WHYY-TV

In May 1951, Philadelphia's Board of Education first considered the idea of asking for an educational television channel, either Philadelphia's 35 in the newly created UHF band or the channel 12 allocation at Wilmington, for use by the city schools and other organizations.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100934900/video-channel-sought-by-board-of/|date=May 10, 1951|page=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100934902/school-board-seeks-tv-channel/ 32]|first=Merrill|last=Panitt|title=Video Channel Sought By Board of Education|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508072222/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100934900/video-channel-sought-by-board-of/|url-status=live}} A $150,000 grant from the Ford Foundation was received in 1953, when the Delaware Valley Educational Television Corporation was chartered{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100934908/150000-given-to-set-up-school-tv/|date=May 10, 1953|page=30|title=$150,000 Given to Set Up School TV|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508072221/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100934908/150000-given-to-set-up-school-tv/|url-status=live}} and filed for channel 35.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100934912/education-group-asks-tv-permit/|date=June 2, 1953|page=20|title=Education Group Asks TV Permit|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508072221/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100934912/education-group-asks-tv-permit/|url-status=live}} A year later, the Philadelphia Educational Radio Corporation, a consortium of schools and colleges, launched WHYY (90.9 FM), the city's first noncommercial radio service, on December 15, 1954.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100934926/educational-station-has-first-broadcast/|date=December 15, 1954|page=37|title=Educational Station Has First Broadcast|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508072222/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100934926/educational-station-has-first-broadcast/|url-status=live}}

With WHYY radio in operation, the focus shifted to giving birth to WHYY television. After the organization changed its name to the Metropolitan Philadelphia Educational Radio and Television Corporation, it received a construction permit in March 1956 for a station on UHF channel 35, the designated educational television channel for the city.{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|1285733333}}|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1956/1956-04-02-BC.pdf|date=April 2, 1956|work=Broadcasting|via=World Radio History|page=62|title=Five Tv Stations Given Construction Permits|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=November 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151235/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1956/1956-04-02-BC.pdf|url-status=live}} That April, WHYY negotiated a five-year lease of the former WCAU-TV studios at 1622 Chestnut Street.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100934936/space-is-leased-by-tv-station/|date=April 7, 1956|page=3|title=Space Is Leased By TV Station|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508072223/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100934936/space-is-leased-by-tv-station/|url-status=live}} Plans called for a weekly output of 25 hours of programming.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100934933/tv-roundup-education-group-aims-for/|date=March 6, 1956|page=36|title=TV Roundup: Education Group Aims for Oct. 1|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508072223/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100934933/tv-roundup-education-group-aims-for/|url-status=live}} The station appeared ready to go on November 26, 1956. Twelve city schools were being equipped with UHF-capable sets to receive the programs;{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100957300/12-schools-to-get-educational-tv/|date=September 17, 1956|page=21|title=12 Schools to Get Educational TV|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508072223/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100957300/12-schools-to-get-educational-tv/|url-status=live}} a two-page feature entitled "This Is WHYY" ran in a late October edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer Magazine;{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100934964/this-is-whyy-a-new-tv-station-with-a/|date=October 28, 1956|page=Magazine 12, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100934966/ 13]|first=Steve|last=Bland|title=This Is WHYY: A new TV station with a high I.Q.|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508072223/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100934964/this-is-whyy-a-new-tv-station-with-a/|url-status=live}} and test patterns were being broadcast.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100934985/5-educational-shows-listed-by-channel-3/|date=March 20, 1957|page=32|title=5 Educational Shows Listed by Channel 3|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508072224/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100934985/5-educational-shows-listed-by-channel-3/|url-status=live}} However, an unexpected snag emerged between station management and the school board. It had committed $100,000 to finance the station but instead opted to give only $75,000, diverting the remainder to a management study of the new outlet by a New York firm. The school board wanted control to be based on financial contributions, which would have given it more power in station decision-making, and there were also concerns that the UHF station would suffer from the inability of all television sets to tune that band (as television sets were not required to include UHF tuning until the All-Channel Receiver Act took effect in 1964).{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100934972/finance-plan-delays-educational-tv-stati/|date=November 14, 1956|page=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100934978/financing-plan-delays-phila/ 3]|title=Finance Plan Delays Educational TV Station|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}}

The school board's decision set WHYY-TV back nearly a year; after an agreement was reached to reorganize the board of directors and for the chairman and president of WHYY to present their resignations, the last obstacle was removed in February,{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101413745/last-obstacle-moved-for-start-of-school/|date=February 22, 1957|page=31|title=Last Obstacle Moved for Start Of School TV|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508201951/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101413745/last-obstacle-moved-for-start-of-school/|url-status=live}} with the station finally debuting on September 16, 1957.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100934991/whyy-tv-plans-audience-view-of-its/|date=September 5, 1957|page= 22|title=WHYY-TV Plans Audience View Of Its Facilities|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100934997/whyy-tv-on-at-9-a-m-today-with-giant/|date=September 16, 1957|page= 22|title=WHYY-TV On At 9 A. M. Today With 'Giant Step'|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}} Six months after start-up, the first nighttime programs were presented by the station to complement daytime instructional output.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100935017/educational-station-adds-night-programs/|date=March 18, 1958|page= 20|title=Educational Station Adds Night Programs|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}}

WHYY-TV had been on the air in Philadelphia for a year when events further down the Delaware River transpired that would have a major effect on the young station. Channel 12 in Wilmington had been occupied by WVUE, a commercial station. WVUE closed in September 1958, a casualty of ownership complications and financial losses, and within a week of its shutdown, committees involving Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey legislators were formed to study the feasibility of procuring channel 12 for regional educational broadcasting use while maintaining channel 35.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100935020/educators-of-3-states-want-channel-12/|date=September 19, 1958|page= 20|title=Educators of 3 States Want Channel 12 for Extension of Teaching|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}}

WHYY was not the only entity interested in channel 12. Other applicants also filed for authority to build it as a commercial station.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100952544/data-on-proposals-for-tv-channel-12-aske/|date=February 20, 1959|page=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100952562/tv-whyy/ 19]|title=Data on Proposals For TV Channel 12 Asked by Mar. 25|newspaper=The Morning News|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}} As Delaware groups marshaled a demonstration in Washington in support of designating the VHF channel for educational use,{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100952627/educational-tv-backers-plan-appeal/|date=August 20, 1960|page= 1|title=Educational TV Backers Plan Appeal|newspaper=Evening Journal|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}} the FCC convened hearings with WHYY and four commercial applicants to start in October 1960, then delayed into 1961.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100935026/tv-roundup-whyy-back-on-air-sept-15/|date=September 1, 1960|page= 32|title=TV Roundup: WHYY Back on Air Sept. 15|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101358804/channel-12-hearing-delayed-to-1961/|date=September 29, 1960|page=24|title=Channel 12 Hearing Delayed to 1961|newspaper=Journal-Every Evening|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}}

The four commercial applicants each had configurations of television experience and political backing. Metropolitan Broadcasting (renamed Metromedia in April 1961{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|1285745524}}|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1961/1961-04-03-BC.pdf|work=Broadcasting|date=April 3, 1961|title=It's Metromedia: Metropolitan stockholders vote to change firm name|page=56|via=World Radio History|access-date=August 27, 2022|archive-date=July 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220712151915/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1961/1961-04-03-BC.pdf|url-status=live}}), owner of independent television stations in Washington (WTTG) and New York City (WNEW-TV) as well as Philadelphia's WIP radio, had taken an option on a $185,000 parcel of land in Wilmington for potential facilities.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101358432/tv-firm-takes-185000-option-on-theatre/|date=June 3, 1960|page=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101358550/ 9]|first=Betty|last=Burroughs|title=TV Firm Takes $185,000 Option on Theatre for Studio|newspaper=The Morning News|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}} National Telefilm Associates, another owner of a New York City-area station (WNTA-TV); locally based Rollins Broadcasting, owned by former lieutenant governor John W. Rollins and his brother O. Wayne Rollins and owner of Wilmington radio station WAMS (1380 AM); and Wilmington Television, a private firm owned by primarily Midwest backers led by Egmont Sonderling,{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101359107/4-radio-broadcasters-seek-tv-channel-12/|date=February 12, 1959|page=1|title=4 Radio Broadcasters Seek TV Channel 12|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=The Morning News|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}} were also in the running.{{r|News600929}} National Telefilm and Wilmington Television bowed out in February 1961, leaving Metropolitan, Rollins, and WHYY.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101359169/after-the-tv-darkness-what-kind-of-ligh/|date=February 28, 1961|page=25|first=Thomas R.|last=Dew|title=After the TV Darkness, What Kind of Light?|newspaper=Evening Journal|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}} Just as oral hearings finally commenced in October, Metromedia unexpectedly withdrew despite having prepared voluminous exhibits and materials in support of its case; no reason was given.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101359292/fcc-hears-rollins-whyy-n-y-applicant/|date=October 11, 1961|page=1|first=Sam A.|last=Hanna|title=FCC Hears Rollins, WHYY: N. Y. Applicant Withdraws From Fight for Channel 12|newspaper=Evening Journal|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101359229/channel-12-case-has-come-a-long-way/|date=October 14, 1961|page=16|first=Sam|last=Hanna|title=Channel 12 Case Has Come a Long Way|newspaper=The Morning News|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}}

With the fight having been winnowed to two, oral hearing centered around program proposals and Rollins's record as a broadcaster with WAMS, which WHYY charged to be poor.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101359440/138-and-1380no-1380-wams-awards-p/|date=October 12, 1961|page=1|first=Sam A.|last=Hanna|title=$138 and $13.80—No $1,380: WAMS Awards Probed|newspaper=The Morning News|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}} Rollins attacked WHYY for leading a letter-writing campaign to the FCC that constituted illegal ex parte communications to the commission.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101359534/whyys-tactics-attacked-rollins-attorne/|date=December 20, 1961|page=44|first=Sam A.|last=Hanna|title=WHYY's Tactics Attacked: Rollins Attorneys Say Letter Writing Campaign Improper|newspaper=Evening Journal|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}} WHYY contended Wilmington had enough commercial service from Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Salisbury, Maryland, stations; Rollins believed Delaware could support a commercial station with a strong public service component, claiming WHYY was dominated by Philadelphia interests.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101359504/channel-12-hearings-nearing-end/|date=November 11, 1961|page=20|first=Sam A.|last=Hanna|title=Channel 12 Hearings Nearing End|newspaper=The Morning News|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101359772/channel-12-competitors-swap-blasts/|date=June 6, 1962|page=17|title=Channel 12 Competitors Swap Blasts|newspaper=The Morning News|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}}

It took months for FCC hearing examiner Walther Guenther to render an initial decision, which Delaware's U.S. representative, Harris McDowell, criticized as a product of a slow comparative hearing process.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100952977/mcdowell-hits-channel-12-delay/|date=April 17, 1962|page=8|title=McDowell Hits Channel 12 Delay|newspaper=The News Journal|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}} The decision, handed down in late September, awarded the channel to WHYY. Guenther found that, although WAMS operated in the public interest, there was a "distinctly greater need" for a VHF educational TV channel than for another commercial service; he favored WHYY on diversity of media ownership over Rollins's nine radio and three television stations but Rollins on its ability to air paid political programming and its familiarity with the area.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100953146/fcc-prober-favors-educational-channel-12/|date=September 28, 1962|page=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100953155/ 3]|first=Sam A.|last=Hanna|title=FCC Prober Favors Educational Channel 12|newspaper=The Morning News|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}} Instead of appealing, Rollins withdrew on November 13, 1962, paving the way for WHYY to win a channel 12 construction permit on December 26.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100953207/rollins-quits-race-for-tv-channel-12/|date=November 14, 1962|page=1|title=Rollins Quits Race For TV Channel 12|newspaper=The Morning News|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}}{{Cite web|url=https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/api/download/attachment/5d0701cc-c083-a0c9-147b-77d3caf23baf|title=History Cards for WHYY-TV|publisher=Federal Communications Commission}} (Wilmington 12 only)

After Rollins dropped out, WHYY began planning for the needed physical plant to activate the channel. It announced it would be a two-city operation with studios in Wilmington and Philadelphia,{{r|Morn621114}} having already obtained an option on land for a transmitter site at Glassboro, New Jersey, from where WVUE had broadcast.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101360021/tv-12-on-by-sept-whyy-tells-carvel/|date=November 28, 1962|page=33|first=James P.|last=Parks, Jr.|title=TV 12 On by Sept., WHYY Tells Carvel|newspaper=The News Journal|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}} The move in total would cost $1.1 million.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101360313/whyy-tv-needs-money-for-magic-number/|date=February 27, 1963|page=23|title=WHYY-TV Needs Money for Magic Number|newspaper=The News Journal|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}} Wilmington studios were built in the former Frederick Douglass Elementary School at Fifth and Scott streets, which closed in the 1950s when Wilmington desegregated.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101419537/razing-of-former-city-school-raises-wist/|date=September 14, 1990|page=B1|first=Berlinda|last=Bruce|title=Razing of former city school raises wistful awareness|newspaper=The News Journal|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512195923/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101419537/razing-of-former-city-school-raises/|url-status=live}}

The WHYY-TV call letters moved to the channel 12 construction permit in March 1963. That necessitated the UHF station—which would be retained to provide secondary and specialized service—to adopt a new call sign, WUHY-TV, and because the FCC did not permit at that time that broadcast stations with different cities of license could share a base call sign, the Philadelphia radio station also changed to WUHY.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100935063/educational-station-changes-call/|date=February 25, 1963|page= 18|title=Educational Station Changes Call Letters To WUHY on March 11|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101360292/whyy-speeds-name-change/|date=March 2, 1963|page=3|title=WHYY Speeds Name Change|newspaper=Evening Journal|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}}

After five years of silence, channel 12 from Wilmington came alive with WHYY-TV on September 12, 1963, expanding its reach to viewers without UHF converters in the Delaware Valley.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100935059/new-channel-for-phila-area-whyy/|date=September 10, 1963|page= 1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100935055/whyy-begins-vhf-telecasts-on-thursday/ 26]|first=Harry|last=Harris|title=New Channel for Phila. Area: WHYY Changes to VHF on Thursday|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}} The in-school programming that had been used for years in Philadelphia schools made its way into 23 school districts in Delaware.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101360341/23-state-school-districts-prepare-to-use/|date=September 10, 1963|page=21|title=23 State School Districts Prepare to Use WHYY-TV|newspaper=The Morning News|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}} In January 1964, the WHYY Philadelphia studios relocated to the former WFIL radio and television facilities at 46th and Market streets after Triangle Publications, the owner of WFIL radio and television, gifted the building and equipment to WHYY as the commercial stations moved to a site on City Line Avenue.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101360708/wfil-gives-facilities-at-46th-and-market/|date=December 27, 1963|page=2|title=WFIL Gives Facilities At 46th and Market To WHYY Stations|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}} National Educational Television, the original public television network to which WHYY had belonged since the late 1950s,{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111302473/educational-tv-seeks-eyes-ears-and/|date=October 7, 1959|page= 25|title=Educational TV Seeks Eyes, Ears and Minds|newspaper=Journal-Every Evening|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=October 14, 2022}} was replaced with PBS in October 1970.{{cite news|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1970/1970-10-05-BC.pdf|via=World Radio History|date=October 5, 1970|title=Does ETV hold key to fairness?|id={{ProQuest|1016855219}}|work=Broadcasting|page=50|access-date=October 14, 2022|archive-date=November 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151630/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1970/1970-10-05-BC.pdf|url-status=live}}

In 1971, WHYY-TV relocated its transmitter from Glassboro to the Roxborough tower farm where other Philadelphia stations are located.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100935090/whyy-to-cut-power-relocate-transmitter/|date=August 9, 1971|page= 22|title=WHYY to Cut Power, Relocate Transmitter|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}} WUHY-TV remained in service providing alternate programming—including the only on-air preview of Sesame Street before its national debut, a week-long run starting on July 21, 1969{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104679257/8-million-tv-school-given-test-here/|date=August 18, 1969|page=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104679281/8-million-tv-school-given-test-run-here/ 24]|title=$8 Million TV School Given Test Here for Nation's 4-Year-Olds|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=June 30, 2022|archive-date=June 30, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630041117/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104679257/8-million-tv-school-given-test-here/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101420346/tv-roundup-smothers-special-to-be-show/|date=August 19, 1969|page=14|title=TV Roundup: Smothers' Special To Be Shown in Fall With Beatles, Dylan|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512195924/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101420346/tv-roundup-smothers-special-to-be/|url-status=live}}—until August 1976, when WHYY surrendered its license.{{cite news|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1976/1976-09-13-BC.pdf|page=77|title=For the Record|date=September 13, 1976|id={{ProQuest|1016891246}}|work=Broadcasting|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=November 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151436/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1976/1976-09-13-BC.pdf|url-status=live}}{{efn|WUHY radio continued to use that call sign until January 31, 1983, when the WHYY call sign was restored.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100935114/a-party-in-washington-for-the-new-shogu/|date=January 31, 1983|page=36|first=Stuart D.|last=Bykofsky|title=A Party in Washington for the New 'Shogun'|newspaper=Philadelphia Daily News|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}}}} Despite this, the station had a low profile on the network relative to the market it served. Its ties to cultural institutions in the city were weak, and its contributions to the network were poor. In a 1976 feature article in The Philadelphia Inquirer magazine that declared WHYY-TV "an experiment in mediocrity", one PBS executive, H. David Lacey, noted that "WHYY's credibility is about as high as a gnat's behind". The station was slow to attract underwriters; took a passive role in broadcasting local cultural programming, often at the suggestion of other groups; and lacked recognized output.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101734182/an-experiment-in-mediocrity-what/|date=May 8, 1977|first=Linda|last=Herskowitz|page=Today 11, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101734213/an-experiment-in-mediocrity/ 12], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101734251/an-experiment-in-mediocrity/ 13], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101734320/channel-12/ 14], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101734378/channel-12/ 16], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101734449/channel-12/ 17]|title=An Experiment in Mediocrity: What really happened at Channel 12.|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 12, 2022|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512200003/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101734182/an-experiment-in-mediocrity-what/|url-status=live}}

The city of Philadelphia turned over the $13 million Living History Center, a museum opened for the bicentennial in 1976, to WHYY in 1978, and the stations' operations moved there in phases from 1979 to 1981: administration in February 1979, radio in August 1980 (using the center's former cafeteria), and television production and transmission in late 1981.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101361721/when-whyy-finally-gets-its-house-in-orde/|date=October 29, 1981|page=3-B|first=Edgar|last=Williams|title=When WHYY finally gets its house in order|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}} The facility is still used by WHYY radio and television today; it was renovated in 1999, with a new glass façade and open-plan studio.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101361841/renovated-whyy-is-flexible-user-friendl/|date=November 22, 1999|page=C2|first=Inga|last=Saffron|title=Renovated WHYY is flexible, user-friendly|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}}

Residents of southern Delaware, however, did not receive full service from the Wilmington station. In 1980, the Delaware Citizens' Committee announced it would build a translator for WHYY-TV in Seaford, to make it available in that area.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/85057647/whyy-to-beam-statewide-soon/|date=July 29, 1980|page= 19|title=WHYY to beam statewide soon|newspaper=The Morning News|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}} The group had been formed to bring a commercial station to southern Delaware; in 1978, Seaford's channel 38 assignment was changed to commercial and a noncommercial reserved channel 64 added. At that time, the only PBS cable service for households in that area was WCPB, the Maryland Public Television transmitter at Salisbury.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101360865/fcc-changes-the-channel-seaford-gets-a/|date=June 17, 1978|page=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101360938/ 2]|first1=Grayson|last1=Smith|first2=Philip|last2=Garcia|title=FCC changes the channel; Seaford gets a commercial station|newspaper=The Morning News|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}} A final contract was issued in November 1980 to build the 1,000-watt rebroadcaster atop a tower in Sharpstown, Maryland.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101360977/channel-12-relay-contract-okd/|date=November 12, 1980|page=A8|title=Channel 12 relay contract OK'd|newspaper=Evening Journal|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}}

To augment the service and ensure cable companies picked it up instead of bypassing the translator for WHYY-TV's feed, the Citizens' Committee applied in January 1981 for a full-service license, activating it that December 4 as WDPB. WDPB operated independently of WHYY-TV, paying for its own PBS national programs{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/85052186/seaford-station-seeks-own-number-for/|date=November 19, 1983|page=D1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/85052209/ D2]|first=Molly|last=Murray|title=Seaford station seeks own number for WHYY drive|newspaper=The Morning News|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}} and producing a limited number of local shows focusing on southern Delaware. Plans were revealed in 1982 to relocate the translator setup to Dover and replace it in Seaford with a 5,000-watt facility.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101361060/grant-okd-to-boost-tv-downstate/|date=September 28, 1982|page=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101361111/ A9]|first=Molly|last=Murray|title=Grant OK'd to boost TV downstate|newspaper=The Morning News|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}} However, tiny WDPB had a precarious independent existence. In December 1982, the home on Seaford's Front Street that it was leasing as a studio facility was put on the auction block; the station was unaware until a receptionist spotted a classified advertisement.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/85045127/states-only-tv-station-faces-eviction/|date=December 13, 1982|page=B2|first=Dennis|last=Friedel|title=State's only TV station faces eviction|newspaper=The Morning News|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}} WDPB moved to another former home on the edge of town, and in 1984, it boosted its effective radiated power to 75,000 watts.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/85045204/del-pbs-station-gets-boost/|date=November 13, 1984|page=1|title=Del. PBS Station Gets Boost|newspaper=The Daily Times|location=Salisbury, Maryland|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}}File:WHYY Logo.svg

In November 1985, a decision by the Bicentennial Community Improvement Committee, created to support projects around Delaware's 200th anniversary of statehood in 1987, not to award a grant to WDPB to buy equipment left the station unable to obtain Corporation for Public Broadcasting matching funds and meet its own financial commitments, putting channel 64 close to going off the air. Two months earlier, WDPB's only local programs had gone off the air for lack of money;{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/85045178/money-troubles-put-channel-64-near/|date=November 28, 1985|page=D1|first=Bruce|last=Pringle|title=Money troubles put Channel 64 near shutdown|newspaper=The News Journal|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}} its most successful fund drive in station history had only raised $5,000.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/85045090/seafords-channel-64-going-off-the-air/|date=December 10, 1985|page=B3|first=Bruce|last=Pringle|title=Seaford's Channel 64 going off the air this week|newspaper=The News Journal|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}} WHYY stepped in to save the station and run it on an interim basis while it worked through acquiring it outright.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/85045248/channel-64-to-stay-on-the-air/|date=December 13, 1985|page= B3|first=Carolyn|last=Lewis|title=Channel 64 to stay on the air|newspaper=The Morning News|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}} FCC approval for the purchase was obtained in March 1986, at which time WDPB viewers began seeing all of WHYY-TV's programming.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101361651/whyy-expanding/|date=March 1, 1986|page=A3|title=WHYY expanding|newspaper=The Morning News|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101361666/whyy-given-ok/|date=March 6, 1986|page=B1|title=WHYY given OK|newspaper=The Morning News|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022}}

File:WHYY enter here.jpg and the National Constitution Center|alt=Refer to caption]]

In 1997, Rick Breitenfeld, who had led WHYY for 14 years and oversaw a doubling of its TV viewership, retired.{{Cite news |last=Sefton |first=Dru |date=October 1, 2018 |title=Public television pioneer Rick Breitenfeld dies at 87 |language=en-US |work=Current |url=https://current.org/2018/10/public-television-pioneer-rick-breitenfeld-dies-at-87/ |access-date=May 8, 2022 |archive-date=May 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508222323/https://current.org/2018/10/public-television-pioneer-rick-breitenfeld-dies-at-87/ |url-status=live }} Former Philadelphia city water commissioner William J. Marrazzo was named president of WHYY, envisioning an organization that would take advantage of digital multicasting and produce top-quality programs.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101425919/new-president-envisions-grand-plans-for/|date=October 31, 1997|page=B1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101425884/new-chief-has-grand-vision-for-whyy/ B4]|first=Jennifer|last=Weiner|title=New president envisions grand plans for WHYY|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508222323/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101425919/new-president-envisions-grand-plans-for/|url-status=live}} Renovated studios, dubbed the Technology Center, opened in 1999.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101426181/new-technology-helping-whyy-shift-its-fo/|date=November 7, 1999|page=1E|first=Robert|last=Baxter|title=New technology helping WHYY shift its focus|newspaper=Courier-Post|location=Camden, New Jersey|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512195925/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101426181/new-technology-helping-whyy-shift-its/|url-status=live}}

While the station began to turn surpluses and tripled its number of major donors,{{r|deadair}} Marrazzo's high compensation raised questions from staff and charity groups. His fiscal year 2007 compensation of $740,090 exceeded that of his counterparts at WNET and WGBH, which had multiple times the revenue of WHYY, as well as the chief executives of PBS and NPR itself. Charity Navigator put Marrazzo on its list of "10 Highly Paid CEOs at Low-Rated Charities".{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101424535/pay-package-awarded-to-whyy-chief-questi/|date=November 9, 2008|page=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101426609/ A18]|first=Carolyn|last=Davis|title=Pay package awarded to WHYY chief questioned|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512195924/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101424535/pay-package-awarded-to-whyy-chief/|url-status=live}} Employees wrote a letter to Marrazzo advising of the "growing negative climate" and "low morale" he had fostered and calling for his resignation.{{cite news | title =Letter to the CEO | date =September 5, 2007 | url =http://www.citypaper.net/blogs/clog/2007/09/05/letter-to-the-ceo/ | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20071026114738/http://www.citypaper.net/blogs/clog/2007/09/05/letter-to-the-ceo/ | url-status =dead | archive-date =October 26, 2007 | work =Philadelphia City Paper | access-date =February 24, 2008 }} An article in Philadelphia magazine declared that "unlike top-flight PBS stations, it produces no regular national TV programming and hardly any local programming of note".{{cite news | first=Steve | last=Volk | title=Dead Air | date=October 5, 2007 | url=http://www.phillymag.com/articles/dead-air/ | work=Philadelphia Magazine | access-date=May 11, 2016 | archive-date=August 3, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160803075526/http://www.phillymag.com/articles/dead-air/ | url-status=live }}

In 2019, WHYY employees voted to unionize, approving their first contract two years later.{{cite news|url=https://current.org/2019/10/whyy-workers-vote-to-join-union/|first=Tyler|last=Falk|date=October 31, 2019|title=WHYY workers vote to join union|work=Current|access-date=October 13, 2022|archive-date=August 31, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220831214641/https://current.org/2019/10/whyy-workers-vote-to-join-union/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://current.org/2021/09/whyy-union-employees-approve-first-contract/|work=Current|title=WHYY union employees approve first contract|first=Tyler|last=Falk|date=September 15, 2021|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=February 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220206120857/https://current.org/2021/09/whyy-union-employees-approve-first-contract/|url-status=live}}

WHYY-TV has long been a producer of PBS programming, though not to the same degree as some large-market PBS stations.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101733847/on-the-money-whyy-produced-show-matches/|date=April 22, 1998|page=47, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101733871/ 54]|first=Rose|last=DeWolf|title=On the money: WHYY-produced show matches entrepreneurs and investors|newspaper=Philadelphia Daily News|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 12, 2022|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512195925/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101733847/on-the-money-whyy-produced-show/|url-status=live}} At one point in the 1970s, WHYY-TV's lone contribution to the network was the public affairs program Black Perspective on the News;{{r|Phil770508}} however, by the start of the 1990s, WHYY was the eighth-largest supplier of program hours to PBS.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101736516/wgbh-high-impact-player-in-public-tv-le/|date=August 17, 1993|page=E1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101736360/wgbh-a-star-in-pbs-constellation-has/ E6]|first=Joe|last=Logan|title=WGBH: High-impact player in public-TV league|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 12, 2022|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512195925/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101736516/wgbh-high-impact-player-in-public-tv/|url-status=live}} Other WHYY-TV productions aired nationally have included Hometime, which ran for 30 years from 1986 to 2016;{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101413414/host-reflects-on-30-years-of-diy/|date=March 13, 2016|page=1H|first=Joshua|last=McMorrow-Hernandez|title=Host reflects on 30 years of DIY|newspaper=Tampa Bay Times|location=St. Petersburg, Florida|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508201801/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101413414/host-reflects-on-30-years-of-diy/|url-status=live}} Neptune All Night, a 9-hour live TV special that aired in 1989 as Voyager 2 passed Neptune and its largest moon, Triton;{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/philadelphia-daily-news-tv-thats-out-of/139931035/|date=August 24, 1989|pages=37, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/philadelphia-daily-news-neptune/139930968/ 45]|first=Mary|last=Flannery|title=TV That's Out Of This World: WHYY Hopes Space Fans Nep-Tune In at Midnight|newspaper=Philadelphia Daily News|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 15, 2024}} The Dinosaurs! (1992), which was characterized as the station's entry into big-budget production but marked by funding issues, delays, and the firing of its producer, Robin Bates, who called WHYY a "tin-pot station";{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101736493/trying-out-for-the-pbs-varsity/|date=August 17, 1993|page=E1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101736845/ E5]|first=Joe|last=Logan|title=Trying out for the PBS varsity|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 12, 2022|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512195937/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101736493/trying-out-for-the-pbs-varsity/|url-status=live}} and Scenes from Modern Life (2002).{{Cite news |last=Van Allen |first=Peter |date=May 6, 2002 |title=KB Consultants gets Neil Stein's PR business |work=Philadelphia Business Journal |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2002/05/06/newscolumn4.html |access-date=May 12, 2022 |archive-date=June 9, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100609160709/http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2002/05/06/newscolumn4.html |url-status=live }} The station launched Albie's Elevator locally on WHYY-TV and nationally via YouTube in June 2023.{{Cite news|url= https://billypenn.com/2023/06/01/albies-elevator-philadelphia-artists-pbs-kids/|date=June 1, 2023|title=Your kid's next favorite PBS show was produced right here in Philly|work=Billy Penn|access-date=July 24, 2023}}

Additionally, the station's old Independence Mall studios served as the original home of Nickelodeon's game shows, including Double Dare, Family Double Dare, and Finders Keepers; more than 500 episodes of five different game shows were taped by Nickelodeon at WHYY from 1986 to 1989, along with the 1992–93 Bill Cosby iteration of You Bet Your Life.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101409077/newnickelodeon-show-to-be-made-at-ch-12/|date=March 18, 1988|page=4-D|first=Gail|last=Shister|title=New Nickelodeon show to be made at Ch. 12|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508201800/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101409077/newnickelodeon-show-to-be-made-at-ch-12/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101412664/do-business-with-bill-cosby-you-bet/|date=January 23, 1992|page=D6|first=Gail|last=Shister|title=Do business with Bill Cosby? You bet!|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508201759/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101412664/do-business-with-bill-cosby-you-bet/|url-status=live}}

File:Crosby Hill Mkt.JPG in downtown Wilmington has housed WHYY's Delaware broadcast center since 2019]]

Since channel 12's move to Wilmington in 1963, the production of programming catering to Delaware interests has been part of the station's remit. For 46 years, the station ran a nightly news program, under various names and in various time slots, starting with Delaware Tonight, which began production when channel 12 was activated.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101360376/news-journal-whyy-slate-tv-series/|date=August 17, 1963|page=27|title=News-Journal, WHYY Slate TV Series|newspaper=Evening Journal|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508210754/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101360376/news-journal-whyy-slate-tv-series/|url-status=live}}

The program had previously aired under multiple titles and formats, including Today in Delaware and TV 12 News, with Delaware Tonight used during two distinct periods: 1963–1972 and 2000–2009.{{cite news |title=TV Listings for March 5, 1973 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-journal-today-in-delaware-on-ma/171950035/ |access-date=May 8, 2025 |work=The News Journal |date=March 5, 1973|via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |last1=Soulsman |first1=Garry |title=New attitude, new look in the works for WHYY-TV nightly newscast |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-journal-new-attitude-new-look/171950427/ |access-date=May 8, 2025 |work=The News Journal |date=March 17, 2000|via=Newspapers.com}}

The Great Recession brought funding and budget cuts that led to a dramatic restructuring and slimming down of Wilmington operations. In June 2009, it announced Delaware Tonight would be canceled after 46 years in production under various titles, to be replaced with a weekly program titled First and expanded online news coverage.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101417126/whyy-pulling-plug-on-delaware-newscast/|date=June 18, 2009|page=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101417197/ A9]|first=Andrew|last=Eder|title=WHYY pulling plug on Delaware newscast, trimming staff|newspaper=The News Journal|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508210753/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101417126/whyy-pulling-plug-on-delaware-newscast/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101417427/whyy-explains-the-format-for-new-weekly/|date=September 10, 2009|page=B1|first=Andrew|last=Eder|title=WHYY explains the format for new weekly Del. TV show|newspaper=The News Journal|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508210757/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101417427/whyy-explains-the-format-for-new-weekly/|url-status=live}} It also closed a Dover bureau it had opened just two years prior{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101415930/whyy-tv-opens-a-dover-bureau/|date=January 18, 2007|page=B3|first=J.L.|last=Miller|title=WHYY-TV opens a Dover bureau|newspaper=The News Journal|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508210755/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101415930/whyy-tv-opens-a-dover-bureau/|url-status=live}} and put the Linden Building facility on the market, calling it expensive to operate.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101415310/whyy-cuts-back-states-only-tv-news-prog/|date=June 17, 2009|page=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101415731/ A2]|first1=Andrew|last1=Eder|first2=Beth|last2=Miller|title=WHYY cuts back state's only TV news program|newspaper=The News Journal|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512195926/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101415310/whyy-cuts-back-states-only-tv-news/|url-status=live}}

The cuts led to blowback from many corners of Delaware politics and media. Longtime The News Journal columnist Harry Themal declared in a column that "WHYY doesn't care about Delaware".{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101416719/whyy-doesnt-care-about-del/|date=July 20, 2009|page=A14|first=Harry|last=Themal|title=WHYY doesn't care about Del.|newspaper=The News Journal|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508210752/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101416719/whyy-doesnt-care-about-del/|url-status=live}} In December, the city of Wilmington filed a petition to deny WHYY-TV's license renewal as a leverage move; the protest was denied in 2010.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101417839/city-claims-whyy-is-giving-del-short-sh/|date=December 12, 2009|page=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101417914/ A6]|first=Adam|last=Taylor|title=City claims WHYY is giving Del. short shrift|newspaper=The News Journal|location=Wilmington, Delaware|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512195926/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101417839/city-claims-whyy-is-giving-del-short/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=In Delaware, City Challenges WHYY's License|url=https://www.adweek.com/tvspy/in-delaware-city-challenges-whyys-license/5109/|access-date=November 10, 2021|website=TVSpy|first=Andrew|last=Gauthier|language=en-US|archive-date=November 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110142235/https://www.adweek.com/tvspy/in-delaware-city-challenges-whyys-license/5109/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101418253/fcc-denies-wilmingtons-whyy-objection/|date=July 29, 2010|page=D3|first=Carolyn|last=Davis|title=FCC denies Wilmington's WHYY objection|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508210756/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101418253/fcc-denies-wilmingtons-whyy-objection/|url-status=live}} Senator Ted Kaufman, who had served on the public broadcaster's advisory board, delivered a speech on the floor of the United States Senate calling on the FCC to require more Delaware coverage as a condition of renewal.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101418134/del-senator-joins-whyy-criticism/|date=December 19, 2009|page=B8|first=John|last=Timpane|title=Del. senator joins WHYY criticism|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508210757/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101418134/del-senator-joins-whyy-criticism/|url-status=live}}

In 2019, WHYY's Wilmington operations moved from the Linden Building to space in the historic Crosby and Hill Building on Market Street in the city's LoMa district. The building houses a newsroom and radio recording studios but no television studios, with those facilities being maintained exclusively in Philadelphia.{{Cite news |last=Rainey |first=Doug |date=April 29, 2019 |title=WHYY moving Wilmington office to Market Street |language=en-US |work=Delaware Business Now |url=https://delawarebusinessnow.com/2019/04/whyy-moving-wilmington-office-to-market-street/ |access-date=May 8, 2022 |archive-date=May 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501010518/https://delawarebusinessnow.com/2019/04/whyy-moving-wilmington-office-to-market-street/ |url-status=live }}

Current WHYY local programming includes a local version of the Check, Please! franchise, Check, Please! Philly, reviewing restaurants in the Philadelphia region;{{Cite web|url=https://whyy.org/programs/check-please-philly/|title=Check, Please! Philly|website=WHYY|language=en-US|access-date=February 15, 2020|archive-date=January 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113220355/https://whyy.org/programs/check-please-philly/|url-status=live}} arts and culture profile program Movers & Makers;{{Cite web|url=https://whyy.org/programs/movers-makers/|title=Movers & Makers|website=WHYY|language=en-US|access-date=February 15, 2020|archive-date=January 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113221650/https://whyy.org/programs/movers-makers/|url-status=live}} and local feature magazine You Oughta Know.{{Cite web|url=https://whyy.org/programs/you-oughta-know/|title=You Oughta Know|website=WHYY|language=en-US|access-date=February 15, 2020|archive-date=January 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113224308/https://whyy.org/programs/you-oughta-know/|url-status=live}}

WHYY-TV's digital signal initially operated at so low an effective radiated power that even those who lived in some areas of the city of Philadelphia could not receive it reliably.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101362086/how-digital-tuners-really-work/|date=October 1, 2008|page=52|first=Jonathan|last=Takiff|title=How digital tuners really work|newspaper=Philadelphia Daily News|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508073331/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101362086/how-digital-tuners-really-work/|url-status=live}} The station shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 12, 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 relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 55, which was among the high band UHF channels (52–69) that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition, to VHF channel 12 for post-transition operations.{{cite web |url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds |access-date=March 24, 2012 |archive-date=August 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |url-status=dead }} After problems with VHF digital signals emerged, WHYY was permitted to increase its transmitting power upon the transition.{{cite news |last1=Grotticelli |first1=Michael |title=DTV transition not so smooth in some markets |url=http://broadcastengineering.com/news/dtv-transition-not-so-smooth-some-markets |work=Broadcast Engineering |date=June 22, 2009 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130709014106/http://broadcastengineering.com/news/dtv-transition-not-so-smooth-some-markets |archive-date=July 9, 2013}} However, the problems with digital broadcasts in the VHF spectrum remain the same at the increased power level and still prevent many people in the Philadelphia area from being able to view the high-band VHF signal of WHYY—especially when also attempting to view WPVI-TV (channel 6), a low-band VHF station that requires a different antenna configuration.{{cite news|url=http://www.hdtvmagazine.com/columns/2012/01/hdtv-expert-useful-gadgets-superflat-indoor-tv-antennas-do-they-really-work.php|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120525054248/http://www.hdtvmagazine.com/columns/2012/01/hdtv-expert-useful-gadgets-superflat-indoor-tv-antennas-do-they-really-work.php|archive-date=May 25, 2012|first=Pete|last=Putnam|date=January 3, 2012|title=Useful Gadgets: Super-Flat Indoor TV Antennas – Do They Really Work?}}{{Cite web|last=TVTechnology|date=June 19, 2009|title=Fixing VHF DTV Reception Problems|url=https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/fixing-vhf-dtv-reception-problems|access-date=November 10, 2021|website=TVTechnology|language=en|archive-date=November 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110141509/https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/fixing-vhf-dtv-reception-problems|url-status=live}}

The WHYY-TV/WMCN multiplex was repacked to channel 13 in the tenth and final phase of the repack in 2020.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101362197/over-the-air-tv-watchers-will-have-a-cho/|date=August 17, 2018|page=A11|first=Bob|last=Fernandez|title=Over-the-air TV watchers will have a chore to do|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512195927/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101362197/over-the-air-tv-watchers-will-have-a/|url-status=live}}

• WHYY-FM
• List of television stations in Delaware
• List of television stations in Pennsylvania

{{notelist}}

{{reflist}}

• {{oweb|https://www.whyy.org/}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20071026114738/http://www.citypaper.net/blogs/clog/2007/09/05/letter-to-the-ceo/ Philadelphia City Paper] (archived)
• [http://www.phillymag.com/articles/dead_air/ Philadelphia Magazine]

{{Philly TV}}

{{Salisbury TV}}

{{PPTN}}

{{PBS Pennsylvania}}

{{TV Stations New Jersey}}

{{TV Stations Delaware}}

{{PBSTV}}

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Category:1957 establishments in Pennsylvania

Category:Companies based in Wilmington, Delaware

Category:PBS member stations

Category:Television channels and stations established in 1957

HYY-TV