Branding Pittsburgh's Cozi TV Affiliations Cozi TV (2014–present) | Translators (see article) | |
Channels Digital: 16 (UHF)
Virtual: 59 (PSIP) Subchannels 59.1 Cozi TV
59.2 Movies!
59.3 Retro TV Owner OTA Broadcasting, LLC
(OTA Broadcasting (PIT), LLC) | ||
WEPA-CD is a Class A television station located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. An affiliate of Movies!, the station is owned and operated by OTA Broadcasting, LLC (a company controlled by Michael Dell's MSD Capital), who purchased the station on August 26, 2013. It was previously owned by Bruno-Goodworth Network, Inc., who owned the stations since their inception. WEPA simulcasts on nine Class A television stations throughout the Pittsburgh market. This combined signal makes the coverage of WEPA and its satellite stations equal to or greater than the existing full power network affiliates in the Pittsburgh Market. WEPA is one of the few Class A stations in the country that is "reportable" by Nielsen Media Research.
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As WBGN-CD
WEPA-CD began broadcasting in 1995 on channel 59 with the call sign W59BT, and later WBGN (-LP 1998-2009, -LD 2009-2010, -CD 2010-2014) until November 2014. As WBGN-CD, the station broadcast a variety of programming including first run syndicated shows such as Martha, Reno 911!, Chappelle's Show, Degrassi: The Next Generation, Temptation and Jury Duty, along with former network hits such as Family Ties, Hawaii Five-O, Mission: Impossible, The Nanny, Mad About You, The Outer Limits, and America's Funniest Home Videos. The prime-time lineup was rounded out with programming syndicated from Canada such as Cold Squad, Stone Undercover and ReGenesis. The network also showed second-run movies, children's shows such as Beakman's World, live religious broadcasts and real estate shows. The station produced and/or aired a number of regularly scheduled local programs. It broadcast local news breaks and local high school and professional sporting events. In 2005, the station broadcast The It's Alive Show, a local program showcasing horror films and B-movies. In May 2006, the station also produced two-minute news and 30-second weather segments which aired every half hour during prime-time hours. In 2013, WBGN-CD also started airing a professional wrestling show called PWX Unleashed from local McKeesport promotion Pro Wrestling eXpress. This is PWX's second TV show since their TV show which was held at Eastland Mall (North Versailles, Pennsylvania).
Digital Conversion
On July 12, 2009, WBGN-LD began broadcasting digitally in the Pittsburgh area on physical channel 16, the former analog designation of WINP-TV.
The station and its satellite stations signed off their analog signals on June 22, 2010, since many fell within the channel 52-Channel 69 spectrum that was freed up for other uses by the FCC. Like the main signal, the digital signal in New Castle airs on a former analog designation, in this case channel 27, the former analog home of CBS affiliate WKBN-TV in Youngstown, Ohio as does the digital signal in Greensburg which airs on the former analog designation of CW affiliate WPCW Pittsburgh/Jeannette, PA. By July 2010, WBGN-CD, becoming Class-A, and all of its satellite stations including New Castle (WPCP-CD), Butler (WNNB-CD), Beaver (WJMB-CD), and Greensburg (WEMW-CD) were transmitting digitally.
Station sale
On August 26, 2013, Bruno-Goodworth Network, Inc. completed the sale of all 9 of their stations to OTA Broadcasting, LLC.
During late 2014, the station moved its operations to 4802 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh PA, and became a full-time affiliate of Movies!, Cozi TV, and Retro Television Network. The only remaining local programs are a daily noon mass from St. Mary's Church in downtown Pittsburgh, The Weird Paul Variety Show, Cappelli & Company, Pro Wrestling Express, and The It's Alive Show. On November 20, 2014, OTA Broadcasting changed the call sign on the station from WBGN-CD to WEPA-CD because the previous call sign was a direct reference to the station's previous owners.
Station availability
WEPA-CD is carried on Verizon FiOS. Including the broadcast on channel 16 in Pittsburgh, WEPA-CD is available over-the-air to almost all households in South-Western Pennsylvania, the Northern-Panhandle of West Virginia, and East-Central Ohio through the nine stations that simulcast WEPA-CD in the Pittsburgh market.
Stations
Currently, three standard definition channels are being provided by the station.