WBKI-TV
Former television station licensed to Campbellsville, Kentucky, and serving the Louisville, Kentucky, market.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
WBKI-TV was a former full-power television station on UHF channel 34, licensed to Campbellsville, Kentucky, and operated primarily as a Louisville-market broadcaster. The station began broadcasting on July 27, 1983, under the call sign WGRB. It was established by local businessman William “Billy” Speer through Green River Broadcasting to give viewers in Campbellsville and surrounding rural communities a locally accessible television outlet. At launch, Louisville stations often provided only marginal over-the-air reception in the southern portion of the market, while cable penetration was limited, so the new station relied heavily on syndicated entertainment programming rather than a major network affiliation. The station’s early financial position was difficult. It filed for bankruptcy protection in August 1984, roughly one year after signing on, and subsequently pursued changes in ownership, programming, and market strategy. In 1992, WGRB became a Fox affiliate for the southern part of the Louisville market. This arrangement was unusual because Louisville already had a separate Fox affiliate, WDRB, but WDRB’s signal was weak in parts of the southern market. WGRB’s affiliation therefore extended Fox programming to viewers who might otherwise have lacked reliable access. WGRB left Fox in 1997 and joined The WB. Because Louisville’s existing WB outlet, WBNA, frequently preempted network programs, The WB made WGRB its exclusive Louisville-area affiliate in 1998. The station then invested in a higher-power transmission facility near Raywick, Kentucky, which went into service in 1999 and materially improved its reach toward Louisville. Its call sign changed to WWWB in November 1999 and to WBKI-TV in September 2000. The WBKI identity referred to the station’s coverage of the Kentuckiana region and was retained when the network later changed ownership and branding. When The WB and UPN were replaced by The CW in 2006, WBKI-TV became one of the new network’s charter affiliates. Its selection reflected the station’s strong performance as a WB affiliate and gave it a continuing general-entertainment network role. Outside network hours, its schedule included syndicated sitcoms, reality programs, movies, shopping programming, locally produced shows, and a broad range of sports. The station carried selected Southeastern Conference games, Kentucky Wildcats contests, Tennessee Titans preseason football, Notre Dame football, Big Ten basketball, Big 12 sports, and Ohio Valley Wrestling programming at various times. Ownership and operating arrangements changed repeatedly. Cascade Broadcasting Group, which controlled the station during its transition to The CW, filed for bankruptcy in 2008. Fusion Communications acquired WBKI-TV and moved its operations to Louisville’s Wright Tower. After Fusion defaulted on financing in 2012, Valley Bank took control of the pledged station assets and sold them to a local buyer. LM Communications acquired the station later that year. LM entered into a local marketing agreement with Block Communications, owner of Louisville stations WDRB and WMYO, under which Block assumed operational responsibilities and consolidated selected functions. By 2014, WBKI-TV’s operations had largely moved into WDRB and WMYO’s shared downtown Louisville facility. WBKI-TV’s broadcast life ended after LM Communications sold its spectrum in the Federal Communications Commission’s 2016 incentive auction. The station received $20.7 million for the spectrum and did not enter a channel-sharing arrangement. It ceased broadcasting on October 25, 2017, and its license was canceled on October 31. Programming continued through digital subchannels of WMYO. In February 2018, the WBKI-TV call sign was reassigned to the former WMYO facility as part of a broader channel and affiliation rearrangement, but that later use was not the same licensed station documented in the 1983–2017 Wikipedia subject.
History
Green River Broadcasting, led by William “Billy” Speer, applied in 1980 for authority to construct a television station serving Campbellsville and nearby communities. The construction permit followed in approximately 1981, and the station was licensed as WGRB in 1982. Although an initial launch was planned for February 1983, an antenna-delivery delay postponed the first broadcast until July 27. Its original facilities were located near Cane Valley along the Adair–Taylor County line, and its principal challenge was serving a rural area that received weak over-the-air signals from Louisville while having limited cable access. WGRB began as an independent station. Its schedule was built largely around syndicated programming, including older entertainment series and movies. The station’s economics were fragile, and it filed for bankruptcy on August 8, 1984. In 1992, it became a Fox affiliate aimed at the southern portion of the Louisville market. WDRB was already Fox’s Louisville affiliate, but its signal did not adequately cover all southern viewers. WGRB consequently served as a complementary Fox outlet rather than a conventional sole-market affiliate. In 1997, WGRB changed affiliations from Fox to The WB. The move became more consequential in 1998, when The WB selected WGRB as its exclusive Louisville outlet because WBNA, the prior affiliate, regularly preempted network programs. A new transmitter near Raywick became operational in 1999, improving coverage toward Louisville and reducing the station’s dependence on its original rural footprint. The call sign changed to WWWB in November 1999 and then to WBKI-TV in September 2000. The new identity emphasized the station’s Kentuckiana service area and its relationship with The WB. WBKI-TV was among the early stations selected for The CW, the network formed through the combination of The WB and UPN. It launched as a CW affiliate on September 18, 2006. The station retained its call letters to preserve viewer recognition. Its broader programming mix included network shows, syndicated sitcoms and reality programs, weekend movies, overnight Shop at Home programming until that service ended, and several locally produced programs. Sports coverage included Ohio Valley Wrestling, selected Southeastern Conference football and basketball, Kentucky Wildcats games, Tennessee Titans preseason football, Notre Dame football, Big Ten basketball, and later Big 12 sports distributed through ESPN Plus. The station’s local-news history was intermittent. An original nightly newscast lasted only a few months after the 1983 launch. A joint news operation with Bowling Green station WKNT returned during the Fox era in 1994 but ended around 1996 or 1997 after weak ratings. During the 2000s, WBKI-TV aired the lifestyle program Louisville Live This Morning. It also partnered with WHAS-TV on a 10 p.m. newscast beginning in January 2006. After Block Communications assumed operational control, WDRB began producing a weekday 7 p.m. newscast for WBKI-TV in September 2012. The WHAS-produced and WDRB-produced arrangements briefly overlapped, but the remaining shared newscasts were later reduced. Cascade Broadcasting Group entered bankruptcy in 2008, and Fusion Communications acquired the station in an approved transaction that closed in 2009. Fusion relocated operations to Louisville’s Wright Tower. After Fusion defaulted on a loan in 2012, Valley Bank took control of WBKI-TV as collateral and sold the assets to a local buyer. LM Communications acquired the station in June 2012 and closed the transaction in November. LM then maintained a local marketing agreement with Block Communications, which operated WDRB and WMYO. Selected technical and administrative functions were consolidated, and in 2014 up to ten employees moved from the Wright Tower to the shared WDRB/WMYO facility on West Muhammad Ali Boulevard. WBKI-TV also used digital multicast capacity. Its second digital channel carried VasalloVision beginning in 2009, later became inactive, and was relaunched with the Movies! network in 2014. Because the channel 34 signal did not reach all northern parts of the Louisville market, especially in Indiana, WBKI programming was also simulcast on WMYO digital subchannels. The station’s final transition came through the FCC incentive auction. WBKI-TV sold its spectrum for $20.7 million without a channel-sharing agreement. It left the air on October 25, 2017, and its license was canceled on October 31. WMYO digital subchannels continued distributing programming. In February 2018, Block Communications reassigned the WBKI-TV call sign to the former WMYO operation and placed the CW schedule on its primary channel, but that later call-sign use belongs to a successor operation rather than the defunct channel 34 license.
- 2017
Broadcasting ended
[1]The station sold its spectrum, stopped broadcasting on October 25, and surrendered its license on October 31.
- 2014
Operations consolidated with WDRB and WMYO
[1]Selected WBKI-TV personnel and functions moved into the shared downtown Louisville facility used by WDRB and WMYO.
- 2012
LM Communications acquisition
[1]LM Communications acquired WBKI-TV and entered an operating arrangement with Block Communications.
- 2009
Fusion Communications ownership completed
[1]Fusion Communications completed its acquisition after winning the station in a bankruptcy-related auction.
- 2006
Became a charter CW affiliate
[1]WBKI-TV began carrying The CW when the network launched on September 18.
- 2000
WBKI-TV call sign adopted
[1]The station changed from WWWB to WBKI-TV on September 19.
- 1999
Raywick transmitter activated
[1]A more powerful transmitter near Raywick improved the station’s coverage toward Louisville.
- 1997
Joined The WB
[1]The station left Fox and began carrying The WB.
- 1992
Fox affiliation
[1]WGRB became a Fox affiliate for the southern portion of the Louisville market.
- 1984
Bankruptcy filing
[1]WGRB filed for bankruptcy approximately one year after launch.
Products and positioning
A regional general-entertainment television station focused on extending network, syndicated, news, and sports programming to underserved portions of the Louisville market.
Broadcast television · 1983
WBKI-TV over-the-air service
The station’s principal offering was a full-power UHF television signal licensed to Campbellsville and targeted at the Louisville market. It combined network programming with syndicated entertainment, movies, local productions, news, and sports. Because terrestrial coverage was uneven in northern parts of the market, portions of the service were also distributed through WMYO digital subchannels.
Network affiliation · 2006
The CW programming
WBKI-TV carried The CW from the network’s launch in September 2006 until the original station ceased transmission in 2017. The affiliation followed the station’s earlier role as a strong WB affiliate and made WBKI-TV the principal CW outlet for Louisville during this period.
Television programming · 1983
Local news and lifestyle programming
Local offerings included the short-lived original newscast, a joint news operation with WKNT, the lifestyle program Louisville Live This Morning, and later prime-time newscasts supplied by WHAS-TV and WDRB. These arrangements changed as ownership and operating partnerships shifted.
Sports television · 1992
Regional sports broadcasts
The station carried selected college and professional sports over different periods, including Southeastern Conference football and basketball, Kentucky Wildcats games, Tennessee Titans preseason games, Notre Dame football, Big Ten basketball, Big 12 sports, and Ohio Valley Wrestling.
Marketing campaigns
- 1999WWWB identity and coverage expansion
Louisville · Southern Kentucky · Southern Indiana
The station combined a higher-power Raywick transmitter with a new WWWB call sign, aligning its identity with The WB and promoting a broader Kentuckiana service area.
Outcome. The station subsequently adopted the WBKI-TV call sign in 2000 and remained a prominent WB affiliate.
Brand decisions
2017
Exited terrestrial broadcasting through spectrum saleStrategyBackground
The FCC incentive auction created an opportunity for television licensees to monetize broadcast spectrum.
Action taken
WBKI-TV sold its spectrum for $20.7 million without a channel-sharing arrangement and ended transmission.
Aftermath
The license was canceled, while WBKI programming continued through WMYO digital subchannels.
Spectrum auction proceeds. $20.7 million (2017 FCC incentive auction)
2006
Joined The CWProduct launchBackground
The WB and UPN were replaced by a new network formed by their corporate owners.
Action taken
WBKI-TV became a charter CW affiliate on September 18, 2006.
Aftermath
The station retained its call sign and continued as a general-entertainment network outlet until shutdown.
1997
Switched from Fox to The WBStrategyBackground
The station sought a network role better suited to its evolving Louisville-market position.
Action taken
WGRB dropped Fox and joined The WB.
Aftermath
The WB later made the station its exclusive Louisville outlet after concerns about preemptions on the existing affiliate.
1992
Added Fox affiliation for southern LouisvilleStrategyBackground
WDRB’s signal was considered marginal in parts of the southern Louisville market, where cable access was also limited.
Action taken
WGRB began carrying Fox programming while WDRB retained the network affiliation for the main Louisville area.
Aftermath
The arrangement gave some southern-market viewers their first reliable access to Fox programming.
Sources1 sources
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