| Champaign / Urbana / Springfield / Decatur, Illinois |
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| Slogan |
Caring, Connected, Committed station_branding = WCIA 3 (general)WCIA 3 News (news) X 49 (on DT2) |
| Channels | Digital: 48 (UHF) & WCIX-DT 13.2 (VHF) Virtual: 3 (PSIP) |
| Owner | Nexstar Broadcasting Group (Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.) |
| First air date | November 14, 1953 |
| Call letters' meaning | We're in the Central Illinois Area |
| Sister station(s) | WCIX |
| Former channel number(s) | 3 (VHF analog, 1953–2009) |
| Former affiliations | NBC (1953–1959) ABC (1953–1954) DuMont (1953–1956) all secondary [1] UPN (2002–2006 on DT2, simulcast of WCFN) |
| Transmitter power | 1,000 kilowatts |
| Height | 245 metres |
| Facility ID | 42124 |
| Website | illinoishomepage.net |
WCIA is the CBS-affiliated television station for the Central Illinois region of the United States that is licensed to Champaign, Illinois. It broadcasts a high-definition (HD) digital signal on UHF channel 48 from a transmitter in Seymour, Illinois, along the Champaign and Piatt County line.
Owned by the Nexstar Broadcasting Group, it is a sister station to MyNetworkTV affiliate WCIX and the two share studios on South Neil Street (also known as U.S. 45) in downtown Champaign. They also operate two Springfield, Illinois, facilities (a sales office on East Edwards Street near the Illinois State Capitol and a news bureau on the 28th floor of the Hilton Hotel on East Adams Street) along with a newsroom on North Water Street in downtown Decatur, Illinois. The station can also be seen on WCIX's second digital subchannel on VHF channel 13 from a transmitter east of Springfield.
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The station's first broadcast was on November 14, 1953, and it was owned and operated by Midwest Television, headquartered in Champaign. August C. Meyer Sr., a lawyer and chairman of the board of the Champaign-based Bank of Illinois, founded Midwest Television in 1952. Meyer expanded the company's market presence by buying WMBD-AM–FM–TV in Peoria, Illinois, in 1960 and KFMB-AM–FM–TV in San Diego, California, in 1964. Midwest sold off controlling interest in its Illinois television holdings to Nexstar in 1999. That company acquired Midwest's remaining interest in the Illinois stations in 2001.
WCIA was a primary CBS affiliate, carrying secondary affiliations with NBC, and DuMont. [2] DuMont shut down in 1956 and WCIA dropped NBC in 1959 when WCHU-TV (now WICD) started. It also carried a few ABC shows during the 1953–1954 television season.
As the only commercial VHF station in Central Illinois, WCIA has been one of the county's most-dominant television stations for most of its history. On two occasions, it fought off attempts by WICS / WICD and WAND to force it onto the UHF band by claiming that moving to UHF would cause it to lose 150,000 viewers.
Despite its dominance of the market, WCIA only provides a Grade B signal to the Springfield area. It originally wanted to build its tower in White Heath, near Decatur. The tower would have been placed on some of the highest ground in Central Illinois. However, just after construction began, Prairie Television (owner of WTVP, now WAND) filed an objection. Even though it was obvious that Champaign / Urbana and Springfield / Decatur were going to be considered a single market, Prairie claimed WCIA was encroaching on its territory. To avoid delays, WCIA moved its transmitter to the current location in Seymour. Despite this, Decatur (the second-largest city in the western half of the market) receives WCIA's signal very well.
While it frequently trounced WICS / WICD and WAND in the ratings, Meyer decided to open a low-powered relay of WCIA on UHF channel 49 to get better coverage in the state capital. In 1982, this became full-powered station WCFN. In 2002, WCFN separated from WCIA and became the area's UPN affiliate. To make up for the shortfall in coverage, WCIA was added to WCFN's digital subcarrier. (WCFN became WCIX in 2011.)
For decades, WCIA was available on Bloomington / Normal cable systems along with WMBD-TV until March 2000. Shortly after Nexstar bought controlling interest in both stations, it announced it would pull WCIA from AT&T Cable Services (now Comcast) in that area due to competition. The move would make WMBD the only CBS affiliate and mean that it would not have to share advertisers with or lose ratings points to WCIA. A group of outraged residents called "Citizens to Keep WCIA on-the-air" started a group that protested against Nexstar. Nexstar did not listen and eventually dropped WCIA from Bloomington / Normal area cable systems.
In November 2006 work began to re-secure WCIA’s existing tower in Seymour so it would be able to hold a new digital transmission line and antenna. The station claimed it would begin broadcasting a high-definition signal sometime in February 2007 but not in time for the Super Bowl. [3] This marked the twelfth time the station had "updated" its proposed HD timeline — first starting in July 2006, then to September 2006, then to the end of 2006, to January 2007, to in time for the Super Bowl, now to no high-power signal over-the-air until after the game. No construction has been announced for the WCIX tower site. While WCIA did have an HD channel in time for the Super Bowl on Insight digital systems, no HD was available over-the-air for months.
Syndicated programming on WCIA includes: Rachael Ray (TV series), Ellen DeGeneres Show, Inside Edition, and Extra (TV series)
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On September 12, 2011, WCIA debuted an hour-long lifestyle and news program titled ciLiving.tv, the Springfield market’s first hour-long 4 p.m. news program; the show utilizes interactivity with viewers, through the use of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, along with online polls and audience quizzes via text message and the station’s website.[4]
In an article published on March 13, 2005, [5] The New York Times documented WCIA's use of government video news releases. The Times reported, "WCIA, based in Champaign, has run 26 segments made by the [U.S.] Agriculture Department over the past three months alone." In a follow-up to its article, The Times reported, "WCIA asked the Agriculture Department to record a special sign-off that implies the segments are the work of WCIA reporters. So, for example, instead of closing his report with I'm Bob Ellison, reporting for the U.S.D.A., Mr. Ellison says With the U.S.D.A., I'm Bob Ellison, reporting for 'The Morning Show."
Anchors
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Reporters
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Add to reporters with WCIA TV - Quentin Bradford December 1972-December 1974
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