History of WLWT in Timeline

WLWT is a television station located in Cincinnati, Ohio. It operates as an NBC affiliate and is owned by Hearst Television. The station's studios and transmitter are both situated in the Mount Auburn neighborhood of Cincinnati.

1945: Avco Acquisition

In 1945, the Crosley Corporation, the parent company of Crosley Broadcasting, became a subsidiary of the Aviation Corporation, later known as Avco.

1946: Experimental Broadcasts

In 1946, WLWT began experimental broadcasts as W8XCT on channel 1.

1947: Reds Broadcasts Begin

From 1947, the Cincinnati Reds baseball team broadcast its games over WLWT.

February 9, 1948: Commercial Broadcasts Begin

On February 9, 1948, WLWT began commercial broadcasts on VHF channel 4, becoming Cincinnati's first television station and Ohio's second. The station's studios were located with WLW in the Crosley Square building.

1948: MLB Broadcast Contract

From its 1948 sign-on, WLWT aired any nationally televised Reds games through NBC's MLB broadcast contract.

March 1949: WLWD Signs On

In March 1949, WLWD (now WDTN) in Dayton, another Crosley station, signed on.

April 1949: WLWC Begins Operations

In April 1949, sister station WLWC (now WCMH-TV) in Columbus began operations. WLWT affiliated exclusively with NBC after WKRC-TV and WCPO-TV signed on during that year.

1952: Channel Reassignment

In 1952, following the FCC's Sixth Report and Order, WLWT was reassigned to channel 5. The previous channel 4 allocation was shifted north to Columbus and given to sister station WLWC.

1953: WLWA Purchase

In 1953, Crosley purchased WLWA (now WXIA-TV) in Atlanta.

1956: George Bryson Sr. Replaces Waite Hoyt

In 1956, George Bryson Sr. replaced Waite Hoyt as the play-by-play announcer on WLWT.

October 1957: WLWI Opens

In October 1957, WLWI (now WTHR) in Indianapolis, another Crosley station, opened.

1957: Color Television Broadcasts Begin

In 1957, WLWT became the first station in the Cincinnati market to begin color television broadcasts.

1961: Ed Kennedy Becomes Announcer

In 1961, Ed Kennedy became the play-by-play announcer on WLWT, remaining for 11 seasons.

1961: Crosley Sells Reds

Until 1961, the Cincinnati Reds baseball team was also owned by Crosley.

1962: Colortown U.S.A.

By 1962, WLWT became the first station in the nation to broadcast entirely in color, giving Cincinnati the nickname "Colortown U.S.A."

1965: WOAI-TV Acquisition

In 1965, Crosley acquired WOAI-TV in San Antonio.

1967: Ruth Lyons' Retirement

In 1967, Ruth Lyons retired, and Bob Braun took over as the host of The Ruth Lyons 50-50 Club.

1968: WLWT becomes station of record for the Cincinnati Bengals

In 1968, WLWT became the station of record for the Cincinnati Bengals after Avco acquired broadcast rights to the team's preseason games. These games were also distributed to Dayton, Columbus, and Indianapolis.

1968: Avco Broadcasting Corporation

In 1968, the Crosley broadcast division was renamed Avco Broadcasting Corporation, after its parent company.

1969: "One-to-a-Market" Rule

In 1969, the FCC enacted its "one-to-a-market" rule, which restricted common ownership of AM radio and television stations with overlapping coverage areas. Avco's ownership of WLW and WLWT was initially protected.

1974: WOAI-TV Sale

In 1974, Crosley sold WOAI-TV in San Antonio.

1975: World Series Titles

WLWT aired the Cincinnati Reds' World Series titles in 1975.

March 1976: Sale to Multimedia, Inc.

In March 1976, Avco sold WLWT to Multimedia, Inc. This sale led to the loss of grandfathered protection under FCC rules.

1976: World Series Titles

WLWT aired the Cincinnati Reds' World Series titles in 1976.

1978: WKRP in Cincinnati

In 1978, The transmission tower seen at the beginning of the CBS sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati actually belonged to WLWT. The red and white tower stood side by side with WLWT's current strobed tower.

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1979: Cincinnati Enquirer Ownership

Since 1979, Gannett had owned The Cincinnati Enquirer, a factor in the FCC's cross-ownership considerations during the Multimedia acquisition.

1981: Hearst Owns WDTN

Since 1981, Hearst had owned WDTN (the former WLWD), but was not allowed to keep both stations due to an FCC rule.

1982: WKRP in Cincinnati

In 1982, The transmission tower seen at the beginning of the CBS sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati actually belonged to WLWT. The red and white tower stood side by side with WLWT's current strobed tower.

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1989: MLB Broadcast Contract Ends

WLWT aired any nationally televised Reds games through NBC's MLB broadcast contract until 1989.

July 1995: Gannett Acquisition Announcement

In July 1995, the Gannett Company announced its acquisition of Multimedia, which would later lead to the divestiture of WLWT due to FCC ownership restrictions.

1995: Contract Not Renewed

Citing economic reasons along with declining ratings and pressure from NBC, WLWT did not renew its contract following the 1995 season.

1995: Reds Broadcasts End

The Cincinnati Reds baseball team broadcast its games over WLWT until 1995.

June 1996: Network Trade

In June 1996, WKRC-TV and WCPO-TV traded networks, leaving WLWT as the only Cincinnati television station to never change its affiliation.

December 1996: Waiver Expiration

In December 1996, Gannett's temporary waiver of an FCC cross-ownership rule expired, leading to a decision to swap WLWT and KOCO-TV for WGRZ and WZZM.

January 1997: Ownership Transfer

In January 1997, the swap of WLWT and KOCO-TV to Argyle Television Holdings II for WGRZ and WZZM was finalized.

August 1997: Hearst-Argyle Television Formation

In August 1997, Argyle merged with the broadcasting unit of the Hearst Corporation to form Hearst-Argyle Television.

1997: WLWT Loses Broadcast Rights to Bengals Games

At the end of the 1997 season, WLWT lost broadcast rights to most regular-season Bengals games when NBC lost its broadcast rights to the American Football Conference to CBS.

September 1998: UPN Affiliation Change

In September 1998, UPN affiliated with WBQC-CA after being displaced from WSTR-TV. WLWT briefly aired UPN programming during the early morning hours on weekends at certain points in 1998.

1998: Hearst Trade

In 1998, Hearst traded WDTN and WNAC-TV to Sunrise Television in exchange for KSBW, WPTZ, and WNNE.

June 1999: Studio Relocation

In June 1999, WLWT moved its studios from Crosley Square to the Mount Auburn neighborhood, in a building that once served as the corporate headquarters of WKRC-TV's founding owners Taft Broadcasting.

2005: Tower Dismantled

In 2005, WLWT's original red and white transmission tower was dismantled.

June 2007: WLW Partnership

In June 2007, WLWT partnered with WLW (AM) to provide news and weather for the radio station.

2008: NBC Weather Plus Ceases Network Operations

In late 2008, NBC Weather Plus ceased network operations; however, WLWT continued to broadcast local weather programming as "News 5 Weather Plus" on its digital subchannel.

2008: XM Agreement Ends

In the summer of 2008, the agreement between WLWT and XM Satellite Radio ended.

June 12, 2009: WLWT Discontinues Analog Signal

On June 12, 2009, WLWT discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over VHF channel 5, as part of the federally mandated transition from analog to digital television. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 35, using virtual channel 5.

March 31, 2010: WLW-WLWT Partnership Ends

On March 31, 2010, the modern WLW-WLWT partnership ended; WLWT currently provides news and weather to several Cincinnati radio stations.

June 30, 2011: WLWT Discontinues 'News 5 Weather Plus'

On June 30, 2011, WLWT discontinued broadcasting local weather programming as "News 5 Weather Plus" on its digital subchannel.

July 1, 2011: WLWT Subchannel Switched to MeTV

On July 1, 2011, the WLWT digital subchannel switched to MeTV.

February 2012: WLWT Newscasts Ratings Growth

As of February 2012, WLWT generally had the third-rated local newscasts in the Cincinnati market, showing steady ratings growth in recent years.

July 9, 2012: Time Warner Dispute

On July 9, 2012, WLWT was pulled from Time Warner Cable due to a dispute with Hearst Television, and was temporarily replaced with WTWO in Terre Haute, Indiana.

July 19, 2012: Carriage Deal Reached

On July 19, 2012, a carriage deal was reached between Hearst and Time Warner, and WLWT was restored on Time Warner Cable.

April 20, 2013: WLWT Begins Broadcasting Newscasts in High Definition

On April 20, 2013, WLWT became the fourth and final Cincinnati television station to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition and debuted a new set. Prior to this, its newscasts aired in 16:9 widescreen standard definition.

2014: Thursday Night Football Airing

In 2014, WLWT aired a Thursday Night Football game from NFL Network in place of CBS affiliate WKRC-TV. The station airs up to four Cincinnati Bengals games a year.