WNYC-TV sign off June 30, 1996

On Midnight, June 30, 1996, the New York City owned WNYC-TV signed off for the final time since the station had been sold.

[@Juliaflo]

In memoriam-Margaret Juntwait: 1957-2015; she was the voice-over announcer.

[@dariowiter3078]

Juliaflo Rest in peace, dear Margaret. You would have been here in L.A. had you been here. 😃

[@zacheryjequinto7259]

58, so young what was her cause of death?

[@Juliaflo]

@@zacheryjequinto7259 Cancer.

[@Arismendy666]

😢😢

[@digipeeper]

WOW this was the PBS-esque station that brought American viewers of BBC series such as Doctor Who, Blakes' 7 and The Prisoner. If it was not this station I would not be into Doctor Who!!!!!! After15 years, now I know what happend to WNYC 31. It is a sad and heart braken moment.

[@dalemcilwain]

They put on other shows like EastEnders, Robin Hood, Star Cops & Glenroe. I remember rushing home from Flushing to my home in Jamaica in a under an hour to be in front of the TV to watch Video Music Box. But in the summer of 87. It will repeat at 11pm from Mon-Thurs but had to wait until Doctor Who concludes at around Midnight. Then on Saturday morning 10 or 11AM.

[@mca1218]

A class act to formally acknowledge the entire TV crew in a final crawl. Salut!!

[@MrUnidyne]

WNYC-TV first went on the air as experimental TV station WUHF, the first UHF TV station in the USA to have scheduled broadcasts. They proudly served the tri-state area with PBS programs, educational services, multi-language leased-time program blocks, and an excellent video show called "Video Music Box" which showcased local and up-and-coming talent. It's a shame to see them go. I moved out of the area in 1993 and never got to see their final sign off. Thanks for posting this.

[@ryanpascual9598]

the "WUHF" callsign is being used by a TV station in Rochester

[@SigmaRho2922]

It was a commercially licensed station then as of now. What is rare about this station is that it aired programming from NET and then PBS during its first 35 years of existence despite being commercially licensed. Stations with commercial licenses are allowed to air programs from educational networks like PBS but educationally licensed stations can’t air commercial programming. In Buffalo, WNEQ was put up for sale in the late 1990s and had an educational license at the time. Its license was swapped with commercially licensed WNED in 2000 (which carried PBS) so that it could be sold properly. The station’s sale was completed in 2001 and a callsign change to WNLO followed; it is now the affiliate of the CW for Buffalo.

[@MJBYouTubeNetwork]

@@ryanpascual9598 and now look at what it is. WUHF, Fox Television affiliate for Rochester, NY. And they themselves have a New York Channel 31.

[@alexmacleod3728]

I think PBS was Called NET at the time when WNYC Launched

[@daminmancejin]

I miss channel 31 was my childhood gave me happyness

[@celenajones6352]

Lol oh yeah. Me too! ☺

[@apl175]

"The preceeding program was paid for by Sinovision Incorporated, it comes to you from Channel 31's leased time service - A distinct component of WNYC TV." I loved this ident and announcement, even though I never watched the actual programs. Somehow the background music combined with the moving electronic 3D shapes made this fondly memorable."

[@danawadd]

I *so* miss this station :-( Back in the 1980s, WNYC aired "Doctor Who" every night @ 10:30. Those were the days...

[@popoff21]

I miss this channel so much it was definitely my favorite PBS channel i would watch all the children's shows such as Sesame Street Reading Rainbow ETC. and video music box on weekdays can't get no better than this

[@NEPatriot]

I never saw this before. Glad you posted it. I like how they used the fireworks--seen as part of the National Anthem--featured. WNYC-TV was a unique station for NYC--with foreign programs that were "leased time" and even their own newscast. There is still WNYC Radio at 820 AM and 93.9 FM--all of which were at One Centre Street in New York.

[@Brinah]

i was so fucking pissed when this station was sold; I enjoyed the japanese shows as well as chinese shows. Damn them!

[@torquemonster290]

Yes!! YES!! I remember those! I thought I was dreaming that those were on WNYC-TV!

[@RABBIDGamfan]

Wow. Never seen closing credits for a TV station before...

[@sinistralwing]

I miss this channel so bad. Video Music Box (which, with Friday Night Videos, was your MTV if you grew up without cable in the 80s in NY), J-Doramas, K-Drama and the news in Chinese... This channel was amazing, all my NY people know what's up...

[@lenamay521]

God I remember this station so well when I was a kid. I used to love WNYC. I used to watch the Chinese shows on Saturday mornings . LOL I Loved them! And Namaste America too!

[@lenamay521]

This final sign-off was from '96. My niece who is 17 now, was only three months old at the time. Wow! :)

[@rangers199487]

I actually watched the sign off when it occurred. It was a shame to lose this station. I remember watching Doctor Who, Blake's 7, the Prisoner, Black Adder and Secret Agent on this station. I also remember the chinese program journey to the west. All great shows. Giuiliani was such an asshole for getting rid of this station. Now we have crap.

[@sillygoose635]

no we don't.

[@ericvarca4992]

Before DVD, we taped Secret Agent off Ch. 31, these tapes served well for years when it was impossible to find old tv shows for sale! Agreed that this station going off the air was sad.

[@alexmacleod3728]

Giuiliani got rid of NJN 15 years later

[@Madbandit77]

@@sillygoose635 Yes we do.

[@friesareyummy]

@@sillygoose635 oh yes we definitely do troll

[@pookerville]

I used to watch their weekly broadcasts of RAI Itallian league soccer(they were fed up to our community via satellite). And when I visited New York, I used to like to watch channel 31(when I wasn't sightseeing, of course).

[@Juliaflo]

If you think Channel 31 is totally lousy now, raise your hand.

[@couzenproductions8381]

raises hand

[@danawadd]

I really miss WNYC... :-( Memories...

[@Jerseysson27]

BRING BACK WNYC Channel 31, We must launch a campaign for it's return! Does anyone agree with me?

[@windowsinfinity9977]

ten years later hell yes

[@orangesherbet7030]

@@windowsinfinity9977 two years later still hell yeah

[@Juliaflo]

After 25 years, this is still etched in my mind and memory.

[@orangesherbet7030]

then you got a good memory

[@Juliaflo]

@@orangesherbet7030 Thank you. May God go with you.

[@donnellevansjr.1423]

I used to watch Italian Soccer ⚽️ games on Sunday mornings when I didn’t to go church and Video Music Box on weekday afternoons on WNYC channel 31 back in the day in the 90’s. Good memories back then.

[@DanZero77]

Used to enjoy the Japanese programming from Fuji TV/FCI and they had a Jamaican series "Lime Tree Lane" Sunday Mornings at 1am in the mid 90s.

[@lenamay521]

And yeah that ' Good- Bye Folks' thing kinda creeps me out too a bit. The way it just pops up out of nowhere and the screen is black. I thought I was the only one who thought that! LOL

[@Da99thWolf]

That Jumpscares CodeX Too.

[@saku411]

Yes

[@alexmacleod3728]

Apparently It stayed there all night instead of the testcard

[@joshberman3659]

RIP WNYC-TV 31. I grew up watching that station. To me it was a substitute station for WNET 13 whenever I wanted to watch shows that I liked like Sesame Street, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, Villa Alegre and The First Four Seasons of The Electric Company before they got too carried away with playing The HEY YOU GUYS Scream a lot by repeating The Last Two Seasons of TEC. In the much later years. Instead of signing on early in the morning, it would sign on at 1:30 PM in the afternoon and the only PBS Kids Show that they would keep on showing is Villa Alegre. They would no longer show any other children's shows at all. Not even Mister Rogers. Man. I'm surprised that at least The Last Two Season of TEC wasn't constantly repeated a lot. Not to mention by December of 83, they decided to air Sesame Street Metropolitan Museum of Art aka Don't Eat The Pictures on their station. Especially that they stopped airing new episodes long ago way before they decided to air The Second Sesame Street Special on TV 31😐

[@ECG3485]

This station was started as a public service of NYC's government. Nowadays, the only City-owned stations are Cable Channels 74 and 25.

[@pookerville]

And of course, they had the FCI morning news program Supertime with Naoko Ishitaro & Tetsuo Suda in New York, along with the Tokyo anchors whose names I never knew.

[@imal25]

Over 20 Years Ago To This Final Sign Off. So Happy New Year 2017! Thank You And Good Night.

[@LadyJay114]

@igentertainment Video Music Box was replaced with Supermarket Sweep. Thanks Giuliani :-(

[@Juliaflo]

Yikes! This June will mark 20, count them, 20 years since the end of WNYC-TV.

[@torquemonster290]

now 22 years, 14 days and counting

[@Juliaflo]

@@torquemonster290 Now going on 25 years.

[@Monaayy29]

The Goodbye thing at the end scares me

[@lulugamer8082]

not me.

[@transitny]

@RichardClifford Same here! I became a soccer/football fan pretty much because of the Italian Serie A/B and European Championship matches that were satellited from RAI to WNYC during the late 80s. I also enjoyed watching the Italian sports program Domenico Sportivo, TGI news, EastEnders, and the many European films they aired. At the time, I lived in the Bronx when cable was not yet available there. I would pull up the UHF ring to watch WNYC's broadcasts. As was mentioned, this channel is a casualty of when Rudolph Giuliani was in the middle of his term as mayor. There was a nationwide smackdown campaign by the Republican Party to stop funding to PBS and programs like the NEA. I remember there being a mad-rush, last-minute campaign to keep the station alive through donations but it didn't work. We can really use a diverse, multicultural station like this one in New York, of all places, but I guess with cable being what it is, that can't happen.

[@michaeljosefson2701]

I was introduced to "The Prisoner" with Patrick McGoohan and Blake's 7 when WNYC-TV 31 aired them. And I'd also watch the news in Italian on RAI (and try to follow it with my limited knowledge of *Spanish*) and the Leon Charney Report, which later continued oon WNYE channel 25

[@IceManNYR]

I have the same closing for WBIS+ I'll try and find it.

[@DaigoKengo]

I remember watching this back in the Bronx when I was a kid. Good times.

[@Juliaflo]

ION not only sucks, it REEKS. Nothing but a plethora of infomercials for several hours, followed by entertainment.

[@IAPD3000]

I miss this channel. They did had the Iranian channel which was moved to WNYE TV 25 that I liked when I was a teen.

[@TeeVeeGames]

Something sad about when a broadcast station announces its last day.

[@bezalelkosofsky7286]

One thing that missed about WNYC 31 was that they aired some of channel 13 WNET's pledge programs once or twice without the pledge commercials after channel 13 WNET's pledge drive was over. I used to have my late grandmother tape channel 13 WNET's pledge programs on WNYC channel 31 so that I wouldn't have to fast forward the long annoying pledge commercials. Whenever channel 13 WNET's announcer would say "Please help support your local public television station!" at the beginning of the commercial, WNYC channel 31 would have short quick commercials about other programs that were going to be on.

[@pauljr.harrington1905]

This station would only be WBIS for one year, before changing again to its current call sign, WPXN.

[@ryanpascual9598]

as a result of that it became a PAX-TV(now Ion TV) affiliate.

[@OsagieGuobadia]

I was not born in the year 1996 when WNYC-TV channel 31 does its final broadcast on TV. : 0

[@lavontreyclarke3285]

"This is the final broadcast of WNYC-TV. Tomorrow, this station will begin its first day as WBIS-TV. The staff of WNYC-TV thanks you for your support over the last 35 years."

[@Juliaflo]

Then WBIS went belly-up.

[@abbycollins]

@@Juliaflo and it’s now the name of the nbc affiliate in Columbia, South Carolina

[@IAPD3000]

I miss the Iranian channel and all the Chinese dramas in that station.

[@Brinah]

No more SINO Vision, no more Fujisankei, no more of anything! damn fucking Guiliani! grrrrr!!!!

[@Juliaflo]

It is nearly---are you ready--25 years since WNYC signed off.

[@popoff21]

Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani sold this station to Dow Jones & Co. in 1995 and right now its the ION network

[@popoff21]

it was such a tragedy for me at that time, I thought I would never see video music box again thinking it was off the air till I later found out they moved it to channel 25 which made me feel better but it wasn't the same cause it only aired one day of the week and its still like that today

[@americanidol434]

this music creeped me out when i was young.

[@angryhammerite3849]

I like the closing credits music.

[@Brinah]

i always liked the music!

[@kaiokendo]

awesome id and music

[@canyounotmydude9155]

I love how the playlist that this is in has the shutdown of WBIS immediately after this one

[@daminmancejin]

i miss the this so much

[@priscilaperez2182]

R.I.P WNYC TV 31

[@rubygoldgames]

The music played at the credits gives me final fantasy vibes

[@kargaroc386]

i like the music in the beginning

[@kargaroc386]

is the beginning from the 1989 graphics?

[@Brinah]

I have! I enjoyed it immensely! It relates to chinese/american issues, news, and entertainment...subtitled! :)

[@ShmorgelBorgel]

I also grew up with Video Music Box in the '80s! But WNYC Channel 31 also aired all these great British imports, Blake's 7, Secret Agent, The Prisoner. Also, if there was anything you missed on PBS WNET Channel 13, it would often be repeated on 31. (I still don't have have cable, well, now I have a cable modem, but still no cable TV! Dont know what I will do when digital TV is forced upon us, I'll have to buy one of those converters.).

[@AEMoreira81]

This station has been a laughingstock since it was sold off in 1996.

[@Brinah]

yeah, dear! the news hit me hard!

[@MrWEWE5]

This was a very interest TV station, providing public service programs and multicultural airtime, too. If anybody is reading this comment, I have a question. Does anybody know what WNYC's schedule was like? I tried to look for some vintage schedules, but they're not out there.

[@kykong]

They used to air the latest Japanese TV drama on Saturday evenings from 7:00 to 8:00 with English subtitles. There were Chinese programs later in the evening from Sinovision (if I remember correctly). There was "Today's Japan" on weekdays -- an English-speaking 30-minute news program on the latest news from Japan.

[@moshez]

@Juliaflo I do remember Herbert Boland from the early 70's along with Jerry Miller & Saul Katz.

[@daminmancejin]

0:00 I always love this so much

[@ShmorgelBorgel]

I agree, I'd rather fight than switch! But the excuse they give is that it's necessary to free up all these analog frequencies for use as emergency bands for fire departments, coast guard, etc. I don't know how they've managed all thse years without them, and I see a government cable company dHDTV conspiracy! I love my rabbit ear antennas! I don't even believe in this so-called "Internet" fad!

[@willxmatic]

Hey, does anybody have any footage from the short-lived WBIS+?

[@wilnerolivier7971]

WBIS: Sports, money & oh yeah, life!!

[@Juliaflo]

To think that I was witness to the station's beginning AND end.

[@daminmancejin]

0:00 im about to cry just hearing this music

[@chrisamon80]

We want is English, French, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Russian.

[@jonavene12]

The afformentioned station WBIS became WPXN a year later

[@Juliaflo]

@Jerseysson27 Hear, hear. The programming now on Channel 31 totally, well, you get the idea. Happy New Year.

[@ASQ1Fan]

Sinovision FTW. Haiti Premiere Classe & Video Music Box also FTW. I switched over to channel 25 after this station went down.

[@Juliaflo]

I suppose this will give away my age, but does anyone remember the news given by Paul Manacher and Herbert Boland back in the 1960's on Channel 31?

[@digipeeper]

@danawadd You know, if it was not WNYC I would not know what Doctor Who was. Thanks to my little brother who was like 10 months old and he was hitting the remote control. The Tom Baker adventure of Warriors Gate help me open doors to the Who universe. It also got me into Blakes' 7 and The Prisoner. Yeah after 35 years at that time the station cancels!

[@CelesteKTheNewWaveRevue]

Was this a PBS affiliated station?

[@shrillbert]

Although they did show some PBS programmes, no. WNYC was owned by the city of New York. Its death was caused by Rudy Giuliani's decision to privatise the station and sell it to the highest bidder in a blind auction.

[@Juliaflo]

@Jerseysson27 Here, here. What they show on Channel 31, I would not trust to a compost heap or a landfill.

[@dalemcilwain]

😢😢😢 Guilani sold the TV station.

[@jareddicarlo7816]

What show aired before this?

[@radiodj1520]

In This Clip, From 0:18 To 2:31, It Was WNYC-TV's Final Sign-Off Video ID From Early Monday Morning, July 1, 1996.

[@Juliaflo]

@americanidol434 On one of mine, too, and I am putting on my computer for digital reference.

[@iamzhenn7021]

Aleksandr Gun?! Is that some sort of a weapon or something?

[@Brinah]

i don't understand why it has to be mandated; it should be optional, don't you think?

[@Jerseysson27]

Was it sad for to say goodbye to WNYC?

[@cyanplaysHQ]

1:52

[@alexlee6487]

This station TV 31 is still on air to this day as WPXN-TV 31-1 on UHF digital channel 34 affiliated with Ion Television

[@LadyJay114]

I'm not the only one that watched Blake's 7 :-)

[@user-ku1tx9cc1q]

well after id was a final announcement , then there are so many staff in the list. (Did you know who announce this in WNYC-TV?? and where's test card?)

[@fuzzplugjones]

Probably stock footage.

[@CelesteK]

Whoah! What happened to this station?

[@juanpablofernandezrauchtvr9256]

Due to the low ratings.

[@johnissoevil]

I would rather have late 97/early 98 era WPXN back, when the station aired WWF, WCW, and ECW wrestling.

[@jemandtheholograms2173]

:(

[@jaycemacinnis2228]

WNYC became WBIS TV until WBIS shut down its transmitter

[@kargaroc386]

they're gunna go to hell! grrrr...

[@kargaroc386]

ION sucks. WBIS sucked more, unless you know better?

[@couzenproductions8381]

wbis was better than wpxn in my opinion but wnyc was the best