WQPX-TV

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.

WQPX-TV
CityScranton, Pennsylvania
Channels
BrandingIon
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
May 18, 1998 (1998-05-18)[1]
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog:
  • 64 (UHF, 1998–2009)
  • Digital:
  • 32 (UHF, 2003–2019)
  • inTV (1998)
  • UPN (secondary, 1998–1999)
Call sign meaning
Susquehanna Valley Pax
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID64690
ERP700 kW
HAAT377 m (1,237 ft)
Transmitter coordinates41°26′6″N 75°43′34″W
Translator(s)49 (UHF) Waymart
Links
Public license information
Websiteiontelevision.com

WQPX-TV operates a digital replacement translator on UHF channel 49 that is licensed to Waymart with a transmitter in Forest City. It exists because wind turbines run by NextEra Energy Resources at the Waymart Wind Farm interfere with the transmission of full-power television signals.

History

WQPX began broadcasting May 18, 1998,[1] with test broadcasts; the official sign on took place June 1.[3] Before WQPX signed on, the station's call sign was WSWB-TV,[4][5] first used on channel 38 in the early 1980s (before its own sign-on) and currently used on that same station today.[6] 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.[7] Initially, WQPX aired Paxson's InfoMall format of infomercials and religious programming;[8] on August 31, 1998, the station became one of the launch stations for Pax TV (the forerunner to Ion).[9]

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).[10] WQPX dropped UPN in 1999.[11]

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;[12] the agreement came after negotiations with NBC affiliate WBRE-TV (channel 28) fell through.[13] The arrangement with WNEP ended on June 30, 2005, after Paxson Communications terminated all joint sales agreements involving its stations.[14]

Newscasts
Further information: WNEP-TV § News operation

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).[15]

Technical information

Subchannels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of WQPX-TV[16]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
64.1 720p 16:9 ION Ion Television
64.2 480i Bounce Bounce TV
64.3 CourtTV Court TV
64.4 Grit Grit
64.5 Defy TV Defy TV
64.6 SCRIPPS Scripps News
64.7 Jewelry Jewelry Television
64.8 HSN HSN
64.9 QVC QVC

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.[17] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 64, which was among the high band UHF channels (52-69) that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition.

References
  1. "FCC 398 Children's Television Programming Report". KidVid Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. March 30, 1999. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  2. "Facility Technical Data for WQPX-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. Mates, Rich (May 23, 1998). "Citadel Takes Stations on a Country Drive". The Scranton Times. p. 5C. Channel 64, WQPX-TV is on the air, … Theyre in the testing mode … before the official June 1 sign-on.
  4. "Call Sign History (WQPX-TV)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  5. Mates, Rich (December 27, 1997). "Figures Indicate WVIA Runs a Tight Fiscal Ship". The Scranton Times. p. 4C. …WQPX, Channel 64, which is due to go on the air soon. They dumped WSWB call letters…
  6. Mates, Rich (April 25, 1998). "New commercial TV outlet scheduled on Ch. 56". The Scranton Times. p. 3C. Channel 38 will become WSWB-TV. The call letters WSWB were originally assigned to Channel 64, which is not on the air yet.
  7. Mates, Rich (November 29, 1997). "News Anchor Team Gaining Some Yardage". The Scranton Times. p. 4C. Initially, the station was to sign on in July, but Paxson Communications Inc. shifted gears and decided to go on the air with a 5 million watt signal so they could assert must carry status with some 50 different cable operators in Northeast Pennsylvania, nearby New York and New Jersey.
  8. Mates, Rich (December 20, 1997). "New TV Station WSWB Searching for Employees". The Scranton Times. p. 5C. When it buys a station, Paxson begins airing a format of infomercials and paid religious programming called InfoMall on each station. WSWB will sign on with this format…
  9. Mates, Rich (August 22, 1998). "New Network To Focus on Family Entertainment". The Scranton Times. p. 4C. At noon, a week from Monday, WQPX will become part of Pax TV, a new over-the-air network.
  10. Mates, Rich (September 19, 1998). "WQPX-TV Programming To Get New Feeling". The Scranton Times. p. 4C. The PAX-TV-owned Channel 64 will be carrying the UPN network programming starting Oct. 5. Ray Gillette, WQPX general manager, said the UPN programming will follow PAX-TVs nightly lineup.
  11. Mates, Rich (August 21, 1999). "Kosich, Tidey Leaving Newswatch 16 Spots". The Scranton Times. p. 3C. WQPX-TV (Ch. 64) is ending its secondary affiliation with UPN. It had been carrying UPN primetime shows on a three-hour delay.
  12. Mates, Rich (October 13, 2000). "WNEP Plans To Take Over Operations of Local WQPX-TV". The Scranton Times. p. 32.
  13. Mates, Rich (October 21, 2000). "WNEP-TV, WQPX-TV link remains unclear". The Scranton Times. p. B1. WBRE- TV (Ch. 28) tried to work out a similar joint sales deal with Paxson so it could air 28 News on WQPX. The talks got nowhere…
  14. Mates, Rich (April 30, 2005). "Adelphia adding Fine Living channel to its cable lineup". The Scranton Times. p. 3B. …WNEP-TV, which has a contract with Paxson to sell WQPX's commercials locally. WNEP also runs some programs on WQPX. All relationships between PAX and WNEP will end June 30…
  15. Mates, Rich (August 18, 2001). "WNEP chief stepping down after 19 years with station". The Scranton Times. p. 1B. …expanded WNEP's reach by running repeats of the 6 and 11 p.m. news on WQPX-TV…
  16. "RabbitEars TV Query for WQPX". Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  17. "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
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