| Baton Rouge, Louisiana | |
|---|---|
| Branding | WBTR 41 |
| Slogan | Better Television for Louisiana |
| Channels | Analog: 41 (UHF) |
| Affiliations | Independent (1987-1995; 1999-2000; 2006-present) |
| Owner | Louisiana Television Broadcasting, LLC (Manship family) |
| Founded | August 5, 1987 |
| Call letters' meaning | Ba Ton Rouge, also the IATA airport code for the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport |
| Former callsigns | WKG-49 (official: W49KG) |
| Former channel number(s) | 49 (1987-1988) 19 (1988-2002) |
| Former affiliations | UPN (January 1995-September 1999), All News Channel (mid 1990s) (Urban America Television (January 2000-May 2006) |
| Transmitter power | 18.9 kW |
| Class | A |
KBTR-CA channel 41, known on-air as WBTR 41, is a television station in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The station is owned by Louisiana Television Broadcasting, the owners of WBRZ-TV. The station is seen on cable Cox Communications and AT&T U-verse.
While the station is licensed as KBTR-CA, it brands itself on the air as "WBTR 41" to help fit in with other stations in the market. To keep other stations from using the WBTR calls (other than in legal IDs), KBTR has registered "WBTR" as a Registered trademark.
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The channel began as an independent television station on May 1, 1987 as WKG on UHF channel 49. It was owned by Woody Jenkins and Great Oaks Broadcasting, and they chose the call letters because of a partnership with WKG-TV-Video-Electronic College, which taught television and radio broadcasting and production. It did not have a local newscast but, instead, ran Independent Network News. Following several format tests, the station officially began broadcasting 24 hours a day on August 5, 1987.
On October 20, 1988, it went to UHF channel 19. From the start, the station experienced trouble getting added to the Baton Rouge cable lineup such that it retransmitted its signal on various translator stations; namely, K07UJ, K13VE, W19AW, W39AT, and K65EF. On May 15, 1989, Cablevision added the station to its lineup. The station changed its call letters to WBTR on February 1, 1991 in order to emphasize its local programming and started using the Steely Dan song "Hey Nineteen" for its station ids. It was an independent station for Baton Rouge, LA until January 1995 when they became the Baton Rouge, LA affiliation for UPN; it also carried programming from the All News Channel overnight in the early-to-mid 1990s.
Even after WBTR affiliated with UPN, the channel was in danger of being dropped from the cable lineup. In 1996, TCI threatened to drop the station from the cable lineup, so Jenkins ran PSAs encouraging viewers to lobby to keep the station on the air. This, coupled with support from then-Governor Mike Foster kept the station on the air. In September 1999, WZUP became Baton Rouge's primary UPN affiliate; however, WBTR continued to air some programming from the network, primarily during the daytime. When White Knight Broadcasting (owner of WZUP) sought to extend its signal over the air in 2002, it purchased the channel 19 allocation from Jenkins to broadcast WZUP (rechristened KZUP) OTA; Jenkins moved WBTR to channel 41 during that time as well, a channel he licensed but had not used. During April 2003, Cox Communications removed the station from the cable lineup in favor of KPBN-LP, yet Jenkins was able to lobby again to keep the station on cable.
Most of the former translator stations now broadcast other programming. K65EF is now WBRL, Baton Rouge's CW affiliate; W19AW is KZUP, Baton Rouge's RTV affiliate; K07UJ is now KPBN-LP, a sportsman channel affiliated with America One and several other sportsman networks; W39AT is now WSTY, a My Family TV affiliate for Hammond; K13VE is currently silent.
In 2005, Woody Jenkins and Great Oaks Broadcasting sold the station to Veritas Broadcasting Company, who also purchased WSTY in Hammond. In late Summer 2007, Veritas Broadcasting, sold the station to the Manship family, owners of WBRZ and The Advocate newspaper in order to concentrate on running WSTY. Future plans for the station to be announced later. Previously, Jenkins operated KBTR until 2004, when it was purchased by Veritas.
WBTR continues to broadcast syndicated reruns and local programming catered to the Baton Rouge market. Since 1991, Baton Rouge Today, a news program covering local and state issues, has aired on the station. This program won 1st place as the Best Community News Program in the U.S. from the Community Broadcasters Association. WBTR also airs sporting events from St. Amant High School in Ascension Parish and the Southland Conference, as well as Newsbeat and Sports Showtime from LSU's Tiger TV, and rebroadcasts of WBRZ's Eyewitness News.
One of its former news directors is Anthony Richard "Tony" Perkins, a former Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, who now heads the Family Research Council.[1]
As Hurricane Gustav made landfall on the Louisiana coastline during Labor Day weekend 2008, the station was used to simulcast New Orleans' WDSU-TV (Channel 6) for evacuees heading to Baton Rouge.
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