WAPK-CD

WAPK-CD, virtual channel 36 (UHF digital channel 16), is a low-powered, Class A MeTV-affiliated television station licensed to Kingsport, Tennessee, United States, serving the Tri-Cities area of northeastern Tennessee and southwestern Virginia. Its transmitter is located on Holston High Point at Holston Mountain in the Cherokee National Forest. Owned by the Glenwood Communications Corporation, the station is sister to WKPT-TV (channel 19) and several radio stations. All of the stations share studios on Commerce Street in downtown Kingsport.

WAPK-CD
Kingsport/Johnson City/
Bristol, Tennessee–Virginia
United States
CityKingsport, Tennessee
ChannelsDigital: 16 (UHF)
Virtual: 36 (PSIP)
BrandingMeTV Tri-Cities WAPK
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
OwnerGlenwood Communications Corporation
(Holston Valley Broadcasting Corporation)
History
First air date
April 30, 1989 (1989-04-30)
Former call signs
  • W30AP (1989–1995)
  • WAPK-LP (1995–2002)
  • WAPK-CA (2002–2014)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog:
  • 30 (UHF, 1991–2002)
  • 36 (UHF, 2002–2014)
  • Digital:
  • 36 (UHF, 2014-2019)
Call sign meaning
WAP (from former W30AP calls) and Kingsport
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID77677
27504 (WKPT-DT2)
ERP22.8 kW
25 kW (WKPT-DT2)
HAAT689 m
695 m (WKPT-DT2)
Transmitter coordinates36°25′54″N 82°8′15″W
Links
Public license information
Profile

27504 (WKPT-DT2) LMS
Websitewapk.tv

Repeaters

The station can also be seen on these repeaters. The main signal on channel 16 is the origination for many of the cable companies that carry WAPK. Holston also uses the signal as the source for all of WAPK's channels via a series of ATSC receivers that directly feed the transmitters.

Call letters Channel City of license
WKPZ-CD19Kingsport, Tennessee
WKIN-CD7Weber City, Virginia-Kingsport, Tennessee/Virginia[2]

History

WAPK began service on April 30, 1989 as W30AP identified on-air as "WAP-TV". Programming was standard independent fare with classic television sitcoms, sports, old movies, and cartoons plus repeats of WKPT's newscasts. On January 16, 1995, WAP became a charter affiliate of UPN. Shortly afterward, W30AP was renamed WAPK-LP in April 1995. In May 2002, the station attained Class A status and changed to the call sign WAPK-CA. In 2003, WAPK moved from UHF channel 30 to channel 36. WAPK became a MyNetworkTV affiliate at the network's inception on September 5, 2006. In recent years, WAPK has been carried on cable in Harlan, Kentucky, which is within the Knoxville media market.[3] The station was issued its license for digital operation on October 10, 2014, at which point it changed its call sign to WAPK-CD.

Following the announcement that WKPT-TV would lose its ABC affiliation to the DT2 subchannel of WJHL-TV, it was announced that much of WAPK's programming, including MyNetworkTV, would move to WKPT-TV, and that WAPK would switch to programming from a digital network,[4] later revealed to be MeTV, WJHL-DT2's former affiliation. The switch over took place on February 1, 2016.[5] The station's fourth channel is expected to carry Heroes & Icons.[2] After WKPT-TV dropped MyNetworkTV in favor of Cozi TV, the Laff affiliation was transferred from WAPK-CD's third subchannel to WKPT's third subchannel (which had previously carried Cozi TV); the move came as a result of Holston Valley Broadcasting opting to refocus WKPT and WAPK entirely around "nostalgia-based programming", stating that MeTV outrates ABC Tri-Cities in most time periods.[1] The CD3 subchannel then subsequently became an affiliate of Bounce TV, a TV network targeting an African-American audiences.

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[1][6]
36.1720p16:9MeTVMeTV
36.2480iGritGrit
36.3BounceBounce TV
36.4HeroesHeroes & Icons

References
  1. Hayes, Hank (January 30, 2017). "Holston Valley Broadcasting goes all-in on nostalgic TV". Kingsport Times-News. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  2. "Digital TV Market Listing for WAPK". rabbitears.info. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  3. "Harlan Community Television, Inc. Cable Line-Up". Harlan Community Television, Inc. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
  4. "WKPT's affiliation with ABC coming to an end". Kingsport Times-News. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  5. "WKPT, WAPK announce new programming plan". Kingsport Times-News. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  6. RabbitEars TV Query for WAPK-CD
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