WWJS
Template:Short description Template:DMCA
Page Module:Infobox/styles.css has no content.Page Template:Infobox television station/styles.css has no content.
| Page Template:Plainlist/styles.css has no content. | |
| City | Hickory, North Carolina |
|---|---|
| Channels | Page Template:Plainlist/styles.css has no content. |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations | Page Template:Plainlist/styles.css has no content.
|
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Family Worship Center Church, Inc.[1]Template:R/superscript |
| History | |
First air date | Script error: No such module "Date time". |
Former call signs | WHKY-TV (1968–2023) |
Former channel numberTemplate:Pluralize from text | Page Template:Plainlist/styles.css has no content.
|
| Independent (1968–2023) | |
Call sign meaning | Jimmy Swaggart |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| 65919 | |
| ERP | Page Template:Plainlist/styles.css has no content.
|
| HAAT | Page Template:Plainlist/styles.css has no content.
|
Transmitter coordinates | Page Template:Plainlist/styles.css has no content.
|
| Links | |
Public license information | Page Template:Plainlist/styles.css has no content. |
Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters".
WWJS (channel 14) is a religious television station licensed to Hickory, North Carolina, United States, owned and operated by the SonLife Broadcasting Network. It serves the northwestern corner of the Charlotte media market, a region locally referred to as "The Unifour". WWJS' primary transmitter is located on Bakers Mountain in southwestern Catawba County, with a secondary transmitter in the unincorporated area of Newell in northeastern Mecklenburg County (just northeast of the Charlotte city limits).
History
The station first signed on the air on February 14, 1968, as WHKY-TV, a sister station to WHKY radio (1290 AM), owned by Long Communications of Hickory. During the 1980s, WHKY-TV aired Major League Baseball games from the Cincinnati Reds; it also had a secondary affiliation with NBC, carrying some programs that were preempted by the Charlotte market's primary NBC affiliate, WPCQ-TV (channel 36, now WCNC-TV).[3]
For most of its first quarter-century on the air, WHKY-TV primarily targeted the Unifour. In 2002, WHKY-TV installed two new antennas: one for its digital signal and one which replaced its older analog antenna. The latter antenna's installation helped to increase WHKY-TV's analog signal coverage into the far northern corner of Mecklenburg County. As a result, the station was granted a must-carry claim, allowing it to be added to Time Warner Cable's systems in the Charlotte area; the station also began identifying as "Hickory–Charlotte" in its on-air legal identifications.
In 2004, WHKY-TV boosted its analog transmitter's power to 2 million watts. In June 2006, the station began to be carried on Dish Network and DirecTV's Charlotte area local station lineups, expanding its reach to cover two million people in North and South Carolina. The station's digital transmitter was relocated to Bakers Mountain in the fall of 2011, with its effective radiated power increasing to 950,000 watts (equivalent to 4.75 million watts in analog); the station also launched a fill-in translator, whose transmitter is located just north of Charlotte (near the Charlotte Motor Speedway).
On February 15, 2023, it was announced that WHKY-TV would be sold to Baton Rouge, Louisiana–based Family Worship Center Church, led by pastor Jimmy Swaggart, for $12 million.[1][4] The sale was completed on April 25;[5] the station changed its call sign to WWJS on June 7, 2023.[6] Long Communications retained WHKY radio and its FM translator, as well as the WHKY call sign.
The deal resulted in main-channel coverage of Swaggart's Sonlife Broadcasting Network throughout the Charlotte market, which is a hub of major televangelism organizations, including Swaggart's longtime rivals, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Jim Bakker's PTL, now INSP; it was previously carried as a subchannel of both WJZY and WMYT-TV before their 2020 sale to Nexstar Media Group.
Programming
Prior to the sale to Sonlife, WHKY-TV's schedule consisted primarily of locally-produced religious and entertainment shows, as well as paid programming. In addition, a weekday local newscast aired twice a day at 5:30 and 10 p.m. and is known for its rundown of crime news and wanted fugitive notices within Hickory and Catawba County; it continues to stream online through the radio station's website and YouTube channel. The station featured only one syndicated show, MGM Television's Personal Injury Court.[7]
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's signal is multiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14.1 | 720p | WWJSTV | SonLife |
| 14.2 | 480i | WHKY | Newsmax2 |
| 14.3 | Comet | Comet | |
| 14.4 | BUSTED | Busted | |
| 14.5 | MOVGOLD | MovieSphere Gold | |
| 14.6 | RevFt | Infomercials | |
| 14.7 | ROAR | Roar |
Previously, the second and fourth digital subchannels have been affiliated with Jewelry Television, which was shown at various times on the main channel. The network was used as a placeholder until the additions of RTV and My Family TV on those respective subchannels. On September 28, 2012, My Family TV was replaced with PBJ. In November 2012, WHKY-TV began transmitting its main channel in 720p high definition, and in 2014 the main channel began airing Jewelry Television in HD for portions of the day. On March 1, 2014, PBJ was replaced on digital subchannel 14.4 by Heartland (which originated as the broadcast incarnation of The Nashville Network in 2012). On July 1, 2014, This TV was added to the second subchannel, making WHKY the fourth station in the Charlotte market to carry it. On that same date, Retro TV was moved to the third subchannel, replacing Tuff TV. On January 5, 2021, SonLife began broadcast on subchannel 14.7, while Charge! was replaced by TBD. On July 1, 2021, Jewelry Television and Shop LC on 14.5 and 14.6 respectively were replaced with Defy TV and TrueReal.
Analog-to-digital conversion
WWJS (as WHKY-TV) shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 14, on February 14, 2009, three days before the original date on which full-power television stations in the United States were to transition from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 40, using virtual channel 14.[9][10]
References
Page Template:Reflist/styles.css has no content.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."WHKY TV Station to be Sold to Louisiana Ministry". WHKY.com. February 15, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Facility Technical Data for WWJS". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ The Charlotte Observer TV Week, December 18, 1983.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Assignments". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. February 15, 2023. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Notification of Consummation". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. April 25, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Form 380 - Transfer/Assignment Request". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. April 25, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."WHKY TV Charlotte Main Channel Program Schedule June 2022" (PDF). WHKY.com. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."RabbitEars TV Query for WWJS". RabbitEars. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Retrieved March 24, 2012.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Svensson, Peter (February 17, 2009). "Hundreds of television stations cut analog signals". Google News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 21, 2009.
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Navbox/configuration' not found. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Navbox/configuration' not found. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Navbox/configuration' not found. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Navbox/configuration' not found.
