WPCB-TV
WPCB-TV is a Christian television station licensed to Greensburg, Pennsylvania, serving the Pittsburgh area as the flagship station of Cornerstone Television.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
WPCB-TV is a religious television station serving the Pittsburgh area and surrounding parts of western Pennsylvania. Licensed to Greensburg, Pennsylvania, the station operates from studios and a transmitter site on Signal Hill Drive in Wall, Pennsylvania. It is the flagship outlet of Cornerstone Television, a Christian broadcasting network that originates much of its programming from the station. WKBS-TV in Altoona operates as a full-time satellite of WPCB-TV. The station was developed by Reverend Russ Bixler, who became interested in Christian television after seeing the all-Christian format of WYAH-TV in the Virginia Beach area during the 1960s. Bixler subsequently visited the Christian Broadcasting Network studios and met Pat Robertson and Jim Bakker. He concluded that Pittsburgh would benefit from a comparable Christian television service. His first attempt to obtain a Pittsburgh-area channel was an application for channel 22, but that license was awarded in 1975 to Commercial Radio Institute, an antecedent of Sinclair Broadcast Group; the resulting station later launched as secular independent WPTT-TV. Bixler then pursued channel 40 and received a construction permit in 1976. Equipment and financing challenges delayed the project, but the station eventually assembled a schedule partly by selling blocks of airtime to Christian organizations. WPCB-TV began broadcasting on April 15, 1979, initially operating for approximately 15 hours per day. Within its first year it expanded to a round-the-clock schedule. Early programming included repeated airings of the PTL Club and The 700 Club, Christian Broadcasting Network programs, children's educational and religious shows, nationally distributed televangelist programs, and programming supplied by local churches. The station also produced a local variety, talk, and music program titled Getting Together. WPCB-TV has retained an explicitly Christian identity throughout its history. Its schedule has remained religiously oriented rather than evolving into a conventional general-entertainment independent station. The station's distinctive telephone greeting, reported as “Jesus Loves You TV 40,” reflected that identity from the period before its launch onward. Because WPCB-TV held a commercial television license, commercial broadcasters periodically expressed interest in acquiring or converting the station. Cornerstone itself explored a complicated transaction in 1998 involving the purchase of noncommercial WQEX on channel 16 and a possible sale of WPCB-TV. Paxson Communications proposed acquiring channel 40 for a planned Pax TV owned-and-operated station using the call sign WKPX-TV. The transaction did not proceed: the Federal Communications Commission did not initially regard WPCB-TV's religious programming as educational for the relevant licensing purpose, and Cornerstone withdrew its WQEX application in 2000. Channel 40 was subsequently removed from the market. The FCC reversed its position in 2002, but the contemplated sale of WPCB-TV did not occur. Bixler died in 2000, after which Ron Hembree, a WPCB-TV program host, became president. Hembree remained associated with the station until his death in June 2010. WPCB-TV later completed the federally mandated transition from analog to digital broadcasting. Its analog UHF channel 40 signal ended on June 12, 2009, while its digital operation continued on pre-transition UHF channel 50 and retained virtual channel 40. WPCB-TV remains a Cornerstone Television flagship and continues to provide Christian-oriented broadcasting to the Pittsburgh region.
History
WPCB-TV emerged from Russ Bixler's efforts to establish a Christian television service for Pittsburgh. During the 1960s, Bixler encountered WYAH-TV, an all-Christian station serving the Virginia Beach area, and visited the Christian Broadcasting Network, where he met Pat Robertson and Jim Bakker. These experiences led him to pursue a comparable station in western Pennsylvania. Bixler first applied for a channel 22 license in the 1970s. The license was awarded in 1975 to Commercial Radio Institute, an organization later associated with the development of WPTT-TV. Bixler subsequently applied for channel 40 and received a construction permit in 1976. The station faced equipment and operational obstacles before it could launch. To assemble an initial schedule, it sold limited blocks of airtime to Christian organizations and eventually began broadcasting on April 15, 1979. The station started with a schedule of roughly 15 hours daily and expanded to 24-hour operation within a year. Its early lineup combined nationally distributed Christian programs, local church productions, children's educational material, and ministry programming. Repeated broadcasts of the PTL Club and The 700 Club were prominent, alongside programs associated with the Christian Broadcasting Network and televangelists including Jimmy Swaggart, Rex Humbard, Oral Roberts, and Jerry Falwell. WPCB-TV also developed local content, including the variety, talk, and music program Getting Together. Throughout its history, WPCB-TV maintained a fully Christian-oriented programming policy. Although its commercial license made it attractive to conventional broadcasters, the station repeatedly declined offers to become a secular independent outlet. In 1998, Cornerstone explored acquiring WQEX, a noncommercial station on channel 16. The proposal was linked to a possible sale of WPCB-TV to Paxson Communications, which intended to relaunch channel 40 as a Pax TV station under the call sign WKPX-TV. The FCC's then-current view that WPCB-TV's religious programming did not qualify as educational prevented the proposed arrangement from moving forward. Cornerstone withdrew the WQEX application in 2000, and channel 40 was taken off the market. The FCC reversed its position in 2002, but WPCB-TV was not sold. Russ Bixler died in 2000. Ron Hembree, a host on the station, then became president. Hembree died in June 2010. The station also participated in the United States' transition from analog to digital television. On June 12, 2009, it shut down its analog UHF channel 40 signal and continued digitally on pre-transition UHF channel 50 while keeping virtual channel 40. WPCB-TV remains the flagship of Cornerstone Television, with much of the network's programming originating from its Pittsburgh-area operation. WKBS-TV in Altoona serves as a full-time satellite.
- 2009
Digital television transition
[1]WPCB-TV ended analog broadcasting on channel 40 and continued digital service on channel 50 using virtual channel 40.
- 2000
Leadership transition after Bixler's death
[1]Russ Bixler died and Ron Hembree became president of the station.
- 1998
Proposed WQEX and channel 40 transaction
[1]Cornerstone pursued a transaction involving WQEX and considered selling WPCB-TV to Paxson Communications, but the plan required regulatory approval and did not close.
- 1980
Expansion to a 24-hour schedule
[1]Within approximately one year of launch, the station expanded from a limited daily schedule to round-the-clock operation.
- 1979
WPCB-TV launches
[1]The station began broadcasting on April 15 with Christian programming.
- 1976
Channel 40 construction permit granted
[1]Bixler obtained a construction permit for the channel that would become WPCB-TV.
- 1975
Channel 22 license awarded to another applicant
[1]Russ Bixler's initial effort to obtain a Pittsburgh-area channel 22 license was unsuccessful; the license went to Commercial Radio Institute.
Products and positioning
A Pittsburgh-area Christian television flagship focused on religious, ministry, family, and educational programming rather than general commercial entertainment.
Christian television station · 1979
WPCB-TV Channel 40
The station's primary over-the-air television service for the Pittsburgh area and western Pennsylvania. It carries Christian ministry, religious, family, children's, educational, and locally produced programming, and functions as the principal broadcast outlet for Cornerstone Television.
Television programming · 1979
Local Christian programming
WPCB-TV has carried programs produced by local churches and ministries and has originated network material from its Pittsburgh-area facilities. Its historical local output included Getting Together, a variety, talk, and music program.
Digital television · 2009
Digital terrestrial broadcast
Following the United States digital transition, WPCB-TV continued service using a digital signal on pre-transition UHF channel 50 while preserving channel 40 as its virtual channel identity.
Brand decisions
2009
Transition from analog to digital transmissionGeneration changeBackground
The United States required full-power television stations to end analog broadcasting as part of the national digital television transition.
Action taken
WPCB-TV shut down its analog UHF channel 40 signal on June 12 and continued transmitting digitally on pre-transition UHF channel 50, retaining virtual channel 40.
Aftermath
The station continued serving its market through digital terrestrial broadcasting.
2000
Cornerstone abandons proposed WPCB-TV sale structureStrategyBackground
Cornerstone's plan to acquire WQEX was connected to a possible sale of WPCB-TV to Paxson Communications, which proposed converting channel 40 into a Pax TV outlet.
Action taken
Cornerstone withdrew the WQEX application after the FCC rejected the premise that WPCB-TV's religious programming qualified as educational for the relevant licensing treatment, and channel 40 was removed from the market.
Aftermath
WPCB-TV remained under Cornerstone's control and continued operating as a Christian station rather than becoming a Pax TV owned-and-operated station.
- Paxson Communications — Paxson made an offer for channel 40 and proposed a Pax TV relaunch, but the transaction did not close.
Recent events
- 2010
Ron Hembree dies[1]
Leadership change
Ron Hembree, who had served as WPCB-TV president since 2000, died in June.
- 2009
WPCB-TV completes analog shutdown[1]
Product generation · Regulation
The station ended its analog UHF channel 40 transmission on June 12 and continued digital broadcasting on UHF channel 50 with virtual channel 40.
- 2000
Cornerstone withdraws proposed WQEX transaction[1]
Other · Regulation
A proposed transaction involving WQEX and a potential sale of WPCB-TV to Paxson Communications did not proceed after regulatory treatment of the station's religious programming created a licensing obstacle.
- 2000
Russ Bixler dies and Ron Hembree becomes president[1]
Leadership change
Following founder Russ Bixler's death, WPCB-TV program host Ron Hembree assumed the station presidency.
- 1979
WPCB-TV begins broadcasting[1]
Other
The channel launched on April 15 with a Christian-oriented schedule and initially broadcast for about 15 hours per day.
Sources2 sources
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