WKOB-LD

WKOB-LD is a low-powered television station in New York City, licensed, owned and operated by Nave Communications.

History

as W53AA

This station was signed on over UHF channel 53 in the 1970s by its original owner CBS Inc. as W53AA. It was one of multiple Television Broadcast Translators in New York City which operated at the upper end of the UHF band in order to provide reliable coverage to certain New York boroughs whose reception was ultimately compromised by construction of the World Trade Center. This translator station relayed the signal of WCBS-TV, which for decades prior and at that time operated over VHF channel 2.

Originally, most of the New York City television stations operated their main transmitters from the Empire State Building. However, reliable reception was ultimately compromised for some viewers once the majority of the World Trade Center was constructed, thus necessitating the use of the UHF translators. In response, nearly all of the TV stations, including WCBS-TV, relocated to the North Tower of the World Trade Center in 1975. CBS, however, maintained an auxiliary transmitter back at Empire.