WIPB

WIPB, virtual channel 49 (UHF digital channel 23), is a PBS member television station located in Muncie, Indiana, United States. The station is owned by Ball State University, and is a sister station to NPR member radio station WBST (92.1 FM). WIPB maintains studio facilities located at the E.F. Ball Communication Building on the university's campus on University Avenue in northwestern Muncie, and its transmitter is located on County Road 50 in rural southern Delaware County (south of Cowan). On cable, WIPB is available in standard definition on Comcast Xfinity channel 2 in Muncie and channel 19 in Indianapolis, and in high definition on Xfinity digital channel 1023 in both cities.

History

UHF channel 49 in Central Indiana

The UHF channel 49 allocation in Central Indiana was originally occupied by WLBC-TV, which signed on the air on June 14, 1953, as a primary CBS affiliate with secondary affiliations with ABC and NBC. The station was founded by Don Burton, owner of Muncie radio station WLBC (1340 AM, now WXFN). During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network. WLBC-TV dropped CBS programming in the early 1960s, becoming a primary NBC and secondary ABC affiliate. Burton expanded the WLBC radio facility on 29th Street in southeast Muncie and constructed a 500 feet (150 m) tower outside the building.