WKTC
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| WKTC | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Sumter / Columbia, South Carolina | |
| Branding | My 63 |
| Channels | 63 (UHF) analog, 39 (UHF) digital |
| Affiliations | MyNetworkTV |
| Owner | WBHQ Columbia, LLC |
| Founded | April 19, 1990 |
| Call letters meaning | WK The Columbia |
| Former callsigns | WQHB-TV (1990-2003) WBHQ (2003-2006) |
| Former affiliations | The WB (secondary 1995-2004, full-time 2004-2006), UPN (1995-2004, secondary from 2003), Pax (secondary, 1998-2003), Independent (1990-95) |
| Website | www.wktctv.com |
WKTC, "My 63" is the MyNetworkTV affiliate for Columbia, South Carolina. It is licensed to Sumter, with studios in Elgin. It broadcasts its analog signal on UHF channel 63, its digital signal on UHF channel 39, and is located on channel 4 on most Midlands cable systems. Its transmitter is located in Elgin.
Contents |
[edit] History
The station first signed on in 1990 as WQHB, the first true independent station in the Columbia area. Fox affiliate WACH-TV had been the first non-network station in the market, but began as a religious station before joining Fox in 1988. WBHQ's signal was too weak to reach Columbia at the time, and the station had to rely on cable coverage to reach most of the Midlands.
In 1995, the station became a primary UPN affiliate with a secondary WB affiliation. The WB primetime programming was shown at 10:00pm nightly, after UPN's primetime programming. At the same time, it set up a translator on channel 67 in Columbia.
In 2003, the station became a WB primary/UPN secondary station meaning UPN primetime programming was shown on delay. It changed its calls as well to WBHQ (simply by reversing the last three letters) and boosted its signal to cover Columbia as well, shutting the translator down shortly afterward. During this period, it moved to a new studio in the Pontiac Center complex in Elgin. In August 2004, with the anticipation of a new UPN affiliate, WBHQ dropped its secondary UPN programming. The reason for the change was because station management feared that viewership would dramatically change if UPN programming was dropped weeks or days before the new UPN station came on air. On January 1, 2005, WZRB became the new Columbia UPN affiliate broadcasting on Channel 47.
On January 24, 2006, it was announced that The WB and UPN would merge into a new network called The CW in September 2006. WZRB was later announced as The CW affiliate for Columbia. Not long after, on March 25, it was announced that WBHQ would become the Columbia affiliate of MyNetworkTV, a new network from News Corporation.[1]
On July 1, 2006, WBHQ changed its call letters to WKTC: it started using them three days earlier, on June 28. An advertisement in this date's Free Times newspaper in Columbia depicts the stars of "Desire" and says "September 5 / It's a whole new game", with the stylized "My 63" logo and the new call letters (it was still WBHQ at this point). According to the station's co-owner, the "K"'s meaning is unknown, but "TC" stands for "The Columbia" [2].
As a MyNetworkTV affiliate, WKTC's owner started a low-power station in Wilmington, North Carolina called WMYW-LP which serves as Wilmington's MyNetworkTV affiliate.
[edit] Trivia
- In their moniker as a WB station, their official spelling of the region was given as Midland's, though the correct spelling should actually be Midlands' , or even Midlands's.
- WKTC's ownership company did not change its name to reflect the new call letters (the company is WBHQ Columbia, LLC).
[edit] Logos
 Old WB 4 logo used until 2006 (4 indicates the cable channel) |
 Current My 63 logo |
[edit] External links
| Broadcast television in the Columbia market (Nielsen DMA #83) |
|---|
|
WIS 10 (NBC) - WLTX 19 (CBS) - WOLO 25 (ABC) - WRLK 35 (PBS/SCETV) - W39CL 39 (TBN) - WZRB 47 (The CW) - W55CQ 55 (TBN) - WACH 57 (Fox) (The Tube on DT2) - WKTC 63 (MNTV) |
