WCWJ

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = WCWJ
city =
station_
station_slogan = Jacksonville's CW
station_branding = CW 17
analog = 17 (UHF)
digital = 34 (UHF)
other_chs =
affiliations = The CW
network =
founded =
airdate = February 19, 1966
location = Jacksonville, Florida
callsign_meaning = The CW Jacksonville
former_callsigns = WJKS (1966-1997)
WJWB (1997-2006)
former_channel_numbers =
owner = Media General, Inc.
"(sale pending)"
licensee = Media General Communications Holdings, LLC
sister_stations =
former_affiliations = ABC (1966-1980)
NBC (1980-1988)
ABC (1988-1997)
The WB (1997-2006)
effective_radiated_power = 4680 kW (analog)
863 kW (digital)
HAAT = 304 m (analog)
282.5 m (digital)
class =
facility_id = 29712
coordinates = coord|30|16|37.2|N|81|33|44.9|W|type:landmark_scale:2000
homepage = [http://www.mycw17.com/ www.mycw17.com]

WCWJ (CW 17, cable 9) is the CW affiliate in Jacksonville, Florida. The station is owned by Media General. Its transmitter is located in Jacksonville.

History

Rust Craft signed channel 17 on the air as WJKS-TV, an ABC affiliate on February 19, 1966. On January 1, 1980, WJKS and WTLV switched networks with WTLV taking ABC and WJKS picking up NBC. This lasted until 1988 when WJKS and WTLV switched back to their original network affiliations.

Current owner Media General acquired WJKS from Ziff Davis in October 1982; it was the second television station in the Media General chain (Tampa's WFLA-TV was the first).

WJKS started a small news operation in its second year. Newscasts were called "Pulse News," "NewsWatch 17," "17 News," then finally "First Coast News," when the station began to produce a prime time newscast for WAWS.

In 1996, WJKS lost the ABC affiliation to upstart WJXX after WJXX's then-owner, Allbritton, made an affiliation deal with ABC in several markets. WJKS switched to the WB network and changed its call letters to WJWB. It also ended its news operation on December 30, 1996. Ironically, when Gannett, owner of WTLV, bought WJXX and merged the two stations' operations, it called its news operation "First Coast News."

WJWB, with over 30 years of service to Jacksonville at the time of the ABC/WB switch, thrived with the new network, and was consistently ranked as one of the highest-rated WB affiliates in the country. It was the highest-rated affiliate for much of the time from 2000 to 2005.fact|date=January 2008

When The CW was announced in January 2006, WJWB was expected to join the new network due to its status as one of the WB's "crown jewels." However, when the new network announced its first group of stations outside the core group of Tribune Company and CBS Corporation-owned stations, WJWB was not on the list, leading to speculation that The CW would choose to affiliate with WJXT instead.

In March 2006, however, The CW announced affiliation deals with WJWB and sister station WASV (now WYCW, which was affiliated with UPN). On May 26, WJWB changed its call letters to WCWJ to reflect its future affiliation. The station launched a "Farewell To The Frog Tour," as The WB network and station mascot Michigan J. Frog was retired over the summer. A series of humorous promos later chronicled the frog's failed attempts to find work at several local businesses. New station branding began in mid-August, which included ID's with both WB and CW logos.

On October 29, 2007, Media General announced that it was exploring the sale of WCWJ. [cite press release |title=Media General Exploring Sale of Five Television Stations |publisher=Media General |date=2007-10-29|url=http://www.mediageneral.com/press/2007/oct29_07.html |accessdate=2007-10-30]

Digital television

The station's digital channel is multiplexed:

News/Station Presentation

Newscast Titles

*"WJKS-TV News" (1966-1968)
*"Pulse News" (1968-1973)
*"News Scene Today" (1973-1977)
*"NewsWatch 17" (1977-1986)
*"NewsWatch Jacksonville/NightWatch Jacksonville" (1986-1989)
*"17 News" (1989-1990)
*"First Coast News" (1990-1996)

Newscast Music

*"WJKS 1977 News Theme", Unknown (19??-1978)
*"WTLV 1972 News Theme", Unknown (1978-1981)
*Theme From 'Firepower', Gato Barbieri (1981-1983)
*"WJKS 1983 News Theme", Unknown (1983-1985)
*"News Series 2000", Gari Communications (1985-1991)
*"Real News", Killer Tracks (NJJ Music/HLC) (1991-199?)
*"Production Music: Heroics", FirstCom (199?-1996)

tation Slogans

*"17, Our Pride is Showing" (1981-1982, based on NBC's slogan for that season)
*"We're 17, Just Watch Us Now" (1982-1983, local version of NBC campaign)
*"17, Let's All Be There" (1984-1986, local version of NBC campaign)
*"Come Home to the Best, Only on 17" (1988-1990, local version of NBC campaign)
*"The First Coast is Watching, 17 JKS" (1990-December 1996, based on ABC's 1990 slogan "America's Watching ABC")
*"Jacksonville's Home of the WB" (December 1996-2006)
*"We Don't Do News...We're Non-Stop Entertainment!" (2007-2008)

References

External links

* [http://www.mycw17.com/ WCWJ web site]
* [http://www.wjks-tv.info/ WJKS history]
*TVQ|WCWJ
*BIA|WCWJ|TV|TV