WZBJ: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Television station in Danville, Virginia}}

{{unreferenced}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}

{{Infobox television station

{{Infobox_Broadcast |

| callsign = WZBJ

call_letters = WDRL-TV|

| city = Danville, Virginia

station_logo = [[Image:Wdrl24new.gif|250px]]|

| logo = WZBJ24.png

station_slogan = ''UPN24''|

| logo_size = 225px

station_branding = UPN24|

| branding analog = 24 ([[Ultra high frequency|UHF]])| = WZBJ 24

| analog digital = 41 (UHF)| =

| digital = 30 ([[UHF]]), shared with [[WDBJ]]{{r|graylibertycsa}}

affiliations = [[UPN]] (Will become [[Independent station|Independent]] September, 2006)|

| virtual founded = Early 1990s| = 24

| subchannels ___location = [[Danville, Virginia]]| =

| translators = [[WZBJ-CD]] 24 (19 UHF) Lynchburg

callsign_meaning = '''D'''anville '''R'''oanoke '''L'''ynchburg|

| affiliations = {{ubl|'''24.1:''' [[MyNetworkTV]] / [[CBS]] (alternate)|'''24.4:''' [[Dabl]]}}

owner = Melvin Eleazer|

| network former_callsigns = WDRG|

| country = United States

former_affiliations = [[WB Television Network|WB]]|

| founded = March 3, 1988

homepage = [http://www.wdrl-tv.com/ www.wdrl-tv.com]|

| airdate = {{start date and age|1994|8|18|p=y}}

| last_airdate =

| ___location = [[Danville, Virginia|Danville]]–[[Roanoke, Virginia|Roanoke]]–[[Lynchburg, Virginia]]

| callsign_meaning = Disambiguation of WDBJ

| former_callsigns = {{ubl|WDRG (1994–1997)|WDRL-TV (1997–2011)|WEFC-TV (2011–2014)|WTLU (2014–2015)|WFFP-TV (2015–2018)}}

| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 24 (UHF, 1994–2008)|'''Digital:''' 41 (UHF, 2003–2008), 24 (UHF, 2008–2018), 18 (UHF, 2018–2019)}}

| owner = Melvin[[Gray Eleazer|Media]]

| licensee = Gray Television Licensee, [[LLC]]

| sister_stations = WDBJ, WZBJ-CD

| former_affiliations = {{ubl|[[Independent station|Independent]] (1994–1995, 2006–2013, 2014–2015)|[[The WB]] (1995–1997)|[[UPN]] (1997–2006)|[[Dark (broadcasting)|Dark]] (2013–2014)|[[Cozi TV]] (2015–2018)}}

| erp = 1,000 kW

| haat = {{convert|603.6|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}

| class =

| facility_id = 15507

| coordinates = {{Coord|37|11|42.7|N|80|9|22.1|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}

| licensing_authority = [[FCC]]

| website = {{URL|https://www.wdbj7.com/page/wzbj24/}}

}}

'''WDRL-TVWZBJ''' (channel 24) is a [[UPN]] [[affiliate]] [[television station]] licensed to [[Danville, Virginia]], butUnited locatedStates, inserving the [[PelhamRoanoke, North CarolinaVirginia|Roanoke]]–[[Lynchburg, Virginia|Lynchburg]] [[UnitedMedia Statesmarket|USAmarket]], as whichan servesaffiliate theof [[Roanoke,MyNetworkTV]]. It is owned by [[Gray Media]] alongside Virginia|Roanoke-licensed [[CBS]]/ affiliate [[Lynchburg,WDBJ]] (channel 7). WZBJ and WDBJ share studios on [[Virginia State Route 101|LynchburgHershberger Road]] in northwest Roanoke; through a [[Mediachannel market|marketsharing agreement]], the two stations transmit using WDBJ's spectrum from an antenna on [[Poor Mountain]] in [[VirginiaRoanoke County]].

'''[[WZBJ-CD]]''' (channel 24) in Lynchburg operates as a [[broadcast relay station#Broadcast translators|translator]] of WZBJ.

The station [[broadcasting|broadcasts]] from a short [[Radio masts and towers|tower]] in Pelham, NC, and its [[Signal (information theory)|signal]] is directional toward [[Greensboro, North Carolina]]. It broadcasts on channel 24 [[analog television|analog]] and on channel 41 [[digital television|digital]]. The digital channel will operate from [[Smith Mountain]], giving it coverage of Lynchburg and northern Roanoke. WDRL is owned by Melvin Eleazer, who is also the General Manager.

==History==

WDRL signed on in the early 1990s as WDRG, which stood for [[Danville, Virginia|Danville]] Roanoke Greensboro, and it held the [[WB Television Network|WB]] affiliation for Greensboro. The channel 24 dial position was once occupied by WBTM-TV, which operated in the mid-to-late 1950s. When Lexington, NC station WEJC (now WTWB) took the WB affiliation (becoming [[WBFX]]), and the definition of a market was changed by the [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]] so that instead of being in the Greensboro market, the poor signal of WDRG was considered a Roanoke station. It became UPN WDRL (Danville Roanoke Lynchburg) and signed on W54BT from [[Poor Mountain]] in Roanoke to bring UPN programming to Roanoke and Lynchburg.

{{prose|section|date=June 2013}}

The channel 24 dial position was once occupied by WBTM-TV, which operated in the mid-to-late 1950s. The station only lasted a few years before attempting to become a hybrid commercial and educational station. This request to the FCC was denied, and the station went off the air not long after.

The station first signed on the air on August 18, 1994, as [[independent station]] WDRG (the calls standing for its broad service area of Danville, Roanoke and [[Greensboro, North Carolina]]). It was founded by MNE Broadcasting, a locally based company owned by businessman Melvin N. Eleazer. Three months after its sign-on, in November 1994, MNE Broadcasting reached an agreement with [[WarnerMedia|Time Warner]] to become the [[The WB|WB]] affiliate for the Roanoke DMA; the station joined The WB upon the network's launch on January 11, 1995. On January 1, 1997 (as the FCC was switching from using [[Arbitron]]'s ADI to [[Nielsen Media Research|Nielsen]]'s [[media market|DMA]] system to determine which counties remained part of the Roanoke–Lynchburg market, then ranked as the 67th largest in the United States), WDRG changed its call letters to WDRL-TV, standing for Danville–Roanoke–Lynchburg. On that date, the station concurrently became the [[UPN]] affiliate for southwestern Virginia; the WB affiliation moved to primary [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] affiliate [[WFXR]] (channel 27) and Lynchburg-based satellite WJPR (channel 21), which carried the network's programming on a secondary basis in late night. (Cable viewers could still see The WB at its regular time on [[WGN-TV]]'s [[NewsNation|former superstation feed]], and programming would later move to cable-only "WBVA-TV", a charter affiliate of The WeB [later known as [[The WB 100+ Station Group]]], when it launched on [[Cox Communications]]' Roanoke system on September 21, 1998.)

On March 31, 2005, the FCC ordered W54BT off the air to make way for [[cellular phone]]s and the transmitter was retuned to broadcast on channel 24 with less power, and allowing for WDRL to become "UPN24" instead of "WDRL 24/54."

Shortly after this change, WDRL signed on a [[Broadcast relay station#Broadcast translator|low-power translator]] in Roanoke, W54BT (channel 54), to relay WDRL's syndicated and UPN programming into Roanoke, Lynchburg, and the [[New River Valley]]. On March 31, 2005, the FCC ordered the Roanoke translator to cease operations to make way for repurposing the frequency for [[cellular phone]] signal relays. The transmitter would soon return to the air on UHF channel 24, broadcasting at the same effective radiated power, but with a more directional antenna to protect WDRL's primary analog transmitter.

On [[May 1]], [[2006]], it was announced that WDRL will become independent when UPN & The WB will merge to become [[CW Network|The CW]], on [[September 4]], [[2006]]. [[WJPR]] will carry [[CW Network|The CW]] on its digital channel while [[WDBJ]]

will carry [[My Network TV]] on their digital channel.

On January 24, 2006, the [[Warner Bros. Entertainment]] unit of Time Warner and [[CBS Corporation]] announced that the two companies would shut down The WB and UPN and combine the networks' respective programming to create a new "fifth" network called [[The CW]].<ref>{{cite news|title='Gilmore Girls' meet 'Smackdown'; CW Network to combine WB, UPN in CBS-Warner venture beginning in September|url=https://money.cnn.com/2006/01/24/news/companies/cbs_warner/|first=Jessica|last=Seid|website=[[CNNMoney.com]]|publisher=[[WarnerMedia|Time Warner]]|date=January 24, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=UPN and WB to Combine, Forming New TV Network|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/24/business/media/24cnd-network.html?bl|first=Bill|last=Carter|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 24, 2006}}</ref> On March 28, 2006, it was announced that cable-only WB 100+ affiliate "WBVA" (which adopted the fictional call letters "WCW5-TV" more than two months later as a result) would become the Roanoke–Lynchburg market's CW affiliate. On May 1, 2006, it was announced that WDRL would be converted into an independent station as a result of UPN's pending merger with The CW. "WCW5" formally became a CW affiliate when the network launched just over 4½ months later on September 18.

==Former Logo==

<gallery>

On March 11, 2007, [[Liberty University]] (founded by pastor/televangelist [[Jerry Falwell]]) agreed to purchase WDRL from Eleazer; the station would initially continue to operate out its current studios with Eleazer serving as general manager, but would eventually move to Lynchburg, where it would be based along with religious independent WTLU-CA (channel 43, now [[WZBJ-CD]]).<ref>{{cite news |last=Podger |first=Pamela J. |title=Liberty U. seeks to buy WDRL-TV |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-roanoke-times-liberty-u-seeks-to-bu/177316596/ |access-date=July 23, 2025 |newspaper=The Roanoke Times |date=March 13, 2007 |___location=Roanoke, Virginia |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-roanoke-times-station-content-to-be/177316701/ 4] |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> In May 2008, Liberty University and MNE Broadcasting dissolved the agreement, for unknown reasons. On October 30, 2008, Living Faith Television – whose flagship station is [[WLFG]] (channel 68) – announced that it would buy WDRL for $5.25 million.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.roanoke.com/business/wb/172922| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110616115711/http://www.roanoke.com/business/wb/172922| archive-date = June 16, 2011| title = Religious network wants TV station WDRL - Roanoke.com}}</ref> On August 7, 2009, Living Faith Television failed to close due to the expiration date of its contract between the parties.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.evri.com/organization/wdrl-0x13ecd2 | title=Evri - the New Hermes &#124; Cheap Parcel Delivery & Courier Service }}</ref>

Image:WDRL_UPN24.jpg|WDRL logo used while an affiliate of [[UPN]].

</gallery>

On July 28, 2010, the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia]] placed the station into the [[receivership]] of [[Charter Communications]]. Millard S. Younts, representing Charter, shut down the station's over-the-air transmitter on Smith Mountain. The transmitter closedown was in response to a six-year copyright and financial dispute with Charter, which serves portions of the Roanoke–Lynchburg market.<ref>{{cite news |last=Berrier Jr. |first=Ralph |title=Station break |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-roanoke-times-station-break/177312860/ |access-date=July 23, 2025 |newspaper=The Roanoke Times |date=August 22, 2010 |___location=Roanoke, Virginia |pages=Business 1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-roanoke-times-wdrl-supporters-say-t/177312951/ 4] |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The station's owner appealed the decision.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/255186| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100801220106/http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/255186| archive-date = August 1, 2010| title = WDRL-TV goes silent in region - Roanoke.com}}</ref>

On December 1, 2011, WDRL-TV changed its call letters to WEFC-TV, which had previously been the callsign for the Roanoke-based station on channel 38 (now operating as [[Ion Television]] owned-and-operated station [[WPXR-TV]]) from 1986 until 1998. In March 2012, the bankruptcy court approved the sale of WEFC to Jones Broadcasting, owner of WAZT-CA (channel 10, now [[WDCO-CD]]) in [[Woodstock, Virginia|Woodstock]] and its repeaters.<ref name=tvbr-saletojones>{{cite news|last=Seyler|first=Dave|title=Court approves sale of Roanoke-Lynchburg indy|url=http://rbr.com/court-approves-sale-of-roanoke-lynchburg-indy/|access-date=March 15, 2012|newspaper=Television Business Report|date=March 15, 2012}}</ref> Jones intended to return the station to the air in August 2012; WEFC was to serve as the company's flagship station, as all of its properties were to be operated from facilities at the Crossroads Mall in Roanoke.<ref name=rt-wefcreturn>{{cite news|last=Berrier Jr.|first=Ralph|title=Jones Broadcasting moving to Roanoke|url=http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/311849|access-date=July 21, 2012|newspaper=[[The Roanoke Times]]|date=July 21, 2012}}</ref>

Jones had planned to replace the station's low-power transmitter (which is being operated through [[special temporary authority]]) with a transmitter acquired from the [[Maine Public Broadcasting Network]];<ref name=fcc-wefcoffagain>{{cite web|title=Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1550781&Service=DT&Form_id=910&Facility_id=15507|date=April 15, 2013|work=CDBS Public Access|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|access-date=April 16, 2013}}</ref> however, its purchase of the station was called off in April 2013,<ref name=fcc-wefcnojones>{{cite web|title=Notification of Non-consummation|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1550784&Form_id=905&Facility_id=15507|date=April 15, 2013|work=CDBS Public Access|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|access-date=April 16, 2013}}</ref> forcing WEFC to again suspend operations.<ref name=fcc-wefcoffagain/> The receiver continued to find a buyer for the station;<ref name=fcc-wefcoffagain/> in June 2013, a deal was reached to sell WEFC to Morning Star Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Liberty University (marking its second attempt to purchase the station).<ref name=fcc-saletolibertyagain>{{cite web|title=Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit Or License|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1560824&Service=DT&Form_id=314&Facility_id=15507|work=CDBS Public Access|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|access-date=July 3, 2013|date=June 28, 2013}}</ref> The new owners changed the station's call letters to WTLU on April 11, 2014.<ref name=fcc-wefctowtlu>{{cite web|title=Media Bureau Call Sign Actions|url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-323207A1.pdf|date=September 10, 2013|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|access-date=September 11, 2013}}</ref><ref name=fcc-callsigns>{{cite web|title=Call Sign History|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/call_hist.pl?Facility_id=15507&Callsign=WZBJ|work=CDBS Public Access|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|access-date=April 21, 2014}}</ref> The station's call sign was changed to WFFP-TV on March 6, 2015.

On April 30, 2018, [[Gray Television]] announced it would purchase WLHG-CD from Liberty University for $50,000. Under the terms of the transaction, Gray would hold an option agreement to acquire WFFP-TV, and enter into a shared services agreement (to take effect on June 15), whereby Gray would provide programming for and receive a share of the programming and advertising revenue accrued by WFFP-TV and WLHG-CD, which would in turn become sister stations to Gray's existing property in the Roanoke–Lynchburg market, CBS affiliate [[WDBJ-TV]] (channel 7).<ref name="graywlhg1">{{cite web|title=Gray: At Liberty To Expand In Virginia|url=https://www.rbr.com/gray-at-liberty-to-expand-in-virginia/|first=Adam|last=Jacobson|website=Radio-Television Business Report|publisher=Streamline-RBR, Inc.|date=April 30, 2018|access-date=May 2, 2018}}</ref><ref name="graywlhg2">{{cite web|title=Station Trading Roundup: 7 Deals, $571.7M|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/113254/station-trading-roundup-7-deals-5717m|website=TVNewsCheck|publisher=NewsCheck Media|date=May 1, 2018|access-date=May 2, 2018}}</ref> On August 13, 2018, Gray announced that it would change WFFP-TV's call letters to WZBJ effective September 1 and become a [[MyNetworkTV]] affiliate (the affiliation had previously been held by a digital subchannel of WDBJ, and in the interim had been transferred to WLHG-CD on June 15, 2018); as part of the relaunch, the station will also add an hour-long extension of WDBJ's weekday morning newscast and a half-hour WDBJ-produced weeknight prime time newscast.<ref name="tvnc-wffptowzbj">{{cite news |last1=Miller |first1=Mark K. |title=Gray To Acquire WFFP/WLHG-CD Roanoke - TV News Check |url=https://tvnewscheck.com/article/top-news/220530/gray-acquire-wffp-wlhg-cd-roanoke/ |access-date=August 13, 2018 |work=TV News Check |date=August 13, 2018}}</ref> On August 16, Gray exercised its option to make an outright purchase of WFFP-TV.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1790064&Service=DT&Form_id=314&Facility_id=15507|title=Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License|work=CDBS Public Access|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|date=August 16, 2018|access-date=October 2, 2018}}</ref> The sale was completed on October 1.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1793576&Service=DT&Form_id=905&Facility_id=15507|title=Consummation Notice|work=CDBS Public Access|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|access-date=October 2, 2018}}</ref>

==Technical information==

===Subchannels===

The station's signal is [[multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]]:

{{#section:WDBJ|subs}}

From 1994 until 2008, WDRL-TV's [[analog television|analog]] broadcast was originated from a transmitter near [[Pelham, North Carolina]], within {{convert|2|mi|km}} of the border with Virginia. Coverage in Roanoke and Lynchburg was limited due to the tower's ___location and relatively short height.{{cn|date=August 2023}}

WDRL-DT began broadcasting in digital in 2001 at its Pelham site, at low power. In 2004, the station won permission to move the digital transmitter to Smith Mountain northwestern [[Pittsylvania County]]. This ___location was chosen as it is the highest point east of Poor Mountain, where most of Roanoke's other television stations transmit from. WDRL-DT's Smith Mountain transmitter went on the air in May 2006,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=7731478&postcount=1746|title = Roanoke, VA / Bluefield, WV - HDTV| date=June 2, 2003 }}</ref> providing predicted city grade coverage of Lynchburg and Roanoke, the New River Valley and all of the south side of Virginia. Digital coverage was predicted to extend into the north-central [[North Carolina]] counties of [[Caswell County, North Carolina|Caswell]], [[Rockingham County, North Carolina|Rockingham]], [[Person County, North Carolina|Person]], and [[Stokes County, North Carolina|Stokes]]. The station moved its digital signal from channel 41 in December 2008.

===Analog-to-digital conversion===

WZBJ (as WDRL-TV) discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over [[UHF]] channel 24, in December 2008. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 41 to channel 24.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds |access-date=March 24, 2012}}</ref>

On August 1, 2017, it was announced that Liberty University had auctioned off its broadcast spectrum for WFFP-TV on channel 24.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsadvance.com/work_it_lynchburg/news/lu-auctions-off-spectrum-rights-for-tv-station-for-m/article_9bbf7a4a-763a-11e7-a6bd-4f8fb9f435be.html |title=LU auctions off spectrum rights for TV station for $23.1M |last=Moody|first=J. |date=August 1, 2017 |access-date=August 25, 2017}}</ref> WFFP-TV can remain on the frequency for six months, and retained the right to continue broadcasting content by partnering with another broadcast station. On November 22, 2017, a channel sharing agreement with Gray Television-owned [[CBS]] affiliate (and future sister station) WDBJ was filed with the FCC.<ref name="graylibertycsa">[https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/api/download/attachment/25076f915fd11ef0015fe49df0f53cd6 Gray-Liberty CSA]</ref> With a move to WDBJ's Poor Mountain transmitter, this would enable WFFP-TV to greatly expand its over-the-air coverage area.<ref>[https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/api/download/attachment/25076f915fd11ef0015fe02454dd5342 WFFP-TV Technical Statement]</ref><ref>[https://www.rabbitears.info/contour.php?appid=2001167&map=Y&contour=Y&int=N&pop=N&incpop=&excpop=&z1=N&nrqz=N&lprw=N&head=Y&asrn=&extras=1320755&cir=&circen=37.010277777778%2C-79.571388888889 RabbitEars Coverage Map for WFFP-TV]</ref>

==References==

{{Reflist}}

==External links==

*[http{{Official website|https://www.wdrl-tvwdbj7.com WDRL Home]/page/wzbj24/}}

*[http://www.liberty.edu/libertyjournal/index.cfm?PID=24995&MID=112528 Liberty Journal article]

*[http://www.rabbitears.info/listingmarket.php?idrequest=roastation_search&callsign=wzbj RabbitEars.Info: Roanoke-Lynchburg Stations]

*{{TVQ|WDRL-TV}}

*[http://www.wbtm1330.com/1oldwbtm4.htm History of Danville's now-defunct WBTM-TV]

{{Roanoke TV}}

{{UPNMNTV Virginia}}

{{West Virginia TV}}

{{Gray TV}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wzbj}}

[[Category:UPN network affiliates]]

[[Category:Channel1994 24 TV stationsestablishments in the United StatesVirginia]]

[[Category:Gray Media]]

[[Category:UPN networkMyNetworkTV affiliates]]

[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1994]]

[[Category:Television stations in Roanoke, Virginia|ZBJ]]