WALV-CD (channel 46) is a
low-power,
Class A television station
The class A television service is a system for regulating some low-power television (LPTV) stations in the United States. Class A stations are denoted by the broadcast callsign suffix "-CA" (analog) or "-CD" (digital), although very many analog -C ...
in
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...
, United States, affiliated with
MeTV
MeTV, an acronym for Memorable Entertainment Television, is an American broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Marketed as "The Definitive Destination for Classic TV", the network airs a variety of classic television program ...
. It is owned by
Tegna Inc.
Tegna Inc. (stylized in all caps as TEGNA) is an American publicly traded broadcast, digital media and marketing services company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia. It was created on June 29, 2015, when the Gannett Company split into tw ...
alongside
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
affiliate
WTHR
WTHR (channel 13) is a television station in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside low-power, Class A MeTV affiliate WALV-CD (channel 46). Both stations share studios on North Meridian S ...
(channel 13). Both stations share studios on North
Meridian Street (south of
I-65
Interstate 65 (I-65) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates ending in 5, it is a major crosscountry, north–south route, connecting between the Great Lakes and the Gulf ...
) in downtown Indianapolis, while WALV-CD's transmitter is located near Ditch Road and West 96th Street (near
I-465) in
Carmel
Carmel may refer to:
* Carmel (biblical settlement), an ancient Israelite town in Judea
* Mount Carmel, a coastal mountain range in Israel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea
* Carmelites, a Roman Catholic mendicant religious order
Carmel may also ...
.
Even though WALV-CD operates a digital signal of its own, the low-power
broadcasting radius only covers the immediate Indianapolis area. Therefore, in order to reach the entire
market
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
*Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
*Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
Geography
*Märket, an ...
, it is
simulcast
Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...
in
16:9 widescreen
Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...
standard definition
Standard-definition television (SDTV, SD, often shortened to standard definition) is a television system which uses a resolution that is not considered to be either high or enhanced definition. "Standard" refers to it being the prevailing sp ...
on WTHR's third
digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compress ...
(13.3) from the same transmitter site.
History
Early history
The station first signed on the air on March 28, 1988, as W27AR, broadcasting on UHF channel 27. It operated first as a repeater of WTHR, and then as an
independent station
An independent station is an independent radio or terrestrial television station which is independent in some way from broadcast networks. The definition of "independence" varies from country to country, reflecting governmental regulations, market ...
known as "27 Alive." Its programming consisted of live and pre-recorded newscasts, replays of daytime
talk show
A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...
s such as ''
Sally Jessy Raphael
Sally Lowenthal (born February 25, 1935), better known as Sally Jessy Raphael, is an American former tabloid talk show host known for her program '' Sally'' (originally called ''The Sally Jessy Raphael Show'').
Early life and education
Lowent ...
'', ''
Donahue Donahue is the Americanized version of Irish surname Donohoe, which, in turn, is an Anglicized version of the ancient Irish name "Donnchadh" (sometimes "Donncha").
Donncha was a common “first name” in 9th Century Ireland, and when the use of ...
'' and
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American conservative political commentator who was the host of '' The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nationally syndicated on AM and FM r ...
's television talk show, as well as an off-hours affiliation with
National Empowerment Television
National Empowerment Television (NET), later known as America's Voice and eventually The Renaissance Network, was a cable TV network designed to rapidly mobilize politically conservative individuals for grassroots lobbying on behalf of the mo ...
. The station changed its call letters to WALV-LP on December 1, 1995 to reflect its name.
[ It has been owned by Dispatch Broadcast Group as a sister station to WTHR since its inception. In 2000, WALV was converted into a local weather service operated by WTHR—branded as the "SkyTrak Weather Network" (in reference to the weather branding that WTHR has used since it resumed using the '']Eyewitness News
''Eyewitness News'' is a style of television news presentation that emphasizes visual elements and action video, replacing the older "man-on-camera" newscast.
History Pioneered by Westinghouse
The earliest known use of the ''Eyewitness New ...
'' format for its newscasts in 1995). The station moved to UHF channel 50 in 2002, at which time, it was granted permission by the Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
(FCC) to upgrade its license
A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit).
A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
to Class A status as WALV-CA.
WALV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 50, in 2012. The station flash-cut its digital signal into operation on UHF channel 46. Through the use of PSIP
The Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP) is the MPEG (a video and audio industry group) and privately defined program-specific information originally defined by General Instrument for the DigiCipher 2 system and later extended for the AT ...
, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel
In most telecommunications organizations, a virtual channel is a method of remapping the ''program number'' as used in H.222 Program Association Tables and Program Mapping Tables to a channel number that can be entered via digits on a receiver's ...
as its physical UHF digital channel 46, instead of its former analog-era UHF channel 50; with the switch, Dispatch Broadcast Group received FCC permission to modify the station's call letters to WALV-CD.
As a Cozi TV affiliate
In March 2013, WALV-CD affiliated with the classic television and lifestyle network Cozi TV
Cozi TV (stylized on-air as COZI TV) is an American free-to-air television network owned by the NBC Owned Television Stations division of NBCUniversal. The network airs classic television series from the 1960s to the 2000s.
The network origina ...
, dropping most of the ancillary programming from its schedule as a result–although it retained the second hour of ''Weekend Today
''Weekend Today'' is currently the branding of the weekend editions of ''Today'', an American morning news and talk program that airs daily on NBC. Weekend editions of ''Today'', began with the launch of the Sunday edition of the program on Sep ...
'' on Saturday mornings. The station also began airing a nightly rebroadcast of WTHR's 11:00 p.m. newscast at midnight, a prime time rebroadcast of the syndicated talk show '' Dr. Phil'' each weeknight, as well as a limited number of infomercial
An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of dire ...
s preempting Cozi TV programming in select timeslots. On February 24, 2014, when WTHR expanded its ''13 Eyewitness News Sunrise'' weekday morning newscast to 4:00 a.m., the station moved NBC's early morning newscast ''Early Today
''Early Today'' is an American early morning news broadcasting, television news program that is broadcast on NBC on weekday mornings. The program features general national and international news stories, financial and entertainment news, off-bea ...
'' to WALV-CD in the former timeslot that the program had aired on channel 13; this continued until ''Early Today'' moved to 3:30 a.m. in July 2017. Occasionally as time permits, WALV-CD may air other NBC network programs whenever WTHR is unable to in the event of extended breaking news or severe weather coverage.
During the 2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
, some of WTHR's syndicated programming was moved to WALV and its other subchannel.
As a MeTV affiliate
By May 26, 2017, WALV-CD began simulcasting MeTV along with WTHR 13.3, dropping Cozi TV programming. However, Cozi was retained by 13.2. With the 2018 Winter Olympics
, nations = 93
, athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women)
, events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening =
, closing =
, opened_by = President Moon Jae-in
, cauldron = Kim Yun-a
, stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium
, winte ...
, WTHR again shifted programming to different times or channels, with ''Wheel of Fortune The Wheel of Fortune or ''Rota Fortunae'' has been a concept and metaphor since ancient times referring to the capricious nature of Fate. Wheel of Fortune may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Art
* ''The Wheel of Fortune'' (Burne-Jo ...
'' moving to WALV.
In the spectrum reallocation
The 2016 United States wireless spectrum auction, officially known as Auction 1001, allocated approximately 100 MHz of the United States Ultra High Frequency (UHF) spectrum formerly allocated to UHF television in the 600 MHz band. The spe ...
's repack, the station will move to physical channel 17 from 46.
On June 11, 2019, Dispatch announced it would sell its broadcasting assets, including WALV-CD and WTHR, to Tegna Inc.
Tegna Inc. (stylized in all caps as TEGNA) is an American publicly traded broadcast, digital media and marketing services company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia. It was created on June 29, 2015, when the Gannett Company split into tw ...
for $535 million in cash. It would make WALV-CD and WTHR sister station
In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement.
Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...
s to ABC affiliate WHAS-TV
WHAS-TV (channel 11) is a television station in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, affiliated with ABC. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station maintains studios on West Chestnut Street in Downtown Louisville, and its transmitter is located in ru ...
in adjacent Louisville
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border.
...
and would also mark a reentry into the state of Indiana for Tegna; its predecessor company, Gannett, owned WPTA
WPTA (channel 21) is a television station in Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States, affiliated with ABC, NBC, and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Gray Television alongside CW+ affiliate WISE-TV (channel 33). Both stations share studios on Butler Road ...
in Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...
from 1979 to 1983. The sale was approved by the FCC on July 29, and was completed on August 8.
SkyTrak Weather Network
Under its format as the "SkyTrak Weather Network," the station aired local and regional weather information for much of the day, along with replays of WTHR's noon and 6:00 p.m. newscasts and five-minute news updates that aired throughout the day; WALV also aired the second hour of the Saturday edition of ''Today
Today (archaically to-day) may refer to:
* Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now''
* Current era, present
* The current calendar date
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...
'' in lieu of WTHR (which that station preempted in order to run an expanded morning newscast), as well as a variety of programs (most of which were aimed at children) that are designed to meet the FCC's educational programming guidelines, including replays of WTHR's long-running quizbowl program '' Brain Game''. After ending its news share agreement with WNDY-TV
WNDY-TV (channel 23) is a television station licensed to Marion, Indiana, United States, serving the Indianapolis area as an affiliate of MyNetworkTV. It is locally owned by Circle City Broadcasting alongside Indianapolis-licensed CW affiliat ...
(channel 23) in 2005 upon that station's purchase by LIN TV Corporation—owners of then CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
affiliate WISH-TV
WISH-TV (channel 8) is a television station in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, affiliated with The CW. It is locally owned by Circle City Broadcasting alongside Marion-licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate WNDY-TV (channel 23) and low-power, C ...
(channel 8, which assumed production responsibilities for WNDY's 10:00 p.m. newscast after the sale was announced)—WTHR began producing ''First Forecast'' for WALV, a nightly eight-minute weather segment that aired at 10:00 p.m. seven nights a week.
Newscasts
WALV simulcasts the 4-5 a.m. hour of WTHR's weekday morning and 6–7 a.m. hour weekend morning news.
Subchannels
The station's digital signal is multiplexed
In telecommunications and computer networking, multiplexing (sometimes contracted to muxing) is a method by which multiple analog or digital signals are combined into one signal over a shared medium. The aim is to share a scarce resource - a ...
:
References
External links
www.wthr.com
- WTHR official website
*
{{Tegna
MeTV affiliates
Heroes & Icons affiliates
This TV affiliates
TheGrio affiliates
ALV-CD
Television channels and stations established in 1988
1988 establishments in Indiana
Low-power television stations in the United States
Tegna Inc.