WTLE-LP

WTLE-LP (channel 18) was a low-power television station in Fort Myers, Florida, United States, which was last affiliated with the Spanish-language network Telefutura (now UniMás). Owned by Silver Point Capital, the station has, in the past, carried programming from Pax TV;^[2] it has also been a repeater for sister Univision affiliate WUVF-LP (channel 2).

WTLE-LP

Fort Myers–Naples, Florida United States
City	Fort Myers, Florida
Channels	Analog: 18 (UHF)
Programming
Affiliations	Pax TV Univision Telefutura (until 2009)
Ownership
Owner	Silver Point Capital (SP Ft. Myers LLC)
History
First air date	1995
Last air date	August 14, 2009; 16 years ago (2009-08-14)
Former call signs	W57CJ (1995–1999) WDPX-LP (1999–2005)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 57 (UHF, 1995–2000)
Call sign meaning	"Telefutura"
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	36967
Class	TX
ERP	50 kW
HAAT	119 m (390 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	26°44′32.24″N 81°48′51.33″W
Links
Public license information	LMS

History

WTLE has previously been owned by Paxson Communications,^[3] Tiger Eye Broadcasting,^[2][3] and Equity Media Holdings.^[2]

On April 4, 2008, Equity announced the sale of all five of its Southwest Florida stations (including WTLE) to Luken Communications, LLC for $8 million. Equity has cited corporate financial losses as a reason for the sale.^[4]

Equity Media Holdings has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy since December 2008^[5] and offers by Luken Communications to acquire Equity-owned stations in six markets have since been withdrawn.^[6]

Silver Point Capital acquired WTLE at auction on April 16, 2009.^[7] The sale closed on August 17, 2009.^[8]

Three days before the completion of the sale to Silver Point, WTLE was taken silent.^[9] On March 10, 2011, its license was canceled by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and its call sign was deleted from the FCC's database.^{[citation needed]}

After WTLE's sign-off, the Fort Myers market could only receive Telefutura/UniMás programming via the network's national feed on cable and satellite until 2014, when WUVF-LD signed on a second digital subchannel affiliated with the network.