The new calls for what’s now WQEX Pittsburgh are just part of Ion’s effort to transform the ShopNBC affiliate to its own network O&O with Qubo and Ion Life on subchannels.
The seller is noncommercial WQED, which has been trying to spin off the station since the mid-1990s. More than a decade ago, Ion, as Paxson Communications, had tried to acquire the station, but that deal ran into opposition from public TV advocates.
