WAVE (TV)

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WAVE
Louisville, Kentucky
Branding	WAVE 3
Slogan	Investigating the problem. Getting Results.
Channels	3 (VHF) analog, 47 (UHF) digital
Affiliations	NBC NBC Weather Plus (DT2)
Owner	Raycom Media
Founded	November 24, 1948 (Began on Channel 5 & Moved to Channel 3 in 1953)
Call letters meaning	WAVE = The word wave (as in a radio wave)
Former affiliations	CBS (secondary, 1948-50), ABC (secondary, 1948-61), DuMont (secondary, 1948-56) [1]
Transmitter Power	100.0 kW/555.0 m (analog) 1000.0 kW/392.0 m (digital)
Website	www.wave3.com/

WAVE, "WAVE3" is the NBC station in Louisville, Kentucky. It is owned by Raycom Media and broadcasts from its main studio in downtown Louisville. Its transmitter is located in La Grange, Kentucky at 38° 27' 23.00" N Latitude, 85° 25' 28.00" W Longitude.

WAVE referred to its coverage area as "WAVE Country" in the past, echoing a popular jingle and image campaign the station launched in the early 1970s. In fact, that very jingle was the image campaign of the news music theme "Home Country" compossed by Al Ham. WAVE currently uses the "Getting Results" slogan for promotion. It currently operates its digital signal on digital channel 3 (UHF 47) which offers NBC Weather Plus on 3.2 and The Tube on 3.3.

Contents 1 History 2 Programming 2.1 Weekdays 2.2 Weekends 2.3 Reporters 3 Notable WAVE-TV Alumni 4 Owners 5 External links

[edit] History

WAVE signed on November 24, 1948 on channel 5. It was Kentucky's first television station and was owned by the Norton family, who had put WAVE-AM 970 on the air in 1932. At first, it carried programming from all four networks, but was a primary NBC affiliate. WAVE-TV lost CBS in 1950 when WHAS-TV signed on, and lost DuMont programming in 1956 when that network folded, but shared ABC with WHAS until 1961 (when WLKY-TV signed on). It is the only commercial station in Louisville that has never changed its affiliation.

In 1953, WAVE moved to channel 3 due to interference from WLWT in Cincinnati. Over the years, the Nortons acquired three other television stations and two other radio stations, including WFRV-TV in Green Bay, Wisconsin (and satellite WJMN-TV in Marquette, Michigan); WMT-AM-FM-TV in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and WFIE in Evansville, Indiana. Eventually, the Norton holdings became known as Orion Broadcasting, headquartered in Louisville with WAVE-AM-TV as the flagship station.

Orion merged with The Liberty Corporation in 1981. WAVE-TV became part of Liberty's broadcast arm, Cosmos Broadcasting, while WAVE-AM was sold off. When Liberty bowed out of the insurance business in 2000, WAVE came directly under the Liberty banner.

In August 2005, Liberty announced that it was being purchased by Raycom Media of Montgomery, Alabama. This sale was completed January 31, 2006.

As of 2006, Tom Wills is the station's longest-tenured on-air personality, having forecast the weather for WAVE since 1969.

In the February 2007 ratings period, WAVE overtook former leader WHAS for second place in the mornings, and came in second in a very tight three-way race at 6 pm. It continued to finish second at 11 pm. [2]

[edit] Programming

[edit] Weekdays

• WAVE 3 News Sunrise - 5-7am
  • David McArthur
  • Carrie Weil
  • Tom Wills - Weather

• WAVE 3 Listens - 10-11am
  • Cindi Sullivan

• WAVE 3 News at Noon - 12-1pm
  • Lori Lyle
  • Tom Wills - Weather

• WAVE 3 News at 5 - 5-5:30pm
  • Jackie Hays
  • Dawne Gee
  • John Belski - Weather

• WAVE 3 News at 5:30 - 5:30-6pm
  • Scott Reynolds
  • Dawne Gee
  • John Belski - Weather

• WAVE 3 News at 6 - 6-6:30pm
  • Scott Reynolds
  • Jackie Hays
  • John Belski - Weather
  • Kent Taylor - Sports

• WAVE 3 News at 7 - 7-7:30pm
  • Scott Reynolds
  • Connie Leonard
  • Kevin Harned - Weather

• WAVE 3 News at 11 - 11-11:35pm
  • Scott Reynolds
  • Dawne Gee
  • John Belski - Weather
  • Kent Taylor - Sports

[edit] Weekends

• WAVE 3 News Sunrise - 6-7am, 9-10am Saturdays; 6-7am, 9-9:30am Sundays
  • Caton Bredar
  • Angie Glotzbach - Weather

• WAVE 3 News at 6 - 6-6:30pm
  • Janelle MacDonald
  • Andy Weingarten - Weather
  • Mike Hartnett/Bob Domine - Sports

• WAVE 3 News at 11 - 11-11:30pm
  • Janelle MacDonald
  • Andy Weingarten - Weather
  • Mike Hartnett/Bob Domine - Sports

[edit] Reporters

• Maira Ansari
• Caton Bredar
• Eric Flack
• Scott Harvey
• Janelle MacDonald
• Shayla Reaves
• Mark Schnyder
• Charla Young

[edit] Notable WAVE-TV Alumni

[edit] Owners

• 1948–1981: Orion Broadcasting (Norton family)
• 1981–2006: The Liberty Corporation
• 2006–present: Raycom Media

[edit] External links

• WAVE 3 Website
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WAVE