WGN-TV

This article is about the local Chicago television station. For the AM radio station, see WGN (AM). For the cable channel that formerly served as the national feed of WGN-TV, see NewsNation.

WGN-TV
Channels
BrandingWGN, Chicago's CW; WGN News
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
April 5, 1948
(76 years ago) (1948-04-05)
Former call signs
WGNA (CP, 1946–1948)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 9 (VHF, 1948–2009)
Call sign meaning
Founded by the Chicago Tribune, the "World's Greatest Newspaper"
Technical information[3]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID72115
ERP645 kW
HAAT454 m (1,490 ft)
Transmitter coordinates41°52′44″N 87°38′10.2″W / 41.87889°N 87.636167°W / 41.87889; -87.636167
Translator(s)
Links
Public license information
Websitewgntv.com

WGN-TV (channel 9) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, serving as the local outlet for The CW. It is owned and operated by the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is sister to the company's sole radio property, news/talk/sports station WGN (720 AM). WGN-TV's studios are located on West Bradley Place in Chicago's North Center community; as such, it is the only major commercial television station in Chicago which bases its main studio outside the Loop. Its transmitter is located atop the Willis Tower in the Loop.

Like concept progenitor WTBS in Atlanta, WGN-TV was a pioneering superstation; on November 9, 1978, it became the second U.S. television station to be made available via satellite transmission to cable and direct-broadcast satellite subscribers nationwide. Later renamed WGN America, the former superstation feed was converted into a conventional basic cable network in December 2014, enabling it to be added to local cable providers,[5][6][7][8] and later soft re-launched as NewsNation in September 2020. A charter affiliate of both The WB and of successor network The CW, WGN-TV reverted to being an independent station in 2016 before returning to the network in 2024.

WGN-TV, WGN radio and the now-defunct regional cable news channel Chicagoland Television (CLTV) were the three flagship properties of Tribune Broadcasting, itself part of the Tribune Media conglomerate (formerly known as the Tribune Company until August 2014), until the company's purchase by Nexstar was completed in September 2019.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference cw-b&c was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Commercial Broadcast Stations Biennial Ownership Report (FCC Form 323), Federal Communications Commission, January 31, 2020, p. 11, retrieved February 2, 2020
  3. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WGN-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference rei was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Robert Feder (December 15, 2014). "WGN America comes home to Chicago". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  6. ^ Kent Gibbons (December 16, 2014). "WGN America Converts to Cable in Five Markets". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  7. ^ Robert Channick (December 9, 2012). "WGN America may be channel of change for Tribune Co". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
  8. ^ David Lieberman (May 15, 2014). "Tribune CEO Says He's "Not Pleased" With CW's Performance". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 15, 2014.