As an independent station and MeTV affiliate
Upon becoming an independent station on January 1, 2010, WPGA began cherry-picking select programs from the Retro Television Network (sharing the affiliation with sister station WPGA-LP) in addition to shows from This TV and retained the station's existing syndicated programming.[6]
The station's disaffiliation from ABC resulted in a dispute with Cox Communications over its channel 6 slot, as Cox intended to drop WPGA in favor of WGXA-DT2, a move that Register contended the provider does not have the right to make.[7] On December 22, 2009, WPGA was granted a temporary restraining order requiring Cox to continue to carry the station on channels 6 and 706;[8] however, the court later dismissed WPGA's case on April 30, 2010. Register filed an appeal; in light of this, a judge ordered Cox to leave WPGA on its existing channel slots until an appeals court heard the case.[9] In addition, Register also filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over the status of WPGA's channel placement on Cox.[9] Satellite provider DirecTV would drop WPGA itself on January 1, though the station remains available on Dish Network, as well as cable providers that the station maintains must carry agreements with (Register considers Cox to have such an agreement, even though the cable provider claims it instead has a retransmission consent agreement).[8] On June 23, 2011, the Georgia Court of Appeals upheld the ruling that would enable Cox to drop WPGA from its lineup, effective July 28. On that date, WGXA-DT2 would begin to be carried on both channel 6 and its existing channel 15 position; with the subchannel being carried exclusively on channel 6 starting August 28 (channel 15 would then be used for bandwidth for the system's high-definition channels).[10]
On July 12, 2011, Register filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, seeking an injunction to prevent Cox from not only dropping WPGA, but from giving the channel 6 slot to WGXA-DT2. However, Cox announced that it would go forward with the channel shuffle despite the complaint, as the previous court case authorized them to make the changes.[11] In addition, the FCC ruled on December 5, 2011, that WPGA's contract with Cox rendered it a station that elected retransmission consent.[12]
Register Communications was delinquent on about $7.5 million in loans, property taxes and federal payroll taxes. Thus, a Bibb County court appointed Green Bull Georgia Partners—a single-purpose entity set up by Candlewood Partners—as receiver for Register in April 2015.
Radio Perry Inc. (debtor in possession) agreed to sell the station to Marquee Broadcasting in October 2019.[13]
