Chicagoland Television
Encyclopedia
Chicagoland Television, better known as CLTV, is a 24-hour
regional cable news
television channel based in Chicago
. CLTV broadcasts from the WGN-TV
studios on the Northwest side of Chicago and is owned by Tribune Company
.
Cable in Chicago in October 2009. Tribune Broadcasting
announced on February 5, 2009 that it would combine WGN-TV
and CLTV, into one operation based out of WGN's West Bradley Place facility in Chicago's North Center
neighborhood. According to the Tribune Company, it is the largest and most powerful news room in the Chicago market. This officially took place on August 28, 2009. Upon the merger, CLTV received a new logo and launched its news in HD with new graphics similar to those of WGN-TV
. Previous to that, all of the Tribune weather operations, including CLTV's and WGN Radio 720
's, were merged into those of Channel 9.
(and earlier forerunner companies AT&T Broadband
, Media One and TCI
) until October 2009, when RCN
began to also carry the channel after Tribune's renegotiation with Comcast to remove the exclusivity agreement. On January 19, 2010 Comcast began to offer CLTV to its digital cable subscribers in the company's Rockford, Illinois
and South Bend, Indiana
service areas. The Sports Channel
/ Fox Sports Net
and Comcast SportsNet
overflow content was not exclusive before October 2009, and was on other systems that did not have CLTV. CLTV currently remains unavailable to WOW!, AT&T U-verse, Dish Network
, and DirecTV
subscribers in the Chicago area.
Anchors
Weather team
Reporters
Metromix
newspaper columnists provide in-depth reporting for many feature stories aired on CLTV.
The Metromix
TV staff produces the Metromix Weekend program which airs in primetime on Thursdays and Fridays on CLTV. The program repeats over the weekend. Currently, the program is on-hiatus.
The Homes Plus program airs Saturday and Sunday morning and focuses on buying new homes in the Chicago area.
Living Healthy Chicago runs weekends and on Mondays at 8pm. This program focuses on how to live a healthy life in Chicago.
24-hour news cycle
The 24-hour news cycle arrived with the advent of television channels dedicated to news, and brought about a much faster pace of news production with increased demand for stories that can be presented as news, as opposed to the day-by-day pace of the news cycle of printed daily newspapers...
regional cable news
United States cable news
Cable news refers to television channels devoted to television news broadcasts, with the name deriving from the proliferation of such networks during the 1980s with the advent of cable television. In the United States, early networks included CNN in 1980, Financial News Network in 1981, and CNN2 ...
television channel based in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. CLTV broadcasts from the WGN-TV
WGN-TV
WGN-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the CW-affiliated television station in Chicago, Illinois built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WGN-TV's studios and offices are located at 2501 W...
studios on the Northwest side of Chicago and is owned by Tribune Company
Tribune Company
The Tribune Company is a large American multimedia corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. It is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, with ten daily newspapers and commuter tabloids including Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida...
.
History
CLTV closed its Oak Brook office on August 27, 2009 where it was launched on New Year's Day 1993. CLTV became available on RCNRCN Corporation
RCN Corporation, founded in 1993 and based in Herndon, Virginia, is the first American facilities-based competitive provider of bundled telephone, cable television and high-speed internet service delivered over its own fiber-optic local network to consumers in the Boston, New York, Eastern...
Cable in Chicago in October 2009. Tribune Broadcasting
Tribune Broadcasting
The Tribune Broadcasting Company 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 and named for the flagship Chicago Tribune newspaper.- History :Tribune Broadcasting...
announced on February 5, 2009 that it would combine WGN-TV
WGN-TV
WGN-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the CW-affiliated television station in Chicago, Illinois built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WGN-TV's studios and offices are located at 2501 W...
and CLTV, into one operation based out of WGN's West Bradley Place facility in Chicago's North Center
North Center, Chicago
North Center is one of the 77 community area of the Chicago, Illinois, located in the city's North Side. North Center is bordered on the north by Montrose Avenue, on the south by Diversey Parkway, on the west by the Chicago River and on the east by Ravenswood Avenue; it includes the neighborhoods...
neighborhood. According to the Tribune Company, it is the largest and most powerful news room in the Chicago market. This officially took place on August 28, 2009. Upon the merger, CLTV received a new logo and launched its news in HD with new graphics similar to those of WGN-TV
WGN-TV
WGN-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the CW-affiliated television station in Chicago, Illinois built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WGN-TV's studios and offices are located at 2501 W...
. Previous to that, all of the Tribune weather operations, including CLTV's and WGN Radio 720
WGN (AM)
WGN is a radio station in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It is the only radio station owned by the Tribune Company, which also owns the flagship television station WGN-TV, the Chicago Tribune newspaper and Chicago magazine locally. WGN's transmitter is located in Elk Grove Village, Illinois...
's, were merged into those of Channel 9.
Availability
According to the CLTV website it reaches 1.8 million households, making it one of the largest local news networks in the United States. The channel had always been an exclusive channel to customers of ComcastComcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
(and earlier forerunner companies AT&T Broadband
AT&T Broadband
AT&T Broadband was the name of AT&T's cable operations, which were composed of the assets of TCI and MediaOne, Prime Cable, as well as two Comcast cable systems AT&T acquired later in a system swap. Formed in 1999, AT&T Broadband was the largest provider of cable television services...
, Media One and TCI
Tele-Communications Inc.
Tele-Communications, Inc. or TCI was a cable television provider in the United States, for much of its history controlled by Bob Magness and John Malone....
) until October 2009, when RCN
RCN Corporation
RCN Corporation, founded in 1993 and based in Herndon, Virginia, is the first American facilities-based competitive provider of bundled telephone, cable television and high-speed internet service delivered over its own fiber-optic local network to consumers in the Boston, New York, Eastern...
began to also carry the channel after Tribune's renegotiation with Comcast to remove the exclusivity agreement. On January 19, 2010 Comcast began to offer CLTV to its digital cable subscribers in the company's Rockford, Illinois
Rockford, Illinois
Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...
and South Bend, Indiana
South Bend, Indiana
The city of South Bend is the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total of 101,168 residents; its Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 316,663...
service areas. The Sports Channel
Sports channel
Sports channels are television specialty channels broadcast sporting events, usually live, and when not broadcasting events, sports news and other related programming....
/ Fox Sports Net
Fox Sports Net
The Fox Sports Regional Networks, or simply Fox Sports Net , are a collection of cable TV regional sports networks in the United States owned and operated by News Corporation.- Beginnings :...
and Comcast SportsNet
Comcast SportsNet
Comcast SportsNet is a group of regional sports networks in the United States primarily owned by the Comcast cable television company....
overflow content was not exclusive before October 2009, and was on other systems that did not have CLTV. CLTV currently remains unavailable to WOW!, AT&T U-verse, Dish Network
Dish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
, and DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
subscribers in the Chicago area.
Programming
CLTV focuses primarily on 24-hour rolling news coverage. The CLTV broadcast is structured into a traditional wheel of news, traffic/transit, weather, sports, and features/entertainment, though the wheel is easily interrupted during breaking news events within the city or extraordinary national events.- Weekday live news broadcasts begin at 5 a.m., on Saturdays and Sunday at 7 a.m.
- CLTV re-broadcasts the WGN Midday News at 1 p.m. on weekdays and the WGN News at Nine at 11 p.m. weekdays. In addition since July 6, 2010, CLTV also airs special live half-hour editions of WGN News at Nine in the event that a sporting event (particularly one that is scheduled to be played on the west coast) will begin at 9 p.m. and/or run past 10 p.m., causing the 9 p.m. newscast to be delayed on Channel 9; an additional live newscast will air on WGN-TV (with a simulcast on its national superstationSuperstationSuperstation in United States television can have several meanings. In its most precise meaning, a superstation is defined by the Federal Communications Commission as "A television broadcast station, other than a network station, licensed by the FCC that is secondarily transmitted by a satellite...
feed WGN America, outside of Chicago) immediately following the game. - MetromixMetromixMetromix is a network of local entertainment websites backed by a joint venture between media companies Gannett and Tribune Co. A guide to local restaurants, bars and clubs, events, concerts and movies, Metromix is currently available in over 60 markets. In late 2009, the company launched 27 new...
, the Chicago TribuneChicago TribuneThe Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
branding for local arts and cultural coverage and a section in that paper, has a program which airs several times on Thursday and Friday nights; it had been a nightly program until 2008. - Other programs seen on CLTV are Garrard McClendon Live, Homes Plus, Living Healthy Chicago, Sports Page, and Midwest Outdoors.
- The station airs limited paid programming during early overnight periods.
- The channel has been used as the Comcast SportsNet Chicago overflow feed, branded technically as CSN+ in order to alleviate sports overflows with CSN Chicago's properties. It was also used in the /SportsChannel Fox Sports Net ChicagoFSN ChicagoFox Sports Net Chicago was a regional sports network based in Chicago, Illinois. The network carried the Chicago Cubs, the Chicago White Sox, the Chicago Blackhawks, the Chicago Bulls, the Chicago Fire, the Arena Football League's Chicago Rush, local and national collegiate sports, including those...
days for their overflow feeds before the launch of CSN Chicago. By the second quarter of 2010 however Comcast's Chicago systems will be all-digitalDigital cableDigital cable is a generic term for any type of cable television distribution using digital video compression or distribution. The technology was originally developed by Motorola.-Background:...
(where a digital cable box or CableCardCableCARDCableCARD is a special-use PCMCIA card that allows consumers in the United States to view and record digital cable television channels on digital video recorders, personal computers and television sets without the use of other equipment such as a set top box provided by a cable television company...
-compliant receiver is required for all subscribers), thus on all but non Comcast systems, the CSN+ feed would likely have their own channel slot. A gametime-only CSN+ high definition feed is also used on Comcast systems, with cable system tutorials filling the remainder of the network's schedule, while other systems substitute other programming during the downtime. As of 2011 CSN + no longer on cltv. - DePaul UniversityDePaul UniversityDePaul University is a private institution of higher education and research in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul...
college basketballCollege basketballCollege basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
is also carried on CLTV on a limited schedule.
CLTV slogans
- Chicagoland's 24-Hour Source for News, Weather and Sports24 Hour News SourceThe 24 Hour News Source brand was a common name used by American television stations starting in the early 1990s for brief hourly news updates, usually running 30 seconds to a minute in length. At its peak, dozens of stations across the U.S. were producing these brief news updates...
(1993–2000) - Around Chicago, Around the Clock (2000–present)
Current on-air staff
+ denotes personnel also seen on WGN-TVAnchors
- + Tonya Francisco - weekday mornings
- + Gaynor Hall - weekend evenings and overnight loop; also reporter
- + Monica Schneider - weekday afternoons; also reporter
- + Judy Wang - weekend daytime and reporter
Weather team
- Duffy Atkins (AMSAmerican Meteorological SocietyThe American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...
Certified Broadcast MeteorologistCertified Broadcast MeteorologistCertified Broadcast Meteorologist is a rating for meteorologists given by the American Meteorological Society.The Certified Broadcast Meteorologist program was established to raise the professional standard in broadcast meteorology and encourage a broader range of scientific understanding,...
Seal of Approval) - chief meteorologist; weekday evenings and overnight loop (4 p.m.-5 a.m.) - + Mike Hamernik (member, AMS; member, NWANational Weather AssociationThe National Weather Association is an American professional association with a mission to support and promote excellence in operational meteorology and related activities...
) - meteorologist; weekend daytime (6 a.m.-6 p.m.) - Tim McGill (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval) - weather anchor; weekday daytime (5 a.m.-4 p.m.)
- + Jim Ramsey (NWA Seal of Approval) - weather anchor; weekend evenings and overnight loop (6 p.m.-6 a.m.)
Reporters
- + Sean Lewis - general assignment reporter
- + Nancy Loo - general assignment reporter
- + Marcella Raymond - general assignment reporter; also fill-in anchor
Metromix
- Jackie Tranchida - Host
Tribune Company Partnerships
CLTV is owned by the Tribune Company, therefore it receives a lot of content and reporting from other news divisions of the Tribune Company. News video is shared extensively between CLTV and WGN-TV. All of CLTV's weather coverage is produced by WGN-TV. Chicago TribuneChicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
newspaper columnists provide in-depth reporting for many feature stories aired on CLTV.
The Metromix
Metromix
Metromix is a network of local entertainment websites backed by a joint venture between media companies Gannett and Tribune Co. A guide to local restaurants, bars and clubs, events, concerts and movies, Metromix is currently available in over 60 markets. In late 2009, the company launched 27 new...
TV staff produces the Metromix Weekend program which airs in primetime on Thursdays and Fridays on CLTV. The program repeats over the weekend. Currently, the program is on-hiatus.
The Homes Plus program airs Saturday and Sunday morning and focuses on buying new homes in the Chicago area.
Living Healthy Chicago runs weekends and on Mondays at 8pm. This program focuses on how to live a healthy life in Chicago.