About Christian Television Network

Christian Television Network

The Christian Television Network (CTN) is an American non-profit broadcast television network of small owned-and-operated stations that broadcasts religious programming. Based in Largo, Florida, with a mailing address in Clearwater, the network was founded in 1979 by Robert D'Andrea and has grown from a single station in the Tampa Bay region into a national and international ministry. Its flagship station, WCLF channel 22, signed on the air in 1979, and today CTN is available on DirecTV channel 376, Dish Network channel 262, and Glorystar channel 117, in addition to its owned broadcast stations. The network operates two program services — the main CTN service and CTNi, its Spanish-language channel — and produces programming intended to teach and encourage Christian living.

Founder Robert D'Andrea

CTN was founded by Robert "Bob" D'Andrea, who established the Christian Television Corporation in 1977 and spent nearly two years working to win approval from the Federal Communications Commission for a construction permit for a Christian television station. During that year and eight months of effort, D'Andrea worked with a single employee to make the case to the public and to churches that a Christian television station was needed in the Tampa Bay area. His persistence paid off: in February 1979, word was received from the FCC, and the flagship station signed on later that year. D'Andrea led the network for decades as its president and founder. He died in January 2022. Leadership of the network has since passed to a new generation — Yolanda D'Andrea Morris now serves as president of the Christian Television Network, carrying forward the ministry her family founded.

Flagship Station WCLF Channel 22

The heart of the Christian Television Network is WCLF, channel 22, the flagship station serving the Tampa Bay region of Florida. WCLF signed on the air in 1979, the same year the network was launched, and it has been the production and broadcast center of the ministry ever since. From its studios in the Largo–Clearwater area, WCLF produces the network's original programming and serves as the originating station for the national feed. The station's launch in 1979 was the culmination of the Christian Television Corporation's long struggle for FCC approval, and it marked the beginning of what would become a multi-station network spanning the southeastern United States and beyond.

A Network of Owned-and-Operated Stations

Unlike networks that rely primarily on affiliates, CTN is built around small owned-and-operated stations, each serving its local community while carrying the national CTN programming. Among its stations is WRXY-TV, channel 49, licensed to Tice, Florida, and serving the Fort Myers–Naples area as "CTN Southwest Florida." WRXY-TV signed on January 29, 1995 — its broadcasts were originally hosted from a barn located on a cow pasture — and its studios and transmitter are now located on Horseshoe Road in Punta Gorda, near the Babcock Ranch planned community. The station's signal is multiplexed across multiple subchannels carrying CTN, CTN Lifestyle, CTNi, Buzzr, and Biz TV. Each of CTN's stations functions as both a local ministry outlet and a repeater of the network's national feed, giving the network a broadcast footprint rooted in local communities.

CTN and CTNi: Two Program Services

CTN operates two distinct channels. The main CTN service focuses primarily on televangelism — preaching, teaching, and ministry programming — along with some alternative medicine infomercials and a block of exercise videos. CTNi is also televangelism-based but carries all of its programming in Spanish, serving Spanish-speaking viewers with the same ministry focus. A third channel, CTN Lifestyle, consisted of secular nonfiction programs drawn from the syndication market; as of 2026, that channel is no longer offered, and the network's lineup is centered on its two ministry channels. The Spanish-language CTNi service reflects the network's recognition of the growing Hispanic audience for Christian television and extends the ministry's reach to viewers who prefer programming in Spanish.

National Distribution on Satellite

Beyond its broadcast stations, CTN has achieved national distribution through satellite television. The network is available on DirecTV channel 376 and on Dish Network channel 262 (also listed as 267/9399 in some guides), as well as on Glorystar channel 117, the free-to-air Christian satellite service. This satellite carriage gives CTN a nationwide footprint far beyond its broadcast stations, making its programming available to viewers in all fifty states. Combined with its owned stations and streaming platforms, the satellite distribution has made CTN one of the more widely available independent Christian networks in the country — a significant achievement for a non-profit ministry that began with a single UHF station in Tampa Bay.

Programming and Ministry Focus

CTN's programming exists to produce and broadcast content that teaches and encourages Christian living. The lineup centers on televangelism — sermons, Bible teaching, and ministry programs from a variety of Christian broadcasters — supplemented by talk shows, music, and inspirational content produced at the network's Florida studios. The network's Community Ministries Department, working in partnership with local churches, has provided food, clothing, shelter, and financial assistance to thousands of needy families in its communities, and the ministry maintains trained prayer partners who answer viewer calls for help and prayer 24 hours a day, primarily through the network's television programs. This combination of broadcast ministry and hands-on community service has defined CTN's identity since its founding.

Streaming and the CTN App

In addition to broadcast and satellite distribution, CTN has embraced digital platforms. The network offers streaming through its website and through the CTN app available on popular streaming platforms, where viewers can watch live programming and on-demand content. The network actively promotes new programs through its digital channels — recent additions have included faith-and-fitness programming such as SoulFit TV, hosted by world-champion fitness athletes, blending faith, fitness, and real-life stories of transformation. The network also maintains an active presence at industry events such as the NRB Christian Media Convention, where its programs are filmed and its ministry partnerships are showcased. These digital efforts extend a 1979 broadcast ministry into the streaming era.

A Difficult Chapter in the 1990s

CTN's history includes a difficult episode in the late 1990s. In October 1997, founder Robert D'Andrea submitted his resignation from the board of the Christian Television Network after it was disclosed that a secretary with whom he had an affair had been given a secret payment — five days after donors to the network filed suit claiming network money had been used to pay the woman. The story was reported by Religion News Service at the time. D'Andrea later returned to leadership of the ministry he founded, and the network continued its operations and growth in the decades that followed, expanding its station group and achieving national satellite distribution.

CTN Today

Today the Christian Television Network continues to operate from its base at 6922 142nd Avenue in Largo, Florida, as a non-profit broadcaster with a mission of spreading the Gospel through television. Under the presidency of Yolanda D'Andrea Morris, the network carries forward the vision of its founder: owned-and-operated stations serving local communities, national distribution via DirecTV, Dish Network, and Glorystar, Spanish-language programming through CTNi, and a growing digital presence through streaming and the CTN app. More than 45 years after WCLF signed on in Tampa Bay, CTN remains an independent voice in American Christian broadcasting.

Official Website

The official website of the Christian Television Network is www.ctnonline.com, where viewers can watch CTN live, browse program schedules, learn about the network's stations and ministries, and find information about supporting the network's work.