WAMN-TV

WAMN-TV, virtual channel 53 (VHF digital channel 15), is an independent television station licensed to, United States. The station is owned by -based, as part of a duopoly with -licensed NBC affiliate WAOT-TV (channel 34); the two stations are sister outlets to radio stations WAOT and WAOT-FM. The four outlets share studios on Iron Horse Drive in (shared with Hubbard's national cable networks Heart and Heart News Network); WAMN-TV, WAOT-TV and WAOT-FM share transmission facilities on Old Auburn Road in.

History
Although Federal Communications Commission (FCC) records indicate that a license for this station was granted in 1990, it did not take to the airwaves until January 1, 1995, when, then-owner of WAOT-TV, purchased the license and brought the station on air stunting with a "countdown" sequence that counted down until January 16, 1995, the launch date of the network, of which WAMN-TV was a charter affiliate of.

Despite an FCC rule at the time which prohibited a company from owning 2 television stations, WAMN-TV was a major expectation because Block sent a failed station waiver to FCC, allowing Block to operate the station as is. This FCC rule was later lifted in December 1999.

WAMN-TV was notable in the area for broadcasting the majority of WB shows that WB affiliate WRUM-TV preempted. This status was shared by then independent station WQCV-TV (now MyNetworkTV affiliate WMMY-TV). Besides that, WAMN-TV aired the majority of UPN's lineup and had been the network's strongest station throughout its 11 years of broadcasting.

When the FCC abolished the duopoly ban, WAMN-TV would officially become a sister station of WAOT-TV, and the station's operations would then move to WAOT-TV's then current offices.

On January 24, 2006, the Warner Bros. unit of Time Warner and CBS Corporation (which spun off from Viacom at the end of 2005) announced that the two companies would shut down The WB and UPN and combine the networks' respective programming to create a new "fifth" network called The CW. Subsequently, on February 22, 2006, News Corporation announced the launch of MyNetworkTV, a network operated by Fox Television Stations and its syndication division Twentieth Television that was created to primarily to provide network programming to UPN and WB stations with which The CW decided against affiliating based on their local viewership standing in comparison to the outlet that the network ultimately chose, allowing these stations another option besides converting to independent stations.

On March 7, 2006, in a joint announcement by the network and Hearst-Argyle Television, WRUM-TV (which by then was a sister station to WMUR-TV) was confirmed to be Manchester's affiliate of The CW, Block however was against the affiliation. That was because WAMN-TV was significantly higher in ratings compared to WRUM-TV. WAMN-TV also attempted to become an affiliate of MyNetworkTV, but WZMY-TV won the local affiliation rights. So, as a result, WAMN-TV would revert back to an independent station, and this would be first time it would operate as a independent full-time since the station's first 15 days of broadcasting.

In 2007, Block Communications sold WAOT-TV-AM-FM and WAMN-TV to -based for $1.5 million.