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WCWN
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| WCWN | |
|---|---|
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| Schenectady / Albany, New York | |
| Branding | The Capital Region's CW |
| Channels | Analog: 45 (UHF) Digital: 43 (UHF) |
| Affiliations | The CW |
| Owner | Freedom Communications |
| Founded | December 30, 1984 |
| Call letters meaning | The CW New York State |
| Former callsigns | WUSV (1984-1987) WMHX (1987-1991) WMHQ (1993-1999) WEWB (1999-2006) |
| Former affiliations | Independent (1984-1987) PBS (1987-1991 and 1993-1999) The WB (1999-2006) The Tube (on DT2, 2006 until 10/07) |
| Transmitter Power | 2,950 kW (analog) 716 kW (digital) |
| Facility ID | 73264 |
| Transmitter Coordinates | |
| Website | cwalbany.com |
WCWN is the CW-affiliated television station for the Capital Region of New York State and Western New England. Licensed to Schenectady, the station broadcasts an analog signal on UHF channel 45 and a digital signal on UHF channel 43. WCWN's transmitter is located at the Helderberg Mountains tower farm in New Scotland. The station is owned by Freedom Communications as part of a duopoly with the area's CBS affiliate WRGB. The two stations share studios located on Balltown Rd. in Niskayuna.
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WCWN originated as an independent station on December 30, 1984 under the call letters WUSV (Union Street Video). As with most independent stations during that period, the station had difficulties from the outset in terms of getting programming (with only afternoon cartoons and some reruns getting respectable ratings). As a result, the station went through financial difficulties. In 1987, Union Street Video sold the station in a fire sale to WMHT Educational Telecommunications, which made it a secondary PBS station under the calls of WMHX. This arrangement lasted until 1991 when, due to financial difficulties, WMHX went off air. Two years later, the station returned to the air with the new calls WMHQ while taking on a large amount of instructional programming alongside repeats and double runs. During this period, WMHQ partnered with WNYT to launch the market's first 10 PM newscast which ran from 1996 to 1998. The newscast was cancelled due to a lack of support.
Further financial difficulties at WMHT led to a sale of WMHQ in the late-1990s. After a sale to Sinclair Broadcast Group (to make the station a dual UPN - WB affiliate) fell through, Tribune Broadcasting bought the station in 1999 for $18.5 million. On September 6, 1999, WMHQ became an affiliate of The WB and received a new callsign, WEWB as well as the on-air branding of WB 45.
From the station's relaunch as WEWB until December of 2006, master control of the station was located at sister station and WB affiliate WLVI-TV in Boston, though local offices and small studios were located in Schenectady. WLVI offered a daily weather forecast for the Capital Region area on WEWB's website, updated daily by WLVI meteorologists. In 2005, the WB 45 name was succeeded by Capital Region's WB at the tail-end of a period in which most of Tribune's WB affiliates (minus VHF's and "heritage" stations) were rebranded in the same format.
In 2004, WEWB's digital signal signed on the air and began broadcasting on UHF channel 43.
On January 24, 2006, UPN and The WB announced that they would cease broadcasting and merge. The new network would be called The CW, the letters representing the first initial of its corporate parents: CBS (the parent company of UPN) and the Warner Bros. unit of Time Warner. WEWB was one of the Tribune WB affiliates named in the initial announcement of a new 10 year affiliation deal with the new network.
On February 22, News Corporation announced that they would start up another new network called MyNetworkTV. This new network, which would be sister to FOX, would be operated by FOX Television Stations and its syndication division Twentieth Television. MyNetworkTV was created to give UPN and WB stations, not mentioned as becoming CW affiliates, another option besides becoming independent. It was also created to compete against The CW. Albany's UPN affiliate, WNYA, was announced on March 9 that it would become the Capital Region's MyNetworkTV affiliate.
In a byproduct of WEWB's switch from The WB to The CW, the station's call letters changed to the current WCWN on May 10.
On June 19, 2006, Tribune announced they would sell WCWN to Freedom Communications, the owner of CBS affiliate WRGB (who also managed advertising sales for WNYA) for $17 million. The purchase, which faced review from the FCC for much of 2006, was approved on November 22 (when the FCC granted Freedom a "failed station" waiver for the station's purchase) with Freedom closing on the station on December 6. Master control of WCWN moved from WLVI's studios in Boston to WRGB's studios in Niskayuna. WCWN's administrative studios in Schenectady were also closed. The purchase gave the Capital Region market its first television duopoly. For a short period of time, this essentially gave WRGB control of three stations. From April of 2003 until February of 2007, WRGB had a joint sales agreement (JSA) with WNYA.
In July of 2006, commercials for The CW as well as syndicated fall programming had the station taking the "The Capital Region's CW" branding effective with the network's launch which happened on September 18.
On December 6, the Tribune-run website of WCWN was shut down and a temporary one was set up. Freedom began the process of creating a new website for WCWN. When the new website was finished a few days later, WCWN received a modified CW logo.
From its launch in 2006 until October 1, 2007, WCWN had offered The Tube, a 24-hour digital music video channel, on it DT2 digital subchannel.
WCWN might take on the responsibility of airing CBS programs whenever WRGB is not able to so. This could be when a news-related emergency occurs. Starting in 2007, the station airs CBS' coverage of the U.S. Open Tennis Championship. During the airing of the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, WCWN has taken on the responsibility of airing WRGB's local and network lineup.
The station airs some New York Mets baseball games that WPIX in New York City broadcasts. Games are shown on Fridays nights, Saturdays, and Sundays. The arrangement is a result of WCWN and WPIX being sister stations at one point. Although WCWN is now owned by Freedom, this arrangement continues.
At the outset of the station's relaunch as WEWB, Tribune planned to launch a news department for the station possibly with some support from another station in the market. These plans were indefinitely put on hold after Tribune corporate put a news freeze in place and did not consider such a launch to be a priority.
Under WCWN's new ownership by Freedom Communications and its resources from WRGB, news on the station has become a reality. Currently, WCWN airs an hour long newscast weekday mornings at 7 AM (actually an extension of WRGB's morning news). It had aired on Albany's MyNetworkTV affiliate WNYA but was moved over to WCWN. This switch occurred at the start of 2007 as a result of WCWN's higher ratings than WNYA.
Reports have circulated about WRGB launching a 10 PM newscast on WCWN. However, the moving of a second run of Dr. Phil to the 10 PM time slot on WCWN may have put those plans on hold.
Staring in 2007, WCWN aired WRGB's 11 PM news during CBS's coverage of NCAA March Madness Basketball.
News Team
- Anchor:
- Ed O'Brien
- Weather:
- Tom Mailey
- Reporter:
- Nicole Forige
WCWN uses additional news personal from WRGB. See that article for a complete listing.
- Rob Croteau - Local Sales Manager
- Bob Hewitt - National Sales Manager
- Christine Boisvert - Director of Sales Development
- Sarah Thomas - Director of New Business Development
- Dessy O'Keefe - Research Director
- Nicole Parianos - Sales Marketing Coordinator
 WEWB's first logo, used from 1999 until 2005, similar to WLVI's 1995 to 2003 logo. |
 Former WEWB / WCWN logo, used from 2005 until September of 2006. |
 WCWN's CW logo under Tribune ownership. |
WCWN's current CW logo. |
| Preceded by WEWB |
WCWN 2006-present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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Local television stations Local and regional cable television channels |
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WKTV-DT 2.2 / "WBU 11" (Utica) - WPIX 11 (New York City) - WBNG-DT 12.2 / "WBXI 11" (Binghamton) - WHAM 13.2 / "CW-WHAM" (Rochester) |
| See also: ABC, CBS, Fox, My Network TV, NBC, PBS, and Other stations in New York |
Categories: Television stations in Capital District, New York | Albany County, New York | Television stations in New York | CW network affiliates | Schenectady County, New York | Television channels and stations established in 1984 | Channel 45 TV stations in the United States | Freedom Communications