WTLE-LP
Television station in Fort Myers, Florida (1995–2009)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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).
- Pax TV
- Univision
- Telefutura (until 2009)
- Silver Point Capital
- (SP Ft. Myers LLC)
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| City | Fort Myers, Florida |
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| Channels | |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | 1995 |
Last air date | August 14, 2009 |
Former call signs |
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Former channel numbers | 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December 2008[5] and offers by Luken Communications to acquire Equity-owned stations in six markets have since been withdrawn.[6]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.
