| Rochester, New York | |
|---|---|
| Branding | My 18 |
| Channels | Analog: 40 (UHF) |
| Translators | 26 W26BZ Victor |
| Affiliations | MyNetworkTV |
| Owner | Vision Communications |
| Founded | February 1998 |
| Call letters' meaning | We're BiG TeleVision |
| Sister station(s) | WJKP-LD, WYDC |
| Former affiliations | Independent (1998) UPN (1998-2006) |
| Transmitter power | 10 kW |
| Height | 161 m |
| Class | A |
| Facility ID | 10318 |
WBGT-CA is the Class A MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for Rochester, New York. It broadcasts a low-powered analog signal on UHF channel 40 from a transmitter in the city's Northwest Quadrant. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 18 (hence the My 18 branding). Owned by Vision Communications, WBGT has studios on Buffalo Road/NY 33 in the Gates Center section of Rochester. Syndicated programing on the station includes: Scrubs, The Cosby Show, Family Feud, and Roseanne. WBGT can also be seen over-the-air on repeater W26BZ channel 26 in Victor from a transmitter south of the Egypt section of Perinton along the Monroe and Ontario County line.
WBGT began operations in February 1998. In its first ten months on-air, the station was an Independent as it did not pick up UPN affiliation until November of that year. The Victor translator was added in 1999, and by 2001, Time Warner Cable had added it to its lineup. On January 24, 2006, The WB and UPN announced the networks would end broadcasting and merge. The new combined service would be called The CW. The letters would represent the first initial of corporate parents CBS (the parent company of UPN) and the Warner Bros. unit of Time Warner. On February 22, News Corporation announced that it would start up another new network called MyNetworkTV.
That new service would be a sister network to Fox and be operated by Fox Television Stations and its syndication division Twentieth Television. MyNetworkTV was created in order to give UPN and WB stations, not mentioned as becoming CW affiliates, another option besides becoming Independent. It was also created to compete against The CW. The WB was seen locally through The WB 100+ on "WRWB" which was operated by Time Warner Cable. WRWB's CW affiliation was officially announced on March 7 which took effect on September 18. As a result of Time Warner's half ownership in the new network, this was virtually a guarantee.
WBGT became part of MyNetworkTV when the network launched on September 5, 2006. There have been a number of complaints by DirecTV subscribers in Rochester because this station is not currently offered on the system's local station line up. Contacts at WBGT say that unless there are a large amount of complaints, the station will continue to be unavailable on DirecTV. It has an application to air a low-powered digital Class A signal on UHF channel 46 from the same analog transmitter.
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