WQTV-LP

WQTV-LP/WQWQ-LP

WQTV: Murray, Kentucky WQWQ: Paducah, Kentucky
Branding	The Heartland's CW Heartland News
Channels	Analog: WQTV: 24 (UHF) WQWQ: 9 (VHF) Digital: KFVS-DT 12.2 (VHF)
Affiliations	The CW Me-TV
Owner	Raycom Media (KFVS License Subsidiary, LLC)
Founded	WQTV: January 1, 1988
Sister station(s)	KFVS
Former callsigns	WQTV: W46BE
Former channel number(s)	WQTV: 46 (UHF)
Former affiliations	Independent (1988-1995) The WB (1995-2000) UPN (2000-2006)
Transmitter power	WQTV: 9.97 kW WQWQ: 3 kW KFVS-DT2: 6.8 kW
Height	WQTV: 167 m WQWQ: 89 m KFVS-DT2: 609 m
Facility ID	WQTV: 31410 WQWQ: 19595 KFVS-DT2: 592
Transmitter coordinates	WQTV: 36°32′58″N 88°19′52″W WQWQ: 37°2′55″N 88°35′41″W KFVS-DT2: 37°25′44.4″N 89°30′14″W

WQTV-LP is a low-powered television station in Murray, Kentucky. Licensed to the city, the station broadcasts an analog signal on UHF channel 24 from a transmitter along U.S. 641 between Murray and the Tennessee state line. WQWQ-LP is another low-powered television station in Paducah, Kentucky. Licensed to that city, this station broadcasts an analog signal on VHF channel 9 from a transmitter in Woodlawn. Together, the two serve as the CW affiliates for Southern Illinois, Southeastern Missouri, and the Purchase area of Western Kentucky. WQTV/WQWQ are co-owned with CBS affiliate KFVS-TV by Raycom Media and all three stations share studios in the Hirsch Tower on Broadway Avenue in Downtown Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

WQTV/WQWQ are known on-air as The Heartland's CW. For identification purposes, it is the WQWQ call sign that is used in the branding and logo. However, WQTV is more powerful in terms of broadcasting power. As a result of their low-powered status, the two stations do not offer digital signals of their own. However, there is one offered on a second subchannel of KFVS. This airs from a transmitter north of Cape Girardeau in rural Cape Girardeau County. WQTV/WQWQ can also be seen on area cable systems as well as DirecTV and Dish Network satellite services. Syndicated programming on the stations include: How I Met Your Mother, Everybody Loves Raymond, Access Hollywood, and ES.TV.

WQTV History

WQTV-LP began in 1988 as W46BE and was known on-air as "TV 46". It was designed to be a sister outlet for radio station WNBS-AM 1340 and had studios on Murray's Court Square. During its infancy, the channel was affiliated at various times with the All News Channel, FamilyNet, and Channel America. After its corporate bankruptcy, the license was sold to Jackson Purchase Broadcasting owners of WSJP-AM 1130 and WBLN-FM 103.7. The call letters were changed to the current WQTV-LP on August 14, 1995, and it became a WB affiliate. The station was then sold to Murray State University which continued to operate it as a for-profit enterprise. Eventually, the channel assignment was changed from 46 to 24 and MSU sold the station to current owner Raycom Media in 2004.

In 2000, WQTV switched affiliations with WDKA and became a UPN affiliate. During this period, the station was known on-air as "UPN The Beat". On January 24, 2006, The WB and UPN announced that they would end broadcasting and merge. The newly combined network would be called The CW. The letters would represent the first initial of its corporate parents: CBS (the parent company of UPN) and the Warner Bros. unit of Time Warner. On February 22, News Corporation announced that it would start up another new network called MyNetworkTV. This new service, which would be a sister network to Fox, would be operated by Fox Television Stations and its syndication division Twentieth Television.

MyNetworkTV was created in order 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. WDKA joined MyNetworkTV on September 5, while on September 18, WQTV became part of The CW. The channel re-branded as "Heartland's CW" and began to be offered on a second digital subchannel of KFVS. This was done to extend its broadcasting radius. It is unknown if WQTV and/or WQWQ will add digital signals of their own. By law, the two were not obligated to make the switch on June 12, 2009 due to their low-powered status.

On September 12, 2011, WQWQ added the classic television network Me-TV with part-time carriage.

Newscasts

Hirsch Tower.

At one point, KFVS produced a nightly half-hour prime time newscast at 9 on WQTV/WQWQ. Known as Heartland News at 9, it had a Southeastern Missouri focus in terms of news coverage. The news was dropped after the July 29, 2007 broadcast and was replaced with a rebroadcast of Oprah. Currently, the two stations rebroadcast three weekday newscasts from KFVS. This includes The Breakfast Show (at 6:30 in the morning), Heartland News at Noon (at 1 in the afternoon), and Heartland News at 10 (at 10:30 P.M.). The Sunday edition of The Breakfast Show is also repeated on this station. On October 1, 2010, Heartland News at 9 was brought back after a news share agreement was established with Fox affiliate KBSI. That channel then began airing an hour-long prime time newscast every night at 9 originating from KFVS' studios.

The Breakfast Show
(weekday mornings 6:30 to 9)

• Anchors:
  • Jim Burns
  • Lauren Keith
• Weather:
  • Brian Alworth
• Reporters:
  • Brad Zaruba - "Heartland Business Break" segment
  • Randy Ray - "Heartland Business Break" segment
  • Mike Smythe - "KFVS 12 Viewpoint" segment

(Sunday Mornings 7 to 8)

• Anchor:
  • Carly O'Keefe
• Weather:
  • Laura Wibbenmeyer

Heartland News at Noon
(weekdays 1 to 1:30 p.m.)

• Anchor:
  • Lauren Keith
• Weather:
  • Brian Alworth

Heartland News at 10
(weeknights 10:30 to 11:05)

• Anchors:
  • Jeff Cunningham
  • Mary-Ann Maloney
• Weather:
  • Bob Reeves
• Sports:
  • Todd Richards
• Reporter:
  • Mike Smythe - "KFVS 12 Viewpoint" segment seen Wednesdays

Additional personnel from KFVS are seen on this station. See that article for a complete listing.

External links

• WQTV-LP/WQWQ-LP "Heartland's CW" website
• KFVS-TV website
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WQTV-LP
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WQWQ-LP