View source for WOOD-TV

{{Short description|Television station in Grand Rapids, Michigan}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign = WOOD-TV
| city = Grand Rapids, Michigan
| logo = WOOD-TV NBC 8 Grand Rapids, Michigan Logo.svg
| logo_size = 220px
| branding = WOOD-TV 8; ''News 8''
| digital = 7 ([[VHF]])
| virtual = 8
| translators = ''see {{section link||Translators}}''
| affiliations = {{unbulleted list|'''8.1:''' [[NBC]]|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| owner = [[Nexstar Media Group]]
| licensee = Nexstar Media Inc.
| location = {{ubl|[[Grand Rapids]]–[[Kalamazoo]]–|[[Battle Creek, Michigan]]}}
| country = United States
| airdate = {{start date and age|1949|8|15|p=y}}
| callsign_meaning = Furnwood Broadcasting (calls came from [[WOOD (AM)|radio sister station]], which was funded originally by furniture manufacturers){{citation needed|date=December 2019}}
| sister_stations = [[WOTV]], [[WXSP-CD]]
| former_callsigns = {{unbulleted list|WLAV-TV (1949–1951)|WOTV (1972–1992)}}
| former_channel_numbers = {{unbulleted list|'''Analog:''' 7 (VHF, 1949–1953), 8 (VHF, 1953–2009)}}
| former_affiliations = {{unbulleted list|'''All secondary:'''|[[CBS]] (1949–1960)|[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] (1949–1962)|[[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]] (1949–1955)|[[UPN]] (1995–1999)}}
| erp = 30 [[kW]]
| haat = {{convert|288|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id = 36838
| coordinates = {{coord|42|41|14.7|N|85|30|35|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}
| licensing_authority = [[FCC]]
| website = {{URL|https://www.woodtv.com/}}
}}

'''WOOD-TV''' (channel 8) is a [[television station]] licensed to [[Grand Rapids, Michigan]], United States, serving as the [[NBC]] affiliate for [[West Michigan]]. It is owned by [[Nexstar Media Group]] alongside [[Battle Creek]]–licensed dual [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] affiliate/[[The CW|CW]] [[owned-and-operated station]] [[WOTV]] (channel 41) and [[Class A television service|Class A]] [[MyNetworkTV]] affiliate [[WXSP-CD]] (channel 15). The three stations share studios on College Avenue Southeast in Grand Rapids; WOOD-TV's transmitter is located southwest of [[Middleville, Michigan|Middleville]].

In addition to its main signal, WOOD-TV operates Class A digital [[Broadcast relay station#Broadcast translators|translator]] '''WOGC-CD''' ([[UHF]] channel 25), licensed to [[Holland, Michigan|Holland]] with a transmitter in [[Zeeland, Michigan|Zeeland]]. There is also a digital repeater on channel 34, also licensed to Grand Rapids, with a transmitter in the [[Wolf Lake, Michigan|Wolf Lake]] section of [[Egelston Township]].

==History==
The station signed on the air on August 15, 1949, as WLAV-TV, originally broadcasting on VHF channel 7; it was the fourth television station in Michigan and the first located outside of [[Detroit]]. The station was originally owned by Grand Rapids businessman Leonard Adrian Versluis, who in 1940 had also signed on Grand Rapids' second radio station, WLAV (1340 AM, now [[WJRW]]). In 1951, Versluis sold the television station to Grandwood Broadcasting for $1.37 million. The Bitner Group subsidiary was also owner of [[WOOD (AM)|WOOD]] (1300 AM), the first radio station in Grand Rapids.{{citation needed|date=October 2012}}

Grandwood had originally applied for its television license back in 1948, but the application just barely made a deadline prior to the [[Federal Communications Commission]]'s freeze on new television [[construction permit]]s. In fact, the application for WLAV-TV had been one of the last construction permits issued before the freeze. Grandwood eventually grew tired of waiting and cut a deal with Versluis to buy the station. On October 19, WLAV-TV changed its call letters to WOOD-TV to match its radio sister and began airing from a new transmitter in northeastern Grand Rapids.

During the FCC's licensing freeze the commission developed channel allocation and separation to eliminate interference between stations with the same frequency. As a result, WOOD-TV was reassigned to channel 8 to avoid interference with [[WLS-TV]] and [[WXYZ-TV]] on channel 7 in [[Chicago]] and [[Detroit]]. It moved to channel 8 and increased its transmitter power from 28,000 to 100,000 [[watt]]s on December 8, 1953. The channel change was promoted as "Mark the date: We move to Channel Eight on December Eight". In 1955, it moved to its current facilities in the Heritage Hill section of Grand Rapids, where its new studios replaced the [[Anna Sutherland Bissell|Bissell]] mansion (of [[Bissell Inc.|Bissell vacuum]] fame) and are across the street from the Voigt House Victorian Museum. All of the Bitner Group's stations were then sold, for a then-record-breaking $16 million, to [[Time Inc.]] in 1957, who later subordinated their acquisition under its in 1961 established subsidiary [[Time-Life|Time-Life, Inc.]]&ndash; as Time–Life Broadcasting, Inc. at first.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Station-Albums/Time-Life-Broadcast-32,000-Hours-a-Year.pdf |access-date=September 13, 2023|publisher=Time Life Broadcast|title=Editorials|pages=9,14,23,25,27,54}}</ref>

WOOD-TV has been an NBC affiliate from the very beginning, although it had a secondary affiliation with [[CBS]] until WKZO-TV (channel 3, now [[WWMT]]) in [[Kalamazoo]] expanded its signal to cover the greater Grand Rapids/Tri-Cities area, turning West Michigan into one vast television market. It also had secondary affiliations with [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] and [[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]]; however, the DuMont affiliation would end in 1956 when that network ceased operations, and the ABC affiliation was terminated in 1962 when [[WZZM]] (channel 13) began operations.

Due to a now-repealed FCC rule in place at the time (which prohibited TV and radio stations in the same market but under different ownership from sharing the same callsign), the station's call letters were changed to WOTV on July 1, 1972,<ref>{{cite news |title=WOTV New Call Letters |url=http://lowellledger.kdl.org/Lowell%20Ledger%20Suburban%20Life/1972/06_June/06-29-1972.pdf |work=Lowell Ledger-Suburban Life |location=Lowell, Michigan |date=June 29, 1972 |access-date=March 2, 2018 |quote=Effective July 1, 1972 WOOD-TV, Grand Rapids, Michigan will change its call letters to WOTV.}}</ref> when WOOD radio was sold. Time-Life also sold most of its television stations to [[S&P Global|McGraw-Hill]] that year (initially intending to include WOTV in the deal,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=f1RWAAAAIBAJ&dq=mcgraw-hill%20time-life&pg=7075%2C5598348|title=McGraw-Hill Buys Time's TV Holdings|date=October 31, 1970|work=The Spokesman-Review|access-date=January 13, 2012}}</ref> though it was retained), but held on to WOTV until 1983 when it was sold to [[LIN Broadcasting]]. On June 1, 1992, the station reclaimed its original WOOD-TV callsign with WOOD radio's permission (the above-mentioned FCC callsign rule had been repealed by that time). The station then donated the WOTV calls to WUHQ, the ABC affiliate for the southern portion of the Southwestern Michigan [[media market|market]] with whom it had recently signed a [[local marketing agreement]] (LMA).

In 1994, LIN Broadcasting spun off its television division into a separate company known as LIN TV Corporation, but WOOD-TV was not included in the transaction. Instead, the station became wholly owned by [[AT&T]] (which also owned a 45 percent interest in LIN TV at the time), when that company absorbed the remainder of LIN Broadcasting in 1995; however, LIN TV continued to manage both WOOD-TV and WOTV. LIN TV reacquired WOOD-TV and its LMA with WOTV in 1999 when AT&T sold-off its stake in the company to [[Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst]]. LIN TV eventually purchased WOTV outright in 2001.

On March 21, 2014, it was announced that [[Media General]] would acquire LIN.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-linmedia-offer-idUSBREA2K0S720140321|title=Media General to buy LIN Media for $1.6 billion|first=Sruthi|last=Ramakrishnan|date=March 21, 2014|publisher=Reuters|access-date=March 21, 2014}}</ref> The deal closed on December 19, bringing WOOD, along with WOTV and [[WXSP-CD]], under common ownership with CBS affiliate [[WLNS-TV]] in [[Lansing]].

On January 27, 2016, Media General announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by [[Nexstar Broadcasting Group]]. The combined company will be known as Nexstar Media Group, and will own 171 stations, including WOOD-TV, serving an estimated 39% of households.<ref name=tvnc-mgnexstar>{{cite web|title=Nexstar-Media General: It's A Done Deal|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/91865/nexstarmedia-general-its-a-done-deal|website=TVNewsCheck|access-date=January 27, 2016}}</ref><ref name=nyt-mgnex>{{cite news|title=Nexstar Clinches Deal to Acquire Media General|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/28/business/dealbook/nexstar-clinches-deal-to-acquire-media-general.html?_r=0|access-date=January 27, 2016|work=The New York Times| date=January 27, 2016 | last1=Picker | first1=Leslie }}</ref> The acquisition was completed on January 17, 2017.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2017/01/nexstar-completes-media-general-acquisition-1201888406/ |title=Nexstar Completes $4.6B Acquisition Of Media General |publisher=Deadline |date=January 17, 2017 |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |access-date=February 27, 2018}}</ref>

On December 3, 2018, Nexstar announced it would acquire the assets of Tribune Media (owners of [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] affiliate [[WXMI]]) for $6.4 billion in cash and debt. Nexstar is precluded from acquiring WXMI directly or indirectly, as FCC regulations prohibit common ownership of more than two stations in the same media market, or two or more of the four highest-rated stations in the market. As such, Nexstar was required to sell either WXMI, WOOD and/or WOTV to separate, unrelated companies to address the ownership conflict. A sale of WXSP-CD was not required, as WXSP does not rank among the four highest-rated stations in the Grand Rapids–Kalamazoo–Battle Creek market and is not subject to FCC duopoly rules as it is licensed as a Class A low-power station.<ref>{{cite web|title=Acquisition of Tribune Media Company|url=https://www.nexstar.tv/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Nexstar-Tribune-Investor-Presentation-FINAL-12-3-18.pdf|website=[[Nexstar Media Group]]|date=December 3, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Nexstar Buying Tribune Media For $6.4 Billion|url=https://tvnewscheck.com/article/top-news/226264/nexstar-buying-tribune-media-6-4-billion/|first=Mark K.|last=Miller|website=TVNewsCheck|publisher=NewsCheck Media|date=December 3, 2018|access-date=March 20, 2019|archive-date=December 4, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204005800/https://tvnewscheck.com/article/top-news/226264/nexstar-buying-tribune-media-6-4-billion/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Nexstar Confirms $4.1B Tribune Media Acquisition To Become Leading Local TV Station Owner|url=https://deadline.com/2018/12/nexstar-tribune-media-acquisition-1202512653/|first1=Peter|last1=White|first2=Dade|last2=Hayes|website=Deadline Hollywood|publisher=Penske Media Corporation|date=December 3, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Nexstar to buy WGN owner Tribune Media for $4.1 billion|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-nexstar-tribune-media-20181202-story.html|first1=Gerry|last1=Smith|first2=Nabila|last2=Ahmed|first3=Eric|last3=Newcomer|agency=[[Bloomberg L.P.|Bloomberg News]]|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|publisher=[[Tribune Publishing]]|date=December 3, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Nexstar to buy Tribune Media for $4.1 billion|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tribune-media-m-a-nexstar-media/nexstar-to-buy-tribune-media-for-4-1-billion-idUSKBN1O217Z|first1=Arjun|last1=Panchadar|first2=Sonam|last2=Rai|work=[[Reuters]]|date=December 3, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Nexstar Announces Deal to Buy Tribune for $6.4B|url=https://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/nexstar-announces-deal-to-buy-tribune-for-6-4b|first=Jon|last=Lafayette|periodical=Broadcasting & Cable|publisher=NewBay Media|date=December 3, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=It's Official: Nexstar Takes Tribune In Billion-Dollar Stock Deal|url=https://www.rbr.com/reuters-nexstar-gets-tribune-in-4-1b-deal/|first=Adam|last=Jacobson|website=Radio-Television Business Report|publisher=Streamline-RBR, Inc.|date=December 3, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Nexstar To Spin Off $1B In Stations|url=https://tvnewscheck.com/article/top-news/226264/nexstar-buying-tribune-media-6-4-billion/|first1=Harry A.|last1=Jessell|first2=Mark K.|last2=Miller|website=TVNewsCheck|publisher=NewsCheck Media|date=December 3, 2018|access-date=March 20, 2019|archive-date=December 4, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204005800/https://tvnewscheck.com/article/top-news/226264/nexstar-buying-tribune-media-6-4-billion/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="nxsttrco1">{{cite web|url=https://www.nexstar.tv/nexstar_agrees_to_acquire_tribune/|title=Nexstar Media Group Enters into Definitive Agreement to Acquire Tribune Media Company for $6.4 Billion in Accretive Transaction Creating the Nation's Largest Local Television Broadcaster and Local Media Company|publisher=[[Nexstar Media Group]]|date=December 3, 2018|access-date=December 3, 2018}}</ref><ref name="nxsttrco2">{{cite web|url=http://www.tribunemedia.com/nexstar-media-group-enters-into-definitive-agreement-to-acquire-tribune-media-company/|title=Nexstar Media Group Enters Into Definitive Agreement To Acquire Tribune Media Company|publisher=[[Tribune Media]]|date=December 3, 2018|access-date=December 3, 2018}}</ref> On March 20, 2019, it was announced Nexstar would keep both the WOOD-TV/WOTV duopoly and WXSP-CD and sell WXMI to the [[Cincinnati]]-based [[E. W. Scripps Company]], as part of the company's sale of nineteen Nexstar- and Tribune-operated stations to Scripps and [[Tegna Inc.]] in separate deals worth $1.32 billion.<ref name="tvnc=nexstarspinoffs">{{cite web|title=Nexstar Selling 19 TVs In 15 Markets For $1.32B|url=https://tvnewscheck.com/article/top-news/232391/nexstar-selling-19-tvs-in-15-markets-for-1-32b/|first=Mark K.|last=Miller|website=TVNewsCheck|publisher=NewsCheck Media|date=March 20, 2019|access-date=March 20, 2019|archive-date=March 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320194359/https://tvnewscheck.com/article/top-news/232391/nexstar-selling-19-tvs-in-15-markets-for-1-32b/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Nexstar to Sell Stations to Tegna, Scripps for $1.32 Billion|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-20/nexstar-to-sell-19-stations-to-tegna-scripps-for-1-32-billion|first1=Nabila|last1=Ahmed|first2=Anousha|last2=Sakoui|website=Bloomberg News|publisher=[[Bloomberg, L.P.]]|date=March 20, 2019}}</ref> the sale was completed on September 19, 2019.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2019/9/19/nexstar-takes-control-of-tribune |title = TODAY.... Nexstar Takes Control of Tribune — FTVLive| date=September 19, 2019 }}</ref>

In August 2025, Nexstar Media Group agreed to acquire Tegna for $6.2 billion.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Mark K. |date=August 19, 2025 |title=Nexstar Buying Tegna For $6.2 Billion |url=https://tvnewscheck.com/business/article/nexstar-buying-tegna-for-6-2-billion/ |access-date=August 19, 2025 |website=TVNewsCheck |language=en-US |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250819205146/https://tvnewscheck.com/business/article/nexstar-buying-tegna-for-6-2-billion/ |archive-date= August 19, 2025}}</ref> In Grand Rapids, Tegna already owns WZZM.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McVicar |first=Brian |date=August 12, 2025 |title=Report: Nexstar in talks to acquire Tegna, possibly affecting West Michigan TV stations |url=https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2025/08/report-nexstar-in-talks-to-acquire-tegna-possibly-affecting-west-michigan-tv-stations.html |access-date=August 19, 2025 |work=[[MLive]] |language=en-US |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==News operation==
[[File:WOOD-TV News Remote Van Novi Michigan.JPG|thumb|right|24 Hour News 8 remote van.]]
WOOD-TV presently broadcasts 44 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with seven hours each weekday and {{frac|4|1|2}} hours each on Saturdays and Sundays); in addition, the station produces a half-hour [[public affairs (broadcasting)|public affairs]] program ''To the Point with Rick Albin'', which airs Sundays at 10&nbsp;a.m.; a 25-minute sports highlight program ''Sports Overtime'', which airs Sundays after the 11&nbsp;p.m. newscast; and ''Football Frenzy'', a weekly highlight program on Friday nights during the fall which covers [[high school football]] games as well as other sports news of the day (the 11 p.m. newscast is shortened to allow ''Football Frenzy'' to air during the regular time slot).

WOOD-TV had the distinction of being one of the last remaining broadcast television stations in the United States to use the "24 Hour News Source" format, which was popular in many markets during the early 1990s, and has been used by the station since 1990. The only other stations still using the format (as of 2015) are CW affiliate [[WISH-TV]] in [[Indianapolis]] and ABC affiliate [[KCRG-TV]] in [[Cedar Rapids, Iowa]].

For most of the time since the mid-1980s, channel 8 has led the [[Nielsen ratings]] in West Michigan.{{citation needed|date=October 2012}} However, for most of the 1990s, it waged a spirited three-way battle for the ratings lead with WWMT and WZZM. One reason is that it is the only major station whose news department equally covers all of the vast Grand Rapids–Kalamazoo–Battle Creek market,{{attribution needed|date=October 2012}} WWMT has historically focused on the southern portion of the market (being based in Kalamazoo), while WZZM focuses mostly on the northern portion.{{attribution needed|date=October 2012}}

WOOD-TV has many firsts in the market. It was the first West Michigan station to broadcast in color. It was the first West Michigan station to use [[electronic news gathering]], in 1975. Five years later, it was the first area station to air live news from outside its studios. In 1983, it introduced the area's first television [[helicopter]] to assist in coverage. WOOD-TV's weekday morning newscast premiered in 1984 and aired for a half-hour at 6:30. This was expanded to a two-hour format in 1995 along with the weekday noon and weekend 6 p.m. newscast expanding to an hour. As a result, ''[[NBC Nightly News]]'' is preempted on weekends.

After taking over WOTV's operations, WOOD-TV then began simulcasting some of its newscasts on that station as well as airing specially produced newscasts covering Battle Creek and Kalamazoo. That station had shuttered its separate news department in 1990; despite serving the market's second-largest city, Kalamazoo, it had long been plagued by weak viewership as its reach was limited to the southern portion of the market. Since then, WOTV has largely functioned as WOOD-TV's Kalamazoo/Battle Creek bureau. In 1992, WOOD-TV launched a separate news department for WOTV. However, despite having WOOD-TV's resources behind it, it made no impact in the ratings. LIN TV finally decided to shut down WOTV's news operation permanently in August 2003. Since then, the station has [[simulcast]] some of WOOD-TV's newscasts (currently its weekday morning, 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts), but this time without any separate opens or segments.

On October 21, 2007, WOOD-TV began offering a nightly prime time newscast at 10 p.m. on WXSP-CD, joining the longer-established 10 p.m. newscast on Fox affiliate WXMI (channel 17) and [[The CW|CW]] affiliate WWMT-DT2. The entertainment and lifestyle magazine show ''eightWest'' premiered on October 5, 2009, and airs weekday mornings at 11 a.m. for an hour, as well as being streamed live on the station's website. Also on that date, WOOD-TV became the second station in southwestern Michigan to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in [[16:9]] [[widescreen]] [[enhanced definition]]. Although not truly high definition, the broadcast matches the ratio of HD television screens. The simulcasts on WOTV were included in the upgrade. On October 22, 2011, WOOD-TV became the third television station in southwestern Michigan (behind Fox affiliate WXMI and CBS affiliate WWMT) to broadcast local newscasts in [[high-definition television|high definition]].

On September 20, 2016, WOOD-TV began a half-hour newscast at 7&nbsp;p.m., becoming the first station in Grand Rapids to do so; as a result, ''[[Access Hollywood]]'' moved from WOOD-TV to sister station WOTV.

The station's weather team provides forecasts for [[iHeartMedia]]'s Grand Rapids cluster (including its former radio sister), as well as Christian station [[WCSG]].

===Downtown studio===
Starting in September 2011, WOOD-TV began broadcasting all of its newscasts during [[ArtPrize]] from a temporary studio built inside the [[Grand Rapids Art Museum]]. During the live broadcasts, people were encouraged to come downtown and get a behind-the-scenes look at WOOD-TV's news operation. People standing outside the museum made up the backdrop behind the anchor desk. In 2017, the station made it a year-round studio when it partnered with the Grand Rapids Art Museum to launch the Media Arts Center. The noon newscast is anchored daily from the streetside studio. Also in 2017, WOOD-TV opened a streetside studio in downtown Kalamazoo overlooking Bronson Park. The station invites school groups to both studios during the school year for the "Storm Team 8 Weather Experience", an educational multi-media show hosted by Storm Team 8 meteorologists who teach kids about weather and science.

Since 2020, operations at this downtown studio have been paused, particularly due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan|COVID-19 pandemic]], as well as periods of general unrest downtown due to various protests.

===Notable former on-air staff===
* [[Carol Duvall]]
* [[Alan Gionet]]
* [[Steve Kmetko]]
* [[Steve Osunsami]]
* [[Janet Shamlian]]
* [[John Stehr]]
* [[Matt Winer]]
* [[Ginger Zee]]

=== Controversies ===
In July 2022, WOOD-TV was one of two Michigan television stations to inadvertently publish test results related to the state's primary election. The webpages were picked up by conspiracy theorists as "proof" that some were engaging in "[[election fraud]]" in the state. The mock results came from the [[Associated Press]], which transmitted them on the AP [[news wire]] as part of a test.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 27, 2022 |title=Release of test election results fuels unfounded fraud claims |url=https://apnews.com/article/Fact-Check-Michigan-Election-Test-Error-182577486419 |access-date=June 21, 2023 |website=AP NEWS |language=en}}</ref> WOOD-TV news director later confirmed the test results were published on the station's website by accident.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Frick |first=Melissa |date=July 25, 2022 |title=Error in election-data test by TV stations prompts statement by West Michigan clerks |url=https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2022/07/error-in-election-data-test-by-tv-stations-prompts-statement-by-west-michigan-clerks.html |access-date=June 21, 2023 |website=mlive |language=en}}</ref>

On June 13, 2023, WOOD-TV assistant news director Amy Fox sent a newsroom-wide memo urging reporters to curb their coverage of [[Pride Month]] events in the Grand Rapids area, noting that the station's prior coverage that week had upset [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] viewers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=DeVito |first=Lee |date=June 15, 2023 |title=WOOD-TV asks reporters to tone down Pride Month coverage because of conservative viewers |url=https://www.metrotimes.com/news/wood-tv-asks-reporters-to-tone-down-pride-month-coverage-because-of-conservative-viewers-33378121 |website=Detroit Metro Times}}</ref> The memo also said, "If we are covering Pride events we need to consider how to make the story balanced and get both sides of the issue."<ref>[https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/30/media/michigan-news-directors-fired-pride-coverage/index.html News directors at Michigan TV station ousted after telling staff to 'get both sides' of Pride coverage], CNN, June 30, 2023, [https://web.archive.org/web/20230630165831/https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/30/media/michigan-news-directors-fired-pride-coverage/index.html Archive]</ref>
The memo was picked up by several blogs, which caused a firestorm of social media backlash against the station and prompted a number of WOOD-TV journalists to affirm they had ignored the memo. Later that week, WOOD-TV news director Stanton Tang admitted he urged Fox to write and distribute the memo; journalists at the station called for his firing.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Keys |first=Matthew |date=June 15, 2023 |title=Michigan TV newsroom revolts over anti-gay memo |url=https://thedesk.net/2023/06/stanton-tang-amy-fox-lgbt-memo-wood-nexstar/ |website=TheDesk.net}}</ref> The controversy ultimately prompted Nexstar to issue a formal apology, and Fox and Tang were removed from discussions about WOOD-TV's future Pride Month news coverage.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Holland Sentinel |url=https://www.hollandsentinel.com/restricted/?return=https://www.hollandsentinel.com/story/news/local/2023/06/15/wood-tv-reporters-producers-rail-against-internal-memo-calling-for-less-pride-coverage/70327318007/ |access-date=June 21, 2023 |website=www.hollandsentinel.com}}</ref> Two weeks after the investigation started, Fox and Tang were fired, along with Madeline Odle and Luke Stier, two longtime executive producers who disagreed with the memo.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Keys |first=Matthew |date=June 29, 2023 |title=Exclusive: Nexstar fires WOOD-TV News Director Stanton Tang over anti-gay memo |url=https://thedesk.net/2023/06/stanton-tang-fired-nexstar-memo-wood-tv/ |access-date=June 30, 2023 |website=The Desk |language=en-us}}</ref>

==Technical information==
===Subchannels===
The station's signal is [[Multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]]:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannels of WOOD-TV<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WOOD#station|title=RabbitEars TV Query for WOOD|website=[[RabbitEars]]|accessdate=January 26, 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" | 8.1 
| [[1080i]] || rowspan=3| [[16:9]] || WOOD TV || [[NBC]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 8.2 
| rowspan=2| [[480i]] || REWIND || [[Rewind TV]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 8.3 
| DEFY TV || [[Defy (TV network)|Defy]]
|- style="background-color:#DFEBF6; border-top: 2px solid #003399;"
! scope = "row" | [[WXSP-CD|15.1]] 
| [[720p]] || 16:9 || MyNet || [[MyNetworkTV]] ([[WXSP-CD]])
|}
{{legend|#DFEBF6|Broadcast on behalf of another station}}

===Translators===
*'''{{FCC-LMS-Facility|36838|3=WOOD-TV (DRT)}}''' 34 [[Grand Rapids]]
*'''{{FCC-LMS-Facility|17203|3=WOGC-CD}}''' 25 [[Holland, Michigan|Holland]]

===Analog-to-digital conversion===
WOOD-TV became the first station in the market to broadcast a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 7 on August 14, 1999. The station shut down its analog signal, over [[VHF]] channel 8, at 10 a.m. on June 12, 2009, as part of the [[Digital television transition in the United States|federally mandated transition from analog to digital television]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf List of Digital Full-Power Stations]</ref> The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition VHF channel 7, using [[virtual channel]] 8.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Michigan|Television|United States}}
*{{Official website|https://www.woodtv.com/}}

{{Grand Rapids TV}}
{{NBC Michigan}}
{{NXST TV}}

[[Category:1949 establishments in Michigan]]
[[Category:Bounce TV affiliates]]
[[Category:Defy (TV network) affiliates]]
[[Category:Laff (TV network) affiliates]]
[[Category:NBC affiliates]]
[[Category:Nexstar Media Group]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1949]]
[[Category:Television stations in West Michigan|OOD-TV]]
[[Category:Mass media in Grand Rapids, Michigan]]