WFTY-DT
A Smithtown-licensed television station serving Long Island, whose primary digital channel carries True Crime Network programming and whose additional signals relay New York-area Univision and UniMás stations.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
WFTY-DT is a full-power television station licensed to Smithtown, New York, and serving Long Island within the New York City television market. The station operates on digital channel 67 and is owned by TelevisaUnivision. Its principal channel carries True Crime Network programming, while its other digital streams rebroadcast the New York-area Univision and UniMás services associated with WXTV-DT and WFUT-DT. The station transmits from Middle Island, New York. The channel has a complex broadcasting history. It was initially assigned to Patchogue and originated with a construction-permit application by television producer Theodore Granik. Granik imagined a group of UHF stations devoted primarily to public-affairs programming, but the station was not built before his death in 1970. The permit was subsequently acquired by Suburban Broadcasting Corporation, a group that believed Long Island lacked a commercial television outlet focused on its own communities. Under Suburban, the station began broadcasting in November 1973 as WSNL-TV. WSNL-TV launched with an unusually large amount of locally produced programming, including news, high-school sports, cooking, children's shows, public affairs, variety programs, and a Long Island-set serial drama. Its schedule was intended to make the station a distinct local alternative within a market dominated by New York City stations. Reception problems associated with its UHF signal, technical difficulties, limited advertising support, and the high cost of producing local television made that strategy difficult to sustain. The station reduced its local schedule, laid off staff, and left the air in June 1975. Suburban Broadcasting filed for bankruptcy in 1976. The station returned to the air in the subscription-television era. In 1978, Canadian company CanWest Capital helped resolve Suburban's debts through an arrangement involving subscription programming, and the city of license was changed from Patchogue to Smithtown. After a short reactivation period and a 1980 studio fire, the station became linked with Wometco Home Theater, a pay-television service also carried by the New York-area station on channel 68. Wometco ultimately acquired the station and operated it as part of a broader subscription-television operation. At its peak, Wometco Home Theater served more than 111,000 subscribers, but the service later weakened as cable television expanded and the early-1980s recession affected household spending. Following the leveraged buyout of Wometco by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in 1983, the station moved through further ownership and programming changes. In 1985, it participated in U68, a locally programmed music-video service designed as an alternative to MTV. Later that year, the station was sold to the Home Shopping Network and adopted the call sign WHSI. It then spent roughly the next fifteen years carrying home-shopping programming, despite plans at various points to convert the outlet into a general-entertainment independent station. In 2001, Barry Diller's USA Broadcasting stations, including WHSI, were sold to Univision. The acquisition supplied much of the station infrastructure for Telefutura, which launched in January 2002 and was later renamed UniMás. At that transition, WHSI became WFTY, and the station subsequently adopted the digital call sign WFTY-DT. Under TelevisaUnivision, it has continued to function as part of the company's New York-area distribution network, combining a primary multicast affiliation with relay services for Spanish-language broadcast stations. The station is therefore best understood not as a standalone consumer product brand, but as a local broadcast outlet and channel identity within a national television group.
History
The history of WFTY-DT begins with a proposed UHF allocation for Long Island. Theodore Granik sought a construction permit for a Patchogue station and envisioned a public-affairs-oriented broadcasting group. The permit was eventually transferred to Suburban Broadcasting Corporation after Granik's death. Suburban built studios in Central Islip and launched WSNL-TV in November 1973. WSNL's original identity was unusually local. Its schedule included two daily news editions, sports coverage, public-affairs programming, children's shows, variety programs, cooking and exercise programs, and a locally set soap opera. The station's ambitions were undermined by UHF reception limitations, technical installation problems, weak advertiser support, and the expense of producing a predominantly live schedule in a market already served by established New York stations. Public criticism of the station's signal and production quality became sufficiently contentious that Suburban sued Newsday television critic Marvin Kitman and the newspaper. The station progressively cut local output and ceased broadcasting in June 1975. Suburban entered bankruptcy the following year. A new phase began when CanWest Capital helped settle Suburban's obligations in 1978 through an arrangement connected with subscription television. The station changed its city of license to Smithtown and returned to the air in December 1979. A studio fire temporarily removed it from service in 1980. It then became associated with Wometco Home Theater, a pay-television service that operated on the New York-area channel 68 station and expanded to channel 67. Wometco acquired the station outright in 1981. The service reached more than 111,000 subscribers at its height, but cable expansion and changing consumer economics eroded the subscription model. After Wometco's 1983 leveraged buyout by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, channel 67 was among the properties placed on the market. In 1985 it carried U68, a locally programmed music-video service with a broader musical mix than MTV. The station was later acquired by the Home Shopping Network and renamed WHSI, remaining a home-shopping outlet for approximately fifteen years. USA Broadcasting owner Barry Diller considered converting the stations to general-entertainment independents, but instead sold the group to Univision in 2001. The Univision transaction repositioned WHSI as part of the Telefutura network, launched in January 2002 and later renamed UniMás. WHSI became WFUT and WFTY, and the station ultimately operated under the digital call sign WFTY-DT. Its current role is integrated into TelevisaUnivision's New York-area station group: the main digital stream carries True Crime Network, while additional streams relay programming from WXTV-DT and WFUT-DT. This structure reflects the modern use of digital television stations as multiplexed distribution platforms rather than solely as single-program services.
- 2002
Station joins Telefutura
[1]The station became part of Telefutura at the network's launch; Telefutura was later renamed UniMás.
- 2001
Univision acquires the USA Broadcasting stations
[1]The former WHSI was included in USA Broadcasting's sale to Univision.
- 1985
U68 music-video service begins
[1]The station carried U68, a locally programmed music-video service positioned as a competitor to MTV.
- 1981
Wometco becomes sole owner
[1]Wometco completed its acquisition of the station and integrated it with Wometco Home Theater.
- 1979
WSNL-TV returns to the air
[1]The station resumed limited broadcasting with subscription-television programming arrangements.
- 1976
Suburban Broadcasting files for bankruptcy
[1]The station's owner sought bankruptcy protection after failing to establish a sustainable advertising and audience base.
- 1975
First broadcasting shutdown
[1]WSNL-TV left the air after less than two years of operation amid financial and technical difficulties.
- 1973
WSNL-TV launches
[1]Suburban Broadcasting began commercial broadcasting on channel 67 with a strongly local schedule.
- 1968
Construction permit transferred to Granik's interests
[1]The channel 67 permit for the Patchogue area was transferred after competing applicants reached an agreement, leaving Theodore Granik's organization with the authorization.
Products and positioning
A New York-area over-the-air television outlet serving Long Island through a multicast and relay-station model operated within TelevisaUnivision's broadcast portfolio.
Broadcast television
WFTY-DT primary digital channel
The station's principal digital stream carries True Crime Network programming. It is distributed over the air from the station's Long Island transmitter and forms the main current channel identity associated with WFTY-DT.
Multicast television
WXTV-DT relay stream
One of WFTY-DT's digital services rebroadcasts programming from WXTV-DT, the New York-area Univision station, extending the group's terrestrial distribution within the market.
Multicast television
WFUT-DT relay stream
Another digital service carries the signal of WFUT-DT, the New York-area UniMás station, providing additional over-the-air coverage through WFTY-DT's facility.
Subscription television · 1980
Wometco Home Theater
During the early 1980s, the station carried Wometco's subscription movie service for Long Island viewers. The service reached a substantial regional subscriber base before cable expansion and economic pressure reduced its viability.
Music-video television · 1985
U68
U68 was a locally programmed music-video service carried by the station in 1985. It sought to differentiate itself from MTV with a more eclectic musical selection and a local presentation style.
Brand decisions
2001
Sale from USA Broadcasting to UnivisionM&ABackground
USA Broadcasting reconsidered its plan to develop a group of independent general-entertainment stations.
Action taken
The former WHSI was sold with other USA Broadcasting stations to Univision.
Aftermath
The station became part of the infrastructure used to launch Telefutura, later known as UniMás, and its call sign evolved into WFTY.
1985
Adoption of the U68 music-video formatStrategyBackground
Wometco's subscription-television business was losing ground as cable systems expanded and consumer demand for pay broadcast declined.
Action taken
The station joined channel 68 in carrying U68, a locally produced music-video service.
Aftermath
The music-video format was short-lived; the stations were subsequently sold to the Home Shopping Network.
1978
Shift to subscription televisionStrategyBackground
After the original local-commercial model failed and Suburban Broadcasting entered financial distress, CanWest provided financing tied to subscription programming.
Action taken
The station changed its city of license to Smithtown and reactivated with a pay-television operating model, later joining Wometco Home Theater.
Aftermath
The station returned to service and became part of a regional subscription system that later reached more than 111,000 subscribers at its peak.
Recent events
- 2002
WFTY becomes part of the Telefutura launch group[1]
M&A · Product launch · Leadership change
Following Univision's acquisition of USA Broadcasting, the former WHSI became WFTY as Telefutura launched; Telefutura was later renamed UniMás.
- 1979
WSNL-TV returns with subscription television[1]
Other
The station resumed service after a financing arrangement involving CanWest and subscription-television programming.
- 1975
WSNL-TV suspends broadcasting[1]
Bankruptcy
After persistent reception, programming, and financial difficulties, the station left the air while its owner attempted to reorganize its business.
- 1973
WSNL-TV begins broadcasting to Long Island[1]
Other
The station launched on channel 67 with a schedule heavily weighted toward locally produced news, sports, public-affairs, children's, cooking, and entertainment programs.
Sources1 sources
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