WBPA-LD (channel 12) is a low-power television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, owned by Venture Technologies Group. Since 2025, it has operated as a translator of PBS member station WQED (channel 13).
History
On January 14, 1988, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted a construction permit to Channel 29 Associates of Calabasas, California—owned by Venture founder Lawrence Rogow—for a new low-power TV station on channel 29 at Pittsburgh, W29AH. The station began test broadcasts on September 28, 1989, airing programming from the Video Jukebox Network.[1]
After five years of running music videos, channel 29 found a new calling in January 1995, when The WB launched. W29AH was intended to serve as one half of a simulcast with Johnstown's WTWB-TV channel 19, filling the largest missing market gap for the new network.[2] W29AH became WTWB-LP on June 1, 1995, and WBPA-LP on December 15.