WECP-LD

WECP-LD
Brand	WECP 21 Panama City
City of License	Panama City, Florida
Market	Panama City, Florida
Channel	35 digital 21 virtual (Retransmitted on 16.3 digital/7.3 virtual) Subcarriers: 21.2 (My Network TV) 21.3 (Circle) 21.4 (Heroes & Icons) Previous: 18 digital (2010-15) 29 digital (2015-19) 18 virtual (2012-21)
Network Affiliation	Current: CBS
Founded	2010 (as W18DR)
Company	Gray (Duopoly with WJHG)
President
Current Popular Non-Network Shows	Ellen Family Feud Jeopardy!

WECP-LD is the CBS affiliate for Panama City, Florida. It broadcasts on digital channel 35 displayed as virtual 21. It is retransmitted on a subchannel of sister station and NBC affiliate WJHG/channel 7. Gray Television owns the station. Their low-power 15,000 watt signal originates from the same transmitter as WJHG, also owned by Gray, located outside Youngstown, Fla. and reaches viewers within a 70-mile radius, including cities of Panama City Beach, Marianna, Blountstown and Wewahitchka. As noted by their logo, they identify themselves on-air as WECP-TV. The call letters reflect Northwest Beaches International Airport in Panama City, whose airport identifier code is ECP. It is the first self-contained CBS affiliate in the Panama City market and the second station there to obtain CBS affiliation (WJHG had secondary affiliation with CBS from 1953 to 1960).

The station first was assigned the call W18DR on digital channel 18 in 2010 and has been silent--it was first intended as a translator. Since 1960, Dothan, Alabama's WTVY had served the Panama City market as its default CBS affiliate since Panama City did not have its own. Cable systems as well as DirecTV and Dish Network have replaced WTVY with WECP. WECP is headquartered at WJHG's studios. Their sign-on originally slated for September 1, 2012 was postponed, finally launching on September 24, 2012. It also began transmission on two subcarriers, both of which are simulcasts of two of WJHG's subcarriers, 18.2 for My Network TV and 18.3 for VIPIR Weather Radar. Since then, the My Network TV subchannel vacated WJHG and airs solely on WECP and Heroes & Icons now airs on the second subchannel. The WJHG subcarrier that My Network TV vacated--7.3--now simulcasts WECP.

WECP currently airs two newscasts produced and staffed by WJHG, at 12 Noon and 5:30. It airs CBS News at the network's specified times except the CBS Evening News, which is aired on a half-hour delay. WECP relocated to channel 29 on May 21, 2015. This was so WJHG could relocate to digital channel 18 (retaining virtual 7). WJHG's digital spectrum was sold in the 2016 spectrum auction. It moved its digital signal from channel 18 to 16 on January 22, 2019, causing the WECP simulcast on 18.3 to move to 16.3 at the time. WECP itself was to move its digital transmissions to channel 35 sometime in 2019, mainly due to interference issues with two nearby stations--WFSG in Panama City on RF 28 and WFBD in Destin on RF 29. It was intended to move in November 2018, but the destruction caused by Hurricane Michael postponed the move. There would be a 2.2-mile reduction in the radius of WECP's coverage area as a result of the RF move, filed as a modification. They modified their construction permit to bring the interference levels with adjacent stations to .5 or lower (the closest station that would pose any significant issue is WJTC/channel 44 in Pensacola, which has relocated its RF channel from 45.3 to 35.3). WECP initiated the move from RF 29 to 35 on August 21, 2019; it was completed on August 28. On March 1, 2021, WECP moved its virtual from 18 to 21, presumably to prevent a conflict with Dothan AL ABC affiliate WDHN, which has 18 as its virtual yet has 21.3 as its RF. WDHN's signal is restricted mainly to Dothan, so any conflicts would be minimal.

Digital channels

Physical	Virtual	Video	Aspect	Network
35.1	21.1	1080i	16:9	CBS
35.2	21.2	480i	4:3	My Network TV/Jewelry TV
35.3	21.3			Circle
35.4	21.4			Heroes & Icons

External Links

• WECP's website (integrated with WJHG)
• WECP's Facebook page
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WECP-LD