WLFT-CD
 | |
| Baker / Baton Rouge, Louisiana United States | |
|---|---|
| Branding |
WLFT 30 Baton Rouge's Christian Station MeTV Baton Rouge (DT2) |
| Channels |
Digital: 30 (UHF) Virtual: 30 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels |
30.1 MeTV (primary)/Original Local Programing Ind. (secondary)/Antenna TV (tertiary) 30.2 MeTV 30.3 HSN 30.4 Antenna TV |
| Affiliations | MeTV (2011–present) |
| Owner |
Touch Family Broadcasting (Bethany World Prayer Center, Inc.) |
| Founded | August 19, 1998 |
| First air date | August 31, 1998, (as a cable station), 2005 (over the air) |
| Call letters' meaning | We're Louisiana's Family Television |
| Former callsigns | K52CQ, WJOY, WLFT-CA |
| Former channel number(s) |
Analog: 52 (UHF, 1998–2002) 30 (UHF, 2002–2011) |
| Former affiliations |
DT1: Pax (as a cable-only channel) FamilyNet (2002–2011) DT3: Zuus Country (2012–2013) TV Scout (2013–2014) GetTV (2014-June 30, 2017) DT4: SSN (2013–2016) |
| Transmitter power | 150 kw |
| Transmitter coordinates | 30°22′50″N 91°3′16″W / 30.38056°N 91.05444°W |
| Licensing authority | FCC |
| Public license information: |
Profile CDBS |
| Website | wlft.com |
WLFT-CD is a low-power UHF television outlet, located on channel 30. It is locally owned via Touch Family Broadcasting and affiliated with MeTV. It broadcasts local sports and original local programming, from a 500-foot (150 m) tower in the greater Baton Rouge area. The tower is located on Interstate 10 near Siegen Lane across from Tinseltown.
The station originates at its studios at 13567 Plank Road in Baker, Louisiana.
We're Louisiana Family Television
History
WLFT started as Cox cable channel 4, with programming from the Pax network in 1998. It also broadcast local religious programming on cable channel 17 and over the air on channel 52, as "WLFT/2". The call sign LFT originally stood for Lifeline Family Television after Bethany's flagship program and was later extended to mean Louisiana Family Television.
In 2002, WLFT converted to all-religious programming and Pax was moved to cable channel 14 (now on 70), as a direct network feed.
In November 2002, WLFT-CA launched its new 500-foot (150 m) tower, allowing the station to increase its signal strength and reach more homes in communities like Hammond, Gonzales, New Roads and St. Francisville. In fall 2005, WLFT-CA would relocate from channel 52 (where the signal wasn't as strong) to channel 30.
In July 2011, the station converted to digital and began to carry programming from MeTV during the late-afternoon through early morning hours. During daytime hours the station broadcast religious programming. In the fall of 2011, the station launched a second HD subchannel, 30.2, which carried MeTV's entire lineup. WLFT launched a third subchannel on October 3, 2012, which carried The Country Network (present-day Zuus Country). One year later, on October 2, 2013, Zuus Country was removed in favor of TV Scout. TV Scout was removed in July 2014 in favor of GetTV, which remained on channel 30.3 until late June 2017 before being replaced with the Home Shopping Network on July 1, 2017. In August 2013, the station added the African-American centered Soul of the South Network to its fourth subchannel. On September 14, 2016, WLFT brought Antenna TV programming to Baton Rouge on channel 30.4. As of 2017, channel 30.1 primarily airs MeTV, some religious programming and infomercials scattered throughout the day, and select programs from Antenna TV during primetime. As of 2018, channel 30.1 (Cox 117) began carrying more original, local programming. September 27, 2018 channel 30.1/117 began carrying a Thursday night lined up of original shows: A Better Life, Black & White, Let's Talk About Dogs, Kel's Cars and Colorado Xtreme.
Cox cable only carries channel 30.1 in its digital cable lineup on channel 117; with the exception of Eatel carrying channel 30.2 in the suburban Baton Rouge area, the additional subchannels (including MeTV's full feed) are not available on cable.
Digital television
Digital channels
The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
| Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP Short Name | Programming[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30.1 | 4:3 | 480i | MeTV | MeTV (primary), Religious programming (secondary), Antenna TV (tertiary) |
| 30.2 | 720i | 4:3 | MeTV | MeTV (full feed) |
| 30.3 | 4:3 | 480i | HSN-TV | HSN |
| 30.4 | 480i | 4:3 | ANT-TV | Antenna TV |