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WPXQ-TV (channel 69) is a television station licensed to Newport, Rhode Island, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network to the Providence area. Owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company, it shares transmitter facilities with former sister station WLWC (channel 28) on Champlin Hill near Ashaway.
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2014) |
| City | Newport, Rhode Island[a] |
|---|---|
| Channels | |
| Branding | Ion Television |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
|
| Ownership | |
| Owner | |
| History | |
First air date | April 2, 1992 |
Former call signs | WOST-TV (1992–1998) |
Former channel number(s) | Analog: 69 (UHF, 1992–2009) |
| |
Call sign meaning | "Pax" |
| Technical information[3] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 50063 |
| ERP | 1,000 kW |
| HAAT | 228 m (748 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 41°29′41.7″N 71°47′4.7″W |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | iontelevision |
Despite originally being licensed to Block Island, Rhode Island, WPXQ was never carried by former cable operator Block Island Cable TV.[b]
The FCC was persuaded to allocate channel 69 (WPXQ's original analog frequency) to Block Island by Ted Robinson, an island resident, who claimed during the allocation filing process in 1984–85 that an independent TV station providing niche programming from there would serve the public interest better. Robinson subsequently ran into local opposition to tower siting, and sold out his interest to Ray Yorke, who obtained the initial construction permit. The station began broadcasting a few hours of old movies daily in 1992 using the callsign WOST-TV (meaning Ocean State Television, the original owners). By 1996, the station was owned by Paxson Communications, which had implemented their infomercials (via their inTV network) and religious programming. The station became WPXQ in 1998, and in August of that year began to run programming from the Pax TV network (later i: Independent Television; now Ion Television).
Subchannels
On November 16, 2024, Scripps News ceased over-the-air operations and converted to a free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) service; as a result, WPXQ-TV replaced the network on its third subchannel with the Western-oriented diginet Grit.
Analog-to-digital conversion
WPXQ-TV ended regular programming on its analog signal, over UHF channel 69, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 17,[5] using virtual channel 69.
- Originally licensed to Block Island, Rhode Island; moved to Newport in 2018.[1][2]
- This cable company ceased operations on October 31, 2006. Since then, there has been no cable television service on the island.
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