On Sept. 17, RBR+TVBR first shared the news that an Erie, Pa.-based broadcasting company would be buying an over-the-air TV station in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
It’s a station that this company has already been using as a broadcast distribution conduit for its ABC network Caribbean feed, using the DT-2 signal.
Speculation included the scenario that the property would retain its ABC programming, while adding CBS. Effective today, that’s exactly what is being seen by viewers of WCVI-23 in St. Croix.
Effective today, WCVI will operate as a dual ABC/CBS affiliate.
It coincides with the closing of Lilly’s $85,000 purchase of WCVI from LeSea Broadcasting of St. Croix and its Family Broadcasting Corp. arm.
A local 30-minute newscast is the biggest addition to the lineup for those who have been watching ABC Caribbean. But, the even bigger news is that cord-cutters now have an option to view ABC and CBS via an over-the-air signal, with Lilly still the company that’s delivering the networks.
Lilly’s properties include satellite-delivered channels serving Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands that have seen much attention in recent years. They are comprised of:
- One Caribbean Television, a satellite channel originating from Lilly’s Erie headquarters that serves Puerto Rico
- A unique satellite feed of its CBS-affiliated WSEE-TV, which DISH uses to provide network programming to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
- A unique feed of Lilly’s WENY-36 that serves as the ABC affiliate for the Virgin Islands, replacing former ABC affiliate WSVI-8 in St. Croix as of January 2016.
The purchase of WCVI is also an economically savvy way of eliminating further retransmission consent flare-ups, which have cost Lilly and viewers in the U.S. Caribbean territories.
In October 2017, DISH by law blocked Lilly Broadcasting from its subscribers. This “blackout” had the American Cable Association peeved, because the ABC and CBS stations serving the U.S. Caribbean territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands were yanked just days after Hurricane Maria ravaged the region.
This followed a nearly two-week absence of SJL/Lilly stations, in April 2017, on DirecTV due to a retransmission fee impasse.
John Trent of Putbrese, Hunsacker & Trent served as Lilly’s counsel of record.
