| Freeport / Rockford, Illinois | |
|---|---|
| Branding | 23 WIFR (general) 23 News (newscasts) |
| Slogan | People You Can Count On |
| Channels | Digital: 41 (UHF) Virtual: 23 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels | 23.1 CBS 23.2 AccuWeather |
| Affiliations | CBS Television Network |
| Owner | Gray Television, Inc. (Gray Television Licensee, Inc.) |
| First air date | September 12, 1965 |
| Call letters' meaning | Wisconsin/Illinois Freeport/Rockford |
| Former callsigns | WCEE-TV (1965-1977) WIFR-TV (1977-1991) |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 23 (1965-2009) |
| Transmitter power | 170 kW |
| Height | 219.7 m |
| Facility ID | 4689 |
| Website | www.wifr.com |
WIFR, virtual channel 23, is the CBS television affiliate based in Rockford, Illinois and licensed to nearby Freeport. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 41, though it formerly broadcast its analog signal on channel 23, which it continues to use as its virtual digital channel via PSIP. It is currently owned by Gray Television. WIFR is the only television station in the Rockford market to retain the same network affiliation since it first signed-on.
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The station went on the air as WCEE-TV on September 12, 1965. The area's previous CBS affiliate, WREX-TV, switched to ABC full-time, sending CBS to WCEE. It has been with CBS ever since, and is the only station in the market to have never switched affiliations. The call letters were changed to the present WIFR in 1977 and stand for "Wisconsin-Illinois-Freeport-Rockford."
On the morning of July 5, 2003, a severe wind storm swept through Rockford. WIFR's transmitter tower, located behind the studio and office building at 2523 N. Meridian Rd. in Rockford, collapsed. Pieces of the tower fell onto a field behind the station's headquarters. No one was injured or killed. Nearly four months later, a new tower was erected and WIFR's signal was back to full power once again.
WIFR began to broadcast only digitally at noon on February 17, 2009.[1]
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