WHNO (channel 20) is a
religious
Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...
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 ...
in
, United States,
owned and operated
In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an affiliate ...
by the
Christian Television Network
Christian Television Network (CTN) is a non-profit broadcast television network of small owned-and-operated stations (O&O) that broadcasts religious programming. It is based in Largo, Florida (with a mailing address of Clearwater), and the flagshi ...
(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
Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...
neighborhood.
Prior history of UHF channel 20 in New Orleans
The UHF channel 20 allocation in the New Orleans
market
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
*Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
*Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
Geography
*Märket, an ...
was originally occupied by WJMR-TV (now
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
affiliate
WVUE), a primary
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
and secondary
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
affiliate which moved to that channel from UHF channel 61 on July 20, 1955. That station changed its channel allocation two more times—first to
VHF
Very high frequency (VHF) is the ITU designation for the range of radio frequency electromagnetic waves (radio waves) from 30 to 300 megahertz (MHz), with corresponding wavelengths of ten meters to one meter.
Frequencies immediately below VHF ...
channel 13 on January 13, 1959 (less than one month before it adopted the WVUE call letters) and then to channel 12 on September 6, 1962 (due to interference with
Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...
station
WLOX
WLOX (channel 13) is a television station licensed to Biloxi, Mississippi, United States, serving the Mississippi Gulf Coast as an affiliate of ABC and CBS. Owned by Gray Television, the station maintains studios on DeBuys Road in Biloxi, an ...
on channel 13)—before settling on channel 8 on June 8, 1970.
History
The
construction permit
Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building perm ...
for UHF channel 20 that bore WHNO dates to 1988 and was filed by Tucker Broadcasting Company, Limited Partnership. Tucker was not the original winner in comparative hearing. An FCC law judge found in favor of Delta Broadcasting Company, a competing applicant headed by market veteran John G. Curren, in 1990; the FCC review board proposed granting the station to another aspiring owner, Swan Broadcasting. In 1991, LeSEA Broadcasting (now
Family Broadcasting Corporation
Family Broadcasting Corporation, formerly known as LeSEA Broadcasting, is an American Christian television network. Founded by Lester Sumrall in 1972, Family Broadcasting Corporation is headquartered in South Bend, Indiana, and broadcasts Christ ...
) purchased the construction permit with the intent to sign on a station in the market on channel 20.
The station first signed on the air on October 20, 1994; the station carried a mix of Christian-targeted programs, family-oriented syndicated programs and movies. As in other markets where LeSEA owned stations, WHNO opted against taking an affiliation with the United Paramount Network (
UPN
The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which prod ...
) prior to the network's January 16, 1995 launch as the programming planned for the network conflicted with the company's core programming values; the affiliation instead went to upstart station
WUPL
WUPL (channel 54) 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 (channel 4). Both stations share stu ...
(channel 54), which launched in June 1995.
In September 1995, channel 20 began carrying the (first incarnation of the) CBS
morning program ''
CBS This Morning
''CBS This Morning'' (''CTM'') is an American morning television program that aired on CBS from November 30, 1987, to October 29, 1999, and again from January 9, 2012, to September 6, 2021. The program was aired from Monday through Saturday. ...
''; the station then carried its successor morning show, ''
The Early Show
''The Early Show'' is an American morning television show that aired on CBS from November 1, 1999 to January 7, 2012, and the ninth attempt at a morning news-talk program by the network since 1954. The program aired Monday through Friday from ...
'', from that program's debut in 1999 until 2002, when the program moved to WUPL. Much like with WUPL today, WHNO carried the programs as
WWL-TV
WWL-TV (channel 4) is a television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Slidell-licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate WUPL (channel 54). Both stations share studios on Rampart Street ...
(channel 4) had long carried a weekday morning newscast that runs into the 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. timeslot occupied by the network's morning programs in most other markets. In 2000, WHNO began to air Christian-targeted
paid programming
Paid or PAID may refer to:
* ''Paid'' (1930 film), an American film starring Joan Crawford
* ''Paid'' (2006 film), a Dutch film
*''Personality and Individual Differences'', a journal
See also
* Paide, the capital of Järva County, Estonia
* P ...
in some off-peak hours.
When
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
struck the New Orleans area on August 29, 2005, the storm's flooding and damaging winds caused extensive damage to WHNO's Behrman Highway studios. The station ceased over-the-air broadcasts due to transmitter problems related to the storm. LeSEA provided a direct feed of its national World Harvest Television service to New Orleans area cable and satellite providers (including the market's largest,
Cox Communications
Cox Communications, Inc. (also known as Cox Cable and formerly Cox Broadcasting Corporation, Dimension Cable Services and Times-Mirror Cable) is an American digital cable television provider, telecommunications and home automation services. It i ...
). Channel 20 returned to the air that November, carrying WHT programming. This lasted until December 3, 2005, when WHNO resumed its regular locally based program schedule and began providing local advertising once again.
LeSEA president Peter Sumrall (the son of late founder Dr. Lester Sumrall) appointed veteran television and cable manage
Dean Poweryto become WHNO's general manager in May 2007. Under Powery, the station increased its staff and upgraded its programming from its post-Katrina low to turn it into a more competitive station in the New Orleans market; Powery also reconnected with local ministries, added newer syndicated programming and local
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
games to WHNO's schedule and expanded the station's production capabilities. In 2011, LeSEA Broadcasting acquired the locally based independent sports website SportsNOLA.com from NewOrleans.com.
On February 5, 2018, it was announced that LeSEA would sell WHNO and two
low-power stations in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
and
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
to
Clearwater, Florida
Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, northwest of Tampa and St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2020 census, the city had a populat ...
-based
Christian Television Network
Christian Television Network (CTN) is a non-profit broadcast television network of small owned-and-operated stations (O&O) that broadcasts religious programming. It is based in Largo, Florida (with a mailing address of Clearwater), and the flagshi ...
for $5.7 million.
The sale was completed on April 23, 2018.
Programming
As a CTN station, WHNO offers a mix of local and national Christian ministry programs.
Sports programming
WHNO carried the only televised game of the short-lived springtime
Regional Football League
The Regional Football League (RFL) was an american football minor league formed to be the self-styled "major league of spring football." Established in 1997, the league played a single season, 1999, and then ceased operations.
History
The RFL s ...
: the
New Orleans Thunder
The New Orleans Thunder were a professional American football team that played during the 1999 season as part of the Regional Football League. They played their home games at Tad Gormley Stadium in City Park in New Orleans.
The team was announced ...
–
Mobile Admirals
The Mobile Admirals were a professional American football team that played during the 1999 season as part of the Regional Football League; the Admirals were the league champions. They played their home games at Ladd–Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Al ...
contest in
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
on May 8, 1999. The league lasted only one season.
In 2010, WHNO hired veteran sports journalist and personality Ken Berthelot to expand the station's sports programming. With over 40 years of experience in sports, Berthelot quickly put together a five-hour sports programming block that aired on Monday through Friday nights, which covered college and local high school sports. In September 2012, Berthelot expanded WHNO's sports block to ten hours a week (running weeknights from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.) to counterprogram and compete against the local news programming on WWL-TV, WVUE,
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
affiliate
WDSU
WDSU (channel 6) 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 transmitte ...
(channel 6) and ABC affiliate
WGNO
WGNO (channel 26) 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 (channel 38). Both stations share studios at The Galleria ...
(channel 26).
On August 24, 2011, general manager Dean Powery oversaw the acquisition of SportsNOLA.com, an acquisition that added veteran sports journalist Ken Trahan and more than 20 local sports contributors. In 2012, WHNO began airing
high school football
High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...
, baseball and
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
games again for the first time since Hurricane Katrina. WHNO became an affiliate of the
Southland Conference
The Southland Conference, abbreviated as SLC, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it pa ...
Television Network in September 2012, carrying sporting events from the conference's universities including games from nearby
Southeastern Louisiana University
Southeastern Louisiana University (Southeastern) is a public university in Hammond, Louisiana. It was founded in 1925 by Linus A. Sims as Hammond Junior College. Sims succeeded in getting the campus moved to north Hammond in 1928, when it becam ...
and
Nicholls State University
Nicholls State University is a public university in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Founded in 1948, Nicholls is part of the University of Louisiana System. Originally named Francis T. Nicholls Junior College, the university is named for Francis T. Nicholl ...
. The Southland Conference Television Network dissolved on July 1, 2015.
Technical information
Subchannels
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 ...
:
After the digital transition, WHNO began to multiplex its digital signal. In 2009, WHNO began carrying the LeSEA-owned World Harvest Television service on digital subchannel 20.2. In 2013, the station added
WeatherNation TV
WeatherNation TV (branded on-air as simply WeatherNation) is an American broadcast, digital streaming, cable, and satellite television network owned by WeatherNation, Inc, a subsidiary of Performance One Media and ultimately owned by Robert J. ...
on its second digital subchannel, followed by the addition of
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 ...
and a third digital subchannel, LeSEA's World Harvest Television, in August 2014. In September 2015, WHNO-D1 began broadcasting in 1080i high-definition on 20.1. Soon after, WHNO dropped one of the three subchannels, World Harvest Television, from channel 20.3. WeatherNation TV subsequently moved from channel 20.4 to 20.3. WHNO carried Light TV until the station was sold to CTN.
When CTN took over the station, all of the secular and outside digital subchannels were dropped in favor of CTN's in-house subchannel offerings, CTN Lifestyle (a mix of secular lifestyle and religious programs) on 20.2 and CTNi (CTN's
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
service) on 20.3.
Analog-to-digital conversion
WHNO shut down its analog signal, over
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 ...
channel 20, on January 16, 2009. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 21.
Through the use of
PSIP
The Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP) is the MPEG (a video and audio industry group) and privately defined program-specific information originally defined by General Instrument for the DigiCipher 2 system and later extended for the A ...
, digital television receivers display the station's
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 ...
as its former UHF analog channel 20. This made WHNO the second television station in the New Orleans market (after WVUE) to discontinue its analog signal prior to the June 12, 2009
digital transition deadline.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whno
Television stations in New Orleans
Television channels and stations established in 1994
1994 establishments in Louisiana
Christian Television Network affiliates