WPDF-LP
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Channels | |
Programming | |
Affiliations |
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Ownership | |
Owner | GE Media, Inc. |
WFXB | |
History | |
First air date | January 31, 1989 |
Last air date |
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Former call signs |
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Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 71480 |
Class | TX |
ERP | 6.45 kW |
HAAT | 191 m (627 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 34°7′44.39″N79°50′5.97″W/ 34.1289972°N 79.8349917°W |
Links | |
Public license information | LMS |
WPDF-LP(channel 56) was alow-power television stationinFlorence, South Carolina,United States, which broadcast from January 1989 to March 2002.
Until November 1996, the station was theFoxaffiliate for parts of northeastern South Carolina.
History
[edit]The station began broadcasting on January 31, 1989, as W56CC.[2]It was owned by WELY, Inc., which in turn was named for ownerEdward L. Young,a former congressman.[3]In 1991, Young had filed to buy the construction permit for a new full-power station on channel 21 in Florence, WFIL, though no sale ever materialized.[3]Young expressed interest in building the channel as anNBCaffiliate, which the market lacked,[4]or as a replacement for channel 56.[5]
Known first by its translator call letters and then as "WELY-TV", the station became known as WEYB-LP on December 5, 1995. However, some cable systems continued to carry Fox programming not through the local station but viaFoxnet.Additionally, channel 56 itself served only Florence;Myrtle Beachviewers tuned toWSFX-TVinWilmington, North Carolina,while far southern portions of the market received eitherWTAT-TVfromCharlestonorWACHfromColumbia.[6]
Though the full-power channel 21 station,WWMB,eventually signed on in 1994, it did not affiliate with the new network, with WWMB being a primaryUPNoutlet.[7]However, on November 10, 1996, WEYB-LP lost Fox to the newly renamedWFXB(channel 43), which had been sold and converted to a secular station; that station beat out WWMB for the affiliation.[6]WEYB-LP was then sold, with the new owners—JME Media, which also owned WFXB—dropping all remaining local programming, including a daily community affairs program hosted by market veteran Doug Williams which had aired on the station for nearly all of its existence;[8]channel 56 was converted into aNetwork Oneaffiliate in June 1997.[9]The new affiliation was short-lived, as Network One ceased operations on November 13 of that year. The station went off the air for a transmitter overhaul and returned as an affiliate ofFamilyNet.[10]
In 2001, WEYB-LP became WPDF-LP, but the mix of programming—FamilyNet programs and some locally produced religious and sports content—remained unchanged. However, the station faced an existential threat that was technical. WPDF-LP lost its bid to be designated aClass Astation and became liable to be displaced if a station was to use channel 56 for digital television. The displacement occurred when Florence full-power stationWBTWwas assigned channel 56. In March 2002, WBTW-DT signed on, displacing WPDF-LP and leaving it without a channel to broadcast, resulting in it going off the air. Even thoughTime Warner Cablecarried the low-power station, owner Greg Everett opted not to continue on cable only, believing that most of its audience watched the station over the air,[11]and the FCC canceled the license on August 10, 2004.
References
[edit]- ^"Facility Technical Data for WPDF-LP".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
- ^"Low Power Television Stations"(PDF).Broadcasting Yearbook.1992. p. B-91.RetrievedFebruary 8,2021.
- ^ab"For the Record"(PDF).Broadcasting.August 26, 1991. p. 54.RetrievedFebruary 8,2021.
- ^Drevik, Darren (November 4, 1990)."Let's bag hunger in city".Florence Morning News.p. 2-A.RetrievedAugust 19,2023– via Newspapers.com.
- ^Stone, Susan (March 31, 1991)."Young endeavors: Successful ventures a struggle".Florence Morning News.p. 14-G.RetrievedAugust 19,2023– via Newspapers.com.
- ^abHunter, Jeannine F.; Eddings, Toby (October 31, 1996)."WGSE-TV switching to Fox on Nov. 10".The Sun-News.p. 1D,2D.Archivedfrom the original on April 7, 2022.RetrievedApril 7,2022.
- ^Nye, Doug (September 14, 1994). "New TV Station Signing On At Beach".The State.p. B3.
- ^"Doug Williams"(PDF).South Carolina Broadcasters Association.2006.RetrievedFebruary 8,2021.
- ^"Veteran comic slams 'filth' on today's TV".The State.June 18, 1997. p. C7.
- ^Nye, Doug (November 23, 1997)."Couch potatoes, here's your chance to check the holiday menu".The State.p. TV Weekly 35.
- ^"Digital signal bumps S.C. station".Broadcasting & Cable.March 12, 2002.RetrievedFebruary 8,2021.
- 1989 establishments in South Carolina
- 2002 disestablishments in South Carolina
- Defunct mass media in South Carolina
- Defunct television stations in the United States
- Low-power television stations in South Carolina
- Television channels and stations disestablished in 2002
- Television channels and stations established in 1989