WNYB

WNYB 26 is a Trinity Broadcasting network station owned by Tri State Christian Television. They run Christian programming 24 hours a day. They are located in Jamestown, New York about 35 miles south of Buffalo but serve the Buffalo market.

Actually WNYB began operation on Channel 49 Buffalo in 1987 owned by TVX which had a corporate deal to carry Fox programming. They ran a general entertainment format with cartoons, sitcoms, movies, and Fox programming. In 1988 49 WNYB was sold to Act III Broadcasting. Act III Broadcasting was famous for buying an independent station in a market and then buying the assets of a station across town, combining assets into one station and selling the other station to a non commercial outfit. They offered to buy the assets of WUTV in the fall of 1988 while Citadel would agree to sell the station to a non commercial group. Citadel refused the offer. Then in 1989 Act III offered to buy WUTV. Citadel opted to sell it to them and the sale was announced. Still Channel 49 had to be sold. Act III would sell Channel 49 WNYB to Tri State Christian TV without the programming. Channel 49's shows would mixed with WUTV's lineup and combined on WUTV.

The sale would become final June of 1990. Act III would move WNYB's programming including Fox affiliation to their newly acquired Fox 29 WUTV. 49 WNYB would be taken over by Tri State Christian and flipped to Trinity Broadcasting. The station kept the WNYB Call Letters but would run religious programs all the time.

Grant Broadcasting acquired channel 26 in Jamestown in 1995. They made a deal with Tri State Christian TV to get Channel 49 in exchange for Channel 26 and cash. Grant biult new facilities for Tri State Christian TV. In September 1996 Trinity Broadcasting moved to Channel 26 along with the WNYB call letters. Channel 49 would simply become WB 49 WNYO. They would have a general entertainment format with cartoons, sitcoms, first run talk and reality shows, first run kids and prime time programs from WB, etc.

So since 1996 Channel 26 has been known as WNYB with Trinity Broadcasting programming. So the WNYB call letters were originally for a Fox affiliate but today are for a religious station and even moved with the format to its new channel in 1996. Its ironic that similar calls are on Channel 49 as WNYO.

Between 1996 and September 1997, WUTV was a secondary affiliate of the UPN affiliate, airing programs at times available to the station rather than on the national UPN schedule. The station's present logo has been in use since late 1997. UPN would move to 67 WNGS in 1997 and in 2001 to channel 23.

WUTV does not currently air a newscast (and has not done so for many years), making Buffalo the largest television market in the US whose Fox affiliate does not offer news. WUTV heavily targets its Canadian audience in Toronto and Southern Ontario, whom the station assumes would rather watch syndicated entertainment programming, such as sitcom reruns, than Buffalo news.