WBXI-CD
WBXI-CD is a low-power Class A television station serving Indianapolis, Indiana, and carrying programming from the Start TV digital multicast network.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
WBXI-CD is a low-power, Class A television station serving Indianapolis, Indiana. The station broadcasts on digital channel 47 and is associated with CBS News and Stations, the television-station group within CBS. Its programming identity has changed several times since it first went on the air, reflecting the evolution of low-power television, multicast distribution, and the network holdings of its corporate owners. The station began broadcasting in 1990 under the call sign W47AZ. Its original affiliation was with The Box, a viewer-request music-video network that built its service around music videos selected through audience interaction. In 2001, the station adopted the WBXI-CA call letters and changed its programming to MTV2 after Viacom acquired the station. The change aligned the outlet with Viacom's music and youth-oriented television portfolio while preserving its role as a local over-the-air outlet. For several months in 2004, channel 47 operated as a repeater for WNDY-TV, then an affiliate of UPN and a sister station under Viacom ownership. That arrangement ended after WNDY-TV was sold to LIN TV Corporation in February 2005. Viacom retained WBXI-CA after the WNDY transaction, and the station was subsequently transferred to CBS Corporation in December 2005 following the corporate separation of CBS from the former Viacom. Despite the ownership change, WBXI continued to carry MTV2 programming for a period. In 2007, WBXI changed affiliations again, moving from MTV2 to MTV Tr3s, MTV's Spanish-language sister network. That arrangement ended in 2014 when the station's final carriage agreement expired. WBXI then carried continuous weather information, a lower-cost programming model that maintained local utility without a conventional entertainment-network schedule. The station entered the CBS and Weigel Broadcasting multicast-network ecosystem in 2018. On January 1 of that year, it began carrying Decades programming, while retaining a weekday local weather-information hour at 7 a.m. On September 3, 2018, WBXI became an outlet for the newly launched Start TV network and dropped Decades; Decades moved to the second digital subchannel of WSDI-LD. Start TV specializes in television programming centered on female television protagonists and established series, giving WBXI a nationally supplied schedule within the digital multicast-station market. WBXI-CD maintains an office on North Alabama Street in downtown Indianapolis. Its transmitter is located on Walnut Drive on the city's northwest side. The station's service is therefore principally local and regional rather than national, with its brand functioning as a broadcast outlet and distribution platform for network programming rather than as a standalone content studio.
History
WBXI-CD began broadcasting in 1990 as W47AZ, a low-power television station serving Indianapolis. Its first known programming affiliation was The Box, a music-video network whose format was built around viewer requests. The outlet later became part of Viacom's station and network portfolio. In 2001, it changed its call sign to WBXI-CA and switched to MTV2, connecting the local station to Viacom's expanded music-oriented television operations. The station's role changed temporarily in 2004, when channel 47 served as a repeater for WNDY-TV. WNDY was then a sister station and a UPN affiliate. The repeater arrangement lasted only several months and ended in connection with the sale of WNDY-TV to LIN TV Corporation in February 2005. Viacom retained WBXI-CA after that transaction. In December 2005, following the division of the former Viacom into separate CBS and Viacom companies, the station was spun off to CBS Corporation. The station nevertheless continued to carry MTV2 for a time, illustrating that its programming affiliation and ownership had become separate aspects of its identity. In 2007, WBXI moved from MTV2 to MTV Tr3s, the Spanish-language sister network associated with MTV. This affiliation continued until 2014, when the final carriage agreement expired. Following the end of the MTV Tr3s arrangement, the station carried continuous weather information rather than a conventional entertainment-network schedule. WBXI entered a new phase in 2018 through CBS's relationship with Weigel Broadcasting and the companies' digital multicast networks. On January 1, 2018, the station began carrying Decades. A weekday 7 a.m. weather-information hour remained as the station's limited local programming. On September 3 of the same year, WBXI dropped Decades and became an affiliate of Start TV, a new CBS and Weigel multicast network. Decades subsequently moved to the second digital subchannel of WSDI-LD. The station completed its analog-to-digital transition in 2015. It activated digital transmission on August 21 and shut down its analog operation on September 1, the applicable deadline for Class A stations. WBXI-CD now operates as a digital low-power television outlet in the Indianapolis market. Its office is on North Alabama Street in downtown Indianapolis, and its transmitter is on Walnut Drive on the city's northwest side. The station's principal function is to distribute Start TV programming to local viewers, supplemented by the limited local information service documented in its station history.
- 2018
Decades affiliation begins
[1]WBXI starts carrying programming from Decades on January 1.
- 2018
Start TV affiliation begins
[1]On September 3, WBXI replaces Decades with Start TV programming.
- 2015
Analog service ends
[1]WBXI activates its digital signal and ends analog broadcasting as part of the Class A television transition.
- 2014
MTV Tr3s affiliation ends
[1]The station's last MTV Tr3s carriage agreement expires, after which WBXI carries continuous weather information.
- 2007
MTV Tr3s affiliation begins
[1]WBXI changes from MTV2 to MTV Tr3s, a Spanish-language MTV network.
- 2005
Ownership passes to CBS Corporation
[1]After Viacom retains the station during the WNDY-TV sale, WBXI-CA is transferred to CBS Corporation in December following the corporate split.
- 2004
Temporary WNDY-TV repeater operation
[1]Channel 47 temporarily retransmits programming from sister station WNDY-TV.
- 2001
Call sign and network change
[1]The station becomes WBXI-CA and switches from The Box to MTV2 after Viacom acquisition activity.
- 1990
Station signs on as W47AZ
[1]The Indianapolis low-power television station begins broadcasting under the W47AZ call sign with programming from The Box.
Products and positioning
A local low-power Indianapolis television outlet that distributes nationally supplied digital multicast programming, currently associated with Start TV, while retaining limited local information programming.
Digital multicast television network · 2018
Start TV
Start TV is the current network programming service carried by WBXI-CD. It is a CBS and Weigel Broadcasting digital multicast network built around television programming featuring female protagonists and established series. WBXI distributes the network to viewers in the Indianapolis market over its digital broadcast signal.
Local television programming · 2014
Local weather-information programming
WBXI has carried continuous or scheduled weather-information programming during periods when it did not have a conventional entertainment-network affiliation. After the station joined Decades in 2018, a weekday 7 a.m. weather-information hour remained as its documented local program.
Brand decisions
2018
Adopt Decades programmingStrategyBackground
CBS and Weigel Broadcasting were expanding their digital multicast network distribution.
Action taken
WBXI began carrying Decades on January 1 while retaining a weekday local weather hour.
Aftermath
The station carried Decades for part of 2018 before changing to Start TV.
2018
Replace Decades with Start TVStrategyBackground
CBS and Weigel launched Start TV as a new digital multicast network.
Action taken
On September 3, WBXI dropped Decades and began carrying Start TV.
Aftermath
Decades moved to the second digital subchannel of WSDI-LD, while WBXI became a Start TV outlet in Indianapolis.
2015
Complete analog-to-digital transitionGeneration changeBackground
Class A television stations were required to cease analog operations under the digital television transition schedule.
Action taken
WBXI activated its digital signal on August 21 and ended analog broadcasting on September 1.
Aftermath
The station continued as a digital low-power outlet on channel 47.
2007
Move to MTV Tr3sStrategyBackground
WBXI's programming affiliation within the MTV network family changed after its period carrying MTV2.
Action taken
The station began carrying MTV Tr3s, the Spanish-language MTV sister network.
Aftermath
The affiliation lasted until the station's final carriage agreement expired in 2014.
2001
Switch from The Box to MTV2StrategyBackground
The station became part of Viacom's television portfolio and changed its call sign from W47AZ to WBXI-CA.
Action taken
WBXI-CA replaced The Box programming with MTV2.
Aftermath
The change connected the Indianapolis outlet to Viacom's MTV network strategy.
Recent events
- 2018
WBXI begins carrying Decades[1]
Product launch
On January 1, WBXI began broadcasting programming from the CBS and Weigel Broadcasting Decades network, retaining a limited weekday weather-information hour.
- 2018
WBXI launches as a Start TV affiliate[1]
Product launch
On September 3, WBXI replaced Decades with programming from the newly launched Start TV digital multicast network.
- 2015
WBXI completes its transition to digital transmission[1]
Other · Regulation
The station activated its digital signal on August 21 and ended analog operations on September 1 under the Class A television transition schedule.
- 2007
WBXI changes from MTV2 to MTV Tr3s[1]
Other
The station moved to MTV Tr3s, a Spanish-language network within the MTV portfolio.
- 2004
WBXI-CA serves temporarily as a repeater for WNDY-TV[1]
Other
For several months, channel 47 retransmitted programming from then-sister station WNDY-TV, a UPN affiliate at the time.
- 2001
WBXI-CA changes affiliation from The Box to MTV2[1]
Other
The Indianapolis low-power station adopted the WBXI-CA call sign and began carrying MTV2 programming after Viacom acquired the station.
Sources2 sources
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