WNLO

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = WNLO
city =
station_
station_slogan =
station_branding = CW 23
analog = 23 (UHF)
digital = 32 (UHF)
other_chs =
affiliations = The CW "primary"
CBS "secondary"
network =
founded =
airdate = May 13, 1987
location = Buffalo, New York
callsign_meaning = Western New York, BuffaLO
former_callsigns = WNEQ-TV (1987-2001)
former_channel_numbers =
owner = LIN TV Corporation
licensee = WIVB Broadcasting, LLC
sister_stations = WIVB-TV
former_affiliations = PBS (1987-2001)
independent (2001-2002)
UPN (2002-2006)
effective_radiated_power = 955 kW (analog)
1000 kW (digital)
HAAT = 314 m (analog)
303 m (digital)
class =
facility_id = 71905
coordinates = coord|43|1|47.7|N|78|55|14.6|W|type:landmark_scale:2000
homepage = [http://www.cw23.com/ www.cw23.com]

WNLO (CW 23) is the CW affiliate for Buffalo, New York, The United States of America television market, with transmitter facilities located at 870 Whitehaven Road on Grand Island. It is owned by LIN TV, which also owns CBS affiliate WIVB. It runs a general entertainment format of sitcoms, reality shows, talk shows, cartoons, and court shows, as well as first-run shows from The CW and a 10 PM daily newscast produced by sister station WIVB. In addition, it airs CBS's "The Saturday Early Show", "Up to the Minute" and the weekend edition of the "CBS Evening News", which WIVB preempts, and is also responsible for airing CBS programs when WIVB is unable to, such as during a breaking news emergency.

History

The station began operation in 1987 as WNEQ-TV, the second public television station serving the Buffalo market. The station was an educational license, and a sister station to WNED Channel 17 (which was a commercial licence used as an educational station). WNEQ's programming day began daily at 4 PM and usually had between 6-7 hours of programming per day.

In 1992, many cable systems in the Hamilton and Niagara regions began carrying WNEQ, displacing long standing WQLN from Erie, PA in the process. In the fall of 1998, most cable systems in the Hamilton and Niagara regions started to remove WNEQ because they were struggling with limited channel capacity and the fact that they only offered between 6-7 hours of programming per day. In the fall of 1999, Rogers began carrying WNEQ on their digital tier for customers in the Greater Toronto Area.

The Buffalo market was unable to support two public stations as both stations struggled financially. As a result, the educational foundation put WNEQ up for sale.

LIN TV wanted to buy WNEQ and run the station as a commercial operation. That, however, was problematic due to WNEQ's status as an educational license. One solution was for LIN to purchase WNED/17 instead (which was already a commercial license) and make WNEQ the area's primary PBS station. This was rejected since Channel 17 had long been established as a PBS station, and a move to Channel 23 might cause confusion among viewers, potentially reducing the amount of donation the viewer-supported station would receive. Eventually, the FCC agreed to re-classify channel 23 as a commercial license, and channel 17 as an educational license. As such, the Buffalo market retains an educational license, and LIN was given the go-ahead to purchase the converted-to-commercial WNEQ.

In March 2001, LIN closed on their purchase of WNEQ and converted it to a general entertainment independent station as WNLO whose initial programming included Buffalo's first 10 PM newscast. With the launch came the securing of the UPN affiliation for the Buffalo market as of 2003 when that network's agreement with the weaker WNGS expired.

WNED-TV launched a new service in 2001, ThinkBright TV, using a digital subchannel. By 2007, ThinkBright would expand statewide (with the exception of New York City), offering twelve hours a day of educational, cultural and how-to programming.

On cable in Toronto, WNEQ was replaced with WTVS from Detroit, MI in January 2001 when WNEQ relaunched as the current WNLO. In 2005, Rogers Cable submitted a successful request to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to allow carriage of WNLO in Ontario. WNLO would not compete on advertising revenue from the Toronto area (as Rogers suggested with another Buffalo station it carried, WNYO) and the signal also was available OTA for a good portion of Southern Ontario. [http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2005/db2005-385.htm] .

In January 2006 it was announced that UPN and The WB will end operations in September 2006 to form The CW with the best of programs from UPN and the WB. WNLO officially affiliated with The CW on September 18, 2006.

In April 2006 WNLO removed UPN in their station logo, following the lead of FOX/News Corp. owned UPN Affiliates at the time.

As of November 2, 2006 WNLO is now broadcasting The CW HD on 32.1 (23.1). Up until November 2nd they were rebroadcasting CBS HD (WIVB-DT), as UPN at the time had little to no HD programming to broadcast.

On May 18, 2007, LIN TV announced that it was exploring strategic alternatives that could result in the sale of the company. [http://www.lintv.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=298&Itemid=114]

In early July 2007, WNLO launched its own website. Previously, WNLO had its own section within WIVB's website.

External links

* [http://www.cw23.com/ WNLO CW23 Homepage]
*TVQ|WNLO
*BIA|WNLO|TV|TV