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|---|---|
| Channels | |
| Branding | Telemundo Cincinnati |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| WXIX-TV | |
| History | |
| Founded | September 24, 1986 |
First air date | September 29, 1990 (35 years ago) (1990-09-29) |
Former call signs | |
Former channel numbers |
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Call sign meaning | "The WB, Queen City" |
| Technical information[4] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 168413 |
| Class | LD |
| ERP | 15kW |
| HAAT | 255.4 m (838 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 39°7′30.4″N84°29′56″W / 39.125111°N 84.49889°W /39.125111; -84.49889 |
| Links | |
Public license information | LMS |
| Website | www |
WBQC-LD (channel 25) is alow-power television station inCincinnati, Ohio, United States, affiliated with theSpanish-language networkTelemundo. It is owned byGray Media alongsideFox affiliateWXIX-TV (channel 19) and 24/7 weather channel WZCD-LD (channel 30). The three stations share studios at 19 Broadcast Plaza on Seventh Street in theQueensgate neighborhood just west ofdowntown Cincinnati; WBQC-LD's transmitter is located on Symmes Street in theMount Auburn section of the city.
According to its website, WBQC was the first television station to be fully automated.[5] It was also the first station in Cincinnati to perform "digitalspot insertion" and to air Spanish-language commercials.
The station was founded by Elliott Block, who had quit his job with the City of Cincinnati in 1989 to establish a video production and rental business. Block first signed on the air on September 29, 1990. Broadcasting on UHF channel 25, the station had the callsign W25AI but was branded on air as "TV 25". Its transmitter atop Dollar Bill's Saloon inCorryville could reach viewers within a 5-to-10-mile (8.0 to 16.1 km) radius. The station originally ran mostly old movies, long-discontinued television series, andinformercials via theStar Television Network and music videos fromHit Video USA. Simultaneously, he began planning on a second low-power station,W35BA.[6][7]
In 1993, W25AI increased its signal to 22,000 watts, expanding its viewing area to include the fullInterstate 275 loop.The Cincinnati Enquirer began including W25AI in its daily television listings, so that viewers would no longer have to call the station for programming information. The following year, theEnquirer also added the station to its Sunday television magazine,TV WEEK.[8][9]
Needing an affiliate in Cincinnati,The WB signed an affiliation agreement with channel 25. On September 9, 1995, W25AI began showing WB programming, rebranding itself on air as "WB Channel 25". It also changed its call letters to WBQC-LP ("WB Queen City"), after theFederal Communications Commission granted low-power television stations permission to adopt conventional call letters earlier that year.[10]
In July 1997, theSinclair Broadcast Group signed an affiliation deal with The WB that resulted in a number of the company's UPN affiliates andindependent stations switching to The WB.[11] One of the stations included in the deal wasWSTR-TV (channel 64). As a result, WBQC lost its network affiliation on November 17, 1997,[12] ahead of WSTR joining The WB in January 1998. UPN struck an affiliation deal to air its programming onNBC affiliateWLWT (channel 5), which aired its weekly then-Monday-to-Wednesday six-hour schedule from 2 to 4 a.m. on early Saturday, Sunday and Monday mornings as a secondary affiliation. Meanwhile, as an independent station, WBQC carried NBC programming that WLWT chose not to pick up, including varioussporting events, as well as series such asProfiler andSunset Beach.[13] After a few months of poor late night ratings on WLWT, and with the addition of Thursday and Friday hours on the horizonthe next season that would likely see WLWT refuse lower-rated programming and the network's Thursday night film, UPN resumed discussions with WBQC to join the network. On September 26, 1998, WBQC's eighth anniversary, UPN agreed to affiliate with the station.[14]
WBQC had been pushing for carriage on local cable and satellite providers for many years. In 2005, WBQC swapped channel allocations withAmerica One-affiliated sister stationWOTH-LP (channel 38). In 2001, WBQC became aClass A television station, with the call sign WBQC-CA, in hopes of receivingmust-carry status on cable providers and protection from displacement by the full-power stations' digital channel allocations. As a Class A station, WBQC had to meet all the requirements of a full-power station. Ultimately, Class A stations did not receive must-carry status, though they did receive protection from displacement. In negotiating with the cable and satellite providers, WBQC claimed "should-carry" status, in the absence of federal must-carry recognition.[15]
Several smallsatellite master antenna television (SMATV) systems and theDelhi Township cable system carried the small independent station. Meanwhile, talks with InterMedia Cable (Northern Kentucky),Time Warner Cable (Cincinnati), andAdelphia Cable (some suburbs) saw no progress for years. Shortly after WBQC became a UPN affiliate, however, a number of systems began offering WBQC on their lineups:
Although Time Warner Cable had long included WBQC on its system inOxford, Ohio, on channel 13, the station remained off of Time Warner's Cincinnati offerings. According to WBQC, some Cincinnati customers were told by Time Warner representatives that the station operated out ofIndianapolis, Indiana;Dayton, Ohio; or "some guy's basement".[19] At one point, Time Warner considered carryingWSBK-TV fromBoston rather than WBQC (it had used the same strategy to keepSyracuse, New York UPN affiliateWAWA-LP off their systems until an ownership change, though that was more because of WAWA's low-quality schedule surrounding UPN programming).[15]
Once UPN acquiredBuffy the Vampire Slayer, Time Warner Cable resumed discussions with WBQC. After months of talks, Time Warner agreed to carry WBQC. Unlike the other cable systems, Time Warner Cincinnati would only air WBQC nightly from 6 to 11 p.m. on channel 20, aleased access cable channel. Time Warner later purchased Adelphia, but kept WBQC on the latter's lineup until after Time Warner Cable had fully transitioned Adelphia viewers into the Time Warner system.
From the late 1990s until at least 2001, WBQC aired a rebroadcast ofWCPO-TV (channel 9)'s 6 p.m. newscast at 7 p.m.[20] Later, WBQC formed a joint broadcast venture withFox affiliateWXIX-TV (channel 19), allowing WBQC to air that station's 10 p.m. newscast during sporting events, such asCincinnati Bearcats basketball.[21] WBQC would also air some basketball games produced by WXIX.[22]
On January 1, 2004, WBQC-CA moved from channel 25 to channel 38, switching places withWOTH-LP and rebranding as "UPN38". On channel 38, WBQC could broadcast a much stronger signal without interfering with stations inLexington, Kentucky, andMiamisburg, Ohio.[23]
With the shutdown of UPN and The WB in September 2006 and replacement byThe CW (which was initially composed primarily of programs from both predecessor networks),[24][25] there was a question where the network's affiliation would land in Cincinnati. WSTR was the WB affiliate and a full-power station; WBQC was the UPN affiliate, a low-power Class A station with full cable carriage (except for Time Warner Cable's Cincinnati system). On March 2, 2006, it was announced that WSTR would affiliate withMyNetworkTV.[26][27] This seemingly opened the door for WBQC to potentially become The CW's Cincinnati affiliate; however, on April 19 it was confirmed that the network would be carried ondigital subchannel 12.2 of Cincinnati's CBS affiliateWKRC-TV (channel 12). As a result of the shuffle, WBQC became an independent station[28] upon the dissolution of UPN in September.
By July 4, 2006, in a stunt to promote its "Independence Day", UPN network programming was moved out ofprime time, and was replaced with marathons, and then a schedule of older off-network dramas and comedies. UPN aired early Tuesday to Saturday mornings from 2 to 4 a.m. until its closure.[28] The station then changed its logo, which had some elements of theOhio state flag. The same year, WBQC moved fromGolf Manor to its newly built studios in Roselawn.[29]
With the launch of WKRC's "CinCW" digital subchannel, Time Warner Cable dropped WBQC on October 18 to carry WKRC-DT2 full-time on channel 20. The CinCW also replaced WBQC on channel 25 on both Insight Communications and DirecTV, which created some confusion to viewers who thought WBQC was the CinCW. Insight moved WBQC todigital cable channel 189. In 2007, Time Warner Cable Cincinnati experienced a change in management. Early the next year, WBQC and Time Warner Cable started discussions for cable carriage. However, Time Warner Cable stated it did not have any channels available, either on the analog or digital tier.
On November 28, 2008, the station adopted the branding "WKRP-TV", drawing on the 1970sCBS sitcomWKRP in Cincinnati.[30] According to Elliott Block, general manager and chief engineer for the small station, the move was made to promote the station's move to digital broadcasting.[31] The change reflected only the branding of the station, as its legal callsign remained WBQC-LD.
In November 2010,Cincinnati Bell's localfiber-optic service,FiOptics, began carrying all five of WBQC's subchannels on channels 254 and 270 to 273.[32] In January 2011, WBQC replaced its primary subchannel with programming from theRetro Television Network. In 2012, the station switched toCozi TV.
Block died on November 25, 2019.[33] On September 28, 2022,Gray Television announced its intent to purchase WBQC-LD for $2.5 million.[34] The sale was completed on November 21, making WBQC-LD asister station to WXIX-TV.[35]
On July 27, 2023, WBQC-LD became aTelemundo affiliate, with Cozi TV and This TV moving to separate subchannels, and getTV ending its run on the station to accommodate an upgrade of WBQC-LD1 to high definition broadcasting.
WBQC currently airs Telemundo network programming. Until 2011, the station produced several local programs, including:
The station's signal ismultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25.1 | 720p | 16:9 | WBQC-LD | Telemundo |
| 25.2 | 480i | COZI | Cozi TV | |
| 25.3 | OUTLAW | Outlaw | ||
| 25.4 | STARTTV | Start TV | ||
| 25.5 | 365BLK | 365BLK | ||
| 25.6 | CATCHY | Catchy Comedy | ||
| 25.7 | DEFY | Defy | ||
| 25.8 | QUEST | Quest | ||
| 25.9 | SONLIFE | Sonlife |
Channel 38 will become an independent station – with no network affiliation – this fall.
A low-power TV station has changed its call letters to WKRP, the same as the fictional radio station in the 1970s hit series 'WKRP in Cincinnati.'
Block began plotting the change two years ago, tied to TV stations' transition nationwide from analog to digital broadcasting scheduled for Feb. 17. Although low-power stations aren't required by law to switch to digital next year, Block made the investment so viewers here with digital TV converter boxes could continue to see his stations next year.
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Includes stations in out-of-state TV markets, but reaching a portion of Ohio | ||
| ABC | ||
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Includes stations in out-of-state TV markets, but reaching a portion of Kentucky | ||
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Broadcast television stations by affiliation in the state ofIndiana | ||
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Includes stations in out-of-state TV markets, but reaching a portion of Indiana | ||
| ABC | ||
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