WCEA-LD (channel 26) is a low-power Spanish-language independent television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The station is owned by C&M Broadcasting Corporation. WCEA-LD is co-owned with El Planeta, a local Spanish-language newspaper.
History
WCEA-LD was founded by Pedro Nicolas Cuenca in 1986 as W19AH, becoming WCEA-LP in 1995. It has always been a platform for local multicultural independent producers in the Boston market. The station also served as Boston's Telemundo affiliate in the early 1990s, before W32AY (now WYCN-LD in Providence, Rhode Island) signed on in 1995.[2]
Initially broadcasting on channel 19, WCEA-LP was forced to vacate the channel to accommodate the digital signal of WGBH-TV.[3] In 2002, it moved to channel 3 via special temporary authority,[4] but its application for the channel was subsequently dismissed by the Federal Communications Commission due to objections from other Boston stations, AT&T Broadband, and RCN;[5] soon thereafter, WCEA-LP relocated to channel 58.[3]
Since December 2010, Massachusetts Spanish TV Network (MAS TV) has partnered with WCEA-LD to provide programming, including local newscasts at 6 a.m. and noon.[6]
In the early 2010s, WCEA-LP had two applications convert to digital operations on channels 44 and 45, with both specifying a transmitter location atop the John Hancock Tower; the station ultimately chose to build the channel 45 facility.[7]
