WPXL-TV

Last updated
WPXL-TV
Channels
BrandingIon
Programming
Affiliations49.1: Ion Television
for others, see § Subchannels
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
March 19, 1989(34 years ago) (1989-03-19)
Former call signs
WCCL (1989–1998)
Former channel number(s)
Analog:
49 (UHF, 1989–2009)
Digital:
50 (UHF, until 2020)
Independent (1989–1990)
CBS (secondary, 1989–1990)
Dark (1990–1994)
HSN (1994–1998)
Call sign meaning
"Pax Louisiana"
Technical information
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 21729
ERP 1,000 kW
HAAT 311.2 m (1,021 ft)
Transmitter coordinates 29°58′58″N89°56′58″W / 29.98278°N 89.94944°W / 29.98278; -89.94944
Links
Public license information
Website iontelevision.com

WPXL-TV (channel 49) is a television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network. It is owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company, and maintains offices on Veterans Memorial Boulevard and Cleary Avenue in Metairie; its transmitter is located off Paris Road (LA 47) near the Orleans–St. Bernard parish line.

Contents

History

Early history

After a string of delays, channel 49 first signed on the air on March 19, 1989, as WCCL; it originally operated as an independent station with a general entertainment format, along with numerous CBS programs preempted by WWL-TV (channel 4), including CBS This Morning . [1] [2] Owned by Black woman Barbara Lamont, WCCL failed to show in the ratings with poor programming and a lack of cable carriage. By the end of 1989, it had filed bankruptcy due to a hostile creditor that sought to evict it from its tower at Algiers. [3] The station had begun work on its own tower at Bywater which would prevent blockage of channel 49's signal by passing ships on the Mississippi River, but a battle with neighbors who wanted its height reduced left the site unfinished and unusable by the station. [4] The hostile creditor—Lodestar Towers—was successful in obtaining an order to repossess WCCL's equipment, forcing the station off the air on May 23, 1990. [5]

While Lamont spent two years trying to rebuild the station's transmitter facility elsewhere, [6] she gave up in May 1992, when her Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization case was converted to Chapter 7 liquidation. [7] Flinn Broadcasting Corporation purchased the station's license out of bankruptcy and returned channel 49 to the air on May 25, 1994, carrying programming from the Home Shopping Network. [8]

The station changed its call letters to WPXL-TV on August 31, 1998; that same day, the station became a charter affiliate of the family-oriented network Pax TV (now Ion Television). As part of the affiliation deal with Pax TV, Flinn Broadcasting entered into a time brokerage agreement with Pax TV owner Paxson Communications to operate the station. On July 30, 2001. Paxson entered into a joint sales agreement with Hearst-Argyle Television (now Hearst Television), owner of NBC affiliate WDSU (channel 6), to provide advertising and marketing services for WPXL. [9]

Hurricane Katrina

In early September 2005, shortly after Hurricane Katrina made landfall in southern Louisiana, WPXL partnered with WDSU, whose transmitter building in Chalmette was damaged due to flooding caused by the storm, to simulcast channel 6's programming. [10] The station also added programming from The Worship Network and the signals of the Tribune Broadcasting-owned duopoly of ABC affiliate WGNO (channel 26) and CW affiliate WNOL-TV (channel 38) as subchannels on its digital signal for New Orleans area residents that had television sets with built-in digital tuners.

On March 29, 2008, almost a month after WGNO and WNOL resumed digital transmissions over WNOL's digital allocation on UHF channel 15, WPXL began to carry the Ion-owned children's network Qubo and lifestyle network Ion Life on digital channels 49.2 and 49.3; both networks had launched a year-and-a-half after Katrina hit the area.

Sale to Ion Media

On August 21, 2007, Ion Media announced that it would purchase WPXL-TV and Memphis sister station WPXX from Flinn Broadcasting outright for $18 million. [11] The sale was completed on January 2, 2008, with WPXL becoming an Ion owned-and-operated station. [12]

Newscasts

In September 2001, as part of the JSA with that station, WPXL began airing tape delayed rebroadcasts of NBC affiliate WDSU's 10:00 p.m. newscasts each Monday through Friday evening at 10:30 p.m. (beginning shortly before that program's live broadcast ended on WDSU). The news share agreement ended on June 30, 2005 (coinciding with Pax's rebranding as i: Independent Television), due to Paxson Communications' decision to discontinue carriage of network affiliate newscasts as a result of Pax TV's financial troubles.

Technical information

Subchannels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of WPXL-TV [13]
Channel Res. Aspect Short nameProgramming
49.1 720p 16:9 ION Ion Television
49.2Grit Grit
49.3 480i Laff Laff
49.4jtv Jewelry Television
49.5Scripps Scripps News
49.6HSN HSN
49.7QVC QVC
49.8HSN2 HSN2

Analog-to-digital conversion

WPXL shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 49, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal continued to broadcast on its pre-transition UHF channel 50. [14] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 49.

Related Research Articles

KPXC-TV is a television station in Denver, Colorado, United States, affiliated with Ion Television. Owned by Inyo Broadcast Holdings, the station maintains offices on South Jamaica Court in Aurora, and its transmitter is located in rural southwestern Weld County, east of Frederick.

WZPX-TV is a television station licensed to Battle Creek, Michigan, United States, serving as the Ion Television affiliate for West Michigan. Owned by Inyo Broadcast Holdings, the station maintains offices on Horizon Drive in Grand Rapids and a transmitter on South Norris Road in Orangeville Township.

KUPX-TV is a television station licensed to Provo, Utah, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network to Salt Lake City and the state of Utah. It is owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company alongside Fox affiliate KSTU. KUPX-TV's offices are located on Lawndale Drive in the southern section of Salt Lake City, and its transmitter is located on Farnsworth Peak in the Oquirrh Mountains, southwest of Salt Lake City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WVUE-DT</span> Fox affiliate in New Orleans

WVUE-DT, branded on-air as Fox 8, is a television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. Owned by Gray Television, the station maintains primary studios on Norman C. Francis Parkway in the city's Gert Town section, with a secondary studio within the Benson Tower in downtown New Orleans; its transmitter is located on Magistrate Street in Chalmette, Louisiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WDSU</span> NBC affiliate in New Orleans

WDSU is a television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Hearst Television. The station's studios are located on Howard Avenue in the city's Central Business District, and its transmitter is located on East Josephine Street in Chalmette.

WGNO is a television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside CW owned-and-operated station WNOL-TV. Both stations share studios at The Galleria in Metairie, while WGNO's transmitter is located in Chalmette, Louisiana.

WNOL-TV is a television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, serving as the market's outlet for The CW network. It is owned and operated by network majority owner Nexstar Media Group alongside ABC affiliate WGNO. Both stations share studios at The Galleria in Metairie, while WNOL-TV's transmitter is located in Chalmette, Louisiana.

WUPL is a television station licensed to Slidell, Louisiana, United States, serving the New Orleans area as an affiliate of MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside CBS affiliate WWL-TV. Both stations share studios on Rampart Street in the historic French Quarter district, while WUPL's transmitter is located on Cooper Road in Terrytown, Louisiana.

WPXX-TV is a television station in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, affiliated with Ion Television. Owned by Inyo Broadcast Holdings, WPXX-TV maintains studios and transmitter facilities on Brother Boulevard in Bartlett, Tennessee. The station also serves as the de facto Ion outlet for the Jackson, Tennessee and Jonesboro, Arkansas markets.

WOPX-TV is a television station licensed to Melbourne, Florida, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network to the Orlando area. Owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company, the station maintains offices on Grand National Drive in Orlando, and its transmitter is located on Nova Road east of St. Cloud.

KPXD-TV is a television station licensed to Arlington, Texas, United States, serving as the Ion Television outlet for the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company, the station has offices on Six Flags Drive in Arlington, and its transmitter is located in Cedar Hill, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WHNO</span> CTN TV station in New Orleans

WHNO is a religious television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, owned and operated by the Christian Television Network (CTN). The station's studios are located on St. Charles Avenue in downtown New Orleans, and its transmitter is located off Behrman Highway in the city's Algiers neighborhood.

KOPX-TV is a television station in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, affiliated with Ion Television. Owned by Inyo Broadcast Holdings, the station maintains offices on Railway Drive in north Oklahoma City, and its transmitter is located near 122nd Street on the city's northeast side.

WPXJ-TV is a television station licensed to Batavia, New York, United States, serving the Buffalo area as an affiliate of Ion Television. Owned by Inyo Broadcast Holdings, the station maintains offices on Exchange Street in Buffalo, and its transmitter is located in Cowlesville, New York.

WXPX-TV is a television station licensed to Bradenton, Florida, United States, serving as the Tampa Bay area's Ion Television outlet. It is owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company alongside Tampa-licensed ABC affiliate WFTS-TV. WXPX-TV's studios are located on 66th Street North in Clearwater, and its transmitter is located in Riverview, Florida.

WQPX-TV is a television station licensed to Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network to Northeastern Pennsylvania. Owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company, the station has offices on Lackawanna Avenue in downtown Scranton, and its transmitter is located on Bald Mountain, northwest of Scranton and I-476.

WWPX-TV is a television station licensed to Martinsburg, West Virginia, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network to the northwestern portion of the Washington, D.C. television market. Owned and operated by Ion Media, the station maintains transmitter facilities on Blue Ridge Mountain east of Charles Town, West Virginia.

WPXR-TV is a television station licensed to Roanoke, Virginia, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network to the Roanoke–Lynchburg market. The station is owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company, and maintains a transmitter atop Poor Mountain in unincorporated southwestern Roanoke County.

WPXV-TV is a television station licensed to Norfolk, Virginia, United States, serving as the Ion Television affiliate for the Hampton Roads area. Owned by Inyo Broadcast Holdings, the station has studios on Nansemond Parkway in Suffolk, Virginia, adjacent to the transmitter tower it shares with ABC affiliate WVEC.

KCWV is a religious television station in Duluth, Minnesota, United States, owned and operated by Tri-State Christian Television (TCT). The station's transmitter is located on the former KDLH tower on Duluth's Observation Hill.

References

  1. ↑ Lorando, Mark (March 22, 1989). "WCCL has first fight". New Orleans Times-Picayune. p. E1.
  2. ↑ Lorando, Mark (August 6, 1989). "CBS wake-up call letters: WCCL". New Orleans Times-Picayune. p. T7.
  3. ↑ Brooks, Steve; Lorando, Mark (December 20, 1989). "TV station files for bankruptcy". New Orleans Times-Picayune. p. D1.
  4. ↑ Eggler, Bruce (March 1, 1990). "Bywater group loses round in high court on TV tower". New Orleans Times-Picayune. p. B3.
  5. ↑ Lorando, Mark (June 8, 1990). "WCCL prez hopes to plug back in". New Orleans Times-Picayune. p. E1.
  6. ↑ Lorando, Mark (November 7, 1991). "Cox reruns its rate hike". New Orleans Times-Picayune. p. E1.
  7. ↑ "Facelift is afoot at Channel 8". New Orleans Times-Picayune. May 15, 1992. p. E1.
  8. ↑ Lorando, Mark (June 10, 1994). "'New' WCCL features products, not programs". New Orleans Times-Picayune. p. E1.
  9. ↑ Pax, NBC reach four JSAs, Broadcasting & Cable , July 30, 2001.
  10. ↑ New Orleans Station Gets Boost From Paxson, Broadcasting & Cable, September 7, 2005.
  11. ↑ Ion Grabs Two Stations, Broadcasting & Cable, August 21, 2007.
  12. ↑ ION MEDIA NETWORKS COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF WPXX IN MEMPHIS AND WPXL IN NEW ORLEANS Archived 2008-02-22 at the Wayback Machine , Ion Media Networks, January 2, 2008.
  13. ↑ "RabbitEars TV Query for WPXL" . Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  14. ↑ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.