WKPT-TV
Encyclopedia
WKPT-TV is the ABC
-affiliated television station
for the Tri-Cities
area of Northeastern Tennessee
and Southwestern Virginia
that is licensed to Kingsport, Tennessee
. It broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on UHF channel 27 from a transmitter at Holston High Point on Holston Mountain
in the Cherokee National Forest
. Owned by the Holston Valley Broadcasting Corporation, the station is co-owned with Class A
MyNetworkTV
affiliate WAPK-CA
and several radio stations. All share studios on Commerce Street in Downtown Kingsport.
Although the station is located in Kingsport, the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) requires it to include Johnson City and Bristol, Tennessee/Virginia in its legal station identification.
Syndicated
programming on WKPT includes: TMZ on TV
, Entertainment Tonight
, The Insider
and The Dr. Oz Show
.
digital channel 199 and Comcast
digital channel 231 is the area's RTV
affiliate. This can also be seen over-the-air on WOPI-CA, VHF channel 9, also from a transmitter at Holston High Point.
WKPT-TV began broadcasting on August 20, 1969 as the Tri-Cities' ABC affiliate. Previously, the network had been shared between NBC
affiliate WCYB-TV
and CBS
affiliate WJHL-TV
, each of which picked its own ABC programs to air. However, many viewers in the area could view the entire ABC schedule on nearby WLOS-TV in Asheville, North Carolina
. Before WKPT signed on, WLOS included the Tri-Cities as part of its primary coverage area as it was widely available off-air and on cable.
WKPT has three historical distinctions. First, it is the oldest UHF television station in Tennessee to have maintained continuous operation on the UHF band to the present. Secondly, it is the second oldest station in Tennessee to have had the same licensee from its inaugural date to the present. WBBJ-TV
in Jackson, Tennessee
is the oldest but only after it was sold to Bahakel Communications
. Third, for years it was the only locally owned-and-operated full-power station in the Tri-Cities. However, that was merely by default. Because the antenna heights of its two VHF rivals, WJHL and WCYB, are above the 2000 ft (609.6 m) above average terrain full power ceiling height mandated by the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC), those two could not operate at their full power capacities. WCYB radiated 65,000 watts ERP analog visual while WJHL radiated 245,000 watts ERP analog visual.
WKPT was also one of the first stations in the country to utilize a newly-adopted (at the time) FCC rule called must-carry
that required local cable companies to black out stations in nearby cities affiliated with the same network that were carried on local cable systems and cover the channel with the local network affiliate. As a result, the easily receivable off-air network signal from WLOS, 110 miles (177 km) away, was always blacked out on cable systems in Kingsport, Bristol, Johnson City
, and the surrounding communities while being covered by the WKPT signal any time both stations were broadcasting ABC programming. Local WLOS programming was not blacked out. After deregulation of the cable industry, stations from adjacent markets
were taken off most local cable systems altogether in favor of satellite stations like TBS, WGN America
, CNN
, and others.
WCYB and WJHL received ABC via traditional ground microwave relay stations provided by AT&T
back in the 1950s and 1960s. However when WKPT started in 1969, its owners could not afford the expensive network feed estimated to have been around a half-million dollars per year. As a result, the station developed its own low-cost way of bringing ABC to upper East Tennessee and Southwestern Virginia. Before the advent of satellite technology, WKPT utilized a series of private microwave relay stations between Kingsport and Knoxville. As the ABC signal was being transmitted via traditional microwave from AT&T into the studios of then-ABC affiliate WTVK-TV on Sharp's Ridge
in Knoxville (now CBS affiliate WVLT-TV
), WKPT would literally "grab" the Telco signal just as it was going into the WTVK studios. It then sent the signal via private microwave to a relay station 70 miles (112.7 km) line-of-sight miles east to Camp Creek Bald on the Tennessee/North Carolina
border in Southern Greene County, Tennessee. The ABC signal was then re-transmitted via another WKPT microwave 33 miles (53.1 km) line-of-sight miles further east to the WKPT transmitter site on Holston Mountain. From the relay point there, it was transmitted by a third WKPT microwave 25 miles (40.2 km) line-of-sight miles down to the studios in Downtown Kingsport through the station's master control board and then back to Holston Mountain via the station's regular studio-transmitter link and then broadcast on Channel 19.
Private microwave relays of network programming were prevalent before the advent of A.T. & T. commercial microwave. WVVA-TV in Bluefield, West Virginia operated its own private microwave relay that brought NBC to Bluefield from WSLS-TV
in Roanoke, Virginia. In its early days, WSMV-TV
, Nashville received its NBC feed from WAVE-TV, Louisville, and WSAZ-TV
, Huntington operated a private microwave to deliver NBC first from WLWT
, Cincinnati, then from WLWC-TV (now WCMH-TV
, Columbus).
Whenever any part of WKPT-TV's private microwave relay system malfunctioned, as it did periodically because of heavy snowfall or downed trees, station engineers were forced to broadcast the signal of either WTVK or WLOS whenever network programming was airing. Occasionally, WKPT accidentally aired the local commercials and the station identifications of either WTVK or WLOS being unable to cover them up quickly. When WTVK swapped networks with WATE-TV
, WKPT merely moved its Knoxville microwave relay 800 ft (243.8 m) west to WATE's transmitter site, also on Sharp's Ridge, and continued to receive ABC via its privately-owned microwave relay system. Ironically, the AT&T network signals for WJHL and WCYB were both delivered from Greenville, South Carolina
to the phone company microwave that is also atop Camp Creek Bald that fed the Knoxville television stations.
WKPT's first branding in the 1970s was "WKPT, Tri-Cities' ABC" which featured the first musical station IDs in the area. That concept was later used by WATE when that station became an ABC affiliate in 1979. In 1998, the station re-branded as "ABC 19 WKPT" which marked the first time the station's channel number was actually mentioned on-air since the 1980s. Initially, WOPI-CA schedule consisted of infomercials and Pentagon Channel
programming. That station was a full-time affiliate of America One
until December 21, 2007. On that date, WKPT-DT3 and WOPI switched to the Retro Television Network. After the analog to digital switch, WKPT began transmitting on digital Channel 27, which it continues on today. However, through the use of PSIP
, digital television receivers display its virtual channel
as 19.
Under federal must-carry rules, broadcasters can either allow cable systems in their market to carry their signals for free or charge a fee under retransmission consent
provisions. On December 3, 2008, it was announced that Inter Mountain Cable (IMC), a cable provider serving parts of Eastern Kentucky, announced that it would drop WKPT from their lineup unless an agreement was reached over retransmission consent. According to The Mountain Eagle
, this dispute has caused concern among officials in the city of Fleming-Neon
, where IMC holds the cable television franchise there. The city council in Fleming-Neon have stated that the removal of WKPT would violate IMC's franchise agreement.
, WKPT is available on Harlan Community Television in Harlan
and Access Community Television in Cumberland
, which are part of the Knoxville, TN
DMA
.
In Virginia
, WKPT is available on Time Warner Cable
in Tazewell
, which is part of the Bluefield, WV
DMA.
In North Carolina
, WKPT is available on Charter Communications
in Boone
and Zito Media in Creston
, which are part of the Charlotte
DMA.
As of September 2006, WJHL's nightly 11 o’clock broadcast was repeated on WKPT at or around 1:06 in the morning. In addition, a five minute news and weather summary was provided at 11:30 P.M. to accommodate for the gap between the end of syndicated programming and the beginning of Nightline. At some point, this programming was dropped. Also, WJHL's weekday Noon show had been repeated on WAPK and WKPT-DT3 / WOPI-CA on a half-hour delay at 12:30. Like all RTV affiliates in the Eastern Time Zone
, that station currently airs Daytime weekday mornings at 9.
Since 2009, WKPT has been airing news and weather briefs during daytime programming, anchored by Duane Nelson and taped in the radio news department. In 2010 Cyrus Fees relaunched the news department for the 6:25-6:30 PM & 11:00-11:08 PM News as "WKPT-TV News 19."
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
-affiliated television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
for the Tri-Cities
Tri-Cities, Tennessee
In Tennessee and Virginia the name "Tri-Cities" refers to the region comprising the cities of Kingsport, Johnson City and Bristol and the surrounding smaller towns and communities in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia...
area of Northeastern Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
and Southwestern Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
that is licensed to Kingsport, Tennessee
Kingsport, Tennessee
Kingsport is a city located mainly in Sullivan County with some western portions in Hawkins County in the US state of Tennessee. The majority of the city lies in Sullivan County...
. It broadcasts a high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
digital signal on UHF channel 27 from a transmitter at Holston High Point on Holston Mountain
Holston Mountain
Holston Mountain is a mountain ridge in Upper East Tennessee and southwest Virginia, in the United States. It is in the Blue Ridge Mountains part of the Appalachian Mountains...
in the Cherokee National Forest
Cherokee National Forest
The Cherokee National Forest is a large National Forest created on July 19, 1936, by U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, operated by the U.S. Forest Service and encompassing some 640,000 acres .-Location:...
. Owned by the Holston Valley Broadcasting Corporation, the station is co-owned with Class A
Class A television service
The class A television service is a system for regulating some low-power television stations in the United States. Class A stations are denoted by the broadcast callsign suffix "-CA" or "-CD" , although very many analog -CA stations have a digital companion channel that was assigned the -LD...
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
affiliate WAPK-CA
WAPK-CA
WAPK-CA is the Class A MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for Northeastern Tennessee and Southwestern Virginia that is licensed to Kingsport, Tennessee. It broadcasts a low-powered analog signal on UHF channel 36 from a transmitter on Holston High Point at Holston Mountain in the Cherokee...
and several radio stations. All share studios on Commerce Street in Downtown Kingsport.
Although the station is located in Kingsport, the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) requires it to include Johnson City and Bristol, Tennessee/Virginia in its legal station identification.
Syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
programming on WKPT includes: TMZ on TV
TMZ on TV
TMZ on TV, or simply TMZ and TMZTV, is an American syndicated entertainment and gossip news television show that premiered on September 10, 2007. The program is generally aired on Fox, The CW and MyNetworkTV affiliates, though a majority of the stations that carry the series are Fox affiliates...
, Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
, The Insider
The Insider (TV series)
The Insider is an American tabloid television news program covering events and celebrities. It debuted on September 13, 2004 as a spinoff of Entertainment Tonight and started as a popular segment that took viewers "behind closed doors" and gave them "inside" information...
and The Dr. Oz Show
The Dr. Oz Show
The Dr. Oz Show is an American syndicated television talk show, hosted by Dr. Mehmet Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon and teaching professor at Columbia University who became famous for his appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show from 2004 until 2009....
.
Digital programming
Its signal is multiplexed. Due to its Class A status, WAPK does not broadcast a digital signal of its own. Therefore, it can be seen on WKPT's second digital subchannel. On WKPT-DT3, CharterCharter Communications
Charter Communications is an American company providing cable television, high-speed Internet, and telephone services to more than 4.7 million customers in 25 states. By revenues, it is the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States, behind Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cox Communications...
digital channel 199 and Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
digital channel 231 is the area's RTV
Retro Television Network
The Retro Television Network is a system of television stations that airs classic television shows as well as more recently produced programs...
affiliate. This can also be seen over-the-air on WOPI-CA, VHF channel 9, also from a transmitter at Holston High Point.
| Channel | Programming |
|---|---|
| 19.1 / 27.1 | main WKPT programming / ABC HD |
| 19.2 / 27.2 | WAPK-CA "My Tri-Cities WAPK" |
| 19.3 / 27.3 | WOPI-CA RTV |
History
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate WCYB-TV
WCYB-TV
WCYB-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station serving the Tri-Cities area of Northeastern Tennessee and Southwestern Virginia. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 5 from a transmitter on Rye Patch Knob of Holston Mountain in the Cherokee National Forest...
and CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliate WJHL-TV
WJHL-TV
WJHL-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for the Tri-Cities area of Northeastern Tennessee and Southwestern Virginia that's licensed to Johnson City, Tennessee. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 11 from a transmitter on the southwest slope of Holston High Point...
, each of which picked its own ABC programs to air. However, many viewers in the area could view the entire ABC schedule on nearby WLOS-TV in Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
. Before WKPT signed on, WLOS included the Tri-Cities as part of its primary coverage area as it was widely available off-air and on cable.
WKPT has three historical distinctions. First, it is the oldest UHF television station in Tennessee to have maintained continuous operation on the UHF band to the present. Secondly, it is the second oldest station in Tennessee to have had the same licensee from its inaugural date to the present. WBBJ-TV
WBBJ-TV
WBBJ-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for Western Tennessee licensed to Jackson. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 43 from a transmitter on Potts Chapel Road in unincorporated Eastern Madison County. The station can also be seen on Charter channel 7 and...
in Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson is a city in Madison County, Tennessee, United States. The total population was 65,211 at the 2010 census. Jackson is the primary city of the Jackson, Tennessee metropolitan area, which is included in the Jackson-Humboldt, Tennessee Combined Statistical Area...
is the oldest but only after it was sold to Bahakel Communications
Bahakel Communications
Bahakel Communications is a Charlotte, North Carolina-based communications company that owns radio and television stations in the United States...
. Third, for years it was the only locally owned-and-operated full-power station in the Tri-Cities. However, that was merely by default. Because the antenna heights of its two VHF rivals, WJHL and WCYB, are above the 2000 ft (609.6 m) above average terrain full power ceiling height mandated by the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC), those two could not operate at their full power capacities. WCYB radiated 65,000 watts ERP analog visual while WJHL radiated 245,000 watts ERP analog visual.
WKPT was also one of the first stations in the country to utilize a newly-adopted (at the time) FCC rule called must-carry
Must-carry
In cable television, governments apply a must-carry regulation stating that locally-licensed television stations must be carried on a cable provider's system.- Canada :...
that required local cable companies to black out stations in nearby cities affiliated with the same network that were carried on local cable systems and cover the channel with the local network affiliate. As a result, the easily receivable off-air network signal from WLOS, 110 miles (177 km) away, was always blacked out on cable systems in Kingsport, Bristol, Johnson City
Johnson City, Tennessee
Johnson City is a city in Carter, Sullivan, and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, with most of the city being in Washington County...
, and the surrounding communities while being covered by the WKPT signal any time both stations were broadcasting ABC programming. Local WLOS programming was not blacked out. After deregulation of the cable industry, stations from adjacent markets
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
were taken off most local cable systems altogether in favor of satellite stations like TBS, WGN America
Superstation WGN
WGN America is a Chicago-based American superstation feed of WGN-TV, owned by Tribune Broadcasting. WGN America offers its national programming across North America without the CW network programming and most syndicated programs that are carried on the Chicago area feed...
, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, and others.
WCYB and WJHL received ABC via traditional ground microwave relay stations provided by AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
back in the 1950s and 1960s. However when WKPT started in 1969, its owners could not afford the expensive network feed estimated to have been around a half-million dollars per year. As a result, the station developed its own low-cost way of bringing ABC to upper East Tennessee and Southwestern Virginia. Before the advent of satellite technology, WKPT utilized a series of private microwave relay stations between Kingsport and Knoxville. As the ABC signal was being transmitted via traditional microwave from AT&T into the studios of then-ABC affiliate WTVK-TV on Sharp's Ridge
Sharp's Ridge
Sharp's Ridge is a steep limestone ridge in Knoxville, Tennessee, north of the city's downtown. A area of the ridge is maintained as Sharp's Ridge Memorial Park, a city park dedicated to the honor of the area's war dead. The ridge also is the site of a transmitting antenna farm that serves most...
in Knoxville (now CBS affiliate WVLT-TV
WVLT-TV
WVLT-TV is the CBS television network affiliate station serving Knoxville, Tennessee, the 58th DMA in America according to Nielsen Media Research...
), WKPT would literally "grab" the Telco signal just as it was going into the WTVK studios. It then sent the signal via private microwave to a relay station 70 miles (112.7 km) line-of-sight miles east to Camp Creek Bald on the Tennessee/North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
border in Southern Greene County, Tennessee. The ABC signal was then re-transmitted via another WKPT microwave 33 miles (53.1 km) line-of-sight miles further east to the WKPT transmitter site on Holston Mountain. From the relay point there, it was transmitted by a third WKPT microwave 25 miles (40.2 km) line-of-sight miles down to the studios in Downtown Kingsport through the station's master control board and then back to Holston Mountain via the station's regular studio-transmitter link and then broadcast on Channel 19.
Private microwave relays of network programming were prevalent before the advent of A.T. & T. commercial microwave. WVVA-TV in Bluefield, West Virginia operated its own private microwave relay that brought NBC to Bluefield from WSLS-TV
WSLS-TV
WSLS-TV, channel 10 , is the NBC-affiliated television station in Roanoke, Virginia. Its transmitter is located on Poor Mountain in Roanoke County. The station is owned by Media General who also owns local newspapers The News & Advance and Danville Register & Bee...
in Roanoke, Virginia. In its early days, WSMV-TV
WSMV-TV
WSMV-TV, virtual channel 4, is the NBC-affiliated television station serving the Nashville, Tennessee area. It broadcasts its digital signal on VHF channel 10. Owned by Meredith Corporation, its transmitter and tower are located adjacent to its studios on Knob Road in west Nashville, south of...
, Nashville received its NBC feed from WAVE-TV, Louisville, and WSAZ-TV
WSAZ-TV
WSAZ-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Huntington and Charleston, West Virginia. This area is the second-largest market in terms of area east of the Mississippi River consisting of 61 counties in Central West Virginia, Eastern Kentucky, and Southeastern Ohio. It broadcasts a high...
, Huntington operated a private microwave to deliver NBC first from WLWT
WLWT
WLWT, virtual channel 5 , is an NBC-affiliated television station in Cincinnati, Ohio, the station is owned by Hearst Television...
, Cincinnati, then from WLWC-TV (now WCMH-TV
WCMH-TV
WCMH-TV, channel 4, is a television station in Columbus, Ohio, affiliated with the NBC television network and owned by Media General. The station's studios and transmitter are located in Columbus. NBC-4 broadcasts from its studio and office complex near the Ohio State University on Olentangy River...
, Columbus).
Whenever any part of WKPT-TV's private microwave relay system malfunctioned, as it did periodically because of heavy snowfall or downed trees, station engineers were forced to broadcast the signal of either WTVK or WLOS whenever network programming was airing. Occasionally, WKPT accidentally aired the local commercials and the station identifications of either WTVK or WLOS being unable to cover them up quickly. When WTVK swapped networks with WATE-TV
WATE-TV
WATE-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for Eastern Tennessee licensed to Knoxville. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 26 from a transmitter on Sharp's Ridge in North Knoxville. The station can also be seen on Charter channel 6 as well as Comcast and Knology...
, WKPT merely moved its Knoxville microwave relay 800 ft (243.8 m) west to WATE's transmitter site, also on Sharp's Ridge, and continued to receive ABC via its privately-owned microwave relay system. Ironically, the AT&T network signals for WJHL and WCYB were both delivered from Greenville, South Carolina
Greenville, South Carolina
-Law and government:The city of Greenville adopted the Council-Manager form of municipal government in 1976.-History:The area was part of the Cherokee Nation's protected grounds after the Treaty of 1763, which ended the French and Indian War. No White man was allowed to enter, though some families...
to the phone company microwave that is also atop Camp Creek Bald that fed the Knoxville television stations.
WKPT's first branding in the 1970s was "WKPT, Tri-Cities' ABC" which featured the first musical station IDs in the area. That concept was later used by WATE when that station became an ABC affiliate in 1979. In 1998, the station re-branded as "ABC 19 WKPT" which marked the first time the station's channel number was actually mentioned on-air since the 1980s. Initially, WOPI-CA schedule consisted of infomercials and Pentagon Channel
Pentagon Channel
The Pentagon Channel is a TV channel broadcasting military news and information for the 2.6 million members of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is widely available on US Public, educational, and government access cable tv channels, can be viewed FTA in most Central and Western European countries ,...
programming. That station was a full-time affiliate of America One
America One
America One is an over-the-air television network in the United States. The network serves over 170 LPTV, Class A, Full Power, Cable and Satellite affiliate stations...
until December 21, 2007. On that date, WKPT-DT3 and WOPI switched to the Retro Television Network. After the analog to digital switch, WKPT began transmitting on digital Channel 27, which it continues on today. However, through the use of PSIP
Program and System Information Protocol
The Program and System Information Protocol is the protocol used in the ATSC digital television system for carrying metadata about each channel in the broadcast MPEG transport stream of a TV station and for publishing information about television programs so that viewers can select what to watch...
, digital television receivers display its virtual channel
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
as 19.
Under federal must-carry rules, broadcasters can either allow cable systems in their market to carry their signals for free or charge a fee under retransmission consent
Retransmission consent
Retransmission consent is an option granted to US television stations as part of the law that granted such stations the option to elect must-carry rights. Under retransmission consent, a full-power US television station may elect to negotiate with a cable system operator for carriage of its...
provisions. On December 3, 2008, it was announced that Inter Mountain Cable (IMC), a cable provider serving parts of Eastern Kentucky, announced that it would drop WKPT from their lineup unless an agreement was reached over retransmission consent. According to The Mountain Eagle
The Mountain Eagle
The Mountain Eagle is a British silent film, and Alfred Hitchcock's second as director following The Pleasure Garden.-Plot:The film is set in Kentucky. J. P. Pettigrew's wife died giving birth to his son Edward who was born a cripple. Pettigrew hates John Fulton who also loved Pettigrew's wife...
, this dispute has caused concern among officials in the city of Fleming-Neon
Fleming-Neon, Kentucky
Fleming-Neon is a city in Letcher County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 840 at the 2000 census.-History:The city was established by the Elkhorn Coal Corporation which moved in to the area in 1913. Fleming was the location of the mine and named for its first president George W. Fleming...
, where IMC holds the cable television franchise there. The city council in Fleming-Neon have stated that the removal of WKPT would violate IMC's franchise agreement.
Out-of-market cable coverage
In KentuckyKentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, WKPT is available on Harlan Community Television in Harlan
Harlan, Kentucky
Harlan is a city in Harlan County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,081 at the 2000 census and was estimated at 1,880 in 2007. It is the county seat of Harlan County.-History:...
and Access Community Television in Cumberland
Cumberland, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,611 people, 1,076 households, and 723 families residing in the city. The population density was 570.5 people per square mile . There were 1,288 housing units at an average density of 281.4 per square mile...
, which are part of the Knoxville, TN
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
DMA
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
.
In Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, WKPT is available on Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
in Tazewell
Tazewell, Virginia
Tazewell is a town in Tazewell County, Virginia, USA. The population was 4,206 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Bluefield, WV-VA micropolitan area, which has a population of 107,578. It is the county seat of Tazewell County....
, which is part of the Bluefield, WV
Bluefield, West Virginia
Bluefield is a city in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 10,447 at the 2010 census. It is also the core city of the Bluefield WV-VA micropolitan area which has a population of 107,342.-Geography & Climate:...
DMA.
In North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, WKPT is available on Charter Communications
Charter Communications
Charter Communications is an American company providing cable television, high-speed Internet, and telephone services to more than 4.7 million customers in 25 states. By revenues, it is the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States, behind Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cox Communications...
in Boone
Boone, North Carolina
Boone is a town located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, United States. Boone's population was reported as 17,122, as of 2010...
and Zito Media in Creston
Creston, North Carolina
Creston is an unincorporated community in Ashe County, North Carolina, southwest of Grayson. It lies at an elevation of 2,861 feet ....
, which are part of the Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
DMA.
News operation
WKPT's first personalities in the early 1970s included news anchors Martin Karant and Bill Freehoff along with weather/sports with Bill Trailer. These distinguished broadcasters had been popular personalities on WKPT-AM 1400 and made the move to television. Karant continued to hold his position on WKPT-AM until his retirement in 1997. Until February 2002, WKPT produced news in-house. From that date until September 2006, nightly 6 and 11 o’clock newscasts originated from WJHL and were simulcast on both WKPT and WJHL. In situations where one station was off (due to network run over or other circumstances), the news was broadcast on the other station at the correct time.As of September 2006, WJHL's nightly 11 o’clock broadcast was repeated on WKPT at or around 1:06 in the morning. In addition, a five minute news and weather summary was provided at 11:30 P.M. to accommodate for the gap between the end of syndicated programming and the beginning of Nightline. At some point, this programming was dropped. Also, WJHL's weekday Noon show had been repeated on WAPK and WKPT-DT3 / WOPI-CA on a half-hour delay at 12:30. Like all RTV affiliates in the Eastern Time Zone
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
, that station currently airs Daytime weekday mornings at 9.
Since 2009, WKPT has been airing news and weather briefs during daytime programming, anchored by Duane Nelson and taped in the radio news department. In 2010 Cyrus Fees relaunched the news department for the 6:25-6:30 PM & 11:00-11:08 PM News as "WKPT-TV News 19."