| Washington, D.C. | |
|---|---|
| Branding | ABC 7 (general) ABC 7 News (newscasts) |
| Slogan | On Your Side |
| Channels | Digital: 7 (VHF) Virtual: 7 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels | 7.1 ABC 7.2 Weather Now 7.3 RTV |
| Affiliations | ABC |
| Owner | Allbritton Communications Company (ACC Licensee, Inc.) |
| First air date | October 3, 1947 |
| Call letters' meaning | Joseph L. Allbritton (owner of the station) |
| Sister station(s) | NewsChannel 8 Politico TBD |
| Former callsigns | Analog: WTVW (1947) WMAL-TV (1947–1977) Digital: WJLA-DT (2000–2009) |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 7 (1947–2009) Digital: 39 (2000–2009) |
| Former affiliations | CBS (1947-1949, secondary from 1948) |
| Transmitter power | 52 kW |
| Height | 235 m |
| Facility ID | 1051 |
| Website | www.wjla.com |
WJLA-TV, channel 7, is the ABC affiliated television station in Washington, D.C.. It is the flagship station of the Allbritton Communications Company, which also operates local cable station NewsChannel 8. The two stations share broadcast facilities in the Rosslyn section of Arlington, Virginia. WJLA-TV shares a tower with WUSA in the Tenleytown section of Washington.
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The District of Columbia's third television station began broadcasting on October 3, 1947 as WTVW, owned by the Washington Star along with WMAL radio (630 AM and 107.3 FM, now WRQX). It was the first Band III VHF station (channels 7-13) in the United States. A few months later, the station renamed itself WMAL-TV after its radio sisters. (The WTVW callsign was later formerly used by fellow ABC affiliate WISN-TV of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, having been used briefly at the time of its launch, and is today used by the former ABC and Fox affiliate WTVW of Evansville, Indiana, which recently became an independent television station in 2011.)
WMAL radio had been an affiliate of the NBC Blue Network since 1933, and remained with the network after it was spun off by NBC and evolved into ABC. However, channel 7 started as a CBS station since ABC hadn't gotten into television yet. When ABC launched its television network in 1948, WMAL-TV became ABC's third primary affiliate. It continued to carry some CBS programming until WOIC-TV (later WTOP-TV and now WUSA) signed on in 1949. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network.[1]
In 1975 Texas businessman Joseph L. Allbritton, the owner of Washington-based Riggs Bank, purchased the Star along with the WMAL stations. As a condition of the purchase, Allbritton had to break up the newspaper/broadcast combination, which the Federal Communications Commission was seeking to prohibit under its "one-to-a market" rule. WMAL-TV was separated first from its radio sisters when ABC purchased WMAL-AM-FM in March 1977. Upon the radio transfer, channel 7 changed its call letters to the current WJLA-TV, after Allbritton's initials. Allbritton then sold the Star to Time, Inc. in February 1978.
Rumors abounded from the mid-1990s onward that ABC might buy WJLA-TV, thus reuniting it with its former radio sisters. However, ABC sold most of its radio properties, including WMAL and WRQX, to Citadel Broadcasting Corporation in June 2007. Even so, WJLA is still an ABC affiliate to this day under Allbritton because the company has an exclusive affiliation deal with the network. After WJZ-TV in Baltimore switched to CBS in 1995, WJLA became ABC's longest-tenured affiliate.
In December 2007, WJLA began simulcasting WTOP-FM on its "Weather Now" digital sub-channel, though dropped this as of late July 2009.
Since 1970, WMAL-TV/WJLA has used a variation of the Circle 7 logo, which has long been associated with ABC affiliates. From 1970 to 2001, WMAL/WJLA used its own version of the logo, with the "7" modified to accommodate the circle. This version was probably the longest continuously used numeric logo in Washington's television history. The only real modification came in 1998, after it began calling itself ABC 7 on-air and added the ABC logo to the left. In 2001, WJLA adopted the standard version of the Circle 7 logo, re-fueling speculation that ABC would buy the station. WJLA-TV is the largest ABC affiliate to use the Circle 7 that is not an ABC owned-and-operated station. In addition, sister station KATV in Little Rock, Arkansas has used the standard Circle 7 since the 1960s, longer than all WJLA versions combined.
| Channel | Programming |
|---|---|
| 7.1 | Main WJLA-TV programming / ABC |
| 7.2 | Doug Hill's WeatherNow |
| 7.3 | Retro Television Network |
In 2009, WJLA-TV returned its digital broadcasts to its analog channel number, 7. While 90 percent of the station's viewers received their signal by cable or satellite, many of the over-the-air viewers had problems after the final transition. Some needed to rescan, and others needed a VHF antenna.[2] Also, at the same time, the "WJLA-TV" callsign was legally transferred from the now-defunct analog channel 7 to the new digital channel 7 with the "WJLA-DT" callsign being retired.
WJLA applied on August 29, 2009 for special authorization by the FCC to increase its effective radiated power (ERP) to 52 kW. The power increase was put into effect on September 18, 2009. WJLA already ran 30 kW of ERP, which was higher than the other three VHF stations in the area: WUSA (12.6 kW), WBAL-TV (5 kW), and WJZ-TV (28.8 kW).[3]
WJLA operates two digital subchannels: Doug Hill's Weather Now, which shows weather radar and carries a simulcast of WTOP-FM, and the Retro Television Network, as "RTN on ABC7". RTN7 replaced "Local Point TV" at 10:00 a.m. on July 28, 2008.[4] Both subchannels are carried locally by Comcast and Verizon FiOS.
Local Point TV was a local version of current.tv, featuring short five minute video segments created by area residents. Abby Fenton, the station's Director of Community Relations said in an interview with Broadcasting & Cable that "the station likes the Local Point programming and is pondering where else it might fit".[5]
In late October 2008, WJLA began simulcasting on local low-powered station WWTD-LP; the station is expected to continue broadcasting an analog feed of WJLA after the digital transition. In late July 2009, WJLA dropped its locally produced "WeatherNow" channel for The Local AccuWeather Channel on its DT2 subchannel. It will still carry the "Doug Hill's WeatherNow" name.
Syndicated programming on WJLA includes Jeopardy! (since 1984), Wheel of Fortune (since 1990), The Oprah Winfrey Show (1989-2011), and Live with Regis and Kelly. As one of the largest stations not owned-and-operated by the network, the station generally clears all ABC programming, with only two exceptions. Locally-produced sports and election specials preempt the first hour of primetime on a few days in late summer and early fall, while the poorly-watched Saturday night network lineup is occasionally thrown out during the summer in favor of an old movie. If needed, WJLA reschedules network programming at its earliest convenience, usually during the overnight hours. In most cases, any preempted network programming can be seen on Baltimore's WMAR, which is receivable in Washington and its close suburbs with a rooftop antenna.
WJLA airs Clean Skies Sunday, a program on energy issues produced by the American Clean Skies Foundation,[6] a non-profit run by natural-gas billionaire Aubrey McClendon, CEO of Chesapeake Energy.[7]
WJLA has the largest news team in the Washington area. As the flagship station of the Allbritton chain, WJLA provides national news headlines for other Allbritton-owned stations. WJLA became the second television station in Washington (behind CBS affiliate WUSA) to broadcast newscasts in high definition, beginning on December 8, 2008. The newscast has new graphics and made minor changes to the news desk for better viewing quality with high definition. The field reports and news promotions are still in standard definition.
On January 23, 2009, WJLA laid off 26 staff members, including several on-air reporters due to financial constraints. The laid off reporters include Andrea McCarren, Sarah C. Lee, Alisa Parenti, Emily Schmidt, Jennefer Donelan, and weekend sports anchor Greg Toland. Most of the dismissals took effect immediately, but some were allowed to serve out their contracts. WJLA also announced a 4.9% salary cut for all remaining staff and a halt to company contributions to 401(k) retirement plans.[8]
Prior to 2001, WJLA's newscasts had long rated third in the market, behind WUSA and NBC-owned WRC-TV. The station scored a major coup in 1999, when it hired Maureen Bunyan, former longtime anchorwoman at WUSA. In 2003, Leon Harris, formerly of CNN, joined the station as an anchor. In 2004, WJLA hired Bunyan's former anchor desk partner, Gordon Peterson; they have since been reunited for the 6:00 p.m. news. These personnel moves, combined with WUSA's recent troubles, have led to a resurgence in the ratings. In the May 2010 sweeps, it placed number one at 5:00 p.m. in total viewers, and in the 25–54 demo.
Anchors
Weather team (all meteorologists are heard on WTOP-FM)
Sports team
Traffic
Reporters
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