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{{Short description|Television station in Chicago}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign               = WFLD
| city                   =
| logo                   = Fts-chicago-c.svg
| logo_size              = 240px
| branding               = {{ubl|Fox 32 Chicago|''Fox 32 News''}}
| digital                = 24 ([[UHF]]), shared with [[WPWR-TV]]
| virtual                = 32
| subchannels            =
| translators            =
| affiliations           = {{ubl|'''32.1:''' [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| owner                  = [[Fox Television Stations, LLC]]
| licensee               =
| location               = [[Chicago]], Illinois
| country                = United States
| airdate                = {{Start date and age|1966|1|4|p=y}}
| last_airdate           =
| callsign_meaning       = [[Field Communications|Field Enterprises]] (founding owner)
| sister_stations        = [[WPWR-TV]]
| former_callsigns       =
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 32 (UHF, 1966–2009)|'''Digital:''' 31 (UHF, 1999–2019)}}
| former_affiliations    = {{ubl|[[Independent station|Independent]] (1966–1986)|[[CBS]] (secondary, 1967–1970)}}
| erp                    = {{ubl|435.5 [[kW]] (STA)|1,000 kW ([[construction permit|CP]])}}
| haat                   = {{ubl|{{Convert|509.5|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} (STA)|{{Convert|520|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} (CP)}}
| facility_id            = 22211
| coordinates            = {{coord|41|52|44.1|N|87|38|10.2|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|display=inline, title}}
| licensing_authority    = [[FCC]]
| website                = {{URL|http://www.fox32chicago.com/}}
}}

'''WFLD''' (channel 32) is a [[television station]] in [[Chicago]], Illinois, United States. It is [[owned and operated]] by the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] network through its [[Fox Television Stations]] division alongside [[Gary, Indiana]]–licensed [[WPWR-TV]] (channel 50). The two stations share studios on North [[Michigan Avenue (Chicago)|Michigan Avenue]] in the [[Chicago Loop]], and transmitter facilities atop the [[Willis Tower]].

==History==

===As an independent station (1966–1986)===

====Field Communications ownership====
WFLD first signed on the air on January 4, 1966, as an [[independent station]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Coughlin |first=Francis |title=WFLD-TV to Begin Telecasting Tonight |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-wfld-tv-to-begin-telecas/173456726/ |access-date=May 30, 2025 |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=January 4, 1966 |location=Chicago, Illinois  |page=24 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> It was founded by a [[joint venture]] of the parties that each competed individually for the license and [[Construction permit#Broadcasting|construction permit]] to operate on UHF channel 32. [[Field Communications|Field Enterprises]]—owned by heirs of the [[Marshall Field's]] department store chain, and publishers of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' and the ''[[Chicago Daily News]]''—was the station's majority partner (with a 50% interest) and was responsible for managing WFLD's day-to-day operations; they were led by veteran broadcasting executive Sterling C. (Red) Quinlan.<ref>{{cite web|title=Quinlan has big plans for Chicago U|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1965/1965-02-01-BC.pdf|periodical=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|pages=50–51|date=February 1, 1965}}</ref> The station originally operated from studio facilities located within the [[Marina City]] complex on [[State Street (Chicago)|State Street]].<ref>{{cite web|title=WFLD (TV) takes to the air|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1966/1966-01-10-BC.pdf#page=48|periodical=Broadcasting|page=48|date=January 10, 1966}}</ref> Channel 32 was christened the "Station of Tomorrow" by an April 1966 ''Sun-Times'' article because of its innovative technical developments in broadcasting its signal. It also broadcast news programming from the ''Sun-Times/Daily News'' newsroom.<ref>{{cite book|title=Chicago Television|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D83ACkuGv_gC&q=WFLD+news+Sun-Times+Daily+News&pg=PA111|author=Daniel Berger|author2=Steve Jajkowski|publisher=[[Arcadia Publishing]]|page=111|date=January 1, 2010|isbn = 9780738577135|access-date=September 4, 2015}}</ref> From the fall of 1967 to summer of 1970, WFLD aired the final hour of [[CBS]]' Saturday daytime schedule from noon to 1&nbsp;p.m., in lieu of the network's owned-and-operated station [[WBBM-TV]] (channel 2).

In March 1969, Field entered into an agreement to sell WFLD to [[New York City]]-based [[Metromedia]] for $10 million.<ref>{{cite web|title=Metromedia, Post-Newsweek expand|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-IDX/69-OCR/1969-03-10-BC-0040.pdf|periodical=Broadcasting|page=40|date=March 10, 1969}}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Metromedia, Post-Newsweek expand|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-IDX/69-OCR/1969-03-10-BC-0042.pdf|periodical=Broadcasting|page=42|date=March 10, 1969}}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> At the time, the Field interests were concerned about running afoul of the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC)'s recent scrutiny of [[concentration of media ownership|commonly owned multiple media outlets]] within the same [[media market|market]]. The deal ultimately fell through nearly one year later in February 1970;<ref>{{cite web|title=Metromedia drops deal for WFLD-TV|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-IDX/70-OCR/1970-02-09-BC-0048.pdf|periodical=Broadcasting|page=48|date=February 9, 1970}}{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> following the collapse of the Metromedia purchase attempt, Field instead purchased the 50% share of WFLD that was held by its minority partners.

WFLD was noteworthy for being the longtime home of the local [[B-movie]] program ''[[Svengoolie]]''. There were two versions of the showcase: the original incarnation of the series began on the station on September 18, 1970, under the title ''Screaming Yellow Theatre'', with local [[disc jockey]] [[Jerry G. Bishop]] doing scary voices and later wearing a long green wig while portraying the character. Bishop became such a hit with viewers that the show was popularly called "Svengoolie" after his character (although the title of the program did not change), and this version lasted until late in the summer of 1973. The second version premiered on June 16, 1979, with [[Rich Koz]] as "Son of Svengoolie", and ran on channel 32 until January 25, 1986. The show was revived on [[WCIU-TV]] (channel 26) when it became an [[American English|English-language]] independent station in December 1994, and has aired there locally ever since, and began to be broadcast nationally on [[MeTV]] in April 2011.<ref>{{cite web|title=Jerry Bishop, the original Svengoolie, dead at 77|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2013/09/17/jerry-bishop-the-original-svengoolie-dead-at-77/|author=Lauren Zumbach|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|publisher=[[Tribune Publishing]]|date=September 17, 2013|access-date=September 4, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title='Son Of Svengoolie' Debuted 35 Years Ago Today|url=http://chicagoist.com/2014/06/16/son_of_svengoolie_debuted_35_years.php|author=Chuck Sudo|periodical=[[Chicagoist]]|date=June 16, 2014|access-date=September 4, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223003144/http://chicagoist.com/2014/06/16/son_of_svengoolie_debuted_35_years.php|archive-date=December 23, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=October 31, 2014 Declared 'Svengoolie/Rich Koz Day' In Illinois|url=http://chicagoradioandmedia.com/news/6576-october-31-2014-declared-svengoolie-rich-koz-day-in-illinois|website=Chicagoland Radio and Media|date=May 28, 2014|access-date=September 4, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Hageman 2011">
{{cite news|title=Svengoolie scares up a national show|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2011/04/01/svengoolie-scares-up-a-national-show/|author=William Hageman|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|publisher=Tribune Publishing|date=April 1, 2011|access-date=September 4, 2015}}</ref> WFLD also showed two more horror movie showcases, ''Monstrous Movie'' and ''Chiller Theatre'', that both aired before ''Svengoolie''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Okuda |first1=Ted |last2=Yurkiw |first2=Mark |title=Chicago TV Horror Movie Shows: From Shock Theatre to Svengoolie |date=February 9, 2016 |publisher=SIU Press |isbn=978-0-8093-3538-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=atzdDAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Monstrous+Movie%22+chicago&pg=PA113 |language=en}}</ref>

Field Enterprises sold controlling interest in WFLD to [[Kaiser Broadcasting]] in May 1972. When the deal was completed in July 1973, the two companies' new partnership resulted in WFLD joining Kaiser's stable of [[UHF]] independent stations—[[KBHK-TV]] in San Francisco, [[WKBG-TV]] in Boston, [[WKBS-TV (Philadelphia)|WKBS-TV]] in Philadelphia, [[WKBF-TV]] in Cleveland, and [[WKBD-TV]] in Detroit.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kaiser, Field put their U's together|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-IDX/72-OCR/1972-05-29-BC-0008.pdf|periodical=Broadcasting|page=8|date=May 29, 1972}}{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Kaiser-Field merger passes FCC muster|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-IDX/73-OCR/1973-05-14-BC-0034.pdf|periodical=Broadcasting|page=34|date=May 14, 1973}}{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Kaiser Broadcasting advertisement|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-IDX/73-OCR/1973-07-30-BC-0002.pdf|periodical=Broadcasting|page=2|date=July 30, 1973}}{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In June 1977, Kaiser ended the partnership when it sold its share of the stations back to Field Enterprises.<ref>{{cite web|title=FCC approves Field purchase, cites benefit to UHF medium|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1977/BC-1977-06-27.pdf|periodical=Broadcasting|pages=29–30|date=June 27, 1977}}</ref> In addition to carrying the traditional fare of [[sitcom]]s, [[drama series]], children's programs and first-run syndicated programs, the station also aired movies—initially European releases that were [[dubbing (filmmaking)|dubbed]] into English—and local [[public affairs (broadcasting)|public affairs]] programming during this period.

To counterprogram against its more established [[VHF]] rivals, channel 32 offered older [[animated cartoon|cartoons]], older off-network sitcoms, [[documentaries]], drama series, [[westerns]] and live [[broadcasting of sports events|sporting events]], although it easily trailed its biggest competitor, [[WGN-TV]] (channel 9), in the ratings among Chicago's independent stations. The station broadcast daily from 10&nbsp;a.m. to about 1&nbsp;a.m. during the 1970s, except from September to December, when the station signed on at 7&nbsp;a.m. Beginning in 1978, WFLD signed on daily before 6&nbsp;a.m. In 1975, WFLD acquired the local syndication rights to ''[[The Brady Bunch]]'' and ''[[The Partridge Family]]''; two years later, in 1977, the station won the rights to a stronger slate of cartoons such as ''[[Woody Woodpecker]]'', ''[[Tom and Jerry]]'', ''[[Popeye]]'' and ''[[The Flintstones]]''.

Channel 32 strengthened its syndicated programming slate in 1979, when it acquired the local syndication rights to ''[[M*A*S*H (TV series)|M*A*S*H]]'', ''[[All in the Family]]'', ''[[Happy Days]]'' and ''[[What's Happening!!]]''. The station also acquired the rights to ''[[I Love Lucy]]'' that year, and later added ''[[Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]]'', ''[[Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (TV series)|Buck Rogers in the 25th Century]]'', ''[[The Six Million Dollar Man]]'', ''[[Wonder Woman (TV series)|Wonder Woman]]'' and ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'' in 1982. WFLD began to beat WGN-TV in ratings as a result of its stronger programming acquisitions, and the two stations continued to go head-to-head throughout the 1980s. WFLD scored no big ticket program acquisitions in 1980 or 1981; however, in 1982, the station won the local syndication rights to popular series such as ''[[Three's Company]]'', ''[[Taxi (TV series)|Taxi]]'' and ''[[Mork and Mindy]]''.

Beginning in 1981, WFLD began overnight broadcasts of an in-vision [[teletext]] service, ''Nite-Owl'', created by and intended to promote the Keyfax service that was at the time being transmitted through WFLD's [[vertical blanking interval]] (VBI); Keyfax was partially owned by Field Enterprises. Broadcasts of the service ceased after some time as Keyfax attempted to reposition itself as a two-way information service akin to [[Prestel]] or [[Viewtron]]; the service was discontinued completely by the end of 1986.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Keycom |url=http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/carlson/history/Keycom.htm |access-date=November 21, 2022 |website=iml.jou.ufl.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=WFLD Channel 32 - Nite-Owl (Complete & Remastered, 8/25/1982) 🦉 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bgs0kbxo68w |language=en |access-date=November 21, 2022}}</ref>

====Sale to Metromedia====
In 1982, Field Enterprises began a sale of its five television stations on an individual basis—a process which continued into the following year—due to disagreements between brothers Marshall Field V and [[Ted Field|Frederick "Ted" Field]] on how to operate the company, which strained their working relationship. Incidentally, the year prior in 1981, the Field brothers sought a prospective buyer for WFLD if the company would be put up for sale. While WFLD was the leading independent station in Chicago at the time, most of the companies that were interested in buying WFLD were only willing to pay about half the amount that Field wanted for the station (at least $100 million, compared to the approximately $50 million that the most expensive UHF stations went for). In addition, most of the prospective companies were concerned that [[Tribune Broadcasting]]-owned WGN-TV could eventually overtake WFLD again in the local ratings. By mere coincidence given Field's previous aborted attempt to sell channel 32 to that group, the one company that showed interest in WFLD was Metromedia, owners of [[WNYW|WNEW-TV]] in New York City, which led the independent stations in that market and beat Tribune-owned [[WPIX]] in the ratings there.

Metromedia was ripe to compete against WGN, based on the group's success in competing against WPIX in the New York City market. In Chicago, Metromedia was given the [[right of first refusal]] to purchase WFLD. When Field began selling its stations, the company sold WFLD to Metromedia again—this time in a successfully completed deal for slightly over $100 million, a record price for a UHF station at the time. WFLD was the first of the stations that Field Communications sold when it began the liquidation process in September 1982 (with the final station to be sold—WKBD-TV in Detroit in January 1984) completing the deal for WFLD in March 1983.<ref>{{cite web|title=Through the roof with Metromedia|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1982/BC-1982-08-30.pdf|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20141127181712/http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1982/BC-1982-08-30.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 27, 2014|periodical=Broadcasting|pages=25–26|date=August 30, 1982}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Changing Hands|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-IDX/83-OCR/03-07-BC-0104.pdf|periodical=Broadcasting|page=104|date=March 7, 1983}}{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> As a condition, Metromedia was forced by the FCC to divest radio station WMET (95.5 FM, now [[WCHI-FM]]), which it sold to [[Doubleday Broadcasting]].

WFLD's programming slate changed slightly, but the station's on-air graphics and branding were abruptly changed to reflect the new ownership, with the station adopting "Metromedia 32" as its on-air brand (using a similar branding scheme that was used at new [[sister station]] WNEW-TV). Still, the old Field-era logos were used on-air by accident on some occasions through the summer of 1983. Metromedia added several first-run syndicated programs that were not previously carried in the Chicago market—as the market had only two commercial independent stations at the time as [[WSNS-TV]] (channel 44, now a [[Telemundo]] owned-and-operated station) became a full-time affiliate of the [[ONTV (pay TV)|ONTV]] subscription service the previous year—onto the station's schedule, particularly in prime time, like ''[[The Merv Griffin Show]]'' (which WFLD previously carried a few years prior, but subsequently moved to WSNS where it ran until that station became a full-time ONTV outlet). WFLD remained the top-rated independent station in Chicago throughout Metromedia's ownership of the station.

===As a Fox owned-and-operated station (1986–present)===
In May 1985, Metromedia reached an agreement to sell WFLD-TV and its five sister independent stations—WNEW-TV in New York City, [[KTTV]] in [[Los Angeles]], [[WTTG]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], [[KDAF|KRLD-TV]] in [[Dallas]]–[[Fort Worth]] and [[KRIV (TV)|KRIV]] in [[Houston]]—to [[News Corporation]], owned by [[Australia]]n newspaper magnate [[Rupert Murdoch]], for $2.55 billion ([[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] affiliate [[WCVB-TV]] in [[Boston]], the company's only network-affiliated station, was originally to be sold as well through the deal, but upon exercising a right of first refusal clause related to Metromedia's 1982 purchase of that station, it was spun off to the [[Hearst Corporation]]'s television and radio station subsidiary, [[Hearst Broadcasting]], for $450 million in a separate, concurrent deal).<ref>{{cite web|title=Another spin for TV's revolving door|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1985/BC-1985-05-06.pdf|periodical=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|via=American Radio History|pages=39–40|date=May 6, 1985}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Life among the high rollers|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1985/BC-1985-05-13.pdf|journal=Broadcasting|via=American Radio History|pages=36–39|date=May 13, 1985}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Hearst's rise in the ownership ranks|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1985/BC-1985-05-13-Page-0038.pdf|journal=Broadcasting|via=American Radio History|page=38|date=May 13, 1985}}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

That October, News Corporation—which had purchased a 50% interest in [[20th Century Fox]] corporate parent TCF Holdings for $250 million in March 1985—announced its intentions to create a [[fourth television network]] that would use the resources of [[20th Century Fox Television]] to both produce and distribute programming, intending to compete with ABC, CBS and NBC. The company formally announced the launch of the new network, the [[Fox Broadcasting Company]], on May 7, 1986, with the former Metromedia stations serving as its nuclei.<ref>{{cite news|title=FOX PLANS A TV PROGRAM SERVICE|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/05/07/arts/fox-plans-a-tv-program-service.html|author=Aljean Harmetz|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 7, 1986|access-date=March 4, 2016}}</ref> The purchase of the Metromedia stations was approved by the FCC and finalized on March 6, 1986, with News Corporation creating a new broadcasting unit, the [[Fox Television Stations]], to oversee the six television stations in April 1986.<ref>{{cite journal|title=For the record|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1986/BC-1986-03-17-Page-0110.pdf|journal=Broadcasting|via=American Radio History|page=118|date=March 17, 1986}}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Consequently, through the purchase, WFLD became one of the charter owned-and-operated stations of the Fox Broadcasting Company when the network launched seven months later on October 9. Following the sale to Fox, the station—which began branding on-air as "Fox 32"—continued to compete aggressively in the market, acquiring off-network syndicated programs such as ''[[Family Ties]]'' and ''[[The Cosby Show]]'' for its schedule.<ref>{{cite news|title=WFLD Bid Snatches Reruns Of 'The Cosby Show'|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1986/11/18/wfld-bid-snatches-reruns-of-the-cosby-show/|author=Charles Storch|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|publisher=Tribune Publishing|date=November 18, 1986|access-date=September 5, 2015}}</ref> The station also migrated its operations into its current facility at 205 North Michigan Avenue in 1986,<ref>{{cite news|title=WFLD-TV To Move Studios|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1985/09/19/wfld-tv-to-move-studios/|author=David Ibata|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|publisher=Tribune Publishing|date=September 19, 1985|access-date=September 4, 2015}}</ref> while also expanding its news presence with the launch of its news department in August 1987. The station's continued to carry its cartoon block on weekday afternoons, and top-rated off-network sitcoms in the evening hours; it also added more first-run [[talk show|talk]] and [[court show]]s.

[[File:WFLD-WPWR Studios.jpg|thumb|250px|The main entrance to the studios of WFLD & WPWR on the ground floor of [[Michigan Plaza]].]]
Although it was now part of a network, as was the case with other Fox stations during the network's early years, Channel 32, for all intents and purposes, continued to be programmed as a ''de facto'' independent station as Fox's initial programming consisted solely of a [[late-night talk show]], ''[[The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers]]''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Fox's Barry Diller Gambles on a Fourth TV Network|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/05/arts/fox-s-barry-diller-gambles-on-a-fourth-tv-network.html|author=Aljean Harmetz|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 5, 1986|access-date=June 27, 2015}}</ref> Even when Fox launched its prime time lineup in April 1987, the network only aired programs during that daypart on Saturday and Sundays early on; Fox gradually debuted additional nights of programming over the next six years until it adopted a seven-night-a-week schedule in September 1993. Until Fox began airing programming on a nightly basis, WFLD aired a movie at 7&nbsp;p.m. (initially at 8&nbsp;p.m. until 1988) on nights when network programs did not air. The afternoon and Saturday morning animation blocks were replaced by the network-supplied Fox Children's Network block (later known as [[Fox Kids]]) in September 1990. During the mid-1990s, WFLD continued to strengthen its programming schedule with acquisitions such as ''[[The Simpsons]]'', ''[[Home Improvement (TV series)|Home Improvement]]'' (which later moved to rival station WGN-TV in September 2001), and ''[[Seinfeld]]'' (which eventually moved to sister station WPWR, and later to WCIU-TV).

In 1997, after several years of being known on the air as "Fox 32" (although it began to visually de-emphasize references to channel 32 on-air in 1993), the station changed its on-air branding to "Fox Chicago". This was due to the perceived embarrassment of being on a UHF analog channel in the third-largest market in the United States, especially considering that [[The WB]] was carried on VHF station WGN-TV. For much of this period, WFLD was the only Fox owned-and-operated station that did not use the conventional "Fox (channel number)" branding standardization, even though most Chicagoans still referred to WFLD as "Fox 32" or "channel 32" (WFLD's [[Philadelphia]] sister station [[WTXF-TV]] utilized this same practice for nine years after Fox purchased that station from the [[Paramount Stations Group]] in 1994).

In June 2002, Fox Television Stations purchased [[UPN]] affiliate [[WPWR-TV]] from [[Newsweb Corporation]] for $450 million;<ref>{{cite web|title=Fox duops in Chicago|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/news-articles/fox-duops-chicago/93050|author=Steve McClellan|periodical=Broadcasting & Cable|publisher=Reed Business Information|date=June 30, 2002|access-date=September 2, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Fox Takeover to Bring Changes to Chicago-Area Television Station|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-90412674.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924165032/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-90412674.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 24, 2015|author=Kathy Bergen|agency=Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News|via=HighBeam Research|date=August 16, 2002|access-date=September 2, 2015}}</ref> the deal created a [[Duopoly (broadcasting)|duopoly]] with WFLD when it was finalized on August 21 of that year, with WPWR's operations subsequently being integrated into WFLD's facilities in downtown Chicago. When Fox ended the weekday editions of the Fox Kids block in January 2002, WFLD added more first-run [[reality television|reality]] and talk shows to its lineup. In January 2003, WFLD dropped the Fox Saturday morning cartoon block, by then outsourced by Fox to producer [[4Kids Entertainment]] and subsequently rebranded [[4Kids TV]], which was moved to WPWR—where that station aired the Saturday block in the same timeslot until Fox discontinued 4Kids TV on December 27, 2008. WFLD was the first of Fox's six original owned-and-operated stations (that were owned prior to its purchase of the [[New World Pictures#New World Communications|New World Communications]] stations) to drop Fox's Saturday children's programming, and one of the few non-New World Fox O&Os (the other being sister station [[KMSP-TV]] in [[Minneapolis]]) that currently does not run the ''[[Weekend Marketplace]]'' [[infomercial]] block, which airs on WPWR instead.

In September 2006, WFLD relaunched its website, migrating it to the "MyFox" platform that was also rolled out to the other Fox-owned stations. The MyFox sites were refreshed in 2009 using a new platform developed by Fox and [[LIN Media]] (spun off as EndPlay, which Fox owned an equity interest in). In April 2012, WorldNow began to operate the websites for Fox's O&Os.<ref name=wn-fox>{{cite web|title=Fox Stations Moving to WorldNow Platforms|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/2012/04/14/58732/fox-stations-moving-to-worldnow-platforms?ref=search|author=Harry A. Jessell|website=TVNewsCheck|publisher=NewsCheck Media|date=April 14, 2012|access-date=April 20, 2012}}</ref> On November 12, 2012, the station dropped the "Fox Chicago" branding after 15 years, and began branding as "Fox 32" full-time for the first time since 1993.

On December 14, 2017, [[The Walt Disney Company]], owner of ABC's owned-and-operated station [[WLS-TV]] (channel 7), announced its intent to buy WFLD's parent company, [[21st Century Fox]], for $66.1 billion;<ref>{{cite web|last=Arbel|first=Tari|title=Disney Buys Big Chunk Of Fox In $66.1B Deal|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/109662/disney-buys-big-chunk-of-fox-in-661b-deal|work=TV News Check|date=December 14, 2017|access-date=December 15, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Jessell|first=Harry|title=Murdoch: New Fox Interested In More Stations|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/mobile/index/article/id/109669|work=TV News Check|date=December 14, 2017|access-date=December 14, 2017}}</ref> the sale, which closed on March 20, 2019, excluded WFLD and sister station WPWR-TV as well as the Fox network, the [[MyNetworkTV]] programming service, [[Fox News]], [[Fox Sports 1]], the [[Big Ten Network]] and the Fox Television Stations unit, which were all transferred to a new company called [[Fox Corporation]].

==Programming==
===Sports programming===
WFLD acquired the rights to broadcast [[Major League Baseball]] games from the [[Chicago White Sox]] in [[1968 Chicago White Sox season|1968]], assuming the contract from WGN-TV. Under the initial deal, WFLD carried White Sox games until [[1972 Chicago White Sox season|1972]], when the team returned to WGN through a joint arrangement with WSNS-TV that lasted through the [[1980 Chicago White Sox season|1980 season]] and exclusively during the [[1981 Chicago White Sox season|1981 season]]; WFLD reassumed Sox game rights in [[1982 Chicago White Sox season|1982]], carrying most of the team's non-cable games. In October 1988, the station filed a lawsuit against the White Sox club to terminate its television contract with the team, which was set to last through [[1991 Chicago White Sox season|1991]], accusing team owners [[Jerry Reinsdorf]] and [[Eddie Einhorn]] of "gutting and stripmining the[...] team of salary investment, player quality and fan goodwill" which resulted in a decline in viewership for the games and profit losses for the station on the contract (WFLD's profits from the telecasts slid from $1.5 million profit in [[1985 Chicago White Sox season|1985]] to a loss of $1.4 million in [[1988 Chicago White Sox season|1988]], resulting in the rights fees costing four times more than the accrued revenue; ratings during that three-year period also dropped from a 5.1 share in 1985 to a 1.7 in August 1988) as well as [[breach of contract|breached]] advertising agreements with the Chicagoland [[Dodge]] Dealers consortium.<ref>{{cite news|title=TV Clout On Trial In White Sox Suit|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1988-10-21/sports/8803010857_1_white-sox-television-ratings-comiskey-park|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151210190306/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1988-10-21/sports/8803010857_1_white-sox-television-ratings-comiskey-park|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 10, 2015|author=Jeff Rusnak|newspaper=[[Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel]]|publisher=Tribune Publishing|date=October 21, 1988|access-date=September 4, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Fair-Weather Fox Chicago Station Sues White Sox for Having a Poor Team|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1988/10/08/fair-weather-fox-chicago-station-sues-white-sox-for-having-a-poor-team/8581c62a-2c1b-4e3c-8eb5-a9584d1746c0/|author=Norman Chad|author-link=Norman Chad|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=October 8, 1988|access-date=September 4, 2015}}</ref> Following an out-of-court settlement between WFLD station management and the Sox, on September 14, 1989, the White Sox announced that it would move its local television broadcasts back to WGN-TV beginning with the [[1990 Chicago White Sox season|1990 season]].<ref>{{cite news|title=On The Way To Suing Sox, WFLD Is Slated To Show 71 Games|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1989/01/15/on-the-way-to-suing-sox-wfld-is-slated-to-show-71-games/|author=Steve Nidetz|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|publisher=Tribune Publishing|date=January 15, 1989|access-date=September 4, 2015}}</ref><ref name="White Sox, Bulls Leave WFLD for WGN">{{cite news|title=White Sox, Bulls Leave Channel 32 For Channel 9|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1989/09/15/white-sox-bulls-leave-channel-32-for-channel-9/|author=Steve Nidetz|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|publisher=Tribune Publishing|date=September 15, 1989|access-date=September 4, 2015}}</ref>

Since the network established its sports division in 1994, most sports events carried on channel 32 have been provided through [[Fox Sports (United States)|Fox Sports]]. Through [[Fox Major League Baseball|Fox's coverage of Major League Baseball]], WFLD has televised two of the three [[World Series]] with Chicago teams which have occurred in the television era: the [[2005 Chicago White Sox season|White Sox]] in [[2005 World Series|2005]] and the [[2016 Chicago Cubs season|Cubs]] in [[2016 World Series|2016]], both ending in series victories for each team and ending lengthy droughts pre-dating even the [[Golden Age of Radio]].

From [[1985–86 Chicago Bulls season|1985]] to [[1988–89 Chicago Bulls season|1989]], WFLD also aired [[NBA]] games featuring the [[Chicago Bulls]]. Through the same agreement that resulted in that station obtaining the White Sox rights, WGN-TV acquired broadcast rights to the Bulls as Reinsdorf (a Chicago-area attorney and real estate investor) owns both franchises.<ref name="White Sox, Bulls Leave WFLD for WGN"/>

Through Fox's [[Fox NFL|primary rights]] to the [[National Football Conference]] (NFC), the station has aired most [[Chicago Bears]] games since the network acquired partial television rights to the [[National Football League]] (NFL) in 1994. On April 22, 2008, the Bears announced a deal with WFLD to become its official broadcast partner. Consequently, in addition to already carrying most regular season and select preseason games through Fox, it began airing preseason games through the team's syndication service as well as other Bears-related programming during the NFL season including the [[pre-game show|pre-game]] and [[post-game show]]s ''Bears Gameday Live'' (on Sunday mornings) and ''Bears GameNight Live'' (which follows ''The Final Word'' on Sunday evenings). Other team-related programs were added through the deal including WFLD-produced secondary pre-game show ''Fox Kickoff Sunday'' (which debuted in 2010; not to be confused with ''[[Fox NFL Kickoff]]'', which due to ''Bears Gameday Live'', airs on WPWR instead) and the feature/interview program ''Inside the Bears'' (which debuted in 2013).<ref>{{cite web|title=WFLD Chicago new broadcast TV home of the Bears|url=http://chicagoradioandmedia.com/news/2719-as-the-chicago-bears-return-to-wfld-tv-so-does-wfld-tvs-bears-themed-local-programming|website=TVNewsCheck|publisher=NewsCheck Media|date=April 22, 2008|access-date=September 4, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=As The Chicago Bears Return To WFLD-TV, So Does WFLD-TV's Bears-Themed Local Programming|url=http://chicagoradioandmedia.com/news/2719-as-the-chicago-bears-return-to-wfld-tv-so-does-wfld-tvs-bears-themed-local-programming|website=Chicagoland Radio and Media|date=August 30, 2012|access-date=September 4, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Chicago Bears launching new TV show Sept. 14|url=http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20130717/BLOGS04/130719839/chicago-bears-launching-new-tv-show-sept-14|author=Danny Ecker|newspaper=[[Crain's Chicago Business]]|publisher=[[Crain Communications]]|date=July 17, 2013|access-date=September 4, 2015}}</ref> On October 17, 2017, WFLD announced that it had renewed its Bears rights through the 2022 season.<ref>{{cite news|title=Robservations: Time may be up for Darlene Hill at Fox 32|author=Robert Feder|author-link=Robert Feder|url=http://www.robertfeder.com/2017/10/17/robservations-time-may-darlene-hill-fox-32/| newspaper=[[Daily Herald (Arlington Heights)|Daily Herald]]|publisher=Paddock Publications|date=October 17, 2017|access-date=January 31, 2018}}</ref> Since 2018, WFLD has, through Fox, then through [[Amazon Prime Video]], also aired any Bears games that are part of the ''[[Thursday Night Football]]'' package.

===News operation===
[[File:The WFLD-TV crew at the 69th Annual Peabody Awards for The Derrion Albert Beating.jpg|thumb|right|265px|WFLD news staff at the [[Peabody Awards|69th Annual Peabody Awards]] in 2010, at which the station's news department won for its reporting on the [[Murder of Derrion Albert|beating death of Derrion Albert]].]]
WFLD presently broadcasts 56 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 10 hours each weekday and three hours each on Saturdays and Sundays); in regards to the number of hours devoted to locally produced news programming, it is the second-highest news programming output of any station in the Chicago market, behind independent station WGN-TV (which runs {{frac|70|1|2}} hours of newscasts each week). Unlike most Fox affiliates in large markets, WFLD does not seem to carry evening newscasts on weekends.

====News department history====
During much of its history under the ownership of Field Enterprises, WFLD's news programming consisted solely of 90-second news updates, branded as ''Newscope'' (later renamed ''Newscene'' in 1979), that aired during the station's daytime and evening programming; a 10&nbsp;p.m. edition of the program consisted of five- to ten-minute locally produced inserts that served as a lead-out of the station's weeknight prime time movie presentations. During the overnight hours, the station also provided the ''Keyfax Nite-Owl'' [[teletext]] service, which provided news, weather, sports and entertainment stories fed by computer systems at the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' offices with data sent over a telephone line from an editorial office in [[Elk Grove Village]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Remember Nite-Owl on WFLD-TV Chicago?|url=http://www.vinylvoyageradio.com/2013/02/remember-nite-owl-on-wfld-tv-chicago.html|author=Bruce David Janu|website=Vinyl Voyage Radio|date=February 17, 2013}}</ref> After ''Nite Owl'' was discontinued in 1982, WFLD began airing an hour-long simulcast of [[CNN Headline News]] during the overnight hours, as well as in the early afternoon on weekdays. ''Newscope'' was canceled in 1982, shortly after Metromedia finalized its acquisition of the station.

Metromedia canceled the ''Newscope'' updates at least in part because of plans for a full-fledged news department for the station. At the time, Metromedia was also launching news operations at their [[KDAF|Dallas]] and [[KRIV (TV)|Houston]] stations as part of a news initiative centered around an hour-long, hybrid national/local newscast. While the Dallas and Houston operations launched under Metromedia ownership, the planned news department for WFLD did not come to fruition, and neither did the planned national newscast.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Alridge |first=Ron |date=October 13, 1982 |title=WFLD is planning some big news for Chicago |pages=34 |work=[[Chicago Tribune]]}}</ref>

Following the announcement that it would move the station to a new studio facility on Michigan Avenue, Fox Television Stations created an in-house news department for WFLD. The station debuted its first long-form newscasts on August 3, 1987, with the premiere of half-hour newscasts at 7&nbsp;p.m. (touted as "the news that doesn't get home before you do") and 11&nbsp;p.m., which aired Monday through Friday evenings;<ref>TV Guide Chicago Issue #1798</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Fox flashback: When Murdoch put his mark on local news|url=http://www.timeout.com/chicago/tv/fox-flashback-when-murdoch-put-his-mark-on-local-news|author=Robert Feder|author-link=Robert Feder|website=[[Time Out Chicago]]|publisher=[[Time Out Group]]|date=July 31, 2012}}</ref> this was followed by the addition of half-hour 9&nbsp;p.m. weekend editions on August 29.<ref>{{cite news|title='Fox News 32' On Target Thanks To Brantley's Straight Shooting|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1987/08/07/fox-news-32-on-target-thanks-to-brantleys-straight-shooting/|author=Steve Daley|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|publisher=Tribune Publishing|date=August 7, 1987|access-date=September 5, 2015}}</ref> Originally anchored by Kris Long and [[Robin Robinson|Robin Robinson Brantley]] (the latter of whom remained the station's lead anchor until November 2013<ref>{{cite web|title=Robin Robinson To Step Down As WFLD-TV News Anchor|url=http://chicagoradioandmedia.com/news/6074-robin-robinson-to-step-down-as-wfld-tv-news-anchor|website=Chicagoland Radio and Media|date=October 29, 2013|access-date=September 5, 2015}}</ref>), the two programs aired separately for a year until both newscasts were consolidated into a single half-hour program to compete with the 9&nbsp;p.m. newscast on then-independent station WGN-TV in November 1987,<ref>{{cite news|title=WFLD-TV Rolls The Dice With Its Nightly News Slot|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1987/11/20/wfld-tv-rolls-the-dice-with-its-nightly-news-slot/|author=Steve Daley|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|publisher=Tribune Publishing|date=November 20, 1987|access-date=September 5, 2015}}</ref> at which time the weekend editions were also canceled due to low ratings. The early newscast was moved back to 7&nbsp;p.m. by the fall of 1988,<ref>TV Guide Chicago Issue #1853</ref> and returned to 9&nbsp;p.m. by the fall of 1989,<ref>TV Guide Chicago Issue #1902</ref> in anticipation of Fox's expanding prime time schedule.

In September 1990, WFLD announced plans to launch a 24-hour local [[cable news]] channel, to have been named "Chicago Cable News", in conjunction with former WLS-TV and WMAQ-TV weathercaster [[John Coleman (news weathercaster)|John Coleman]] (who was tapped to serve as the channel's [[general manager]]) and local cable provider [[Tele-Communications Inc.]] (which sold its Chicago area systems to [[Comcast]] in 1999), for a tentative launch in January 1991. Although Chicago Cable News would have shared some video footage with WFLD, the channel planned to employ anchors and reporters separate from those seen on channel 32's newscasts.<ref>{{cite news|title=WFLD, Denver Firm To Start Cable Channel|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1990/09/18/wfld-denver-firm-to-start-cable-channel/|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|publisher=Tribune Publishing|date=September 18, 1990|access-date=September 5, 2015}}</ref> For unknown reasons, this concept never launched; incidentally, WGN-TV eventually launched a similar cable channel, [[Chicagoland Television]] (CLTV), in January 1993. In 1991, the station retitled its newscasts from ''Fox 32 News'' to ''Fox News Chicago'' (though it was largely referenced verbally as simply ''Fox News'' in report introductions and end tags).

WFLD's most consequential news hire came in April 1993 when it persuaded longtime WBBM-TV anchor [[Walter Jacobson]] to take over as lead anchor of channel 32's 9&nbsp;p.m. newscast; he also began providing taped commentaries and hosted a viewer mail segment for ''Good Day Chicago'' during its first years. Jacobson remained a main co-anchor of the 9&nbsp;p.m. newscast until 2004, when he was replaced by [[Mark Suppelsa]]; Jacobson stayed at WFLD as host of ''Fox Chicago Sunday'' and a commentator for the evening newscast until his retirement in 2006 (he subsequently came out of retirement to return to WBBM, where he remained until 2012).<ref>{{cite news|title=Changing Channels|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1993/04/30/changing-channels-10/|author=Rick Kogan|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|publisher=Tribune Publishing|date=April 30, 1993|access-date=September 5, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Walter Jacobson gets a new gig|url=http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20040628/NEWS06/200012996/walter-jacobson-gets-a-new-gig|author=Jeremy Mullman|newspaper=Crain's Chicago Business|publisher=Crain Communications|date=June 28, 2004|access-date=September 5, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Veteran television news anchor Walter Jacobson leaving WFLD-TV|url=http://www.mywebtimes.com/news/illinois_ap/veteran-television-news-anchor-walter-jacobson-leaving-wfld-tv/article_9fe647c7-a375-5cda-9c1c-d655085895fd.html|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=The Times (Ottawa, Illinois)|publisher=Ottawa Publishing Company, LLC|date=April 21, 2006|access-date=September 5, 2015}}{{Dead link|date=September 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Largely due to Jacobson's influence, WFLD's newscasts have somewhat less of a [[tabloid television|tabloid]] feel than other Fox stations. However, they are much stylistically flashier than the Chicago market's other local television news programs.

WFLD programmed news outside its established 9&nbsp;p.m. slot for the first time on June 28, 1993, when it premiered a weekday morning newscast, ''Good Day Chicago''. First anchored by [[Marianne Murciano]], Darryl Dennard and David Rose, and formatted as a mix of news, commentary and lifestyle features, the show originally aired for three hours from 6 to 9&nbsp;a.m., replacing children's programming.<ref>{{cite news|title=A Wakeup Call For The Networks|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1993/06/25/a-wakeup-call-for-the-networks/|author=Pat Widder|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|publisher=Tribune Publishing|date=June 25, 1993|access-date=September 5, 2015}}</ref> In July 1999, WFLD launched a half-hour midday newscast at noon, while expanding its morning newscast – by that time, titled ''Fox Thing in the Morning'' – to four hours (starting at 5&nbsp;a.m.).<ref>{{cite news|title=Fox To Become Newsier|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1999/04/21/fox-to-become-newsier/|author=Tim Jones|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|publisher=Tribune Publishing|date=April 21, 1999|access-date=September 5, 2015}}</ref>

On April 9, 2007, WFLD premiered a half-hour 10&nbsp;p.m. newscast called ''The TEN'', anchored by [[David Novarro]] and former WLS-TV and WBBM-TV anchor/reporter [[Lauren Cohn]]. The program (according to [[Robert Feder]]'s April 18, 2007, column in the ''Chicago Sun-Times'') beat CBS-owned WBBM-TV's 10&nbsp;p.m. newscast on its second day on the air.<ref>{{cite news|title=WFLD will air 10 p.m. newscast|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2007/03/08/wfld-will-air-10-pm-newscast/|author=Phil Rosenthal|author-link=Phil Rosenthal|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|publisher=Tribune Publishing|date=March 8, 2007|access-date=September 5, 2015}}</ref> Despite its early success against WBBM-TV, ''The TEN'' was overall never much of a factor in the ratings; towards the end of its run, it fell to a distant fifth behind established late-news competitors WBBM, WLS-TV and WMAQ-TV, and ''[[Family Guy]]'' reruns on WGN-TV. As a result, WFLD canceled the program, with its last broadcast airing on September 21, 2009.<ref>{{cite news|title=WFLD To Eliminate 10PM Newscast; "The Office" Reruns Debut In September|url=http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/towerticker/2009/07/wfld-to-eliminate-10-pm-newscast-the-office-reruns-debut-in-september.html|author=Phil Rosenthal|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|publisher=Tribune Publishing|date=July 10, 2009}}</ref>

On January 12, 2009, WFLD and [[NBC]]-owned WMAQ-TV entered into a [[Local News Service]] agreement to share a news helicopter and pool video footage between the two stations.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fox, NBC Share Chicago Chopper|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/local-tv/fox-nbc-share-chicago-chopper/41500|author=Michael Malone|periodical=[[Broadcasting & Cable]]|publisher=[[Reed Business Information]]|date=January 12, 2009}}</ref> On May 10, 2009, WFLD became the last news-producing English-language station in the market to begin broadcasting its newscasts in [[High-definition television|high definition]]; however, remote field footage continues to be broadcast in [[16:9]] [[widescreen]] [[standard definition]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Fox Chicago debuts new O&O set|url=http://www.newscaststudio.com/2009/05/13/fox-chicago-debuts-new-oo-set/#sthash.4w6Gubi6.dpuf|author=Dak Dillon|website=NewscastStudio|publisher=HD Media Ventures LLC|date=May 13, 2009|access-date=September 5, 2015}}</ref>

On July 5, 2016, WFLD launched an hour-long, weekday-only newscast at 5&nbsp;p.m, becoming the fifteenth Fox-owned station and the fifth television station in Chicago to air a late-afternoon newscast; the program competes against with half-hour early evening news programs on established competitors WBBM-TV, WMAQ-TV and WLS-TV and the second hour of WGN-TV's ''Evening News'' block.<ref>{{cite news|title=Fox 32 to launch 5 p.m. newscast July 5|url=http://www.robertfeder.com/2016/06/26/fox-32-to-launch-5-p-m-newscast-july-5/|author=Robert Feder|author-link=Robert Feder|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|publisher=Tribune Publishing|date=June 26, 2016}}</ref>

On March 30, 2017, WFLD announced that it would expand the length of ''Good Day Chicago'' to six hours, with the addition of a half-hour to the start of the program at 4&nbsp;a.m.; ironically, when the expansion took place on April 10, WFLD became the third station in Chicago to expand its morning newscast into that time period (following WGN-TV, which began its expansion into the 4&nbsp;a.m. hour in July 2011 and WMAQ-TV, which launched a 4&nbsp;a.m. newscast in August 2015).<ref>{{cite web|title=Robservations: 'Good Day Chicago' getting earlier start|url=http://www.robertfeder.com/2017/03/31/robservations-earlier-start-good-day-chicago/|author=Robert Feder|author-link=Robert Feder|website=RobertFeder.com|date=March 31, 2017|access-date=March 31, 2017}}</ref>

====Ratings====
Historically, WFLD has been one of Fox's weakest owned-and-operated stations, particularly in regards to its newscasts. In recent [[Nielsen ratings]] sweeps periods, WFLD has been mired in last place among the late evening (9 or 10&nbsp;p.m.) newscasts seen on the market's five English-language news-producing stations.<ref>{{cite web|title=WFLD/32's revamped local shows disappoint in ratings|url=http://www.reelchicago.com/article/wfld32-s-revamped-local-shows-disappoint-ratings|author=Lewis Lazare|website=ReelChicago|date=July 26, 2011|access-date=September 5, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=NBC 5 news victory comes with a catch|url=http://www.robertfeder.com/2014/02/25/nbc-5-news-victory-comes-with-a-catch/|author=Robert Feder|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|publisher=Tribune Publishing|date=February 25, 2014|access-date=September 5, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=WLS-Channel 7 late news rises in July ratings as WFLD-Channel 32 news plummets|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/news/2014/07/30/wls-channel-7-late-news-rises-in-july-ratings-as.html|author=Lewis Lazare|newspaper=Chicago Business Journal|publisher=American City Business Journals|date=July 30, 2014|access-date=September 5, 2015}}</ref> As such, Chicago, prior to WGN's disaffiliation from that network in September 2016, was one of the few markets in the country where the Fox station actually trailed that market's CW-affiliated station (WGN-TV) in the local viewership ratings, from sign-on to sign-off. This is primarily due to WGN-TV's strong news department, local sports programming, and higher-rated syndicated programming, even though WFLD has a much stronger network lead-in.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sirott returns to WFLD-Ch. 32|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2010/07/06/sirott-returns-to-wfld-ch-32/|author=Phil Rosenthal|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|publisher=Tribune Publishing|date=July 6, 2010|access-date=September 5, 2015}}</ref>

In the February 2011 sweeps period, WFLD's 9&nbsp;p.m. newscast slid to a 2.3 rating share, down more than a full point from a 3.4 during the February 2010 sweeps period. This is despite the pairing of co-anchor team Bob Sirott and Robin Robinson, suggesting that the pairing of the anchors has not been able to improve ratings.<ref>{{cite news|title=Johnson-Sullivan anchor duo paying off for WBBM-Channel 2|url=http://www.suntimes.com/business/4117157-420/johnson-sullivan-anchor-duo-paying-off-for-wbbm-channel-2.html|author=Lewis Lazare|newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|publisher=[[Sun-Times Media Group]]|date=March 4, 2011}}</ref> By February 2015, the 9&nbsp;p.m. newscast — by then, anchored by Dawn Hasbrouck and Jeff Herndon — had dropped to a 0.9 share (a decline from a 1.3 in May 2014), behind the 1.6 share accrued by WGN-TV's 9&nbsp;p.m. newscast.<ref>{{cite web|title=NBC 5 may have top story at 10 p.m.|url=http://www.robertfeder.com/2015/05/18/nbc-5-may-have-top-story-at-10-p-m/|author=Robert Feder|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|publisher=Tribune Publishing|date=May 18, 2015|access-date=September 5, 2015}}</ref>

====Notable current on-air staff====
* [[Sylvia Perez]] – anchor/general assignment reporter
* [[Roseanne Tellez]] – anchor/general assignment reporter

====Notable former on-air staff====
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Mike Barz]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Mike Barz no longer co-anchor at WFLD's 'Good Day Chicago'|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2009-07-23/news/0907220715_1_co-anchor-chicago-sun-times-longer|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130916154002/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2009-07-23/news/0907220715_1_co-anchor-chicago-sun-times-longer|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 16, 2013|last=Rosenthal|first=Phil|work=Chicago Tribune|date=July 23, 2009|access-date=September 5, 2015}}</ref>
* [[Jerry G. Bishop]]
* [[Lauren Cohn]]
* [[Jack Conaty]]
* [[Anna Davlantes]]
* [[Maurice DuBois]]
* [[Jon Duncanson]] 
* [[Amy Freeze]]
* [[Tamron Hall]]
* [[Jonathan Hoenig]] 
* [[Bill Jackson (television personality)|Bill Jackson]]
* [[Walter Jacobson]] 
* [[Jan Jeffcoat]]
* [[Jon Kelley]]
* [[Tal Kopan]]
* [[Rich Koz]]
* [[Sarah Kustok]]
* [[Rick Leventhal]]
* [[Don Lemon]]
* [[Nancy Loo]]
* [[Corey McPherrin]]
* [[Brant Miller]]
* [[Johnny Morris (American football)|Johnny Morris]]
* [[Marianne Murciano]] 
* [[David Novarro]]
* [[Anita Padilla]]
* [[Michael Pomeranz]]
* [[Robin Robinson]]
* [[Richard Roeper]]
* [[Bob Sirott]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Bob Sirott To Exit WFLD-TV|url=http://chicagoradioandmedia.com/news/5875-bob-sirott-to-exit-wfld-tv|website=Chicagoland Radio and Media|date=August 19, 2013|access-date=September 5, 2015}}</ref>
* [[Tammie Souza]]
* [[Mark Suppelsa]]
* [[Harry Volkman]]
* [[Tom Waddle]]
* [[Rafer Weigel]]
* [[Bruce Wolf]]
{{div col end}}

==Technical information==
===Subchannels===
<section begin=subs />
{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannels of WFLD and WPWR-TV<ref>{{cite web|title=RabbitEars TV Query for WFLD|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WFLD#station|website=[[RabbitEars]]|access-date=September 3, 2015}}</ref>
! scope = "col" | License
! scope = "col" | [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! scope = "col" | [[Display resolution|Res.]]
! scope = "col" | [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! scope = "col" | Short name
! scope = "col" | Programming
|-
! rowspan = "6" scope = "row" style = "border-right: 4px solid #60B0FF;" | WFLD
! scope = "row" | 32.1 
| [[720p]] || rowspan=6|[[16:9]] || WFLD-DT || [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 32.2 
| rowspan=5|[[480i]] || Movies! || [[Movies!]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 32.3 
| Buzzr || [[Buzzr]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 32.4 
| ROAR || [[Roar (TV network)|Roar]]<ref>{{Cite web|last=Miller|first=Mark K.|date=December 17, 2024|title=Sinclair Expands Broadcast Footprint Of TBD TV With 5 Top 10 Fox O&Os|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/news/sinclair-expands-broadcast-footprint-of-tbd-tv-with-5-top-10-fox-o-os/ar-AA1w2bY6?ocid=BingNewsSerp|access-date=December 19, 2024|work=TV News Check (via [[MSN]])|language=en-US}}</ref>
|-
! scope = "row" | 32.5 
| Fox WX || [[Fox Weather]]
|- style="background-color:#DFEBF6; border-top: 2px solid #003399; border-bottom: 2px solid #003399;"
! scope = "row" | [[WBBM-TV|2.3]]
| DABL || [[Dabl]] ([[WBBM-TV]])
|-
! scope = "row" style = "border-right: 4px solid #0057AF;" | WPWR-TV
! scope = "row" | 50.1 
| 720p || 16:9 || WPWR-DT || [[Independent station|Independent]] with<br>[[MyNetworkTV]]
|}
{{legend|#DFEBF6|Broadcast on behalf of another station}}
<section end=subs />
===Analog-to-digital conversion===
WFLD ended regular programming on its analog signal, over UHF channel 32, at 11:59&nbsp;p.m. on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States [[Digital television transition in the United States|transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts]] under federal mandate. The station's digital signal continued to broadcast on its pre-transition UHF channel 31, using [[virtual channel]] 32.<ref>{{cite web|title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds|url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|access-date=March 24, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf|archive-date=August 29, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

WFLD was the only television station in the Chicago market that participated in the "[[Short-term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness Act|Analog Nightlight]]" program until its analog transmitter atop the [[John Hancock Center]] was shut down permanently on June 26, 2009.<ref name="FCC Nightlight">{{cite web|title=FCC Nightlight Stations|url=http://www.fcc.gov/DA-09-1303A2.pdf|publisher=U.S. Federal Communications Commission|access-date=March 24, 2012}}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The station's transmitter was upgraded to operate at a radiated power of 1 [[megawatt]] – the maximum amount of power legally allowed for a broadcast television transmitter by the FCC – in early 2009.

On April 13, 2017, it was revealed that the over-the-air spectrum of sister station WPWR-TV was sold in the FCC's [[spectrum reallocation]] auction for $160.7 million. WPWR-TV began sharing broadcast spectrum with WFLD effective June 11, 2018.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/103245/nbc-makes-over-480-million-from-auction|title=NBC Makes Over $480 Million From Auction|work=TVNewsCheck|date=April 13, 2017|access-date=April 13, 2017}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*{{Official website|http://www.fox32chicago.com}}

{{Chicago TV}}
{{Illinois TV}}
{{Fox Indiana}}
{{Fox (company)}}
{{Major U.S. TV O-O Stations}}
{{Field Communications}}
{{Chicago Bears}}

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[[Category:Television stations in Chicago|FLD]]