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WWHB-CA is an Azteca affiliate in West Palm Beach, Florida, that is licensed to Stuart. Owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, WWHB is sister station to CBS affiliate WPEC, CW affiliate WTVX and Class A MyNetworkTV affiliate WTCN-CA. It broadcasts on UHF channel 48 as a class-A (a form of low-power broadcasting) television station. It was Sinclair's first Spanish language station besides KEYE-DT2 in Austin, Texas, which carries Telemundo, before Sinclair began to acquire more stations in 2012. WWHB-CA is also carried on WTVX's second digital subchannel. On May 24, 2012, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted WWHB-CA a construction permit to digitally flash-cut on its current allotment on channel 48.[1][2]

History

The original WWHB was licensed to channel 3 in Indianapolis, Indiana to the department store company William H. Block Co. in 1947. It had changed call letters by 1949.

WWHB began as W19AQ (known on-air as WAQ), a station that began broadcasting as channel 19 in West Palm Beach in October, 1988.[3] The original owner was Palm Beach Broadcasting, led by William B. O'Donnell. WAQ had hoped to become an ABC affiliate when WPEC dropped ABC for CBS at the end of 1988,[4] but instead the affiliation went to WPBF[5] According to the Sun-Sentinel, WAQ's initial programming consisted of "morning cartoons (Beverly Hills Teens); old, public domain (and often silent) movies (Bachelor in Paradise, The Pickwick Papers); vintage TV series (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.); sports (Notre Dame football, Florida Marlins baseball); and music (Hit Video USA, which ran from 1 to 6 a.m.)."[6] The station also later carried Howard Stern's original syndicated television program, and taped-delayed races from the Palm Beach Kennel Club.[7]

The station struggled to pay its bills[8] and after declaring bankruptcy in 1991, the license was transferred from the O'Donnell family's company, Palm Beach Broadcasting, to Main Street TV of Carle Place, New York.[9] In 1996, Adelphia Cable removed WAQ from its channel lineup because of "continuing problems with the picture quality," and once again the station filed for bankruptcy.[10][11] By this point the station was airing home shopping programming, old black and white movies, a local bowling show, and the Cliff Dunn Show, which was simulcast on a local radio station WPBR.[12] The loss of cable caused station revenue to drop from $303,315 in 1995 to only $24,995 in 1996. Station advertising rates dropped from $95 for a 30-second spot to as low as $5.

File:WWHB.png
WWHB's logo under CBS ownership.

After losing nearly $7 million in 1996, the station changed call letters to WINQ-LP and its studios were moved to the suburb of Lake Park. The station was sold to William B. Turner in 1999 for $875,000 including $175,000 in debt.[13] Martin County businessman Bill Brothers purchased the station in 2002 and moved the licence to Stuart.[14] In 2005, Viacom bought WWHB and sister station WTCN Channel 43 from Brothers for $7.7 million.[15] Viacom moved the studios back to West Palm Beach and improved the station's signal.[16]

File:Wwhb logo.PNG
WWHB's logo, 2007-2012

On February 7, 2007, CBS agreed to sell seven of its smaller-market stations to Cerberus Capital Management, L.P., for $185 million. Cerberus then formed a new holding company for the stations, Four Points Media Group, who took over the operation of the stations through local marketing agreements in late-June 2007.[1] The deal closed on January 10, 2008. Although the URL for the WWHB website has not changed since the sale to Four Points, it now redirects to a separate section of WTVX's website. As of February 25, 2008, the station is now being operated out of Four Points' hub station KUTV in Salt Lake City, Utah.

On September 8, 2011, Sinclair Broadcast Group announced its intent to purchase Four Points from Cerberus Capital Management for $200 million; Sinclair began managing the stations, including WWHB-CA, under local marketing agreements following antitrust approval.[17] The deal with Sinclair acquiring Four Points was completed on January 3, 2012.[18]

References

  1. ^ https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101498351&formid=401&fac_num=63557
  2. ^ http://licensing.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/Auth_Files/1498351.pdf
  3. ^ 2 South Florida Media Markets Are Heading In Opposite Directions, by David Altaner, Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, October 30, 1988
  4. ^ Fledgling Television Station Looks To Link With Network by Ken Bohannon, Miami Herald, August 13, 1988
  5. ^ ABC Shocks Stations Network To Affiliate With Unproven Ch. 25, by Bill Kelley, Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, October 19, 1988.
  6. ^ With Nervy Resolve, Tiny New TV Station Hits The Air Monday, by Bill Kelley, Sun-Sentinel, September 15, 1988
  7. ^ Never On Sunday No Longer Applies, by Craig Dolch, The Palm Beach Post, July 16, 1990
  8. ^ Troubled Channel 19 Struggling To Find Its Niche by Amy Driscoll, The Palm Beach Post, January 7, 1990
  9. ^ WAQ-TV Buyers Sue Over Licence Transfer, The Palm Beach Post", January 23, 1991
  10. ^ WAQ is History on Cable, by Bob Betcher, Stuart News, February 29, 1996
  11. ^ WINQ: Low Power, High Hope To Restore Small TV Station, by Marguerite M. Plunkett, The Palm Beach Post, July 19, 1998
  12. ^ WAQ-TV Hanging In there, by Bob Betcher, Stuart News, May 29, 1996
  13. ^ Lake Park Television Station Sold, The Palm Beach Post, May 14, 1999
  14. ^ Area To Get First All-Spanish Television Station, by Bob Betcher, Fort Pierce Tribune (FL), October 8, 2002
  15. ^ WTCN's Brothers Cashes Out As Viacom Beefs Up Station, by Bob Betcher, Stuart News, April 17, 2005
  16. ^ WTCN Moving To West Palm, Likely Will Become WB Station, by Bob Betcher, Stuart News/Port St. Lucie News, June 26, 2005
  17. ^ Sinclair Buys Four Points Media For $200M, TVNewsCheck, September 8, 2011.
  18. ^ "Sinclair Closes Four Points Media Acquisition". TVNewsCheck. January 3, 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
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