UPDATE, 2:50 p.m. FRIDAY: I've sought comment from both the Roberts Companies (the St. Louis-based owners of WAZE) as well as the CW network. At this time, neither entity has replied.
UPDATE, 7:35 p.m.: An anonymous reader left the following comment regarding the very slim possibility of a new owner purchasing what remains of WAZE:
PREVIOUSLY ― It appears the end is at hand for WAZE-TV.
UPDATE, 7:35 p.m.: An anonymous reader left the following comment regarding the very slim possibility of a new owner purchasing what remains of WAZE:
A new owner is all but impossible for several reasons:All of the above makes sense to me.
- Any sale would likely have to be approved by the bankruptcy judge overseeing the Roberts' case. This takes some time.
- The FCC would have to approve the transfer before April 1 in order to allow the new owner to immediately file for a license renewal.
- A license renewal is extremely uncertain, considering these stations are required by their licenses to air 3 hours per week of programming produced in Evansville, a requirement they have not met for many years.
PREVIOUSLY ― It appears the end is at hand for WAZE-TV.
Earlier today, without explanation, the Evansville CW affiliate's last remaining over-the-air operations ― its low-power stations WJPS-LP (ch. 4), WIKY-LP (ch. 5) and WAZE-LP (ch. 17) ― were shut down by Roberts' contract engineer.
The station has also gone dark on cable and satellite systems across the area.
The Roberts Broadcasting-owned stations, along with their sister stations in St. Louis, Columbia, S.C. and Jackson, Miss., have languished in bankruptcy protection for well over a year with no resolution in sight. When the other Evansville-market TV stations applied for new Federal Communications Commission broadcast licenses last year, Roberts did not do so, which means that the licenses for channels 4, 5 and 17 are scheduled to expire Aug. 1.
WAZE's former main station, licensed to Madisonville, Ky. ― which was reduced to an 1,100-watt "temporary" digital operation after the 2009 analog shutdown ― was itself shuttered by the FCC in 2011 after Roberts failed to build-out its planned full-power operation within the required timeframe.
6 comments:
I was receiving this channel on my Dish Network Satellite. After reading the post about the WAZE translator being shut down I checked channel 19 on my satellite and it has been turned off on Dish Network.
It's off DISH Network, replaced by screen that says this channel is unavailable.
Bill
Thanks, Anon and Bill! :-)
This is sad! I spent 13 of my 24 year broadcasting career at this station. Between 1998 and 2004, this was the station for local sports. I guess the owners are getting what they deserve. Hopefully a new owner, if that's possible, can return it to something respectable.
A new owner is all but impossible for several reasons:
1) Any sale would likely have to be approved by the bankruptcy judge overseeing the Roberts' case. This takes some time.
2) The FCC would have to approve the transfer before April 1 in order to allow the new owner to immediately file for a license renewal.
3) A license renewal is extremely uncertain, considering these stations are required by their licenses to air 3 hours per week of programming produced in Evansville, a requirement they have not met for many years.
I worked there for several years. I saw the havoc the Roberts brothers caused, destroying folks by ripping their jobs from them with minimal notice.
They were the pinnacle of the slimy corperate executives. Their business practices were as shady and underhanded as they are.
Back in the day, WAZE was a station that cared about Local activity. It was staffed by a wonderful crew of folks that wanted to bring the best of the tri-state to your living room. It may not have been perfect but it was genuine.
R.I.P WAZE, you were an unsung hero in local broadcasting.
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