| Muncie, Indiana | |
|---|---|
| Slogan | Public Broadcasting For East Central Indiana; Be More Inspired |
| Channels | Digital: 23 (UHF) |
| Affiliations | PBS |
| Owner | Ball State University |
| First air date | October 31, 1971 |
| Call letters' meaning | Indiana Public Broadcasting |
| Sister station(s) | WBST-FM |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 49 (1971-2009) |
| Former affiliations | ABC, CBS, NBC |
| Transmitter power | 250 kW |
| Height | 246 m |
| Facility ID | 3646 |
| Transmitter coordinates | (digital) |
| Website | www.bsu.edu/wipb |
WIPB digital channel 23 is the local Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member Public television station for Muncie, Indiana and East-Central Indiana. The station and its studios are located on the campus of Ball State University. It is owned and operated by Ball State University.
The station's claim to fame is most likely having been the origin of The Joy of Painting, a 30-minute art program hosted by a notoriously mellow painter, Bob Ross. The station also produces Connections Live!, a weekly half-hour magazine show that focuses on the people, places and things in central Indiana that connect people to their communities. The show has won four regional Emmy awards since 2002.
The letters in the callsign stand for Indiana Public Broadcasting.
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Channel 49 started in 1953 as WLBC-TV, about one year prior to WISH-TV's sign-on. The station was created by Don Burton, who started a local radio station - WLBC. WLBC-TV carried all three networks, primarily CBS, until the early 1960s when they dropped CBS and became a primary NBC affiliate while keeping some ABC programs. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network.[1]
Although WLBC was the NBC/ABC affiliate of record in Muncie, WISH, NBC affiliate WFBM-TV (now WRTV), and ABC affiliate WLWI-TV (now WTHR) received good signals there. Paired with the high costs of UHF tuners, there was no need for WLBC-TV to remain on the air. Don Burton sold Channel 49 in 1971 to a local ad hoc non-profit group, who changed the station's callsign to the current WIPB. The station eventually was acquired by Ball State University, its present licensee.
The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
| Channel | Video Resolution |
Aspect Ratio |
Name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49.1 | 720p | 16:9 | WIPB-DT | Main WIPB programming PBS HD |
| 49.2 | 480i | 4:3 | WIPB-D2 | PBS Create (4a - 4p) WORLD (4p - 4a) |
| 49.3 | 480i | 4:3 | WIPB-D3 | Weather radar/WBST-FM simulcast |
WIPB ended its analog service on UHF channel 49 on February 18, 2009 [2], and continued to broadcast on its pre-transition digital channel 23. [3] Digital television receivers display WIPB's virtual channel as 49 through the use of PSIP.
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