WPXR-TV is the Ion Television affiliate for Roanoke, Virginia

Roanoke, Virginia

Roanoke is an independent city in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. state of Virginia and is the tenth-largest city in the Commonwealth. It is located in the Roanoke Valley of the Roanoke Region of Virginia. The population within the city limits was 97,032 as of 2010...

. The station is owned by Ion Media Networks

ION Media Networks

ION Media Networks is an American television broadcasting company that owns and operates over 60 television stations in most major American markets. It is now a privately owned company.-History:...

, and operates in digital on UHF

Ultra high frequency

Ultra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres...

 channel 36. The station broadcasts from atop Poor Mountain

Poor Mountain

Poor Mountain is a ridge of high peaks located in Roanoke County, Virginia and Montgomery County, Virginia. At 3,928 feet, Poor Mountain is the tallest mountain in the immediate area. The mountain is under consideration for the placement of a wind farm...

.

History

The station signed on in January 1986 as WEFC, a religious station owned by Evangel Foursquare Church (hence the call letters). It was the first new station to sign on in Roanoke in 31 years.

Paxson (now Ion Media Networks

ION Media Networks

ION Media Networks is an American television broadcasting company that owns and operates over 60 television stations in most major American markets. It is now a privately owned company.-History:...

) bought the station in 1997 and made it part of the all-infomercial

Infomercial

Infomercials are direct response television commercials which generally include a phone number or website. There are long-form infomercials, which are typically between 15 and 30 minutes in length, and short-form infomercials, which are typically 30 seconds to 120 seconds in length. Infomercials...

inTV network. It joined Pax TV (later i and now ION) on the network's launch in 1998.

It is on channel 12 on COX cable Roanoke and channel 11 on Comcast cable Lynchburg.

External links

• ION Television website
• Site of the Week – Roanoke, Virginia – discusses WPXR's antennas