WBON-LD

WBON-LD

Richmond, Kentucky United States
Channels	Digital:9 (VHF) Virtual:9
Branding	WBON-TV
Programming
Affiliations	9.1:Independent for others, see§ Subchannels
Ownership
Owner	Wallingford Broadcasting Co., Inc.
History
First air date	November 29, 1993(1993-11-29)
Former call signs	W09BZ (1991–2000) WOBZ-LP (2000–2010) WOBZ-LD (2010–2019)
Former channel number(s)	Analog:9 (VHF, 1993–2010)
Former affiliations	America One(1993–2010) Access TV Retro TV(2006–2016) Buzzr (2015–2020) TBN(secondary, 1993–200?) UATV(secondary, 2001–2006) America's Store(199?–2010) Jewelry TV(secondary, 2010–2016)
Call signmeaning	Wallingford Broadcasting On (TV)
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	2231
Class	LD
ERP	3kW
HAAT	143.9 m (472 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	37°39′35.9″N84°8′59.7″W
Links
Public license information	LMS
Website	wbontv.com

WBON-LD(channel 9) is alow-powerindependent television stationlicensed toRichmond, Kentucky,United States, serving theLexingtonarea. The station is owned by Wallingford Broadcasting, Inc. WBON-LD's studio facility is located on Big Hill Avenue in Richmond, and its transmitter is located nearWaco, Kentucky,on a tower shared with co-ownedFM radiostationsWCYOandWLFX.

History

Originally licensed inEast Bernstadt, Kentucky,in 1991 as W09BZ, the station began life on November 29, 1993,as anAmerica Oneaffiliate, but also providing programming from theTrinity Broadcasting Networkon a secondary basis. For its first 20+ years on the air, the station was owned by Andrea and Joey Kesler, the latter of which was a former weatherman and sportscaster atHazard–basedNBCWKYH-TV (channel 57, nowCBSaffiliate andWKYT-TVsemi-satelliteWYMT-TV) in the 1980s.

The station's callsign was changed to WOBZ-LP in 2000. The station then became affiliated withUrban America Televisionin 2001, and stayed with that network until that network closed in 2006.It switched to theRetro Television Networkas its affiliated network, but also launched a second subchannel to carry Frost Great Outdoors network programming. The station's third subchannel aired programming fromLuken Communications–ownedTuff TVbeginning in the early 2010s, along withJewelry Televisionprogramming during the overnight hours. Upon the station's conversion todigitalin 2010, the station replaced the "-LP" suffix in its callsign with "-LD" to become WOBZ-LD.

Tower collapse

On January 29, 2008, the tower used by WOBZ-LP and radio stationWJJA-LPcollapsed during a storm. The station continued to be seen on London cable and over the internet. Station management hoped to build a new tower by April of that year, which they did.

New affiliation and ownership

In 2016, the station's main digital subchannel became an affiliate ofBuzzr,featuringFremantleMedia's classicgame showlibrary. In 2018, the station was sold to its current owner, Wallingford Broadcasting.

Relocation to Richmond

Under new ownership, the station applied with the FCC to relocate its studio and transmission facilities toRichmondin early 2019. It was granted a construction permit in February 2019 to relocate as well as to upgrade its signal power to 3,000 watts. On July 11 of the same year, the station's callsign changed to the current WBON-LD. The move was completed in April 2020, and the station now operates under full license to cover from Richmond as WBON-LD.

Even after the relocation and renaming, the WOBZYouTubechannel, which was launched in March 2012, can still be accessed in the present day.

Locally-based programming

WBON-LD currently provides local programming, includingKHSAA-sanctioned high school football and basketball games, a daily local newscast calledLive at Fiveamong other locally produced and seasonal programming, and some syndicated programming, some of which is compliant with the FCC'schildren's television programmingrequirements.

In the 2000s as WOBZ-LP/LD, the station was the southeastern Kentucky home toOhio Valley Wrestlingoriginating fromWBKI-TVinLouisville.

Subchannels

The station's signal ismultiplexed:

Subchannels of WBON-LD

Channel	Res.	Aspect	Short name	Programming
9.1	720p	16:9	WBON TV	Independent
9.2	480i		BUZZR	Buzzr
9.3			Hrtland	Heartland
9.4			RETRO	Retro TV

External links

• Official website