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{{short description|Religious TV station in Hickory, North Carolina}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign               = WWJS
| city                   = Hickory, North Carolina
| logo                   = 
| logo_size              = 200px
| branding               = 
| digital                = 14 ([[UHF]])
| virtual                = 14
| translators            =
| affiliations           = {{ubl|'''14.1:''' [[Sonlife]]|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| owner                  = [[Jimmy Swaggart|Family Worship Center Church, Inc.]]{{r|whkysold}}
| licensee               = 
| location               = [[Hickory, North Carolina|Hickory]]–[[Charlotte, North Carolina]]
| country                = United States
| airdate                = {{start date and age|1968|2|14|p=y}}
| last_airdate           = 
| callsign_meaning       = [[Jimmy Swaggart]]
| sister_stations        = 
| former_callsigns       = WHKY-TV (1968–2023)
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 14 (UHF, 1968–2009)|'''Digital:''' 40 (UHF, until 2019)}}
| former_affiliations    = [[Independent station|Independent]] (1968–2023)
| erp                    = {{ubl|'''[[distributed transmission system|DTS]]1:''' 1,000 kW|'''DTS2:''' 260 kW}}
| haat                   = {{ubl|'''DTS1:''' {{convert|256|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}|'''DTS2:''' {{convert|161|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}}}
| facility_id            = 65919
| coordinates            = {{ubl|'''DTS1:''' {{coord|35|39|28.4|N|81|24|23.3|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}|'''DTS2:''' {{coord|35|17|15|N|80|41|44|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}}}
| licensing_authority    = [[FCC]]
| website                =  
}}

'''WWJS''' (channel 14) is a [[religious broadcasting|religious]] [[television station]] licensed to [[Hickory, North Carolina]], United States, [[owned and operated]] by the [[Sonlife Broadcasting Network]]. It serves the northwestern corner of the [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]] [[media market]], a region locally referred to as "[[The Unifour]]". WWJS' primary transmitter is located on Bakers Mountain in southwestern [[Catawba County]], with a secondary transmitter in the [[unincorporated area#United States|unincorporated area]] of [[Newell, North Carolina|Newell]] in northeastern [[Mecklenburg County, North Carolina|Mecklenburg County]] (just northeast of the Charlotte city limits).

==History==
The station first signed on the air on [[Valentine's Day|February 14]], 1968, as WHKY-TV, a [[sister station]] to [[WHKY (AM)|WHKY radio]] (1290 AM), owned by Long Communications of Hickory. During the 1980s, WHKY-TV aired [[Major League Baseball]] games from the [[Cincinnati Reds]]; it also had a secondary affiliation with [[NBC]], carrying some programs that were preempted by the Charlotte market's primary NBC affiliate, WPCQ-TV (channel 36, now [[WCNC-TV]]).<ref>''The Charlotte Observer TV Week'', December 18, 1983.</ref>

For most of its first quarter-century on the air, WHKY-TV primarily targeted the Unifour. In 2002, WHKY-TV installed two new antennas: one for its digital signal and one which replaced its older analog antenna. The latter antenna's installation helped to increase WHKY-TV's analog signal coverage into the far northern corner of [[Mecklenburg County, North Carolina|Mecklenburg County]]. As a result, the station was granted a [[must-carry]] claim, allowing it to be added to [[Time Warner Cable]]'s systems in the Charlotte area; the station also began identifying as "Hickory–Charlotte" in its on-air [[Station identification|legal identifications]].

In 2004, WHKY-TV boosted its analog transmitter's power to 2 million [[watt]]s. In June 2006, the station began to be carried on [[Dish Network]] and [[DirecTV]]'s Charlotte area local station lineups, expanding its reach to cover two million people in North and [[South Carolina]]. The station's digital transmitter was relocated to Bakers Mountain in the fall of 2011, with its [[effective radiated power]] increasing to 950,000 watts (equivalent to 4.75 million watts in analog); the station also launched a [[Broadcast relay station#Translator stations|fill-in translator]], whose transmitter is located just north of Charlotte (near the [[Charlotte Motor Speedway]]).

On February 15, 2023, it was announced that WHKY-TV would be sold to [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana]]–based Family Worship Center Church, led by pastor [[Jimmy Swaggart]], for $12 million.<ref name="whkysold">{{cite web|url=https://whky.com/whky-tv-station-to-be-sold-to-louisiana-ministry/|title=WHKY TV Station to be Sold to Louisiana Ministry|website=WHKY.com|date=February 15, 2023|accessdate=February 15, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/views/public/assignmentDraftCopy.html?displayType=html&appKey=25076f91863891c301864b86ccd906fa&id=25076f91863891c301864b86ccd906fa&goBack=N|title=Assignments|work=Licensing and Management System|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|date=February 15, 2023|accessdate=February 16, 2023}}</ref> The sale was completed on April 25;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/views/public/consummationDraftCopy?displayType=html&appKey=25076ff3877098c1018790fda6e71407&id=25076ff3877098c1018790fda6e71407&goBack=N|title=Notification of Consummation|work=Licensing and Management System|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|date=April 25, 2023|accessdate=April 25, 2023}}</ref> the station changed its [[call signs in North America|call sign]] to WWJS on June 7, 2023.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/public/tv/draftCopy.html?displayType=html&appKey=25076f9187967fba01879f9170d40516&id=25076f9187967fba01879f9170d40516&goBack=N|title=Form 380 - Transfer/Assignment Request|work=Licensing and Management System|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|date=April 25, 2023|accessdate=April 25, 2023}}</ref> Long Communications retained WHKY radio and its FM translator, as well as the WHKY call sign.

The deal resulted in main-channel coverage of Swaggart's Sonlife Broadcasting Network throughout the Charlotte market, which is a hub of major televangelism organizations, including Swaggart's longtime rivals, the [[Billy Graham]] [[Billy Graham Evangelistic Association|Evangelistic Association]] and [[Jim Bakker]]'s [[PTL Satellite Network|PTL]], now [[INSP (TV network)|INSP]]; it was previously carried as a subchannel of both [[WJZY]] and [[WMYT-TV]] before their 2020 sale to [[Nexstar Media Group]].

==Programming==
Prior to the sale to Sonlife, WHKY-TV's schedule consisted primarily of locally-produced [[religious broadcasting|religious]] and entertainment shows, as well as [[paid programming]]. In addition, a weekday local newscast aired twice a day at 5:30 and 10&nbsp;p.m. and was known for its rundown of crime news and wanted fugitive notices within Hickory and [[Catawba County]]. The station featured only one [[broadcast syndication|syndicated]] show, [[MGM Television]]'s ''[[Personal Injury Court]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=WHKY TV Charlotte Main Channel Program Schedule June 2022 |url=https://whky.com/mediakit/WHKY%20TV%20Program%20Schedule.pdf |website=WHKY.com |access-date=May 4, 2022}}</ref>

==Technical information==
===Subchannels===
The station's signal is [[Multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]]:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannels of WWJS<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WWJS#station |title=RabbitEars TV Query for WWJS|website=[[RabbitEars.info]]|accessdate=June 9, 2024}}</ref>
! scope = "col" | [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! scope = "col" | [[Display resolution|Res.]]
! scope = "col" | [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! scope = "col" | Short name
! scope = "col" | Programming
|-
! scope = "row" | 14.1 
| [[720p]] || rowspan=7| [[16:9]] || WWJSTV || [[Sonlife]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 14.2 
| rowspan=6| [[480i]] || WHKY || [[Newsmax TV|Newsmax2]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 14.3 
| Comet || [[Comet (TV network)|Comet]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 14.4 
| SCRIPPS || [[Scripps News]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 14.5 
| Defy || [[Ion Plus]]<ref name="ionplus">{{Cite web|url=https://thedesk.net/news/scripps-ion-plus-broadcast-tv/|title=Scripps replacing Defy TV with Ion Plus on broadcast TV|first=Matthew|last=Keys|website=TheDesk.net|date=June 28, 2024|accessdate=June 28, 2024}}</ref>
|-
! scope = "row" | 14.6 
| RevFt || [[Infomercial]]s
|-
! scope = "row" | 14.7 
| TBD. || [[TBD (TV network)|TBD]]
|}

Previously, the second and fourth [[digital subchannel]]s have been affiliated with [[Jewelry Television]], which is shown at various times on the main channel. The network was used as a placeholder until the additions of RTV and [[My Family TV]] on those respective subchannels. On September 28, 2012, My Family TV was replaced with [[PBJ (TV network)|PBJ]]. In November 2012, WHKY-TV began transmitting its main channel in 720p [[high-definition television|high definition]], and in 2014 the main channel began airing Jewelry Television in HD for portions of the day. On March 1, 2014, PBJ was replaced on digital subchannel 14.4 by Heartland (which originated as the broadcast incarnation of [[The Nashville Network]] in 2012). On July 1, 2014, This TV was added to the second subchannel, making WHKY the fourth station in the Charlotte market to carry it. On that same date, Retro TV was moved to the third subchannel, replacing [[Tuff TV]]. On January 5, 2021, SonLife began broadcast on subchannel 14.7, while Charge! was replaced by [[TBD (TV network)|TBD]]. On July 1, 2021, Jewelry Television and Shop LC on 14.5 and 14.6 respectively were replaced with Defy TV and TrueReal.

===Analog-to-digital conversion===
WWJS (as WHKY-TV) shut down its analog signal, over [[UHF]] channel 14, on [[Valentine's Day|February 14]], 2009, three days before the original date on which full-power television stations in the United States were to [[Digital television transition in the United States|transition from analog to digital broadcasts]] under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 40,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds |format=PDF |access-date=March 24, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hlGcM0ZxYV5dDtZR_9xfCPZnkFaAD96DJNK01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221012349/http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hlGcM0ZxYV5dDtZR_9xfCPZnkFaAD96DJNK01|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 21, 2009|title=Hundreds of television stations cut analog signals|first=Peter|last=Svensson|website=Google News|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=February 17, 2009}}</ref> using [[virtual channel]] 14.

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Charlotte TV}}
{{North Carolina TV}}
{{South Carolina TV}}
{{Charlotte, North Carolina}}

[[Category:1968 establishments in North Carolina]]
[[Category:Comet (TV network) affiliates]]
[[Category:Ion Plus affiliates]]
[[Category:Hickory, North Carolina]]
[[Category:Religious television stations in the United States]]
[[Category:Scripps News affiliates]]
[[Category:TBD (TV network) affiliates]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1968]]
[[Category:Television stations in Charlotte, North Carolina|WJS]]