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LPs or CAs upgrading to full-power Big 4

M

mjlarochelle

Are there any stations that started out with LP or CA status, and not only have become full-power, but are affiliated with CBS, ABC, NBC or FOX? I know in Detroit WGPR 62 (now WWJ, owned by CBS) used to be fairly low power compared to now, but I don't ever know of it being an LP or CA.<P ID="signature">______________
From WNBC-TV New York this is Liiiiive at Fiiiiive!</P>
 
None (Re: LPs or CAs upgrading to full-power Big 4)

> Are there any stations that started out with LP or CA
> status, and not only have become full-power, but are
> affiliated with CBS, ABC, NBC or FOX? I know in Detroit
> WGPR 62 (now WWJ, owned by CBS) used to be fairly low power
> compared to now, but I don't ever know of it being an LP or
> CA.
>

None...LPTVs, whether class A or not, are seperate from full power TV stations. To start a new full power TV station, you have to apply for a channel assigned to the city that is vacant or try to get the FCC TV Table of Allotments amended to assign a new full power channel to a city (then apply for it, if amended).

In San Antonio, to TeleFutura viewers, it will seem that Univision will effectively pull off an upgrade. Right now, it owns LPTV TeleFutura outlet KNIC-CA 17 San Antonio. It has a CP to constuct new full power TV station KNIC 17 Blanco TX/San Antonio. (This channel has been fought over for 20 years. Originally, channel 52 was allocated to Blano and there were many applicants. Univision settled with all of the remaining ones and since channel 52 will not exist in the digital world, got the allocation changed to 17). Before it can sign on 17 Blanco, it will have to shut off KNIC-CA and surrender its license. To the viewer, it will appear as if "KNIC" all of a sudden got upgraded when this occured, but in reality, they are two different stations. (The Blanco allocation is kind of odd too in the resepct it was originally thought of as an Austin signal; Blanco is technically in the Austin TV market, not San Antonio. The KNIC's tower though will be on the north side of San Antonio in far northern Bexar County).

As for WGPR, it was never a LPTV. It was always licensed as a full power TV station; it just never fully utilized its potential facilities.
 
Re: None (Re: LPs or CAs upgrading to full-power Big 4)

> None...LPTVs, whether class A or not, are seperate from full
> power TV stations. To start a new full power TV station,
> you have to apply for a channel assigned to the city that is
> vacant or try to get the FCC TV Table of Allotments amended
> to assign a new full power channel to a city (then apply for
> it, if amended).

Actually, there was one that got upgraded to full-power -- in 1988, 1000-watt K15AC in Rapid City, SD was upgraded to full-powered, 690kw KCLO ch.15. Both repeated Sioux Falls CBS affiliate KELO.
 
Re: None (Re: LPs or CAs upgrading to full-power Big 4)

> Actually, there was one that got upgraded to full-power --
> in 1988, 1000-watt K15AC in Rapid City, SD was upgraded to
> full-powered, 690kw KCLO ch.15. Both repeated Sioux Falls
> CBS affiliate KELO.

Technically, it wasn't an upgrade but an entirely separate license. The owner of an LPTV station is free to apply for a full-powered license in the same market as the LPTV -- but the FCC does not consider this to be an upgrade of the existing station, but rather it is treated as an application for a completely new station. The LPTV owner gets no preference from the FCC, and no guarantee that they will prevail against other applicants for the same full-powered license.
 
Re: None (Re: LPs or CAs upgrading to full-power Big 4)

> Technically, it wasn't an upgrade but an entirely separate
> license. The owner of an LPTV station is free to apply for
> a full-powered license in the same market as the LPTV -- but
> the FCC does not consider this to be an upgrade of the
> existing station, but rather it is treated as an application
> for a completely new station. The LPTV owner gets no
> preference from the FCC, and no guarantee that they will
> prevail against other applicants for the same full-powered
> license.
-----------
Such upgrades included re-licensing, in my original post.<P ID="signature">______________
From WNBC-TV New York this is Liiiiive at Fiiiiive!</P>
 
Re: None (Re: LPs or CAs upgrading to full-power Big 4)

Another example of this situation is the old WCIA translator on channel 49 in Springfield, IL. It was replaced by a full power UHF on the same channel with the same programming and owners (it has since changed to UPN).

With the exception of the Telefutura station, I think you will find most of these happened in the 70's and 80's when licenses were not so highly sought after. Today, even the worst signalled rimshot will get a number of applicants at licensing. Since the tranlsator owner gets no preference, the chances baing able to replace a translator with a co-owned full power license on the same channel are much slimmer.

Another historical note. Before the power increases for LPTV stations in the 90's, VHF translators were limited to 10 watts and UHF to 100 watts. A station could use 100 watts on VHF or 1000 watts on UHF if the channel was listed in the table of allocations for that community. So there was a real advantage in putting the tranlsator on an unused channel. Once licenses on UHF became more valuable, these translator owners realized that they needed to get a full power license to protect their signals.
 
Re: None (Re: LPs or CAs upgrading to full-power Big 4)

> Another example of this situation is the old WCIA translator
> on channel 49 in Springfield, IL. It was replaced by a full
> power UHF on the same channel with the same programming and
> owners (it has since changed to UPN).
>
> With the exception of the Telefutura station, I think you
> will find most of these happened in the 70's and 80's when
> licenses were not so highly sought after. Today, even the
> worst signalled rimshot will get a number of applicants at
> licensing. Since the tranlsator owner gets no preference,
> the chances baing able to replace a translator with a
> co-owned full power license on the same channel are much
> slimmer.
>
> Another historical note. Before the power increases for
> LPTV stations in the 90's, VHF translators were limited to
> 10 watts and UHF to 100 watts. A station could use 100
> watts on VHF or 1000 watts on UHF if the channel was listed
> in the table of allocations for that community. So there
> was a real advantage in putting the tranlsator on an unused
> channel. Once licenses on UHF became more valuable, these
> translator owners realized that they needed to get a full
> power license to protect their signals.
>

I'm not certain that it ever actually broadcasted as an LPTV, but there was a license in Rocky Mount, NC for W47AG that was licensed to Family Broadcasting Enterprises. UHF channel 47 is allocated to Rocky Mount, and this same company acquired a license to sign on a full-power station on the channel, WFXB. As I recall, WFXB's full-power facilities were a far cry from 5,000,000 watts. The signal was non-existent in Durham, just 50 or so miles west. The station became WRMY in 1991, and the station was purchased and moved closer to Raleigh, where it upgraded in the late 1990s as PAX (now "i") affiliate WRPX.
 
Re: None (Re: LPs or CAs upgrading to full-power Big 4)

There are dozens and dozens examples of LPTVs that were sitting on vacant channels that the FCC reserved for full power use in the TV Table of Allotments where someone came along and applied for a full power station and then replaced the previous LPTV occupant. But, in each case, as previously noted, these are 2 different TV stations. Likely, any new full power TV station or digital TV station that has signed on in the last 15 years likely displaced or killed off a LPTV.

For example, in Bryan/College Station TX in the '80s, K28AK 28 came on and simulcasted co-owned oldies KTAM 1240 Bryan (video was a camera in the studio of the DJ on duty; audio was a KTAM simulcast). It later became a translator of new Fox KWKT 44 Waco. 28 was allocated to Bryan for full power use (Bryan had 3 and 28 allocated; College Station had 15 and 50; only 3 and 15 were in use). In the '90s, someone applied to use channel 28 for full power use and one the permit and independent KYLE 28 was born. It became a WB affiliate and then was bought by KWKT to become a full power satellite, which is what it is now as "Fox 28." K28AK had to go before KYLE came on; KYLE was a completely seperate TV station. It just so happens K28AK and KYLE shared the same channel number over the years.

Another example, Fox had to shut down its own independent/Fox Kids LPTV K13VC Austin when Univision fired up KAKW-DT 13 Killeen/Austin. K13VC did not upgrade to a digital full power TV station; it was killed off by a competitor's digital conversion. There are dozens of examples where LPTVs were taken silent like K13VC or forced to find other channels because their channel was allocated to a full power station for digital purposes.

I used KNIC-CA/KNIC in my origial post of the same owner using a new full power signal to kill off their existing LPTV (thus making it appear to the viewer as an upgrade). A similar thing happened in Fairbanks, where the owners of a LPTV on channel 7 (K07IU) shut it off when they won a permit for a new full power signal that happened to be on the same channel. LPTV 7 went off one day and KFXF 7 Fairbanks replaced it. If you look in the FCC databases, you will see the LPTV was deleted (it's listed as DK07IU since the FCC puts a "D" in front of all deleted favilities); KFXF is not that LPTV, it is a different station with different license. To drive home the point, if you look up KFXF or KNIC, you will see their call sign histories do not include K07IU nor KNIC-CA.


> > Another example of this situation is the old WCIA
> translator
> > on channel 49 in Springfield, IL. It was replaced by a
> full
> > power UHF on the same channel with the same programming
> and
> > owners (it has since changed to UPN).
> >
> > With the exception of the Telefutura station, I think you
> > will find most of these happened in the 70's and 80's when
>
> > licenses were not so highly sought after. Today, even the
>
> > worst signalled rimshot will get a number of applicants at
>
> > licensing. Since the tranlsator owner gets no preference,
>
> > the chances baing able to replace a translator with a
> > co-owned full power license on the same channel are much
> > slimmer.
> >
> > Another historical note. Before the power increases for
> > LPTV stations in the 90's, VHF translators were limited to
>
> > 10 watts and UHF to 100 watts. A station could use 100
> > watts on VHF or 1000 watts on UHF if the channel was
> listed
> > in the table of allocations for that community. So there
> > was a real advantage in putting the tranlsator on an
> unused
> > channel. Once licenses on UHF became more valuable, these
>
> > translator owners realized that they needed to get a full
> > power license to protect their signals.
> >
>
> I'm not certain that it ever actually broadcasted as an
> LPTV, but there was a license in Rocky Mount, NC for W47AG
> that was licensed to Family Broadcasting Enterprises. UHF
> channel 47 is allocated to Rocky Mount, and this same
> company acquired a license to sign on a full-power station
> on the channel, WFXB. As I recall, WFXB's full-power
> facilities were a far cry from 5,000,000 watts. The signal
> was non-existent in Durham, just 50 or so miles west. The
> station became WRMY in 1991, and the station was purchased
> and moved closer to Raleigh, where it upgraded in the late
> 1990s as PAX (now "i") affiliate WRPX.
>
 
> Are there any stations that started out with LP or CA
> status, and not only have become full-power, but are
> affiliated with CBS, ABC, NBC or FOX? I know in Detroit
> WGPR 62 (now WWJ, owned by CBS) used to be fairly low power
> compared to now, but I don't ever know of it being an LP or
> CA.
>
In Norfolk, WVBT 43 started out as a low power station in 1993, then in 1995? WAVY-TV 10's owner (Lin Broadcasting) entered in a LMA with WVBT's owner. In 1996 Lin got them a new full power transmitter and became The WB. In 1998 they became FOX 43 and in 2002 Lin brought the station. <P ID="signature">______________
Tidewater MediaZone TV/Radio Audio Clips and ScreenCaps</P>
 
> In Norfolk, WVBT 43 started out as a low power station in
> 1993, then in 1995? WAVY-TV 10's owner (Lin Broadcasting)
> entered in a LMA with WVBT's owner. In 1996 Lin got them a
> new full power transmitter and became The WB. In 1998 they
> became FOX 43 and in 2002 Lin brought the station.

According to the FCC database, WVBT has always been licensed (since 1985, not 1993) as a full-power station, not as a LPTV. Just because a station operated for part of its history at less than "full power" (and that's not really the right term, as a station's "full power" is whatever the FCC has authorized in its present license) doesn't make it a LP or CA for purposes of this discussion.<P ID="signature">______________


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