WBPA-LD
Television station in Pittsburgh
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
WBPA-LD (channel 12) is a low-power television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, owned by Venture Technologies Group. Since 2025, it has operated as a translator of PBS member station WQED (channel 13).
- 13.1: PBS
- for others, see § Subchannels
| Translator of WQED | |
|---|---|
 | |
| |
| Channels | |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner | Venture Technologies Group, LLC |
| Operator | WQED Multimedia |
| History | |
| Founded | January 14, 1988 |
First air date | September 28, 1989 |
Former call signs |
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Former channel numbers | Analog: 29 (UHF, 1989–2004), 30 (UHF, 2005–2019) |
| |
Call sign meaning | "WB Pennsylvania" (from stint as WB affiliate) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 10185 |
| Class | LD |
| ERP | 3 kW |
| HAAT | 169.3 m (555 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 40°26′46.2″N 79°57′50.2″W |
| Links | |
Public license information | LMS |
| Website | www |
History
On January 14, 1988, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted a construction permit to Channel 29 Associates of Calabasas, California—owned by Venture founder Lawrence Rogow—for a new low-power TV station on channel 29 at Pittsburgh, W29AH. The station began test broadcasts on September 28, 1989, airing programming from the Video Jukebox Network.[2]
After five years of running music videos, channel 29 found a new calling in January 1995, when The WB launched. W29AH was intended to serve as one half of a simulcast with Johnstown's WTWB-TV channel 19, filling the largest missing market gap for the new network.[3] W29AH became WTWB-LP on June 1, 1995, and WBPA-LP on December 15. Channels 19 and 29 became the new UPN affiliate in 1998 when that network's former outlet, WPTT channel 22, switched to The WB (with WTWB-TV becoming WNPA); they briefly were independents due to lawsuits surrounding that station's change.[4][5]
Venture sold channel 19 to the Paramount Stations Group late in 1998, making it a network owned-and-operated station and splitting it from WBPA-LP.[6] For several months, the two continued simulcasting.[7] In the early 2000s, WBPA-LP moved to channel 30.
In 2012, Venture sought to build digital facilities for WBPA-LP on channel 6, utilizing hybrid analog-digital technology to turn it into a "Franken-FM" station with audio on 87.7 MHz. The FCC denied this proposal on technical grounds with the standard that the company proposed for WBPA and a station in Lubbock, Texas.[8]
WBPA-LP was displaced during the repack by Class A station WPTG-CD and applied to move to channel 12 and convert to digital. The station went silent to allow WPTG-CD to move in 2019, but delays from the COVID-19 pandemic, the availability of transmitter installers, and a contracted electrician's foot operation set the reconstruction of WBPA back enough that Venture had to apply for a waiver to avoid automatic license cancellation.[9] The facility was completed in late October, when a license to cover was filed.[10]
On October 23, 2025, it was announced that PBS member station WQED (channel 13) would start simulcasting its programming on WBPA-LD.[11] Both WQED and WBPA-LD share the same transmitting tower. The same digital channels that are available on WQED's main frequency are also carried on WBPA-LD.