WXCW (channel 46)
television station
A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth ...
licensed to
Naples, Florida
Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the historical city (i.e. in the immediate vicinity of downtown Naples) was 19,115. Naples is a principal city of the Naples-Marco Island, Flori ...
, United States, serving
Southwest Florida
Southwest Florida is the region along the southwest Gulf coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is known for its beaches, subtropical landscape, and winter resort economy.
Definitions of the region vary, though its boundaries are generally ...
as an affiliate of
The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
. It is locally owned by Sun Broadcasting alongside two
low-power stations:
Univision
Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...
affiliate
WUVF-LD
WUVF-LD, virtual channel 2 (UHF digital channel 18), is a low-powered Univision- affiliated television station serving Fort Myers, Florida, United States, that is licensed to Naples. Locally owned by Sun Broadcasting, it is sister to two other ...
(channel 2) and
Azteca América
Azteca América (, sometimes shortened to Azteca) is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by INNOVATE Corp., which acquired the network from the Azteca International Corporation subsidiary of TV Azteca.
Headquartered ...
affiliate
WANA-LD
WANA-LD, virtual and UHF digital channel 16, is a low-power television station licensed to Naples, Florida, United States. Locally owned by Sun Broadcasting, it is sister to two other Naples-licensed stations: CW affiliate WXCW (channel 46) a ...
(channel 18), both also licensed to Naples. Sun Broadcasting maintains a
shared services
Shared services is the provision of a service by one part of an organization or group, where that service had previously been found, in more than one part of the organization or group. Thus the funding and resourcing of the service is shared and th ...
agreement (SSA) with Fort Myers Broadcasting Company, owner of
Fort Myers
Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...
–licensed
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
WINK-TV
WINK-TV (channel 11) is a television station licensed to Fort Myers, Florida, United States, serving as the CBS affiliate for Southwest Florida. It is owned by the McBride family and their Fort Myers Broadcasting Company, making it one of a hand ...
(channel 11), for the provision of certain services. The stations share studios on Palm Beach Boulevard (
SR 80) in northeast Fort Myers, while WXCW's transmitter is located north of
Fort Myers Shores, near the
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...
–
Lee county line.
History
The station first signed on the air on October 22, 1990, as WNPL-TV, which was founded and run by Chief Executive Officer William Darling of Southwest Florida Telecommunications. Originally operating 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 ...
, it filled a void in the market after
WFTX-TV
WFTX-TV (channel 36) is a television station licensed to Cape Coral, Florida, United States, serving as the Fox affiliate for Southwest Florida. Owned by the E.W. Scripps Company, the station has studios on Southwest Pine Island Road ( SR 78) in ...
(channel 36) joined
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
four years earlier in October 1986. The station first operated from studios located on Goodlette Road in Naples. The station was beset with problems early on, particularly concerning finding programming. Despite this, from
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
to
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
, the station carried
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park.
The franc ...
baseball games televised by
WBFS-TV
WBFS-TV (channel 33) is an independent television station in Miami, Florida, United States. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations group alongside CBS owned-and-operated station WFOR-TV (channel 4). Both stations share studios on Northwest 18t ...
in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
before the debut of the
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...
, which then claimed southwest Florida as the team's territory. It also was the area's affiliate for the
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...
broadcast network.
WNPL-TV filed for bankruptcy in 1993 after several lawsuits from creditors, including the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
, as well as two investors who claimed that Darling made misrepresentations to them when they were told they would be part of a general partnership to operate the station. The station was finally sold two years later to Second Generation, a
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
-based group, in a $4 million transaction. (Darling and his wife would be found guilty of bankruptcy fraud charges for filing fraudulent claims in connection with the WNPL sale in 1996.)
Upon Second Generation's acquisition of WNPL, which had become a charter affiliate of the United Paramount Network (
UPN
The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which prod ...
) when that network launched on January 16, the call letters were changed to WTVK on June 30. Second Generation also relocated the station's operations to the former
WEVU studios in Bonita Bay, which offered more room and easier access to satellite feeds. In 1998, Second Generation sold the station to
ACME Communications
ACME Communications was a U.S.-based broadcasting company that was involved in operations of television stations and programming from the late 1990s to the year of 2013.
Company profile
ACME Communications was co-founded by Chairman and origina ...
, which swapped affiliations with the area's cable-only
WB affiliate WSWF (later
WNFM; now defunct). It then adopted the on-air moniker "WB 6", after its cable channel location in the market.
On January 24, 2006, the merger of UPN and The WB into
The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
was announced. With ACME's CEO
Jamie Kellner
Jamie Kellner is an American former television executive. He was chairman and chief executive officer of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a division of Time Warner which includes TBS, TNT, and Cartoon Network. Kellner took over the post in 2001 ...
being a former WB executive, WTVK's future CW affiliation was virtually assured to be a mere formality. Indeed, on March 9, 2006, ACME affiliated all but one of their stations with the CW upon launch on September 18, 2006; WNFM was left with
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...
and did not confirm their affiliation until August.
On May 15, 2006, ACME announced that it would sell WTVK to Sun Broadcasting. The sale was completed on February 16, 2007, with the station subsequently changing its
call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...
to WXCW on March 2.
Newscasts
WINK-TV presently produces 27½ hours of locally produced newscasts each week for WXCW (with 4½ hours each weekday, 3½ hours on Saturdays and 1½ hours on Sundays).
As an independent station, from October 1991 to October 1992,
WNPL operated a news department, producing a prime time newscast entitled ''Channel 46 Ten O'Clock News''.
On March 26, 2007,
WINK-TV
WINK-TV (channel 11) is a television station licensed to Fort Myers, Florida, United States, serving as the CBS affiliate for Southwest Florida. It is owned by the McBride family and their Fort Myers Broadcasting Company, making it one of a hand ...
(channel 11) began producing a half-hour prime time newscast for WXCW under a news share agreement. Right from the start, it emerged at a strong second place behind WFTX's longer-established and hour-long 10 p.m. newscast. On October 20, 2007, WINK-TV became the first station in
Southwest Florida
Southwest Florida is the region along the southwest Gulf coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is known for its beaches, subtropical landscape, and winter resort economy.
Definitions of the region vary, though its boundaries are generally ...
to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in
high definition; the newscasts on WXCW were included in the upgrade. On January 7, 2008, WINK began producing a two-hour extension of its weekday morning newscast for WXCW, running from 7 to 9 a.m. The program was moved to WXCW, after WINK complied with CBS' new requirement for all of its affiliates to air its morning news program ''
The Early Show
''The Early Show'' is an American morning television show that aired on CBS from November 1, 1999 to January 7, 2012, and the ninth attempt at a morning news-talk program by the network since 1954. The program aired Monday through Friday from ...
'' (which was replaced by the revived ''
CBS This Morning
''CBS This Morning'' (''CTM'') is an American morning television program that aired on CBS from November 30, 1987, to October 29, 1999, and again from January 9, 2012, to September 6, 2021. The program was aired from Monday through Saturday. ...
'' in January 2012) in its entirety. Originally, WINK-TV had preempted the first hour of that program due to the third hour of its weekday morning newscast, which was specifically titled as ''Hello Southwest Florida''.
Beginning on October 31, 2008, the 10 p.m. newscast began to be presented commercial-free for the first 21 minutes of the broadcast. The 10 p.m. newscast was expanded to one hour on August 24, 2009. In the fall of 2010, WINK began producing a weekday 11 a.m. newscast on WXCW, that program has since been canceled until 2019. On September 16, 2013, the WINK-produced weekday morning newscast on the station was expanded by one hour, now running from 7:00 to 10:00 a.m.
Technical information
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 ...
:
On August 13, 2012, WXCW launched MundoFox (later MundoMax) on a new digital subchannel 46.2. It is also available on
Comcast
Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...
digital cable
Digital cable is the distribution of cable television using digital data and video compression. The technology was first developed by General Instrument. By 2000, most cable companies offered digital features, eventually replacing their previou ...
channel 229 in
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 ...
and channel 437 in
high definition. Once MundoMax ceased operations on December 1, 2016, the channel began to carry Estrella TV at 720p.
Analog-to-digital conversion
WXCW has been digital-only since February 17, 2009, which was the original date for TV stations to switch to digital, which was later pushed back to June 12, 2009.
[http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf ]
See also
*
Channel 32 digital TV stations in the United States
*
Channel 46 virtual TV stations in the United States The following television stations operate on virtual channel 46 in the United States:
* K04SB-D in Bakersfield, California
* K12LU-D in West Glacier, etc., Montana
* K15KO-D in Redding, California
* K17NF-D in Brookings, South Dakota
* K21MV-D in F ...
References
External links
*
WXCW-DT2WINK-TV websiteProgram Information for WXCW at TitanTV.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wxcw
The CW affiliates
Estrella TV affiliates
Television channels and stations established in 1990
1990 establishments in Florida
XCW