WLFL

WLFL

Raleigh–Durham– Fayetteville, North Carolina United States
City	Raleigh, North Carolina
Channels	Digital: 18 (UHF) Virtual: 22
Branding	CW 22
Programming
Affiliations	22.1: The CW for others, see § Subchannels
Ownership
Owner	Sinclair Broadcast Group (WLFL Licensee, LLC)
Sister stations	WRDC
History
First air date	December 18, 1981 (42 years ago) (1981-12-18)
Former call signs	WLFL-TV (1981–1993)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 22 (UHF, 1981–2009) Digital: 57 (UHF, until 2009), 27 (UHF, 2009–2019)
Former affiliations	Independent (1981–1986) Fox (1986–1998) The WB (1998–2006)
Call sign meaning	"Light for Living"; station was built as a Christian TV station
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	73205
ERP	775 kW
HAAT	605.3 m (1,986 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	35°40′29″N 78°31′39″W / 35.67472°N 78.52750°W / 35.67472; -78.52750
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Website	raleighcw.com

WLFL (channel 22) is a television station licensed to Raleigh, North Carolina, United States, serving the Research Triangle area as an affiliate of The CW. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside Durham-licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate WRDC (channel 28). The two stations share studios in the Highwoods Office Park, just outside downtown Raleigh; WLFL's transmitter is located in Auburn, North Carolina.

WLFL began broadcasting in December 1981 after years of work by Christian groups. It was the Triangle's first full-market independent station, airing secular and some religious programs. It was purchased by TVX Broadcast Group in 1985; TVX made WLFL the area's first Fox affiliate when the network launched in 1986 and upgraded its programming. TVX was sold to Paramount Pictures between 1989 and 1991; Paramount invested in a 10 p.m. local newscast for channel 22, which debuted in September 1992.

Sinclair acquired WLFL from Paramount in 1994; the next year, after a dispute with Sinclair and Fox over programming, Fox agreed to move its programming to WRAZ (channel 50) beginning in 1998. At that time, WLFL became an affiliate of The WB. The local newscast continued, but ratings fell behind WRAZ's competing effort; it was converted to the News Central hybrid format and discontinued in March 2006, replaced shortly thereafter with a program produced by ABC affiliate WTVD. That year, WLFL also joined The CW when The WB and UPN merged. The WTVD newscast was discontinued in 2022.