 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Channels | |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations | ABC |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Roanoke Telecasting Corporation |
| History | |
First air date | March 4, 1966 |
Last air date | February 11, 1975 |
Former call signs | WRLU (1974–1975) |
| Technical information | |
| ERP | 702 kW[1] |
| HAAT | 2,040 ft (620 m) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 37°11′55.5″N 80°09′02.5″W / 37.198750°N 80.150694°W |
WRFT-TV, known as WRLU from 1974 to 1975, was a television station on channel 27 in Roanoke, Virginia, United States. Affiliated with ABC through its existence, the station telecast from 1966 to 1975, with a short break in 1974. WRFT-TV operated from studios on Little Brushy Mountain in Salem and, in later years, a transmitter on Poor Mountain.
Channel 27 signed on after numerous failed attempts by ABC's primary affiliate in the market, Lynchburg's WLVA-TV, to improve its coverage in the market's more mountainous western portion. The station was plagued by financial problems for most of its existence, even after moving its transmitter to Poor Mountain alongside the other Roanoke-licensed stations in 1971. A mass staff walkout knocked the station off the air for much of the spring and summer of 1974. It returned that fall under new call letters, WRLU, but saw no change in its fortunes and was forced off the air for good in 1975 due to an unpaid power bill. The station was more than $1 million in debt when it closed.