| City of license | Cincinnati, Ohio |
|---|---|
| Branding | WKRP-TV |
| Slogan | Back On The Air In Cincinnati |
| Channels | Digital: 47.2 (UHF) Virtual: 25.2 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels | (see article) |
| Affiliations | independent |
| Owner | Block Broadcasting (Elliott B. Block) |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Call letters' meaning | WB (for former affiliation) Queen City (nickname for Cincinnati) |
| Former callsigns | W25AI(1988-1989)(2/1989-1995) DW25AI (1/89-2/89)[1] WBQC-LP (1995-2001) WBQC-CA (2001-2010)[2] |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 25 (1988–2005) 38 (2005–2009) |
| Former affiliations | The WB (1995-1998) UPN (1998-2006) |
| Transmitter power | 140 kW |
| Height | 150 m |
| Class | Low-power digital |
| Facility ID | 19431 |
| Website | http://www.wkrp.tv |
WBQC-LD (channel 38, branded WKRP-TV) is an independent television station in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. WBQC's studios are located in a 17,000-square-foot (1,600 m2) complex in the Roselawn neighborhood of Cincinnati,[3] while the station broadcasts from WCPO's tower. According to its website, WBQC was the first television station to be fully automated.[4] The station was also the first station in Cincinnati to perform "digital spot insertion" and to air Spanish-language commercials. As of April 2011, WBQC is up for sale.[3]
Contents |
WBQC-LD broadcasts its digital signal on UHF digital channels 47.2 and 25.
WBQC shares sister station WOTH-LP's multiplexed digital channel.
The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
| Virtual channel |
Video | Format | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25.1 | 480i | 4:3 | Retro Television Network programming[3] |
| 25.2 | This TV[5] | ||
| 25.3 | Retro Television Network programming[3] | ||
| 25.4 | Jewelry Television[6] | ||
| 25.5 | WOTH-LP programming (America One;[3] AMGTV) |
In 1994, the station signed on as low-power television station W25AI on channel 25. Owned by Elliott Block's Block Broadcasting, it ran mostly infomercials. All of Cincinnati's full-power stations, in contrast, carried programming from national networks. Needing an affiliate in Cincinnati, The WB network, which launched in January 1995, signed an affiliation agreement with Channel 25. The station then changed its call letters to WBQC-LP to reflect its new affiliation and began to identify on-air as "WB Channel 25".
In 1998, Sinclair Broadcasting reached a deal with The WB, switching a number of their affiliates from UPN to The WB. A station included in the deal was WSTR-TV (channel 64). Thus, the WB affiliation moved to WSTR in 1998, leaving WBQC without a network affiliate. UPN struck a deal to air its programming on WLWT-TV (channel 5), the NBC affiliate, to air its programming from 2–4 weekend mornings. Meanwhile, as an independent station, WBQC carried NBC programming that WLWT chose not to carry, including various sporting events, as well as The Profiler and Sunset Beach. After a few months of poor late night ratings on WLWT, UPN reopened talks with WBQC. In the fall of 1999, UPN agreed to make WBQC its affiliate in Cincinnati.
WBQC had been pushing for inclusion on local cable and satellite lineups for many years. In 2005, WBQC swapped channels with sister station WOTH-LP (channel 38), an America One affiliate. WBQC became a Class A television station, with the call sign WBQC-CA, in hopes of receiving must-carry status on cable systems and protection from displacement by the full-power stations' digital channel allocations. As a Class A station, WBQC had to meet all the requirements of a full-power station. Ultimately, Class As did not receive must-carry status, though they did receive protection from displacement. In negotiating with the cable and satellite providers, WBQC claimed "should-carry" status, in the absence of federal must-carry recognition.[7]
Several small satellite master antenna television (SMATV) systems and the Delhi Township cable system carried the small, independent station. Meanwhile, talks with InterMedia Cable (Northern Kentucky), Time Warner Cable (Cincinnati), and Adelphia Cable (Cincinnati) saw no progress for years. Shortly after WBQC became a UPN affiliate, however, a number of systems began offering WBQC on their lineups:
Although Time Warner Cable had long included WBQC in its Oxford, Ohio lineup, on channel 13, the station remained off of Time Warner's Cincinnati offerings. According to WBQC, some Cincinnati customers were told by Time Warner representatives that the station operated out of Indianapolis, Indiana; Dayton, Ohio; or "some guy's basement".[11] At one point, Time Warner considered carrying WSBK-TV (channel 38) of Boston, Massachusetts, rather than WBQC.[7]
Once UPN acquired Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Time Warner Cable resumed discussions with WBQC. After months of talks, Time Warner agreed to carry WBQC. Unlike the other cable systems, Time Warner Cincinnati would only air WBQC 6–11 Monday through Sunday evenings on channel 20, a cable lease channel. Time Warner later purchased Adelphia but kept WBQC in the latter's lineup until after Time Warner Cable had fully transitioned Adelphia viewers into the Time Warner system.
From the late 1990s until at least 2001, WBQC aired a rebroadcast of WCPO-TV's 6:00 PM newscast at 7:00 PM.[12] Later, WBQC formed a joint broadcast venture with Fox affiliate WXIX-TV, allowing WBQC to air the Fox 19 Ten O'Clock News during sporting events, such as Cincinnati Bearcats basketball.[13] WBQC would also air some basketball games produced by WXIX.[14]
With the merger of UPN and The WB in September 2006 into The CW Television Network, there was a question where The CW would land in Cincinnati. WSTR was the WB affiliate and a full power station; WBQC was the UPN affiliate, a Class A station with full cable carriage (Time Warner Cable Cincinnati the exception). (On March 2, 2006, it was announced that WSTR would affiliate with My Network TV.[15][16] This seemingly opened the door for WBQC to potentially become the CW's Cincinnati affiliate, but on April 19 it was confirmed that The CW Television Network would be carried on digital subchannel 12-2 of Cincinnati's CBS affiliate, WKRC. As a result of the shuffle, WBQC became an independent station[17] upon the dissolution of UPN in September.
By July 4, 2006, in a stunt to promote its "Independence Day", UPN network programming was moved out of primetime, and was replaced with marathons, and then a schedule of older off-network dramas and comedies. UPN aired overnight from 2 am-4 am early Tuesday morning-early Saturday morning until its closure.[17] The station then changed its logo, which had some elements of the Ohio state flag. The same year, WBQC moved from Golf Manor to its newly-built studios in Roselawn.[3]
With the launch of WKRC's CinCW digital subchannel, Time Warner Cable dropped WBQC on October 18 to carry CinCW full-time on Channel 20. The CinCW also replaced WBQC on Channel 25 on both Insight Cable and DirecTV, which has created some confusion to viewers who think WBQC is the CinCW. Insight Cable moved WBQC to channel 189 on its digital tier.
In 2007, Time Warner Cable Cincinnati experienced a change in management. Early the next year, WBQC and Time Warner Cable started discussions for cable carriage. However, Time Warner Cable stated it did not have any channels available, either on the analog or digital tier.
On November 28, 2008, the station adopted the branding WKRP-TV, drawing on the 1970s CBS sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati.[19] According to Elliott Block, general manager and chief engineer for the small station, the move was made to promote the station's new digital broadcasting.[20] Currently, the change reflects only the branding of the station, as its legal callsign remains WBQC-CA, however the station has petitioned the FCC for the new callsign. The callsign WKRP-LP is currently used by a low-power television station in Key West, Florida, [21] but WKRP-CA is available.
In April 2010, with WBQC's conversion to digital-only operations, WBQC surrendered its former Class A designation to the FCC.
In November 2010, Cincinnati Bell's local fiber-optic service, FiOptics, began carrying all five of WBQC's subchannels on channels 254 and 270–273.[22]
In January 2011, WBQC canceled all its local programming and replaced its primary subchannel with a Retro Television Network feed, citing insufficient advertising revenue. Block placed the station for sale the following April,[3] following WLWT's announcement that that station will carry Me-TV beginning in July 2011.[23][24]
WBQC currently airs syndicated programming. Until 2011, the station produced several local programs, including:
Original WBQC programming:
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