WCWN

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WCWN
Schenectady - Albany, New York
Branding	The Capital Region's CW
Channels	45 UHF analog, 43 (UHF) digital
Affiliations	The CW The Tube (on DT2)
Owner	Freedom Communications
Founded	December 30, 1984
Call letters meaning	W 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)
Transmitter Power	2.95 MW (analog) 716 kW (digital)
Website	capitalregionscw.com

WCWN, known on-air as "Capital Region's CW", is the CW network station licensed to Schenectady, New York. The station is owned by Freedom Communications and serves the Albany - Schenectady - Troy - Saratoga Springs area (commonly known as New York State's Capital Region). The station broadcasts an analog signal on UHF channel 45 and a digital signal on UHF channel 43 from a transmitter in New Scotland, New York. WCWN's studios are located on Balltown Road in Niskayuna alongside that of sister station WRGB, the CBS affiliate for The Capital Region.

WCWN offers The Tube, a 24-hour digital music video channel on it DT2 digital subchannel.

Contents 1 History 2 Newscasts 2.1 News 3 Logos 4 External links

[edit] History

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 a small studio were based in Schenectady. WLVI had offered a daily weather forecast for the Albany area on WEWB's website, updated daily by WLVI meterologists. 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-DT signed on the air and began broadcasting on UHF channel 43.

On January 24, 2006, the UPN and WB networks announced that they would cease broadcasting and merge to create a new broadcast television network. 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 affiliates named in the initial announcement. Albany's UPN affiliate, WNYA, was announced on March 9, 2006 that it would become the MyNetworkTV affiliate for The Capital Region. MyNetworkTV is another new broadcast television network created by FOX. In a byproduct of the switch from The WB to The CW, WEWB's calls changed to the current WCWN on May 10, 2006.

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, 2006.

On June 19, 2006, Tribune announced they would sell WCWN to Freedom Communications, the owner of CBS affiliate WRGB (which also controls sales for Albany's MyNetworkTV affiliate WNYA) for $17 million [1]. This purchase, which faced review from the FCC for much of 2006, was approved on November 22, 2006 with Freedom closing on the station on December 6, 2006. [2] The purchase gave the Albany - Schenectady - Troy market its first television duopoly. This essentially gave WRGB control of three stations. 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.

On December 6, the Tribune-run website of WCWN was shut down and a temporary one was set up. WRGB and Freedom were in 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. There is no metion of WRGB on WCWN's Freedom-run website.

WCWN may also take on the responsibility of airing CBS programs when WRBG is not able to such as in a news-related emergency.

[edit] Newscasts

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 a 7 to 8 AM weekday newcast, known as CBS 6 News on The Capital Region's CW. This newscast use to air on Albany's MyNetworkTV affiliate WNYA but was cancelled with Freedom's purchase of WCWN. At another point in 2007, WCWN will also begin airing a 10 PM newscast, also produced by WRGB. [3]

In addition, WCWN airs a public affairs program called District Issues on Capital Region's CW that airs on Sundays at 6:30 AM.

[edit] News

CBS 6 First News on The Capital Region's CW (7 to 8 AM)

• Anchored by Ed O'Brien... and Weather with Tom Mailey

other WRGB news team members are also used on the WCWN newscast, see the main WRGB article for the complete listing

[edit] Logos

WEWB's first logo, used from 1999 to 2005, similar to WLVI's 1995 to 2003 logo.

Former WEWB / WCWN logo, used 2005 to September of 2006.

WCWN's CW logo under Tribune ownership.

WCWN's current logo.

[edit] External links

• Station Website
• WRGB Website
• WNYA Website
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WCWN

Preceded by WEWB

WCWN 2006-present

Succeeded by Incumbent

Coordinates: 42° 38' 12" N 73° 59' 45" W

v • d • e

Broadcast television in the Albany / Schenectady / Troy market (Nielsen DMA #56)

Local television stations WVBK-CA 2 (RSN) - WRGB 6 (CBS, MNTV via WNYA on DT2) - WNCE-CA 8 (A1) - WTEN 10 / WCDC 19 (ABC) - WNYT 13 (NBC, WX+ on DT2) - WNYA-CA 15 / WNYA 51 (MNTV) - WMHT 17 (PBS) - WXXA 23 (FOX) - WVBG-LP 25 (RSN) - WNGN-LP 35 / WNGX-LP 42 (FamilyNet) - WCWN 45 (The CW, The Tube on DT2) - W52DF 52 / WTBY 54 (TBN) - WYPX 55 (ION) - W58CX 58 (3ABN)
Local cable television channels TW3 - TWTV7 - Capital News 9
Defunct television channels WEDG 4 (UPN) - WCDB 29 (CBS)
See also: Template:Albany AM, Template:Albany FM