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| Channels | |
| Branding | CTN Louisiana |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | October 20, 1994 (1994-10-20) |
Former channel number |
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Call sign meaning | World Harvest New Orleans |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 37106 |
| ERP | 300kW |
| HAAT | 254 m (833 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 29°55′13.1″N90°1′28.6″W / 29.920306°N 90.024611°W /29.920306; -90.024611 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | WHNO page on CTN website |
WHNO (channel 20) is areligioustelevision station inNew Orleans, Louisiana, United States,owned and operated by theChristian Television Network (CTN). The station's studios are located on St. Charles Avenue in downtown New Orleans, and its transmitter is located off Behrman Highway in the city'sAlgiers neighborhood.
The UHF channel 20 allocation in the New Orleansmarket was originally occupied by WJMR-TV (nowFox affiliateWVUE), a primaryCBS and secondaryABC affiliate which moved to that channel from UHF channel 61 on July 20, 1955.[2] That station changed its channel allocation two more times—first toVHF channel 13 on January 13, 1959 (less than one month before it adopted the WVUE call letters) and then to channel 12 on September 6, 1962 (due to interference withBiloxi, Mississippi, stationWLOX on channel 13)—before settling on channel 8 on June 8, 1970.[3]
Theconstruction permit for UHF channel 20 that bore WHNO dates to 1988 and was filed by Tucker Broadcasting Company, Limited Partnership. Tucker was not the original winner incomparative hearing. An FCC law judge found in favor of Delta Broadcasting Company, a competing applicant headed by market veteran John G. Curren, in 1990;[4] the FCC review board proposed granting the station to another aspiring owner, Swan Broadcasting. In 1991, LeSEA Broadcasting (nowFamily Broadcasting Corporation) purchased the construction permit with the intent to sign on a station in the market on channel 20.
The station first signed on the air on October 20, 1994; the station carried a mix of Christian-targeted programs, family-oriented syndicated programs and movies. As in other markets where LeSEA owned stations, WHNO opted against taking an affiliation with the United Paramount Network (UPN) prior to the network's January 16, 1995, launch as the programming planned for the network conflicted with the company's core programming values; the affiliation instead went to upstart stationWUPL (channel 54), which launched in June 1995.
In September 1995,[5] channel 20 began carrying the (first incarnation of the) CBSmorning programCBS This Morning; the station then carried its successor morning show,The Early Show, from that program's debut in 1999 until 2002, when the program moved to WUPL. Much like with WUPL today, WHNO carried the programs asWWL-TV (channel 4) had long carried a weekday morning newscast that runs into the 7–9 a.m. timeslot occupied by the network's morning programs in most other markets. In 2000, WHNO began to air Christian-targetedpaid programming in some off-peak hours.
WhenHurricane Katrina struck the New Orleans area on August 29, 2005, the storm's flooding and damaging winds caused extensive damage to WHNO's Behrman Highway studios. The station ceased over-the-air broadcasts due to transmitter problems related to the storm. LeSEA provided a direct feed of its national World Harvest Television service to New Orleans area cable and satellite providers (including the market's largest,Cox Communications). Channel 20 returned to the air that November, carrying WHT programming. This lasted until December 3, 2005, when WHNO resumed its regular locally based program schedule and began providing local advertising once again.
LeSEA president Peter Sumrall (the son of late founder Dr. Lester Sumrall) appointed veteran television and cable managerDean Powery to become WHNO's general manager in May 2007. Under Powery, the station increased its staff and upgraded its programming from its post-Katrina low to turn it into a more competitive station in the New Orleans market; Powery also reconnected with local ministries, added newer syndicated programming and localcollege football games to WHNO's schedule and expanded the station's production capabilities. In 2011, LeSEA Broadcasting acquired the locally based independent sports website SportsNOLA.com from NewOrleans.com.
On February 5, 2018, it was announced that LeSEA would sell WHNO and twolow-power stations inLas Vegas andColorado Springs toClearwater, Florida–basedChristian Television Network for $5.7 million.[6] The sale was completed on April 23, 2018.[7]
As a CTN station, WHNO offers a mix of local and national Christian ministry programs.
WHNO carried the only televised game of the short-lived springtimeRegional Football League: theNew Orleans Thunder–Mobile Admirals contest inMobile, Alabama, on May 8, 1999. The league lasted only one season.[citation needed]
In 2010, WHNO hired veteran sports journalist and personality Ken Berthelot to expand the station's sports programming. With over 40 years of experience in sports, Berthelot quickly put together a five-hour sports programming block that aired on Monday through Friday nights, which covered college and local high school sports. In September 2012, Berthelot expanded WHNO's sports block to ten hours a week (running weeknights from 5 to 7 p.m.) to counterprogram and compete against the local news programming on WWL-TV, WVUE,NBC affiliateWDSU (channel 6) and ABC affiliateWGNO (channel 26).
On August 24, 2011, general manager Dean Powery oversaw the acquisition of SportsNOLA.com, an acquisition that added veteran sports journalist Ken Trahan and more than 20 local sports contributors. In 2012, WHNO began airinghigh school football, baseball andbasketball games again for the first time since Hurricane Katrina. WHNO became an affiliate of theSouthland Conference Television Network in September 2012, carrying sporting events from the conference's universities including games from nearbySoutheastern Louisiana University andNicholls State University. The Southland Conference Television Network dissolved on July 1, 2015.
The station's signal ismultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | WHNO-HD | CTN |
| 20.2 | 480i | 4:3 | Lifesty | CTN Lifestyle |
| 20.3 | CTNi | CTNi | ||
| 20.4 | 16:9 | BUZZR | Buzzr | |
| 20.5 | Biz-TV | Biz TV |
After the digital transition, WHNO began to multiplex its digital signal. In 2009, WHNO began carrying the LeSEA-owned World Harvest Television service on digital subchannel 20.2. In 2013, the station addedWeatherNation TV on its second digital subchannel, followed by the addition ofCozi TV and a third digital subchannel, LeSEA's World Harvest Television, in August 2014. In September 2015, WHNO-D1 began broadcasting in 1080i high-definition on 20.1. Soon after, WHNO dropped one of the three subchannels, World Harvest Television, from channel 20.3. WeatherNation TV subsequently moved from channel 20.4 to 20.3. WHNO carried Light TV until the station was sold to CTN.
When CTN took over the station, all of the secular and outside digital subchannels were dropped in favor of CTN's in-house subchannel offerings, CTN Lifestyle (a mix of secular lifestyle and religious programs) on 20.2 and CTNi (CTN'sSpanish service) on 20.3.
WHNO shut down its analog signal, overUHF channel 20, on January 16, 2009. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 21,[9] usingvirtual channel 20. This made WHNO the second television station in the New Orleans market (after WVUE) to discontinue its analog signal prior to the June 12, 2009,digital transition deadline.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Broadcast television stations by affiliation in the state ofLouisiana | ||
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Includes stations in out-of-state TV markets, but reaching a portion of Louisiana | ||
| ABC | ||
| CBS | ||
| Fox | ||
| NBC | ||
| The CW | ||
| Ion Television | ||
| Independent | ||
| PBS | ||
| Religious | ||
| Other | ||
| ATSC 3.0 | ||
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Broadcast television stations by affiliation in the state ofMississippi | ||
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Includes stations in out-of-state TV markets, but reaching a portion of Mississippi | ||
| ABC | ||
| CBS | ||
| Fox | ||
| NBC | ||
| The CW | ||
| Ion Television | ||
| Independent | ||
| PBS | ||
| Religious | ||
| Other | ||
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