 | This article may be too long to read and navigate comfortably. (February 2024) |
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| Channels | |
| Branding | WGN, Chicago's CW; WGN News |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner | |
| History | |
First air date | April 5, 1948 |
Former call signs | WGNA (CP, 1946–1948) |
Former channel number(s) |
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Call sign meaning | Founded by the Chicago Tribune, the "World's Greatest Newspaper" |
| Technical information[3] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 72115 |
| ERP | 645 kW |
| HAAT | 454 m (1,490 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 41°52′44″N 87°38′10.2″W / 41.87889°N 87.636167°W |
| Translator(s) |
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| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | wgntv |
WGN-TV (channel 9) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, serving as the local outlet for The CW. It is owned and operated by the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is sister to the company's sole radio property, news/talk/sports station WGN (720 AM). WGN-TV's studios are located on West Bradley Place in Chicago's North Center community; as such, it is the only major commercial television station in Chicago which bases its main studio outside the Loop. Its transmitter is located atop the Willis Tower in the Loop.
The broadcast station signed on in 1948, under the ownership of the Chicago Tribune newspaper. WGN-TV later became a pioneering superstation; on November 9, 1978, it became the second U.S. television station to be made available via satellite transmission to cable and direct-broadcast satellite subscribers nationwide. Later renamed WGN America, the former superstation feed was converted into a conventional basic cable network in December 2014, enabling it to be added to local cable providers,[5][6][7][8] and later soft re-launched as NewsNation in September 2020. A charter affiliate of both The WB and of successor network The CW, WGN-TV reverted to being an independent station in 2016 before returning to the network in 2024.
WGN-TV, WGN radio and the now-defunct regional cable news channel Chicagoland Television (CLTV) were the three flagship properties of Tribune Broadcasting, itself part of the Tribune Media conglomerate (formerly known as the Tribune Company until August 2014), until the company's purchase by Nexstar was completed in September 2019.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
cw-b&cwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Commercial Broadcast Stations Biennial Ownership Report (FCC Form 323), Federal Communications Commission, January 31, 2020, p. 11, retrieved February 2, 2020
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WGN-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
reiwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Robert Feder (December 15, 2014). "WGN America comes home to Chicago". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
- ^ Kent Gibbons (December 16, 2014). "WGN America Converts to Cable in Five Markets". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
- ^ Robert Channick (December 9, 2012). "WGN America may be channel of change for Tribune Co". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
- ^ David Lieberman (May 15, 2014). "Tribune CEO Says He's "Not Pleased" With CW's Performance". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 15, 2014.