WWTO-TV

WWTO-TV is a religious television station associated with the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). The station is licensed to Naperville, Illinois, and is intended to serve the Chicago television market, although its unusual history and transmission arrangements have shaped how viewers receive it. WWTO-TV operates alongside TBN Inspire station WLPD-CD, and the two services use a channel-sharing arrangement in which their transmissions originate from WLPD-CD's spectrum and facilities at the John Hancock Center in downtown Chicago. The station traces its direct history to the mid-1980s. It began broadcasting in early December 1986 under the ownership of All American TV, an organization associated with evangelists Nicky Cruz and Sonny Arguinzoni. Glen Dingley served as the first chief engineer and general manager, overseeing the construction of the station's studios and transmitter facilities. The station was initially built around a transmitter in Deer Park Township in LaSalle County, near Starved Rock State Park, and maintained studios on East Stevenson Road in Ottawa. From that location, WWTO-TV served not only the Chicago market but also portions of the Peoria and Rockford areas over the air. WWTO-TV's channel 35 facility had an earlier predecessor. WEEQ, a satellite of WEEK-TV in Peoria, began broadcasting on UHF channel 35 from LaSalle on November 7, 1957. WEEQ was later controlled through ownership connected to Kerr-McGee and was eventually transferred to Mid-America Television Co., a Kansas City Southern Industries company. The station ceased operations on August 12, 1972, with its owners citing greater cable penetration and improvements to WEEK-TV's signal. The channel was subsequently revived through the launch of WWTO-TV in 1986. For many years, WWTO-TV expanded its practical reach through a network of translators across Northern and Central Illinois. These repeaters served communities including Sterling-Dixon, Arlington Heights, Rockford, Decatur, Champaign, Chicago, Peoria, Bloomington, and Galesburg. Most of the translator facilities were taken off the air in March and April 2010 during financial pressures affecting TBN. Several licenses were later sold, transferred, donated, or allowed to lapse. The changes reduced WWTO-TV's former network of local over-the-air relays and made its principal transmission and cable distribution arrangements more important. On November 13, 2017, the station's transmission operation shifted from the LaSalle County site to the John Hancock Center in Chicago through the channel-sharing arrangement with WLPD-CD. Although WWTO-TV remains licensed as a full-power station, its shared spectrum arrangement means that the low-power characteristics of WLPD-CD limit the effective over-the-air coverage of the combined transmission. Consequently, WWTO-TV depends significantly on cable carriage and other distribution methods to reach viewers throughout the broader Chicago market. Cable carriage has been a persistent regulatory and commercial issue. The Federal Communications Commission repeatedly declined to require certain Chicago-area cable systems to carry WWTO-TV, finding that the station had minimal viewing presence in the relevant communities, was located a substantial distance from many of them, had not previously been carried, and lacked an over-the-air signal in those areas. The FCC reached related conclusions in rulings involving communities in Illinois and Indiana. In practice, cable operators have often obtained TBN programming through national network feeds rather than relying on WWTO-TV's local signal, except where must-carry rules require use of the station's relevant feed. WWTO-TV therefore functions as a local broadcast outlet for TBN programming while also depending on the wider TBN distribution system for market reach.

WWTO-TV's channel history begins with WEEQ, a UHF station that signed on from LaSalle on November 7, 1957. WEEQ operated as a satellite of WEEK-TV in Peoria. After ownership changes involving interests related to Kerr-McGee and later Mid-America Television Co., the station was closed on August 12, 1972. The stated reasons included the spread of cable television and improved signal coverage from WEEK-TV, which reduced the commercial rationale for maintaining the satellite. A new station using the channel was developed in the 1980s. WWTO-TV began broadcasting in early December 1986 under All American TV, an entity associated with evangelists Nicky Cruz and Sonny Arguinzoni. Glen Dingley was the station's first chief engineer and general manager. He supervised the construction of the station's technical and studio infrastructure before leaving the operation in 1990. The station was licensed in the LaSalle area and built a transmission operation in Deer Park Township, near Starved Rock State Park, with studios in Ottawa on East Stevenson Road. From its LaSalle County facilities, WWTO-TV served a geographically broad area. Its over-the-air footprint reached portions of the Peoria and Rockford markets in addition to the western and more distant portions of the Chicago market. To extend that reach, the station used a group of translators in communities across Northern and Central Illinois. These included facilities serving Sterling-Dixon, Arlington Heights, Rockford, Decatur, Champaign, Chicago, Peoria, Bloomington, and Galesburg. The translator system was substantially reduced in 2010. TBN cited financial strain as the reason for taking most of the relays off the air. The later disposition of the facilities varied. Some were sold to other broadcast groups, some were donated to the Minority Media and Television Council, and several licenses were ultimately cancelled or allowed to lapse. One Chicago-area translator was acquired by Liberman Broadcasting and became WESV-LD, while other former translator licenses went to operators associated with Retro Television Network or other local broadcast ventures. WWTO-TV also faced difficulty obtaining mandatory cable carriage across the Chicago region. In decisions issued in 1997 and 1999, the Federal Communications Commission found that several communities were too distant from the station's former transmitter, had little or no measured viewing of WWTO-TV, and lacked meaningful over-the-air coverage. The rulings limited the station's ability to compel carriage on certain cable systems. These findings reflected the mismatch between WWTO-TV's nominal market designation and its practical signal reach from LaSalle County. On November 13, 2017, WWTO-TV changed its transmission arrangement. It began using spectrum shared with TBN's WLPD-CD, a low-power station, from an antenna located atop the John Hancock Center in Chicago. The move brought the transmission facility into the central Chicago area but did not eliminate the station's distribution limitations, because the shared operation is tied to the low-power station's coverage characteristics. WWTO-TV consequently continues to rely heavily on cable carriage and TBN's national network distribution. Cable operators may use national TBN feeds for much of the market, while must-carry circumstances can require use of WWTO-TV's relevant local signal.

• 2017

  Transmission moves to a Chicago channel-sharing facility

  [1]WWTO-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WWTO-TV begins sharing WLPD-CD's spectrum from the John Hancock Center after leaving its former LaSalle County transmitter site.

• 2010

  Translator network is largely discontinued

  [1]WWTO-TVen.wikipedia.org

  TBN takes most WWTO-TV translators off the air because of financial pressures.

• 1986

  WWTO-TV launches

  [1]WWTO-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WWTO-TV begins broadcasting as a religious station under All American TV ownership.

• 1972

  WEEQ-TV ceases operations

  [1]WWTO-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WEEQ-TV is shut down amid growing cable penetration and improved coverage from WEEK-TV.

• 1957

  WEEQ begins broadcasting on channel 35

  [1]WWTO-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The first station associated with UHF channel 35 in the LaSalle area signs on as WEEQ, a satellite of WEEK-TV in Peoria.

A faith-oriented broadcast television outlet that extends Trinity Broadcasting Network programming into the Chicago market and parts of Illinois through terrestrial transmission, channel sharing, and cable distribution.

• Broadcast television station · 1986

  WWTO-TV digital broadcast service

  WWTO-TV is the station's principal broadcast service. It carries religious programming associated with the Trinity Broadcasting Network and is licensed as a full-power television station, while its practical over-the-air coverage is shaped by the channel-sharing arrangement with WLPD-CD.

• Religious television programming

  TBN programming distribution

  The station provides a local broadcast outlet for TBN's faith-oriented programming. In the Chicago market, viewers may also receive TBN services through national cable feeds rather than directly through WWTO-TV's terrestrial signal.

• Broadcast retransmission

  WWTO-TV translator network

  WWTO-TV formerly used a network of translator stations to extend its signal across Northern and Central Illinois. Most translators were discontinued in 2010, and the remaining licenses were variously sold, transferred, donated, cancelled, or allowed to lapse.

• 2017

  Adopt channel-sharing transmission with WLPD-CDStrategy

  Background

  WWTO-TV sought a new transmission arrangement for serving the Chicago market after operating for decades from its LaSalle County site.

  Action taken

  The station moved its transmission operation to the John Hancock Center and began using spectrum shared with TBN-owned WLPD-CD.

  Aftermath

  The move placed the transmission facility in Chicago but left WWTO-TV reliant on cable carriage because the shared low-power operation does not provide full-market over-the-air coverage.

  Source

• 2010

  Discontinue most translator operationsStrategy

  Background

  Trinity Broadcasting Network faced financial strain while operating WWTO-TV's extensive translator network across Illinois.

  Action taken

  Most WWTO-TV translators were taken off the air during March and April 2010, reducing the station's local retransmission footprint.

  Aftermath

  Several former translator facilities changed ownership or status, while WWTO-TV became more dependent on its main transmission and cable distribution.

  Source

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