WRBU
WRBU is a television station licensed to East St. Louis, Illinois, serving the St. Louis market as an Ion Television station.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
WRBU is a full-power television station on virtual and RF channel 46, licensed to East St. Louis, Illinois, and serving viewers in the greater St. Louis, Missouri, market. The station is affiliated with Ion Television and is part of Ion Media, which became a subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company after Scripps acquired Ion Media. Although its license city is across the Mississippi River in Illinois, the station’s operational presence is centered on the St. Louis metropolitan area. Its offices are in Arnold, Missouri, while its transmitter is located near House Springs, Missouri. The station began broadcasting on September 11, 1989, under the call sign WHSL. It initially carried the Home Shopping Network as a nearly full-time service. Unlike many HSN stations of the period, WHSL was established by Roberts Broadcasting, a St. Louis-based, African American-owned family broadcasting company founded by Steven, Mike, and Mark Roberts. A contractual dispute with HSN in the mid-1990s concerned the amount and type of locally controlled commercial and infomercial programming the station could air. HSN prevailed, and the affiliation continued until the contract expired. Roberts planned a major change for 2003, when WHSL was scheduled to become the St. Louis market’s primary UPN affiliate. The station adopted the WRBU call sign in January 2003, and UPN programming moved to channel 46 on April 1. The new schedule combined UPN’s network programs with syndicated sitcoms, dramas, talk shows, court programs, and reality series. In February 2003, Roberts sold a 50 percent interest in WRBU to Univision Communications’ TeleFutura subsidiary through the St. Louis/Denver LLC joint venture, while Roberts continued day-to-day operation through a brokerage arrangement. The dissolution of UPN and The WB created another major transition. Because The CW selected KPLR-TV as its St. Louis affiliate, WRBU became a charter affiliate of the replacement service MyNetworkTV. It adopted the on-air identity “My 46” when MyNetworkTV launched in September 2006. During this period, WRBU also occasionally served as a backup outlet for NBC programming when KSDK preempted network programs for local sports, specials, breaking news, or severe-weather coverage. Roberts Broadcasting encountered mounting financial difficulties, including litigation over unpaid program-distribution fees and difficulties financing facilities at another station. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October 2011. Following a contested sale process, WRBU and related assets were transferred through a bankruptcy trust in 2014, with Ion Media as beneficiary and service provider. WRBU joined Ion Television on February 10, 2014, ending its MyNetworkTV affiliation and restoring Ion programming to a full-power over-the-air station in the St. Louis market. A proposed sale to Cedar Creek Broadcasting was announced in 2015 but was later terminated. Ion Media subsequently agreed to acquire WRBU and sister station WZRB directly from the bankruptcy trust, completing the transaction in October 2017. Scripps acquired Ion Media in 2021, bringing WRBU into the Scripps corporate group. Today, WRBU’s principal role is to distribute Ion Television’s nationally scheduled entertainment programming, together with digital multicast services carried by Ion station operations.
History
WRBU signed on September 11, 1989, as WHSL, a full-power station licensed to East St. Louis and operated by Roberts Broadcasting. Its original schedule was a full-time Home Shopping Network simulcast. In 1996, HSN sued Roberts over an alleged breach of the affiliation arrangement after Roberts sought greater flexibility to air infomercials and other programming. The court ruled for HSN, leaving the station committed to the shopping network until the agreement expired. In 2001, Roberts announced that WHSL would affiliate with UPN once the HSN contract ended. The station changed its call sign to WRBU on January 17, 2003, and formally began carrying UPN on April 1. The programming change gave UPN a stable full-time primary affiliate in St. Louis. Roberts also entered a 50-percent joint venture with Univision Communications’ TeleFutura subsidiary in February 2003, although Roberts retained operating responsibility. The 2006 creation of The CW and MyNetworkTV forced another affiliation change. KPLR-TV was selected for The CW, leaving WRBU as the St. Louis charter affiliate of MyNetworkTV. The station rebranded as My 46 when the new service launched in September 2006. Its schedule consisted principally of MyNetworkTV programming and syndicated entertainment. WRBU also occasionally carried NBC programs preempted by KSDK for sports, specials, or news coverage. Roberts Broadcasting later experienced severe financial problems. Program distributors including Warner Bros., 20th Television, and CBS Television Distribution brought legal claims involving unpaid fees. The company also faced difficulties completing digital-transmission facilities at WAZE-TV in Evansville, Indiana. Roberts filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 7, 2011, attributing part of its decline to the loss of UPN affiliations and the resulting effect on the audience and economics of its stations. The bankruptcy process produced competing proposals for WRBU. In late 2013, a proposed sale to Tri-State Christian Television was filed, but creditors instead obtained approval for a trust structure involving Gary Chapman and Ion Media. The FCC approved the transfer in February 2014. WRBU changed from MyNetworkTV to Ion Television on February 10, 2014, and Ion’s multicast services were added soon afterward. This change also ended the station’s agreements with syndication distributors and left St. Louis temporarily without a MyNetworkTV outlet; KMOV later restored the service on a digital subchannel. Cedar Creek Broadcasting agreed in 2015 to purchase WRBU and WZRB, but that transaction was terminated in 2017. Ion Media then announced its own acquisition of the stations from the trust, completing the purchase on October 19, 2017. Scripps acquired Ion Media in 2021. WRBU remains an Ion Television station serving the St. Louis market, with facilities in Arnold and a transmitter near House Springs.
- 2021
Scripps ownership
[2]Scripps completes its acquisition of Ion Media and becomes WRBU’s ultimate corporate owner.
- 2017
Ion Media ownership
[1]Ion Media completes its purchase of WRBU from the bankruptcy trust.
- 2014
Ion Television transition
[1]WRBU becomes an Ion Television affiliate after the bankruptcy-trust transfer.
- 2011
Chapter 11 bankruptcy
[1]Roberts Broadcasting files for bankruptcy protection.
- 2006
MyNetworkTV launch affiliation
[1]WRBU becomes a charter MyNetworkTV affiliate after KPLR receives the St. Louis CW affiliation.
- 2003
UPN affiliation begins
[1]WHSL becomes WRBU and replaces HSN with UPN and syndicated programming.
- 1996
HSN contract dispute
[1]Home Shopping Network sues Roberts Broadcasting over the station’s attempted programming changes; HSN prevails in court.
- 1989
WHSL signs on
[1]The station begins full-power broadcasting as WHSL with Home Shopping Network programming.
Products and positioning
A St. Louis-area broadcast outlet focused on distributing Ion Television’s national entertainment schedule and related multicast services rather than producing a large local-news operation.
Broadcast network affiliation · 2014
Ion Television
WRBU’s primary service is Ion Television, a national broadcast network whose schedule is centered on acquired entertainment programming, including syndicated dramas, procedural series, films, and other repeat-friendly content. WRBU distributes the network to over-the-air viewers in the St. Louis market and sells local advertising inventory around the service.
Digital television · 2014
Digital multicast services
WRBU has carried additional Ion Media digital subchannel services. These services expand the station’s programming capacity beyond its primary Ion Television feed and may include specialized entertainment or shopping programming distributed across Ion-owned and operated stations.
Television advertising · 1989
Local broadcast advertising
As a local broadcast station, WRBU provides commercial inventory to advertisers seeking reach in the St. Louis metropolitan area. The offering is distributed through its broadcast signal and associated digital television services rather than through a separately branded consumer product.
Brand decisions
2017
Ion Media acquires WRBUM&ABackground
A proposed Cedar Creek Broadcasting transaction was terminated during the bankruptcy-trust process.
Action taken
Ion Media acquired WRBU and sister station WZRB from the trust, completing the transaction in October.
Aftermath
WRBU became an Ion-owned station and later entered the Scripps group through Scripps’s acquisition of Ion Media.
2014
Transition to Ion TelevisionStrategyBackground
The station entered a bankruptcy-related ownership and operating structure involving Ion Media.
Action taken
WRBU ended its MyNetworkTV affiliation and began carrying Ion Television on February 10.
Aftermath
Ion regained a full-power over-the-air presence in the St. Louis market, while MyNetworkTV temporarily lost its local outlet.
2006
Select MyNetworkTV after the UPN shutdownStrategyBackground
The CW selected KPLR-TV as its St. Louis affiliate after UPN and The WB announced their replacement network.
Action taken
WRBU became a charter MyNetworkTV affiliate and rebranded as My 46.
Aftermath
The station continued as a network-affiliated entertainment outlet, while KPLR carried The CW.
2003
Move from home shopping to UPNStrategyBackground
The expiration of the long-running HSN arrangement created an opportunity for Roberts Broadcasting to reposition WHSL as a conventional entertainment-network affiliate.
Action taken
The station adopted the WRBU call sign and began carrying UPN alongside syndicated programming.
Aftermath
WRBU obtained a full-time UPN presence in the St. Louis market and ended its near-exclusive home-shopping format.
Recent events
- 2021
Scripps acquires Ion Media[2]
M&A
The E. W. Scripps Company acquires Ion Media, making WRBU part of the Scripps station group.
- 2017
Ion Media completes acquisition of WRBU[1]
M&A
Ion Media completes its purchase of WRBU and WZRB from the bankruptcy trust after an earlier proposed Cedar Creek transaction is terminated.
- 2014
WRBU switches to Ion Television[1]
Other
After the bankruptcy-trust transfer, WRBU ends its MyNetworkTV affiliation and becomes an Ion Television affiliate.
- 2011
Roberts Broadcasting files for bankruptcy[1]
Bankruptcy · Lawsuit
Roberts Broadcasting seeks Chapter 11 protection amid financial pressure, litigation concerning syndicated-program fees, and problems affecting its station portfolio.
- 2010
Roberts Broadcasting faces program-fee lawsuits[1]
Lawsuit · Bankruptcy
Warner Bros. Television, 20th Television, and CBS Television Distribution pursue claims concerning unpaid fees for syndicated programming supplied to Roberts stations; the disputes contributed to the company’s financial distress.
- 2006
WRBU joins MyNetworkTV[1]
Other
Following the creation of The CW and the loss of its UPN affiliation, WRBU becomes a charter MyNetworkTV affiliate and adopts the My 46 branding.
- 2003
WRBU becomes a UPN affiliate[1]
Other
The station changes its call sign from WHSL to WRBU and begins carrying UPN programming after its HSN contract ends.
- 1989
WRBU begins broadcasting as WHSL[1]
Other
The station signs on as WHSL, carrying Home Shopping Network programming under Roberts Broadcasting ownership.
Sources3 sources
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