WBIF
Encyclopedia
WBIF is a television station
licensed to Marianna, Florida
, serving the Panama City, Florida
market
on channel 51. The station is owned by the Daystar Television Network
.
in 2004.
On January 24, 2006, UPN and The WB announced that they would merge to form a new network, The CW. As WJHG-TV
took an affiliation with both The CW and MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
, WBIF became an owned-and-operated station
of the Retro Television Network
. In addition to its main programming, WBIF also showed Tampa Bay Rays
baseball from the Rays Television Network; the team left WBIF after moving all games to Fox Sports Florida.
On January 4, 2009, a contract conflict between Equity and Luken Communications, L.L.C. (who had acquired RTN in June 2008) interrupted the programming on many RTN affiliates. As a result, Luken moved RTN operations to its headquarters in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and dropped all Equity-owned affiliates, including WBIF, immediately, though Luken vows to find a new affiliate for RTN in the area.. On Monday, January 5, 2009, after a day of airing a red slide alerting viewers to the disruption of the RTN service, WBIF briefly signed off the air. Shortly thereafter, WBIF began to carry programming from This TV
.
On April 16, 2009, the station was auctioned and sold to Daystar Television Network
, and will likely begin carrying its religious programming once the sale is approved by a bankruptcy court and the FCC.
after the FCC
finalized the DTV
allotment plan on April 21, 1997 , the station did not receive a companion channel for a digital television station
. Instead, at the end of the digital TV conversion period for full-service stations, WBIF would have been required to turn off its analog signal
and turn on its digital signal
(called a "flash-cut
").
According to the station's DTV status report, "On December 8, 2008, the licensee's parent corporation filed a petition for bankruptcy
relief under chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy
code... This station must obtain post-petition financing and court approval before digital facilities
may be constructed. The station [was originally going to] cease analogue broadcasting on February 17, 2009
, regardless of whether digital facilities
are operational by that date. The station will file authority to remain silent
if so required by the FCC
."
While the DTV Delay Act extended this deadline to June 12, 2009, Equity has applied for an extension of the digital construction permit
in order to retain the broadcast license
until the station can be sold and digital facilities constructed by a new owner.
After completing the station's digital facilities, Daystar signed WBIF back on October 30, 2009.
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
licensed to Marianna, Florida
Marianna, Florida
Marianna is a city in Jackson County, Florida, United States. The population was 6,230 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 6,200 . It is the county seat of Jackson County and is home to Chipola College...
, serving the Panama City, Florida
Panama City, Florida
-Personal income:The median income for a household in the city was $31,572, and the median income for a family was $40,890. Males had a median income of $30,401 versus $21,431 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,830...
market
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
on channel 51. The station is owned by the Daystar Television Network
Daystar Television Network
The Daystar Television Network is an American evangelical Christian television religious broadcasting network headquartered near Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Bedford, Texas...
.
History
Founded in 2001, the station was originally owned by Equity Media Holdings. It started as an affiliate of Pax TV until it joined UPNUPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
in 2004.
On January 24, 2006, UPN and The WB announced that they would merge to form a new network, The CW. As WJHG-TV
WJHG-TV
WJHG-TV, channel 7 is the NBC affiliate for Panama City, Florida. Owned by Gray Television, its studios are located in Panama City Beach while its transmitter is located in Youngstown.-History:...
took an affiliation with both The CW and MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
, WBIF became an owned-and-operated station
Owned-and-operated station
In the broadcasting industry , an owned-and-operated station usually refers to a television station or radio station that is owned by the network with which it is associated...
of the Retro Television Network
Retro Television Network
The Retro Television Network is a system of television stations that airs classic television shows as well as more recently produced programs...
. In addition to its main programming, WBIF also showed Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...
baseball from the Rays Television Network; the team left WBIF after moving all games to Fox Sports Florida.
On January 4, 2009, a contract conflict between Equity and Luken Communications, L.L.C. (who had acquired RTN in June 2008) interrupted the programming on many RTN affiliates. As a result, Luken moved RTN operations to its headquarters in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and dropped all Equity-owned affiliates, including WBIF, immediately, though Luken vows to find a new affiliate for RTN in the area.. On Monday, January 5, 2009, after a day of airing a red slide alerting viewers to the disruption of the RTN service, WBIF briefly signed off the air. Shortly thereafter, WBIF began to carry programming from This TV
This TV
This TV is a United States general entertainment television network, with a large emphasis in its programming on movies....
.
On April 16, 2009, the station was auctioned and sold to Daystar Television Network
Daystar Television Network
The Daystar Television Network is an American evangelical Christian television religious broadcasting network headquartered near Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Bedford, Texas...
, and will likely begin carrying its religious programming once the sale is approved by a bankruptcy court and the FCC.
Digital television
Because it was granted an original construction permitConstruction permit
A construction permit or building permit is a permit required in most jurisdictions for new construction, or adding on to pre-existing structures, and in some cases for major renovations. Generally, the new construction must be inspected during construction and after completion to ensure compliance...
after the FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
finalized the DTV
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
allotment plan on April 21, 1997 , the station did not receive a companion channel for a digital television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
. Instead, at the end of the digital TV conversion period for full-service stations, WBIF would have been required to turn off its analog signal
Analog signal
An analog or analogue signal is any continuous signal for which the time varying feature of the signal is a representation of some other time varying quantity, i.e., analogous to another time varying signal. It differs from a digital signal in terms of small fluctuations in the signal which are...
and turn on its digital signal
Digital signal
A digital signal is a physical signal that is a representation of a sequence of discrete values , for example of an arbitrary bit stream, or of a digitized analog signal...
(called a "flash-cut
Flash-cut
A flash-cut, also called flash-cutover, is an immediate change in a complex system, with no phase-in period.Some telephone area codes were split immediately, rather than being phased in with a permissive dialing period. An example is telephone area code 213, which was split into 213 and 714 all at...
").
According to the station's DTV status report, "On December 8, 2008, the licensee's parent corporation filed a petition for bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
relief under chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy
Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure
The Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure are a set of rules promulgated by the Supreme Court of the United States under the Rules Enabling Act, directing procedures in the United States bankruptcy courts...
code... This station must obtain post-petition financing and court approval before digital facilities
ATSC
ATSC standards are a set of standards developed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee for digital television transmission over terrestrial, cable, and satellite networks....
may be constructed. The station [was originally going to] cease analogue broadcasting on February 17, 2009
DTV transition in the United States
The DTV transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...
, regardless of whether digital facilities
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
are operational by that date. The station will file authority to remain silent
Dark (broadcasting)
In the broadcasting industry, dark is a term used to describe a radio station or television station that has gone off-the-air for an indefinite period of time, or as defined by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission , a "silent" station...
if so required by the FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
."
While the DTV Delay Act extended this deadline to June 12, 2009, Equity has applied for an extension of the digital construction permit
Construction permit
A construction permit or building permit is a permit required in most jurisdictions for new construction, or adding on to pre-existing structures, and in some cases for major renovations. Generally, the new construction must be inspected during construction and after completion to ensure compliance...
in order to retain the broadcast license
Broadcast license
A broadcast license or broadcast license is a specific type of spectrum license that grants the licensee the privilege to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses are generally straddled with additional restrictions that...
until the station can be sold and digital facilities constructed by a new owner.
After completing the station's digital facilities, Daystar signed WBIF back on October 30, 2009.