WBXI-CD
WBXI-CD, virtual channel 47 (UHF digital channel 36), is a Start TV-affiliated television station licensed to Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The station is owned by the CBS Television Stations subsidiary of ViacomCBS. WBXI-CD's transmitter is located near the "tower farm" on the Northside of Indianapolis.
| Indianapolis, Indiana United States | |
|---|---|
| Channels | Digital: 36 (UHF) Virtual: 47 (PSIP) |
| Branding | WBXI-CD Indianapolis |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations | Start TV |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | CBS Television Stations (a subsidiary of ViacomCBS) (CBS Mass Media Corporation) |
| History | |
| Founded | August 23, 1989 |
First air date | 1990 |
Former call signs | W47AZ (1990–2000) |
Former channel number(s) | Analog: 47 (UHF, 1990–2015) Digital: 47 (UHF, 2015–2019) |
| The Box (1990–2001) MTV2 (2001–2004 and 2004–2007) UPN (via WNDY-TV, 2004) MTV Tres (2007–2014) Local Weather (2014–2017) Decades (2018) | |
Call sign meaning | Box Indianapolis (former affiliation) |
| Technical information | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 70416 |
| Class | CD |
| ERP | 7.8 kW 15 kW (CP) |
| HAAT | 229.6 m (753 ft) 268.6 m (881 ft) (CP) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 39°46′11.1″N 86°9′25.9″W 39°53′39.2″N 86°12′20.5″W (CP) |
| Links | |
Public license information | Profile LMS |
| Website | wbxica |
History
The station first signed on the air in 1990 as W47AZ. Originally serving as an affiliate of the viewer-request music video network The Box, the station changed its call letters to WBXI-CA in 2001; that year, the station switched to MTV2 following that network's acquisition by Viacom, which acquired WBXI-CA. For a few months in 2004, channel 47 served as a repeater of then-sister station and UPN affiliate WNDY-TV (channel 23, now a MyNetworkTV affiliate); this ended when Viacom's Television Stations Group (now CBS Television Stations) subsidiary sold WNDY-TV to the LIN TV Corporation, owners of then-CBS (now CW) affiliate WISH-TV (channel 8), in February 2005.
Unexpectedly, Viacom retained ownership of WBXI-CA, before spinning it off to CBS Corporation in December of that year, following CBS' split from the former company; Viacom retained ownership of the MTV Networks; however, the station maintained its MTV2 affiliation.
In 2007, the station switched to MTV2's Spanish-language sister network MTV Tr3s. This would end in 2014 upon the expiration of its last carriage contract, when WBXI would switch to continuous weather information.
On January 1, 2018, WBXI began carrying programming from CBS/Weigel Broadcasting's Decades, with a local hour of the weather loop remaining weekdays at 7:00 a.m. On September 3, 2018, WBXI-CD launched CBS/Weigel's new network Start TV, dropping Decades. Decades shifted over to WSDI-LD2.
Digital television
Digital channel
| Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP Short Name | Programming[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47.1 | 480i | 16:9 | WBXI-CD | Main WBXI-CD programming / Start TV / Indianapolis Weather |
Analog-to-digital conversion
WBXI-CA maintained a construction permit to shut down its analog signal and flash cut its digital signal into operation on UHF channel 47 on September 1, 2015.[2] The station turned on its digital signal on August 21, 2015 and ceased operations of its analog signal on September 1, 2015, the mandatory date for Class A Low Powered Stations to cease operations.[3][4]
References
- "Digital TV Market Listing for WBXI". RabbitEars.info. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
- "CDBS Print". licensing.fcc.gov.
- "Application Search Details". licensing.fcc.gov.
- "Suspension of Sept. 1, 2015 Digital Transition Date for LPTV/Translato". Federal Communications Commission. December 9, 2015.