WCWN

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WCWN
Schenectady / Albany / Troy, New York
City of license	Schenectady
Branding	The Capital Region's CW CBS 6 News
Channels	Digital: 43 (UHF)
Subchannels	45.1 The CW 45.2 Universal Sports
Owner	Freedom Communications (Freedom Broadcasting of New York Licensee, LLC)
First air date	December 3, 1984
Call letters’ meaning	The CW Network
Sister station(s)	WRGB
Former callsigns	WUSV (1984-1987) WMHX (1987-1993) WMHQ (1993-1999) WEWB-TV (1999-2006)
Former channel number(s)	45 (UHF analog, 1984-2009)
Former affiliations	Independent (1984-1987) PBS (1987-1991 and 1993-1999) silent (1991-1993) The WB (1999-2006) The Tube (on DT2, 2006-2007)
Transmitter Power	676 kW
Height	413 m
Facility ID	73264
Transmitter Coordinates	42°37′31.3″N 74°0′36.3″W / 42.625361°N 74.010083°W / 42.625361; -74.010083
Website	cwalbany.com

WCWN is the CW-affiliated television station for the Capital District of New York State and western New England that is licensed to Schenectady. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 43 from a transmitter on Heldeburg Mountain in New Scotland. Owned by Freedom Communications, the station is sister to CBS affiliate WRGB. The two stations share studios on Balltown Road in Niskayuna. Syndicated programming on WCWN includes: Seinfeld, Scrubs, Dr. Phil, and Malcolm in the Middle. The station might take on the responsibility of airing CBS programs whenever WRGB is not able to so such as breaking news.

It has been known to air network coverage of the U.S. Open Tennis Championship. During the yearly Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, WCWN takes on the responsibility of airing WRGB's local and network lineup. During previous MLB seasons, the station has aired some New York Mets baseball games that WPIX in New York City produced. Games were shown on Fridays nights, Saturdays, and Sundays. The arrangement was a result of WCWN and WPIX being sister stations at one point. Although WCWN is now owned by Freedom, this arrangement continues.

[edit] Digital television

The station's digital signal is multiplexed.

[edit] History

WCWN originated as an independent station on December 3, 1984 under the call letters WUSV (Union Street Video). As with most independent stations during that period, the station had difficulties from the outset in terms of getting programming (with only afternoon cartoons and some reruns getting respectable ratings). As a result, the station went through financial difficulties. In 1987, Union Street Video sold the station in a fire sale to WMHT Educational Telecommunications, which made it a secondary PBS station under the calls of WMHX. This arrangement lasted until 1991 when, due to financial difficulties, WMHX went off air. Two years later, the station returned to the air with the new calls WMHQ while taking on a large amount of instructional programming alongside repeats and double runs. Further financial difficulties at WMHT led to a sale of WMHQ in the late-1990s.

After a sale to Sinclair Broadcast Group (to make the station a dual UPN / WB affiliate) fell through, Tribune Broadcasting bought the station in 1999 for $18.5 million. On September 6, 1999, WMHQ joined The WB and received a new callsign, WEWB as well as the on-air branding of "WB 45". The station became the first (and so far, only) network-owned station in the Capital District (Tribune had a minority stake in The WB). From the station's relaunch as WEWB until December 2006, master control of the station was located at sister station and WB affiliate WLVI-TV in Boston. However, the local offices were located in Corporate Woods in Albany. In 2005, the "WB 45" name was succeeded by Capital Region's WB at the tail-end of a period in which most of Tribune's WB affiliates (minus VHF's and "heritage" stations) were rebranded in the same format.

In 2004, WEWB's digital signal signed on the air and began broadcasting on UHF channel 43. On January 24, 2006, UPN and The WB announced that they would cease broadcasting and merge. The new network would be called The CW, the letters representing the first initial of its corporate parents: CBS (the parent company of UPN) and the Warner Bros. unit of Time Warner. WEWB was one of the Tribune WB affiliates named in the initial announcement of a new 10 year affiliation deal with the new network. On February 22, News Corporation announced that they would start up another new network called MyNetworkTV. This new network, which would be sister to FOX, would be operated by FOX Television Stations and its syndication division Twentieth Television. MyNetworkTV was created to give UPN and WB stations, not mentioned as becoming CW affiliates, another option besides becoming independent. It was also created to compete against The CW. Albany's UPN affiliate, WNYA, was announced on March 9 that it would become the Capital Region's MyNetworkTV affiliate. In a byproduct of WEWB's switch from The WB to The CW, the station's call letters changed to the current WCWN on May 10. On June 19, 2006, Tribune announced they would sell WCWN to Freedom Communications, the owner of CBS affiliate WRGB (who also managed advertising sales for WNYA) for $17 million dollars.

The purchase, which faced review from the FCC for much of 2006, was approved on November 22 (when the FCC granted Freedom a "failed station" waiver for the station's purchase) with Freedom closing on the station on December 6. Master control of WCWN moved from WLVI's studios in Boston to WRGB's studios in Niskayuna. WCWN's administrative offices at the Corporate Woods Office Park in Albany, were also closed. The purchase gave the Capital Region market its first television duopoly. For a short period of time, this essentially gave WRGB control of three stations. From April of 2003 until February of 2007, WRGB had a joint sales agreement (JSA) with WNYA. In July 2006, commercials for The CW as well as syndicated fall programming had the station taking the The Capital Region's CW branding effective with the network's launch which happened on September 18. On December 6, Freedom began to maintain WCWN's website. From its launch in 2006 until October 1, 2007, WCWN had offered The Tube (a 24-hour digital music video channel) on its second digital subchannel and Time Warner digital cable. On November 1, 2008, WCWN-DT2 relaunched as an affiliate of MGM and Weigel Broadcasting's This TV network, then shortly thereafter swapped subchannels with WRGB, giving WCWN the Universal Sports subchannel. It remains to be seen if this new service will be offered on Time Warner digital cable. The station ended transmission on analog channel 45 on June 12, 2009.

[edit] Newscasts

WCWN's weeknight news open.

During the station's period as WMHQ, it partnered with NBC affiliate WNYT to launch the market's first 10 o'clock newscast which ran from 1996 to 1998. The news was canceled due to a lack of support. At the outset of the station's relaunch as WEWB, Tribune planned to possibly launch a news department for the station with some support from another station in the market. These plans were indefinitely put on hold after Tribune put a news freeze in place and did not consider such a launch to be a priority. Under WCWN's new ownership by Freedom Communications, and its resources from WRGB, newscasts on the station has become a reality. The station airs an hour long extension of WRGB's weekday morning news at 7 o'clock.

It had aired on MyNetworkTV affiliate WNYA but was moved over to WCWN. This switch occurred at the start of 2007 as a result of WCWN having higher ratings than WNYA. Reports have circulated about WRGB launching a 10 P.M. news on WCWN. However, the moving of a second run of Dr. Phil to the time slot put those plans on hold. In 2007, WCWN aired WRGB's 11 o'clock news during CBS's coverage of the NCAA March Madness Basketball (it occurred again in 2008). On January 14, 2008, the morning news on WCWN began to be produced in high definition. A day earlier, WRGB became the first station in the market to make the transition. On September 24, WRGB started producing a weeknight 10 o'clock newscast in high definition. Airing for 10 minutes, it features the top stories of the day along with an updated weather forecast.

CBS 6 First News on The Capital Region's CW
(Weekday Mornings 7 to 8)

• Anchor:
  • Ed O'Brien
  • Carey Proctor
• Weather:
  • Neal Estano

The CBS 6 News 10 at 10
(Weeknights 10 to 10:10)

• Anchor:
  • Dori Marlin
• Weather:
  • Steve Lapointe

WCWN uses additional news personnel from WRGB. See that article for a complete listing.

[edit] Logos

WEWB's first logo used 1999-2005. It is similar to WLVI's 1995-2003 logo.

Former WEWB / WCWN logo used from 2005 until September 2006. During the transformation of The WB, and The CW in 2006, a animation would be played for both networks, as it showed The WB logo, and then would "bounce" or "fly" off screen, while The CW bug would be in place for a moment.

WCWN's CW logo under Tribune ownership.

The station's current CW logo.

[edit] External links

• WCWN "The Capital Region's CW"
• WRGB "CBS 6 Albany"
• The CW
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WCWN