Toledo 5

WT05
(cable only)
Toledo, Ohio
Branding Toledo 5, The CW
Channels Analog: 5 (cable only)
Digital: 5 (cable only)
Affiliations The CW
Owner Buckeye Cablesystem
Founded 1971 (as local cable channel)
August 7, 1989 (under traditional broadcast format)
Last air date September 1, 2014
(schedule and programming rights transferred to WTVG-DT2)
Call letters' meaning W Toledo 05 (Channel number)
Former affiliations Independent (1989-1994)
NHL on SportsChannel America (1990-1995)
The WB (1995-2006)
Website www.toledo5.com

Toledo 5, The CW (formerly ToledoVision 5 and Toledo's WB 5) was a cable channel serving Northwest Ohio, primarily serving the city of Toledo and Northwest Ohio. The channel was operated by Buckeye Cablesystem, and was originally exclusive to its subscribers, but expanded to other northwestern Ohio cable providers such as Time Warner Cable and Comcast. It was carried on channel 5 on Buckeye CableSystem and various other channel positions on Time Warner Cable and Comcast.

It existed in several forms from the launch of Buckeye as "The CableSystem" in 1971, first as a traditional public access station, and then in 1989 becoming a traditional independent station which aired programming traditionally aired in syndication by broadcast stations.

In 1995, the channel became an affiliate of The WB under the name Toledo's WB 5, using a logo with the fictitious call letters WT05. Following its merger with UPN, the channel joined The CW. Despite being a cable-only affiliate of The CW, the station never was part of The CW Plus and had been independently programmed by Block Communications and Buckeye with syndicated programming and films outside of network hours.

In September 2014, WTVG acquired Toledo 5's program inventory and CW affiliation from Buckeye, and moved it to its second digital subchannel. The move made The CW available over-the-air for the first time in Toledo.

History

The channel began broadcasting on August 7, 1989 as "ToledoVision 5", which initialized to "TV5" in local program listings. The channel originally aired on Buckeye Cablesystem's channel 5A, when the cable provider transmitted its cable channels over a dual-coax system. At the time of the channel's sign-on, ToledoVision 5 broadcast its programming daily from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m., with Travel Channel broadcasting over the channel space at other times. Notably, the channel's launch undercut an attempt by W48AP to become the market's second independent outlet upon its launch, as with Buckeye's backing, most of the syndicated programming not taken by WUPW ended up with ToledoVision 5, along with a prime channel slot compared to W48AP's 29B slot and a refusal by Block Communcations, which owned both The CableSystem and The Toledo Blade, to carry W48AP's listings outside of paid advertising. W48AP would end up carrying low-tier satellite networks by 1990, not coming back to any prominence until 1995.

The station also aired rebroadcasts of newscasts from ABC affiliate WTVG, and served as the Toledo area affiliate for SportsChannel America for its package of National Hockey League games. The station joined The WB as a charter affiliate in 1995; W48AP, by then WNGT-LP, took the UPN affiliation. Eventually the Travel Channel found its own 24/7 channel slot, and the dual-coax system was discontinued, leaving ToledoVision 5 on channel 5.

On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Time Warner announced that they would shut down their respective networks, The WB and UPN that fall. In place of these networks, the two companies would form a new service called The CW, which would combine the most-watched programs from both UPN and The WB with new series produced specifically for the network.[1] Well considered a strong WB affiliate, WT05 affiliated with The CW at launch in mid-September 2006, leaving WNGT with the MyNetworkTV affiliation and new calls in WMNT-CA.

Transfer of schedule and affiliation to WTVG-DT2

On July 24, 2014, SJL Communications announced that it would sell WTVG to Gray Television. Gray indicated that it planned to add The CW to a digital subchannel.[2][3] On September 1, 2014, Toledo 5 was discontinued: its CW affiliation and lineup of syndicated programming was moved to the new "CW 13" channel on WTVG-DT2, replacing the Live Well Network over-the-air, and taking over Toledo 5's positions on cable.[3]

Programming

Over the years, the station has carried various Toledo area sporting events including Toledo Mud Hens minor league baseball, and University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University football and basketball, to the point that Buckeye Cablesystem launched a regional all-sports network, Buckeye Cable Sports Network (BCSN) on January 7, 2004.

See also

References

  1. ↑ UPN and WB to Combine, Forming New TV Network, The New York Times, January 24, 2006.
  2. ↑ "Gray Buys Stations in Flint, Toledo For $128M". TVNewsCheck. 24 July 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Baird, Kirk (29 August 2014). "TV in the news Channels 24, 13 expanding newscasts; CW13 to replace WT05". The Toledo Blade. Retrieved 31 August 2014.

External links