WHSG-TV

WHSG-TV is a religious television station licensed to Monroe, Georgia, in the United States. The station serves the Atlanta television market and operates as an outlet of the Trinity Broadcasting Network, commonly known as TBN. Its identity is primarily tied to the national TBN programming service rather than to locally produced programming. Apart from required station-identification announcements and locally inserted material, the station has not generally operated as a conventional local-news or locally focused broadcaster. The station's origins date to a construction permit for a proposed channel 63 facility issued around 1987 to Monroe Television, Inc. TBN acquired the permit in December 1989, completed construction, and began operating WHSG-TV on March 15, 1991. From the late 1990s through the early 2010s, the station had a more visible role in TBN's production structure than a simple relay outlet. It originated a weekly edition of TBN's flagship program Praise the Lord and contributed to portions of the network's semiannual Praise-a-Thon fundraising broadcasts. That local production role diminished after TBN reorganized its local and network programming operations in 2017, following Matt Crouch's assumption of leadership after the death of his mother and TBN co-founder Jan Crouch. TBN subsequently closed WHSG-TV's studio on Agape Way in Decatur in 2019. The closure followed the Federal Communications Commission's repeal of the Main Studio Rule, which reduced the regulatory requirement for television stations to maintain a traditional local studio facility. WHSG-TV's broadcast infrastructure has changed substantially over time. Its original analog transmitter was located in northern Rockdale County between Monroe and Atlanta. The station ended analog broadcasting on April 16, 2009, as part of the United States digital television transition. Its digital signal continued on UHF channel 44 while retaining virtual channel 63. The former analog channel number was within the high-band UHF range that was removed from television broadcasting use during the transition. The station's digital facility is located immediately south of Atlanta's Inman Park neighborhood, near Interstate 20, at a tower site used by several Atlanta-area broadcast facilities. WHSG-TV also operated a translator serving the northwestern Atlanta area. The translator was licensed to Marietta and transmitted from Sweat Mountain. It subsequently used the call signs W49DE and WXID-LP and became associated with JCTV rather than remaining a direct WHSG-TV translator. WHSG-TV has also pursued technical changes, including an application to increase effective radiated power from 700 kilowatts to the maximum 1,000 kilowatts at the digital facility. The station's distribution reflects its role as a TBN outlet. Because it carries no substantial local programming and the national TBN feed is already available through other distribution methods, WHSG-TV has not been carried as a local channel on DirecTV. TBN's additional subchannel networks have likewise had limited availability through that platform. WHSG-TV therefore functions primarily as an over-the-air broadcast outlet extending TBN's religious programming into the Atlanta market, rather than as an independent local media brand.

WHSG-TV's regulatory history began with a construction permit for a proposed television station on UHF channel 63 at Monroe, Georgia. The permit was originally granted around 1987 to Monroe Television, Inc., a local permittee. Trinity Broadcasting Network purchased the permit in December 1989 and completed the station's construction. WHSG-TV began broadcasting on March 15, 1991, as a TBN-owned-and-operated station serving the Atlanta area. For much of its early operating history, WHSG-TV was more than a passive relay of TBN's national service. During the late 1990s and into the early 2010s, it originated a weekly edition of Praise the Lord, TBN's flagship ministry program. It also supplied portions of the network's semiannual Praise-a-Thon fundraising events. These activities gave the Atlanta-area station a production function within TBN's wider broadcasting and fundraising structure, even though it did not develop into a conventional local-news station. TBN changed its approach to local and network production in 2017. The restructuring followed Matt Crouch's move into leadership after the death of his mother, Jan Crouch, who had co-founded TBN. As part of the revised operating model, WHSG-TV ceased its previous contribution to the locally originated editions of Praise the Lord and to portions of Praise-a-Thon. The station increasingly served as a transmission outlet for TBN programming rather than as a local production center. The station's physical studio presence ended in 2019, when TBN closed its facility on Agape Way in Decatur. The closure came after the FCC repealed the Main Studio Rule, eliminating a longstanding regulatory requirement that broadcast stations maintain a local main studio. The facility was later sold. WHSG-TV's limited local content profile also affected its distribution: because it does not provide substantial local programming and TBN's national feed is already available through other services, DirecTV did not carry the station as a local channel in the Atlanta market. WHSG-TV has operated through both analog and digital transmission systems. Its original analog transmitter was located in northern Rockdale County, between Monroe and Atlanta. The station ended analog operation on April 16, 2009, as part of the nationwide digital transition. Its digital signal remained on pre-transition UHF channel 44 while retaining virtual channel 63, the station's long-standing identity. Channel 63 was among the high-band UHF channels removed from television broadcasting use as part of the repacking and spectrum changes associated with the transition. The digital facility is located immediately south of Atlanta's Inman Park neighborhood along the north side of Interstate 20. The tower site was originally constructed for WUPA and has hosted or been associated with several other broadcast facilities. WHSG-TV sought authority to increase effective radiated power from 700 kilowatts to the maximum permitted 1,000 kilowatts while retaining the same antenna height; the facility is now licensed at the newer site. The station also had a translator serving the area around Marietta and northwestern Atlanta. That facility transmitted from Sweat Mountain and later operated under the call signs W49DE and WXID-LP, becoming an affiliate of JCTV. The translator's later identity reflects the broader use of TBN-related low-power facilities for distribution of different ministry-oriented services. Today, WHSG-TV remains associated with Trinity Broadcasting Network and primarily provides over-the-air access to TBN religious programming in the Atlanta market. Its brand is defined by network affiliation, religious content, and broadcast coverage rather than by local journalism, original entertainment, or a broad independently managed program schedule.

• 2019

  Decatur studio closed

  [1]WHSG-TVen.wikipedia.org

  TBN closed WHSG-TV's Agape Way studio in Decatur following repeal of the FCC Main Studio Rule.

• 2017

  Local production operations restructured

  [1]WHSG-TVen.wikipedia.org

  TBN's programming reorganization ended WHSG-TV's prior role in originating a weekly Praise the Lord edition and portions of Praise-a-Thon.

• 2009

  Digital transition completed

  [1]WHSG-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The station shut down its analog channel 63 signal and continued digitally on UHF channel 44 with virtual channel 63.

• 1991

  Broadcasting begins

  [1]WHSG-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WHSG-TV commenced operations on March 15 as a TBN-owned-and-operated religious station.

• 1989

  TBN acquires the permit

  [1]WHSG-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Trinity Broadcasting Network purchased the WHSG-TV construction permit in December and completed the station's construction.

• 1987

  Construction permit issued

  [1]WHSG-TVen.wikipedia.org

  A construction permit for a proposed channel 63 station at Monroe, Georgia, was issued to Monroe Television, Inc.

A local over-the-air distribution outlet for Trinity Broadcasting Network religious programming in the Atlanta market, with limited or no original local programming.

• Television broadcasting · 1991

  TBN religious television service

  WHSG-TV's principal offering is over-the-air carriage of Trinity Broadcasting Network religious programming to viewers in the Atlanta market. The station primarily functions as a network distribution outlet and does not maintain a broad independently produced local schedule.

• Religious ministry programming

  Praise the Lord

  During the late 1990s through the early 2010s, WHSG-TV originated a weekly edition of TBN's flagship ministry program, combining religious discussion, preaching, testimony, music, and fundraising-oriented content. This local production role ended during TBN's 2017 operational restructuring.

• Fundraising broadcast

  Praise-A-Thon

  WHSG-TV contributed portions of TBN's semiannual Praise-A-Thon fundraising broadcasts during the period when the station had a larger production role within the network. The station's participation was reduced or ended after the 2017 programming reorganization.

• Praise-A-Thon

  United States · Atlanta area

  WHSG-TV originated portions of TBN's recurring semiannual Praise-A-Thon ministry and fundraising broadcasts while the station operated as part of TBN's broader local production structure.

  Outcome. The station's production contribution ended or was substantially reduced after TBN reorganized its programming operations in 2017.

  Source

• 2019

  Closure of the Decatur studioStrategy

  Background

  The FCC's repeal of the Main Studio Rule reduced the regulatory need for a traditional local studio.

  Action taken

  TBN closed WHSG-TV's Agape Way studio in Decatur and later sold the facility.

  Aftermath

  The station continued operating as a primarily network-fed broadcast outlet without the former local studio infrastructure.

  Source

• 2017

  TBN restructures local and network programmingStrategy

  Background

  The change followed Matt Crouch's assumption of leadership after the death of TBN co-founder Jan Crouch.

  Action taken

  TBN ended WHSG-TV's former role in originating a weekly Praise the Lord edition and portions of Praise-A-Thon.

  Aftermath

  WHSG-TV became more focused on transmitting TBN network programming than on producing Atlanta-area ministry content.

  Source

• 2009

  Conversion from analog to digital broadcastingGeneration change

  Background

  The United States television industry was transitioning from analog transmission to digital broadcasting, with high-band UHF spectrum being reassigned.

  Action taken

  WHSG-TV discontinued its analog channel 63 transmission and continued digitally on UHF channel 44 while preserving virtual channel 63.

  Aftermath

  The station continued serving the Atlanta area through its digital facility.

  Source

• 1989

  TBN purchases the WHSG-TV permitM&A

  Background

  The channel 63 construction permit had initially been held by Monroe Television, Inc.

  Action taken

  Trinity Broadcasting Network acquired the permit in December 1989 and completed construction of the station.

  Aftermath

  WHSG-TV began operating in 1991 as a TBN-owned-and-operated station.

  Source

1. 1WHSG-TVen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Trinity Broadcasting Networktbn.org