:WVBG-LD

What is now WVBG-LD has its origins in a translator station on channel 4 serving Gilboa, Prattsville, and Roxbury, operated by the Board of Cooperative Educational Services of the Third Supervisory District of Delaware, Greene, and Schoharie counties and carrying programming from WMHT in Schenectady, WCNY-TV in Syracuse, and WNDT in New York City.{{cite news|title=New York counties get 12 translators|url=http://americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1966/1966-09-12-BC.pdf|access-date=March 1, 2015|work=Broadcasting|date=September 12, 1966|page=47}} The station, which was granted its construction permit in 1966, went on the air two years later as W04AS.{{cite news|title=For the Record|url=http://americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1968/1968-08-26-BC.pdf|access-date=March 1, 2015|work=Broadcasting|date=August 26, 1968|page=73}} On February 8, 1991, the Otsego-Northern Catskills BOCES transferred the station to the WSKG Public Telecommunications Council;{{cite web|title=Application Search Details (WVBG-LD, 1)|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=154132|website=CDBS Public Access|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|access-date=March 1, 2015}} by this point, W04AS was a translator for WSKG-TV in Binghamton.

On May 17, 1996, WSKG filed an application to move W04AS to channel 25 in Albany, Schenectady, and Troy, New York, with a transmitter located on the Helderberg Escarpment.{{cite web|title=Application Search Details (WVBG-LD, 2)|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=154132|website=CDBS Public Access|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|access-date=March 1, 2015}} That July, Vision 3 Broadcasting announced that it would purchase W04AS and operate the station as the flagship of a group of three low-power television stations in the Capital District, along with W83AL (channel 83) in Andes (which would have also been acquired from WSKG and be converted into W21BU channel 21 in Hudson, Catskill, and Chatham) and W02CJ (channel 2) in Manchester, Vermont (which was acquired from Ronald and Jan Morlino, two of Vision 3's principals, and converted to W39CE channel 39 in Glens Falls, Saratoga Springs, Easton, and Hudson Falls).{{cite news|last=Pinckney|first=Barbara|title=Trio of towers to beam new regional TV station|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/1996/07/22/story2.html?page=all|access-date=March 1, 2015|newspaper=The Business Review|date=July 22, 1996}} The channel 21 signal was dropped from the network by 1997 after it was determined that its coverage area could be served with the channel 25 signal; by then, the group (which, despite each station operating on different channels, was branded simply "TV 25") also included W49BU (channel 49) in Manchester, Vermont.{{cite news|last1=Carr Smyth|first1=Julie|title=Fifth TV signal eyes large-scale debut in region|url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5870532|access-date=March 1, 2015|work=Albany Times Union|date=June 25, 1997|page=E1}} The move to channel 25 was granted a construction permit on October 2, 1997, and issued the call sign W25CF;{{cite web|title=Call Sign History|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/call_hist.pl?Facility_id=74018&Callsign=WVBG-LD|website=CDBS Public Access|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|access-date=March 1, 2015}} on November 5, Vision 3's parent company Sharp Vision completed its purchase of the station from WSKG.{{cite web|title=Application Search Details (WVBG-LD, 3)|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=240231|website=CDBS Public Access|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|access-date=March 1, 2015}} The call letters were changed to WVBG-LP on December 12, 1997.{{cite web|title=Mass Media Bureau Call Sign Actions|url=http://transition.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/Public_Notices/Call_Sign_Changes/pnmm7249.txt|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|format=TXT|date=December 19, 1997}}

Because of the delay in receiving the construction permit, channel 25 was the last of the three stations to go on the air; W39CE (later renamed WVBX-LP; now WEPT-CD channel 15 in Newburgh) signed on in December 1997,{{cite news|last=Owen|first=Rob|title='Daily' takes shot at the whole year|url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5842392|page=D6|access-date=March 1, 2015|newspaper=Albany Times-Union|date=December 9, 1997}} and W49BU (later renamed WVBK-LP; now WHNH-CD channel 2) went on in March 1998,{{cite news|last=Owen|first=Rob|title=WVBG channels make slow debut|page=D4|url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5916790|access-date=March 1, 2015|newspaper=Albany Times-Union|date=March 27, 1998}} with WVBG itself debuting on August 27, 1998.{{cite news|last=Pinckney|first=Barbara|title=Most powerful of low-power trio of TV stations goes on air|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/1998/08/31/story8.html?page=all|access-date=March 1, 2015|newspaper=The Business Review|date=August 31, 1998}} Initially an independent station,{{cite news|last=Owen|first=Rob|title=Cable systems may not carry new TV station|page=D4|url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5878103|access-date=March 1, 2015|newspaper=Albany Times-Union|date=August 14, 1997}} WVBG and its satellites became a UPN affiliate on October 5, 1998;{{cite news|last=McGuire|first=Mark|title=Channel 25 is now affiliated with UPN|page=D6|url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5886521|access-date=March 1, 2015|newspaper=Albany Times-Union|date=September 30, 1998}} it already carried the UPN Kids block, but the network's primetime programming had previously been seen in the Capital District through secondary affiliations with Fox affiliate WXXA-TV (channel 23) and Pax station WYPX (channel 55),{{cite news|last=McGuire|first=Mark|title=Pax TV, UPN form contradictory alliance|page=D1|url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5882229|access-date=March 1, 2015|newspaper=Albany Times-Union|date=September 4, 1998}} as well as cable carriage of WSBK-TV from Boston. However, from its inception, the station could not get carriage on Time Warner Cable, which chose to continue its carriage of WSBK; this was despite acquiring several sports packages, including Big East football and basketball, the Boston Red Sox (the telecasts of which were dropped following a territorial complaint by the New York Yankees),{{cite news|last=Dougherty|first=Pete|title=WVBG forced to stop showing Red Sox games|page=C2|url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5884540|access-date=March 1, 2015|newspaper=Albany Times-Union|date=September 18, 1998}} and the Boston Celtics.{{cite news|last=Dougherty|first=Pete|title=WVBG shoots airballs on two Celtics' telecasts|page=C8|url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5973849|access-date=March 1, 2015|newspaper=Albany Times-Union|date=February 19, 1999}}

WVBG-LP changed its city of license to Greenwich, New York, on April 22, 1999 (Greenwich had earlier been added as a fourth city of license after Albany, Schenectady, and Troy); this helped Vision 3 win must-carry rights in Washington County on December 3, 1999.{{cite web|last1=Johnson|first1=William H.|title=In the Matter of: Complaint of Vision 3 Broadcasting, Inc. Against Time Warner Cable Request for Carriage|url=http://transition.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Cable/Orders/1999/da992683.txt|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|access-date=March 1, 2015|format=TXT|date=December 3, 1999}}{{cite news|last=McGuire|first=Mark|title=FCC ruling helps WVBG|page=D7|url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5960636|access-date=March 1, 2015|newspaper=Albany Times-Union|date=December 4, 1999}} However, the UPN affiliation ended at the start of 2000 when cable-only "WEDG-TV" (known later as "UPN 4") signed on as a joint operation between Time Warner Cable and WXXA.{{cite news|last=McGuire|first=Mark|title=WVBG hurt by UPN deal|page=D5|url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5957674|access-date=March 1, 2015|newspaper=Albany Times-Union|date=November 17, 1999}} WVBG would then revert to being an independent station, heavily emphasizing its status as a primarily over-the-air station;{{cite news|last=Pinckney|first=Barbara|title=WVBG/TV 25 proving there is life after UPN|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2000/02/14/story8.html?page=all|access-date=March 1, 2015|newspaper=The Business Review|date=February 14, 2000}} that June, Vision 3 put WVBG and WVBX up for sale,{{cite news|last=Pinckney|first=Barbara|title=Vt. owner puts independent WVBG/TV 25 on the block|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2000/06/12/story7.html?page=all|access-date=March 1, 2015|newspaper=The Business Review|date=June 12, 2000}} and by 2001 much of the station's schedule was taken up by Resort Sports Network programming.{{cite news|last=McGuire|first=Mark|title=Westminster purebreeds pure ratings for USA|page=D1|url=http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6092351|access-date=March 1, 2015|newspaper=Albany Times-Union|date=February 14, 2001}}

On June 28, 2001,{{cite web|title=Application Search Details (WVBG-LD, 4)|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=240231|website=CDBS Public Access|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|access-date=March 1, 2015}} WVBG-LP was sold to Wireless Access, a group of telephone companies in the region, as part of plans to introduce wireless Internet service.{{cite news|last1=Pinckney|first1=Barbara|title=Low-power TV station gets construction permit for new transmitter|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2005/09/05/daily3.html|access-date=March 1, 2015|work=The Business Review|date=September 6, 2005}} However, the plan was never implemented, and by early 2003 channel 25 had gone off the air;{{cite news|title=CapitalGold Dial Guide SoundBoard|url=http://www.capitalgold.org/archives/may2003.htm|access-date=March 1, 2015|date=May 23, 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040518133250/http://www.capitalgold.org/archives/may2003.htm|archive-date=May 18, 2004 }} it returned a year later airing color bars. On September 2, 2005, WVBG was granted a construction permit to move to channel 41. The station lost its transmitter site lease on November 30, 2006, forcing the station off-the-air{{cite web|title=Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1161585&Service=TX&Form_id=910&Facility_id=74018|website=CDBS Public Access|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|access-date=March 1, 2015|date=December 4, 2006}} until getting special temporary authority to operate from a new location in Clarksville (the proposed site for the channel 41 operation) a year later.{{cite web|title=Engineering STA|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1220723&Service=TX&Form_id=911&Facility_id=74018|website=CDBS Public Access|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|access-date=March 1, 2015|date=November 19, 2007}} Broadcasting on channel 25 ended on August 10, 2008;{{cite web|title=Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1262926&Service=TX&Form_id=910&Facility_id=74018|website=CDBS Public Access|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|access-date=March 1, 2015|date=August 20, 2008}} on September 3, the station filed for a license to cover construction of the channel 41 facility.{{cite web|title=APPLICATION FOR A LOW POWER TV, TV TRANSLATOR OR TV BOOSTER STATION LICENSE|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1264433&Service=TX&Form_id=347&Facility_id=74018|website=CDBS Public Access|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|access-date=March 1, 2015|date=September 3, 2008}} On September 15, 2009, WVBG was granted a construction permit to flash cut to digital operation; this facility will change the station's city of license back to Albany and return the transmitter to the Helderberg Escarpment.{{cite web|title=APPLICATION FOR AUTHORITY TO CONSTRUCT OR MAKE CHANGES IN A LOW POWER TV, TV TRANSLATOR OR TV BOOSTER STATION|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1323581&Service=LD&Form_id=346&Facility_id=74018|website=CDBS Public Access|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|access-date=March 1, 2015|date=July 15, 2009}}{{cite web|title=DIGITAL LOW POWER TELEVISION/TELEVISION TRANSLATOR BROADCAST STATION CONSTRUCTION PERMIT|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/view_auth.pl?Application_id=1323581&File_number=BDFCDTL-20090715AIO&Callsign=WVBG-LD&Facility=74018|website=CDBS Public Access|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|access-date=March 1, 2015|format=PDF|date=September 15, 2009}} WVBG lost access to its tower in Clarksville on April 8, 2010, due to an ownership dispute involving the tower, forcing the station to suspend broadcasting;{{cite web|title=Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1363463&Service=TX&Form_id=910&Facility_id=74018|website=CDBS Public Access|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|access-date=March 1, 2015|date=April 9, 2010}} it returned to the air on April 6, 2011, from another nearby tower under special temporary authority.{{cite web|title=Engineering STA|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1419593&Service=TX&Form_id=911&Facility_id=74018|website=CDBS Public Access|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|access-date=March 1, 2015|date=March 3, 2011}}{{cite web|title=Resumption of Operations|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1423280&Form_id=910&Facility_id=74018|website=CDBS Public Access|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|access-date=March 1, 2015|date=April 7, 2011}}

The station's signal is multiplexed:

{{legend|#f2d1de|Subchannel broadcast with MPEG-4 video}}

{{reflist|2}}

{{Albany TV}}

{{Other New York Stations}}

Category:1968 establishments in New York (state)

Category:1998 establishments in New York (state)

Category:Ace TV affiliates

VBG

Category:Television channels and stations established in 1968

Category:Television channels and stations established in 1998

VBG-LD