WNJU
WNJU is Telemundo's Spanish-language television station serving the New York metropolitan area and northern New Jersey.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
WNJU is a full-power television station licensed to Linden, New Jersey, and serving the New York metropolitan area. Branded as Telemundo 47, it is one of Telemundo's two flagship owned-and-operated stations, alongside WSCV in the Miami–Fort Lauderdale market. The station is operated by NBCUniversal's Telemundo Station Group and shares common ownership and facilities with NBC's New York flagship, WNBC. WNJU currently broadcasts from NBC's headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, while its signal is transmitted from One World Trade Center through a shared arrangement with WNBC. The station began broadcasting on May 16, 1965, as WNJU-TV. Its creation followed the conversion of WNTA-TV into a noncommercial service and was intended to restore a commercial television presence focused on New Jersey while also serving the diverse ethnic communities of the wider New York region. The original schedule combined New Jersey-oriented programming with Spanish, Black, Jewish, Italian, and other specialty programs. Spanish-language output expanded rapidly; within months, it represented roughly 60 percent of the station's schedule. WNJU also carried locally produced entertainment, cultural programming, sports and public-affairs content, including programs aimed at Puerto Rican and Dominican audiences. During the 1970s, WNJU developed a strong Spanish-language identity. Screen Gems Broadcasting acquired the station in 1970 and linked it to WAPA-TV in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The station's programming emphasis on Puerto Rican and Dominican viewers helped it compete effectively with WXTV, the local affiliate of the Spanish International Network, whose schedule was more heavily oriented toward Mexican programming. A proposed conversion to subscription television was pursued in the late 1970s but abandoned in 1981 because of competition from existing subscription services, cable penetration and the station's established position among Spanish-speaking viewers. WNJU became a founding affiliate of NetSpan in 1984. After Reliance Capital acquired the station, NetSpan was relaunched as Telemundo on January 12, 1987, making WNJU one of the network's original owned-and-operated stations. Local Spanish-language news production expanded during this period. The station later carried national Telemundo programming, local news, public affairs, entertainment and occasional Spanish-language sports coverage. NBC acquired Telemundo in 2002, creating a New York duopoly with WNBC and integrating WNJU into NBCUniversal's station portfolio. WNJU has undergone several facility and transmission changes. It moved from Newark to Teterboro in 1984 and later relocated to Fort Lee, New Jersey, using space formerly associated with CNBC. Following transmission disruptions and technical changes after the September 11 attacks, the station developed facilities in West Orange and used additional transmission infrastructure to improve service to Queens and Long Island. In 2017, WNJU moved its permanent transmission operations to One World Trade Center. The station announced a further consolidation with WNBC at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in 2022, and began broadcasting its news programming from the new shared studios on May 31, 2025. Its former Fort Lee facility remains a New Jersey news bureau. WNJU's current role is that of a major Spanish-language local broadcaster in one of the largest Hispanic media markets in the United States. Its programming includes Telemundo network shows, locally produced newscasts, weather, public-affairs programming and digital news services. The station's principal competitive set includes Univision's New York-area operations and other Spanish-language and multicultural media outlets.
History
WNJU originated with a construction permit granted by the Federal Communications Commission in December 1962 to the New Jersey Television Broadcasting Company. Edwin Cooperstein, who had previously been associated with WNTA-TV and Fairleigh Dickinson University, proposed a commercial station intended to strengthen New Jersey's television presence and provide programming for the region's ethnic communities. The station initially considered Newark-related facilities and a New Jersey Meadowlands transmitter, but ultimately pursued an Empire State Building transmission site to achieve coverage comparable to New York's established stations. WNJU-TV signed on May 16, 1965, becoming the first new commercial television service in the New York market in 16 years and the market's first commercial UHF station. Its early schedule was deliberately multicultural, combining local New Jersey programs with Spanish, Black, Jewish, Italian and other ethnic programming. Spanish-language content quickly became dominant. The station also carried locally produced entertainment and cultural shows, including Disc-O-Teen and Rainbow Quest, along with specialty sports and public-affairs programs. In a notable programming decision, it accepted advertising for Puerto Rican rum at a time when many broadcasters followed industry restrictions on hard-liquor advertising. The station adopted color broadcasting in 1967 and automated its transmitter. Screen Gems Broadcasting purchased WNJU-TV in 1970 for $8 million. The new owner also operated WAPA-TV in Puerto Rico, creating opportunities for shared programming and New York–San Juan production links. By the middle of the decade, WNJU had become predominantly Spanish-language, although brokered programs in languages such as Japanese and Portuguese continued in some periods. A 1975 short-term license renewal followed findings that the station had exceeded a prior commercial-time commitment. Columbia Pictures pursued subscription television for WNJU in the late 1970s, and Jerry Perenchio's interests acquired a controlling stake in 1979. The proposed ON TV-style service was ultimately abandoned in January 1981. The station remained Spanish-language and retained an important audience among Puerto Rican and Dominican viewers. In 1984, Carlos Barba helped establish NetSpan, a Spanish-language network whose founding affiliates included WNJU. Reliance Capital later acquired the station, and NetSpan became Telemundo on January 12, 1987. WNJU became a charter Telemundo owned-and-operated station and expanded its local Spanish-language news operation. During the 1990s and early 2000s, WNJU experimented with Spanish-language sports coverage while competing against the increasingly dominant Univision service. NBC announced the acquisition of Telemundo in 2001 and assumed control in 2002. This placed WNJU and WNBC under common ownership and led to changes in their facilities, technology and on-air operations. WNJU moved from Teterboro to Fort Lee in 2004, later developed additional transmission arrangements following the September 11 attacks, and began transmitting from One World Trade Center in 2017. The station's news schedule evolved repeatedly. A local news operation began in the mid-1980s, with an 11 p.m. edition added in 1996, weekend news in 1997 and a morning newscast in 2001. Company-wide cutbacks removed several editions in 2009, but weekend news returned in 2011, followed by the public-affairs program Enfoque New York and the Buenos Días, Nueva York morning program. Additional late-afternoon and midday editions were introduced in 2014, 2016 and 2018. In 2025, WNJU completed its move into shared NBC facilities at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, while preserving a New Jersey news presence through the Fort Lee bureau.
- 2025
Rockefeller Center relocation completed
[1]WNJU began broadcasting its newscasts from shared studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
- 2002
NBC assumes control
[1]NBC completed its acquisition of Telemundo, bringing WNJU into common ownership with WNBC.
- 1987
NetSpan becomes Telemundo
[1]On January 12, NetSpan was relaunched as Telemundo, with WNJU as a charter owned-and-operated station.
- 1984
NetSpan is established
[1]WNJU became a founding affiliate of NetSpan, an emerging Spanish-language television network.
- 1970
Screen Gems acquisition
[1]Screen Gems Broadcasting acquired the station and connected it with its Puerto Rico television interests.
- 1965
WNJU-TV signs on
[1]WNJU-TV began broadcasting on May 16 as a new commercial UHF station for the New York market.
- 1962
Construction permit granted
[1]The FCC granted the New Jersey Television Broadcasting Company authority to construct a new commercial television station on channel 47.
Products and positioning
A major Spanish-language broadcast station serving Hispanic and multicultural audiences across the New York metropolitan area, with a strong local-news and Telemundo network identity.
Local television news · 1980
Telemundo 47 local news
WNJU's Spanish-language local news service covers the New York metropolitan area and northern New Jersey, including breaking news, politics, community affairs, weather and traffic. The schedule has expanded and contracted over time in response to corporate programming decisions and market demand, with morning, midday, afternoon, evening and late-night editions appearing in different periods.
Morning news · 2012
Buenos Días, Nueva York
A Spanish-language morning newscast introduced as part of WNJU's effort to restore and broaden locally produced morning programming. It combines local reporting with weather, traffic and information relevant to viewers throughout the New York metropolitan area.
Public affairs · 2011
Enfoque New York
A public-affairs program focused on issues affecting New York's Hispanic and multicultural communities. Its format gives local officials, community figures and subject-matter guests a platform beyond the station's conventional news bulletins.
Lifestyle and entertainment
Acceso Total
A Telemundo local lifestyle and entertainment offering associated with WNJU's New York service. The program extends the station's relationship with viewers through interviews, entertainment coverage, community features and access-oriented segments.
Brand decisions
2025
Consolidation at Rockefeller CenterStrategyBackground
WNJU and WNBC were the last NBC–Telemundo duopoly stations in the company's New York portfolio to maintain separate facilities.
Action taken
WNJU moved its studio operations to 30 Rockefeller Plaza and began broadcasting its evening newscast from the shared facility on May 31.
Aftermath
The former Fort Lee studios continued as a New Jersey news bureau, preserving a dedicated local reporting base.
2002
NBC acquisition of TelemundoM&ABackground
NBC sought to expand its Spanish-language television presence and acquired Telemundo and its owned stations.
Action taken
NBC assumed control of Telemundo and WNJU, creating common ownership with WNBC in the New York market.
Aftermath
The transaction led to changes in WNJU's facilities, technology, local programming and operating relationship with WNBC.
1987
Conversion into a Telemundo charter stationStrategyBackground
Reliance Capital's ownership of WNJU and other Spanish-language stations created the foundation for a national network competing with the established Spanish International Network.
Action taken
NetSpan was relaunched as Telemundo, and WNJU became one of its original owned-and-operated stations while expanding local news production.
Aftermath
WNJU acquired a durable network identity and became one of Telemundo's principal flagship stations.
1981
Abandonment of subscription television planStrategyBackground
WNJU's owners had considered converting the station to a subscription television operation, raising concerns that Spanish-language programming could be displaced.
Action taken
The proposed subscription service was cancelled and WNJU continued operating primarily as a Spanish-language free-to-air station.
Aftermath
The decision preserved WNJU's established position with Spanish-speaking viewers and supported its later development as a Telemundo station.
Sources2 sources
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