WCKD-LP (channel 30) was a low-power television station licensed to both Bangor and Dedham, Maine, United States. Its signal originated from a

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

in East Eddington, Maine.

History

WCKD-LP went on the air April 16, 1994, as W30BF, carrying

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

programming as part of Maine Public Television Plus, the state's secondary public television network. (preview of subscription content) Cuts in federal funding led to the elimination of MPT Plus on June 30, 1996; W30BF then became a repeater of Maine Public Television's primary service until 1999, when James McLeod, owner of Pax affiliate WBGR-LP (channel 33), bought the station. McLeod was not able to put enough resources into the station, however, and in late 2000 he signed a

local marketing agreement In North American broadcasting, a local marketing agreement (LMA), or local management agreement, is a contract in which one corporation, company agrees to operate a radio station, radio or television station owned by another party. In essence, it ...

with Rockfleet Broadcasting, owner of ABC affiliate

WVII-TV WVII-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Bangor, Maine, United States, affiliated with American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The station is owned by Rockfleet Broadcasting alongside Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox affiliate WFVX-LD (channel 2 ...

(channel 7), who relaunched the station in February 2001 as WCKD-LP, a UPN affiliate that also carried

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The name originates from Fox Broadcasting Company in the United States, which in turn derives its name from Fox Fi ...

telecasts. Previously, Bangor viewers received UPN on cable via Boston's

WSBK-TV WSBK-TV (channel 38) is an independent television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations group alongside CBS outlet WBZ-TV (channel 4). The two stations share studios on Soldiers Field R ...

. WCKD's schedule also included a 10 p.m. newscast produced by WVII. WCKD-LP announced in September 2001 that it would become a full Fox affiliate that October, after WPXT in Portland (which had long been carried on Bangor cable) announced that it would switch to

The WB The WB Television Network (shortened to The WB, stylized as "THE WB", and nicknamed the "Frog Network" and/or "The Frog" for its former mascot Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network that ran from 1995 to 2006. It launched on ter ...

. However, UPN informed the station that it not only could not drop the network before the expiration of its contract in December 2005, but that WCKD-LP was not allowed to preempt UPN programming for Fox Sports' weeknight telecasts; as a result, on October 7, the same day that WPXT switched affiliations,

Adelphia Communications Adelphia Communications Corporation was an American cable television company with headquarters in Coudersport, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1952 by brothers Gus and John Rigas after the pair purchased a cable television franchise for US$300. C ...

replaced WCKD-LP with Foxnet, though the station was reinstated (with Foxnet moving to another channel) a month later. During this period, UPN programming remained available on Adelphia via WSBK, which it had continued to carry. Although WCKD-LP remained with UPN, its association with Fox Sports also continued, allowing the station to air Super Bowl XXXVI. After Rockfleet Broadcasting acquired W22BU (channel 22) from MS Communications in 2003, it changed that station's call letters to WFVX-LP and, on April 13, affiliated it with Fox. WFVX then inherited WCKD-LP's cable carriage and its syndicated and local programming (which by this time also included a morning talk show, ''So Goes the Nation'', in addition to the 10 p.m. newscast; for brief period, ''So Goes the Nation'' was simulcast on both stations), forcing the station to air Pax programming (shared with WBGR-LP) outside of UPN's programming hours. (preview of subscription content
additional link
/ref> Control of WCKD-LP reverted to James McLeod in August 2003, after WVII ended its local marketing agreement with the station; for a time afterward, WCKD-LP served as a temporary simulcast of WBGR. These moves again made WSBK-TV the default UPN affiliate on Adelphia's Bangor systems. WCKD-LP eventually became a

Jewelry Television Jewelry Television is an American television network specializing in the sale of jewelry. On-air and online, the network is mainly branded by its jtv initials in small caps, lower-case letters. It has an estimated reach of more than 80 million ...

affiliate. In 2006, the station became a TBN affiliate, even though TBN already owned a repeater (W36CK) in the market. In 2007, James McLeod sold WCKD-LP to Western Family Television. Soon afterward, the station joined one of TBN's sister networks, JCTV (which Western Family affiliates most of its stations with). JCTV rebranded as JUCE TV on January 1, 2014. WCKD-LP's license was canceled by the

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

(FCC) on August 4, 2021, due to the station not obtaining a license to convert to digital operations by the July 13 deadline.

References

{{Other New England Stations 1994 establishments in Maine 2021 disestablishments in Maine CKD-LP Religious television stations in the United States Television channels and stations disestablished in 2021 Television channels and stations established in 1994 CKD-LP