Stations "Gone to Jesus"?

[azumanga]

In television history, there were a few cases in which a secular television station flipped to a religious (especially Christian) television station. Examples include:

* WGTW ch.48 in Philadelphia, which flipped from a regular indy to TBN in 2002, after that station was sold.

* KNAT ch.23, Albuquerque, also flipped from indy to TBN, in the mid-1980s

* KTGF ch.16, Great Falls Montana -- was an NBC affiliate until 2005, when it flipped to Fox, later becoming independent. In Steptember 2009, financial problems led KTGF to be flipped to JCTV, TBN's young adult network. That station was what inspired me to start this thread, especially since this station, once a Big 3 affiliate, "fell" the farthest.

Any other examples?

[captex]

i think, not sure kxix 19 victoria,tx went from abc to a religious network and now is kvct 19 fox

[KYLEBOOK]

Channel 18 WHCT in Hartford, CT from 1972 through 1984.  The station made a gradual transition from 1972 thru 1976, from an independent to airing increasing amounts of religious programming.  By 1977, they turned over almost all programming to Dr. Gene Scott and his satellite-based rantings until 1984 when the station was put up for financial distress sale.
In 1985, it was purchased by Astroline Communications, and reverted back to secular programming.     

[mleach]

This may be a questionable pick but Woodstock, VA's WAZT may qualify here.  WAZT went on the air in 1985 as pretty much a totally religious station even though they did air commercials between the shows and they offered local news if you want to call it that since quite a bit of their "news" was church related information.

By the late 80's WAZT started adding some secular programming such as the Nickelodeon show "Double Dare" and high school sports but for the most part WAZT was still maninly religious.

In the early 90's, after some beef with TBN ( I heard many of stories about that one ), WAZT started to beef up in the secular department by offering such shows as Bonanza, Gimmie A Break, The Odd Couple, Mama's Family even Bugs Bunny cartoons while at the same time cutting back on religious shows where it had got to the point that was limited to just the 700 Club and the locally produced religious shows like "The Guiding Light with Rev. Donald Scruggs" ( Hello CBS !!! ).  When the WB and UPN began in 1995, many believed that WAZT would pick up one of those nets and I am pretty sure WAZT was giving serious thought at the time about joining one of them too.. Not only did that NOT happen but at around the same time the owner of WAZT, his wife was diagnosed with cancer ( she has since passed on ). Because of that the owner pretty much found religion again and with that so did WAZT and that continues to this day. Even though WAZT airs some secular programming like "Street Court", the station is pretty much just about all religious today.

[DToTheJ]

I believe WTXX/Hartford qualifies. A strong independent in Connecticut, it was purchased by Counterpoint Communications, and in 1993, the station aired nothing but old cartoons, hours of Home Shopping Network, and a daily mass at 10 AM (I believe Counterpoint was related to a religious organization, and part of the deal was to guarantee a mass be shown every day). Toward the end of the decade, the channel would eventually revert back to a regular commercial station once again. And I could be wrong, but I think they still run a mass every morning at 10 AM.

[DToTheJ]

Oh, and let's not forget the biggest example to date, summed up in three letters:

PAX!

[KeithE4]

I believe WTXX/Hartford qualifies. A strong independent in Connecticut, it was purchased by Counterpoint Communications, and in 1993, the station aired nothing but old cartoons, hours of Home Shopping Network, and a daily mass at 10 AM (I believe Counterpoint was related to a religious organization, and part of the deal was to guarantee a mass be shown every day). Toward the end of the decade, the channel would eventually revert back to a regular commercial station once again. And I could be wrong, but I think they still run a mass every morning at 10 AM.

Don't forget that, as WATR-TV Ch. 53, later 20, they were at first Dumont/ABC, then a secondary ABC affiliate, then NBC before becoming WTXX.  IIRC, they ran quite a bit of religious programming (not just a daily mass) early in the WTXX era.

Speaking of Hartford, I think the old WHCT Ch. 18 would qualify, starting as an ABC/Dumont affiliate as WGTH-TV, then a CBS O&O, an indie, then went religion when Dr. Gene Scott bought it, and finally back to an indie before it shut down in the early '90s.

 

[Ultimajock]

...dunno if this would qualify, but the CP for WCFL-TV/38 Chicago was held by the Chicago Federation of Labor for almost a decade; the outfit didn't get on the air until a bunch of televangelists bought it from the CFL in 1976 and changed the call sign to WCFC...

[gr8oldies]

Channel 26 in Springfield OH went the other direction, from being WTJC, a religious outlet, eventually I believe being a PAX affiliate if not O&O, now it's WBDT, the local CW affiliate for the Dayton market.

[stdjsb25]

KDTN-2 Denton, TX, PBS from the time it signed on in 1989 until 2004 when Daystar bought it out from KERA after and switched to religion.