Family Broadcasting Corporation, formerly known as LeSEA Broadcasting, is an American

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

television network A television broadcaster or television network is a telecommunications network for the distribution of television show, television content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations, pay television providers or ...

. Founded by Lester Sumrall in 1972, Family Broadcasting Corporation is headquartered in

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

, and broadcasts Christian and family programming. Peter Sumrall, son of Lester Sumrall, served as its president and chief executive officer from 2002 to 2015. His son, Drew Sumrall, now serves in the same position.

National channels

World Harvest Television (WHT)

World Harvest Television (WHT), on

DirecTV DirecTV, LLC is an American Multichannel television in the United States, multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital Satellite television, s ...

, focuses mostly on direct

televangelism Televangelism (from ''televangelist'', a blend of ''television'' and ''evangelist'') and occasionally termed radio evangelism or teleministry, denotes the utilization of media platforms, notably radio and television, for the marketing of relig ...

, carrying hosts such as Sid Roth, Joseph Prince,

Joyce Meyer Pauline Joyce Meyer (née Hutchison; June 4, 1943) is an American Charismatic Movement, Charismatic Christian author, speaker, and president of Joyce Meyer Ministries. Joyce and her husband, Dave, have four grown children and live outside St. L ...

, and James Robison. Program time not filled by televangelists is filled with

infomercial An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of di ...

s; WHT does air some limited entertainment programming, consisting mainly of a block with '' The Real McCoys'' and the public-domain episodes of ''

The Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor backwoods family ...

'' in the afternoons, along with non-religious E/I programs and a few syndicated programs such as '' Sports Stars of Tomorrow'' and '' Today's Homeowner with Danny Lipford'' on Saturdays, along with

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...

games. WHT is available in over 21.2 million homes across the country on

, as well as on the Sky Angel Faith Package; a video stream of the channel is available on the Internet.

Family Entertainment Television (FETV)

Family Entertainment Television (FETV), on

DirecTV Stream DirecTV Stream (formerly DirecTV Now and AT&T TV) is a premium streaming television, streaming Multichannel television in the United States, multichannel television service offered in the United States by DirecTV. The brand offers pay television ...

Dish Network DISH Network L.L.C., often referred to as DISH, an abbreviation for Digital Sky Highway, is an American provider of satellite television and IPTV services and wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation. The company was originally establ ...

, Verizon Fios,

AT&T U-Verse U-verse TV is an internet protocol television (IPTV) service operated by DirecTV. Launched on June 26, 2006, U-verse was originally a triple play package that included broadband Internet (now AT&T Internet or AT&T Fiber), IP telephone (now AT& ...

Frndly TV Frndly TV is an American streaming television service that offers live TV, on demand video and cloud-based DVR for over 40 live television networks. Frndly TV has a channel lineup with a focus on family-friendly programming, and includes U.S. n ...

, and

Sling TV Sling TV is an American streaming television service operated by Sling TV LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dish Network. Unveiled on January 5, 2015, at the Consumer Electronics Show, the virtual multichannel video programming distributor aim ...

offers viewers a mix of religious and family-friendly programming. FETV provides such programming as '' Perry Mason'', ''

The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in a ...

'', ''

Hazel Hazels are plants of the genus ''Corylus'' of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family, Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K ...

'', and '' Bewitched'' as well as a selection of televangelists in the morning time slots.

Family Movie Classics (FMC)

Family Movie Classics (FMC) is an American

cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

and

satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

television network owned by the Family Broadcasting Corporation. The network features classic movies. FMC launched on October 28, 2021 on

to 9 million subscribers. In 2022, streaming services

and

Philo Philo of Alexandria (; ; ; ), also called , was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. The only event in Philo's life that can be decisively dated is his representation of the Alexandrian J ...

added the movie service to their offerings.

FBC-owned TV stations

WHMB-TV

Originally acquired by Family Broadcasting Corporation in 1972, WHMB-TV 40 was the longest continually operated Christian television station in the United States. WHMB-TV is now affiliated with the

Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television, free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the L ...

network broadcasting Spanish-language programming to Hispanic/Latino viewers in the Indianapolis and Central Indiana viewing area, and soon to have local Spanish-language newscasts every day that will include a two-hour local morning newscast on weekdays, ''Primera Hora Indianapolis'' leading into the national morning show '' Despierta América'', with ''Edición Digital Indianapolis'' at 12:30pm after ''Noticiero Univision: Edición Digital'' and ''Noticias Univision Indianapolis'' weeknights leading into the national evening newscasts, '' Noticiero Univision'' starts to air, and for weekend evenings at 6 and 11pm. WHMB reaches the entire

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, television market.

WHME-TV

On September 10, 1977, WHME-TV 46 South Bend came onto the airwaves with mostly religious programming, as well as some family programming. Today, WHME is Family Broadcasting Corporation's headquarters, housing a number of separate divisions. WHME-TV formerly aired programming that was a blend of religious programming (local and national), local sports, and family entertainment. It is now a Univision affiliate airing Spanish-language programming to Hispanic/Latino viewers in the Michiana viewing area, and soon to have local Spanish-language newscasts every day that will include a two-hour local morning newscast on weekdays, ''Primera Hora South Bend,'' leading into the national morning show '' Despierta América'' with ''Edición Digital South Bend'' at 12:30pm after ''Noticiero Univision: Edición Digital'' and ''Noticias Univision South Bend'' weeknights leading into the national evening newscasts, '' Noticiero Univision'' starts to air, and for weekend evenings at 6 and 11pm.

KWHE

KWHE TV 14 covers the major population centers of

Hilo Hilo () is the largest settlement in and the county seat of Hawaii County, Hawaiʻi, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaiʻi, and is a census-designated place (CDP). The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. I ...

Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

, Kona, and

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, with Christian and family programming. The station is carried on Oceanic Cable channel 11 and on

Hawaiian Telcom Hawaiian Telcom, Inc., is the incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) or dominant local telephone company, serving the state of Hawaii. In 2005, Hawaiian Telcom Holdco, Inc., was formed by The Carlyle Group, following its purchase of the Hawaiian ...

channel 14.

Former television stations

KWHB

Purchased by Family Broadcasting Corporation in 1985,

KWHB KWHB (channel 47) is a religious television station in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States, owned and operated by the Christian Television Network (CTN). The station's studios are located on Yellowood Avenue in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Broken Arrow, ...

47 is the oldest Christian television station in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

. Today,

can be viewed on over 84 cable stations in

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, serving a potential audience of over 1.5 million people. The station was sold to the

Christian Television Network Christian Television Network, Inc. (CTN) is an American non-profit broadcast television network of small owned-and-operated stations (O&O) that broadcasts religious programming. It is based in Largo, Florida (with a mailing address of Clearwa ...

on February 20, 2020.

WHFT

WHFT WHFT-TV (channel 45) is a religious television station in Miami, Florida, United States, owned and operated by the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). The station's studios and broadcast transmitter, transmitter are located at the Lakeside Park ...

TV 45 Miami, Florida signed on in 1975, was acquired by LeSea in the summer of 1976, and was sold to

Trinity Broadcasting Network The Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN; legally Trinity Broadcasting of Texas, Inc.) is an international Christian-based broadcast television network and the world's largest religious television network. TBN solicits donations on its Web site, a ...

in July 1980.

WHKE

WHKE signed on in June 1988 and was owned by LeSea. The station was sold to Paxson Communications in 1995, being a temporary affiliate of the paid programming network inTV before the August 1998 launch of PAX TV, today's

Ion Television Ion Television (referred to on-air as simply Ion) is an American broadcast television network and FAST television channel owned by the Scripps Networks subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network first began broadcasting on August ...

WHNO

WHNO WHNO (channel 20) is a religious broadcasting, religious television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, owned and operated by the Christian Television Network (CTN). The station's studios are located on St. Charles Avenue in downt ...

TV 20 New Orleans signed on in October 1994. The station was sold to the

in April 2018.

WCVI-TV

WCVI-TV 23 was acquired in 2014 and is the Family Broadcasting Corporation station in the

U.S. Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and a territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located ...

. The station was sold to Lilly Broadcasting in 2020.

METV

Middle East Television was acquired from

Christian Broadcasting Network The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) is an American Christian media production and distribution organization. Founded in 1960 by Pat Robertson, it produces the long-running TV series ''The 700 Club'', co-produces the ongoing ''Superbook (198 ...

in July 2001. It is located in

Limassol Limassol, also known as Lemesos, is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the Limassol district. Limassol is the second-largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population of 195,139 and a district population o ...

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

, and broadcasts to all of

Western Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenian ...

. The station was sold to Sid Roth's Messianic Vision, Inc., in September 2016.

Radio

Shortwave

Since 1985 Family Broadcasting Corporation has operated

World Harvest Radio International World Harvest Radio International (WHRI) was a shortwave radio station in the United States, broadcasting conservative religious programming worldwide in the English language on a number of frequencies. Part of the Family Broadcasting Corporation ...

(WHRI), designed to reach the over 200 million

shortwave radio Shortwave radio is radio transmission using radio frequencies in the shortwave bands (SW). There is no official definition of the band range, but it always includes all of the High frequency, high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30& ...

receivers in the world. Family Broadcasting Corporation is the only Christian broadcaster currently operating a global network of shortwave radio transmitters. Transmitter facilities are located in

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

and in

Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...

, Oceania (T8WH). Six transmitters are in operation full-time, named the Six Angels. * Angel 1—Covers Africa, North America, Central America, South America, and Australia * Angel 2—Covers parts of North America, Europe, and parts of Asia * Angel 3—Covers Asia (T8WH) * Angel 4—Covers Australia (T8WH) * Angel 5—Covers Africa * Angel 6—Covers North and Central America In August 2020, it was announced that WHRI was selling its facilities to Allen Weiner, owner of Monticello, Maine-based shortwave station WBCQ, pending FCC approval.

FBC-owned FM radio stations

Harvest FM

Harvest 103.1 FM, or WHME (FM), began broadcasting in 1968. The radio station, which serves the South Bend, Indiana, area, features a mix of interactive talk, Bible teaching programs, and inspirational music 24 hours a day.

Pulse FM

Founded in 1996, Pulse FM WHPZ 96.9 broadcasts

contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music (CCM), also known as Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music, is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christianity, Chri ...

to the

Michiana Michiana ( ) is a region in northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan centered on the city of South Bend, Indiana. The Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County, Indiana defines Michiana as St. Joseph County and "counties that contribute at ...

market. In December 2004, Family Broadcasting Corporation purchased WDOW 92.1 FM to increase Pulse FM's listening base, and the call letters are now WHPD 92.1. For many years, the radio station hosted World Pulse Festival, a one-day Christian music festival. In 2017, Pulse FM transitioned to a new concert format named Pulse Summer Series, a series of three summer concerts in downtown

, at the Morris Performing Arts Center.

References

External links

* {{U.S. broadcast television Television networks in the United States Christian mass media in the United States Christian television stations Religious television stations in the United States