WGCT-CD,

virtual channel In most telecommunications organizations, a virtual channel is a method of remapping the ''program number'' as used in H.222 Program Association Tables and Program Mapping Tables to a channel number that can be entered via digits on a receiver' ...

39 (

VHF Very high frequency (VHF) is the ITU designation for the range of radio frequency electromagnetic waves (radio waves) from 30 to 300 megahertz (MHz), with corresponding wavelengths of ten meters to one meter. Frequencies immediately below VH ...

digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Technology and computing Hardware *Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals **Digital camera, which captures and stores digital i ...

channel 8), is a low-power, Class A TCT-

affiliated Affiliation or affiliate may refer to: * Affiliate (commerce), a legal form of entity relationship used in Business Law * Affiliation (family law), a legal form of family relationship * Affiliate marketing * Affiliate network or affiliation pla ...

television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the ear ...

licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...

, United States. The station is owned by the Central Ohio Association of Christian Broadcasters, who also owns WOCB-CD (channel 25) in Marion, WXCB-CA (channel 22) in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacen ...

and WQIZ-LD (channel 33) in Ashland.

History

W08BV era (1983–1998)

In 1983, the station's

construction permit Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building per ...

was assigned 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). The station began broadcasting in 1985, under the callsign of W08BV, as the first low-powered television station in the Columbus

media market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also in ...

. In its first years on the air, it aired syndicated programming, and it also boasted an in-house sports broadcasting unit. Sports coverage on W08BV included football and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

games involving more than 30 high schools in the area, mainly in Franklin County. It also held a contract to cover

Ohio State Buckeyes women's basketball The Ohio State women's basketball team represents Ohio State University and plays its home games in the Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center, which they moved into in 1998. Prior to 1998, they played at St. John Arena. They have ...

, women's gymnastics, as well as hockey and wrestling.

WINJ-LP era (1998–2010)

It changed its calls to WINJ-LP ("We're Into Jesus") in 1998 and to its current calls in 2006. Prior to the purchase by its current owners, the station showed a variety of programs, the bulk of which were old public-domain movies, old cartoons, and religious programs, as well as children's programming created by the station. Former owner Ella Flowers (1938-2017) was featured prominently in many of the musical and religious programs.https://web.archive.org/web/20010405084555fw_/http://winj.com/gospel2000.htm

WGCT-CD era (2010–present)

The station switched to digital on June 13, 2010, and changed its call letters to WGCT-CD. It previously broadcast at 83

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

s, but has recently increased its power to 120 watts. The station is not available on any local

cable TV Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

outlets. Even with the power increase, it barely covers the city of Columbus itself.

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is

multiplexed In telecommunications and computer networking, multiplexing (sometimes contracted to muxing) is a method by which multiple analog or digital signals are combined into one signal over a shared medium. The aim is to share a scarce resource - a ...

References

External links

The Central Ohio Association Of Christian Broadcasters (COACB) site

TCT site

Buzzr site

Daystar site

Light TV site
GCT-CD Television channels and stations established in 1983 Low-power television stations in Ohio {{Ohio-tv-station-stub