| South Bend, Indiana | |
|---|---|
| Branding | ABC 57 (general) ABC 57 News (newscasts) |
| Slogan | South Bend's ABC Station |
| Channels | Analog: 57 (UHF) Digital: 49 (UHF) Virtual: 57 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels | 57.1 WBND-LP/ABC HD 57.2 Me-TV |
| Affiliations | ABC (1995-Present) |
| Owner | Weigel Broadcasting (WBND-TV Limited Partnership) |
| First air date | 1990 |
| Call letters' meaning | South Bend |
| Sister station(s) | WCWW-LD, WMYS-LD |
| Former callsigns | W58BT (1990-1995) |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 58 (1990-2002) |
| Former affiliations | Primary: Fox (1990-1995) Secondary: UPN (late 1990s-2003) |
| Transmitter power | 58.2 kW (analog) 15 kW (digital) |
| Height | 361 m |
| Facility ID | 71431 |
| Website | ABC57.com |
WBND-LP, channel 57, is the ABC-affiliated television station serving the South Bend, Indiana designated market area. The station is owned by Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting. The station broadcasts a low-power digital signal on UHF channel 49, using its analog channel assignment of channel 57 as its virtual digital channel via PSIP. The station's transmitter is located in Gulivoire Park, Indiana, with studios located in South Bend.
Contents |
| Channel | Video | Aspect | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 57.1 | 720p | 16:9 | Main WBND-LD programming / ABC |
| 57.2 | 480i | 4:3 | Me-TV |
WBND received a construction permit (CP) from the FCC on March 21, 2007 for a companion digital channel; and on September 14, 2007, began broadcasting the digital/HDTV feed on UHF frequency 49, mapped via PSIP to channel 57-1. The station had been providing an HD feed to local cable operators for over a year. On December 15, 2010, WBND-LD began carrying the Me-TV network on its digital channel 57.2.[1]
WBND originally signed on the air as W58BT, channel 58, in 1990. During its first five years, the station aired regular Fox programming until 1995, when WSJV (channel 28) dropped its affiliation with ABC to become Michiana's Fox affiliate, with the market's ABC affiliation moving to W58BT. The station also changed its call letters to WBND-LP that same year. During the 1990s, the station picked up a secondary affiliation with UPN.
The station moved its analog signal to UHF channel 57 in 2002, due to WSJV getting FCC approval to occupy the channel 58 frequency for its digital signal. In 2003 the station lost the secondary UPN affiliation to CBS affiliate WSBT (channel 22)'s UPN Michiana (now SBT2) digital subchannel. In early August 2008, Weigel Broadcasting agreed to sell all three of its South Bend stations, including WBND, to Schurz Communications, the longtime owner of the local CBS affiliate WSBT-TV, for undisclosed terms.[2]
If this sale had been approved by the Federal Communications Commission, WBND's newscast might have been replaced by simulcasts of WSBT-TV's newscasts since the station's operations would have been moved into WSBT's new facility in Mishawaka (which opened in November 2008). However, in the absence of action by the FCC, the deal was called off in August 2009.[3]
For a time in June and July 2011, the station's website was redirected to WBND's Facebook account as Weigel's web team undertook a major rebuilding of both WDJT and WBND's websites (WDJT's original site remained up, while WBND's was completely removed). During this time the station unusually reported current weather conditions by their meteorologists uploading map imagery via their Twitter accounts to the TwitPic service and the station's Facebook photos section. By the start of August 2011, though the new site had debuted.
The station ran an 11-minute long newscast at 11 p.m. from 2007 to April 2011,[4] using a form of the Eleven @ 11:00 news format, with The Insider filling out the remaining time before 11:35 p.m. The newscast was produced and anchored by staff at WDJT-TV in Milwaukee, and featured emphasis on a weather forecast segment within the first ten minutes, under the "First Alert Weather" branding. WBND was the third Weigel station to carry a newscast produced by WDJT, the others being their Milwaukee sister stations WMLW-CA and WYTU-LP. Local video was shot by photographers in South Bend, and then transmitted to WDJT via satellite. Reporters and anchors in Milwaukee then edited the video and added voiceovers before sending the completed program back to South Bend
In November 2010 Weigel began to seek applicants for reporting, anchoring, and web content positions to be locally based in South Bend, suggesting the station was looking to start fully locally-based newscasts.[5][6] On April 4, 2011 the station officially launched its news operation and began broadcasting locally-produced daily newscasts at 6 a.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m.[4] This made WBND one of the few low-powered television stations to operate an in-house news department. The newscasts air in high definition, though in downscaled 4:3 on their analog LP channel.
The station experienced some growing pains the last Sunday in May when the station broke in during the 2011 Indianapolis 500 with weather updates, including one that aired during the end of the race. Viewers complained to the station about the break-ins and the end of the race being pre-empted despite only a slight tornadic threat, while the station maintained they had to balance the needs of their audience with public safety.
Anchors
First Warning Neighborhood Weather
Reporters
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