WIPL

WIPL is a full-power television station licensed to Lewiston, Maine, and serving the Portland television market. It broadcasts Ion Television programming on channel 35 and maintains transmitter facilities in West Baldwin, Maine. The station is part of the Ion Media station group, which became a subsidiary of The E. W. Scripps Company after Scripps acquired Ion Media. Although the station operates under the WIPL call sign today, much of its history was conducted as WPME. The station's origins date to a construction permit granted by the Federal Communications Commission in 1987 to Kennebec Valley Television. Financing difficulties and repeated delays prevented construction for roughly a decade. New England Broadcasting, the corporate successor to the original permit holder, eventually received an FCC waiver for the unbuilt station. WPME began broadcasting on August 13, 1997, under a time-brokerage arrangement involving WPXT and its owner, Pegasus Communications Corporation. Its launch gave Portland-area viewers a local over-the-air outlet for UPN programming, which previously had been available in the market primarily through cable carriage of Boston station WSBK-TV. During its first years, WPME was principally an entertainment and network-affiliate outlet rather than a local-news operation. It carried UPN programming as its primary affiliation and also aired selected programming from The WB until WPXT became the market's WB affiliate. The station carried professional sports programming in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including Boston Celtics and Bruins games and Boston Red Sox baseball. It made a limited attempt to produce local news in 2001 with a 7 p.m. program produced by WPXT, but the broadcast was quickly discontinued because of low ratings and inconsistent viewership. WPME also simulcast WPXT's late news for a period rather than operating a separate prime-time newscast. Ownership and operating arrangements changed repeatedly. Pegasus Communications entered bankruptcy in 2004, and its station group was later sold to CP Media. The resulting New Age Media structure continued to operate WPME and related stations. After the 2006 combination of UPN and The WB into The CW, WPME joined MyNetworkTV at that network's launch in September 2006. It remained a MyNetworkTV affiliate for more than a decade, while also carrying various multicast and locally produced programs. Its digital service expanded in 2008 with channels including the Maine Visitor's Channel and QVC; later replacements included Movies!, Laff, and other specialty services. WPME moved through several proposed and completed ownership transactions in the 2010s. A proposed sale to Triumph Broadcasting in 2012 was not consummated. A subsequent transaction transferred the station to Cottonwood Communications in 2013, with Ironwood Communications assuming operational responsibilities through a shared-services arrangement. Ironwood later exercised an option to acquire the station, subject to an FCC waiver related to the Portland market's ownership limits. Ion Media agreed to acquire WPME in December 2017. Before the transaction closed, the station's MyNetworkTV and multicast programming was moved to WPXT. The sale was completed on March 29, 2018, and the station adopted the WIPL call sign. It consequently became an Ion Television station, returning Ion-related programming to the Portland market after the earlier Pax-era operation WMPX-TV had been sold. In 2021, several of WIPL's digital subchannels were reorganized after the discontinuation of Qubo, Ion Plus, and Ion Shop, with Court TV, Bounce TV, and Grit taking over the relevant services. WIPL's principal role today is as a local broadcast outlet for Ion Television and associated multicast networks.

WIPL's history began with an FCC construction permit issued in 1987 to Kennebec Valley Television. The permit remained unbuilt for approximately ten years because its owners struggled to secure financing and complete the required facilities. New England Broadcasting, the successor to the original permit holder, eventually obtained an FCC waiver for the delayed construction project. The station finally signed on as WPME on August 13, 1997, under a time-brokerage agreement associated with WPXT and Pegasus Communications. At launch, WPME provided the Portland market with a local over-the-air outlet for UPN. Before its debut, Portland-area viewers generally received UPN through cable carriage of Boston's WSBK-TV. WPME also carried selected WB programming as a secondary affiliation until WPXT became the market's WB outlet. The station supplemented network programming with professional sports, including Celtics and Bruins games and Red Sox baseball. The Red Sox broadcasts ended after 2002, when the games moved to NESN. WPME made only a limited investment in local news. A 7 p.m. newscast produced by WPXT debuted in 2001 but was soon canceled amid weak ratings and uneven viewing. WPME did not develop a separate 10 p.m. newscast because that would have competed with WPXT's existing late broadcast. For a period, WPME instead simulcast WPXT's news. From 2009 through 2013, the station also carried a simulcast of WLOB's Ray Richardson Show, a conservative weekday morning program featuring talk, news segments, weather information, call-ins, and studio guests. The station's corporate history was marked by several ownership and operating changes. New England Broadcasting sold WPME to KB Prime Media in 2001, while the Pegasus-related operating arrangement continued. Pegasus later entered bankruptcy in 2004 following a dispute with DirecTV concerning rural direct-broadcast-satellite marketing. Its station group was sold in 2006 to CP Media, which developed the New Age Media broadcasting structure. The 2006 merger of UPN and The WB prompted another major programming change. WPXT became the Portland area's CW affiliate, while WPME announced that it would join MyNetworkTV. The station began carrying MyNetworkTV when the network launched on September 5, 2006, becoming Maine's only MyNetworkTV affiliate for part of that period. WPME expanded its digital operation in 2008, adding the Maine Visitor's Channel and QVC on separate subchannels. The visitor service was later replaced by Movies!, while QVC was later replaced by Laff. The station completed its analog shutdown on September 18, 2008, ahead of the revised nationwide digital-transition deadline. A proposed 2012 sale to Triumph Broadcasting was not completed. In 2013, MPS Media filed a new application to sell WPME to Cottonwood Communications in a transaction connected to the transfer of WPXT. The FCC approved the deal in April, and it closed in May. Ironwood Communications assumed operational control through a shared-services agreement and later exercised an option to purchase WPME outright. Because the Portland market did not otherwise satisfy the applicable duopoly conditions, the company sought a failed-station waiver from the FCC. Ion Media agreed to purchase WPME in December 2017. The acquisition price was reported in the source material, but is omitted here because this dossier does not retain a directly cited transaction source for the financial figure. Prior to closing, MyNetworkTV, Escape, and Laff programming was shifted to WPXT's digital channels. The transaction closed on March 29, 2018, when the station changed its call letters to WIPL and became an Ion Television affiliate. The change also represented a return of Ion-related broadcasting to the Portland market after Paxson Communications' predecessor operation had previously owned WMPX-TV. In 2021, WIPL changed several digital services after Qubo, Ion Plus, and Ion Shop ceased operations. Court TV, Bounce TV, and Grit became the principal replacement affiliations on the station's second, third, and fourth subchannels. WIPL now functions primarily as an Ion Television outlet for the Portland, Maine market, supported by digital multicast programming and transmitter facilities in West Baldwin.

• 2021

  Multicast services are reorganized

  [1]WIPLen.wikipedia.org

  Court TV, Bounce TV, and Grit replaced discontinued Qubo, Ion Plus, and Ion Shop services on several WIPL subchannels.

• 2018

  Ion acquisition and call-sign change

  [1]WIPLen.wikipedia.org

  Ion Media completed its acquisition of WPME on March 29, and the station changed its call sign to WIPL and joined Ion Television.

• 2013

  Cottonwood transaction closes

  [1]WIPLen.wikipedia.org

  The FCC-approved sale to Cottonwood Communications was consummated on May 20, with Ironwood Communications taking over operational responsibilities.

• 2008

  Digital subchannels are expanded

  [1]WIPLen.wikipedia.org

  The station added digital services including the Maine Visitor's Channel and QVC, beginning a series of later multicast changes.

• 2006

  WPME becomes a MyNetworkTV affiliate

  [1]WIPLen.wikipedia.org

  Following the UPN–WB realignment, WPME joined MyNetworkTV at the network's September launch.

• 2001

  Local news experiment is launched

  [1]WIPLen.wikipedia.org

  A WPXT-produced 7 p.m. local newscast was introduced on WPME but was canceled soon afterward because of low ratings and inconsistent viewership.

• 1997

  WPME signs on

  [1]WIPLen.wikipedia.org

  After years of construction and financing delays, WPME began broadcasting on August 13 under a time-brokerage arrangement involving WPXT and Pegasus Communications.

• 1987

  FCC construction permit granted

  [1]WIPLen.wikipedia.org

  The FCC granted Kennebec Valley Television a construction permit for the station that would eventually become WPME and later WIPL.

A network-affiliated broadcast station serving the Portland, Maine area, with a primary focus on Ion Television programming and a portfolio of digital multicast services rather than a large standalone local-news operation.

• Primary television network affiliation · 2018

  Ion Television

  WIPL's primary service is an Ion Television affiliation serving the Portland, Maine area. The station carries Ion's nationally distributed schedule over its main broadcast channel and acts as the network's local transmission outlet for the market.

• Digital multicast television · 2021

  Court TV

  Court TV occupies one of WIPL's digital multicast services following the 2021 replacement of earlier Ion-owned specialty networks. Its programming focuses on courtroom proceedings, legal analysis, and crime-related content.

• Digital multicast television · 2021

  Bounce TV

  Bounce TV is carried on a WIPL digital subchannel as part of the station's post-2021 multicast lineup. The network is oriented toward entertainment programming, including films and syndicated series.

• Digital multicast television · 2021

  Grit

  Grit is distributed through one of WIPL's digital subchannels. The service is associated with action-oriented films and television programming and replaced an earlier Ion specialty service in the 2021 lineup change.

• Former primary television network affiliation · 2006

  MyNetworkTV

  WPME carried MyNetworkTV from the network's launch in 2006 until the Ion Media acquisition period in 2018. The affiliation followed the market's UPN and WB realignment and made WPME a major outlet for the new network in Maine.

• 2021

  Digital multicast lineup is refreshedGeneration change

  Background

  Qubo, Ion Plus, and Ion Shop ceased broadcasting, requiring changes to the station's secondary digital services.

  Action taken

  WIPL replaced those services with Court TV, Bounce TV, and Grit on three digital subchannels.

  Aftermath

  The station's secondary programming became more closely aligned with the continuing multicast portfolios of its broadcast group.

  Source

• 2018

  Ion Media acquires WPMEM&A

  Background

  Ion Media agreed to purchase WPME from Ironwood Communications, while the station's prior programming contracts were excluded from the sale.

  Action taken

  The acquisition closed on March 29, 2018. The station changed its call sign to WIPL and adopted Ion Television as its primary affiliation.

  Aftermath

  MyNetworkTV and several multicast services were moved to WPXT before closing, and WIPL became Ion's local outlet in the Portland market.

  Source

• 2006

  Switch from UPN-era programming to MyNetworkTVStrategy

  Background

  The merger of UPN and The WB changed the affiliation structure in the Portland market. WPXT was selected for The CW, leaving WPME to choose a different network relationship.

  Action taken

  WPME affiliated with MyNetworkTV when the network launched in September 2006.

  Aftermath

  The station became Maine's only MyNetworkTV affiliate for a period and retained the affiliation until its transition to Ion Television.

  • WPXT — WPXT became the Portland market's CW affiliate after the UPN–WB realignment.

  Source

1. 1WIPLen.wikipedia.org
2. 2WIPL official websiteourmaine.com