WNYB

WNYB is a full-power religious television station serving Western New York and the Buffalo, New York, television market. Licensed to Jamestown, the station is owned and operated by Total Christian Television, commonly known as TCT, a Christian television network headquartered in Marion, Illinois. WNYB primarily carries TCT network programming rather than maintaining a large locally produced schedule. The channel 26 allocation has had several distinct broadcast lives. The first station licensed to use the allocation was WNYP, which began operating in 1966. It was associated with Lowell W. “Bud” Paxson, then a Jamestown radio broadcaster who later became a co-founder of the Home Shopping Network. WNYP attracted attention because it was the first American television station to affiliate with the Canadian CTV network. Lacking a direct network feed, it rebroadcast programming from CFTO-TV in Toronto through an off-air relay arrangement. The operation experienced repeated technical and programming problems, including signal substitutions, identification errors, repeated programs, and unauthorized carriage of Canadian programming. Copyright disputes and threats from established Buffalo network affiliates contributed to the station’s financial and operational difficulties. WNYP eventually left the air after WUTV began broadcasting from Buffalo in 1970. During the following decades, the channel 26 allocation was used for an educational translator and later for WTJA, which returned to the air in 1988. WTJA operated with a low-budget schedule built substantially around public-domain material and struggled to attract local advertising or cable carriage. It went dark again in 1991. TCT entered the history of channel 26 during the 1990s. Grant Broadcasting acquired the dormant license in 1995 and negotiated an exchange with Tri-State Christian Television, the organization now known as Total Christian Television. The transaction transferred the WNYB intellectual unit and related broadcast interests to channel 26, together with cash and a new, more powerful transmission facility in Arkwright. WNYB began operating on channel 26 on January 10, 1997. The Arkwright transmitter, located on Center Road and built at a high elevation, substantially improved the station’s reach across Western New York and gave it coverage extending toward Erie, Pennsylvania, and the southern suburbs of Toronto. For more than two decades, WNYB maintained local facilities in Orchard Park on Big Tree Road while carrying TCT programming. In June 2018, TCT ended local operations at the Orchard Park site and consolidated programming and operational functions at its Marion, Illinois, headquarters. The change followed the elimination of the Federal Communications Commission’s Main Studio Rule and reflected TCT’s network-wide centralization strategy. WNYB continued as a TCT outlet after the local-studio closure. The station has also undergone significant technical changes. It ended analog broadcasting on UHF channel 26 in 2009 and moved its digital operation to that channel. As part of the FCC spectrum incentive auction repacking process, WNYB later moved its digital transmission to low VHF channel 5 on August 2, 2019. A digital replacement translator on channel 27 helps serve Buffalo proper, while low-power translator WNIB-LD on channel 42 relays the station in Rochester. WNYB’s current identity is therefore that of a network-affiliated Christian broadcaster whose principal value lies in regional over-the-air distribution of TCT’s religious programming.

The history of WNYB is closely tied to the changing use of television channel 26 in Western New York. The first license associated with the allocation was issued in 1966 to WNYP. Its principal shareholder was Lowell W. “Bud” Paxson, a Jamestown radio owner who later helped establish the Home Shopping Network. WNYP was notable for affiliating with Canada’s CTV network, an unusual arrangement for an American station. Because the station could not afford a direct network feed, engineers captured the signal of CFTO-TV in Toronto and switched it into WNYP’s broadcast chain whenever CTV programs were scheduled. The arrangement was technically unreliable. Atmospheric conditions sometimes caused the receiving equipment to pick up other stations using channel 9 rather than CFTO-TV. The station also experienced switching and identification mistakes, audio problems, repeated programs, and other broadcast errors. WNYP carried programs from Canadian stations without securing the necessary rights, leading to copyright claims. Buffalo’s established network affiliates objected to the station’s use of programming associated with CTV and threatened legal action. WNYP reduced local news, dismissed employees, and experimented briefly with an early form of on-air product selling. It eventually ceased broadcasting after the arrival of WUTV in Buffalo, which increased competition in a market that could not easily sustain multiple independent stations. The channel allocation was subsequently used for an educational translator associated with WNED-TV. A new full-power license was eventually issued, and WTJA returned to the air on September 24, 1988. WTJA had limited resources, depended heavily on public-domain programming, and failed to win significant local advertising or cable distribution. Its signal reached the Buffalo area weakly, and the station went dark again in 1991. Grant Broadcasting acquired the license in 1995. Rather than simply revive the existing operation, Grant reached an agreement with Tri-State Christian Television, the religious broadcaster that later adopted the name Total Christian Television. The transaction involved an exchange of licenses, cash, and construction of a stronger broadcast facility in Arkwright. TCT moved the WNYB identity to channel 26, and the station resumed service on January 10, 1997. Its new transmitter site, located on Center Road at a high elevation, provided a much larger service area than the earlier channel 26 facility. WNYB maintained studios on Big Tree Road in Orchard Park for many years and served as a local outlet for TCT programming. In June 2018, TCT ended local operations at the Orchard Park facility. The decision followed the FCC’s elimination of the Main Studio Rule and TCT’s choice to centralize programming operations at its Marion, Illinois, headquarters. The station continued to operate as a TCT network outlet after the local studio closure. WNYB’s transmission system changed during the transition from analog to digital television. Analog broadcasting on UHF channel 26 ended in 2009, after which the digital operation used the channel. The station also operates a digital replacement translator intended to improve reception in Buffalo proper and has been relayed by low-power station WNIB-LD in Rochester. On August 2, 2019, WNYB moved its main digital transmission to low VHF channel 5 as part of the FCC’s nationwide spectrum-repacking program. The station’s current role is primarily regional distribution of TCT’s Christian television service rather than production of an independent local television schedule.

• 2019

  Digital transmission moves to channel 5

  [1]WNYBen.wikipedia.org

  WNYB changes its main digital transmission channel to low VHF channel 5 during FCC spectrum repacking.

• 2018

  Local studio operations are discontinued

  [1]WNYBen.wikipedia.org

  TCT closes the Orchard Park studios and centralizes operations at its Marion headquarters.

• 2009

  Analog broadcasting ends

  [1]WNYBen.wikipedia.org

  WNYB ends regular analog service and continues as a digital television station.

• 1997

  TCT moves WNYB to channel 26

  [1]WNYBen.wikipedia.org

  On January 10, 1997, Tri-State Christian Television assumes control of channel 26, transfers the WNYB identity, and activates a more powerful Arkwright facility.

• 1995

  Grant Broadcasting acquires the channel 26 license

  [1]WNYBen.wikipedia.org

  Grant Broadcasting purchases the license and begins negotiations that lead to TCT’s return to the allocation.

• 1991

  WTJA goes dark

  [1]WNYBen.wikipedia.org

  The station leaves the air after failing to develop a sustainable audience, advertising base, or cable presence.

• 1988

  WTJA returns channel 26 to the air

  [1]WNYBen.wikipedia.org

  A new license holder launches WTJA on September 24, 1988, using a low-budget general-entertainment schedule.

• 1970

  WNYP leaves the air

  [1]WNYBen.wikipedia.org

  After technical, programming, copyright, and competitive difficulties, WNYP ceases broadcasting.

• 1966

  WNYP receives the channel 26 license

  [1]WNYBen.wikipedia.org

  The first station associated with Jamestown’s channel 26 allocation begins operation under the WNYP call sign.

A regional over-the-air outlet for Total Christian Television’s religious and Christian ministry programming, with limited or no locally produced programming following the 2018 consolidation.

• Religious television programming

  TCT network programming

  WNYB’s principal offering is the distribution of Total Christian Television’s network schedule. This service is intended for viewers seeking Christian teaching, worship, ministry, and related religious content through an over-the-air broadcast outlet. After TCT consolidated its local operations in 2018, the station’s role became primarily that of a regional transmission outlet rather than an independent producer of locally originated programming.

• Broadcast distribution · 2009

  WNYB digital broadcast service

  The station provides digital terrestrial television service from its transmitter in Arkwright. Its coverage is supplemented by a digital replacement translator serving Buffalo proper and by relay service through low-power translator WNIB-LD in Rochester. These facilities extend access to TCT programming across portions of Western New York and adjacent areas.

• 1960

  WNYP copyright and broadcast-practice disputes

  The predecessor station WNYP rebroadcast Canadian programming through an off-air arrangement and was criticized for technical identification failures, signal substitutions, repeated programming, and the unauthorized use of Canadian shows. Copyright holders obtained judgments concerning some of the unlicensed programming. These events belong to the channel’s earlier WNYP incarnation rather than to the modern TCT operation.

  Source

Read more

• 2019

  WNYB changes its digital transmission channelGeneration change

  Background

  The FCC spectrum incentive auction and subsequent repacking required many television stations to change digital transmission frequencies.

  Action taken

  WNYB moved its digital signal to low VHF channel 5 on August 2, 2019.

  Aftermath

  The station continued digital broadcasting from its regional transmitter while relying on translator facilities to improve reception in parts of the service area.

  Source

• 2018

  TCT consolidates WNYB operationsStrategy

  Background

  The FCC eliminated its Main Studio Rule, and TCT reviewed the need to maintain separate local facilities for its stations.

  Action taken

  TCT ended local programming and closed the former WNYB studios on Big Tree Road in Orchard Park, moving programming operations to its Marion, Illinois, headquarters.

  Aftermath

  WNYB remained on the air as a network-distribution station, but its local production role was discontinued.

  Source

• 1997

  TCT takes over channel 26 and transfers the WNYB identityM&A

  Background

  Grant Broadcasting controlled the channel 26 license but faced the challenge of reviving a station with a weak prior operating history. Tri-State Christian Television already operated WNYB on another channel and sought a stronger facility and broader coverage.

  Action taken

  The parties arranged a license exchange involving cash and a new Arkwright transmission facility. TCT assumed channel 26 on January 10, 1997, and moved the WNYB intellectual unit to the frequency.

  Aftermath

  The high-elevation transmitter substantially expanded the station’s regional coverage and established WNYB as a TCT outlet serving Western New York.

  Source

1. 1WNYBen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Total Christian Televisiontct.tv