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WCLF
Clearwater–Tampa–St. Petersburg, Florida; United States;
City	Clearwater, Florida
Channels	Digital: 21 (UHF); Virtual: 22;
Branding	CTN West Central Florida
Programming
Affiliations	22.1: CTN; for others, see § Subchannels;
Ownership
Owner	Christian Television Network; (Christian Television Corporation, Inc.);
History
First air date	October 24, 1979 (45 years ago)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 22 (UHF, 1979–2009)
Call sign meaning	"Where Christ's Love Flows" or "Clearwater, Florida"
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	11125
ERP	1,000 kW
HAAT	409 m (1,342 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	27°49′10″N 82°15′39″W / 27.81944°N 82.26083°W
Links
Public license information	Public file; LMS;
Website	ctnonline.com/affiliate/wclf/

WCLF (channel 22) is a religious television station licensed to Clearwater, Florida, United States, serving the Tampa Bay area. It serves as the flagship station of the nationwide Christian Television Network (CTN), which has owned-and-operated and affiliated stations throughout the Southeastern and Midwestern United States. WCLF's studios are co-located with CTN's headquarters on 142nd Avenue in nearby Largo (with a Clearwater mailing address), and its transmitter is located near Riverview.

History

In August 1977, Bob D'Andrea, a local electric contractor and born again Christian, applied for a construction permit to build a television station on Tampa's then-unused channel 28.^[2] The station would operate on a non-profit basis and telecast Christian programming.^[3] However, a month later, a second group, Family Television Corporation, also applied for the channel—the application that would eventually result in WFTS-TV five years later.^[4] With increased interest in channel 28, D'Andrea's reformed group, the Christian Television Corporation, amended its application for channel 22 at Clearwater and was granted a construction permit in February 1979.^[5] In the meantime, the station began programming prime time hours on WKID-TV in Fort Lauderdale;^[6] after the permit award, interim offices were set up at D'Andrea's electrical company in Largo.^[7] Construction also began on the transmitter facility, a site shared with WTSP-TV.^[8]

WCLF began broadcasting on October 24, 1979, from temporary quarters while studios on land donated by local Christian college Florida Beacon College were being completed. In addition to presenting programs from other Christian ministries and broadcasters nationally, such as The PTL Club and The 700 Club, WCLF announced local programs such as Horizons 22, a feature program, and Joy Junction, a children's show.^[9] Horizons 22 was originally co-hosted by Bob Wells and his wife Barbara; Bob also served as program director, relocating from Cleveland after stints as weatherman and comedy personality for WJW-TV and general manager of radio station WSUM there.^[9]^[10] Construction of the Beacon College studios continued into 1980,^[11] and issues with fire codes led to lawsuits by the city of Largo and Pinellas County.^[12] One of the station's board members, John Wesley Fletcher, resigned in 1981 after being disfellowshipped by the Assemblies of God; he later played a role in the PTL financial scandal.^[13]^[14]

Technical information

Subchannels

The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of WCLF^[15]
Channel	Res.	Aspect	Short name	Programming
22.1	1080i	16:9	WCLF TV	CTN
22.2	480i	4:3	CTNi	CTNi (Spanish)
22.3			CTN	CTN national feed
22.4			Lifesty	LifeStyle Family TV

Analog-to-digital conversion

WCLF shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 22, on February 17, 2009, to conclude the federally mandated transition from analog to digital television.^[16] The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 21, using virtual channel 22.^[17]

References

^ "Facility Technical Data for WCLF". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
^ Benbow, Charles (August 6, 1977). "Authorization sought for 2 new TV channels". St. Petersburg Times. p. 5B. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Brown, Ben (July 16, 1977). "Local Experiment Produces Fast-Paced Children's Show". The Tampa Tribune. p. 1-D. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Hall, John (September 14, 1977). "Second Christian group seeks Channel 28". St. Petersburg Times. p. 9B. Archived from the original on December 29, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Christian corporation receives approval for television station". The Tampa Times. February 9, 1979. p. 16. Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Christian TV to begin programing". St. Petersburg Times. July 29, 1978. p. 10-D. Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Kirby, Sharon (February 25, 1979). "Executive works on a modern way to present a timeless message". St. Petersburg Times. p. Citrus-Hernando 11. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Perry, Linda (July 21, 1979). "Clearwater Christian TV station to begin broadcasting this fall". St. Petersburg Times. p. Pasco 6. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b Pugh, Jeanne (October 27, 1979). "Nation's newest Christian TV station begins operations". St. Petersburg Times. p. Crossroads 1, 4, 5. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Hoolihan is heading to Dixie". The Plain Dealer. May 24, 1979. p. 9-C. Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
^ Pugh, Jeanne (February 2, 1980). "Miss America feels title represents call to ministry". St. Petersburg Times. p. 5B. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Dahl, David (June 25, 1983). "Channel 22 passes fire inspection but violates county building code". St. Petersburg Times. p. Largo-Seminole 3. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Pugh, Jeanne (March 28, 1987). "Evangelical infighting leaves people asking, 'What is Christian love?'". St. Petersburg Times. p. 2E. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Halldin, Bill (April 11, 1987). "Bakker scandal didn't hurt telethon". The Tampa Tribune. p. 7-Polk. Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "RabbitEars TV Query for WCLF". RabbitEars. Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. May 23, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
^ Mullins, Richard (February 18, 2009). "If You Miss The TV Signal, Think Inside The Box". The Tampa Tribune. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved January 30, 2020.