WBNX-TV (channel 55) is a television station licensed to Akron, Ohio, United States, serving as the Cleveland market's outlet for The CW. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Fox affiliate WJW (channel 8); Nexstar's Tegna subsidiary owns NBC affiliate WKYC (channel 3). WBNX-TV and WJW share studios on Dick Goddard Way northeast of downtown Cleveland; WBNX-TV's transmitter is located in suburban Parma, Ohio. Interest for the channel 55 frequency in Akron dates back to 1968, when televangelist Rex Humbard obtained a permit for which he sought to operate "WCOT-TV" as an extension of his Cathedral of Tomorrow ministry. Despite lofty plans, which included a proposed concrete tower intended to house his station's studios and transmitter mast, the tower was not finished, his station was never built, and the permit was deleted. Another bidding process for a channel 55 license began in 1980 and was awarded to Akron-Rhema Television, but after Akron-Rhema ran out of money during construction, Ernest Angley agreed to operate the station using Humbard's former television studios, which Angley had previously acquired. Signing on as independent WBNX on December 1, 1985, Angley purchased the station outright in early 1987 under the "Winston Broadcasting Network" name and operated it as a for-profit arm of his ministry. WBNX originally featured a mixture of classic sitcoms, movies, and Angley's religious programs, then picked up Fox Kids in 1994, The WB in 1997, and The CW in 2006. The CW disaffiliated from WBNX in 2018 amidst various financial issues and personal allegations made against Angley, who died in 2021. Sold to WJW owner Nexstar in early 2025, WBNX reclaimed the CW affiliation and added local newscasts produced by WJW. WBNX converted to broadcasting with the ATSC 3.0 standard in July 2026.
Prior history of channel 55 in Akron
In March 1951, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in the middle of a self-imposed freeze on issuing television licenses while studying future ultra high frequency (UHF) channel allocations, proposed three new UHF channels for Akron, Ohio: channels 49, 55, and 61, with channel 55 designated for non-commercial educational television (ETV) usage. Channel 49 was the first to be used when WAKR-TV signed on in 1953, but the proposed ETV channel was tied up in an impasse between Akron University and Kent State University. The FCC reassigned the channel 55 allocation to commercial use on August 1, 1966, after granting WAKR-TV's petition to move channels from 49 to 23; in the process, the channel 49 allocation took the ETV designation.
Rex Humbard, a televangelist headquartered in Cuyahoga Falls at the Cathedral of Tomorrow complex, filed paperwork with the FCC in May 1967 to operate a station on channel 55. Humbard and his family settled in Akron full-time in 1952, and began using television the following year, holding a timeslot on WAKR-TV when it launched; his ministry was originally located in a former movie theater, which was sold to WAKR for TV and radio studios. Humbard was not a stranger to the application process, having previously applied for a radio station in Massillon, Ohio. The FCC awarded Humbard the permit in June 1968, which was assigned the WCOT-TV call sign; plans for WCOT included a heavy emphasis on religious programs in prime time and live hoedown dances, along with a January 1969 sign-on. The launch was delayed until the fall of 1969, with Humbard's son, Rex Humbard Jr., now overseeing WCOT-TV. While no tangible progress was made on the station, Humbard filed paperwork in April 1970 to adjust WCOT-TV's antenna height to 715 feet (218 m) and power output to over 1 million watts. A former Shoppers Fair building next to the Cathedral was renovated into a buffet restaurant and television studio, with an above-ground walkway constructed between it and the Cathedral. The building would also house WCOT's studios. Cuyahoga Falls City Council agreed in August 1970 to upgrade the substation servicing the Cathedral to accommodate WCOT-TV and any additional development. Humbard Jr. promised a September 1971 sign-on to Bill Barrett of the Cleveland Press, saying WCOT would feature "... lots of good clean entertainment, no shoddy movies". Inspired by the design of Husky Oil's headquarters in Calgary, Alberta, Humbard filed paperwork with Northampton Township's zoning board in May 1971 to construct a 750-foot (229 m) concrete tower, including a revolving restaurant, television studio and observation deck, along with a cross-shaped transmitter mast for WCOT-TV; if completed, the structure would have been the tallest in Ohio. The design was likened by Press columnist Harriett Peters to Caesars Palace and had an estimated cost of $4 million. Earlier in the year, Humbard purchased the former Mackinac College by taking out a $2 million loan. While Humbard previously associated with the Teamsters for lending purposes, including for the Shoppers Fair renovations and walkway construction, he had satisfactory credit with area banks, with one bank providing $750,000 in startup money.
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