KWMS-LP (channel 18) was a

low-power television station Low-power broadcasting is broadcasting by a broadcast station at a low transmitter power output to a smaller service area than "full power" stations within the same region. It is often distinguished from "micropower broadcasting" (more commonly ...

licensed to

West Monroe, Louisiana West Monroe is a city in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is situated on the Ouachita River, across from the neighboring city of Monroe. The two cities are often referred to as the Twin Cities of northeast Louisiana. Its populat ...

, United States. The station was owned by the Sonrise Communications subsidiary of the First Baptist Church of West Monroe, and was most recently affiliated with the digital multicast network

Heroes & Icons Heroes & Icons (H&I) is an American digital broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Usually carried on the digital subchannels of its affiliated television station in most markets, the network airs classic television series fr ...

. KWMS-LP's studios and transmitter were located on Pine Street in downtown West Monroe.

History

The station was founded in 2001 as an

independent station An independent station is an independent radio or terrestrial television station which is independent in some way from broadcast networks. The definition of "independence" varies from country to country, reflecting governmental regulations, market ...

operated by First Baptist Church in West Monroe. Its original

call letters In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assign ...

were K17FV, but it received the requested KWMS-LP call sign in May 2002. The station's flagship programs were live services from First Baptist Church and sporting events from

West Monroe High School West Monroe High School is a high school in West Monroe, Louisiana, United States. It is administered by the Ouachita Parish School Board. WMHS is fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The school's mascot is The Re ...

. It also aired a local program called ''Girlfriends'' produced by On Fire Ministries. In 2011, KWMS-LP affiliated with RTV, serving as Monroe's affiliate. KWMS-LP affiliated with

MeTV MeTV, an acronym for Memorable Entertainment Television, is an American broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Marketed as "The Definitive Destination for Classic TV", the network airs a variety of classic television program ...

on April 1, 2013, replacing RTV. In 2015, KWMS-LP lost MeTV to

KMLU KMLU (channel 11) is a television station licensed to Columbia, Louisiana, United States, serving the Monroe, Louisiana–El Dorado, Arkansas market as an affiliate of MeTV. Owned by Legacy Broadcasting, the station maintains studios and transmi ...

and subsequently affiliated with H&I. While sister station KMCT was broadcasting on low power, it temporarily broadcast the Voice Network on channel 18.2 until that station returned to full power. According to the station's official website, it attained cable carriage on every cable system in

Ouachita Parish Ouachita Parish ( French: ''Paroisse d'Ouachita'') is located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 160,368. The parish seat is Monroe. The parish was formed in 1807. Ouachita Parish ...

, as well as Bastrop. On August 6, 2017, KWMS-LP ceased broadcasting operations. The station's license was canceled by the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisd ...

(FCC) on September 4, 2020.

References

Low-power television stations in the United States WMS-LP Television channels and stations established in 2001 2001 establishments in Louisiana Television channels and stations disestablished in 2020 2020 disestablishments in Louisiana Defunct television stations in the United States Defunct mass media in Louisiana {{Louisiana-tv-station-stub