WBXI-CD (channel 47) is a low-power, Class A television station in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, broadcasting programming from the digital multicast network Start TV. Owned and operated by the CBS News and Stations group, the station has a transmitter on Walnut Drive in northwestern Indianapolis.[2]

WBXI-CD
Channels
BrandingWBXI-CD Indianapolis
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
FoundedAugust 23, 1989 (1989-08-23)
First air date
1990 (34 years ago) (1990)
Former call signs
  • W47AZ (1990–2001)
  • WBXI-CA (2001–2015)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 47 (UHF, 1990–2015)
  • Digital: 47 (UHF, 2015–2019)
Call sign meaning
The Box Indianapolis (former affiliation)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID70416
ClassCD
ERP15 kW
HAAT268.6 m (881 ft)
Transmitter coordinates39°53′39.2″N 86°12′20.5″W / 39.894222°N 86.205694°W / 39.894222; -86.205694
Links
Public license information
Websitewbxica.cbslocal.com

History

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The station first signed on the air in 1990 as W47AZ. Originally serving as an affiliate of the viewer-request music video network The Box, the station changed its call letters to WBXI-CA in 2001; that year, the station switched to MTV2 following that network's acquisition by Viacom, which acquired WBXI-CA. For a few months in 2004, channel 47 served as a repeater of then-sister station and UPN affiliate WNDY-TV (channel 23, now a MyNetworkTV affiliate); this ended when Viacom's Television Stations Group (now CBS News and Stations) subsidiary sold WNDY-TV to the LIN TV Corporation, owners of then-CBS (now CW) affiliate WISH-TV (channel 8), in February 2005.

Unexpectedly, Viacom retained ownership of WBXI-CA, before spinning it off to CBS Corporation in December of that year, following CBS' split from the former company; Viacom retained ownership of the MTV Networks; however, the station maintained its MTV2 affiliation.

In 2007, the station switched to MTV2's Spanish-language sister network MTV Tr3s. This would end in 2014 upon the expiration of its last carriage contract, when WBXI would switch to continuous weather information.

On January 1, 2018, WBXI began carrying programming from CBS/Weigel Broadcasting's Decades, with a local hour of the weather loop remaining weekdays at 7:00 a.m. On September 3, 2018, WBXI-CD launched CBS/Weigel's new network Start TV, dropping Decades. Decades shifted over to WSDI-LD2. The station transitioned to ViacomCBS ownership in December 2019.

Technical information

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Subchannels

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The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of WBXI-CD[3]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
47.1 480i 16:9 WBXI-CD Start TV
47.2 WBXICD2 Catchy Comedy[4]
47.3 WBXICD3 Story Television[5]
47.4 WBXICD4 Movies!

Analog-to-digital conversion

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WBXI-CA maintained a construction permit to shut down its analog signal and flash cut its digital signal into operation on UHF channel 47 on September 1, 2015.[6] The station turned on its digital signal on August 21, 2015, and ceased operations of its analog signal on September 1, 2015, the mandatory date for Class A Low Powered Stations to cease operations.[7][8]

References

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  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WBXI-CD". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "Facility Details". www.fcc.gov/.
  3. ^ "Digital TV Market Listing for WBXI". RabbitEars.info. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  4. ^ "Where do I watch Catchy Comedy in Indianapolis?". Catchy Comedy. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  5. ^ "Where do I watch Story TV in Indianapolis?". Story Television. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  6. ^ "CDBS Print". licensing.fcc.gov.
  7. ^ "Application Search Details". licensing.fcc.gov.
  8. ^ "Suspension of Sept. 1, 2015 Digital Transition Date for LPTV/Translato". Federal Communications Commission. December 9, 2015.