WXLV-TV

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WXLV-TV
Winston-Salem / Greensboro / High Point, North Carolina
Branding	ABC45
Channels	45 (UHF) analog, 29 (UHF) digital
Affiliations	ABC
Owner	Sinclair Broadcast Group
Founded	1979
Call letters meaning	W XLV = 45 (Roman numeral)
Former callsigns	WGNN-TV (1979-82) WJTM-TV (1982-84) WNRW (1984-95)
Former affiliations	Independent (1979-10/9/86) FOX (10/9/1986-95) UPN (secondary, 1995-96)
Website	www.abc45.com

WXLV-TV, based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, is the ABC affiliate serving the Greensboro/Winston-Salem, North Carolina/High Point designated market area. Licensed in Winston-Salem, WXLV-TV broadcasts its analog signal on UHF channel 45 (making it ABC's only UHF affiliate in North Carolina) and a digital signal on channel 29, and can be found on cable channel 7 on most systems. Its transmitter is located in Randleman, North Carolina.

WXLV's current numeric "45" is similar to that of Sinclair flagship WBFF in Baltimore.

[edit] History

The station signed on in 1979 as independent station WGNN-TV. It later changed its call sign to WJTM-TV. Over the years the station ran a general entertainment format consisting of cartoons, movies, sitcoms, and dramas. The station was bought by the TVX Broadcast Group in 1983, and changed its call letters to WNRW in 1984. It became the market's FOX affiliate when the network premiered on October 9, 1986. During its Fox affliation, WNRW would go by either FOX45 or TV45 on air.

TVX sold off many of its smaller stations in 1988, including WNRW, which it sold to Act III Broadcasting. Meanwhile, one of channel 45's competitors, WGGT channel 48, filed for bankruptcy in the late 1980s, and still had not emerged from it by 1991. At that time, Act III bought WGGT's programming, which it moved onto WNRW's lineup. WGGT then began to simulcast WNRW, creating a strong combined signal with over 60% overlap known as the "Piedmont Superstation."

The simulcast continued after Act III was bought by Abry in 1993. It took on a secondary UPN affiliation when that network debuted in January 1995. In September 1995, when FOX acquired longtime ABC affiliate WGHP, the ABC affiliation went to channels 45 and 48, and all FOX programming (including Fox Kids) went to WGHP. WNRW also changed its calls to WXLV-TV.

In 1996, Sinclair acquired WXLV through its merger with Abry. It then had Glencairn purchase WGGT from Guilford Broadcasters. The simulcast was discontinued, and the two stations entered into a local marketing agreement instead with all UPN programming moving to WGGT in 1997, which was renamed WUPN-TV. Since the Smith family, founders of Sinclair, owned most of Glencairn's stock, Sinclair effectively had a duopoly in the Triad. A similar situation existed in the Triangle, where Sinclair owned WLFL and Glencairn owned WRDC. Sinclair bought WUPN outright in 2000. (WUPN is now WMYV.)

The station opened a news department after becoming an ABC affiliate. However, it had no luck whatsoever competing with WFMY-TV, WGHP, and WXII-TV, and ended its morning and weekend newscasts in 2000. The news operation shut down entirely on January 11, 2002. The following year, WUPN began airing a 10pm newscast featuring former WFMY anchor Frank Fraboni as well as content from Sinclair's News Central package. The newscast, rebranded ABC 45 News Late Edition, aired at 11pm on WXLV from 2004 until 2005, when both newscasts were pulled by Sinclair for poor ratings. WXLV and sister station KDNL in St. Louis are the only two ABC affiliates under Sinclair to have no newscast to this day.

In early 2006, some viewers complained about WXLV's HDTV signal not being carried on Time Warner Cable, but the station noted that Sinclair's companywide policy is to not allow cable providers to carry their HD signals without compensation. [1]

[edit] External links

• WXLV-TV
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WXLV

ABC Network Affiliates in the state of North Carolina
WWAY 3 (Wilmington) - WSOC 9 (Charlotte) - WTVD 11 (Durham) - WCTI 12 (New Bern) - WLOS 13 (Asheville) - WXLV 45 (Winston-Salem)
See also: CBS, Fox, NBC, PBS, CW, MNTV and Other stations in North Carolina