Family Group Broadcasting, L.P. was a Delaware-incorporated,[1][2] Florida-based television and radio broadcasting company. A small company, based in and around Tampa Bay,[3] the company operated from the early 1980s to about 1997. Throughout its history, it owned and/or operated several different radio and television stations – all of its television stations independents (initially), on the UHF dial east of the Mississippi River. Also, the company operated under other names and aliases such as Family Broadcasting Company, Inc., Family Group Entertainment[4] and Family Group Ltd. III.
| Industry | Broadcast television |
|---|---|
| Fate | Defunct |
| Headquarters | Tampa, Florida, United States |
Area served | Midwest, Southeast and South Central United States and the U.S. Virgin Islands |
Key people | Ian N. Wheeler (President/General Partner) |
Many of the stations shared the same type of branding with their channel number in chrome silver inside a red-violet diamond and the station's call letters in white text inside a blue parallelogram underneath, along with a common imaging theme with the name of the group in the lyrics, 'TV that's fun! We bring you...Family fun!'.
Former stations
editTelevision stations
edit- 1 Stations built and/or signed-on by Family Group Broadcasting.
- 2 Family Group Broadcasting had a 50 percent stake in the station. Also, Heritage Media, then-owners of ABC affiliate WEAR-TV, took control of the station under a Local marketing agreement beginning in 1995 and lasting until 1997, when both stations and the rest of Heritage Media's television stations division were acquired by and absorbed into Sinclair Broadcast Group.
- 3 WLKT-TV was partially owned by Family Group Broadcasting in a "50–50" joint venture with a non-profit company, Way of the Cross, Inc. and was founded in 1983. However, the station didn't sign-on until 1988. Due to low viewership from a contract requiring Way of the Cross's religious programming to air in prime time slots, questionable reception and not being able to find a buyer, the two companies took the station off the air less than a year later and subsequently returned the license to the Federal Communications Commission. In 1999, a new low-power station took to the air on channel 62, WBLU-LP, but itself was troubled and taken off the air after being sold to Daystar in 2009.
| Market | Station PSIP (RF) |
Years owned | Sold to | Current status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile, AL – Pensacola – Fort Walton Beach, FL |
WFGX 35 (50) | 1987–19971 2 | Sinclair Broadcast Group | Still owned by Sinclair as a MyNetworkTV affiliate |
| Fort Myers – Naples – Cape Coral, FL |
WFTX-TV 36 (35) | 1985–1986 | Wabash Valley Broadcasting | Fox affiliate owned by The E.W. Scripps Company |
| Panama City, FL | WFXD/WPGX[5] 28 (9) | 1988–1990 | Ashling Broadcasting Group[6] | Fox affiliate owned by Lockwood Broadcast Group |
| Tampa – St. Petersburg, FL | WFTS-TV 28 (17) | 1981–19841 | Capital Cities Communications | ABC affiliate owned by The E.W. Scripps Company |
| Rockford, IL | WQRF-TV 39 (36) | 1986–1989 | Petracom Broadcasting | Fox affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group |
| Lexington – Fayette, KY | WLKT-TV 62 | 1983–19893[7][8] | Taken off the air | Defunct in 1989, licensed cancelled and returned to the FCC |
| Roanoke – Lynchburg, VA | WVFT 27 (36) | 1986–1991 | Roanoke–Lynchburg TV Acquisition Corporation | Fox affiliate, WFXR, owned by Nexstar Media Group |
| Green Bay – Appleton, WI | WGBA-TV 26 (14) | 1985–1991[9] | Aries Telecommunications | NBC affiliate owned by The E.W. Scripps Company |
| La Crosse – Eau Claire, WI | WLAX 25 (17) | 1986–19911[9] | Aries Telecommunications | Fox affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group |
Radio stations
edit- 1 The station today, operates as a simulcast of now-sister station, WANG 1490 AM, which in turn also operates a translator, W278CE on 103.5 FM.
- 2 As of May 2020, the station is temporarily off the air as repairs are ongoing to its transmitter. As a result, its sports radio format is currently on WAVK 97.7 FM in the meantime.[10]
- 3 The station today, operates as a simulcast of now-sister station, WFKZ 103.1 FM.
AM stations
edit| Market | Station | Frequency | Current Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Key West, FL | WKWF | 16002 | CBS Sports Radio and SB Nation Radio dual affiliate owned by Spottswood Partners II, LTD |
| Tampa – St. Petersburg, FL | WQBN | 1300 | Spanish Variety owned by Crisbeto Enterprises Corp. |
| Biloxi – Gulfport – Pascagoula, MS | WVMI | 570 | Classic country as WTNI1 on 1640 owned by Telesouth Communications |
| Beaumont – Port Arthur, TX | KAYC | 1450 | CBS Sports Radio affiliate KIKR owned by Cumulus Media |
FM stations
edit| Market | Station | Frequency | Current Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Key West, FL | WAIL | 99.5 | Classic rock owned by Florida Keys Media, LLC3 |
| Biloxi – Gulfport – Pascagoula, MS | WQID | 93.7 | Adult Contemporary as WMJY owned by iHeartMedia |
| Beaumont – Port Arthur, TX | KAYD/KAYD-FM | 97.5 | ESPN Radio affiliate KFNC owned by GOW Media, LLC |
| Charlotte Amalie, USVI | WVGN | 105.3 | Mainstream Urban, Reggae and Calypso as WVJZ owned by Ackley Media Group |
External links
editReferences
edit- ^ "Family Group Broadcasting L P SEC Registration". SEC.report. United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
- ^ "FAMILY GROUP BROADCASTING – Family Group Broadcasting, L.p. Trademark Registration". USPTO.report. United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
- ^ "FAMILY GROUP BROADCASTING, INC. :: OpenCorporates". OpenCorporates. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
- ^ "Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1980" (PDF). American Radio History. Broadcasting & Cable. 1980 [1980]. p. 501. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
- ^ "Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1990" (PDF). American Radio History (PDF). Broadcasting & Cable. 1990 [1990]. pp. 60, 593, 677, 681, 755. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
- ^ "Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1991" (PDF). American Radio History (PDF). Broadcasting & Cable. 1991 [1991]. p. 677. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
- ^ Daykin, Tom (July 9, 1989). "WLKT'S DEMISE: THE DECLINE AND FALL OF CHANNEL 62". Lexington Herald-Leader. p. E1.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) (Archive restoration in progress as of May 2020) - ^ "FCCdata.org – powered by REC – DWKLT". FCCdata. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
- ^ a b "Broadcasting & Cable Magazine" (PDF). American Radio History (PDF). Broadcasting & Cable (published August 12, 1991). 1991. p. 63. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
- ^ Venta, Lance (March 30, 2020). "WKWF Moves Programming To WAVK As 97.7 The Zone – RadioInsight". RadioInsight. Retrieved May 24, 2020.