WBYD-CD
Channels
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
FoundedJuly 25, 1990[1]
First air date
Early 1990s
Former call signs
W35AZ (1990-2001)
WONT-LP (2001-2002)
WBYD-CA (2002-2015)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 35 (UHF, early 1990s-2015)
  • Digital: 39 (UHF, 2015-2020)
Call sign meaning
"Bid", a reference to the auction-type programming that used to air on the station
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID68395
ERP15 kW
HAAT226.1 m (742 ft)
Links
Public license information

WBYD-CD (channel 39) is a low-power television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, serving the area as an owned and operated outlet of the 24/7 news network NewsNet. Owned by Bridge Media Networks, it broadcasts from the WQED's antenna tower in the Oakland area of Pittsburgh. Until 2015, the station was licensed to Johnstown, Pennsylvania. It is famous for televising a live auction for two years from 2001 to 2002. The station is not carried on any local cable TV system or DBS provider in the Pittsburgh area.

History

W35AZ signed on in the early 1990s on analog channel 35. It was a Network One affiliate for the life of the short-lived network. After the demise of Network One, the station became an affiliate of America's Collectibles Network (now Jewelry TV). In 2001, it changed its call letters to WONT-LP, and started broadcasting live programming from its studios, which at the time were located at the Eastland Mall in North Versailles, Pennsylvania.

WANT-TV was a live auction of salvage merchandise that ran from 7 p.m. until midnight daily. Originally, the show had multiple hosts, but by the first six months of the show, Cheryl McCall became the show's main host. As a low-budget, live six-hour show, the show gained a cult following from college students and over the air viewers in the Pittsburgh area.

In mid-2001, WANT-TV was renamed to Live Auction Television, and its hours were reduced to three days a week (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. Also, WONT ended its affiliation with ACN, and became an affiliate of the Shop at Home Network.

In 2002, the show was renamed Auction Live, and started being simulcast on its sister stations at the time, WIIC-LP and WPTG-LP. During this time, the station changed its callsign from WONT-LP to WBYD-CA, and became a Class A station.

In August 2002, Auction Live went on hiatus due to declining sales of merchandise on the show. It returned two months later, but the show ceased airing by the end of 2002.

WBYD-CA then began showing limited locally originated programming, including a local talk show created by the Pittsburgh-based band American Metal.

In 2005, the owner of the Eastland Mall, Benderson Development, announced the mall was going to be demolished, and cancelled the leases of all the remaining tenants, including WBYD. The station was moved to a trailer next to the broadcast tower of PBS member station WQED (channel 13).

WBYD-CA requested and was granted by the FCC a STA to go silent in early 2013 for financial reasons, since the owner of the station at the time (Abacus Television) was unable to build digital facilities at the same time paying to operate the analog facilities.[3][4] On May 15, 2015, the station returned to the air, initially rebroadcasting the feed of HSN affiliate WOSC-CD (channel 61), on its new channel, channel 39. In August 2015, it started broadcasting Jewelry TV on its main channel 39.1, and added 39.2 shortly afterwards, which is a subchannel of infomercials.

WBYD-CA was owned by Abacus Television until it was sold, along with four other TV stations, to Fifth Street Enterprises in April 2015.[5][6][7]

On February 24, 2023, Bridge Media Networks (the parent company of 24/7 headline news service NewsNet, backed by 5-hour Energy creator Manoj Bhargava) announced it would acquire WBYD-CD for an undisclosed purchase price.[8] Upon completion of the transaction, WBYD-CD became Bhargava's first TV station property in the state of Pennsylvania; the sale was consummated on March 31.[9]

Technical information

Subchannels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of WBYD-CD[10]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
39.1 480i16:9WBYD-CDMain WBYD-CD programming / NewsNet
39.2 SPORTSNSports News Highlights
39.3 SHOP LCShop LC
39.4 QVCQVC
39.5 QVC2QVC2
39.6 HSN2HSN2
39.7 JTVJewelry TV
39.8 CRTVInfomercials

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Call Sign History".
  2. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WBYD-CD". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ↑ "Notification of Suspension of Operations". 8 July 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  4. ↑ "Station Profile - WBYD-CA". Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  5. ↑ "Station Trading Roundup: 2 Deals, $3M". TVNewsCheck. 14 April 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  6. ↑ "Pa. LPTV Sale Includes Auction Escalator". TVNewsCheck. 10 April 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  7. ↑ Seyler, Dave (10 April 2015). "Pennsylvania Class A Deal is All about Potential". Radio and Television Business Report. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "Station Trading Roundup: 3 Deals, $170,000". TVNewsCheck. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  9. ↑ "Notification of Consummation". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. March 31, 2023. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Digital TV Market Listing for WBYD-CD". RabbitEars.Info.
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