WLFG

WLFG
CityGrundy, Virginia
Channels
BrandingLFTV: Living Faith Television
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
OwnerLiving Faith Ministries, Inc.
(sale to Gray Media pending)
History
First air date
January 2, 1995 (1995-01-02)
Former channel numbers
  • Analog: 68 (UHF, 1995–2007)
  • Digital: 49 (UHF, 2003–2019)
Call sign meaning
Living Faith Grundy
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
37808
ERP
  • DTS1: 479 kW
  • DTS2: 0.1 kW
HAAT
  • DTS1: 662 m (2,172 ft)
  • DTS2: 482 m (1,581 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
Links
Public license information
Websitelivingfaithtv.com

WLFG (channel 68) is a religious independent station licensed to Grundy, Virginia, United States, serving the Tri-Cities area of southwestern Virginia and northeastern Tennessee. The station is owned by Abingdon, Virginia–based Living Faith Television. WLFG broadcasts from a two-site distributed transmission system, with transmitters near Hansonville, Virginia, and Harlan, Kentucky.

The station's programming is relayed on three satellite stations: WAGV (channel 68) in Harlan (which shares transmitter facilities with WLFG), WLFB (channel 40) in Bluefield, West Virginia (with transmitter atop East River Mountain, south of Bluefield, Virginia), and low-power WEZK-LD (channel 28) in Knoxville, Tennessee. WAGV was the first to broadcast exclusively in digital following a malfunction at its analog transmitter.

History

Living Faith Television was founded by The Reverend Buford Smith who stated that God had given him a vision to build a TV station in Virginia.[citation needed] The station grew from the original station in Grundy to include the other two transmitters.

Rev. Smith was pastor of Tookland Pentecostal Church in Grundy until his death in May 2003. His son, Michael Smith, was president of the station until Buford Smith's death, when he became president and CEO of Living Faith Television.

Tookland Pentecostal Church was a major financier when the station was founded; it broke most of its ties with the station after it declared its independence in 2006.

Living Faith Television is now under the control of its board of directors, with Mike Smith as president and CEO and wife Lisa Smith as CFO. Other personalities are Mary Smith (wife of the late Buford Smith), Laverne Tripp and Fred Schmidt, among others.

On October 7, 2026, Living Faith Ministries filed a sale of WLFG and its satellite stations to Gray Media for $2.25 million. Gray owns WVLT-TV (channel 8) and WBXX-TV (channel 20) in the Knoxville market and WVVA-TV (channel 6) in the Bluefield market.

Programming

The station's programming consists mostly of content by other ministries that purchase air time, along with some infomercials. Original programming is spread throughout the broadcast day by the flagship program Living Faith Now! (formerly From These Hills), along with Sing Time, Fred Schmidt, and Life Begins at Calvary, a program produced by Calvary Church of the Tri-Cities, and other programs.

Technical information

The stations' signals are multiplexed:

WLFG/WAGV subchannels

Subchannels of WLFG and WAGV
Subchannel Res. Short name Programming
68.1 480iWLFG-DTMain programming
68.2 ShopLCShop LC
68.3 IONIon
68.4 JTVJewelry TV
68.5 OutlawOutlaw
68.6 BuzzrBuzzr
68.7 DefyDefy
68.8 QuestQuest
68.9 MovieSpMovieSphere Gold (4:3)
68.11 GetTvGreat

WLFB subchannels

Subchannels of WLFB
Subchannel Res. Short name Programming
40.1 480iWLFB-DTMain WLFB programming
40.2 720pIONplusShop LC
40.3 480iIonMovieSphere Gold
40.4 MysteryIon Mystery
40.5 GritGrit
40.6 LaffLaff
40.7 BounceBounce TV
40.10 JTVJewelry TV
40.12 BuzzrBuzzr

WEZK-LD subchannels

Subchannels of WEZK-LD
Subchannel Res. Short name Programming
28.1 480iWEZK-DTMain WEZK-LD programming
28.2 MovieSpMovieSphere Gold
28.4 Ace-TVACE TV
28.6 MoviesMovies!
28.8 CatchyCatchy Comedy
28.11 SBNSonlife
28.12 QVCIIQVC2

Analog-to-digital conversion

WLFG shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 68, in May 2007. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 49, using virtual channel 68.

Satellite stations

Station City of license Channels
(RF / VC)		 First air date ERP HAAT Facility ID Transmitter coordinates Public license information
WAGV Harlan, Kentucky 14 (UHF)
(shared with WLFG)
68		 August 12, 1999
(on analog channel 44)		 DTS1: 479 kW
DTS2: 0.1 kW		 DTS1: 662 m (2,172 ft)
DTS2: 482 m (1,581 ft)		 37809 DTS1:
36°49′47.3″N 82°4′44.4″W / 36.829806°N 82.079000°W / 36.829806; -82.079000
DTS2:
36°48′0.3″N 83°22′35.6″W / 36.800083°N 83.376556°W / 36.800083; -83.376556		 Public file
LMS
WEZK-LD Knoxville, Tennessee 16 (UHF)
28		 March 15, 1990 15 kW 348.3 m (1,143 ft) 61017 36°0′36″N 83°55′57″W / 36.01000°N 83.93250°W / 36.01000; -83.93250 (WEZK-LD) LMS
WLFB Bluefield, West Virginia 25 (UHF)
40		 November 2, 2000 734 kW 399 m (1,309 ft) 37806 37°13′12.3″N 81°15′19″W / 37.220083°N 81.25528°W / 37.220083; -81.25528 (WLFB) Public file
LMS

References

  1. 1 2 "Assignment of Authorization". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. October 7, 2026. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WLFG". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ↑ "FCC Form 387, Exhibit 3: Updated DTV Status Report". FCC Database. February 9, 2009. Retrieved March 12, 2009.
  4. ↑ "RabbitEars TV Query for WLFG". RabbitEars. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  5. ↑ "RabbitEars TV Query for WLFG". RabbitEars. Retrieved October 8, 2026.
  6. ↑ "RabbitEars TV Query for WEZK". RabbitEars. Retrieved October 8, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Public Attachmatch" (PDF).
  8. ↑ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Retrieved March 24, 2012.