Four stations owned by Roberts Broadcasting — WRBU in St. Louis, WZRB in Columbia, SC, WRBJ in Jackson and WAZE in Evansville, IN — have filed for bankruptcy.

All four stations were previously affiliated with the UPN network, which merged with The WB in 2006 to become the CW. WRZB, WRBJ and WAZE remain CW-affiliates; WRBU is a MyNetworkTV-affiliate.

In a statement, Roberts president Steven Roberts said UPN folded shortly after the stations began broadcasting, “which threw off all of our business plans.”

“Fortunately, those problems are behind us and the stations are beginning to become profitable,” Roberts said. “It was difficult make the decision to file these cases, but the provisions of Chapter 11 will allow us to deal with the old debts, preserve the jobs of about 50 employees and continue to service these communities.”