WBPA-LD
WBPA-LD (channel 12) is a low-power television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with Rev'n. The station is owned by Venture Technologies Group.
History
On January 14, 1988, the Federal Communications Commission granted a construction permit to Channel 29 Associates of Calabasas, California—owned by Venture founder Lawrence Rogow—for a new low-power TV station on channel 29 at Pittsburgh, W29AH. The station began test broadcasts on September 28, 1989, airing programming from the Video Jukebox Network.[2]
After five years of running music videos, channel 29 found a new calling in January 1995, when The WB launched. W29AH was intended to serve as one half of a simulcast with Johnstown's WTWB-TV channel 19, filling the largest missing market gap for the new network.[3] W29AH became WTWB-LP on June 1, 1995, and WBPA-LP on December 15. Channels 19 and 29 became the new UPN affiliate in 1998 when that network's former outlet, WPTT channel 22, switched to The WB (with WTWB-TV becoming WNPA); they briefly were independents due to lawsuits surrounding that station's change.[4][5]
Venture sold channel 19 to the Paramount Stations Group late in 1998, making it a network owned-and-operated station and splitting it from WBPA-LP.[6] For several months, the two continued simulcasting.[7] In the early 2000s, WBPA-LP moved to channel 30.
In 2012, Venture sought to build digital facilities for WBPA-LP on channel 6, utilizing hybrid analog-digital technology to turn it into a "Franken-FM" station with audio on 87.7 MHz. The FCC denied this proposal on technical grounds with the standard that the company proposed for WBPA and a station in Lubbock, Texas.[8]
WBPA-LP was displaced during the repack by Class A station WPTG-CD and applied to move to channel 12 and convert to digital. The station went silent to allow WPTG-CD to move in 2019, but delays from the COVID-19 pandemic, the availability of transmitter installers, and a contracted electrician's foot operation set the reconstruction of WBPA back enough that Venture had to apply for a waiver to avoid automatic license cancellation.[9] The facility was completed in late October, when a license to cover was filed.[10]
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
---|---|---|---|---|
12.1 | 480i | 16:9 | REVN | Main WBPA-LD programming / Rev'n |
12.2 | 4:3 | ACTION | The Action Channel | |
12.3 | FAM | The Family Channel | ||
12.4 | ACE | Ace TV | ||
12.5 | RNTV | Right Now TV | ||
12.6 | YTA TV | YTA TV | ||
12.7 | AMGTV | AMGTV | ||
12.8 | Fun Roads | Fun Roads TV | ||
12.10 | WxNatn | WeatherNation TV | ||
12.11 | AmVoice | Real America's Voice | ||
12.12 | NewsNet | NewsNet |
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WBPA-LD". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Weiskind, Ron (December 7, 1989). "Johnson agrees to seven-year WPXI contract". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 22. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ Weiskind, Ron (January 19, 1995). "Local stations air new network". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. C-3. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
- ^ Vancheri, Barbara (August 29, 1997). "TV station revamping programming, call letters". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. A-11. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ "'Voyager' warps to new local UPN affiliate". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 17, 1998. p. C-9. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ "Paramount Stations has purchased UPN's Pittsburgh affiliate, WNPA". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. November 10, 1998. p. F-8. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ "Risqué 'Happy Hour' debuts tonight on USA". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. April 3, 1999. p. D-9. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ "Pittsburgh 'Franken-FM' Request Denied". 2012-08-08. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
- ^ "Request for Silent Authority of an Analog LPTV Station Application (LMS 121649)". September 14, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ "License To Cover for LPTV Station Application (LMS 125159)". October 28, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ "WBPA-LD PITTSBURGH, PA". www.rabbitears.info.
External links
- Facility details for Facility ID 10185 (WBPA-LD) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- v
- t
- e
- This region includes the following cities: Pittsburgh, PA
- Morgantown, WV
- Oakland, MD
Reception may vary by location and some stations may only be viewable with cable television
- KDKA-TV 2 (.1 CBS, .2 Start, .3 Dabl, .4 Fave, .5 Catchy)
- WTAE-TV 4 (.1 ABC, .2 Cozi, .3 Story)
- WPXI 11 (.1 NBC, .2 MeTV, .3 Laff, .4 PCNC)
- WQED 13 (.1 PBS, .2 Create, .3 World, .4 Showcase, .5 Kids)
- WINP-TV 16 (.1 Ion, .2 Bounce, .3 Court, .4 Mystery, .5 Ion+, .6 JTV, .7 Scripps)
- WPKD 19 (.1 Ind., .2 H&I, .3 Grit, .4 Movies!, .5 Grio)
- WPNT 22 (.1 CW/MNTV, .2 Nest, .3 Comet, .4 TBD)
- WNPB-TV 24 (.1 PBS/WVPB, .2 World, .3 PBS Kids)
- WGPT 36 (.1 PBS/MPT/Create, .2 MPT2, .3 PBS Kids, .4 NHK)
- WPCB-TV 40 (.1 CTVN, .2 Court, .3 Bounce, .4 Quest, .5 Get, .6 Pittsburgh's Faith & Family Channel)
- WPGH-TV 53 (.1 Fox, .2 ANT, .3 Charge!)
- WIIC-LD 31 (.1 NTD America)
- WBYD-CD 39 (.1-.2 Dark, .3 HQ, .4 Fun Roads)
- WWAT-CD 45 / WPTG-CD 69 (.1 REW, .2 NTD America, .3 Retro, .4/.8 Dark, .5 Crime, .6 Heartland, .7 TCN, .10 Canella, .11 LC, .12 JTV)
- WOSC-CD 61 (.1 MeToons, .2 Binge, .3 Buzzr, .4 SBN, .5 AWE, .6 QVC, .7 Newsmax 2, .8 OAN Plus, .9 Am. Voice, .11 QVC2, .12 HSN2)
- CBS News Pittsburgh
- Very Pittsburgh
- WPXI NOW
- WENS 16
- WQVC-CD 28
- WBOA-CD 29
- WLLS-LP 49
- WPCP-CD 59
- WEPA-CD 59 / WNNB-CD 66
- W63AU 63
- See also
- Erie TV
- Johnstown/Altoona/State College (Happy Valley)
- Maryland TV
- West Virginia TV
- Youngstown TV