Tribune Broadcasting
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Tribune Broadcasting is a group of radio and television stations located throughout the United States which are owned and operated by the Tribune Company, a media conglomerate based in Chicago.
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[edit] History
The roots of Tribune Broadcasting originated with the June 1924 purchase of radio station WDAP by the Chicago Tribune. The new owners changed the station's call letters to WGN, to match the Tribune's slogan, "World's Greatest Newspaper". WGN Radio would launch a television station, on channel nine in Chicago, in April 1948. Two months later, the Tribune's sister newspaper in New York City, the Daily News, established its own television station, WPIX (channel 11).
Over the next six decades Tribune Broadcasting, originally known as WGN, Incorporated, and from 1966 to 1981 as WGN Continental Broadcasting Company, would acquire radio and television stations throughout the United States. WGN-TV and WPIX are the only stations Tribune has owned since their inceptions. Tribune also operated several local cable television systems from 1977 to 1985. In the middle 1980s, Tribune created a new division, Tribune Entertainment, to produce and distribute television programs for both domestic and worldwide syndication. Many programs offered from Tribune Entertainment are broadcast on the company's television stations.
Tribune Broadcasting is now immersed in television, with 23 stations located in 19 markets (including four duopolies), and the cable/satellite version of WGN-TV, known as Superstation WGN. In Chicago, Tribune also operates Chicago Land Television (CLTV), a cable-only news channel. WGN is the company's sole remaining radio station.
From January 1995 to September 2006, Tribune Broadcasting was a partner in the WB television network, along with the Warner Bros. division of Time Warner. Tribune held an initial 12.5 percent ownership in the network at its launch, and later increased its stake to 22 percent; most of Tribune's television properties were WB affiliates. On January 24, 2006, the WB announced that it would merge with the CBS-owned United Paramount Network to form a new programming service called the CW. All but three of Tribune's WB affiliates became affiliates of the CW on September 18, 2006, through ten-year agreements. Tribune does not have an ownership interest in the CW.
During 2006, Tribune Broadcasting sold three television stations: WATL-TV in Atlanta to the Gannett Company, in August; WLVI-TV in Cambridge, Massachusetts to Sunbeam Television, in November ([1]); and WCWN in Schenectady, New York to Freedom Communications, in December ([2]). In early 2007, the company began to gauge outside interest in its three largest properties (WPIX, WGN-TV, and KTLA in Los Angeles) as the Tribune Company as a whole was exploring a divestiture of part or all of its holdings.
[edit] Tribune-Owned Stations
[edit] Television Stations
DMA# | City of License/Market | Station | Owned Since | Current Affiliation |
1. | New York City | WPIX 11 | 1948 | CW |
2. | Los Angeles | KTLA 5 | 1985 | CW |
3. | Chicago | WGN-TV 9 | 1948 | CW |
4. | Philadelphia | WPHL-TV 17 | 1992 | MyNetworkTV |
6. | Dallas - Fort Worth | KDAF 33 | 1997 | CW |
8. | Washington, D.C. | WDCW 50 | 1999 | CW |
10. | Houston | KHCW 39 | 1995 | CW |
14. | Tacoma - Seattle | KCPQ 13 | 1999 | Fox |
KMYQ 22 | 1998 | MyNetworkTV | ||
16. | Miami - Fort Lauderdale | WSFL-TV 39 | 1997 | CW |
18. | Denver | KWGN-TV 2 | 1966 | CW |
20. | Sacramento - Stockton - Modesto | KTXL 40 | 1997 | Fox |
21. | St. Louis | KPLR-TV 11 | 2003 | CW |
23. | Portland, Oregon | KRCW-TV 32 | 2003 | CW |
25. | Bloomington, Indiana | WTTV 4 | 2002 | CW |
Indianapolis | WXIN 59 | 1997 | Fox | |
Kokomo, Indiana | WTTK 29 (satellite of WTTV) |
2002 | CW | |
27. | San Diego | KSWB 69 | 1996 | CW |
28. | Hartford - New Haven, CT | WTIC-TV 61 | 1997 | Fox |
Waterbury, Connecticut | WTXX 20 | 2001 | CW | |
39. | Grand Rapids - Battle Creek - Kalamazoo, MI |
WXMI 17 | 1998 | Fox |
41. | York - Harrisburg - Lancaster - Lebanon, PA |
WPMT 43 | 1997 | Fox |
54. | New Orleans | WGNO-TV 26 | 1983 | ABC |
WNOL-TV 38 | 1999 | CW |
[edit] Radio Station
DMA# | Market | Station | Owned Since | Current Format |
3. | Chicago | WGN-720 | 1924 | Talk |
[edit] Stations formerly owned by Tribune Broadcasting
(partial listing)
- Atlanta: WGNX-TV (now WGCL-TV), from 1984-1999; WATL-TV, from 1999-2006 [3]
- Bridgeport, Connecticut: WICC, from 1966-19??
- Cambridge, Massachusetts: WLVI-TV, from 1994-2006
- Chicago: WFMT-FM, from 1968-1970
- Denver: KEZW; KKHK-FM (now KQMT-FM)[4]; KOSI-FM
- Duluth, Minnesota: KDAL (AM), from 1960-19??; KDAL-TV (now KDLH), from 1960-1978
- New York City: WPIX-FM/WQCD, from 1966-1997
- Sacramento: KGNR (later KCTC); KCTC-FM (later KYMX)
- Schenectady, New York: WCWN, from 1999-2006