| Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota | |
|---|---|
| City of license | Minneapolis, MN |
| Branding | WCCO Channel 4, WCCO, CCO (general) WCCO 4 News (newscasts) |
| Channels | Digital: 32 (UHF) Virtual: 4 (PSIP)[1] |
| Subchannels | 4.1 CBS |
| Translators | (see article) |
| Affiliations | CBS |
| Owner | CBS Corporation (CBS Broadcasting, Inc.) |
| First air date | July 1, 1949 |
| Call letters' meaning | Washburn-Crosby COmpany (precursor of General Mills) and taken from its sister radio station |
| Sister station(s) | KZJK, WCCO (AM), KMNB |
| Former callsigns | WTCN-TV (1949–1952) |
| Former channel number(s) | 4 (VHF analog; 1949-2009) |
| Transmitter power | 1000 kW[2] |
| Height | 432 m[3] |
| Facility ID | 9629[4] |
| Website | Minnesota.CBSLocal.com |
WCCO-TV, is the CBS owned and operated television station that serves the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota. Its transmitter is at the Telefarm complex in Shoreview, Minnesota.
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WCCO-TV's roots originate with a radio station but not one with which it is affiliated today. WRHM, which took to the air in 1925, is the station to which WCCO-TV traces its lineage. In 1934, two newspapers—the Minneapolis Tribune and the Saint Paul Pioneer Press-Dispatch—formed a joint venture named "Twin Cities Newspapers," which purchased the radio station and changed its call letters to WTCN. Twin Cities Newspapers later expanded into the then-new medium of televison with the launch of WTCN-TV on July 1, 1949 as Minnesota's second television station, broadcasting from the Radio City Theater at 50 South 9th Street in downtown Minneapolis.
When Twin Cities Newspapers sold its radio holdings (WTCN-AM 1280 and WTCN-FM 97.1) in 1952, it was able to buy the much stronger and dominant WCCO Radio 830. A new company, Midwest Radio and Television, was created to do this, with CBS as a minority partner. The call letters of Channel 4 were changed to match its new radio sister along with its network affiliation.[5] The WTCN-TV call sign would later be picked up by what is now KARE. CBS, in 1992, acquired 100% ownership of WCCO-TV.[6]
Since the May 2006 ratings period, WCCO's newscasts have claimed the top spot in total household ratings for most news programs. The exception has been the mornings, where KARE still leads all local competitors. In main demographic groups, WCCO usually comes in second place. May 2009 showed a third place finish behind KSTP at 5:00 p.m.[7]
WCCO-TV's transmitter is located at the Telefarm paired tower installation in Shoreview also used by KSTP-TV, KARE and WUCW. The market's southern and western portions gets WCCO from three low-power translators, all privately owned:
WCCO also operates two satellite stations outside of the Twin Cities area.
| Station | City of license | Channels (TV / DT) |
First air date | Former callsigns | ERP | HAAT | Facility ID | Transmitter Coordinates |
| KCCO-TV | Alexandria | 7 (VHF) 7 (PSIP) |
October 8, 1958 | KCMT (1958–1987) | 29 kW | 339.6 m | 9632 | |
| KCCW-TV | Walker | 12 (VHF) 12 (PSIP) |
January 1, 1964 | KNMT (1964–1987) | 59 kW | 286.4 m | 9640 |
Note: Both of these stations were affiliated with NBC (primary) and ABC (secondary) from their sign-on dates until the summer of 1982, when they switched to CBS.[8] Both stations were acquired by WCCO in 1987. Until 2002, they simulcasted WCCO most of the day, except for separate commercials and inserts placed into channel 4's newscasts. However, in 2002, WCCO-TV ended KCCO/KCCW's local operations and shut down the Alexandria studio, converting the two stations into full-time satellites. Since then, channel 4 has identified as "Minneapolis-St. Paul/Alexandria/Walker," with virtually no on-air evidence that KCCO and KCCW were separate stations.
Anchors
WCCO Weather Team
WCCO Sports
Reporters
Many of WCCO-TV's on-air talent went on to the networks:
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