WBXZ-LD,

virtual channel In most telecommunications organizations, a virtual channel is a method of remapping the ''program number'' as used in H.222 Program Association Tables and Program Mapping Tables to a channel number that can be entered via digits on a receiver's ...

56 (

UHF Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter (on ...

digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Technology and computing Hardware *Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals **Digital camera, which captures and stores digital i ...

channel 23), is a low-powered

television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth ...

licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

. The station is owned by Steven Ritchie. The station airs

Cozi TV Cozi TV (stylized on-air as COZI TV) is an American free-to-air television network owned by the NBC Owned Television Stations division of NBCUniversal. The network airs classic television series from the 1960s to the 2000s. The network origina ...

on its main channel; its local programming is instead carried on the fourth

digital subchannel In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compress ...

, branded as Throwback Television.

History

The station broadcast on channel 56 analog until it had to vacate that frequency when the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

(FCC) removed it from the broadcast spectrum. It used to be an affiliate of The Box, from which the station gets its

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...

. The station is owned by Steven Ritchie, a local retired police officer who acquired the station from Craig Fox in December 2013.Pergament, Alan (December 30, 2013)
Lockport policeman plans new low power TV channels
''The Buffalo News''. Retrieved December 30, 2013. After the digital transition, the station moved from analog channel 56 to channel 17 (the channel had been held by WBUF-TV from 1953 to 1958 and

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

member station

WNED-TV WNED-TV (channel 17) is a PBS member television station in Buffalo, New York, United States. It is owned by the Western New York Public Broadcasting Association (doing business as Buffalo Toronto Public Media) alongside NPR member WBFO (88.7 F ...

from 1959 to 2009) through a Special Temporary Authority approved by the FCC. (In the

spectrum reallocation The 2016 United States wireless spectrum auction, officially known as Auction 1001, allocated approximately 100 MHz of the United States Ultra High Frequency (UHF) spectrum formerly allocated to UHF television in the 600 MHz band. The spe ...

, it moved up to physical channel 23, previously occupied by WNLO and WPXJ.) The station returned to virtual channel 56 upon digital conversion, at which point it also planned to add several

s from

Luken Communications Get After It Media, formerly known as Luken Communications and Reach High Media Group, is a privately owned American broadcast holding company, based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which owns or operates around 80 television stations in the United St ...

, among them being

Retro Television Network Retro TV (stylized as retrotv), formerly known as Retro Television Network, is an American broadcast television network owned by Get After It Media. The network mainly airs classic television sitcoms and drama series from the 1950s through th ...

, PBJ and

Heartland Heartland or Heartlands may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Heartland Bank, a New Zealand-based financial institution * Heartland Inn, a chain of hotels based in Iowa, United States * Heartland Alliance, an anti-poverty organization i ...

. WBXZ-LP returned to the air on April 17, 2014 with test programming; on May 2, the station indicated it was having trouble securing a carriage agreement with Luken (mainly because Ritchie could not fit the necessary large satellite dish onto the

One Seneca Center Seneca One Tower is a skyscraper located in downtown Buffalo, New York. The building was formerly known as One HSBC Center (1999–2013) and prior to that, as Marine Midland Center (1972–1999), its name was changed in 1999 shortly af ...

where the station's transmitter is located but also in part due to Luken's financial problems) and was seeking other options.Pergament, Alan (June 4, 2014)
Retired Lockport officer's TV station is on the air
''The Buffalo News''. Retrieved June 4, 2014. As of 2014, the station was carrying

on 56.1 and "Throwback TV" (a locally programmed outlet) is carried on 56.2 (later moved to 56.4). Retro and a new Luken subchannel known as

Rev'n Rev’n is an American vehicle-oriented digital broadcast television network owned by Get After It Media and launched on November 3, 2014. History As early as October 2012, Luken Communications, LLC was planning a car focused channel then called ...

would be added to WBXZ-LP on December 1, 2014.

Buzzr Buzzr is an American digital terrestrial television, digital broadcast television network owned by Fremantle North America, a unit of the Fremantle (company), Fremantle subsidiary of RTL Group. The network serves as an outlet for the extensive li ...

would be added shortly after that network's launch. Luken's networks, along with Buzzr, were pulled from WBXZ-LP on June 28, 2016 after technical difficulties.

Ebru TV Samanyolu TV was an international Turkish language TV station with its headquarters in Istanbul. Samanyolu TV was previously owned by Yayıncılık A.Ş. Yayıncılık A.Ş. is a media company that operates radio and television broadcasting, pub ...

and AMGTV were briefly added as replacements; both have since been removed. With the exception of Cozi and the returning

Tuff TV Tuff TV was an American digital broadcast television network targeted at men owned by the Tuff TV, Inc. division of Seals Entertainment Corporation. Tuff TV launched on June 30, 2009, and ceased operations August 26, 2018. Tuff TV carried a m ...

(which was re-added after it split from Luken). Retro (but not any of the other Luken networks) was re-added in July 2017; Tuff TV was dropped later that year. In February 2018, Buzzr was added back to the list of subchannels.

Jewelry Television Jewelry Television is an American television network specializing in the sale of jewelry for both men and women. On-air and online, the network is mainly branded by its jtv initials in lower-case letters. It has an estimated reach of more than ...

was added shortly thereafter, with the station signing on with

NewsNet NewsNet (stylized as NEWSnet) is an American news-oriented free-to-air television network and newscast production company owned by Bridge News, LLC, which itself is owned by Bridge Media Networks. The network is structured to broadcast a tight ...

, an upstart news network, when it launched in fall 2018, bringing the number of subchannels to 11. With Tuff TV ceasing operations in August 2018, Rev'n was re-added; Rev'n was dropped in August 2020 in favor of the returning AMGTV. WBXZ-LP began showing This TV in September 2019, taking over the affiliation from rimshot WVTT.

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is

multiplexed In telecommunications and computer networking, multiplexing (sometimes contracted to muxing) is a method by which multiple analog or digital signals are combined into one signal over a shared medium. The aim is to share a scarce resource - a ...

: 56.4 and 56.9 are locally programmed.

Throwback Television

"Throwback Television" is the brand used for the 56.4 subchannel. It serves as the channel's flagship service, programmed by Ritchie with programming including independent regional pro wrestling, the locally produced science-fiction series ''Captain Isotope and the Enemy of Space'', and an assortment of hosted movie shows, shows and films in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

infomercial An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of dire ...

s, and low-cost/barter syndicated fare.

References

External links

WBXZ-LD Official website
*
FCCinfo.com information on WBXZ-LD
* {{Buffalo TV BXZ-LD Low-power television stations in the United States Buzzr affiliates Cozi TV affiliates NewsNet affiliates