WBXZ-LD

WBXZ-LD (channel 56) is a low-power television station in Buffalo, New York, United States, affiliated with the digital multicast network Cozi TV. The station is owned by Steven Ritchie. Its local programming is instead carried on the fourth digital subchannel, branded as Throwback Television.

WBXZ-LD
Channels
Branding56 WBXZ Buffalo
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
OwnerSteven Ritchie
(sale to Bridge Media Networks pending[1])
History
First air date
September 3, 1993 (1993-09-03)
Former call signs
W56DS (1997–1998)
WBXZ-LP (1998-2020)
Former channel number(s)
Analog:
56 (UHF, 1993–2009)
Digital:
17 (UHF, 2009-2020)
The Box/MTV2/HSN (until 2010)
Rev'n (2014–2016)
Call sign meaning
We're The BoX Z (former affiliation)
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID14317
ClassLD
ERP15 kW
Transmitter coordinates42°52′48″N 78°52′36″W
Links
Public license information
LMS
Websitehttp://www.wbxztv.com

History

The station broadcast on channel 56 analog until it had to vacate that frequency when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) removed it from the broadcast spectrum. It used to be an affiliate of The Box, from which the station gets its call sign. The station is owned by Steven Ritchie, a local retired police officer[2] who acquired the station from Craig Fox in December 2013.[3]

After the digital transition, the station moved from analog channel 56 to channel 17 (the channel had been held by WBUF-TV from 1953 to 1958 and PBS member station WNED-TV from 1959 to 2009) through a Special Temporary Authority approved by the FCC. (In the spectrum reallocation, it moved up to physical channel 23, previously occupied by WNLO and WPXJ.) The station returned to virtual channel 56 upon digital conversion, at which point it also planned to add several digital subchannels from Luken Communications, among them being Retro Television Network, PBJ and Heartland.[3] WBXZ-LP returned to the air on April 17, 2014 with test programming; on May 2, the station indicated it was having trouble securing a carriage agreement with Luken (mainly because Ritchie could not fit the necessary large satellite dish onto the One Seneca Center where the station's transmitter is located but also in part due to Luken's financial problems) and was seeking other options.[4] As of 2014, the station was carrying Cozi TV on 56.1 and "Throwback TV" (a locally programmed outlet) is carried on 56.2 (later moved to 56.4). Retro and a new Luken subchannel known as Rev'n would be added to WBXZ-LP on December 1, 2014. Buzzr would be added shortly after that network's launch.

Luken's networks, along with Buzzr, were pulled from WBXZ-LP on June 28, 2016 after technical difficulties. Ebru TV and AMGTV were briefly added as replacements; both have since been removed. With the exception of Cozi and the returning Tuff TV (which was re-added after it split from Luken). Retro (but not any of the other Luken networks) was re-added in July 2017; Tuff TV was dropped later that year.

In February 2018, Buzzr was added back to the list of subchannels. Jewelry Television was added shortly thereafter, with the station signing on with NewsNet, an upstart news network, when it launched in fall 2018, bringing the number of subchannels to 11. With Tuff TV ceasing operations in August 2018, Rev'n was re-added; Rev'n was dropped in August 2020 in favor of the returning AMGTV. WBXZ-LP began showing This TV in September 2019, taking over the affiliation from rimshot WVTT.

On April 13, 2023, Bridge Media Networks, the parent company of NewsNet and Sports News Highlights (SNH) and backed by 5-hour Energy creator Manoj Bhargava, announced it would acquire WBXZ-LD from Ritchie for $800,000. Upon completion of the transaction, WBXZ-LD will become Bhargava's first TV station property in the state of New York. The station would also re-add NewsNet to its subchannel lineup, this time as an owned-and-operated station.[5]

Technical information

Subchannels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of WBXZ-LD[6]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
56.1 480i16:9WBXZLD1Cozi TV
56.2 RetroRetro TV
56.3 JWLRYJewelry Television
56.4 ThroBakIndependent (Throwback Television)
56.5 BuzzrBuzzr
56.6 SonlifeSonLife Broadcasting Network
56.7 CrnrStrCorner Store TV
56.8 QVCQVC
56.9 DriveInIndependent (Drive-In TV, all-movies)
56.10 ACEAce TV[7]
56.11 RAVReal America's Voice
56.12 THIS TVThis TV

56.4 and 56.9 are locally programmed.

Throwback Television

"Throwback Television" is the brand used for the 56.4 subchannel. It serves as the channel's flagship service, programmed by Ritchie with programming including independent regional pro wrestling, the locally produced science-fiction series Captain Isotope and the Enemy of Space, and an assortment of hosted movie shows, shows and films in the public domain, infomercials, and low-cost/barter syndicated fare.

References
  1. "Assignments". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. April 13, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  2. No byline (June 2, 2014). Law enforcement bids farewell to K9 Officer Steven Ritchie. WIVB-TV. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
  3. Pergament, Alan (December 30, 2013). Lockport policeman plans new low power TV channels. The Buffalo News. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  4. Pergament, Alan (June 4, 2014). Retired Lockport officer's TV station is on the air. The Buffalo News. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  5. Adam Jacobson (April 14, 2023). "NewsNet Secures a Western N.Y. O&O". Radio & Television Business Report. Streamline-RBR, Inc. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  6. "Digital TV Market Listing for WBXZ-LD". RabbitEars.Info.
  7. "Where to Watch".
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