View source for WHME-TV

{{Short description|Television station in South Bend, Indiana}}
{{distinguish|KHME}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign               = WHME-TV
| city                   =
| logo                   = WHME-TV 2024.png
| logo_size              = 200px
| branding = {{ubl|{{lang|es|italic=no|Univision 46 South Bend}}|{{lang|es|Noticias Univision South Bend}} (newscasts)}}
| digital                = 36 ([[UHF]])
| virtual                = 46
| subchannels            = 
| translators            = 
| affiliations           = {{ubl|'''46.1:''' [[Univision]]|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| owner                  = [[Family Broadcasting Corporation]]
| licensee               = Family Entertainment Television, Inc.
| location               = [[South Bend, Indiana]]
| country                = United States
| airdate                = {{start date and age|1974|8|3|p=y}}
| last_airdate           = 
| callsign_meaning       = World Harvest Missionary Evangelism{{r|closes}}
| sister_stations        = 
| former_callsigns       = WMSH-TV (1974–1977)
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 46 (UHF, 1974–2009)|'''Digital:''' 48 (UHF, until 2019)}}
| former_affiliations    = [[Religious broadcasting|Religious]] [[Independent station|Independent]] (1974–2024)
| erp                    = 260 [[kW]]
| haat                   = {{convert|304.3|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id            = 36117
| coordinates            = {{coord|41|35|43|N|86|9|38|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|display=inline,title}}
| licensing_authority    = [[FCC]]
| website                = {{URL|https://whmetv46.com/}} 
}}

'''WHME-TV''' (channel 46) is a [[television station]] in [[South Bend, Indiana]], United States, affiliated with the Spanish-language network [[Univision]]. The station is owned by locally based [[Family Broadcasting Corporation]] (formerly known as LeSEA Broadcasting and later World Harvest Broadcasting). WHME-TV's studios are located on Ironwood Road on the south side of South Bend, and its transmitter is located in [[Mishawaka]].

Prior to 2024, WHME-TV served as the [[flagship station]] of World Harvest Television, an organization founded by [[Assembly of God]] minister [[Lester Sumrall]], whose sons are still active with the ministry.

==History==
===WMSH-TV===
The G & E Religious and Educational Broadcasting Corporation obtained a construction permit for a new television station on channel 46 in South Bend on April 10, 1973.<ref name="hc">{{Cite web|url= https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=86301 |title= History Cards for WHME-TV|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]}} ([[Wikipedia:WikiProject Radio Stations/History Cards|Guide to reading History Cards]])<!--Converted from {{FCC letter}}--></ref> The allocation had previously been used by [[WNDU-TV]], when that station signed on the air on July 15, 1955; WNDU moved to its present channel 16 in 1957. G & E, representing 618 churches, took the call letters WMSH-TV and broke ground on studio facilities on May 27.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/51768522/|work=South Bend Tribune|date=May 26, 1973|title=Groundbreaking Sunday for WMSH-TV|page=7|access-date=May 20, 2020}}</ref> The transmitter site would be located separately from the studios due to potential interference to WSBT radio.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/51768654/|access-date=May 20, 2020|title=WMSH-TV Granted Permission to Erect Transmission Towers|page=50|work=South Bend Tribune|date=June 7, 1973}}</ref> Intended to begin on September 1, 1973, channel 46 instead began telecasting in late July or on August 3, 1974.{{r|truthful}}<ref group="note">The Broadcasting and Cable Yearbook says July 27, the FCC history card says the station started on July 26, and the Television and Cable Factbook says July 25.</ref>

Within less than a year of telecasting, financial problems developed at G & E. The station had a total of $2.5 million in debt against $1.8 million in assets. A court placed the company into receivership, after which 14 creditors sued to force channel 46 into bankruptcy.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/51769000/|access-date=May 20, 2020|date=April 24, 1975|title=WMSH-TV Creditors Ask Action|work=South Bend Tribune|page=27}}</ref> Three months later, two investors who held $18,000 in station-issued bonds sued G & E for selling securities without being registered with federal or state authorities, as well as omissions in statements made by the company;<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/51769308/|access-date=May 20, 2020|date=July 25, 1975|title=Sue to Recover Investment in WMSH-TV|page=18|work=South Bend Tribune}}</ref> Secretary of State [[Larry Conrad]] then charged G & E head George McQueen with criminal misrepresentation.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/51769529/|access-date=May 20, 2020|date=August 3, 1975|title=WMSH-TV Boss Charged|work=South Bend Tribune|page=1}}</ref>

Citing lack of funds, WMSH-TV went silent September 2, 1975.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/51769713/|access-date=May 20, 2020|date=September 3, 1975|title=Broadcasting Ends For WMSH-TV|work=South Bend Tribune|page=15}}</ref> The bankruptcy case stretched into 1976 as several buyers expressed interest.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/51769957/|access-date=May 20, 2020|date=September 3, 1976|work=South Bend Tribune|title=Channel 44 bankrupt case still pending|page=19}}</ref>

===WHME-TV===
In January 1977, rumors began to circulate that the Lester Sumrall Evangelistic Association was in negotiations to buy WMSH-TV from its trustee, [[Elkhart, Indiana|Elkhart]] attorney Gordon MacKenzie.<ref name="truthful">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/51770061/|access-date=May 20, 2020|date=January 4, 1977|first=Nancy|last=Sulok|title=Channel 46 sale unconfirmed: 'Rumor may be truthful'|page=19|work=South Bend Tribune}}</ref> The rumors would be confirmed in March when the $496,000 sale was announced.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/51770245/|first=Gerald|last=Lutkus|title=Evangelist Sumrall purchases WMSH-TV: Signing on, again|date=March 23, 1977|page=19|access-date=May 20, 2020|work=South Bend Tribune}}</ref>
Sumrall closed on the purchase on July 21,<ref name="closes">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/51768614/|access-date=May 20, 2020|date=July 22, 1977|title=Rev. Sumrall closes purchase|first=Ray M.|last=Leliaert, Jr.|page=23|work=South Bend Tribune}}</ref> and the newly renamed WHME-TV signed on the air on September 10, 1977; the station ran mostly religious programs, along with a blend of classic [[animated cartoon|cartoons]], [[sitcom]]s from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and some [[drama series]]. Cameras from the Sumrall stations in [[Indianapolis]] and [[Miami]] were brought to South Bend, as WMSH did not have any color cameras.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/51768591/|title=Channel 46 'on hold'|first=John D.|last=Miller|date=May 21, 1977|page=3|access-date=May 20, 2020|work=South Bend Tribune}}</ref>

By 1978, the station ran cartoons from 7 to 9 a.m. on weekdays. WHME ran Christian programs such as ''[[The PTL Club]]'', ''[[The 700 Club]]'', and locally produced Christian programs from 9 a.m. to about 1 p.m. [[Secular]] general entertainment programs ran from 1 to 7 p.m. Then after 7 p.m., WHME ran repeats of ''The PTL Club'', ''The 700 Club'' and some of the religious shows that aired on Sundays, along with locally produced Christian programs. Saturdays consisted of Christian-themed children's programs until 9 a.m., a blend of secular cartoons and sitcoms until noon or 1 p.m., and some other [[family-friendly]] programs until 5 p.m. Christian programming continued after 6 p.m. Saturday nights and all day on Sundays (featuring [[televangelists]] such as [[Jerry Falwell]], [[Jimmy Swaggart]] and [[Oral Roberts]], as well as the [[Catholic Mass]] from [[University of Notre Dame|Notre Dame]]). The station began broadcasting on a 24-hour schedule by 1980.

[[File:WHME logo 2020.jpg|left|thumb|175px|Former WHME logo, used until August 2024.]]
In the early 1980s, WHME cut back its secular programming hours on weekdays to 2 to 7 p.m. By the early to mid-1980s, the morning cartoons returned and at that point it started running more recent children's programs on weekdays, including ''[[The Disney Afternoon]]'' animation block by the early 1990s. WHME-TV also aired the nationally syndicated evening news program, ''[[Independent Network News (US)|Independent Network News]]''. By the early 1990s, more sitcoms from the 1970s and 1980s were added onto the schedule. On May 27, 1996, WHME began carrying the [[Kids' WB]] program block within its afternoon lineup when W12BK channel 12, now [[WYGN-LD]], switched to being a translator of ABC affiliate [[WBND-LP]] channel 58, but unlike other LeSEA-owned stations, it declined to carry prime time programming from the block's parent network, [[The WB]] (which instead affiliated with W69BT channel 69 in October 1999, now [[WMYS-LD]], and later moved to WMWB-LP channel 25, now [[WCWW-LD]]). In the early 2000s, WHME decreased the number of cartoons on its schedule and replaced them with more sitcoms and drama series.

In August 2024, WHME and Indianapolis sister station [[WHMB-TV]] switched their primary channels to Univision.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tvnewscheck.com/business/article/family-broadcasting-launches-univision-on-whmb-whme-taps-susan-buterbaugh-as-whmb-gm/|title=Family Broadcasting Launches Univision On WHMB & WHME, Taps Susan Buterbaugh As WHMB GM|website=TVNewsCheck|date=August 5, 2024|accessdate=August 5, 2024}}</ref>

==Sports programming==
WHME used to carry many regional [[college football]] and [[college basketball|basketball]] games shown through [[ESPN Events|ESPN Plus]] until the 2007 launch of the [[Big Ten Network]]. WHME later served as the South Bend home to [[Ball State University]] sports. It was also the South Bend affiliate of ESPN Regional Television's syndicated SEC Network (later [[SEC TV]]) until the August 2014 launch of the pay TV-exclusive [[SEC Network]]. The station maintained its own sports division that broadcast many [[high school football]] and basketball games from [[Michiana]] area teams, usually once weekly, along with local [[National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics|NAIA]] college games, such as [[Bethel College (Indiana)|Bethel]] and [[Grace College & Seminary|Grace]].

==Technical information==
===Subchannels===
The station's signal is [[multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]]:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannels of WHME-TV<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WHME#station|title=RabbitEars TV Query for WHME|website=[[RabbitEars.info]]|accessdate=August 5, 2024}}</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 
| [[720p]] || rowspan="8"|[[16:9]] || WHME-HD || [[Univision]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 46.2 
| rowspan="7"|[[480i]] || ION || [[Ion Television]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 46.3 
| GRIT || [[Grit (TV network)|Grit]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 46.4 
| LAFF || [[Laff (TV network)|Laff]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 46.5 
| QVC || [[QVC]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 46.6 
| HSN || [[HSN]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 46.7
| QVC2 || [[QVC2]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 46.8
| HSN2 || [[HSN2]]
|- style="background-color:#DFEBF6; border-top: 2px solid #003399;"
! scope = "row" | [[WSJV|28.4]] 
| 720p || rowspan=2|16:9 || CourtTV || [[Court TV]] ([[WSJV]])
|- style="background-color:#DFEBF6;"
! scope = "row" | [[WSJV|28.7]] 
| 480i || 365BLK || [[365BLK]] ([[WSJV]])
|}
{{legend|#DFEBF6|Broadcast on behalf of another station}}

===Analog-to-digital conversion===
WHME-TV shut down its analog signal, over [[UHF]] channel 46, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States [[Digital television transition in the United States|transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts]] under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 48, using [[virtual channel]] 46.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds |access-date=March 24, 2012}}</ref>

On March 8, 2011, WHME-TV received a [[construction permit]] to move its digital operations to its former analog allotment on channel 46, due to interference with [[WMLW-TV]] in [[Racine, Wisconsin]] (which transmits from [[Milwaukee]]), a station that also broadcast its digital signal on UHF channel 48, with both stations having signal conflicts on the edges of their market areas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1323792&Service=DT&Form_id=301&Facility_id=36117|title=Application View ... Redirecting|first=FCC Internet Services|last=Staff}}</ref> The conflict was resolved in January 2018 when WMLW cashed in their spectrum in the 2016 FCC auction and moved to a channel share with their [[WBME-CD|sister low-power station]], though WHME moved to channel 36 in 2019 as a result of the spectrum repack.

Between 2012 and sometime in early 2013, digital subchannel 46.3 was leased to Aliento Vision, a family-oriented [[Spanish language in the United States|Spanish-language]] network. The subchannel previously carried no content besides a card listing the channel numbers, call letters and city of license, but added [[TheGrio|Light TV]] to its 46.3 subchannel.

===Former translator===
WHME-TV's signal was relayed on a [[broadcast relay station|repeater station]] serving the [[Chicago]] market, '''WHNW-LD''' (channel 18) in [[Gary, Indiana|Gary]], until the station's license was canceled on August 25, 2017.

==See also==
*[[Family Broadcasting Corporation]]
*[[fetv]]
*[[WHMB-TV]]
*[[KWHE-TV]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group="note"}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Official website|https://whmetv46.com/}}

{{South Bend TV}}
{{Chicago TV}}
{{Other Indiana Stations}}
{{Other Michigan Stations}}
{{ION Indiana}}
{{ION Michigan}}
{{Indiana Religious Stations}}
{{Family Broadcasting}}

[[Category:1974 establishments in Indiana]]
[[Category:Family Broadcasting Corporation]]
[[Category:Grit (TV network) affiliates]]
[[Category:Ion Television affiliates]]
[[Category:Laff (TV network) affiliates]]
[[Category:Spanish-language television stations in Indiana|HME-TV]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1974]]
[[Category:Television stations in South Bend, Indiana|HME-TV]]
[[Category:Univision affiliates]]