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WTCT
Channels
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
August 1981 (43 years ago) (1981-08)[a]
Former call signs
WDDD-TV (1981–1984)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 27 (UHF, 1981–2009)
  • Digital: 17 (UHF, 2009–2020)
Call sign meaning
Tri-State Christian Television
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID67786
ERP1,000 kW
HAAT228.5 m (750 ft)
Transmitter coordinates37°33′26″N 89°1′24″W / 37.55722°N 89.02333°W / 37.55722; -89.02333
Links
Public license information
Websitewww.tct.tv

WTCT (channel 27) is a religious television station licensed to Marion, Illinois, United States, serving the PaducahCape GirardeauHarrisburg television market as the flagship station of the locally based Tri-State Christian Television (TCT) network. WTCT's transmitter is located near Goreville, Illinois. The national feed of TCT via WTCT is available on DirecTV channel 377.

History

The station signed on the air in August 1981 as independent station WDDD-TV. In 1984, its call letters were changed to WTCT. The station carried business news programming from the Financial News Network after the late movie each weeknight before sign-off until 1985. It became a TBN station in 1986 along with a few independent stations that switched to the religious network during that year. In 2007, the TCT network permanently dropped all TBN programming.

Technical information

Subchannels

The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of WTCT[2]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
27.1 1080i 16:9 WTCT HD TCT
27.2 480i SBN Sonlife
27.3 BizTV Biz TV
27.4 LAFF Laff
27.5 StartTV Start TV
27.6 StoryTV Story Television
27.7 Quest Quest
27.8 BuzzrTV Buzzr
27.9 OANPLUS One America Plus
27.10 ShopLC Shop LC

Analog-to-digital conversion

WTCT shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 27, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 17,[3] using virtual channel 27.

Former translators

WTCT previously broadcast on low-power translators W54AE (channel 54) in Paducah, Kentucky, KCGI-CA (channel 45) in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and K54CA (channel 54) in Sikeston, Missouri; these translators ceased operation around 2010.

Notes

  1. ^ The Broadcasting and Cable Yearbook says August 16, while the Television and Cable Factbook says August 24.

References