W32AY, WTMU-LP: Telemundo for Boston
The station first signed on the air in April 1995 as W32AY, operating on UHF channel 32[2] from the Prudential Tower in Boston as a Telemundo owned-and-operated station.[3] In September 2000, the station began to simulcast its programming on WWDP (channel 46), giving it a chance to better compete with Univision affiliate WUNI (channel 27), the established Spanish-language station in the area.[4][5] Telemundo sold W32AY to ZGS Communications in 2001.[6] In February 2002, W32AY changed its call letters to WTMU-LP, and on July 1, WWDP discontinued its relay of the station's programming.[4][5]
In December 2002, NBC (which had acquired Telemundo in 2001) purchased WPXB (channel 60, now WNEU);[7] WNEU began to carry Telemundo programming as a satellite of WTMU in April 2003.[8]
WTMU went off-the-air in 2004, as the channel 32 allocation had been assigned to WBPX for its digital signal,[9] and the station's attempt to move to channel 67 was hindered by interference from WBPX's analog signal on channel 68.[10] WTMU resumed broadcasting operations in December 2006; it reduced its effective radiated power and relocated its transmitter to a tower in Medford to alleviate the interference.[10]
Although low-power stations were exempt from the 2009 analog shutdown that full-service stations were subject to, WTMU initiated plans for a digital signal on October 27, 2006, by applying for a construction permit for a digital companion channel on VHF channel 3.[11] On August 28, 2008, WTMU changed its plans and applied to flash-cut to channel 42, which was to have become available after WHDH moved its digital signal to VHF channel 7;[12] the original application was dismissed by the FCC on March 27, 2009,[13] but a new application was filed on May 21.[14] A move was necessary, as the spectrum that channel 67 is located within had been auctioned off and was being removed from the television bandplan as a result of the transition.[14]
Before WTMU's application could be approved, WHDH requested to return its digital signal to channel 42, leading WTMU to withdraw its application for the channel on August 24 and filing instead to move to channel 46;[15] the FCC dismissed the channel 42 application on August 26, 2009,[16] at the same time also canceling the construction permit for the previously proposed digital companion channel.[11] In the meantime, WTMU was unable to get a digital signal on the air before being forced to terminate the analog signal on April 9, 2010, resulting in the station suspending operations.[17] To avoid losing its license due to not broadcasting for a year, WTMU resumed broadcasting on April 4, 2011, using its existing analog facilities but operating on channel 46 under special temporary authority (STA).[18][19] It again suspended operations on April 9, but returned to the air on March 14, 2012.[20]
