WBKO-DT3

WBKO-DT3
Branding South Central Kentucky’s CW (general)
CW 12 (alternate)
Slogan TV Now
Channels Analog: Time Warner Cable channel 12
Digital: WBKO-DT 13.3 (VHF/PSIP)
Affiliations The CW (via The CW Plus)
Owner Gray Television
(Gray Television Licensee, LLC)
Founded September 16, 1998 (As a cable-only channel)
September 18, 2006 (OTA relaunch)
Call letters' meaning see WBKO
Former callsigns “WBWG” (1998-2006)
Former channel number(s) Digital: 33.3 (UHF, 2006-2009)
Former affiliations The WB (via The WB 100+, 1998-2006)
Transmitter power 31.5 kW
Height 220.5 metres (723 ft)
Facility ID 4692
Transmitter coordinates 37°3′49.4″N 86°26′6.7″W / 37.063722°N 86.435194°W
Website WBKO.com

WBKO-DT3 is The CW-affiliated television station for South Central Kentucky. Licensed to and serving Bowling Green, the station is a third digital subchannel of ABC affiliated WBKO, which is owned by Gray Television. Over-the-air, it broadcasts a standard definition signal on VHF digital channel 13.3 from a transmitter along KY 185/Richardsville Road in unincorporated northern Warren County. WBKO-DT3's parent station has studios at 2727 Russellville Road (US 68/KY 80) in Bowling Green alongside the William H. Natcher Parkway.

WBKO-DT3 can also be seen in on Time Warner Cable channel 12 (SD) and 117 (HD). [1] It can also be viewed on several other cable television services throughout the Bowling Green media market, including Mediacom, and the Glasgow-area cable systems of the South Central Rural Telephone Cooperative, and the Glasgow Electric Plant Board. [2] [3] [4][5]

History

As a cable-exclusive WB 100+ affiliate

From the network's launch in 1995 until the September 1998 inception of the WB 100+ feed, markets without a WB affiliate, including Bowling Green, were served via cable TV by Chicago's WB affiliate WGN-TV, one of the few national Superstations in the United States. In September 1998, WBKO-DT3 began as cable-only "WBWG", an affiliate of The WB, and received programming via The WB 100+, a national network feed specifically designed to serve WB affiliates that are not within the top 100 markets.[6] Bowling Green had a market ranking of 183. The local cable channel was a partnership between WBKO and Insight Communications (the local cable TV provider at the time). The call letters were fictional and were not recognized by the FCC since it was a cable-exclusive outlet. The channel provided all of The WB’s programming, along with syndicated programming provided by the WB 100+ feed. It had the branding "WB 12" for most of its tenure with the WB. [7] [8]

Default over-the-air WB affiliates: WBKI or WNAB?

Depending on the location, Nashville's WNAB or Campbellsville-licensed WBKI-TV based in Louisville were the default over-the-air WB affiliates for much of the Bowling Green DMA because “WBWG” was a cable-only station. WNAB's signal was able to reach the southern part of the Bowling Green market at the very least. WBKI's signal, due to that station’s transmitter location, which is near the western Raywick, covers much of Central Kentucky. Secondary coverage (Grade-B quality signal or better) was available with an antenna as far west as the Brownsville area, as far east as the Lexington and Richmond (KY) area, and as far south as the Lake Cumberland areas, but barely reached the Indiana side of that station’s home market. WBKI’s transmitter power and location at the time made that station have the largest coverage area for any station based in the state of Kentucky, covering portions of four media markets, including the Louisville, Bowling Green and Lexington markets. [9]It was still possible for some areas in Barren, Edmonson, and Hart Counties to receive WBKI's analog signal until the Digital television transition of 2009. [10] [11] [12] In addition, WBKI was also the default WB affiliate for the Lexington market after low-powered station WBLG-LP dropped their WB affiliation.

The Over-the-air debut as a CW Plus affiliate

On September 18, 2006, The WB and rival UPN (which was never available in Bowling Green except via WUXP-TV in Nashville) ended broadcasting and merged into the then-new CW, so “WBWG” joined the new network, but utilized a special network-run feed of the network known as The CW Plus, a similar operation to the WB 100+, and designed for the same purpose. At this time, after "WBWG" being on WBKO-DT3 for a time, beginning 13 days after the launch of the then-new Fox-affiliated WBKO-DT2, the fictional, or faux, callsigns "WBWG" were dropped and changed to the current WBKO-DT3. “WBWG” (now WBKO-DT3) had majorly been carried on all cable systems in the Bowling Green market since its 1998 inception. In 2006, WBKI was dropped from any Bowling Green-market cable system that carried it to make WBKO-DT3 the sole CW affiliate for the cable system’s customers. Meanwhile, WBKI was also dropped from Lexington-area cable systems to make way for former UPN affiliate WKYT-DT2 (a digital subchannel of CBS affiliate WKYT-TV, a sister station to WBKO) after that subchannel joined The CW at the time of that network’s inception. Two weeks before the CW’s launch, MyNetworkTV, a sister network to Fox, was launched for these purposes: to compete with the CW, and to give any former UPN or WB station not named as CW affiliates another option for programming besides becoming an independent station. WUXP was the default MyNetworkTV affiliate for the Bowling Green market. MyNetworkTV was not available from a Bowling Green station until the first quarter of 2014, when DTV America Corporation signed on WCZU-LD to serve as a secondary MyNetworkTV affiliate, and also to provide Antenna TV programming outside MyNetworkTV’s primetime schedule. [13] Therefore, after the launches of WBKO’s second and third subchannels, WNKY-DT2 (a CBS affiliated subchannel of NBC affiliated WNKY), and WCZU-LD, the only major commercial syndication service or network not available from a local outlet in Bowling Green is ION Television. Cookeville, Tennessee-licensed WNPX-TV, an Ion Owned-and-operated station based in Nashville, is the default over-the-air outlet for ION Television, while the national feed is majorly carried on Dish Network and DirecTV, along with some cable systems. However, WBKO-DT3, along with WCZU-LD, are the only two stations in the market not offered on Dish Network, due in part of CW and MyNetworkTV affiliated superstations being offered on Dish. DirecTV currently does not carry any of Bowling Green’s local channels.

Programming

General programming

WBKO-DT3 clears all of the CW’s primetime programming. As a CW Plus affiliate, syndicated programming on this channel is provided by the network-run feed. As of September 2014, programming includes but not limited to Seinfeld, The Steve Wilkos Show, The Cleveland Show, Cops Reloaded, House of Payne, The King of Queens, and much more. In a few events, WBKO pre-empts some of the feed’s programming in favor of other syndicated programming (such as The Andy Griffith Show) or to broadcast local sports programming, such as the tape-delayed broadcasts of the KHSAA Boy’s and Girl’s Sweet 16 high school Basketball Tournament Championship games, and the Kentucky-Indiana all-star high school basketball games in March. In some cases, WBKO-DT3 carried some Raycom Sports or SEC TV broadcasts of Southeastern Conference football and/or men’s basketball games when WBKO carried them from 2008 until 2014, depending on the scheduling of ABC or Fox Sports programming.

Newscasts

Like all affiliates of The CW Plus in the Central Time Zone, WBKO-DT3 runs the nationally syndicated morning show The Daily Buzz It airs on weekdays from 5 a.m until 8 a.m CT. Although, WBKO-DT3 does not carry any local newscasts, the station carries an alert map display denoted with the main channel’s news logo on the bottom of the screen during severe weather situations affecting any county in WBKO’s coverage area.

References

  1. ↑ Time Warner Cable Channel Lineup: Bowling Green, KY. Time Warner Cable. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  2. ↑ Mediacom Channel Lineup: Morgantown, Brownsville, Butler Co., and Edmonson Co., KY
  3. ↑ Glasgow EPB: Cable Channel Lineup. Glasgow EPB. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  4. ↑ SCRTC Cable Channel Lineup for Barren, Metcalfe, and Hart County. South Central Rural Telephone Cooperative. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  5. ↑ The CW Television Network - Affiliates
  6. ↑ Pendleton, Jennifer. (September 22, 2003). “A Salute to the WB 100+ Station Group on its Fifth Anniversary”. TelevisionWeek (Sept. 22, 2003), page 18. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  7. ↑ TheWB.com | Stations. Archived from the original June 24, 2004. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  8. ↑ The WB - Network Affiliates. Archived from the original September 1, 2000. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  9. ↑ WBKI-TV Coverage Area
  10. ↑ Archived Maps of All Full-Service Digital Television Stations - Louisville, KY. United States Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  11. ↑ WBKI-TV#Out-of-market_coverage_area
  12. ↑ WBKI-TV Station Profile - Federal Communications Commission. United States Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
  13. ↑ DTV America (December 13, 2013). “DTV America Launches New My Net TV Stations”. DTV America. Retrieved September 25, 2014.

External links