WXCW

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = WXCW
city =
station_
station_branding = CW 6
WINK News Now
analog = 46 (UHF)
digital = 45 (UHF)
other_chs =
affiliations = The CW
network =
founded =
airdate = August 14, 1986
location = Naples / Fort Myers, Florida
callsign_meaning = Channel SiX The CW
former_callsigns = WNPL-TV (1990-1995)
WTVK (1995-2007)
former_channel_numbers =
owner = Sun Broadcasting
licensee =
sister_stations = WARO-FM
WINK-AM / WNOG-AM
WNTY-FM
WTLT-FM
former_affiliations = Independent (1986-1995)
UPN (1995-1998)
The WB (1998-2006)
effective_radiated_power = 5,000 kW (analog)
1,000 kW (digital)
HAAT = 456 m (both)
class =
facility_id = 61504
coordinates = coord|26|47|8.3|N|81|47|45.8|W|type:landmark_scale:2000
homepage =

WXCW, channel 46, is the CW-affiliated television station for Southwest Florida that is licensed to Naples. Its transmitter is located north of Fort Myers Shores near the Lee and Charlotte County line. Owned by Sun Broadcasting, the station is located on Comcast channel 6 hence the CW 6""' branding. Syndicated programming on the station includes: "Two and a Half Men", "King of Queens", "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?", "Family Guy", and "Judge Judy". It also airs Miami Dolphins preseason football games from WFOR-TV in Miami, Tampa Bay Rays games from WXPX-TV in Tampa, and SEC football / basketball games from Raycom Sports. WXCW is one of two major Fort Myers-based stations licensed to Naples (the other being ABC affiliate WZVN-TV). In addition to being offered free over-the-air, the station's high definition signal is located on Comcast digital channels 206 or 236.

History

The station began broadcasting on August 14, 1986 as WNPL-TV. It was the second independent station in Southwest Florida. Channel 46 was beset with problems early on, most notably finding programming. As late as 1993, station personnel were often going to a local video store & renting public domain videos to play on the station. Often, the station's graphics were misplaced & the status of WNPL was constantly in doubt. From 1993-1998, the station carried Florida Marlins baseball games from WBFS-TV in Miami. It also aired Orlando Magic basketball during much of this time.

The situation changed on January 15, 1995 when the station joined UPN as a charter affiliate. It changed its call letters to WTVK in September of that year. Those calls were previously used on what is now WVLT-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee. With a network backing it up, the station was able to change program content & strengthen its signal. In 1998, WTVK switched its UPN affiliation with the area's cable-only WB affiliate "WSWF". It adopted the on-air moniker "WB 6". On January 24 2006, UPN & The WB announced that they cease broadcasting & merge. The new combined network would be called The CW, the letters representing the first initial of its corporate parents: CBS (the parent company of UPN) & the Warner Bros. unit of Time Warner.

On February 22, News Corporation announced that they would start up another network called MyNetworkTV. The new network, which would be sister to FOX, would be operated by FOX Television Stations & its syndication division Twentieth Television. MyNetworkTV was created in order to give UPN & WB stations, not mentioned as becoming CW affiliates, another option besides becoming independent. It's also created to compete against The CW. On March 9, Acme announced that most of its WB stations, including WTVK, would affiliate with The CW. However, it was likely that WTVK would receive the CW affiliation without the corporate deal. The area's UPN affiliate, "WNFM", is a cable-only station. "WNFM" eventually joined MyNetworkTV which began broadcasting on September 5. WTVK began broadcasting The CW on September 18. On that date, WTVK became known on-air as "CW 6".

Back on May 15 2006, Acme Communications announced that it would sell WTVK to Sun Broadcasting, a local broadcaster owned by Joe Schwartzel. The sale was finalized on February 16, 2007. On March 2, after Sun Broadcasting assumed control, the station changed its call letters to the current WXCW. After that, WXCW moved from its Bonita Springs studios to studio facilities in Fort Myers.

News operation

The station airs the first hour of the nationally syndicated morning show, "The Daily Buzz", during the week from 6-7 AM. Starting on March 26 2007, WINK-TV began producing a nightly 10 o'clock newscast on WXCW. This was the 3rd 10 o'clock news established in the market after FOX affiliate WFTX & WNFM. Right from the start, it emerged as the #2 ranked 10 PM production in the area. On May 25, the WZVN-produced WNFM news stopped airing. This was the result of Comcast's frequent technical difficulties, which hindered on the show's ratings & the popularity of the WXCW production.

Beginning on October 20, WINK-TV was the 1st station in Southwest Florida to broadcast local news in high definition. The station purchased new HD studio cameras, field cameras, weather computers & graphics to complete the launch. The WXCW broadcasts were also included in the upgrade. On January 7 2008, WINK-TV added a 2-hour extension of its weekday morning news on WXCW. This displaced the 2nd & 3rd hours of "The Daily Buzz". WXCW also began to rebroadcast "WINK News Now at Noon" @ 1 PM

News teams

"The Daily Buzz"
"(Weekday Mornings 6-7 AM)"
*Anchors:
**Andy Campbell
**Andrea Jackson
*News Updates:
**Kia Malone
*Weather:
**Mitch English

"WINK News Now This Morning"
"(Weekday Mornings 7-9 AM)"
*Anchors:
**Rob Spicker
**Sarah Augusthy
*Weather:
**Brian Monahan
*Traffic:
**Miriam Zamorano

"WINK News Now at Noon"
"(Weekdays 1-2 PM)"
*Anchor:
**Lindsay Liepman
*Weather:
**Brian Monahan

"WINK News Now at 10" "(10-10:30 PM)"
"Weeknights"
*Anchors:
**Trey Radel
**Stacey Adams
*Weather:
**Scott Zedeker

"Weekends"
*Anchors:
**Jeremiah Jacobsen
**Jennifer Stacy
*Weather:
**Amanda McDonald
*Sports:
**Randy Scott

"WXCW uses additional news personnel from WINK-TV. See that article for a complete listing."

Logos

External links

* [http://www.cw6tv.com/ WXCW-TV "CW 6"]
* [http://www.cwtv.com/ The CW TV Network]
*TVQ|WXCW
*BIA|WXCW|TV|TV