WQPX-TV (channel 64) is a television station licensed to Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network to Northeastern Pennsylvania. Owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company, the station has offices on Lackawanna Avenue in downtown Scranton, and its transmitter is located on Bald Mountain, northwest of Scranton and I-476.
History
WQPX began broadcasting May 18, 1998,[1] with test broadcasts; the official sign on took place June 1.[2] Before WQPX signed on, the station's call sign was WSWB-TV,[3][4] first used on channel 38 in the early 1980s (before its own sign-on) and currently used on that same station today.[5] WSWB initially planned to sign on in July 1997, but delayed its launch so that it could construct a 5,000,000-watt signal to increase its must carry reach.[6] Initially, WQPX aired Paxson's InfoMall format of infomercials and religious programming;[7] on August 31, 1998, the station became one of the launch stations for Pax TV (the forerunner to Ion).[8]
On October 5, 1998, WQPX added a secondary affiliation with UPN as part of a group deal between Paxson Communications and UPN; the network's programming aired in late night, following Pax's prime time lineup. UPN programming had previously aired in weekend late night timeslots on CBS affiliate WYOU (channel 22).[9] WQPX dropped UPN in 1999.[10]
The New York Times Company, then-owner of ABC affiliate WNEP-TV, announced plans to take over WQPX's advertising sales through a joint sales agreement in October 2000;[11] the agreement came after negotiations with NBC affiliate WBRE-TV (channel 28) fell through.[12] The arrangement with WNEP ended on June 30, 2005, after Paxson Communications terminated all joint sales agreements involving its stations.[13]
Newscasts
From 2001 to 2005, WQPX aired rebroadcasts of newscasts from ABC affiliate WNEP-TV (channel 16) instead of airing newscasts from NBC affiliate WBRE-TV (channel 28).[14]
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's signal is multiplexed:
Analog-to-digital conversion
WQPX-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 64, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 32, using virtual channel 64.[16]
External links
References
- FCC 398 Children's Television Programming Report KidVid Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, March 30, 1999, retrieved February 23, 2014^
- Rich Mates. Citadel Takes Stations on a Country Drive The Scranton Times, May 23, 1998^
- Call Sign History (WQPX-TV) CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, retrieved November 6, 2018^
- Rich Mates. Figures Indicate WVIA Runs a Tight Fiscal Ship The Scranton Times, December 27, 1997^
- Rich Mates. New commercial TV outlet scheduled on Ch. 56 The Scranton Times, April 25, 1998^
- Rich Mates. News Anchor Team Gaining Some Yardage The Scranton Times, November 29, 1997^
- Rich Mates. New TV Station WSWB Searching for Employees The Scranton Times, December 20, 1997^
- Rich Mates. New Network To Focus on Family Entertainment The Scranton Times, August 22, 1998^
- Rich Mates. WQPX-TV Programming To Get New Feeling The Scranton Times, September 19, 1998^
- Rich Mates. Kosich, Tidey Leaving Newswatch 16 Spots The Scranton Times, August 21, 1999^
- Rich Mates. WNEP Plans To Take Over Operations of Local WQPX-TV The Scranton Times, October 13, 2000^
- Rich Mates. WNEP-TV, WQPX-TV link remains unclear The Scranton Times, October 21, 2000^
- Rich Mates. Adelphia adding Fine Living channel to its cable lineup The Scranton Times, April 30, 2005^
- Rich Mates. WNEP chief stepping down after 19 years with station The Scranton Times, August 18, 2001^
- RabbitEars TV Query for WQPX retrieved November 17, 2024^
- DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds retrieved March 24, 2012^