 | |
| |
|---|---|
| City | Jackson, Michigan |
| Channels | |
| Branding | WHTV |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations | Defunct |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | |
| History | |
| Founded | March 25, 1993 (1993-3-25) |
First air date | August 20, 1999 (1999-8-20) |
Last air date |
|
Former channel number(s) | Analog: 18 (UHF, 1999–2008) |
| |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 29706 |
| ERP | 185kW |
| HAAT | 288.6 m (947 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 42°22′25.6″N84°4′10.2″W / 42.373778°N 84.069500°W /42.373778; -84.069500 |
WHTV (channel 18) was atelevision station licensed toJackson, Michigan, United States, which served theLansing area. The station was owned by Venture Technologies Group and had studios on West Saint Joseph Street (alongI-496) in downtown Lansing; its transmitter was located onM-52 inLyndon Township,Washtenaw County (in theDetroitmarket).
Through its history, WHTV was mainly affiliated withUPN, followed byMyNetworkTV, and had a secondary affiliation withJewelry TV that became primary several times. WHTV sold its spectrum in theFederal Communications Commission (FCC)'sincentive auction and ceased operations at 11:59 p.m. on August 31, 2017.
The station signed on August 20, 1999, with programming fromBloomberg Television andJewelry Television (then known as the America's Collectibles Network). It aired ananalog signal on UHF channel 18 from a transmitter nearOnondaga on theIngham–Jackson county line. It became a UPN affiliate on October 16, 2000; prior to this, programming from that network was seen on areacable systems from Detroit'sWKBD (channel 50; now aCW affiliate).
From 2002 until 2006, WHTV's internal operations (such as advertising sales) were housed at the studios ofABC affiliateWLAJ (channel 53), which was then owned byFreedom Communications, on South Pennsylvania Avenue in Lansing. It then relocated to the facilities ofCBS outletWLNS-TV (channel 6) on East Saginaw Street after entering into ajoint sales agreement with WLNS' then-ownerYoung Broadcasting. While managed by Young, WHTV occasionally carried CBS programming preempted by WLNS, including theCBS Sports feed of theUS Open Tennis Championship while WLNS aired theJerry LewisMDA Telethon onLabor Day, as well as programs preempted by WLNS in the event of a local special or breaking news. WHTV also occasionally carried SaturdayNCAAfootball games fromABC when they conflicted with WLAJ's commitment to broadcast theESPN PlusBig Ten football andbasketball packages; this ended with the launch of theBig Ten Network for the 2007–2008 season.
WHTV would place its digital transmitter at Van Atta Road inMeridian Charter Township. The station had aconstruction permit to substantially increase power and relocate its transmitter to a tower previously used by Detroit'sIon Television owned-and-operated stationWPXD-TV in Lyndon Township. Essentially, the new transmitter would be located in the Detroit market but the station would continue to serve as a Lansing–Jackson market television outlet. The planned move date of its signal to the new antenna was scheduled to occur on November 1, 2012, but the parts delivery for the new transmitter was delayed until December 20.
On December 4, 2012, WLAJ was sold from theSinclair Broadcast Group to Shield Media,LLC (owned by White Knight Broadcastingvice president Sheldon Galloway). Shield then entered into certainshared services and joint sales agreements with Young Broadcasting. At some point in February 2013, WLAJ moved from its studios into the WLNS facility. In effect, this move reunited WHTV's intellectual unit with WLAJ, due to WHTV's existing relationship with WLNS and its prior partnership with WLAJ. Young Broadcasting would merge withMedia General on November 12, 2013.[1] As a result of these changes, WHTV announced that it would not renew its operational outsourcing agreement with WLNS.[2] In July 2014, it entered into a new local marketing agreement with WSYM and relocated its advertising sales operation to the Fox affiliate's studios.[3]
In April 2017, WHTV announced that it would shut down on April 30,[4] later revised to May 17, then May 31, and then August 31, following theFederal Communications Commission (FCC)'sincentive auction.[5] The station sold its spectrum for $13,906,280.[6] On May 1, WHTV dropped the MyNetworkTV affiliation and Scripps LMA withWSYM-TV and elected to air Jewelry Television in the interim, effectively discontinuing the 18.2 subchannel. After the final revision to their off-air date, the station signed off for the last time several minutes before midnight on August 31. WHTV's license was canceled at the station's request on September 11.[7]
The programming which formerly aired on WHTV, including MyNetworkTV, remained in limbo for several months. On September 18, it was announced that WSYM would launch a fourth subchannel on October 9, containing both a MyNetworkTV affiliation and much of WHTV's previous programming.[8]
Syndicated programming on WHTV until May 1, 2017, includedTwo and a Half Men,The Middle,Jerry Springer, andDivorce Court among others. The only remaining non-Jewelry Television content until August 31, 2017, wasE/I programming on weekday mornings.
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18.1 | 720p | 16:9 | WHTV | MyNetworkTV |
WHTV shut down its analog signal, overUHF channel 18, on December 1, 2008.[9] The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 34, usingvirtual channel 18.