Tribune Broadcasting
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tribune Broadcasting is a group of radio and television stations located throughout the United States which are owned and operated by the Tribune Company, a media conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois.
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The roots of Tribune Broadcasting originated with the June 1924 purchase of radio station WDAP by the Chicago Tribune. The new owners changed the station's call letters to WGN, to match the Tribune's slogan, "World's Greatest Newspaper". WGN Radio would launch a television station, on channel nine in Chicago, in April 1948. Two months later, the Tribune's sister newspaper in New York City, the Daily News, established its own television station, WPIX (channel 11).
Over the next six decades Tribune Broadcasting (originally known as WGN, Incorporated, and from 1966 to 1981 as WGN Continental Broadcasting Company) would acquire radio and television stations throughout the United States. WGN-TV and WPIX are the only stations Tribune has owned since their inceptions. Tribune also operated several local cable television systems from 1977 to 1985. In the middle 1980s, Tribune created a new division, Tribune Entertainment, to produce and distribute television programs for both domestic and worldwide syndication. Many programs offered from Tribune Entertainment are broadcast on the company's television stations.
Tribune Broadcasting is now immersed in television, with 23 stations located in 19 markets (including four duopolies), and the cable/satellite version of WGN-TV, known as Superstation WGN. In Chicago, Tribune also operates Chicagoland's Television (CLTV), a cable-only news channel. WGN Radio is the company's sole remaining radio station.
From January 1995 to September 2006, Tribune Broadcasting was a partner in the WB television network, along with the Warner Bros. division of Time Warner. Tribune held an initial 12.5 percent ownership in the network at its launch and later increased its stake to 22 percent, and most of Tribune's television properties were WB affiliates. On January 24, 2006, the WB announced that it would merge with the CBS-owned United Paramount Network to form a new programming service called the CW. All but three of Tribune's WB affiliates became affiliates of the CW on September 18, 2006, through ten-year agreements. Tribune does not have an ownership interest in the CW.
In April 2007, Tribune's broadcasting interests were included in the sale of the entire company to Chicago investor Sam Zell, who plans take the firm private. The deal is expected to be completed sometime in the fourth quarter of 2007. ([1])
Tribune also involves itself in television syndication. Under the name Tribune Entertainment, the company produces and distributes such programs as U.S. Farm Report, a weekly farm news magazine, and the long-running urban dance show Soul Train. From 2003 to 2007, Tribune also distributed the long-running game show Family Feud (the show was produced by FremantleMedia), but has since ceded that show to Debmar-Mercury for the 2007-08 season. Tribune Broadcasting (under the name Tribune Radio Network) is also responsible for the radio syndication of the Chicago Cubs as well as farm reports and commentaries from Orion Samuelson.
| DMA# | City of License/Market | Station | Owned Since | Current Affiliation |
| 1. | New York City | WPIX 11 | 1948 | CW |
| 2. | Los Angeles | KTLA 5 | 1985 | CW |
| 3. | Chicago | WGN-TV 9 | 1948 | CW |
| 4. | Philadelphia | WPHL-TV 17 | 1992 | MyNetworkTV |
| 5. | Dallas - Fort Worth | KDAF 33 | 1997 | CW |
| 9. | Washington, D.C. | WDCW 50 | 1999 | CW |
| 10. | Houston | KHCW 39 | 1995 | CW |
| 14. | Tacoma - Seattle | KCPQ 13 | 1999 | Fox |
| KMYQ 22 | 1998 | MyNetworkTV | ||
| 16. | Miami - Fort Lauderdale | WSFL-TV 39 | 1997 | CW |
| 18. | Denver | KWGN-TV 2 | 1966 | CW |
| 20. | Sacramento - Stockton - Modesto | KTXL 40 | 1997 | Fox |
| 21. | St. Louis | KPLR-TV 11 | 2003 | CW |
| 23. | Portland, Oregon | KRCW-TV 32 | 2003 | CW |
| 26. | Bloomington, Indiana | WTTV 4 | 2002 | CW |
| Indianapolis | WXIN 59 | 1997 | Fox | |
| Kokomo, Indiana | WTTK 29 (satellite of WTTV) |
2002 | CW | |
| 27. | San Diego | KSWB 69 | 1996 | CW |
| 29. | Hartford - New Haven, CT | WTIC-TV 61 | 1997 | Fox |
| Waterbury, Connecticut | WTXX 20 | 2001 | CW | |
| 39. | Grand Rapids - Battle Creek - Kalamazoo, MI |
WXMI 17 | 1998 | Fox |
| 41. | York - Harrisburg - Lancaster - Lebanon, PA |
WPMT 43 | 1997 | Fox |
| 53. | New Orleans | WGNO-TV 26 | 1983 | ABC |
| WNOL-TV 38 | 1999 | CW |
| DMA# | Market | Station | Owned Since | Current Format |
| 3. | Chicago | WGN-720 | 1924 | Talk |
| DMA# | City of License/Market | Station | Years Owned | Current Affiliation and Ownership |
| 7. | Cambridge - Boston, MA | WLVI-TV 56 | 1994–2006 | CW affiliate owned by Sunbeam Television |
| 8. | Atlanta | WGNX 46 (now WGCL-TV) |
1984–1999 | CBS affiliate owned by Meredith Corporation |
| WATL-TV 36 | 1999-2006 | MyNetworkTV affiliate owned by Gannett Company | ||
| 56. | Schenectady - Albany - Troy, N.Y. | WEWB/WCWN 45 | 1999–2006 | CW affiliate owned by Freedom Communications |
| 138. | Duluth, MN - Superior, WI | KDAL-TV 3 (now KDLH) |
1960–1978 | CBS affiliate owned by Malara Broadcasting (operated under LMA by Granite Broadcasting) |
(a partial listing)
| DMA# | Market | Station | Current Ownership |
| 1. | New York City | WPIX-FM/WQCD-101.9 | owned by Emmis Communications |
| 3. | Chicago | WFMT-FM-98.7 | owned by Window to the World Communications |
| 22. | Denver – Boulder | KEZW-1430 | owned by Entercom Communications |
| KKHK-FM-99.5 (now KQMT-FM) |
owned by Entercom Communications | ||
| KOSI-FM-101.1 | owned by Entercom Communications | ||
| 27. | Sacramento | KCTC-FM-96.1 (now KYMX) |
owned by CBS Radio |
| KGNR-1320 (now KCTC) |
owned by Entercom Communications | ||
| 133. | Bridgeport, Connecticut | WICC-600 | owned by Cumulus Media |
| 204. | Duluth, MN - Superior, WI | KDAL-610 | owned by Midwest Communications |