WLEX-TV

WLEX-TV

Lexington, Kentucky United States
Channels	Digital: 28 (UHF) Virtual: 18
Branding	LEX 18
Programming
Affiliations	18.1: NBC for others, see § Subchannels
Ownership
Owner	E. W. Scripps Company (Scripps Broadcasting Holdings LLC)
History
First air date	March 15, 1955 (69 years ago) (1955-03-15)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 18 (UHF, 1955–2009) Digital: 39 (UHF, 2004–2019)
Former affiliations	All secondary: DuMont (1955) ABC (1955–1961) CBS (1962–1968)
Call sign meaning	Lexington
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	73203
ERP	379 kW 1,000 kW (CP)
HAAT	286 m (938 ft) 302 m (991 ft) (CP)
Transmitter coordinates	38°2′3″N 84°23′39″W / 38.03417°N 84.39417°W / 38.03417; -84.39417
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Website	www.lex18.com

WLEX-TV (channel 18) is a television station in Lexington, Kentucky, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. The station's studios are located on Russell Cave Road (KY 353) in Lexington, and its transmitter is located six miles (10 km) east of downtown Lexington near Hamburg Pavilion.

WLEX-TV began broadcasting in March 1955 as the first television station in Lexington, primarily an NBC affiliate for its entire history. Its founding ownership retained ownership for 44 years until it sold to Cordillera Communications in 1999; Scripps acquired it in 2019. It has generally been competitive in news ratings throughout its history.