View source for WUHF

{{Short description|Television station in Rochester, New York}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{for|the New York City station that used this callsign from 1961 to 1962|WPXN-TV}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2013}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign = WUHF
| atsc3 = yes
| city = 
| logo = WUHF Fox Rochester 2019.svg
| logo_size = 200px
| branding = Fox Rochester; ''13 WHAM News on Fox Rochester''
| digital = 28 ([[UHF]])
| virtual = 31
| subchannels = 
| translators = 
| affiliations = {{ubl|'''31.1:''' [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| network = 
| country = United States
| founded = 
| airdate = {{start date and age|1980|1|27|p=y}}
| last_airdate = 
| location = [[Rochester, New York]]
| callsign_meaning = Ultra High Frequency
| former_callsigns = {{ubl|WUHF (January 27, 1980–July 7, 1980)|WUHF-TV (1980–1981)}}
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 31 (UHF, 1980–2009)}}
| owner = [[Sinclair Broadcast Group]]
| licensee = WUHF Licensee, [[LLC]]
| sister_stations = [[WHAM-TV]]
| former_affiliations = {{ubl|[[Independent station|Independent]] (1980–1986)|[[UPN]] (secondary, 1995–1998)}}
| erp = 320 [[kW]]
| haat = {{convert|161|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id = 413
| coordinates = {{coord|43|8|5.5|N|77|35|5.7|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}
| licensing_authority = [[FCC]]
| website = {{URL|https://foxrochester.com/}}
}}

'''WUHF''' (channel 31) is a television station in [[Rochester, New York]], United States, affiliated with the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] network. It is owned by [[Sinclair Broadcast Group]], which provides certain services to dual [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]/[[The CW|CW]] affiliate [[WHAM-TV]] (channel 13) under a [[local marketing agreement]] (LMA) with [[Deerfield Media]]. The two stations share studios on West Henrietta Road ([[NY 15]]) in [[Henrietta, New York|Henrietta]] (with a Rochester [[United States Postal Service|mailing]] address); WUHF's transmitter is located on Pinnacle Hill on the border between Rochester and [[Brighton, Monroe County, New York|Brighton]].

==History==
WUHF began operations on January 27, 1980, as a general entertainment [[independent station]] running [[animated cartoon|cartoons]], sitcoms (classic and recent), [[feature film|movies]], drama series, and [[religious broadcasting|religious programs]]. It was, at the time, the only independent station in the Rochester market.

The station was owned by Malrite and the General Manager was Jerry Carr who was the former ''The Weather Outside'' personality. Apparently, by sheer coincidence, the station re-used a [[call signs in North America|call sign]] which was previously used by a different and unrelated station which operated on the same channel 31, albeit in New York City. The latter station had only used the WUHF calls for its first year of experimental operation (1961–62); it is now [[Ion Television]] [[owned-and-operated station]] [[WPXN-TV]].

In 1983, former underground [[cartoon]]ist [[Brian Bram]] produced and hosted ''All Night Live'', a program aired live from midnight to 7 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Bram's show was a showcase for regional bands including Personal Effects, Cousin Al and the Relatives, and [[The Silly Pillows|The Degrads]]. On October 9, 1986, WUHF became a charter affiliate of Fox for Rochester and was branded as "Fox 31". Most of the religious shows were gone by then. However, WUHF was initially still programmed as an independent station since Fox would only air one program, ''[[The Late Show (1986 talk show)|The Late Show]] Starring [[Joan Rivers]]'' until April 1987, and even then, would not present an entire week's worth of programming until 1993. In 1989, [[Act III Broadcasting]] bought the station from Malrite Communications Group.

Later that year, Act III Broadcasting bought out [[WUTV]] in nearby [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]]. Because of a city-grade signal overlap ([[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) rules normally prohibit one company from owning two stations with overlapping coverage, and the agency would not even consider a waiver until 2000), Act III applied for a cross-ownership waiver seeking that the two stations were to be co-owned.<ref>{{Cite news|date=November 6, 1989|title=Duopoly question in Buffalo|page=80|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/89-OCR/BC-1989-11-06-OCR-Page-0080.pdf|access-date=December 20, 2021}}</ref> Act III tried to sell WUHF to a different company after only one year, but no buyer was found.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Pergament|first=Alan|title=SHUFFLING OF CHANNELS 29, 49 TO RESULT IN SHIFT OF PROGRAMS|url=https://buffalonews.com/news/shuffling-of-channels-29-49-to-result-in-shift-of-programs/article_aef8375f-f2d1-5cff-aa7a-7e5d4547409f.html|access-date=December 21, 2021|website=The Buffalo News|language=en}}</ref> In a group deal, Abry would become the owner in 1995, through Sullivan Broadcasting.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Flint|first=Joe|date=October 2, 1995|title=ABRY CHOICE IS CLEAR; SULLIVAN TO TOP ACT III|url=https://variety.com/1995/tv/features/abry-choice-is-clear-sullivan-to-top-act-iii-99128559/|access-date=December 9, 2021|website=Variety|language=en-US}}</ref>

By 1998, it was controlled by Sinclair and was eventually sold to that company, as part of a group deal to purchase Sullivan.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sinclair to purchase Sullivan Deal could be worth $1 billion, gives firm 14 new TV stations; Most are Fox affiliates; Company continues to gain outlets in mid-size markets; Broadcasting|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1998-02-25-1998056040-story.html|access-date=December 9, 2021|website=Baltimore Sun|language=en}}</ref> In the 1990s, classic sitcoms, movies, and drama shows made way for talk, reality, and [[court show]]s. The station ended weekday airings of cartoons at the end of 2001 when Fox canceled its weekday kids block nationwide. In 1999, the station changed its branding to "Fox Rochester" although it adopted a "Fox 31" logo from 1999 to 2005. Its digital signal signed on-the-air in 2004 under a [[special temporary authority]] from the FCC.

In August 2005, the Sinclair Broadcast Group entered into a shared services agreement with [[Nexstar Broadcasting Group]], owner of [[CBS]] affiliate [[WROC-TV]] (channel 8). Sinclair agreed to be the subordinate entity allowing Nexstar to control programming for WUHF. The station then moved from its studios on East Avenue (NY 96) in Rochester to WROC-TV's facilities.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://foxrochester.com/ |title=Fox Rochester - THE TEN O'CLOCK NEWS - |website=foxrochester.com |access-date=January 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001019032050/http://foxrochester.com/ |archive-date=October 19, 2000 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

On May 15, 2012, Sinclair and Fox agreed to a five-year extension to the network's affiliation agreement with Sinclair's 19 Fox stations, including WUHF, allowing them to continue carrying the network's programming through 2017.<ref>[http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/59463/sinclair-reups-with-fox-gets-wutb-option Sinclair Reups With Fox, Gets WUTB Option], ''TVNewsCheck'', May 15, 2012.</ref>

On December 3, 2012, Sinclair announced it would acquire the non-FCC assets of [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] affiliate [[WHAM-TV]] from [[Newport Television]], with the license and other FCC assets being transferred to Sinclair-affiliated [[Deerfield Media]]. At the end of 2013, WUHF terminated its SSA with Nexstar and re-located its operations to WHAM-TV's facilities in [[Henrietta, New York|Henrietta]].<ref name="d&c-wrocwuhf">{{cite web|title=WROC out, 13WHAM in on Fox|url=http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/money/business/2013/10/07/wroc-out-13wham-in-on-fox/2939773|access-date=December 27, 2013|work=Democratic & Chronicle C}}</ref>

==Newscasts==
{{see|WHAM-TV#News operation}}
On November 30, 1997, WUHF established its own news department and aired a nightly prime time newscast (originally ''Fox News First''; later renamed as ''The Ten O'Clock News'') along with a Sunday night sports highlight show. In 2003, the station adopted Sinclair's centralized ''[[News Central (American TV program)|News Central]]'' format, which featured locally produced segments, and national segments and [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] commentaries produced from Sinclair's studios in [[Hunt Valley, Maryland]].

After WUHF's operations were taken over by Nexstar, WUHF replaced ''News Central'' with the WROC-produced ''Fox First at 10'' on September 1, 2005. The newscast initially aired for a half-hour; it was later expanded to 45 minutes, with the rest of the hour filled by the sports news segment ''Sports Extra''.

On September 4, 2012, WROC-TV became the second Rochester area station to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in [[High-definition television|high definition]]. The 10&nbsp;p.m. newscast on WUHF was included in the upgrade.

On January 1, 2014, WUHF's 10 p.m. newscast was taken over by new sister WHAM-TV. WUHF also began to air a morning newscast, ''Good Day Rochester'', from 7 to 9&nbsp;a.m.<ref name="d&c-wrocwuhf" />

===Notable current on-air staff===
*[[Mike Catalana]] – sports director; weeknights

===Notable former on-air staff===
*[[Jenna Wolfe]] – sports anchor (1998–1999)

==Technical information==
===Subchannels===
The station's ATSC 1.0 channels are carried on the [[multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]] signals of other Rochester television stations:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannels provided by WUHF (ATSC 1.0)<ref>[http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WROC#station RabbitEars TV Query for WROC]
*[http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WHAM#station RabbitEars TV Query for WHAM]
*[http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WXXI#station RabbitEars TV Query for WXXI]</ref>
! scope = "col" | [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! scope = "col" | [[Display resolution|Res.]]
! scope = "col" | [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! scope = "col" | Short name
! scope = "col" | Programming
! scope = "col" | ATSC 1.0 host
|-
! scope = "row" | 31.1
| [[720p]] || [[16:9]] || WUHF-DT || [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] || [[WROC-TV]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 31.2
| rowspan=3| [[480i]] || rowspan=2| [[4:3]] || Antenna || [[Antenna TV]] || rowspan=2|[[WHAM-TV]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 31.3
| Comet-T || [[Comet (TV network)|Comet]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 31.4
| 16:9 || ROAR || [[Roar (TV network)|Roar]] || [[WXXI-TV]]
|-
|}
In 2006, WUHF added [[The Tube Music Network|The Tube]] digital music video channel on a new second digital subchannel; the channel was removed when the network went out of business in 2007.

===Analog-to-digital conversion===
WUHF discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over [[UHF]] channel 31, on February 17, 2009, the original target date on which full-power television in the United States were to [[Digital television transition in the United States|transition from analog to digital broadcasts]] under federal mandate (like most Sinclair stations and was replaced by a "nightlight" loop that ran until March 3). The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 28,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds |access-date=March 24, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |archive-date=August 29, 2013 }}</ref> using [[virtual channel]] 31.

===ATSC 3.0===
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Subchannels of WUHF (ATSC 3.0)<ref>[http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WUHF#station RabbitEars TV Query for WUHF]</ref>
! style="background-color: #bdbdff" scope = "col" | [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! style="background-color: #bdbdff" scope = "col" | [[Display resolution|Res.]]
! style="background-color: #bdbdff" scope = "col" | Short name
! style="background-color: #bdbdff" scope = "col" | Programming
|-
! scope = "row" | [[WROC-TV|8.1]]
| [[1080p]] || WROC || [[CBS]] ([[WROC-TV]])
|-
! scope = "row" | [[WHAM-TV|13.1]]
| [[720p]] || WHAM || [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] ([[WHAM-TV]])
|-
! scope = "row" | [[WXXI-TV|21.1]]
| 1080p || WXXI || [[PBS]] ([[WXXI-TV]])
|-
! scope = "row" | 31.1
| 720p || WUHF || [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 31.10
| 1080p || style="background-color:#ffffd0|T2 || style="background-color:#ffffd0|[[Tennis Channel#Streaming channels|T2 (from Tennis Channel)]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 31.11
| || style="background-color:#ffffd0|PBTV || style="background-color:#ffffd0|[[Pickleballtv]]
|}
{{legend|#ffffd0|Subchannel streamed via the Internet<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rabbitears.info/static.php?name=atsc3_streaming|title=ATSC 3.0 Streams Delivered Via Internet|website=[[RabbitEars.info]]|accessdate=March 24, 2024}}</ref>}}

==Cable carriage in Canada==
In 1994, several cable systems in Canada started carrying WUHF via the [[Cancom]] communications satellite in out-of-[[media market|market]] areas where Fox was not otherwise available. However, it had been carried on cable in [[Belleville, Ontario]] and other communities on the north shore of [[Lake Ontario]] since the 1980s. It was formerly carried by [[Eastlink (company)|Eastlink]] (in SD only) and on [[Bell Aliant]] [[Fibe (Bell Aliant)|FibreOP TV]] (in both SD and HD) for viewers in [[Atlantic Canada]] until late 2012 (January 30, 2013, in Eastlink's case), when it was replaced with [[WFXT]] in [[Boston]], a former Fox O&O (now owned by [[Cox Media Group]]). The station is still carried on [[Rogers Cable]] in the western provinces of [[British Columbia]], [[Alberta]], [[Saskatchewan]] and [[Manitoba]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rogers.com/tv/channel-listings/pdf/V4G1N4/blueSkyTv |title=Vancouver TV Channel Listings |publisher=Rogers Cable |archive-date=September 19, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250919223535/https://www.rogers.com/tv/channel-listings/pdf/V4G1N4/blueSkyTv |access-date=September 20, 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rogers.com/tv/channel-listings/pdf/T5J0H6/blueSkyTv |title=Edmonton TV Channel Listings |publisher=Rogers Cable |archive-date=September 19, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250919222730/https://www.rogers.com/tv/channel-listings/pdf/T5J0H6/blueSkyTv |access-date=September 20, 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rogers.com/tv/channel-listings/pdf/S7R1C4/blueSkyTv |title=Saskatoon TV Channel Listings |publisher=Rogers Cable |archive-date=September 19, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250919223212/https://www.rogers.com/tv/channel-listings/pdf/S7R1C4/blueSkyTv |access-date=September 20, 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rogers.com/tv/channel-listings/pdf/R3C5S4/blueSkyTv |title=Winnipeg TV Channel Listings |publisher=Rogers Cable |archive-date=September 19, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250919223703/https://www.rogers.com/tv/channel-listings/pdf/R3C5S4/blueSkyTv |access-date=September 20, 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref> WUHF has been carried on satellite systems since 1996 and it is currently the only Rochester-based television station seen in Canada on the [[Shaw Direct]] satellite provider.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.shaw.ca/television/programming/hd-channels/|title=View Our TV Channels and Channel Packages &#124; Shaw}}</ref>

[[CF Cable]] in the western suburbs of [[Montreal]] used to carry the station in 1995 but replaced it with sister station WUTV from Buffalo the following year. That station was carried on [[Vidéotron]] for cable systems outside the [[West Island]]. It was also the first Fox station carried on Montreal cable. However, the northern suburbs of that city (particularly [[Saint-Jérôme]]) still carry the station, even though in [[Mont-Tremblant]], [[WFFF-TV]] along with other [[Burlington, Vermont]]–[[Plattsburgh, New York]] stations are seen there instead.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{official website|https://foxrochester.com/}}

{{Rochester TV}}
{{Buffalo TV}}
{{Elmira TV}}
{{Syracuse TV}}
{{Fox New York}}
{{SBGI}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wuhf}}
[[Category:1980 establishments in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Antenna TV affiliates]]
[[Category:ATSC 3.0 television stations]]
[[Category:Comet (TV network) affiliates]]
[[Category:Fox Broadcasting Company affiliates]]
[[Category:Sinclair Broadcast Group]]
[[Category:Roar (TV network) affiliates]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1980]]
[[Category:Television stations in Rochester, New York|UHF]]