WBGR-LD
Television station in Bangor–Dedham, Maine
title: "WBGR-LD" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["metv-affiliates", "television-stations-in-bangor,-maine", "television-channels-and-stations-established-in-1995", "1995-establishments-in-maine", "low-power-television-stations-in-maine", "heroes-&-icons-affiliates"] description: "Television station in Bangor–Dedham, Maine" topic_path: "arts/film" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WBGR-LD" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Television station in Bangor–Dedham, Maine ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox television station"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| callsign | WBGR-LD |
| logo | WBGR-LP logo.png |
| logo_size | 200px |
| image | WBGR-LP's Alternative-Me-TV Logo.png |
| image_size | 200px |
| location | Bangor–Dedham, Maine |
| country | United States |
| branding | WBGR |
| digital | 18 (UHF) |
| virtual | 18 |
| affiliations | |
| owner | James McLeod |
| licensee | Maine Family Broadcasting, Inc. |
| airdate | |
| callsign_meaning | IATA airport code for Bangor International Airport |
| former_callsigns | |
| former_channel_numbers | |
| former_affiliations | |
| erp | 1 kW |
| haat | 68 m |
| class | LD |
| facility_id | 33959 |
| coordinates | |
| licensing_authority | FCC |
| :: |
| callsign = WBGR-LD | logo = WBGR-LP logo.png | logo_size = 200px | image = WBGR-LP's Alternative-Me-TV Logo.png | image_size = 200px | location = Bangor–Dedham, Maine | country = United States | branding = WBGR | analog = | digital = 18 (UHF) | virtual = 18 | subchannels = | translators = | affiliations = | owner = James McLeod | licensee = Maine Family Broadcasting, Inc. | founded = | airdate = | callsign_meaning = IATA airport code for Bangor International Airport | sister_stations = | former_callsigns = | former_channel_numbers = | former_affiliations = | erp = 1 kW | haat = 68 m | class = LD | facility_id = 33959 | coordinates = | licensing_authority = FCC | website =
WBGR-LD (channel 18) is a low-power television station licensed to both Bangor and Dedham, Maine, United States, affiliated with MeTV. The station is owned by James McLeod, and maintains studios and transmitter facilities on Ohio Street in Glenburn, Maine.
History
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/WBGR_former_logo.png" caption="Former logo of the television station"] ::
WBGR first went on the air on August 28, 1995, as Bangor's WB affiliate. It was the first commercial UHF station in the market and the first new commercial station locally built in over 30 years. In 1998, The WB created a cable-only channel for its smaller markets (known as "WBAN" in Bangor); while WBGR initially retained its WB affiliation, it also added programming from the Pax (now Ion Television) network, which launched at that time. In 1999, WBGR phased out WB programming and added more Pax programming; by this point, it was one of five over-the-air small-market WB affiliates. The change left Bangor without a WB affiliate, as Adelphia Cable did not launch "WBAN" at the time.
WBGR has aired local programming from local churches, civic organizations and high school sports at various times during its history. The station also carried late afternoon college football games from CBS, as WABI-TV (channel 5) chose to preempt football in order to air a local 6 p.m. newscast. WBGR also aired Boston Red Sox baseball games in 2002, syndicated from WFXT. Daytime programming was filled with family-oriented programming as well as religious programming from several leading Bible teachers. In 2010, Liberty University's Flames Sports Network began airing live sporting events, as well as daily convocation services.
In April 2014, WBGR-LP became an affiliate of MeTV.
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's signal is multiplexed: ::data[format=table title="Subchannels of WBGR-LD[http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WBGR-LD#station RabbitEars TV Query for WBGR-LD]"]
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming | 18.1 | 18.2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 480i | 4:3 | WBGR | MeTV | |||
| Heroes & Icons | ||||||
| :: |
The station was issued its license for digital operation on March 12, 2015. By early September 2019, WBGR-LD commenced digital operations, adding Heroes & Icons and Antenna TV programming to their second digital subchannel. By November of that year, RabbitEars.Info listed six new feeds (LD3 through LD8) for WBGR-LD, those new feeds remaining blank at first.
References
References
- (September 7, 1998). "WBGR brings new lineup to Bangor". [[Bangor Daily News]].
- (August 30, 1995). "New station takes to air". [[Bangor Daily News]].
- (November 26, 1999). "WB fans feel void in Bangor market". [[Bangor Daily News]].
- (September 20, 1999). "WBGR weaning viewers away from WB programs". [[Bangor Daily News]].
- [http://www.libertyflames.com/index.cfm?PID=10907 Flames Sports Network]
- (April 2, 2014). "Me-TV Adds Affils In Anchorage, Bangor". TVNewsCheck.
- [http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WBGR-LD#station RabbitEars TV Query for WBGR-LD]
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::