Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Religious network wants TV station WDRL
The station is based in Roanoke and reaches Danville and Lynchburg audiences as well.
An Abingdon-based religious television network plans to buy Roanoke TV station WDRL for nearly $5.3 million, according to a filing with the Federal Communications Commission.
The small independent TV station based at 5002 Airport Road N.W. has been trying for about two years to reorganize its finances in bankruptcy court, under the leadership of Melvin Eleazer of Roanoke County. Eleazer is the managing member of MNE Broadcasting LLC, which owns WDRL.
Eleazer said in an FCC filing made public Monday that he has agreed to sell the 14-year-old station -- pending court approval -- to Living Faith Ministries, a Christian TV network with three stations operating under the banner Living Faith Television.
WDRL, reaching Danville, Roanoke and Lynchburg, airs a rich mix of shows on Channel 24 ranging from "The Lone Ranger" to "Cheaters" and sports. It airs locally produced shows such as "All About Sports," a series on local high school and college sports, and "Grandin Film Review" about the offerings of Roanoke's Grandin Theatre. It dedicates its overnight hours to "Shepherd's Chapel," a religious show. Michael Smith, Living Faith Television's president and chief executive officer, could not be reached for comment on his plans for WDRL and whether a switch to all religious programming is planned. Eleazer had no comment, his lawyer said.
Gerald McDermott, a professor of religion at Roanoke College, was asked about the general state of religious television. He said some programs have large followings.
"There are all kinds of folks who can't get out of the house on Sunday morning and they love to watch a sermon on TV," McDermott said.
He said he believes viewership is declining because of the availability of sermons and other religious shows on the World Wide Web.
But Craig Parshall of National Religious Broadcasters, an association of radio and TV stations, said Christian television is a strong TV niche.
Stations are offering televised sermons and experimenting with debate and discussion formats focused on public issues and independent Christian films, he said.
"Every avenue of programming that you see in terms of the general market, the secular market, you're also going to see in Christian television. At least that's the trend right now," Parshall said. "We need to be as creative as possible."
WDRL has been in play before. Liberty University struck a deal in 2007 to buy the station for about $6 million. At the time, university officials saw the purchase as a means to recruit students and publicize university events.
But Liberty pulled out of the deal, saying its inspectors found numerous operational deficiencies and evidence of noncompliance with FCC regulations at WDRL. A judge ruled that Liberty had a reasonable basis for breaking the deal.
Living Faith Television would be adding WDRL to a family of stations that includes WLFG in Grundy, WLFB in Bluefield, W.Va., and WAGV in Harlan, Ky.
On the Net:
Staff writer Pete Dybdahl contributed to this report.
