Channels Analog: 15 (UHF) Owner WICA, Inc. First air date September 19, 1953 | Affiliations Silent Founded May 6, 1953 Last air date June 21, 1956 | |
WICA-TV was a television station in Ashtabula, Ohio. Richard D. and David C. Rowley, the founders of WICA AM/FM, started WICA-TV on channel 15 in the 1950s. Hampered by broadcasting on the (then relatively unknown) UHF dial, and with no network affiliation of any sort, WICA-TV had limited broadcast hours, a sparse and often overused film library, and a heavy amount of local programming (usually filmed with only one camera). WICA-TV started broadcasting on September 19, 1953, but quietly signed off around June 21, 1956.
The Rowley family reactivated WICA-TV on April 4, 1966, with an intent of donating it as a non-profit educational license. As was in its first incarnation, WICA-TV was again hampered with no network programming, an often overused and limited film library of mediocre and low rental fare. In addition, WICA-TV still broadcast only in black-and-white (as was the case for many educational stations of this era) when most stations already converted to color, and still filmed local programming with only one camera.
WICA-TV signed off for good on December 26, 1967, with its license returned to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. The UHF antenna is the sole remaining element of WICA-TV's existence, still affixed to the WREO-FM (formerly known as WICA-FM) tower.