TBN to donate low powered stations

TBN: The Trinity Broadcasting Network has made a huge donation of 155 LPTV (Low Powered Television Stations) which in this case are translators to the MMTC: The Minority Media and Telecomunications Council. The MMTC is a group that promotes ownership with minorities and women. Among the TBN stations on the list are 3 stations in the PBRTV coverage area. They include W48CH (Channel 48) Erie, W52BO (Channel 52) Meadville and W52DS (Channel 52) in Youngstown. Low powered stations are still allowed to broadcast an analog signal but the stations in Erie & Youngstown had applied to go digital. With digital, the translators would have carried 5 different TBN channels. It may be impossible for the MMTC to accept all 155 stations but my guess is that TBN is looking to focus more on Cable & Satellite distribution in smaller areas rather than using over the air translators. As of now, it’s not clear as to what programming changes may occur on the translators.