Product Code Database
WNYJ-TV (channel 66) was an independent non-commercial television station licensed to West Milford, New Jersey, United States. The station's transmitter was located in West Orange, New Jersey. Its broadcast license was owned by the Oakland, California–based Christian broadcast ministry Family Stations, who from 1996 through 2013 operated it as WFME-TV, a religious television station.
WNYJ-TV carried programming from CNC World, an English-language news channel based in Beijing, on its main channel, 66.1. On WNYJ's digital subchannel 66.2 it aired MHz WorldView, a non-commercial television network owned by Virginia-based Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corporation. An additional subchannel carried the audio from WYMK in Mount Kisco, New York, which broadcasts the Family Radio religious network. One WNYJ subchannel had carried France 24, an English-language news channel from Paris, although that service was discontinued by the station.
In April 2017, it was announced that WNYJ had sold its spectrum in the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) incentive auction and would be going off the air. WNYJ-TV ceased operations October 25, 2017.
The use of UHF translators and repeaters that were mounted on the WTC with a northward transmission pattern allowed viewers in that zone the option of tuning in to the new, and clearer, signal.
Most of the TV stations moved their primary transmitters to the WTC's North Tower in 1975, thus leaving channel 66 at the Empire State Building as a backup.
WABC-TV ceased operating its channel 66 translator at some point in the late 1970s. Channel 66 was allocated in 1984 by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as a non-commercial educational station and was assigned to West Milford, New Jersey, northwest of New York City.
The station's schedule consisted of repeated airings of Family Bible Reading Fellowship (a video broadcast of a Family Radio Bible study program), The Joy of Music and Hymn Sing. On weekend mornings, the station carried some local public affairs programs, and several shows in Mandarin Chinese aimed at Chinese Americans. WFME-TV also broadcast a video version of Open Forum, hosted by Family Radio co-founder Harold Camping (WFME-TV's general manager); that program ended in June 2011 after Camping's prediction of the world ending proved incorrect. Initially, in 1996, WFME-TV carried the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod-produced drama series This is the Life, local Baptist and Christian Reformed church services and a few national televangelists. In 2002, after Camping declared that "the church age is over" and that Christians should no longer participate in organized churches, these outside ministries disappeared. This is the Life was dropped in 2007.
Since then, WNYJ-TV has changed programming on its station. On February 1, 2014, WNYJ began carrying Blue Ocean Network from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. and then aired MHz Worldview programming from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m. On May 1, 2014, programming was changed again with MHz Worldview programming changed to France 24 in the nighttime hours. MHz Worldview programming was moved to the third subchannel while France 24 was added full-time to the second subchannel. In mid-September 2014, Blue Ocean Network programming was dropped and France 24 went full-time, with the second subchannel reserved for future programming. On December 1, 2014, programming was changed again with CNC World programming placed on the primary channel and France 24 programming moved back to the second sub-channel. In 2015, France 24 programming was discontinued, leaving CNC World on channel 66.1, MHz Worldview on channel 66.2 and audio from WFME-FM on another subchannel.
In the FCC's incentive auction, WNYJ-TV elected to sell its spectrum and go off the air; it sold its spectrum for $120,974,061 and indicated that it would not enter into any channel sharing agreements. WNYJ-TV ceased operations October 25, 2017; the station's license was cancelled the next day at Family Stations' request. CNC World was later moved to WZME on subchannel .2 until 2019 while MHz Worldview would not have an affiliate in the New York metropolitan area until November 2018 when WNDT-CD and WMBQ-CD (both owned by WNET) returned on the air as an MHz Worldview affiliate.
| +Subchannels of WNYJ-TV RabbitEars TV Query for WNYJ ! scope = "col" | Channel ! scope = "col" | Res. ! scope = "col" | Aspect ! scope = "col" | Short name ! scope = "col" | Programming |
|
|
