Blab TV

Blab TV is a local television channel in Pensacola, Florida, United States. It airs local programming as well as locally produced infomercials for businesses in the Florida Panhandle. Blab TV programming airs on local cable systems and on WPAN (channel 53), a broadcast station serving the Mobile–Pensacola region.

Blab TV
Broadcast areaNorthwest Florida, South Alabama
Ownership
OwnerBTO Media
History
LaunchedFebruary 1, 1984 (1984-02-01)
Links
Websiteblabtv.com

History

Blab TV (originally stylized BLAB-TV, a backronym for Basic Local Area Broadcasting or Basic Local Audience Broadcasting) was started by Fred Vigodsky and debuted on February 1, 1984, with a 90-minute program aired through local cable systems;[1] Vigodsky owned the network until its 2016 sale to a consortium of Doug Bunze, John Tolan, and Eric Ober.[2] During the time he owned it, Vigdosky expanded its reach from the Florida panhandle to the broader Gulf Coast region; it even briefly expanded beyond to New Orleans and Richmond, Virginia.[3] It also appeared on broadcast television for the first time when it leased 37 hours a week from WPAN, at the time an inactive station.[4] By 1994, 400,000 Mobile–Pensacola-area cable viewers had access to BLAB.[5] The next year, BLAB moved into new studios in the former J. C. Penney store in downtown Pensacola.[6]

Joe Scarborough used Blab TV in his 1994 campaign to run for Florida's 1st congressional district.[7][8]

In 2011, Blab TV leased a subchannel on WFBD, a regional television station, expanding its reach.[9] Since October 2020, it has returned to WPAN, airing as its main subchannel.

References
  1. Suchcicki, Mike (February 1, 1984). "New channel has the gift of blab". The Pensacola Journal. Pensacola, Florida. p. 1D. Retrieved February 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. Gieseken, Carlos (2016-06-04). "BLAB TV changes hands". Pensacola News Journal. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  3. Wittwer, Charlotte (March 8, 1987). "They turn talk into gold on cable TV's BLAB show". Pensacola News Journal. Pensacola, Florida. p. 1D, 6D. Retrieved February 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Crane, Charlotte (October 30, 1993). "BLAB-TV expands to 'public demand': BLAB, cable's must-carry rule resurrect WPAN". Pensacola News Journal. Pensacola, Florida. p. 10D. Retrieved February 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Moon, Troy (April 9, 1994). "Blab TV: Station celebrates decade of broadcasting". Pensacola News Journal. Pensacola, Florida. p. 1B. Retrieved February 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Blauvelt, Katrina (February 11, 1995). "BLAB-TV's new studio: Eyesore turns business center". Pensacola News Journal. Pensacola, Florida. p. 1F, 2F. Retrieved February 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "State senator plans to BLAB his way to re-election". Tampa Bay Tribune. 2005-09-15. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  8. Rae, Nicol C. (2016-07-01). Conservative Reformers: The Freshman Republicans in the 104th Congress: The Freshman Republicans in the 104th Congress. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-315-50323-3.
  9. Proctor, Carlton (March 13, 2011). "Signal boost to double BLAB TV's market". Pensacola News Journal. Pensacola, Florida. p. 1B. Retrieved February 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
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