WPBY-LD (channel 35) is a
low-power television station in
Lafayette, Indiana
Lafayette ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, whi ...
, United States, affiliated with
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 ...
. It is owned by Coastal Television Broadcasting Company
LLC alongside dual
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 ...
/
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
WPBI-LD
WPBI-LD (channel 16) is a low-power television station in Lafayette, Indiana, United States, affiliated with Fox and NBC. It is owned by Coastal Television Broadcasting Company LLC alongside ABC affiliate WPBY-LD (channel 35). Both stations ...
(channel 16). Both stations share studios on South 18th Street in Lafayette, while WPBY-LD's transmitter is located on McCarty Lane on the city's east side.
History
The station's
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 ...
was granted by 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) on February 22, 2011, under the
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 ...
of W35CY-D. The calls were changed to WECY-LD on December 7, 2015. Originally licensed to
Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
and still a
silent station, the station was under ownership of
DTV America Corporation
DTV America Corporation is an owner of low-power television stations in the United States.
Majority owned by telecommunications conglomerate INNOVATE Corp., DTV America stations have no local operations, and the company relies almost entirely ...
of
Sunrise, Florida
Sunrise is a city in central-western Broward County, Florida, United States, and is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 97,335.
Sunrise was incorporated in 1961 and founded ...
until it was sold to
Woodland Communications, an upstate New York-based broadcaster, in a station trade with DTV America in early 2017 (in the trade, DTV America got
WWHC-LP in
Olean, New York
Olean ( ) is a city in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. Olean is the largest city in Cattaraugus County and serves as its financial, business, transportation and entertainment center. It is one of the principal cities of the Southern ...
). The new owners then entered into a local marketing agreement with Star City Broadcasting, a partnership between Woodland and Waypoint Media, a company operated by Mike Reed.
The station's broadcasts began on July 1, 2017, providing the Lafayette
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 ...
with the only missing local broadcast of a "
Big Three" (ABC,
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 Entertainm ...
and NBC—or, including Fox, "big four") commercial network; before the station began broadcasting, ABC programming was provided to the Lafayette market on cable and satellite via
WRTV
WRTV (channel 6) is a television station in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. The station's studios are located on Meridian Street north of downtown Indianapolis, and its transmit ...
. Though it has always branded as "WPBY", it did not officially take on the WPBY-LD call sign until February 9, 2018,
following a swap with
a station
, known professionally as , is a Japanese actor, creative director, and writer. He appeared in a number of Japanese TV dramas, including ''Mei-chan no Shitsuji'', ''Hanazakari no Kimitachi e'' and ''Zettai Kareshi''. Additionally, he was well kn ...
in
Elmira, New York
Elmira () is a city and the county seat of Chemung County, New York, United States. It is the principal city of the Elmira, New York, metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses Chemung County. The population was 26,523 at the 2020 cens ...
.
In April 2018, Star City Broadcasting entered into negotiations for the full purchase of WPBY-LD from Woodland. The application was approved by the FCC the following month.
Programming
Syndicated programming on WPBY-LD includes ''
Entertainment Tonight
''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Para ...
'', ''
Rachael Ray
Rachael Domenica Ray (born August 25, 1968) is an American cook, television personality, businesswoman, and author. She hosts the syndicated daily talk and lifestyle program ''Rachael Ray'', and the Food Network series '' 30 Minute Meals''. ...
'', and ''
The Dr. Oz Show''.
In addition to ABC programming, WPBY-LD operates the Lafayette market's
MeTV
MeTV, an acronym for Memorable Entertainment Television, is an American broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Marketed as "The Definitive Destination for Classic TV", the network airs a variety of classic television program ...
affiliate on its LD2 subchannel. On weeknights, WPBY-LD2 also carries programs from the
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...
programming service, filling in programming for all time slots outside of the MyNetworkTV programming schedule with the MeTV schedule. WPBY-LD2 also previously served as the Lafayette market's affiliate of the
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...
and
White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...
broadcast television networks, carrying many of the games the teams broadcast locally in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
among
WLS-TV
WLS-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, airing programming from the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios on North State S ...
and
WGN-TV
WGN-TV (channel 9) is an Independent station (North America), independent television station in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, it is sister station, sister to the company's sole radio property, talk ra ...
, though not those broadcast by
NBC Sports Chicago
NBC Sports Chicago (formerly Comcast SportsNet Chicago) is an American regional sports network that broadcasts regional coverage of professional sports teams in the Chicago metropolitan area, as well as college sports events and original sports- ...
. This arrangement ended in 2019, as each of Chicago's MLB, NBA and NHL teams signed exclusive deals with regional sports networks, ending their runs on free-to-air television for non-national games.
WPBY-LD carries select
Purdue Boilermakers football
The Purdue Boilermakers football team represents Purdue University in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of college football. Purdue plays its home games at Ross–Ade Stadium on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. ...
games via ''
ESPN College Football on ABC
''ESPN College Football on ABC'' is the branding used for broadcasts of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football games that are produced by ESPN, and televised on ABC in the Unit ...
''.
Newscasts
WPBY-LD presently offers 5 hours of local newscasts per week, all on weekdays. The newscasts, branded as ''Star City News'', air at 7:00 and 11:00 p.m. The 7 p.m. newscast is exclusive to WPBY-LD, and the 11 p.m. newscast is also simulcast on WPBI-LD2. Chris Morisse Vizza, a 10-year veteran of
WLFI-TV
WLFI-TV (channel 18) is a television station in Lafayette, Indiana, United States, affiliated with CBS and The CW Plus. Owned by Entertainment Studios, Allen Media Broadcasting, the station maintains studios on Yeager Road in West Lafayette, I ...
, is WPBY-LD's first news director. Sarah Blakely is the station's inaugural news anchor, broadcasting from a Waypoint-owned studio in
Little Rock, Arkansas
(The Little Rock, The "Little Rock")
, government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager
, leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor
, leader_name = Frank Scott Jr.
, leader_ ...
, airing segments from Lafayette-based reporters.
["WPBI bursts onto local TV news scene"](_blank)
''Purdue Exponent
The ''Purdue Exponent'' is an independent student newspaper that serves Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. It is published on Mondays and Thursdays during university semesters by the Purdue Student Publishing Foundation, and is Indiana ...
''. Retrieved June 1, 2017. Blakely also anchors similar newscasts on sister station
KJNB-LD
KJNB-LD (channel 39) is a low-power television station in Jonesboro, Arkansas, United States, affiliated with Fox and CBS. Owned by Coastal Television Broadcasting Company LLC, the station maintains a small office in the Regions Bank Building ...
in
Jonesboro, Arkansas
Jonesboro is a city located on Crowley's Ridge in the northeastern corner of the U.S. State of Arkansas. Jonesboro is one of two county seats of Craighead County. According to the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 78,576 and is the f ...
.
Radio tie-ins of the newscasts are planned for
WSHY
WSHY (1410 AM) is a commercial radio station in Lafayette, Indiana. It broadcasts a conservative talk radio format. WSHY is owned by Star City Broadcasting (a joint venture between Waypoint Media and Vision Communications) as part of a cl ...
,
WBPE,
WYCM
WYCM (95.7 FM "Y95") is a radio station in Lafayette, Indiana, owned by Star City Broadcasting (a joint venture between Waypoint Media and Vision Communications) as part of a cluster with Fox/ NBC affiliate WPBI-LD, ABC affiliate WPBY-L ...
, and
WAZY-FM
WAZY-FM (96.5 MHz "Z96-5") is a radio station in Lafayette, Indiana, owned by Star City Broadcasting (a joint venture between Waypoint Media and Vision Communications) as part of a cluster with Fox/NBC affiliate WPBI-LD, ABC affiliate WPBY-LD, ...
.
"WPBI-TV plans weather, news broadcasts"
''Journal & Courier
The Lafayette ''Journal & Courier'' is a daily newspaper owned by Gannett, serving Lafayette, Indiana, and the surrounding communities. It was established in 1920 through the merger of two local papers, the ''Journal and Free Press'' (establish ...
''. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
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 ...
:
References
External links
*
{{MNTV Indiana
PBY-LD
Television channels and stations established in 2017
ABC network affiliates
MeTV affiliates
Low-power television stations in the United States
2017 establishments in Indiana