Technical Profile: WCTU-LD

TV Technical Profile: WCTU-LD

Channel:: 22
Programming (ATSC 3.0):: 46.1 — IBN Television
46.2 — QVC
Transmitter Location:: [map] [street view] — Between Pensacola Boulevard (US-29) and North W Street on Industrial Boulevard,
Power (ERP):: 15 kW
Height Above Average Terrain (HAAT):: 320 feet AGL
Antenna:: Directional
Other Information:: 51 dBu protected contour map, from the FCC.; [FCC]
[FCCdata]
[RabbitEars.info]; [Wikipedia]

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Owned By:: Edge Spectrum, Inc.
History:: This station dates back to an original construction permit issued to Roy S. Marjamaa for a new low power station, licensed to Fort Walton Beach, Florida. It was granted in April 1995 on channel 69, with 1.01 kW from a site near Shalimar Elementary School in Shalimar, Florida. The station filed was granted a CP extension in 1997 after failing to get the station constructed. In early 1998, the license was transferred to Richard and Lisa Goetz, who that same year had to file to replace the expired permit.

In December 2000, the station was granted another permit, this time for channel 11 with 1 kW from a site in Niceville, Florida. In February 2001, the station filed a license to cover — for channel 69, from a tower off Hollywood Boulevard behind the Florida Power and Light building in Fort Walton Beach. It's unclear what the format would have been when the station first came on the air.

The station would apparently go through a handful of other construction permits in an attempt to move closer to the Pensacola metro area, including one granted in 2003 for channel 46, with a highly directional antenna broadcasting from the WUWF tower in Navarre. A Silent STA (Special Temporary Authority) was filed in April 2004, and another one was filed in March 2006, but it's doubtful the station ever returned to the air between these two filings. Of interest is that during this time the city of license changed to Panama City, despite the permit being for a site much closer to Pensacola!

In November 2006 the license was transferred from Global Outreach Ministry Network, Inc. (how they are related to previously listed owners Richard and Lisa Goetz, is unclear) to Randall Weiss. He attempted to transfer the license to EICB-East, Inc (Edge Spectrum) Weiss in December 2006 but it appears to have not been consummated. Weiss filed an STA of some type but the FCC database does not present any information. A dismissed permit from around this point exists for a highly directional low power broadcast on channel 46 from either the WUWF tower or the nearby East Bay Church on Guseman Road in Navarre, so it's possible this was the STA. Another attempt to transfer the license to Edge Spectrum was made in January 2007; it shows as granted in the FCC database but don't think this is the end, because another one will show up later!

Another STA was filed for unknown reasons in February 2007, with extensions granted in August 2007 and January 2008. This is far from the end of the spotty paper trail the FCC has left us to try to piece together a history of this station. A digital flash cut permit was granted in February 2008 but that apparently meant nothing, as it was followed by a license to cover for another analog permit, again on channel 46 (for 5 kW) and directional but this time from a cell tower near Green Drive and US-98 in Navarre.

Yet another (analog) permit was granted to the station, this time to move to the presently-licensed site in Pensacola, with a less aggressive directional antenna and 15 kW. A license to cover for that facility was filed in June 2008. It's unclear if the station was actually on in analog on RF channel 46 or not, as it was reported as being in digital with a single subchannel called GCN, The People Channel, by October 2008.

Yet another license transfer between Randall Weiss and EICB-East (Edge Spectrum) was filed and granted in January 2011.

By May of 2018, the station was confirmed to be on the air with three blank digital subchannels.

As part of the second round of spectrum repacking that occurred after the digital switchover of television in the US, the station was granted a displacement RF channel 22 authorization in August 2018. This grant would allow the station to relax even further (but not eliminate) the directional antenna, and increase coverage with 5 kW of digital power. In July 2020, the station filed another Silent STA citing Edge Spectrum's large portfolio of stations needing to be moved to new channels. That permit was extended in July 2021. It was extended again in April 2022, but this time it was noted that the station would be part of ARK Broadcasting's ATSC 3.0 plans for multicasting and datacasting.

A license to cover was filed in August 2022; the grant also includes that the station is broadcasting ATSC 3.0. It appears from local reports that the station is broadcasting IBN Television, a religious channel, and QVC. It is unclear if any kind of ATSC 3.0 datacasting is also happening.

In mid-August 2024, the station was granted a permit to increase power to 15 kW. It appears that the change happened immediately upon grant.