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WCLJ-TV

WCLJ-TV (channel 42) is a television station licensed to Bloomington, Indiana, United States, serving the Indianapolis area as an affiliate of the digital multicast network Bounce TV. It is owned by Inyo Broadcast Holdings alongside Ion Television affiliate WIPX-TV (channel 63, also licensed to Bloomington). WCLJ-TV and WIPX-TV share offices on Production Drive (near I-74/I-465) in southwestern Indianapolis; through a channel sharing agreement, the two stations transmit using WIPX-TV's spectrum from an antenna on SR 252 in Trafalgar, Indiana.

History

The station was built by the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) and first went on the air on August 27, 1987.

TBN entered into an agreement with Ion Media Networks on November 14, 2017, which gave Ion the option to acquire the licenses of WCLJ-TV and three other TBN stations that had sold their spectrum in the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s incentive auction. Ion exercised the option on May 24, 2018.[3] The sale was completed on September 25, 2018, creating a duopoly with existing Ion Television station WIPX-TV.[4] Ion immediately moved Ion Life (later Ion Plus) to the station in order to provide the network with full-market coverage equivalent to that of WIPX-DT1; since then, the station has aired various digital subchannels, all of them owned by Scripps Networks.

WCLJ and WIPX were included among Ion Media stations spun off to Inyo Broadcast Holdings in 2020, as the E. W. Scripps Company could not own those stations and WRTV.[5] Scripps announced its repurchase of all Inyo stations on February 26, 2026.[6]

Technical information

Subchannels

On June 1, 2015, JUCE and Smile of a Child were consolidated into a single network on the third subchannel to accommodate the addition of a new network, TBN Salsa, on the fifth subchannel where Smile of a Child used to reside.[7] As a result of the change, children's programming that previously aired on Smile of a Child was carried on 42.3 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.[8] On April 1, 2018, the channel switched off its non-shared signal, leaving it to air only on its new frequency shared with WIPX-TV.

Analog-to-digital conversion

WCLJ-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 42, on February 17, 2009, earlier than the June 12, 2009, official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate.[9] The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 56, which was among the high band UHF channels (52–69) that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition, to its analog-era frequency, UHF channel 42.[10]

References

  1. Modification of a Licensed Facility for DTV Application Licensing and Management System, Federal Communications Commission, retrieved January 20, 2018^
  2. ION Plus and Qubo Ceased Operations on February 26, 2021 Xfinity Help & Support, October 14, 2021, retrieved February 12, 2021^
  3. Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, June 8, 2018, retrieved June 11, 2018^
  4. Consummation Notice CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, September 25, 2018, retrieved October 1, 2018^
  5. Station Trading Roundup: 2 Deals, $45,450,000 TVNewsCheck, October 20, 2020^
  6. Jennifer Maas. Scripps CEO Adam Symson Renews Contract Through 2029 Amid Company's Major Cost-Cutting Plan, Reacquisition of 23 ION Affiliate TV Stations Variety, February 26, 2026, retrieved February 27, 2026^
  7. Kent Gibbons. TBN Salsa Targets English-Speaking Hispanics NewBay Media, May 29, 2015, retrieved June 1, 2015^
  8. Seventh slideshow image: 'new soac.png' June 10, 2015, retrieved May 31, 2016^
  9. Sarah Galer. Eight Indiana TV stations to end analog on Tuesday WTHR, April 15, 2016, retrieved March 27, 2018^
  10. DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds retrieved March 24, 2012^