View source for WLWT

{{Short description|Television station in Cincinnati}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign               = WLWT
| city                   =
| logo                   = WLWT 2.1.svg
| logo_size              = 220px
| image                  = WLWT Subchannel MeTV.png
| image_size             = 140px
| branding               = WLWT 5; ''WLWT News 5''
| digital                = 20 ([[UHF]])
| virtual                = 5
| translators            = 
| affiliations           = {{ubl|'''5.1:''' [[NBC]]|''for others, see {{Section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| owner                  = [[Hearst Television]]
| licensee               = Ohio-Oklahoma Hearst Television Inc.
| location               = [[Cincinnati]], Ohio
| country                = United States
| airdate                = {{start date and age|1948|2|9|p=y}}
| last_airdate           = 
| callsign_meaning       = "[[WLW]] Television" (former sister to radio station)
| sister_stations        = 
| former_callsigns       = W8XCT (experimental, 1946–1948)
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' [[Channel 1 (NTSC-M)|1]] ([[VHF]], 1946–1948), 4 (VHF, 1948–1952), 5 (VHF, 1952–2009)|'''Digital:''' 35 (UHF, 1998–2019)}}
| former_affiliations    = {{ubl|'''All secondary:'''|[[CBS]]/[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]/[[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]] (1948–1949)|[[UPN]] (April–September 1998)}}
| erp                    = 880 kW
| haat                   = {{convert|309.2|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id            = 46979
| coordinates            = {{coord|39|7|27|N|84|31|18|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}
| licensing_authority    = [[FCC]]
| website                = {{URL|https://www.wlwt.com/}} 
}}

'''WLWT''' (channel 5) is a television station in [[Cincinnati]], Ohio, United States, affiliated with [[NBC]] and owned by [[Hearst Television]]. The station's studios are located on Young Street, and its [[WLWT TV Tower|transmitter]] is located on Chickasaw Street, both in the [[Mount Auburn, Cincinnati|Mount Auburn]] neighborhood of Cincinnati.

==History==

===The Crosley/Avco years===
WLWT was established by the [[Crosley Broadcasting Corporation]], owners of [[WLW]] (700 AM), one of the United States' most powerful radio stations. Crosley Broadcasting was a subsidiary of the Crosley Corporation, which became a subsidiary of the Aviation Corporation (later known as [[Avco]]) in 1945. After starting experimental broadcasts in 1946 as W8XCT on [[channel 1 (NTSC-M)|channel 1]],<ref name="Cooper">{{cite web |title=Why don't US TV Sets have a Channel 1? |first=Bob |last=Cooper |work=Official WTFDA Club Website |publisher=Worldwide TV-FM DX Association |date=February 15, 2000 |url=http://www.wtfda.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18&Itemid=25 |access-date=February 1, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011033135/http://www.wtfda.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18&Itemid=25 |archive-date=October 11, 2007 |url-status=dead}}<!-- http://anarc.org/wtfda/channel1.htm --></ref><ref name="Thomas">{{cite news |title=Liberace, Springer Only Part of WLWT's History|first=David |last=Thomas |work=WLWT.com |publisher=Hearst-Argyle Television |year=2002 |url=http://www.wlwt.com/station/297433/detail.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524083100/http://www.wlwt.com/station/297433/detail.html|archive-date=May 24, 2011}}</ref> the station began commercial broadcasts on February 9, 1948,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/48-OCR/1948-02-02-BC-OCR-Page-0064.pdf|magazine=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|title=Crosley Cincinnati TV Station Becomes WLWT|page=58|date=February 2, 1948|access-date=December 3, 2019}}</ref> on [[VHF]] channel 4, making it Cincinnati's first television station and Ohio's second (after [[WEWS]], [[Cleveland]]). The station's studios were housed with WLW in the [[Crosley Square]] building, a converted [[Elks lodge]] in downtown Cincinnati.<ref name="Enquirer Kiesewetter">{{cite news |title=This is Crosley Square … Signing off |first=John |last=Kiesewetter |work=[[The Cincinnati Enquirer]] |publisher=[[Gannett Company]] |date=June 6, 1999 |access-date=January 31, 2009 |url=http://www.enquirer.com/editions/1999/06/06/loc_this_is_crosley.html }}{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Local Historic Landmarks|website=City of Cincinnati|url=https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/planning/historic-conservation/local-historic-landmarks/|accessdate=May 6, 2023}}</ref>

[[File:Wlwc bob braun 1.JPG|thumb|right|210px|1969 Advertisement for ''The [[Bob Braun]] Show'' appearing in ''[[TV Guide]]''.]]
WLWT counts itself as the first television station outside the Eastern U.S. (other than network-owned stations) to become a primary NBC television affiliate, but originally carried programming from all the major television networks of the time: NBC, [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], [[CBS]] and [[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]]. WLWT later affiliated exclusively with NBC in 1949, after [[WKRC-TV]] (originally on channel 11, now on channel 12) and [[WCPO-TV]] (originally on channel 7, now on channel 9) signed on during that year. Following the release of the [[FCC]]'s ''Sixth Report and Order'' in 1952, all of Cincinnati's VHF stations changed channels.<ref>''Broadcasting - Telecasting'', May 19, 1952, pg. 78. [https://americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1952/BC-1952-05-19.pdf "TV coverage; RTMA predicts expansion."] {{Webarchive|url=https://www.webcitation.org/6Ez7cgzPV?url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-IDX/52-OCR/1952-05-19-BC-0078.pdf |date=March 9, 2013 }}</ref> WLWT was reassigned to channel 5, as the previous channel 4 allocation was shifted north to [[Columbus, Ohio|Columbus]] and given to sister station WLWC (now [[WCMH-TV]]), which began operations in April 1949.<ref>''Broadcasting - Telecasting'', December 15, 1952, pg. 41. [https://americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1952/BC-1952-12-15.pdf "Crosley is granted; FCC okays channel changes."]</ref>

In addition to WLWT and WLWC, Crosley also operated stations in nearby markets, WLWD (channel 2, now [[WDTN]]) in [[Dayton]], which signed-on in March 1949; and WLWI (channel 13, now [[WTHR]]) in [[Indianapolis]], which opened in October 1957. These four inter-connected stations were branded on-air as the "WLW Network", and their call letters were stylized with hyphens to further reflect their connections to each other—the Cincinnati station, the group's flagship, was known as "WLW-T". Crosley also owned WLWA (now [[WXIA-TV]]) in [[Atlanta]] (purchased in 1953 and sold in 1962) and [[WOAI-TV]] in [[San Antonio]] (acquired in 1965, sold in 1974).

The three WLW television stations in Ohio were NBC affiliates, and carried common programming along with WLWI in Indianapolis (an ABC affiliate). Most of these shows were produced at the WLWT studios on Crosley Square, and included ''The [[Ruth Lyons (broadcaster)|Ruth Lyons]] 50-50 Club'' (later hosted by [[Bob Braun]] after Lyons' retirement in 1967), the ''[[Paul Dixon Show]]'' and ''[[Midwestern Hayride]]''; some of these programs were syndicated regionally to other stations outside of the Crosley group.

In 1957, WLWT became the first station in the Cincinnati market to begin [[color television]] broadcasts.<ref name="Cinciviews 1">{{cite web|title=WLW Radio & Television|work=Cincinnativiews|date=October 3, 2008|access-date=January 31, 2009 |url=http://www.cincinnativiews.net/wlw_radio_tv.htm}}</ref> It later became the first station in the nation to broadcast entirely in color,<ref name="Hostman">{{cite web |title=John T. Murphy |first=Barry M.|last=Horstman |work=Great Living Cincinnatians |publisher=Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber |url=http://www.cincinnatichamber.com/cham_a.aspx?menu_id=144&id=1170 |access-date=October 12, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024235710/http://www.cincinnatichamber.com/cham_a.aspx?menu_id=144&id=1170 |archive-date=October 24, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> giving Cincinnati the nickname "Colortown U.S.A." by 1962.<ref name="Enquirer Kiesewetter" /> For a period during the 1970s, the station's slogan was "5, The Originator", in reference to all of the local programming that was produced by the station.

The Crosley broadcast division took the name of its parent company in 1968, becoming Avco Broadcasting Corporation. In 1969, the FCC enacted its [[concentration of media ownership|"one-to-a-market" rule]], which enforced a ban on common ownership of AM radio stations and television stations with overlapping coverage areas under certain conditions while [[grandfathering]] some already existing instances. Avco's ownership of WLW radio (a 50,000-watt, [[clear-channel station]]) and WLWT, and the Columbus, Dayton and Indianapolis television stations was initially protected under the new rule. While WLWT's channel 5 potential coverage area covered a large amount of the Dayton and Columbus markets, the station was forced by the FCC to transmit with a shorter broadcast tower, thus reducing the signal overlap between WLWT, WLWC, and WLWD.

===Later years===
In the mid-1970s, Avco decided to exit broadcasting and sold all of its stations to separate buyers. WLWT was the next to last to be sold, going to [[Multimedia, Inc.]] in March 1976.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hoffman |first=Steve |date=1975-06-10 |title=Avco sells WLWT, WLW goes next |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-cincinnati-enquirer-avco-sells-wlwt/157975175/ |access-date=2024-10-28 |work=The Cincinnati Enquirer |page=1 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref>"Liquidation of Avco group nears the end" ''Broadcasting'', June 16, 1975, pp. 38-39. Accessed February 12, 2020. [http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/75-OCR/1975-06-16-BC-OCR-Page-0036.pdf][http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/75-OCR/1975-06-16-BC-OCR-Page-0037.pdf]</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Hoffman |first=Steven |date=January 17, 1976 |title=WLWT transfer to Multimedia okayed |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54371136/ |access-date=February 12, 2020 |work=The Cincinnati Enquirer |page=A-8 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> As a result, the stations all lost their grandfathered protection, which led to an ownership conflict situation which Hearst-Argyle (predecessor to today's Hearst Television) would encounter two decades later (the FCC has since relaxed its adjacent-market ownership rules). All of the "WLW Network" TV stations except for flagship WLWT would change their call signs, leaving WLWT as the only one with any physical evidence that it was connected to WLW radio, a station that ironically would be a sister station to WLWT's rival WKRC-TV years later. Multimedia would later acquire Avco Program Sales and with it, the regional syndication rights to Braun's program, along with ''[[The Phil Donahue Show]]''; the resulting subsidiary, [[Multimedia Entertainment]], was initially based at WLWT.

In July 1995, the [[Gannett Company]] announced that it would acquire Multimedia. Once the deal was approved in November of that year, the FCC ruled that Gannett would have to divest WLWT, [[WMAZ-TV]] in [[Macon, Georgia]], and [[KOCO-TV]] in [[Oklahoma City, Oklahoma]], due to ownership restrictions; Gannett ultimately retained ownership of WMAZ-TV after the FCC allowed companies to own more television stations.<ref>{{cite news|title=THE MEDIA BUSINESS; Expanding in TV, Gannett Agrees to Buy Multimedia|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/25/business/the-media-business-expanding-in-tv-gannett-agrees-to-buy-multimedia.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 25, 1995}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release|title=Gannett, Multimedia announce merger agreement|url=http://www.gannett.com/article/99999999/PRESSRELEASES17/100721008/Gannett--Multimedia-announce-merger-agreement|publisher=Gannett Company|date=December 4, 1995|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130107024621/http://www.gannett.com/article/99999999/PRESSRELEASES17/100721008/Gannett--Multimedia-announce-merger-agreement|archive-date=January 7, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Sale Due For KOCO in Merger|url=http://newsok.com/article/2522179|first=Jim|last=Stafford|newspaper=The Daily Oklahoman|publisher=Oklahoma Publishing Company|date=December 2, 1995|access-date=October 18, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Rodgers |first=Kim |date=July 26, 1995 |title=Gannett Deal Yields Ownership Conflict |url=https://www.questia.com/read/1P2-5690127 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826002345/https://www.questia.com/read/1P2-5690127/gannett-deal-yields-ownership-conflict |archive-date=2019-08-26 |newspaper=[[The Journal Record]] |via=}}</ref> As Gannett had owned ''[[The Cincinnati Enquirer]]'' since 1979 (and remains the newspaper's owner to this day) and had recently acquired Oklahoma City–based cable provider Multimedia Cablevision, the company had to obtain a temporary waiver of an FCC [[Concentration of media ownership|cross-ownership]] rule which prohibited common ownership of a television station and a newspaper or a cable television provider in the same market in order for Gannett to close on the Multimedia group. When the waiver expired in December 1996, Gannett opted to keep the ''Enquirer'' (as well as sister newspaper ''[[The Niagara Gazette]]'', which would later be sold) and swap WLWT and KOCO-TV to Argyle Television Holdings II in exchange for [[WGRZ]] in [[Buffalo, New York]], and [[WZZM]] in [[Grand Rapids, Michigan]], a deal which was finalized in January 1997.<ref>{{cite web|title=Gannett license reapplication order|url=http://transition.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/Orders/1997/da970174.txt|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|access-date=September 30, 2012}}</ref>

Argyle merged with the broadcasting unit of the [[Hearst Corporation]] to form Hearst-Argyle Television in August 1997. Hearst had owned WDTN (the former WLWD) since 1981, but was not allowed to keep both stations due to a since-repealed FCC rule prohibiting common ownership of stations with overlapping city-grade signals. In 1998, Hearst traded WDTN and [[WNAC-TV]] in [[Providence, Rhode Island]], to [[Smith Media|Sunrise Television]] in exchange for [[KSBW]] in [[Salinas, California]], [[WPTZ]] in [[Plattsburgh, New York]], and [[WNNE]] in [[Hartford, Vermont]]. WLWT's licensee name under Multimedia and Gannett ownership, "Multimedia Entertainment, Inc.", survives to this day as the licensee name for WGRZ. In June 1996, WKRC-TV and WCPO-TV traded networks, leaving WLWT as the only Cincinnati television station to never change its affiliation. Additionally, the purchase by Hearst made WLWT [[sister station]]s with Hearst flagship stations [[WTAE-TV]] in [[Pittsburgh]] and [[WBAL-TV]] in [[Baltimore]], leading to all three stations to have a friendly rivalry with each other during the [[NFL]] season, as all three local NFL teams ([[Cincinnati Bengals]], [[Pittsburgh Steelers]], [[Baltimore Ravens]]) are division rivals in the [[AFC North]].

WLWT briefly aired [[UPN]] programming as a secondary affiliation during the early morning hours on weekends at certain points in 1998 (the network was then limited to a six-hour weekly schedule), after that netlet was displaced from its previous affiliate [[WSTR-TV]] (channel 64) by [[The WB]]. The expected lower ratings in a late night time slot on WLWT (along with low promotion of UPN programming outside of ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'') saw UPN capitulate and affiliate with former WB affiliate [[WBQC-CA]] (channel 25) in September 1998 as the network expanded to a ten-hour schedule that month which would have likely seen program rejections from WLWT due to lack of schedule room.

In June 1999, WLWT moved its studios from Crosley Square to the [[Mount Auburn, Cincinnati|Mount Auburn]] neighborhood, in a building that once served as the corporate headquarters of WKRC-TV's founding owners [[Taft Broadcasting]].<ref name="Business Courier">{{cite news|title=WLWT to leave downtown|work=[[Cincinnati Business Courier]]|publisher=[[American City Business Journals]]|date=September 3, 1998|access-date=January 31, 2009 |url=http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/1998/08/31/daily9.html}}</ref> This is because after abandoning local non-news program production, the station found that Crosley Square, with its two-story ballrooms and basement newsroom, was built more for live entertainment broadcasts than a news operation.<ref name="Enquirer Kiesewetter" />

[[File:WLWT.svg|thumb|150px|Logo used by the station from 2004 to 2013.]]
In June 2007, WLWT announced that it would partner with WLW (AM) to provide news and weather for the radio station. As a consequence, WLWT's news and weather updates were heard nationwide on WLW's [[XM Satellite Radio]] channel, at channel 173; the agreement with XM ended in the summer of 2008. WLWT and WLW shared news and weather operations for years while both were owned by Crosley Broadcasting, but eventual separate ownerships of the two stations (WLWT to Argyle, then Hearst Television; WLW to [[iHeartMedia|Clear Channel]]) led to WLW radio using the resources of WKRC-TV for several years until the renewed partnership with its former television sister. The modern WLW-WLWT partnership ended on March 31, 2010; WLWT currently provides news and weather to several Cincinnati radio stations.

The transmission tower seen at the beginning of the 1978–1982 CBS sitcom ''[[WKRP in Cincinnati]]'' actually belonged to WLWT—it was located at the WLWT transmitter at 2222 Chickasaw Street. That red and white tower stood side by side with WLWT's current strobed tower until 2005, when it was dismantled.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fybush.com/site-030130.html|title = A selection from a decade of visits to tower and studio sites in the Northeast and beyond}}</ref>

On July 9, 2012, WLWT's parent company Hearst Television was involved in a dispute with [[Time Warner Cable]], leading to WLWT being pulled from Time Warner Cable and temporarily replaced with [[Nexstar Broadcasting Group]] station [[WTWO]] in [[Terre Haute, Indiana]];<ref name=adweek070912a>{{Cite web|url=https://www.adweek.com/convergent-tv/hearst-and-time-warner-cable-part-ways-over-retrans-141788/|title=Hearst and Time Warner Cable Part Ways Over Retrans|first=Sam|last=Thielman|date=July 10, 2012|website=www.adweek.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.adweek.com/convergent-tv/imported-signals-retrans-fight-raise-regulatory-questions-141798/|title=Imported Signals in Retrans Fight Raise Regulatory Questions|first=Katy|last=Bachman|date=July 11, 2012|website=www.adweek.com}}</ref> Time Warner opted for such a distant signal like WTWO, as it does not have the rights to carry any NBC affiliate closest to them.<ref>[http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2012/07/wesh-off-bright-house-pennsylvania-station-is-substitute.html Orlando Sentinel: "WESH off Bright House; Pennsylvania station is substitute", July 10, 2012.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120714002224/http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2012/07/wesh-off-bright-house-pennsylvania-station-is-substitute.html |date=July 14, 2012 }}</ref> The substitution of WTWO in place of WLWT lasted until July 19, 2012, when a carriage deal was reached between Hearst and Time Warner.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nexttv.com/|title=Nexttv &#124; Programming&#124; Business &#124; Multichannel Broadcasting + Cable &#124; www.nexttv.com|date=October 26, 2023|website=NextTV}}</ref>

In 2014, the station aired a ''[[Thursday Night Football]]'' game from [[NFL Network]] (produced by [[CBS Sports]]) in lieu of CBS affiliate [[WKRC-TV]], who exercised their option of the [[right of first refusal]]. The station today airs up to four Bengals games a year, usually as part of ''NBC Sunday Night Football'' or ESPN's ''Monday Night Football'' (WLWT parent Hearst holds a 20 percent interest in the ESPN joint venture with [[Disney]]). The latter (if not a national simulcast on ABC through WCPO-TV) means a [[broadcast delay|delay]] of ''[[The Voice (American TV series)|The Voice]]'' to overnight hours, with voting limited to the internet during the program's normal timeslot.

==Programming==
WLWT clears most of the NBC programming schedule. However, the station airs the network's Saturday lineup out of pattern. WLWT [[Broadcast delay|delays]] NBC's educational block, ''[[The More You Know (TV programming block)|The More You Know]]'', by one hour due to a 10&nbsp;a.m. newscast. The station also airs the Saturday edition of ''[[NBC Nightly News]]'' on a half-hour tape delay at 7&nbsp;p.m. due to an hour-long 6&nbsp;p.m. newscast.

===Sports coverage===
====Cincinnati Reds====
{{See also|List of Cincinnati Reds broadcasters}}
The [[Cincinnati Reds]] baseball team, also owned by Crosley until 1961, broadcast its games over WLWT from [[1947 Cincinnati Reds season|1947]] through [[1995 Cincinnati Reds season|1995]]. The station also fed the games to a network of stations that covered Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, [[West Virginia]], and [[Tennessee]] (and included some of its Crosley-owned sister stations). It continued originating Reds games long after most "Big Three" stations dropped local sports programming. The station also aired any nationally televised Reds games through [[Major League Baseball on NBC|NBC's MLB broadcast contract]] from its 1948 sign-on until 1989, including their back-to-back [[World Series]] titles in [[1975 World Series|1975]] and [[1976 World Series|1976]].

[[Waite Hoyt]] was the original play-by-play announcer on WLWT, in a simulcast with WLW Radio. George Bryson Sr. replaced him in 1956. When Ed Kennedy became the play-by-play announcer in 1961, he would remain for 11 seasons, working with [[Frank McCormick]] for eight seasons. Also calling games on WLWT were [[Ken Wilson (sportscaster)|Ken Wilson]], [[Charlie Jones (sportscaster)|Charlie Jones]], [[Bill Brown (sportscaster)|Bill Brown]],
[[Ray Lane (sportsman)|Ray Lane]], [[Johnny Bench]], and [[Joe Morgan]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cincinnati Reds 2008 Media Guide |url=http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/pressbox/downloads/y2008/cin/media.pdf |access-date=April 12, 2008 |website=MLB.com}}{{dead link|date=October 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

Citing financial losses along with declining ratings and a new contract with NBC that limits preemptions of network programming, WLWT did not renew its contract with the Reds following the 1995 season.<ref>{{cite news |last=Vickery |first=Scott |title=Ch. 5 drops Reds; WLWT squeezed by losses, NBC contract |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-cincinnati-enquirer-ch-5-drops-reds/171813400/ |access-date=May 6, 2025 |newspaper=The Cincinnati Enquirer |date=July 22, 1995 |location=Cincinnati, Ohio |pages=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-cincinnati-enquirer-reds-wlwt-to-dr/172848723/ A5] |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

WLWT returned to broadcasting Reds games in [[2024 Cincinnati Reds season|2024]], albeit only the Opening Day game, in a simulcast with Bally Sports Ohio (now [[FanDuel Sports Network Ohio]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wlwt.com/article/cincinnati-reds-2024-opening-day-how-to-watch-tv-time/60293776|title=2024 Reds Opening Day vs. Nationals: How to watch|first=Fletcher|last=Keel|website=WLWT.com|date=March 25, 2024|accessdate=March 29, 2024}}</ref> Reds coverage would move to [[WXIX-TV]] the [[2025 Cincinnati Reds season|following season]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=K. Miller|first=Mark|date=March 19, 2025|title=FanDuel Sports Network, Cincinnati Reds Partner With WXIX, Rock Entertainment Sports Network & Gray Media |url=https://tvnewscheck.com/programming/article/fanduel-sports-network-cincinnati-reds-partner-with-wxix-rock-entertainment-sports-network-gray-media/ |access-date=March 19, 2025 |website=TV News Check |language=en-US }}</ref>

====Cincinnati Bengals====
In 1968, when the Cincinnati Bengals were enfranchised by the [[American Football League]], channel 5 became the station of record for the team as Avco acquired broadcast rights to the team's preseason games, which were also distributed to Dayton, Columbus, and Indianapolis. WLWT would also carry most regular-season Bengals games through NBC's contracts with the AFL and the [[NFL on NBC|National Football League]] through the end of the [[1997 Cincinnati Bengals season|1997 season]], when NBC lost its broadcast rights to the [[American Football Conference]] to [[NFL on CBS|CBS]]. In the present-day WLWT airs Bengals games when they are featured on NBC's ''[[NBC Sunday Night Football|Sunday Night Football]]'' as well as [[ESPN]]'s ''[[Monday Night Football]]'', a benefit of WLWT owner Hearst's 20 percent stake in the sports network. The station has aired the Bengals' appearances in [[Super Bowl]]s [[Super Bowl XXIII|XXIII]] and [[Super Bowl LVI|LVI]].

===News operation===
WLWT presently broadcasts 42 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with {{frac|6|1|2}} hours each weekday, {{frac|4|1|2}} hours on Saturdays and five hours on Sundays). {{As of|2012|02}}, WLWT generally had the third-rated local newscasts in the Cincinnati market; however, it has been showing steady ratings growth in its newscasts in recent years. WLWT now places first or second in all newscasts in the key adult demographics. It was the number one rated newscast in the city for several years when [[Jerry Springer]] served as anchorperson.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Jerry Springer Live!|first=Michael|last=Graham|journal=[[Cincinnati Magazine]]|location=[[Columbus, Ohio]]|publisher=CM Media|date=June 1992|volume=25|issue=9|page=48|issn=0746-8210|access-date=February 9, 2010 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LesCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA48|quote=A resident of Loveland, [Jerry] Springer is married with a 15-year-old daughter...}}</ref>

On April 20, 2013, WLWT became the fourth and final Cincinnati television station to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in [[high-definition television|high definition]]. Prior to the upgrade, its newscasts aired in [[16:9]] [[widescreen]] [[standard definition]]. With the switch to HD, WLWT debuted a new set.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wlwt.com/news/Multimedia-WLWT-debuts-new-HD-set-newscast/-/9838224/19832138/-/uo7l0p/-/index.html |title=Multimedia: WLWT debuts new HD set & newscast |access-date=April 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425213111/http://www.wlwt.com/news/Multimedia-WLWT-debuts-new-HD-set-newscast/-/9838224/19832138/-/uo7l0p/-/index.html |archive-date=April 25, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In the mid-2000s through the early 2010s, the station maintained a [[weather beacon]] atop the [[Radisson Hotel]] in [[Covington, Kentucky]], dubbed the "Weather Lights".<ref name="Weather Lights">{{cite web|title=What Do The Weather Lights Mean? |work=WLWT.com |publisher=Hearst Television |date=April 17, 2009 |access-date=September 2, 2010 |url=http://www.wlwt.com/weather/19206737/media.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310060749/http://www.wlwt.com/weather/19206737/media.html |archive-date=March 10, 2012 }}</ref>

==Technical information==

===Subchannels===
The station's signal is [[Multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]]:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannels of WLWT<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WLWT|title=RabbitEars TV Query for WLWT|website=[[RabbitEars.info]]|accessdate=January 5, 2025}}</ref>
! 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
|-
! scope = "row" | 5.1 
| [[1080i]] || rowspan=4|[[16:9]] || WLWT-HD || [[NBC]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 5.2 
| rowspan=3|[[480i]] || WLWT-ME || [[MeTV]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 5.4 
| STORY || [[Story Television]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 5.5 
| GET TV || [[Get (TV network)|Get]]
|- style="background-color:#DFEBF6; border-top: 2px solid #003399;"
! scope = "row" | [[WSTR-TV|64.1]] 
| [[720p]] || 16:9 || WSTR || [[MyNetworkTV]] ([[WSTR-TV]])
|}
{{legend|#DFEBF6|Broadcast on behalf of another station}}

[[NBC Weather Plus]] ceased network operations in late 2008;<ref name="TVWeek Greppi">{{cite news|title=NBC Shutting Down Weather Plus|first=Michele|last=Greppi|work=[[TelevisionWeek]]|publisher=[[Crain Communications]]|date=October 7, 2008|url=http://www.tvweek.com/news/2008/10/nbc_shutting_down_weather_plus.php|access-date=November 27, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081119044350/http://www.tvweek.com/news/2008/10/nbc_shutting_down_weather_plus.php|archive-date=November 19, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> however, WLWT continued to broadcast local weather programming as "News 5 Weather Plus" on its digital subchannel until June 30, 2011. The subchannel switched to [[MeTV]] on July 1, 2011.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wlwt.com/entertainment/27673303/detail.html |title=WLWT To Launch Me-TV |access-date=June 11, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406214512/http://www.wlwt.com/entertainment/27673303/detail.html |archive-date=April 6, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Enquirer Kiesewetter Me-TV">{{cite web|title=Ch 5 Adding Classic TV Channel|first=John|last=Kiesewetter|work=Cincinnati.com|publisher=[[Gannett Company]]|date=April 26, 2011 |url=http://cincinnati.com/blogs/tv/2011/04/26/ch-5-adding-classic-tv-channel/ |access-date=April 27, 2011}}</ref>

===Analog-to-digital conversion===
WLWT ended regular programming on its analog signal, over [[VHF]] channel 5, on June 12, 2009, as part of the [[Digital television transition in the United States|federally mandated transition from analog to digital television]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf|title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |archive-date=August 29, 2013 }}</ref> The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition [[UHF]] channel 35, using [[virtual channel]] 5.<ref name="FCCForm387">{{cite web|title=DTV Transition Status Report|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|date=January 2008|url=http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101230946&formid=387&fac_num=46979}}</ref>

As part of the [[SAFER Act]],<ref name="FCC Nightlight">{{cite web|url=http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-291375A1.pdf|title=UPDATED List of Participants in the Analog Nightlight Program|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|date=June 12, 2009|access-date=June 4, 2012}}</ref> WLWT kept its analog signal on the air until July 12 to inform viewers of the [[Digital television transition in the United States|digital television transition]] through a loop of [[public service announcement]]s from the [[National Association of Broadcasters]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.wlwt.com/ Official website]

{{Cincy TV}}
{{Ohio TV}}
{{Indiana TV}}
{{Kentucky TV}}
{{Hearst-Argyle}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wlwt}}
[[Category:1948 establishments in Ohio]]
[[Category:Get (TV network) affiliates]]
[[Category:Hearst Television]]
[[Category:MeTV affiliates]]
[[Category:NBC affiliates]]
[[Category:Story Television affiliates]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1948]]
[[Category:Television stations in Cincinnati|LWT]]