Crosley Broadcasting Corporation

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Crosley Broadcasting Corporation [a "regional", mostly midwestern version of the larger, nation-wide RCA/NBC], founded by radio manufacturing pioneer Powel Crosley, Jr., was an early operator of radio stations in the United States. Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, Crosley's flagship station was WLW (AM). Most of its broadcast properties adopted callsigns in which the first three letters were "WLW", which stood for "[the] World's Largest Warehouse" -- indicative of the short-lived, but innovative industrial / manufacturing "empire" [certainly ahead of its time (and, hence, unsuccessful) in terms of fuel-efficient cars] of the Crosley brothers. Ironically, by the 1970's the Crosley name had ceased to exist in the memory of most US citizens (as would that of its major successor company, Avco, a decade later); but many of the "WLW-" station call-letters persist (see below). And, as of 2005 (possibly even today), the deserted ruins of a major Crosley manufacturing facility could / can be seen on the west side of I-75, just north of the area where the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History [previously the Union Central train terminal] is currently located and where "Crosley Field" once stood [renamed from "Reds Stadium" after a Crosley syndicate purchased the Cincinnati Reds from Sidney Weil and his associates (who had rescued the Reds from bankruptcy in 1929, but subsequently ran out of immediately available cash) in 1933]. Sic transit gloria to all!

During World War II, the company built the Bethany Relay Station in Butler County, Ohio's Union Township, one mile west of its transmitter for WLW, for the Office of War Information. It operated as many as five shortwave stations, using the callsigns WLWK, WLWL, WLWO, WLWR and WLWS. It operated the facility for the government until 1963; the impressively huge broadcast transmission towers (on the east side of I-75, between Dayton and Cincinnati and just south of a branded theme-park) still exist.

In 1945, the Crosley interests were purchased by Aviation Corporation. The radio and appliance manufacturing arm changed its name to Avco, but the broadcast operations continued to operate under the Crosley name, until they adopted the Avco name in 1968.

From the 1950s through the 1970s, Crosley (or Avco) operated a small television network in which programs were produced at one of its stations and broadcast on the other Crosley stations in the Midwest, and occasionally by non-Crosley stations as well. Since all of the Crosley television stations in Ohio were affiliated with NBC (with the exception of WLWI in Indianapolis, Indiana, an ABC affiliate), the Crosley programming fit into the NBC network program schedule, and some programs were even picked up for broadcast by the entire NBC network, such as Midwestern Hayride [on which Rosemary Clooney often performed] and Breakfast Party. Other programs originated on the Crosley (or Avco) network included The Paul Dixon Show and The Ruth Lyons 50-50 Club, later hosted by Bob Braun. The Phil Donahue Show started in 1967 originating from WLWD in Dayton, Ohio. The Jerry Springer Show also started from WLW-T in Cincinnati, by then owned by Multimedia, Inc., and was distributed nationwide by its syndication division, Multimedia Entertainment, which had formerly been owned by Avco (as Avco Embassy Program Sales).

In 1968 Avco, which had just purchased Embassy Pictures, consolidated its television operations into Avco Embassy Television.

Beginning in 1975, Avco sold all of its broadcasting holdings. In 1975, it sold WLWC-TV in Columbus, WLWI-TV in Indianapolis, WOAI-AM/FM/TV in San Antonio, and WWDC-AM/FM in Washington D.C.; in 1976, it sold WLW-AM and WLWT-TV in Cincinnati, WLWD-TV in Dayton, and its Avco Embassy Television and Avco Embassy Program Sales divisions; in 1977, it sold KYA-AM/FM in San Francisco and WRTH-AM in Wood River-St. Louis.

The closest thing to a "successor" to Avco Broadcasting was Multimedia, Inc., to whom Avco sold flagship TV station WLW-T, as well as Avco Embassy Television and Avco Embassy Program Sales in 1976. In December 1995, Gannett (who, coincidentally, owned former Crosley station WXIA-TV in Atlanta) acquired Multimedia, Inc., while the respective syndication division was acquired by MCA Universal. By 1997, all of the original Crosley radio and television properties had been sold off by its successor companies, with the exception of WTHR in Indianapolis, which is still owned by an affiliate of the Dispatch Broadcast Group.

Broadcast outlets operated by Crosley Broadcasting or its successor Avco included:

[edit] AM Radio Stations

[edit] FM Radio Stations

[edit] Television Stations

All are currently NBC affiliates (though WLWA/WXIA and WLWI/WTHR were ABC affiliates when they were owned by Crosley/Avco).
Current DMA# Market Station Years Owned Current Owner
9. Atlanta WLTV/WLWA 2/8/11
(now WXIA 11)		 1951-62 Gannett Company
25. Indianapolis WLWI 13
(now WTHR)		 1957-74 VideoIndiana, Inc., part of the Dispatch Broadcast Group
32. Columbus WLWC 3/4
(now WCMH 4)		 1949-76 Media General
33. Cincinnati WLWT 4/5 1948-76 Hearst-Argyle
37. San Antonio WOAI-TV 4 1965-75 Newport Television
58. Dayton WLWD 5/2
(now WDTN 2)		 1947-76 LIN TV