WPXW-TV
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Website | iontelevision |
WPXW-TV (channel 66) is a television station licensed to Manassas, Virginia, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network to the Washington, D.C., area. The station is owned by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company, and maintains business offices in Fairfax Station, Virginia; its transmitter is located on River Road in Bethesda, Maryland. The Ion network is also broadcast in the region from WWPX-TV (channel 60) in Martinsburg, West Virginia, which shares the same subchannels as WPXW-TV, and on a subchannel of Scripps-owned ABC affiliate WMAR-TV (channel 2) in Baltimore.
Channel 66 went on the air April 2, 1978, as WTKK ("Witnessing the King of Kings"), a Christian station owned by Manassas-based National Capital Christian Broadcasting. The station's programming consisted of local and national religious shows, though in the 1980s it broadened its format to include some classic TV series. National Capital Christian Broadcasting sold channel 66 to home shopping network
History
National Capital Christian Broadcasting ownership
In 1974, National Capital Christian Broadcasting (NCCB) began organizing to build a Christian- and family-oriented television station in Manassas, which would serve greater Washington. This required petitioning the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to allot channel 66 to Manassas.[2]
Activity accelerated in 1977, when NCCB applied for the
In 1983, channel 66 began to experiment with an increased secular programming schedule, as its all-religious lineup failed to attract viewers. With the addition of shows like The Lone Ranger, Green Acres, and Mister Ed, WTKK's ratings soared 1,000 percent from a 0.2 share to a 2.5 share in the span of a year. The station also had to hire advertising sales representatives to handle its increasing business.[9] In November 1984, National Capital Christian Broadcasting expanded by starting WTLL (channel 63, "Witnessing the Lord of Lords") in Richmond; it was able to borrow money to start the Richmond station because of a land donation made by real estate developer Cecil D. Hylton.[9] WTKK and WTLL shared some programming that was produced in Manassas, including the religious talk show Capital Life and an exercise program, Beverly Exercise.[11] However, with continued money losses among independent TV stations, NCCB sold the Richmond station to Sudbrink Broadcasting in 1986.[12]
ValueVision and Pax/Ion ownership
In 1994, WTKK was purchased by a subsidiary of
Paxson Communications agreed to acquire WVVI in 1996; the deal was for a $30 million purchase price plus another $10 million if the
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's signal is
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
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66.1 | 720p | 16:9 |
ION | Ion Television |
66.2 | Bounce | Bounce TV | ||
66.3 | 480i | CourtTV | Court TV | |
66.4 | Laff | Laff | ||
66.5 | Defy TV | Defy TV | ||
66.6 | Scripps | Scripps News | ||
66.7 | Jewelry | Jewelry TV
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66.8 | HSN | HSN |
Analog-to-digital conversion
WPXW-TV shut down its analog signal, over
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WPXW-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Grandstaff, Lynne (February 6, 1974). "Family viewing aim of station". Potomac News. Woodbridge, Virginia. p. C-10. Retrieved November 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Christian station nears". Potomac News. Woodbridge, Virginia. April 15, 1977. p. A-6. Retrieved November 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "History Cards for WTKK". Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ a b Gardner, C. Mason (March 24, 1979). "Pastors appear on program". Culpeper Star-Exponent. Culpeper, Virginia. p. 5. Retrieved November 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Breeden, Nancy (April 4, 1978). "New television station operating in Manassas". Potomac News. Woodbridge, Virginia. p. A-2. Retrieved November 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ProQuest 147038892.
- ^ Owen, Dean (March 26, 1982). "Manassas TV station expands its range". Potomac News. Woodbridge, Virginia. p. A1. Retrieved November 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ ProQuest 138392525.
- ^ Lewis, Michael (March 24, 1983). "'Gomer,' 'Hillbillies,' 'Van Dyke,' to rerun on WTKK, Christian TV". Potomac News. Woodbridge, Virginia. pp. A1, A5. Retrieved November 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Durden, Douglas (November 24, 1984). "New station had start in the '70s". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Richmond, Virginia. p. B-6. Retrieved November 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Durden, Douglas (January 15, 1986). "WTLL being sold; Channel 65 planned". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Richmond, Virginia. p. C-5. Retrieved November 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ProQuest 1016942842.
- ProQuest 1016948278.
- ProQuest 1014761480.
- ^ Fisher, Dennis (November 23, 1996). "State Attorney to investigate Manassas broadcaster". Journal Messenger. Woodbridge, Virginia. p. 1. Retrieved November 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ProQuest 408402548.
- ProQuest 1014771169.
- ProQuest 447008252– via Business Wire.
- ^ Waresh, Julie (January 9, 1998). "Pax Net stations renamed". The Palm Beach Post. West Palm Beach, Florida. p. 7D. Retrieved November 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Fisher, Eric (April 12, 2005). "TV ratings remain low for Nationals". The Washington Times.
- ^ "i Is Now ION Television". Multichannel News. January 24, 2007. Archived from the original on August 1, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
- ^ "TV query for WPXW-TV". RabbitEars. Archived from the original on August 21, 2017. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
- ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
- ^ "FCC TV Spectrum Phase Assignment Table" (CSV). Federal Communications Commission. April 13, 2017. Archived from the original on April 17, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2017.