WCEE-LD

WCEE-LD
Channels
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
  • Norsan Media
  • (Norsan Consulting and Management, LLC)
History
First air date
March 1, 1985; 39 years ago (1985-03-01)
Former call signs
  • W68BL
  • W52CW
  • W16CF (2004–2013)
  • WCEE-LP (2013–2015)
  • Subscription TV (March 1985)
  • TBN (July 1985–2014)
  • Silent (2014)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID67967
ClassLD
ERP15 kW
HAAT187 m (614 ft)
Transmitter coordinates35°15′7″N 80°41′11″W / 35.25194°N 80.68639°W / 35.25194; -80.68639
Links
Public license information
LMS

WCEE-LD (channel 16) is a low-power television station in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, affiliated with Estrella TV and owned by Norsan Media. The station broadcasts from studios on East Independence Boulevard and a transmitter near Reedy Creek Park in the Newell section of Charlotte.

History

Satellite Entertainment Network, Inc., won the right to build low-power channel 68 in Charlotte in a lottery in May 1984.[2] The win was a surprise to company president George Stein, who found out when a reporter contacted him seeking comment.[3] On March 1, 1985, this station began broadcasting as W68BL on channel 68.[4] It broadcast from an antenna atop Charlotte's First Union Plaza.[5] W68BL offered Premiere, a subscription television service available with the rental of a decoder and a monthly subscription. It was a major bust and folded a month later, after a reported $1 million investment.[4]

W68BL was out of service for three months until returning with programs from the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). TBN simultaneously filed to acquire the license from Satellite Entertainment Network.[6] The station moved in the late 1990s to channel 52 as W52CW and relocated again in 2004 to channel 16.[7]

Regal Media purchased 36 TBN translators in 2012. Norsan Consulting and Management purchased W16CF from Regal Media in 2013 to add to its complement of Hispanic-oriented radio stations in the market.[8] the station went back on the air on October 23, 2014, in digital as an affiliate of Estrella TV. It was the first Spanish-language TV station in Charlotte, joined in 2017 by a Telemundo subchannel of WSOC-TV.[9]

Norsan's Estrella TV stations in Charlotte; Charleston, South Carolina; and Jacksonville, Florida, share an evening news program.[10]

Technical information

Subchannels

The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of WCEE-LD[11]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
16.1 720p 16:9 WCEE-HD Estrella TV
16.2 1080i WCEELD2 Quiero TV
16.3 WCEELD3 Quiero Music

In 2023, Quiero TV and Quiero Music was added to new subchannels 16.2 and 16.3, respectively.

References

  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WCEE-LD". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "Company Wins Permit To Build Low-Power Station In Charlotte". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, North Carolina. May 31, 1984. p. 17A. Retrieved January 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Low-power TV license winner hasn't decided what to show". The Charlotte News. Charlotte, North Carolina. June 5, 1984. p. 3A. Retrieved January 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b Borden, Jeff (April 3, 1985). "New Pay-Per-View TV Station Goes Out Of Business In Charlotte". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, North Carolina. p. 13A. Retrieved January 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Wolf, Mark (January 10, 1985). "New Charlotte Station To Televise Pay-Per-View Movies Beginning Feb. 15". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, North Carolina. p. 17A. Retrieved January 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Wolf, Mark (July 2, 1985). "Vacated Channel 68 Now Filled With Religious Programming". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, North Carolina. p. 17A. Retrieved January 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "TBN has moved to Channel 16". The Charlotte Observer (Advertisement). Charlotte, North Carolina. November 26, 2004. p. E&T 29. Retrieved January 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Washburn, Mark (May 4, 2013). "Broadcaster plans Spanish TV station". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, North Carolina. pp. 1E, 6E. Retrieved January 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Washburn, Mark (March 10, 2017). "WSOC to launch Spanish channel". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, North Carolina. p. 11A. Retrieved January 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Malone, Michael (August 9, 2023). "Local News Close-Up: Jacksonville Is Hot, and We're Not Talking Weather". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  11. ^ "TV Query for WCEE-LD". RabbitEars.


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