Station Info

Where Is Your Tower?

The transmitting facilities of ABC 7 are located in Manatee County, near the town of Parrish. It takes an area of almost 30 acres to house our transmitter building and tower.

The ABC 7 tower is 814 feet high, or 849 feet above mean sea level. It is lighted day and night by white strobe lights that blink about once every 2 seconds. This lighting is required by the Federal Aviation Administration to provide obstruction lighting for aircraft flying overhead.

For the curious, ABC 7 transmits on the frequency of 627.25 Mhz Visual, and 631.75 Mhz Aural through a directional antenna that beams our signal south from Parrish, FL in an arc of 155 degrees. Our output power is 2880kW. ABC 7 uses several additional microwave and business band frequencies to send our programming from our Studio on 10th Street in Sarasota, to our transmitter in Parrish, FL.

What is your coverage area?

Our primary coverage area consists of Sarasota and Manatee counties. 

This includes Sarasota, Bradenton, Venice, North Port, and Englewood. 

Our extended coverage area includes Hardee, DeSoto, and Charlotte counties.

Why do the commercials seem louder than the program?

First and foremost, ABC-7 does NOT turn up the volume on commercials.  We employ equipment intended to even out the volume levels on all programs, including commercials.  There are legal limits to the maximum volume which can be broadcast, and ABC-7 abides by those limits. 

There are two basic reasons why some commercials seem louder.  Many commercials contain music, and music nearly always sounds louder than a simple spoken voice. The type of music understandably has a major effect on this phenomenon.

The second cause is called audio compression.  This has the effect of making softer sounds louder, so the whole commercial is of a uniform volume.  Many commercials are produced with some compression, whereas speech based programs generally are compressed only a little.

Many commercials come from outside production facilities for airing on ABC-7, and we have no control over the level of compression and type of music they may employ.  We know our viewers dislike loud commercials, and we would never intentionally cause this condition.

What is the V-chip and how does it affect me?

On January 17, 1998, the television industry submitted to the FCC for review a voluntary system of parental guidelines for rating television programming. This action follows 1996 Congressional enactment of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which in Section 551, encourages the video programming industry to "establish voluntary rules for rating video programming that contains sexual, violent or other indecent material about which parents should be informed before it is displayed to children," and to voluntarily broadcast signals containing these ratings.

The Act further requires the FCC to "consult with appropriate public interest groups and interested individuals from the private sector" about the industry's voluntary plan, and then to determine if "such rules are acceptable to the Commission."

On February 7, 1997, the Commission issued a Public Notice (CS Docket No. 97-55, FCC 97-34) setting comment dates for the public to comment on this proposal.
Comments that were voluntarily submitted to the Commission on disk are available for viewing and downloading. Comments received via E-mail are also available.

On August 1, 1997, NAB, NCTA and MPAA notified the Commission that certain elements have been added to the video programming ratings system described in the January 17, 1997 industry proposal. On September 9, 1997, the Commission issued a Public Notice (FCC 97-321) seeking comments on this Revised Industry Proposal for Rating Video Programming.

In 1999, the FCC adopted rules requiring all television sets with picture screens 33 centimeters (13 inches) or larger to be equipped with a V-Chip to block the display of television programming based upon its rating. For more information on this subject, visit the FCC's web site for the V-Chip: http://www.fcc.gov/vchip/

What is HDTV?

We are now broadcasting digitally over the air on Channel 40-1 (some sets may display it as 24) with an increased power of 90kw over the previous 12kw power level so our signal can reach a much greater distance with greater reliability.

We can also be seen on many subscription TV services, including but not limited to:

Brighthouse Cable (Manatee County) -- Channel 7 and 40.1 WWSB ABC HD.  -- On September4, 2012, Bright House will change the frequency it uses to deliver WWSB ABC HD to 40.1. This change only affects a very limited number of customers – those that have digital-ready TV’s and do not use Bright House Networks converters. These customers will need to perform a simple channel scan on their TV’s.

Comcast Cable -- Channel 7 & Channel 431 (Hi-Def)

Verizon Fios -- Channel 7 & Channel 507 (Hi-Def)

Direct TV (end of June 2009) -- WWSB ABC 7 is now available on satellite television, exclusively on DirecTV. Subscribers to DirecTV's HD Access tier of channels will be able to watch WWSB ABC 7 on HD Channel 40.

If you don't see us on your subscription TV service, contact your provider and ask them to carry ABC 7.


WWSB-DT transmits from our tower located at 17020, CR.675, in Parrish, FL. The antenna is top mounted on our 849 ft. tower.

Our HDTV signal is transmitted on CH-24. Most HDTV tuners/receivers will scan all of the channels and automatically store all of the HTDV channels. WWSB will carry all HDTV programming that comes from the ABC network.

Viewers who have an HDTV monitor will require an external tuner specifically designed for the ATSC system. The usual VHF/UHF tuners that are built-in to most large screen monitors will not pickup any of the ATSC signals. However, there are some exceptions to this, check with the dealer to be sure that you can receive the new ATSC channels.

When purchasing a new HDTV receiver, there are two classes that will make a big difference in quality & price. You should check the resolution. True HDTV must have a resolution ratio of at least 1024 X 768 pixels. There are many receivers out there advertising that they are HDTV and can accept 480P, 480i, 720P and 1080i, but their resolution is only 768 X 480 pixels. Don't confuse the "horizontal line standard" (480P, 720P etc.) with "resolution".

WWSB ABC 7 has made the switch to digital. You will need to rescan your digital converter box or digital television now to be able to receive WWSB ABC 7 and all other digital channels.

I have a satellite dish. Can I get ABC 7 on satellite?

WWSB ABC 7 is now available on satellite television, exclusively on DirecTV. Subscribers to DirecTV's HD Access tier of channels will be able to watch WWSB ABC 7 on HD Channel 40.

WWSB ABC 7 is carried on multiple subscription services, including Comcast, Bright House, Verizon, and also free over the air on the new digital channel 40.1.

You can also view ABC 7 on:

Brighthouse Cable in Manatee on Channel 7 and 1007 in HD

Comcast Cable Channel 7 and 431 in HD

Verizon Fios Channel 7 and 507 in HD

Closed Captioning Information

FCC – Closed Captioning

Immediate Contact Info

Phone: 850-580-9571
Fax: 850-668-2450

Written Complaint Contact Info

Name: Jack Dillon
Title: Director Of Engineering
Address: 1477 10th Street
City: Sarasota
State:  Fla.
Zip: 34236
Phone: 941-552-3060
Fax: 941-924-3971
Email: jdillon@wwsb.tv