| Miami/Fort Lauderdale, Florida | |
|---|---|
| City of license | Miami, Florida |
| Channels | Digital: 46 (UHF) |
| Affiliations | TBN |
| Owner | Trinity Broadcasting Network, Inc. (Trinity Broadcasting of Florida, Inc.) |
| First air date | 1975[1] |
| Call letters' meaning | World Harvest Florida Television (after the broadcast ministry of the previous owner) |
| Former callsigns | WFCB-TV (1975-1976) WHFT (1976-1982) |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 45 (1975-2009) |
| Former affiliations | independent (1975-1980) |
| Transmitter power | 1000 kW |
| Height | 308 m |
| Facility ID | 67971 |
| Website | www.tbn.org |
WHFT-TV is a Christian television station serving the greater Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area. Broadcasting on digital channel 46, the station is owned and operated by the Trinity Broadcasting Network. The station's studios and transmitter is located at the Lake Trinity Estates complex[2] on Pembroke Road in Hollywood, west of I-95.
WHFT-TV signed on in 1975 as WFCB-TV as a religious station owned by Florida Baptist Television. The station was on the air about 8 hours a day, but they were unable to keep the station solvent, so they put the station up for sale in early 1976 , with a request to sell it to a Christian ministry.
World Harvest Television, a.k.a. LeSEA Broadcasting purchased the station and took over in June 1976. The call letters were changed to the current WHFT-TV (standing for World Harvest Florida Television). LeSEA added their own religious programming, along with televangelist programming like The 700 Club. The station expanded their broadcast day to 24 hours a day. In addition, the station aired a general entertainment format for families during the 7-9 a.m. and 2-7 p.m. timeslots on weekdays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Sundays were reserved for religious programming). However, the station's conservative programming policy kept it from making much headway against the market's dominant independent, WCIX (channel 6, now CBS O&O WFOR-TV on channel 4). Their secular shows included Leave It To Beaver, Little Rascals, Bugs Bunny, Popeye, Rocky and his Friends, Dennis The Menace (sitcom), The Brady Bunch, and others.
The station was profitable, but in 1980, Trinity Broadcasting gave LeSEA a high offer for that time, so the station was sold. In the summer of 1980, all the secular shows were dropped (some eventually moved to WDZL or WBFS, while others never reappeared on Miami television stations) and the station switched to TBN programming. The WHFT-TV callsign, however, remained on the station.
Some of the religious shows that had aired on WHFT-TV during the LeSEA era remained on the station because TBN was also airing these programs, but shows like The 700 Club were removed (however, TBN would begin running The 700 Club a few years later).
This station's digital signal, like most other full-service TBN owned-and-operated stations, carries five different TBN-run networks.
| Channel | Video | Name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45.1 | 480i | TBN | Main network programming |
| 45.2 | 480i | The Church Channel | Televised church services |
| 45.3 | 480i | JCTV | Christian music videos and other programs for ages 12-34 |
| 45.4 | 480i | Enlace USA | Spanish-language religious programming |
| 45.5 | 480i | Smile of a Child TV | E/I children's programming |
TBN-owned full-power stations permanently ceased analog transmissions on April 16, 2009.
Lake Trinity Estates Adjacent to WHFT's studios is Lake Trinity Estates (formerly known as Trinity Towers), a TBN-owned recreational vehicle [RV] park. 255 sites are available with full hook-ups (30 & 50 AMP service). Swimming, tennis, fishing, shuffleboard, Patanque, basketball, and nearby golfing are available for guests.[3]
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