WBXI-CD: A Low-Power Indianapolis Station With a Changing Network History

WBXI-CD is a low-power, Class A television station serving Indianapolis on channel 47. Its current programming comes from Start TV, a digital multicast network. The station is owned by CBS News and Stations, and its Indianapolis office is on North Alabama Street in downtown. Its transmitter is on Walnut Drive on the city’s northwest side.

The station’s broadcast history began in 1990, when it signed on under the call sign W47AZ. Its original affiliation was with The Box, a viewer-request music video network. In 2001, the station adopted the call letters WBXI-CA and changed affiliations, moving to MTV2 after Viacom acquired both the network and WBXI-CA.

Channel 47 later took on a temporary role connected to another Indianapolis station. For several months in 2004, it operated as a repeater for WNDY-TV, then a UPN affiliate broadcasting on channel 23. That arrangement ended after Viacom’s Television Stations Group sold WNDY-TV to LIN TV Corporation in February 2005. LIN TV also owned WISH-TV, the Indianapolis CBS affiliate at the time; WISH-TV is now a CW affiliate, according to the supplied station history.

Viacom retained WBXI-CA after selling WNDY-TV. Later in 2005, the station was spun off to CBS Corporation in December. The ownership path eventually led to its current place within CBS News and Stations, the CBS group identified as its owner in the station’s present description.

The station’s call sign also reflects its regulatory history. It originally used the W47AZ designation before becoming WBXI-CA in 2001. The “CA” suffix was later replaced by “CD,” giving the station its current WBXI-CD identification.

WBXI-CD’s story illustrates how a small Indianapolis television outlet can change roles as larger media companies reshape their station portfolios and programming networks. Its history includes music-video programming, an MTV2 affiliation, a temporary relationship with a full-power local station, and its present role as a digital multicast outlet. Although its coverage footprint is defined as low-power, the station remains tied to Indianapolis through its downtown office and northwest-side transmitter location.

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Further links listed by the Wikipedia page (not independently checked): - https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101396109&formid=401&fac_num=70416 - https://www.fcc.gov/document/suspension-sept-1-2015-digital-transition-date-lptvtranslato - https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WBXI#station - https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/public/tv/publicFacilityTechDetails.html?facilityId=70416&applicationId=25076f916e051f26016e18dba7e42d29 - https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=WBXI-CD&params=39_53_39.2_N_86_12_20.5_W_region:US-IN_type:landmark - https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/public/tv/publicFacilityTechDetails.html?facilityId=70416 Image rights Photograph description: 24 June 2021 - Indianapolis, IN - US Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh speaks to LGBTQ Community Leaders including Chris Handburg, left, Ruth Hawkins, middle, and Kendall Lockwood at Baby's restaurant in Indianapolis, Indiana. Official Department of Labor Photograph*** Photographs taken by the federal government are generally part of the public domain and may beused, copied and distributed without pe Creator: US Department of Labor. License: CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0). Original image page: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AL-21-06-24-A-001_(51268376706).jpg. The image was resized for display; no other changes were made.