WMNT-CD
WMNT-CD is a low-power Class A television station serving the Toledo, Ohio, market with Shop LC and MyNetworkTV programming.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
WMNT-CD is a low-power Class A television station licensed to Toledo, Ohio, and serving viewers in the Toledo metropolitan area. The station broadcasts on UHF channel 48 and is owned by Community Broadcast Group, Inc. Its studios are in a strip-mall facility at Reynolds Road and Dussel Drive in Maumee, while its transmitter is located atop the One SeaGate tower in downtown Toledo. On Buckeye Broadband, the station is carried on channel 58, a position that shaped the “My58” branding used during its MyNetworkTV affiliation. The station began as W48AP, receiving its license on March 23, 1987, and commencing broadcasts on March 6, 1989, under the “HomeTown TV 48” identity. Its original format emphasized locally produced programming rather than relying exclusively on network content. Early programs included community interviews, political discussion, local sports, auctions, sales programs, entertainment from regional fairs and festivals, children’s programming, and variety shows. This made the station an early example of community-oriented low-power television, but its business model was constrained by limited cable access and weak advertising reach. Initially, Toledo-area cable systems generally did not provide low-power stations with normal channel placement. Many cable subscribers therefore could not receive TV48, while the station’s over-the-air audience was limited. The Toledo Blade also declined to place the station in its main television listings, adding to the difficulty of attracting viewers and advertisers. A cable slot on Buckeye Cablesystem was secured in April 1989, although the station was placed on an inconvenient channel position. The station subsequently reduced its locally produced schedule and moved through several nationally supplied formats, including Star Television Network, Channel America, and The Box music-video service. In 1995, after a sale to L&M Video Productions, the station became a UPN affiliate and changed its call sign to WNGT-LP in 1996. The new identity, “New Generation Television,” reflected the ownership transition and network orientation. Financial and operational problems later led to receivership in February 2005. A court-appointed receiver reported problems involving station access and paid infomercials that allegedly had not aired. The station was then acquired by Matrix Broadcasting Communications, a subsidiary associated with Cornerstone Church. Following UPN’s shutdown in September 2006, the station joined MyNetworkTV and adopted the call sign WMNT-CA. Community Broadcast Group acquired the station around January 2011 after Cornerstone Church announced its sale. The transaction was reported at a nominal price, and Community Broadcast Group had operated the station under a time-brokerage arrangement before closing. The company restored the analog signal in August 2010 after a temporary operational interruption and later converted the station to digital broadcasting through a March 3, 2013 flash cut. A proposed 2014 sale to Novia Communications, LLC for $400,000 was announced but never completed. WMNT-CD temporarily dropped MyNetworkTV programming in January 2020 and carried a full-time paid-programming schedule. A revised syndicated schedule returned later that year, with MyNetworkTV programming restored during prime time in September. The station’s current service combines commercial television programming with Shop LC content, while its limited cable carriage and low-power status continue to distinguish it from Toledo’s full-power broadcasters.
History
WMNT-CD traces its history to W48AP, a low-power television authorization issued on March 23, 1987. Broadcast operations began on March 6, 1989, from Westwood Avenue in west Toledo. Under the “HomeTown TV 48” identity, the station pursued a strongly local format. It produced quiz, interview, political, auction, sales, children’s, variety, and community-event programs, and also carried local high-school football and basketball. The schedule was designed to make a small independent station useful to its immediate community rather than simply act as a repeater of distant programming. This approach faced serious distribution problems. Toledo cable operators did not initially offer low-power stations ordinary channel placement, limiting the station largely to households with a usable antenna and to secondary television sets. The resulting audience constraints made local advertising difficult. The station also faced unfavorable treatment in local television listings, requiring it to buy limited advertising space rather than appearing alongside the market’s established stations. Buckeye Cablesystem eventually provided carriage on April 24, 1989, but the placement was on channel 29B, separated from the main local lineup. The cable company also developed ToledoVision 5, a separate local-programming outlet that competed for content and attention. By 1990, the station had largely abandoned the “HomeTown TV48” format. It used satellite-fed programming from the short-lived Star Television Network under the “TV Heaven” name and later carried Channel America. In 1992, it adopted a music-video format supplied by The Box, with audio simulcasts from Toledo radio station WTWR during periods without video content. That arrangement continued until 1995. Robert S. “Bob” Moore and Denny Long managed the station through this formative period. L&M Video Productions, controlled by Marty and Linda Miller, purchased the station in 1995. The station affiliated with UPN and changed its call sign to WNGT-LP in 1996, using the “New Generation Television” identity. L&M also reached an investment arrangement with Cornerstone Church, a local Pentecostal congregation. The station’s financial and operational difficulties continued, and WNGT-LP entered receivership in February 2005. Receiver Ralph DeNune III reported that the downtown studio was sometimes unsecured and unattended and that the station had accepted payment for infomercials that were not broadcast. Cornerstone Church, through Matrix Broadcasting Communications, subsequently reached an agreement to purchase the station. After UPN ceased operations in September 2006, the station became a MyNetworkTV affiliate and adopted the call sign WMNT-CA. The Millers challenged the transaction and later pursued further attempts to regain the license, including litigation alleging discrimination, but those efforts did not succeed. Cornerstone Church announced plans to sell the station in 2010. Community Broadcasting Co., led by Atlanta-based media consultant Jesse Weatherby and Toledo-area minister and former Toledo Blade sales executive Jerry Jones, became the buyer. Community Broadcast Group operated the station under a time-brokerage agreement while the transaction was pending, restored its analog signal in August 2010, and completed the acquisition by January 2011. The station changed from analog to digital operation through a March 3, 2013 flash cut on UHF channel 48. In October 2014, Community Broadcast Group announced a proposed $400,000 sale to Novia Communications, LLC, but the deal was never consummated. In January 2020, WMNT-CD stopped carrying MyNetworkTV and adopted a full-time paid-programming schedule. The station returned to a new syndicated schedule in September of that year, with MyNetworkTV programming again airing in prime time. The station is currently associated with Shop LC and MyNetworkTV programming and remains a low-power Class A broadcaster serving Toledo. Its studios are in Maumee and its transmitter is on the One SeaGate tower in downtown Toledo. Cable carriage is identified with Buckeye Broadband channel 58, while no other pay-television carriage or subchannel carriage is identified in the reference material.
- 2020
MyNetworkTV programming temporarily suspended
[1]The station briefly carried full-time paid programming before restoring syndicated and MyNetworkTV content later in the year.
- 2014
Uncompleted Novia sale announced
[1]A proposed sale to Novia Communications was announced but never closed.
- 2013
Digital flash cut
[1]WMNT-CA converted to digital operation on UHF channel 48.
- 2011
Community Broadcast Group completes acquisition
[1]Community Broadcast Group became the station’s owner after a sale process initiated by Cornerstone Church.
- 2006
MyNetworkTV affiliation begins
[1]After UPN shut down, the station switched to MyNetworkTV and became WMNT-CA.
- 2005
Receivership begins
[1]WNGT-LP entered receivership amid reported operational and programming-payment disputes.
- 1996
Call sign changes to WNGT-LP
[1]The station adopted the WNGT-LP call sign and the New Generation Television identity.
- 1995
L&M Video Productions acquires the station
[1]Marty and Linda Miller acquired the station, which became a UPN affiliate.
- 1992
The Box music-video format begins
[1]The station began carrying pay-per-view music videos from The Box on a full-time basis, continuing until 1995.
- 1990
Local-production schedule is reduced
[1]The station moved away from its original HomeTown TV format and adopted satellite-fed programming.
Products and positioning
A Toledo-area low-power television station combining network, shopping, syndicated, and paid programming with a history of community-oriented local content.
Television programming · 1989
Local community programming
The station’s original schedule included locally produced quiz, public-affairs, interview, auction, sales, children’s, variety, and community-event programs. It also carried Toledo-area high-school football and basketball, positioning the station as a neighborhood-focused alternative to the established full-power broadcasters.
Network television affiliation · 2006
MyNetworkTV programming
WMNT-CD adopted MyNetworkTV programming after UPN ceased operations in September 2006. Although the affiliation was temporarily interrupted in 2020, MyNetworkTV programming later returned to the station’s prime-time schedule.
Home-shopping television
Shop LC programming
Shop LC programming forms part of the station’s current broadcast offering. It extends the station’s schedule beyond its network and syndicated programming and reflects the commercial shopping-oriented content commonly carried by smaller-market and low-power outlets.
Music television · 1992
The Box music-video service
From 1992 through 1995, the station carried The Box’s pay-per-view music-video service full time. During periods without video, audio was simulcast from Toledo contemporary-hit radio station WTWR.
Controversies
2005
Operational disputes during receivership
During receivership, the court-appointed overseer reported that the station’s studio was sometimes left unlocked and unattended and that airtime payments had been received for infomercials that did not air. These findings contributed to the transfer of control to Matrix Broadcasting Communications.
Brand decisions
2020
Temporary programming resetStrategyBackground
WMNT-CD discontinued MyNetworkTV programming in January 2020 without a publicly stated explanation in the reference material.
Action taken
The station carried full-time paid programming before introducing a new syndicated schedule and restoring MyNetworkTV in prime time in September.
Aftermath
The station resumed a mixed schedule combining syndicated, network, shopping, and other commercial programming.
2014
Proposed sale to Novia CommunicationsM&ABackground
Community Broadcast Group sought a buyer for the station after taking ownership in 2011.
Action taken
The company announced a proposed $400,000 sale to Novia Communications, LLC.
Aftermath
The transaction was never consummated, leaving Community Broadcast Group as the owner identified in the reference material.
2013
Analog-to-digital conversionGeneration changeBackground
The station continued operating as a low-power broadcaster while transitioning its transmission facilities to digital operation.
Action taken
WMNT-CA completed a digital flash cut on UHF channel 48 on March 3.
Aftermath
The station continued under its digital call sign, later becoming WMNT-CD.
2006
Switch from UPN to MyNetworkTVStrategyBackground
UPN ended operations in September 2006, requiring the station to replace its network affiliation.
Action taken
WMNT-CA adopted MyNetworkTV programming and changed its programming identity after the UPN shutdown.
Aftermath
The station continued as a MyNetworkTV affiliate and later used the My58 branding associated with its Buckeye Broadband channel position.
Recent events
- 2020
WMNT-CD temporarily drops MyNetworkTV programming[1]
Product generation
The station moved to a full-time paid-programming schedule in January before returning to a syndicated schedule with MyNetworkTV programming in prime time in September.
- 2014
Proposed sale to Novia Communications announced[1]
M&A
Community Broadcast Group announced a proposed sale of WMNT-CA to Novia Communications, LLC, but the transaction was not completed.
- 2013
WMNT-CA converts to digital broadcasting[1]
Other
The station completed a digital flash cut on UHF channel 48 and continued its service as a digital low-power station.
- 2011
WMNT-CA sale to Community Broadcasting Co. completed[1]
M&A
Community Broadcasting Co. acquired the Toledo low-power station after operating it under a time-brokerage arrangement; the transaction was reported at a nominal price.
Sources2 sources
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