WGTW-TV
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HAAT | 126.5 m (415 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 39°7′28.3″N 74°45′54.5″W / 39.124528°N 74.765139°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Website | www |
WGTW-TV (channel 48) is a
Channel 48 was originally allocated to Burlington, New Jersey, and was used by WKBS-TV from 1965 to 1983. That independent station folded in 1983 as a result of the dissolution of its owner, Field Communications. Nearly immediately, applicants filed to the Federal Communications Commission to build a new station on the channel; in 1986, the FCC selected Black radio station owner Dorothy Brunson. Appeals and delays in securing financing delayed the station's start until August 1992. It broadcast primarily older movies and sitcoms as well as some local programs; it ran on a limited budget compared to similar stations in the market.
TBN acquired WGTW-TV from Brunson in 2004. It continued to maintain a physical presence in the Philadelphia area for another 15 years, most of that time from a studio in
History
Prior use of channel 48 in Burlington, New Jersey
The channel 48 allocation, which had been located at Burlington, New Jersey, until 2017, was first occupied by WKBS-TV, an independent station founded by Kaiser Broadcasting that broadcast from September 1965 to August 1983. For years, WKBS-TV was a popular independent station, but began to lose market share to WTAF-TV (channel 29, now WTXF-TV) and WPHL-TV (channel 17) by the early 1980s.[4] WKBS-TV's final owner Field Communications, which was in the process of being broken up due to disagreements among its controlling family, could not find a buyer and opted to surrender the station's license and liquidate the station's assets in lieu of selling WKBS-TV as a going concern,[5] even though it still turned a profit.[6]
A new 48
With WKBS-TV having surrendered its license, the doors were open for applicants to file to build a new station on the channel. The major-market allocation attracted intense interest, with the
By the time the hearing began in October, the field had thinned to seven, which had attempted to reach a settlement but failed in doing so.
While Adelphi was seen as the frontrunner, FCC administrative law judge Joseph Chachkin disagreed. Calling its corporate structure "clearly a sham" for the way Black ownership interests were structured—and dismissing another applicant on similar grounds—he selected the Brunson application in February 1986.[10][11] Brunson committed to selling her three radio stations to move to Burlington and build channel 48.[12]
Nearly immediately, two losing applicants appealed the Brunson initial decision to the FCC.
The Brunson years
I don't spend the kind of money they have; I don't have the kinds of stats that they have, and yet we make a very, very decent showing and do very well in terms of maximizing our effectiveness.
Dorothy Brunson[19]
With little fanfare, WGTW-TV began broadcasting on August 13, 1992. Brunson opted to carve a small niche and build the station up as opposed to a "fully grown" station strategy in the mold of
In 1997, WGTW generated some $7 million in revenue, a fraction of other local stations.
TBN ownership
In 2004, the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) was looking to acquire stations in major markets as part of a larger strategy of purchasing full-power stations to acquire must-carry carriage on that market's cable systems. TBN offered to purchase WGTW from Brunson, an offer that was accepted; TBN paid $7 million and assumed $41 million in debts from Brunson.[21] On October 1, 2004, the sale was closed and TBN took over all operations of the station. The acquisition of WGTW-TV was TBN's second attempt to purchase a station in the Philadelphia market; in 1991, a TBN affiliate, National Minority TV, had received FCC approval to purchase WTGI-TV (channel 61, now WPPX-TV) in Wilmington, Delaware, but questions regarding the buyer's ownership structure led to the deal unraveling.[22]
TBN replaced the station's programming—which included martial arts and
In 2019, TBN closed 27 of its local station facilities and put them up for sale. This action followed the FCC's repeal of the "Main Studio Rule", which required full-service TV stations like WGTW-TV to maintain facilities in or near their communities of license.[25]
Broadcast incentive auction
Trinity Broadcasting entered WGTW-TV’s broadcast frequency into the FCC's
Technical information
Subchannels
This station, unlike most other full-service TBN owned-and-operated stations, carries four instead of five different TBN-run networks since it is under a channel sharing agreement.
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
---|---|---|---|---|
48.1 | 720p | 16:9 |
TBN HD | TBN |
48.2 | 480i | Hilsong | TBN Inspire | |
48.3 | Smile | Smile | ||
48.4 | Enlace | Enlace |
Analog-to-digital conversion
TBN-owned full-power stations permanently ceased analog transmissions on April 16, 2009.
References
- ^ "Community of License Change". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Archived from the original on August 15, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
- ^ a b c Carter, Kevin L. (December 15, 1992). "The Comeback Channel". The Philadelphia Inquirer. pp. F1, F6. Archived from the original on August 12, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WGTW-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Wolf, Ron (July 16, 1983). "Channel 48 to go off air by Sept. 1". Philadelphia Inquirer. pp. 1-A, 7-A. Archived from the original on August 12, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ Heimer, Scott; Bykofsky, Stuart D. (July 15, 1983). "Ch. 48 to Pull Plug At End of August". Philadelphia Daily News. p. 4. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ a b c Borowski, Neill (May 21, 1984). "Getting Channel 48 back on air will be a costly undertaking". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 9-C. Archived from the original on August 12, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ Borowski, Neill (October 28, 1984). "Hearing starts on Ch. 48: 7 companies seek TV station license". Philadelphia Inquirer. pp. 1-E, 15-E. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ Borowski, Neill (November 18, 1985). "N.Y. firm drops bid for Channel 48's license". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 7-D. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ Borowski, Neill (December 27, 1985). "Applicant drops bid for the Ch. 48 license". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 10-C. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ "Black Woman Picked To Run TV Channel 48". The Daily News. Associated Press. February 13, 1986. p. 5. Archived from the original on August 12, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ Borowski, Neill (March 19, 1986). "Losing applicants appeal Channel 48 licensing". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 2-C. Archived from the original on August 12, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ Borowski, Neill (February 12, 1986). "Black broadcaster wins Channel 48". Philadelphia Inquirer. pp. 1-D, 7-D. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ Borowski, Neill (March 19, 1986). "Losing applicants appeal Channel 48 licensing". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 2-C. Archived from the original on August 12, 2023. Retrieved September 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Borowski, Neill (March 6, 1987). "Channel 48 may be on air by late in year". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 15-C. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved September 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ProQuest 1438527064.
- ^ ProQuest A20930002.
- ^ Singletary, Michelle (October 19, 1990). "Radio station WEBB is sold; owner says format stays". The Evening Sun. pp. A1, A10. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved September 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ ProQuest 337724003.
- ^ Gale A53731531.
- ProQuest 213657051.
- ^ ProQuest 337843912.
- ^ a b Holmes, Kristin E. (November 14, 2004). "Christian TV giant woos Phila. as it faces legal tiff". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. C4. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved September 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Gross, Dan (September 20, 2004). "Not missing his beat". Philadelphia Daily News. p. 33. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved September 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Thomas, Marita (May 12, 2005). "Trinity Broadcasting Relocates to Folcroft". GlobeSt. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
- ^ Strang, Steve (July 15, 2019). "How Trump's New Regulation Cuts Will Save TBN $20 Million a Year for Gospel Purposes". Charisma. Archived from the original on August 12, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
- ^ "FCC Broadcast Television Spectrum Auction–Auction 1001–Winning Bids" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. April 4, 2017. p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 22, 2017. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
- ^ "Modification of a Licensed Facility for DTV Application". Federal Communications Commission. Archived from the original on October 16, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
- ^ "Amendment to a Modification of a Licensed Facility for DTV Application". Fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Archived from the original on October 16, 2017. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
- ^ "Digital TV Market Listing for WGTW-TV". RabbitEars. Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 4, 2022.