WPXW-TV

WPXW-TV (channel 66) is a television station licensed to Manassas, Virginia, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network to the Washington, D.C., area. The station is owned by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company, and maintains business offices in Fairfax Station, Virginia; its transmitter is located on River Road in Bethesda, Maryland. The Ion network is also broadcast in the region from WWPX-TV (channel 60) in Martinsburg, West Virginia, which shares the same subchannels as WPXW-TV, and on the fifth subchannel of Scripps-owned ABC affiliate WMAR-TV (channel 2) in Baltimore (a market that before the Scripps sale had no Ion station of its own, with cable systems generally declining to carry WPXW in that market).

Channel 66 went on the air April 2, 1978, as WTKK ("Witnessing the King of Kings"), a Christian station owned by Manassas-based National Capital Christian Broadcasting. The station's programming consisted of local and national religious shows, though in the 1980s it broadened its format to include some classic TV series. National Capital Christian Broadcasting sold channel 66 to home shopping network ValueVision in 1994, though the seller would continue to be investigated for fraud and misrepresentations to investors. The station had the call sign WVVI under ValueVision. Paxson Communications Corporation, forerunner to Ion Media, acquired WVVI-TV and incorporated it into its Infomall TV network, broadcasting infomercials and paid programs, in 1997; these stations formed the core of the Pax network, predecessor to Ion, in 1998.

History

National Capital Christian Broadcasting ownership

In 1974, National Capital Christian Broadcasting (NCCB) began organizing to build a Christian- and family-oriented television station in Manassas, which would serve greater Washington. This required petitioning the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to allot channel 66 to Manassas.[1]

Activity accelerated in 1977, when NCCB applied for the construction permit after having channel 66 approved to operate in Manassas. Raker bought a former school and church and converted it into a television studio.[2] The FCC granted the permit on October 3, 1977,[3] and WTKK ("Witnessing the King of Kings"[4]) began broadcasting on April 2, 1978—Easter Sunday.[5] The fledgling station's finances were unsteady: within a year, it was described by program host Ken Connolly as "in a fight for life". Connolly's program marked the bulk of WTKK's local programming in 1979, alongside a children's show known as Beyond the Blue and a newscast. Raker—described financially by the head of the National Association of Religious Broadcasters as a "loner" compared to other similar ventures—was able to beg for equipment and money, including a used set and studio lights belonging to Good Morning America and a lease of the abandoned Baptist church, complete with an organ and stained glass windows.[6] In 1982, the station increased its power to a full five million watts and moved its transmitter from Independent Hill to a new site in Fairfax Station;[7] it was off the air for three months to make the move.[8]

In 1983, channel 66 began to experiment with an increased secular programming schedule, as its all-religious lineup failed to attract viewers. With the addition of shows like The Lone Ranger, Green Acres, and Mister Ed, WTKK's ratings soared 1,000 percent from a 0.2 share to a 2.5 share in the span of a year. The station also had to hire advertising sales representatives to handle its increasing business.[9] In November 1984, National Capital Christian Broadcasting expanded by starting WTLL (channel 63, "Witnessing the Lord of Lords") in Richmond; it was able to borrow money to start the Richmond station because of a land donation made by real estate developer Cecil D. Hylton. WTKK and WTLL shared some programming that was produced in Manassas, including the religious talk show Capital Life and an exercise program, Beverly Exercise.[10] However, with continued money losses among independent TV stations, NCCB sold the Richmond station to Sudbrink Broadcasting in 1986.[11]

ValueVision and Pax/Ion ownership

In 1994, WTKK was purchased by a subsidiary of ValueVision, a home shopping network, for $5.4 million.[12] ValueVision at the same time acquired two other stations: WTWS-TV in New London, Connecticut, and KRTW in Baytown, Texas.[13] On June 6, 1994, the call letters were changed to WVVI; it was one of as many as four company-owned stations.[14] After National Capital Christian Broadcasting sold channel 66, it came under state government scrutiny for its methods of attracting investors. The Commonwealth's Attorney for Prince William County solicited a Virginia State Police investigation of NCCB in November 1996 after more than a dozen investors sued the company seeking the return of their investments over misrepresentations.[15] The company filed for bankruptcy with assets of $430,000 and liabilities exceeding $9 million.

References

Lynne Grandstaff. Family viewing aim of station Potomac News, February 6, 1974, retrieved November 9, 2023^

Christian station nears Potomac News, April 15, 1977, retrieved November 9, 2023^

History Cards for WTKK Federal Communications Commission^

C. Mason Gardner. Pastors appear on program Culpeper Star-Exponent, March 24, 1979, retrieved November 9, 2023^

Nancy Breeden. New television station operating in Manassas Potomac News, April 4, 1978, retrieved November 9, 2023^

Jean Peters. Religious TV Finds a Niche in Manassas The Washington Post, September 25, 1979^

Dean Owen. Manassas TV station expands its range Potomac News, March 26, 1982, retrieved November 9, 2023^

Michael Lewis. 'Gomer,' 'Hillbillies,' 'Van Dyke,' to rerun on WTKK, Christian TV Potomac News, March 24, 1983, retrieved November 9, 2023^

Lee Hockstader. Secular Reruns Prove Bonanza For WTKK-TV's Low Ratings: All-Religious Programming No Match for 'Lone Ranger' The Washington Post, April 12, 1984^

Douglas Durden. New station had start in the '70s Richmond Times-Dispatch, November 24, 1984, retrieved November 9, 2023^

Douglas Durden. WTLL being sold; Channel 65 planned Richmond Times-Dispatch, January 15, 1986, retrieved November 9, 2023^

Changing Hands Broadcasting & Cable, November 29, 1993^

In Brief Broadcasting & Cable, October 25, 1993^

Rich Brown. ValueVision builds war chest Broadcasting, September 11, 1995^

Dennis Fisher. State Attorney to investigate Manassas broadcaster Journal Messenger, November 23, 1996, retrieved November 9, 2023^

Leef Smith. Fraud Investigation of Religious Broadcasting Firm Moves Forward The Washington Post, September 23, 1998^

In Brief Broadcasting & Cable, November 25, 1996^

Paxson Communications acquires Washington D.C. TV station and completes sale of two Florida network affiliated TV stations Paxson Communications Corporation, August 1, 1997^

Julie Waresh. Pax Net stations renamed The Palm Beach Post, January 9, 1998, retrieved November 9, 2023^

Eric Fisher. TV ratings remain low for Nationals The Washington Times, April 12, 2005^

i Is Now ION Television Multichannel News, January 24, 2007, retrieved August 1, 2022^

TV query for WPXW-TV RabbitEars, retrieved August 21, 2017^

RabbitEars TV Query for WWPX retrieved February 6, 2014^

DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds retrieved March 24, 2012^

FCC TV Spectrum Phase Assignment Table Federal Communications Commission, April 13, 2017, retrieved April 17, 2017^

callsign	WPXW-TV
city	Manassas, Virginia
digital	35 (UHF)
virtual	66
repeaters	WWPX-TV 60 Martinsburg, WV
affiliations	66.1: Ion Television for others, see
airdate	April 2, 1978
location	Manassas, Virginia Washington, D.C.
country	United States
callsign meaning	Pax Washington, D.C.
former callsigns	WTKK (1978–1994) WVVI (1994–1998)
former channel numbers	Analog: 66 (UHF, 1978–2009) Digital: 43 (UHF, 2001–2009), 34 (UHF, 2009–2020)
owner	Ion Media
licensee	Ion Television License, LLC
sister stations	WWPX-TV, WMAR-TV
former affiliations	Religious Ind. (1978–1994) ValueVision (1994–1997) inTV (1997–1998)
erp	949 kW
haat	234.1 m
facility id	74091
coordinates	38.96386°N, -77.10478°W
licensing authority	FCC
website	https://iontelevision.com/

History

National Capital Christian Broadcasting ownership

ValueVision and Pax/Ion ownership

Technical information

Subchannels

Analog-to-digital conversion

External links

References