is a
Class A LPTV station based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is owned by
Benjamin Perez with its transmitter and antenna located on the
WQED tower in the Oakland area of Pittsburgh, along with its sister stations
WIIC-LP and
WPTG-LP . However, the station is licensed to
Johnstown, PA . It is famous for televising a live auction for two years from
2001 to late
2002 . It is an over-the-air station that is not carried on any local cable system or DBS provider.
W35AZ signed on in the early 1990s. It had been a affiliate for the life of the short-lived network. However, after the demise of Network One, the station became an affiliate of
America's Collectibles Network , and in
2001 , changed their call letters to '''WONT''', and started broadcasting live programming originated from their studios then located at the Eastland Mall in
North Versailles, PA .
was a live auction of (formerly a DJ on
WAMO-FM ),
John Hulmes , a local entertainer, and
Cheryl McCall , a local florist. In the next few months, both Sly Jock and John Hulmes left, causing Cheryl McCall to become the permanent host of WANTV.
In mid-2001, WANTV was renamed , and its hours reduced the show back to three days a week (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) from 7PM until 1AM. Also, WONT ended its affiliation with ACN, and became an affiliate of the
Shop At Home Network .
The station had a very small staff at the time, causing people to have to perform multiple job functions during the live shows. The owner of the station,
Benjamin Perez would serve as the manager of the auctions, and
Joe Krinock , the technical director at the station, would serve as the camera operator and the announcer. This caused the show to have a very low budget look, as only one camera was used during the shows. Also, in a revolutionary move, the announcer or the manager of the auction would interrupt and talk to the host on-air to ask questions that viewers called in with, since the station did not have an
IFB system.
However, the show was not profitable. In a move to boost revenue, in 2002, the show was again renamed as , and started being shown on its sister stations,
WIIC-LP and
WPTG-LP , creating a three station simulcast. Also in 2002, the station changed its
Callsign to '''WBYD''' and became a
Class A LPTV station.
In August of 2002, Live Auction Television went on hiatus due to declining sales of merchandise on the show. It would return two months later, but by the end of 2002 the show was off the air completely.
WBYD would then shift gears and start showing limited locally-originated programming, including a local talk show created by the Pittsburgh-based band
American Metal .
In 2005, the owner of the Eastland Mall,
Benderson Development , announced the mall was going to be demolished, and cancelled the leases of all the remaining tenants, including WBYD. The station was moved to a trailer that is located next to the broadcast tower of
WQED-TV .
