View source for WRBU

{{Short description|Television station in East St. Louis, Illinois}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign = WRBU
| city = East St. Louis, Illinois
| digital = 28 ([[UHF]])
| virtual = 46
| affiliations = {{ubl|'''46.1:''' [[Ion Television]]|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| owner = [[Ion Media]]
| licensee = Ion Media License Company, [[LLC]]
| location = {{ubl|[[East St. Louis, Illinois]]|[[St. Louis]], Missouri}}
| country = United States
| founded = {{start date|1987|8|13}}
| airdate = {{Start date and age|1989|9|11|p=y}}
| callsign_meaning = {{ubl|[[Roberts Broadcasting]] (former owner)|UHF (channel position) or [[UPN]] (former affiliation)}}
| former_callsigns = WHSL (1989–2003)
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 46 (UHF, 1989–2009)|'''Digital:''' 47 (UHF, until 2020)}}
| former_affiliations = {{ubl|[[HSN]] (1989–2003)|[[UPN]] (secondary 2002–2003, primary 2003–2006)|[[MyNetworkTV]] (2006–2014)|[[NBC]] (alternate, 2006–2014)}}
| erp = 1,000 kW
| haat = {{convert|334|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id = 57221
| coordinates = {{coord|38|23|18|N|90|29|16|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}
| licensing_authority = [[FCC]]
| website = {{URL|https://iontelevision.com/}}
}}

'''WRBU''' (channel 46) is a [[television station]] licensed to [[East St. Louis, Illinois]], United States, broadcasting the [[Ion Television]] network to the [[St. Louis]], Missouri, area. [[Owned and operated]] by the [[Ion Media]] subsidiary of the [[E. W. Scripps Company]], the station has offices on Richardson Road in [[Arnold, Missouri]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ionmedia.com/business/stations/WRBU|title=WRBU Station Information|publisher=[[Ion Media Networks]]|access-date=December 6, 2019}}</ref> and its transmitter is located near [[Missouri Route 21]] and East Four Ridge Road in [[House Springs, Missouri|House Springs]].

==History==
===Early history===
The station first signed on the air on September 11, 1989, as WHSL, originally operating as a full simulcast of the Home Shopping Network ([[HSN]]). Unlike most full-time HSN affiliates of the period, it was not founded by the network's broadcasting arm, [[USA Broadcasting|Silver King Communications]]; instead, it was originally owned by St. Louis-based [[Roberts Broadcasting]], a family-owned firm owned by [[African American]] businessmen Steven, Mike and Mark Roberts.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/59930138/one-stop-shopping-channel-46-makes/|accessdate=April 3, 2021|first=John J.|last=Archibald|title=One-Stop Shopping: Channel 46 Makes Debut|page=3D|date=October 9, 1989|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch}}</ref> WHSL was the first full-power television station to sign on in the St. Louis market since [[KNLC]] (channel 24) debuted in September 1982.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/59930187/fcc-head-cuts-ribbon-on-black-owned/|accessdate=April 3, 2021|date=September 12, 1989|first=Fred W.|last=Lindecke|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|page=4B|title=FCC Head Cuts Ribbon On Black-Owned Station}}</ref>

What was a placid relationship between HSN and Roberts for the station's first seven years on air soured in 1996, when HSN sued the station for breach of contract; Roberts sought to air more infomercials and fewer hours of home shopping. The move came after HSN reduced the number of local commercial minutes per hour from 5 to 2 and after Roberts considered leasing the station's airtime to [[River City Broadcasting]] (owners of [[KDNL-TV]]) or Koplar Communications, which owned [[KPLR-TV]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Fred|last=Faust|title=Lawsuit Pits Home Shopping Vs. Infomercials: Channel 46 Bucks Big Network|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/75065037/|pages=1E, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/75065053/ 8E]|date=December 1, 1996|accessdate=April 3, 2021|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch}}</ref> A judge found in favor of HSN in the dispute.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/75065162/|accessdate=April 3, 2021|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|date=December 4, 1996|title=24-Hour Home Shopping Ordered|first=Tim|last=Bryant|page=7C}}</ref> With few exceptions, Roberts was thus locked into airing HSN's programs in an arrangement that did not expire until 2003.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/75065207/|accessdate=April 3, 2021|date=July 23, 1997|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|title=Roberts Broadcasting Loses Suit Against Home Shopping|first=Tim|last=Bryant|page=8C}}</ref>

===From HSN to UPN===
In June 2001, Roberts announced that it had signed an agreement to become an affiliate of [[UPN]], a move that would give the network its first primary affiliate in St. Louis and end the market's status as the largest U.S. city by [[media market|market size]] that did not have a full-time affiliate of the network. The deal would begin in 2003, when the HSN contract expired.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/75065436/|title=UPN finds a new spot in St. Louis on Roberts Broadcasting's WHSL|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|first=Gail|last=Pennington|date=June 9, 2001|page=Biz 2|accessdate=April 3, 2021}}</ref> Despite the fact that St. Louis was large enough to support exclusive affiliations with all six major broadcast networks that were in operation after January 1995, WHSL's commitment to HSN prevented UPN from having a stable exclusive affiliate in the market. When the network launched, it had no affiliate in St. Louis. It finally found one in KDNL-TV, by then an ABC affiliate, which aired its programming in late night time slots from August 1995 until January 1998. When KDNL-TV opted to focus on ABC programming, it was another 16 months until UPN reached an agreement with religious independent station KNLC—which ended after just a year and with KNLC refusing to clear three-fourths of UPN's shows as inconsistent with its programming philosophy. KPLR-TV took on a part-time affiliation with UPN—although delaying its prime time shows until after the station's 9&nbsp;p.m. newscast—in September 2000.<ref name=slbj-whslupn>{{cite news|title=WHSL, UPN sign long-term agreement|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2001/06/04/daily39.html|access-date=February 18, 2014|newspaper=St. Louis Business Journal|date=June 8, 2001}}</ref>

In July 2002, KPLR decided to disaffiliate from UPN and exclusively align with The WB,<ref name=slpd-kplrnoupn>{{cite news|title=Can't see TV: "Buffy," "Enterprise" will disappear locally while WHSL awaits UPN affiliation|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/75065551/|first=Gail|last=Pennington|newspaper=[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]|publisher=[[The McClatchy Company]]|via=Newspapers.com|pages=F1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/75065587/ F11]|date=July 14, 2002|access-date=February 19, 2014}}</ref> a move which would have affected fans of two of the network's most popular series of the period, ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' and ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'', forcing them to watch both shows either through UPN-affiliated [[superstation]]s offered by [[Dish Network]] or by way of [[tape trading]]. Roberts management sought to remedy this by obtaining permission from HSN to allow WHSL to preempt two hours a week of programming during prime time to carry both shows starting in September 2002.<ref name=slpd-whslbuffyent>{{cite news|title=WHSL (Channel 46) comes to the rescue of "Buffy" and "Enterprise" TV fanatics|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/75065505/|first=Gail|last=Pennington|newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|publisher=The McClatchy Company|via=Newspapers.com|date=September 15, 2002|access-date=February 18, 2014|page=G7}}</ref>

On January 17, 2003, the station changed its [[call signs in North America|call sign]] to WRBU (a partial reference to its corporate parent).<ref name=slbj-whsltowrbu>{{cite news|title=WHSL-TV becomes WRBU-TV on Friday|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2003/01/13/daily69.html|newspaper=St. Louis Business Journal|publisher=American City Business Journals|date=January 16, 2003|access-date=February 19, 2014}}</ref> The remainder of the UPN programming lineup moved to channel 46 three months later on April 1.<ref name=slpd-kplrnoupn/> On that date, WRBU replaced the HSN programming with a lineup of syndicated programs to fill out the schedule, consisting of a mix of sitcoms, drama series and first-run syndicated talk, court and reality shows.

In February 2003,<ref name=fcc-wrbuvnhalf>{{cite web|title=Application for Consent to Transfer Control of Entity Holding Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=623629&Service=TV&Form_id=315&Facility_id=57221|work=CDBS Public Access|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|date=November 12, 2002|access-date=December 9, 2013}}</ref> Roberts Broadcasting sold a 50% interest in WRBU to the [[TeleFutura]] subsidiary of [[Univision Communications]], under the [[joint venture]] licensee St. Louis/Denver LLC; under the terms of the deal, Roberts continued to operate the station through a [[local marketing agreement|time brokerage agreement]] and was given [[right of first refusal]] on appointees for the directors of WRBU's licensee. Through its involvement in the venture, Roberts in turn transferred operational responsibilities for its station in [[Denver]], KTVJ (now [[KTFD-TV]]), to Univision, which converted that station into a TeleFutura affiliate.<ref name=fcc-wrbuvnhalf/> Roberts Broadcasting would eventually acquire other television stations in the [[Midwestern]] and [[Southeastern U.S.]], signing on two UPN-affiliated stations ([[WZRB]] in [[Columbia, South Carolina]], in 2005 and [[WRBJ-TV]] in [[Jackson, Mississippi]], in 2006) and acquiring WB affiliate [[WAZE-TV]] in [[Evansville, Indiana]], from South Central Communications in 2006.

===As a MyNetworkTV affiliate===
On January 24, 2006, the respective parent companies of UPN and The WB, [[CBS Corporation]] and the [[Warner Bros. Entertainment]] division of [[WarnerMedia|Time Warner]], announced that they would dissolve the two networks to create [[The CW Television Network]], a joint venture between the two media companies that initially featured programs from its two predecessor networks as well as new series specifically produced for The CW.<ref>{{cite news|title='Gilmore Girls' meet 'Smackdown'; CW Network to combine WB, UPN in CBS-Warner venture beginning in September|url=https://money.cnn.com/2006/01/24/news/companies/cbs_warner/|first=Jessica |last=Seid|website=[[CNNMoney.com]]|publisher=[[Time Warner]]|date=January 24, 2006}}</ref><ref name="upnwbcombine">{{cite news |last=Carter |first=Bill |date=January 24, 2006 |title=UPN and WB to Combine, Forming New TV Network |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/24/business/media/24cnd-network.html?bl}}</ref> On that date, The CW also signed a ten-year affiliation agreement with [[Tribune Broadcasting]], under which sixteen of the group's eighteen WB-affiliated stations would serve as the network's charter stations. One of the stations included in the agreement was KPLR-TV, which was announced as the network's St. Louis affiliate over WRBU; although, since the network chose its affiliates based on which television station among The WB and UPN's respective affiliate bodies was the highest-rated in each market, it is likely that KPLR would have been chosen over WRBU in any event, as channel 11 had been the higher-rated of the two stations even before it became a network affiliate upon joining The WB in January 1995 and had been one of The WB's strongest affiliates for the near entirety of that network's eleven-year existence.<ref name=upnwbcombine/><ref>{{cite press release|title=Tribune TV Stations to Lead Affiliate Group of New Network|url=http://corporate.tribune.com/pressroom/?p=574|publisher=[[Tribune Company]]|date=January 24, 2006|access-date=October 10, 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121216131255/http://corporate.tribune.com/pressroom/?p=574|archive-date=December 16, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Subsequently, on February 22, 2006, [[News Corporation]] announced the launch of [[MyNetworkTV]], a network operated by [[Fox Television Stations]] and its syndication division [[Twentieth Television]] that was created to primarily to provide network programming to UPN and WB stations with which The CW decided against affiliating based on their local viewership standing in comparison to the outlet that the network ultimately chose, allowing these stations another option besides converting to independent stations.<ref>{{cite news|title=News Corp. to launch new mini-network for UPN stations|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-02-22-fox-my-network_x.htm|newspaper=[[USA Today]]|publisher=[[Gannett Company]]|date=February 22, 2006|access-date=January 21, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=News Corp. Unveils MyNetworkTV|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/news-articles/news-corp-unveils-my-network-tv/78935|periodical=Broadcasting & Cable|publisher=Cahners Business Information|date=February 22, 2006}}</ref> On March 9, in a joint announcement by the network and Roberts Broadcasting, WRBU was confirmed as the charter MyNetworkTV affiliate for St. Louis.<ref name=b&c-wrbumy>{{cite news|title=My Network TV Signs Six Affils|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/news-articles/my-network-tv-signs-six-affils/79175|first=Allison|last=Romano|periodical=[[Broadcasting & Cable]]|publisher=[[Reed Business Information]]|date=March 9, 2006|access-date=December 9, 2013}}</ref>

Channel 46 became a MyNetworkTV affiliate when that network launched on September 5, and concurrently rebranded as "My 46"; like other UPN-affiliated stations that were committed to join MyNetworkTV, WRBU ceased carrying UPN's prime time programming, resulting in the network's final two weeks of programming—which largely consisted of repeats of network shows aired during the 2005–06 television season—not being carried in St. Louis. KPLR, meanwhile, remained a WB affiliate until September 17, and officially affiliated with The CW when that network debuted the following day on September 18. As a MyNetworkTV affiliate, the station began serving as a backup [[NBC]] affiliate during occasions when [[KSDK]] (channel 5) was forced to preempt programs from that network due to commitments to air [[St. Louis Cardinals]] baseball games, the ''[[Jerry Lewis]] [[MDA Labor Day Telethon]]'' or locally produced specials,<ref>{{cite news|title=My 46 makes a brilliant sports move|url=http://www.stlamerican.com/sports/local_sports/my-makes-a-brilliant-sports-move/article_6bd8b5e0-9f50-53d8-b641-32ad60c767eb.html|periodical=St. Louis American|date=March 12, 2008|access-date=July 15, 2017}}</ref> or because of preemptions necessitated to provide [[breaking news]] or [[severe weather]] coverage. In March 2010, Roberts Broadcasting and Univision Communications filed to formally dissolve the St. Louis/Denver LLC venture, under which Roberts acquired full ownership of WRBU in exchange for selling its interest in KTFD to Univision as compensation for buying out the latter's share in WRBU.<ref name=fcc-wrbuvnhalfend>{{cite web|title=APPLICATION FOR CONSENT TO TRANSFER CONTROL OF ENTITY HOLDING BROADCAST STATION CONSTRUCTION PERMIT OR LICENSE|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1360520&Service=DT&Form_id=316&Facility_id=57221|work=CDBS Public Access|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|date=March 18, 2010|access-date=December 9, 2013}}</ref>

===Bankruptcy and sale===
By 2010, the Roberts brothers had begun facing serious financial trouble with their various businesses. The Roberts' broadcasting unit, in particular, had become the subject of lawsuits by [[Warner Bros. Television]], [[20th Television]] and [[CBS Television Distribution]] over its failure to make fee payments for syndicated programs that it acquired for its CW- and MyNetworkTV-affiliated stations (Warner Bros. and CBS would win their court disputes against Roberts, which also later reached a settlement with 20th Television); the company also was unable to fund the construction of Evansville CW affiliate WAZE-TV's digital transmitter facilities, an issue that led the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) to cancel that station's full-power license in March 2011 (WAZE continued to operate through its three analog-only low-power translators until their shutdown in January 2013).<ref>{{cite web|title=WAZE-TV translators shut down|url=http://jakesdtvblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/breaking-waze-tv-translators-shut-down.html|first=Jacob|last=Newkirk|website=Jake's DTV Blog/[[Blogspot]]|date=January 3, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131218140530/http://jakesdtvblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/breaking-waze-tv-translators-shut-down.html|archive-date=December 18, 2013|access-date=December 15, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> This culminated in Roberts Broadcasting filing for [[Chapter 11 bankruptcy]] protection on October 7, 2011. The group cited the cause of its financial downturn on the loss of the UPN affiliations on WRBU, WZRB and WRBJ-TV, on the basis that much of UPN's programming slate at the time of its shutdown consisted of shows aimed at African Americans and other minority audiences that Roberts felt were compatible with the core viewership of the stations.<ref name=b&c-robertsbankruptcy>{{cite news|title=Roberts Broadcasting Files For Bankruptcy|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/475001-Roberts_Broadcasting_Files_For_Bankruptcy.php|first=Michael|last=Malone|periodical=Broadcasting & Cable|publisher=NewBay Media|date=October 10, 2011|access-date=October 10, 2011}}</ref><ref name=c&p-robertsbankruptcy>{{cite news|title=WAZE Owner Roberts Broadcasting files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy|url=http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/oct/10/waze-owner-roberts-broadcasting-files-chapter-11-b/|first=Jacob|last=Newkirk|newspaper=[[Evansville Courier & Press]]|publisher=[[E. W. Scripps Company]]|date=October 10, 2011|access-date=October 10, 2011}}</ref>

On February 20, 2012, Roberts announced that the company was exploring the sale of one or all four of its television stations in order to raise sufficient funding to pay off its creditors;<ref>{{cite web|title=Roberts Broadcasting Mulls Sale of TV Stations|url=http://www.stltoday.com/business/columns/lisa-brown/roberts-broadcasting-mulls-sale-of-tv-stations/article_cb921586-5bfe-11e1-a475-001a4bcf6878.html|first=Lisa|last=Brown|newspaper=[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]|publisher=[[Lee Enterprises]]|date=February 20, 2012}}</ref> the company would eventually sell WRBJ to the [[Trinity Broadcasting Network]] in October 2012<ref>{{cite web|title=Roberts brothers' TV station in new hands|url=http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20121023/BIZ/310230036/Roberts-brothers-TV-station-new-hands?nclick_check=1|first=Jeff|last=Ayres|newspaper=[[The Clarion-Ledger]]|publisher=[[Gannett]]|date=October 22, 2012}}</ref><ref name=stlpd-courtapproval>{{cite news|title=Roberts Cos.' Mississippi TV station sale approved|url=http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/roberts-cos-mississippi-tv-station-sale-approved/article_c5ded9b7-ad9e-5b80-a3c5-f5985ff2ba77.html|first=Lisa|last=Brown|newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|publisher=Lee Enterprises|date=January 18, 2013|access-date=January 19, 2013}}</ref> and WZRB to [[Tri-State Christian Television]] subsidiary Radiant Light Ministries on December 2, 2013,<ref>{{cite web|title=APPLICATION FOR CONSENT TO ASSIGNMENT OF BROADCAST STATION CONSTRUCTION PERMIT OR LICENSE (WZRB)|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1599575&Service=DT&Form_id=314&Facility_id=136750|website=CDBS Public Access|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|access-date=December 4, 2013|date=December 2, 2013}}</ref> leaving WRBU as the last station that Roberts had yet to cut a divestiture deal.

On December 4, 2013, Roberts filed to sell WRBU to Tri-State Christian Television directly for $5.5 million;<ref name=fcc-saletotct>{{cite web|title=APPLICATION FOR CONSENT TO ASSIGNMENT OF BROADCAST STATION CONSTRUCTION PERMIT OR LICENSE|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1605318&Service=DT&Form_id=314&Facility_id=57221|work=CDBS Public Access|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|access-date=December 9, 2013|date=December 4, 2013}}</ref> however, on December 11, a [[U.S. Bankruptcy Court]] hearing gave initial approval for a plan by Roberts' creditors to instead transfer WRBU and its sister stations, WZRB and former WAZE-TV translator WAZE-LP, to a trust overseen by Gary Chapman with Ion Media Networks—a creditor in Roberts' bankruptcy proceedings—as its beneficiary. The attorney representing Roberts subsequently stated that Ion Media would purchase the three stations outright. The FCC approved the deal on February 2, 2014.<ref name=slbj-robertsion>{{cite news|title=Judge approves creditors' proposal the network's in Roberts Broadcasting bankruptcy|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog/2013/12/judge-approves-creditors-proposal-in.html?page=all|first=Angela|last=Mueller|newspaper=St. Louis Business Journal|publisher=[[American City Business Journals]]|date=December 11, 2013|access-date=December 11, 2013}}</ref><ref name=slpd-robertsion>{{cite news|title=Roberts' TV stations to be sold|url=http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/roberts-tv-stations-to-be-sold/article_6dbc41fa-08af-5618-97d4-33b7acf750d0.html|first=Lisa|last=Brown|newspaper=[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]|publisher=[[The McClatchy Company]]|date=December 11, 2013|access-date=December 11, 2013}}</ref>

===As an Ion affiliate-turned-O&O===
WRBU became an Ion Television affiliate on February 10, 2014, marking the network's resumption of an over-the-air presence in the St. Louis market. [[Mount Vernon, Illinois]]–based [[WPXS]] (channel 13, now a [[Daystar Television Network|Daystar]] [[owned-and-operated station]]) operated as an affiliate of Ion predecessors Pax TV and i: Independent Television during two separate tenures from 1998 to 2004 and 2005 to 2008 (Paxson Communications—which evolved into Ion Media following its 2005 reorganization—owned WPXS during the first tenure; [[Equity Media Holdings]] owned the station during its tenure as an i/Ion affiliate following a one-year affiliation deferral to Daystar preceding Paxson's sale of WPXS). The network had also been available in St. Louis proper through [[low-power broadcasting#Television|low-power]] repeater KUMO-LP (channel 51), which covered portions of the St. Louis metropolitan area that had inadequate reception of the WPXS signal but had sparse cable coverage in most of the market. After WPXS dropped Ion to become a [[Retro Television Network]] affiliate in 2008, most St. Louis viewers could only receive Ion programming via cable and satellite from the network's national feed.

The sale to the Ion trust resulted in the company voiding WRBU's agreements with syndication distributors and with Fox Entertainment Group for the MyNetworkTV affiliation, with the network switch causing St. Louis to become the largest American television market at that time without a MyNetworkTV affiliate.<ref name=slpd-wrbuion>{{cite news|title=WRBU becomes Ion in St. Louis|url=http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/television/gail-pennington/wrbu-becomes-ion-in-st-louis/article_84a5d13f-09f4-58f7-a863-01bcc09d7c45.html|first=Gail|last=Pennington|newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|publisher=The McClatchy Company|date=February 11, 2014|access-date=February 11, 2014}}</ref> The network would eventually return to the market when [[CBS]] affiliate [[KMOV]] (channel 4) relaunched its DT3 subchannel on November 17, 2014, acquiring both the MyNetworkTV affiliation and many syndicated shows formerly carried by WRBU that had lost local distribution in St. Louis because of the switch (through St. Louis' status as a top-25 market, KMOV-DT3 became the largest subchannel-only MyNetworkTV affiliate).

On January 29, 2015, Cedar Creek Broadcasting (a company controlled by Brian Brady, who also owns several other broadcasting companies operating as ''de facto'' arms of his flagship group, [[Northwest Broadcasting]]) agreed to purchase WRBU and WZRB from the trust for $6 million; Ion would have provided services to the stations, which would remain Ion affiliates.<ref name=fcc-saletocedarcreek>{{cite web|title=APPLICATION FOR CONSENT TO ASSIGNMENT OF BROADCAST STATION CONSTRUCTION PERMIT OR LICENSE|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1669148&Service=DT&Form_id=314&Facility_id=57221|website=CDBS Public Access|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|access-date=February 2, 2015|date=January 30, 2015}}</ref> On May 9, 2017, the Broadcast Trust informed the FCC that the sale to Cedar Creek Broadcasting had been terminated.<ref name="fcc-nosaletocedarcreek">{{cite web|last1=Goodman|first1=Jack N.|title=Re: BALCDT-20150130|url=https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=74348|website=CDBS Public Access|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|access-date=May 10, 2017|format=PDF|date=May 9, 2017}}</ref> One month after the Cedar Creek purchase's termination (and with the FCC restoring the [[UHF discount]]), on June 20, 2017, Ion Media announced that it would purchase WRBU from the Chapman-owned/Ion-managed trust, in a two-station deal with Columbia sister station WZRB, for an undisclosed amount.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ion Buys 3 Stations In Mo., S.C. And Idaho|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/105052/ion-buys-3-stations-in-mo-sc-and-idaho|first=Harry A.|last=Jessell|website=TVNewsCheck|publisher=NewsCheck Media|date=June 20, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=ION Media to Buy Stations in St. Louis, Columbia and Boise|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/local-tv/ion-media-buy-stations-st-louis-columbia-and-boise/166633|first=Diana|last=Marszalek|periodical=Broadcasting & Cable|publisher=NewBay Media|date=June 20, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=ION Buys Three More Stations Bringing Total to 63|url=http://www.adweek.com/tvspy/ion-buys-three-more-stations-bringing-total-to-63/191401|first=Chris|last=Ariens|website=TVSpy|publisher=Prometheus Global Media|date=June 20, 2017}}</ref> The sale was completed on October 19, 2017.<ref>[https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101769866&formid=905&fac_num=57221 Consummation Notice]</ref>

==Technical information==
===Subchannels===
The station's signal is [[Multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]]:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannels of WRBU<ref name="RabbitEars WRBU">{{Cite web|title=RabbitEars TV Query for WRBU|url=https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WRBU#station|website=[[RabbitEars.info]]|access-date=March 6, 2021}}</ref>
! scope = "col" | [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! scope = "col" | [[Display resolution|Res.]]
! scope = "col" | [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! scope = "col" | Short name
! scope = "col" | Programming
|-
! scope = "row" |46.1
| rowspan="2" |[[720p]]
| rowspan="8" |[[16:9]]
|ION
| [[Ion Television]]
|-
! scope = "row" |46.2
|Bounce
|[[Bounce TV]]
|-
! scope = "row" |46.3
| rowspan=6 |[[480i]]
|Laff
|[[Laff (TV network)|Laff]]
|-
! scope = "row" |46.4
|IONPlus
|[[Ion Plus]]
|-
! scope = "row" |46.5
|BUSTED
|[[Busted (TV network)|Busted]]
|-
! scope = "row" |46.6
|GameSho
|[[Game Show Central]]
|-
! scope = "row" |46.7
|QVC
|[[QVC]]
|-
! scope = "row" |46.8
|HSN
|[[HSN]]
|}

Until May 2014, WRBU transmitted its primary digital channel in [[480i]] [[standard definition]], making it one of the few network-affiliated stations in the United States that did not transmit an HD feed through its digital signal (internal promotions for the station's website and [[Facebook]] page that were produced during its MyNetworkTV affiliation were downconverted from [[16:9]] to a [[letterboxed]] [[4:3]] format when aired on the station). On March 10, 2014, exactly one month after the Chapman/Ion trust took ownership of the station, WRBU began carrying all five subchannel services carried by Ion Media on its Ion Television owned-and-operated stations; it also resulted in WRBU reuniting with HSN's over-the-air service, which Ion has carried on the DT5 feed of its stations since November 2013. On May 1, 2014, WRBU began transmitting its main feed in [[high-definition television|high definition]] in the network's standard [[720p]] format.

===Analog-to-digital conversion===
WRBU shut down its analog signal, over [[UHF]] channel 46, on January 21, 2009. The station's digital signal continued to broadcasts on its pre-transition UHF channel 47,<ref>{{cite web|title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds|url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|access-date=March 24, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf|archive-date=August 29, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=List of Broadcast Stations (A-I) Going Digital On February 17, 2009|url=http://tv.about.com/od/hdtv/a/DTVstationlist_2.htm|website=[[About.com]]|access-date=March 24, 2012|archive-date=February 18, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218212511/http://tv.about.com/od/hdtv/a/DTVstationlist_2.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> using [[virtual channel]] 46.

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{St Louis TV}}
{{Illinois TV}}
{{Missouri TV}}
{{EWS CORP}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wrbu}}
[[Category:1989 establishments in Illinois]]
[[Category:Bounce TV affiliates]]
[[Category:E. W. Scripps Company television stations]]
[[Category:Ion Plus affiliates]]
[[Category:Ion Television affiliates]]
[[Category:Laff (TV network) affiliates]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1989]]
[[Category:Television stations in St. Louis]]