WPBY-LD

WPBY-LD, virtual and UHF digital channel 35, is a low-powered ABC-affiliated television station licensed to Lafayette, Indiana, United States. Owned by Star City Broadcasting, LLC, a partnership between Waypoint Media and upstate New York-based Vision Communications, it is sister to dual Fox/NBC affiliate WPBI-LD (channel 16) and commercial radio stations WAZY-FM (96.5 MHz), WBPE (95.3 FM), WSHY (1410 AM) and WYCM (95.7 MHz). The six stations share studios on South 18th Street in Lafayette;[2][3] WPBY-LD's transmitter is located on McCarty Lane on the city's east side.[4] On cable and satellite, the station is available on Comcast Xfinity channel 15, Metronet channel 16, and Dish Network channel 6.[5]

WPBY-LD
Lafayette, Indiana
United States
ChannelsDigital: 35 (UHF)
Virtual: 35 (PSIP)
BrandingWPBY Lafayette (general)
Star City News (newscasts)
MeTV on MyNetworkTV Lafayette (on LD2)
Programming
Affiliations35.1: ABC
35.2: MeTV/MyNetworkTV
Ownership
OwnerMike Reed and Bill Christian
(sale to Standard Media pending[1])
(Star City Broadcasting, LLC)
TV: WPBI-LD
Radio: WBPE, WSHY, WYCM, WAZY-FM
History
FoundedFebruary 22, 2011
First air date
July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01)
Former call signs
W35CY-D (2011–2015)
WECY-LD (2015–2018)
Call sign meaning
W-Purdue Boilermakers, LafaYette
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID184197
ERP13 kW
HAAT54.4 m (178 ft)
Transmitter coordinates40°24′8.1″N 86°50′59″W
Translator(s)WPBI-LD 16.3 (UHF) Lafayette
Links
Public license information
Profile
LMS
Website

History

The station's construction permit was granted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on February 22, 2011, under the call sign of W35CY-D. The calls were changed to WECY-LD on December 7, 2015. Originally licensed to Indianapolis and still a silent station, the station was under ownership of DTV America Corporation of Sunrise, Florida 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).[6] 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 with the only missing local broadcast of a "Big Three" (ABC, CBS 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. Though it has always branded as "WPBY", it did not officially take on the WPBY-LD call sign until February 9, 2018,[7] following a swap with a station in Elmira, New York.[8]

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.[9][10][11]

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming [12]
35.1720p16:9WPBYMain WPBY-LD programming / ABC
35.2MetvMeTV & MyNetworkTV

Programming

Syndicated programming on WPBY-LD includes Entertainment Tonight, Rachael Ray, and The Dr. Oz Show.

In addition to ABC programming, WPBY-LD operates the Lafayette market's MeTV affiliate on its LD2 subchannel.[13] On weeknights, WPBY-LD2 also carries programs from the MyNetworkTV 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 and White Sox broadcast television networks, carrying many of the games the teams broadcast locally in Chicago among WLS-TV and WGN-TV, though not those broadcast by NBC Sports Chicago.[14][15] 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 games via ESPN College Football on ABC.

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.[16] Chris Morisse Vizza, a 10-year veteran of WLFI-TV, 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,[17] airing segments from Lafayette-based reporters.[5] Blakely also anchors similar newscasts on sister station KJNB-LD in Jonesboro, Arkansas.[18]

Radio tie-ins of the newscasts are planned for WSHY, WBPE, WYCM, and WAZY-FM.[19]

References
  1. "Standard Media to acquire nine stations". Standard Media. November 25, 2019. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  2. http://www.fccinfo.com/CMDProFacLookup.php?tabSearchType=Lice&sLicensee=STAR%20CITY%20BROADCASTING,%20LLC
  3. http://www.starcitybroadcasting.com
  4. http://rabbitears.info/contour.php?appid=2003926
  5. "WPBI bursts onto local TV news scene". Purdue Exponent. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  6. Digital TV Market Listing for WECY-LD
  7. "Call Sign History (WPBY-LD)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  8. "Call Sign History (WECY-LD)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  9. http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/112488/station-trading-roundup-2-sales-250000
  10. https://www.rbr.com/star-city-now-officially-owns-this-abc-affiliate/
  11. http://licensing.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/Auth_Files/1781540.pdf
  12. RabbitEars TV Query for WPBY-LD
  13. "Where to Watch MeTV In Lafayette". © 2018 MeTV National Limited Partnership. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  14. How can I watch WGN 9 Chicago Cubs 2018 games outside the Chicago viewing area?
  15. How can I watch WGN 9 Chicago White Sox 2018 games outside the Chicago viewing area?
  16. http://starcitybroadcasting.com/home/star-city-news/
  17. https://www.facebook.com/SarahBlakelyNews/photos/a.819509348126294.1073741829.790189274391635/1337911226286101/
  18. New Jonesboro TV news launched Monday night
  19. "WPBI-TV plans weather, news broadcasts". Journal & Courier. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
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