WVRN-TV

WVRN Channel 63 was a television station in the Richmond, Virginia television market. It was on the air from 1983 to September 1988, first as a religious station, then a general entertainment independent station.

History

The Christian Broadcasting Network received a construction permit for a television station in Richmond in 1980. The station was to adopt a general entertainment format with cartoons, sitcoms and westerns, as well as religious shows. It was also to run The 700 Club three times a day.

However, CBN then donated the station to National Capital Christian Broadcasting, which launched the station in 1983 as WRNX. It aired religious programming previously shown on WRLH-TV.

National Capital sold WRNX to Sudbrink Broadcasting in summer 1985. The station changed call letters to WVRN, and took on a general entertainment format, competing directly against WRLH. Both stations became increasingly unprofitable, and Sudbrink soon encountered financial problems, filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy in late 1986. WVRN was subsequently sold to Act III Broadcasting in 1987.

In an attempt to boost WRNX's ratings, Act III offered to buy WRLH's programming, on the condition that WRLH be sold to a different owner and converted to a non-commercial operation. Gillett (WRLH's owner) declined, but instead offered to sell WRLH outright to Act III.

Act III took over WRLH in September 1988, and moved WVRN's programming to that station. WVRN was then shut down, and its license was returned to the FCC, which then proceeded to delete the license.