KWBJ-CD

KWBJ-CD (channel 22) is a low-power, Class A television station in Morgan City, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with YTA TV. The station is owned by the Price Media Corporation. KWBJ-CD's studios are located on Michigan Street/US 90/LA 182, and its transmitter is located on Shaw Street (northeast of Jimmy Magee Park) in Morgan City.

KWBJ-CD

Morgan City, Louisiana United States
Channels	Digital: 22 (UHF) Virtual: 22
Branding	KWBJ TV 22 (general) KWBJ News (newscasts)
Programming
Affiliations	22.1: YTA TV
Ownership
Owner	Price Media Corporation
History
First air date	1978 (1978) (cable only)[when?] April 2, 1990; 35 years ago (April 2, 1990) (as a stand-alone station)
Former call signs	ATVC Channel 7 (April 1986–1990) K39BJ (1990–1996) KWBJ-LP (1996–2009)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 39 (UHF, 1990–2009)
Former affiliations	Independent (1987–1995) The WB (1995–2006) America One (secondary 1999–2006; primary 2006–2015)
Call sign meaning	The WB (former affiliation)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	24218
Class	CD
ERP	15 kW
HAAT	58.4 m (192 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	29°43′15.7″N 91°12′18.4″W
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS

History

KWBJ originated as a cable-only channel known as ATVC Channel 7, which launched in 1978. It was managed by Allen's TV Cable, owned by Allen Price, which has served the Morgan City area since the 1960s, and it carried local programs and special events for the Morgan City and St. Mary Parish area, before serving as a full-fledged cable channel in April 1986. Among its original programs was a newscast known as Newslook 7. On April 2, 1990, Allen's TV Cable brought the station over the air as K39BJ, broadcasting on UHF channel 39.^[2] Serving Morgan City, Houma, and the southern part of the Baton Rouge market, it originally operated as an independent station. In early 1996, K39BJ became a charter affiliate of The WB Television Network;^[3] in September of that year, the station changed its call letters to KWBJ-LP to reflect its new affiliation. The station began carrying programming from America One as a secondary affiliation in 1999.

On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation (which split from Viacom in December 2005) and Time Warner's Warner Bros. Entertainment (the division that operated The WB) announced that they would dissolve UPN and The WB, and move some of their programming to a newly created network, The CW.^[4][5] One month later on February 22, 2006, News Corporation announced the launch of a competing "sixth" network called MyNetworkTV, which would be operated by Fox Television Stations and its syndication division Twentieth Television.^[6][7] KWBJ-LP opted against seeking an affiliation with either The CW or MyNetworkTV, instead opting to become a part-time America One affiliate while continuing to carry general entertainment programs interspersed within the network's programming. KWBJ became a YouToo America affiliate once America One folded into that network.

KWBJ's coverage over the air and via cable is limited to St. Mary, lower Assumption, and lower St. Martin parishes; the station is not available over the air or on cable or satellite in the Baton Rouge, New Orleans or Lafayette metro areas. Per its co-ownership with Allen's TV Cable, which provides cable service to the Morgan City area, KWBJ is not carried by any other providers in that area that compete with Allen's TV Cable.^[8]

Local programming

Since 2017, KWBJ has produced a local current affairs interview program, branded The Voice of the Coast; the half-hour show airs weeknights at 6:30 p.m. and is repeated at 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. the next day. The station also airs local weather updates produced by WeatherVision, during syndicated programming on its evening schedule. Prior to 2017, KWBJ aired a 30-minute newscast. The station also produces South Louisiana Quiz Bowl, an academic competition for area high schools and junior high schools.

Technical information

Subchannel

Subchannel of KWBJ-CD^[9]

Channel	Res.	Aspect	Short name	Programming
22.1	480i	16:9		YTA TV

Analog-to-digital conversion

KWBJ flash-cut its digital signal into operation on UHF channel 22 in 2009. The station uses its UHF channel 22 as its virtual channel instead of its former UHF analog channel 39 (most, though not all, television stations that maintain digital signals map them to their former analog channel allocations).