WRBJ-TV

WRBJ-TV is a full-power religious television station licensed to Magee, Mississippi, and serving several Mississippi broadcast markets, including Jackson, Hattiesburg, and Meridian. The station operates as part of the Trinity Broadcasting Network, commonly known as TBN, and carries the network's Christian-oriented programming. Its transmission facilities are located near Raleigh, Mississippi, in the Bienville National Forest. The station began broadcasting in 2006 under the ownership of St. Louis-based Roberts Broadcasting. Its initial network affiliation was with UPN, although its first programming was distributed through Time Warner Cable beginning on January 5, 2006, before over-the-air service commenced on February 8 of the same year. In March 2006, Roberts announced that WRBJ would become an affiliate of the newly created CW Television Network. The affiliation took effect on September 18, 2006, making the station part of the early CW rollout in Mississippi. WRBJ's commercial-network period ended after Roberts Broadcasting entered financial difficulty and moved to sell the station. On October 22, 2012, Roberts announced an agreement to sell WRBJ to TBN. A bankruptcy court approved the transaction on January 17, 2013, and the Federal Communications Commission approved it six days later. TBN assumed operational control on May 24, 2013. At that point, WRBJ discontinued CW programming and became a TBN religious station. CW programming later returned to the Jackson area through a digital subchannel of WJTV rather than through WRBJ. The station also experienced a regulatory issue during the transition to digital television. The FCC initially canceled WRBJ's license on March 31, 2011, after determining that the station had not properly filed a license-to-cover application or requested an extension for its digital construction permit. Roberts appealed, arguing that the relevant filings had been mishandled during the digital transition. The FCC reinstated the license on April 19, 2011, while requiring Roberts to submit new license-to-cover documentation. The WRBJ call sign has an earlier Mississippi broadcasting association. It had briefly been assigned to a Hattiesburg radio station that is now known as WFOR, before returning to the market in connection with Roberts Broadcasting's acquisition of the radio station WRJH in 2006. In July 2013, after TBN had taken control, the television station's call sign was changed from WRBJ to WRBJ-TV. TBN-owned full-power stations, including WRBJ-TV, permanently ended analog transmissions in April 2009 as part of the United States digital television transition.

WRBJ-TV was established by Roberts Broadcasting as a Mississippi television station licensed to Magee. Its service area encompasses the Jackson, Hattiesburg, and Meridian television markets, while its transmitter is situated near Raleigh in the Bienville National Forest. The station entered service in 2006, first providing UPN programming through Time Warner Cable on January 5 and then beginning over-the-air transmissions on February 8. The station soon became associated with the formation of the CW Television Network. Roberts Broadcasting announced in March 2006 that WRBJ would join the new network, and the CW affiliation began on September 18. This made WRBJ a commercial entertainment station during its initial operating period. The WRBJ call letters also had a prior Mississippi radio history: they had briefly been assigned to a Hattiesburg radio station that is now WFOR, and later returned to the area after Roberts Broadcasting acquired the urban-format station WRJH in 2006. WRBJ encountered a regulatory complication during the United States digital television transition. On March 31, 2011, the FCC initially canceled the station's license because the required license-to-cover application or an extension request for its digital construction permit had not been properly filed. Roberts Broadcasting challenged the action, maintaining that the filings had been incorrectly handled during the transition. The FCC accepted the appeal and reinstated WRBJ's license on April 19, 2011, while directing the company to file new license-to-cover materials. Roberts Broadcasting later sold WRBJ amid its financial and bankruptcy proceedings. The company announced the proposed sale to the Trinity Broadcasting Network on October 22, 2012. A bankruptcy court approved the transaction on January 17, 2013, and the FCC granted approval six days later. TBN assumed operational control on May 24, 2013. The change converted WRBJ from a CW affiliate into a religious television station carrying TBN programming. The CW was not immediately replaced on another local WRBJ service; instead, CW programming returned to the Jackson area through WJTV's second digital channel in October 2013. Although CW programming stopped on WRBJ when TBN took control, the station's former website remained available for approximately another year. In July 2013, the call sign was formally modified to WRBJ-TV. Like other TBN-owned full-power stations, WRBJ had already ended analog broadcasting on April 16, 2009, and thereafter operated as a digital television broadcaster.

• 2013

  TBN assumes control and changes format

  [1]WRBJ-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Following court and FCC approvals, TBN took operational control on May 24 and replaced CW programming with religious programming.

• 2013

  Call sign becomes WRBJ-TV

  [1]WRBJ-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The station adopted the WRBJ-TV call sign in July.

• 2012

  Sale to TBN announced

  [1]WRBJ-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Roberts Broadcasting announced an agreement to sell the station to the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

• 2011

  License reinstated after FCC appeal

  [1]WRBJ-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The FCC reinstated WRBJ's initially canceled license after Roberts Broadcasting challenged the handling of digital license-to-cover filings.

• 2009

  Analog transmission ends

  [1]WRBJ-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WRBJ permanently discontinued analog transmission on April 16 as part of the digital television transition.

• 2006

  Initial UPN service and over-the-air launch

  [1]WRBJ-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WRBJ began carrying UPN programming through Time Warner Cable on January 5 and started over-the-air broadcasting on February 8.

• 2006

  CW affiliation begins

  [1]WRBJ-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The station joined the newly established CW Television Network on September 18 after Roberts Broadcasting announced the affiliation in March.

A local full-power television outlet positioned as a distribution platform for TBN's Christian and religious programming in Mississippi, replacing its former role as a commercial CW affiliate.

• Television broadcasting · 2006

  WRBJ-TV broadcast service

  WRBJ-TV is a full-power digital television service licensed to Magee, Mississippi. Its transmission facilities near Raleigh provide coverage across portions of the Jackson, Hattiesburg, and Meridian markets. The station's programming identity changed from commercial network affiliation to religious broadcasting after TBN acquired operational control in 2013.

• Religious television programming · 2013

  TBN religious programming

  Following the 2013 ownership transition, WRBJ-TV became a TBN outlet carrying the network's Christian-oriented television programming. This service replaced the station's previous CW affiliation and constitutes its principal current programming proposition.

• 2013

  Sale and conversion to a TBN stationM&A

  Background

  Roberts Broadcasting announced the sale of WRBJ during its bankruptcy proceedings, and the transaction required bankruptcy-court and FCC approval.

  Action taken

  TBN acquired the station and assumed operational control on May 24, ending its CW affiliation and adopting a religious-programming format.

  Aftermath

  WRBJ became part of TBN's full-power station group, while CW programming later returned to the Jackson market through WJTV-DT2.

  Source

• 2006

  Move from UPN service to the CWStrategy

  Background

  The launch of the CW Television Network created a new affiliation opportunity for stations formerly associated with UPN and The WB.

  Action taken

  Roberts Broadcasting affiliated WRBJ with the CW, with the new network programming beginning in September 2006.

  Aftermath

  WRBJ operated as a CW affiliate until TBN assumed control in 2013.

  Source

1. 1WRBJ-TVen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Trinity Broadcasting Networktbn.org