, 2009
  4. ↑ "Takers found for 60 Equity stations". Television Business Report. April 18, 2009. Retrieved April 20, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Consummation Notice". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. August 19, 2009. Retrieved August 25, 2009.
  6. ↑ "Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. September 22, 2009. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  7. ↑ Seyler, Dave (January 16, 2013). "Fleet of Univision-affiliated LPTVs sold". Television Business Report. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  8. ↑ Wadsworth, Chris (2008-06-16). "MEDIA MATTERS: NBC2 hires two traffic anchors". The News-Press. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
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