WKCF
Encyclopedia
WKCF is the CW-affiliated television station
for Central Florida
licensed to Clermont
. It broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on UHF channel 17 (or virtual channel
18.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter in unincorporated
Bithlo
. The station can also be seen on Bright House Networks
channel 8 and Comcast
channel 13. There is a high definition feed provided on Comcast digital channel 435 and Bright House Networks digital channel 1080. Owned by Hearst Television, WKCF is sister to NBC
affiliate WESH
and the two outlets share studios on North Wymore Road in Eatonville
(official address says Winter Park
) along I-4
. Syndicated
programming on this station includes Seinfeld
, How I Met Your Mother
, New Adventures of Old Christine, and Friends
among others.
. Saturday nights from 8 until 10, the main feed simulcasts this service. On WKCF-DT3, Comcast digital channel 224, Bright House Networks digital channel 464, and CenturyLink Prism TV channel 20 is Estrella TV
.
. It was owned by Press Broadcasting and programmed a general entertainment format with an emphasis on movies and drama along with some game shows. In 1984, it became a more traditional Independent. Being licensed to Melbourne placed WMOD at a disadvantage. Its transmitter was located located fifty miles (80 km) southeast of Orlando. It only reached the city itself with a Grade B signal and did not reach Daytona Beach
at all. As a result, the station received low ratings despite decent programming.
In late-1984, the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) allocated a commercial license to Clermont (a western suburb of Orlando) on UHF channel 68. Press applied for the license in 1985 and received it in March 1986. The company planned to sell WMOD to the Home Shopping Network
at the same time that the new analog channel 68 went on-the-air. In the meantime, the station agreed to affiliate with the Home Shopping Network on a part-time basis starting with several hours overnight in the fall of 1986. Press sold more and more of this channel's broadcast day to HSN in order to raise money to move forward with building channel 68. HSN programming occupied eighteen hours a day of WMOD's schedule by the Summer of 1987. General entertainment continued running from 5 until 11 p.m. The station still was unable to move its programming unit of general entertainment to channel 68 by the fall due to technical and financial constraints.
In January 1988 to finish building the new station, Press sold WMOD was sold to Blackstar Broadcasting (an HSN affiliate). That February, it began to run HSN full time (except for a few hours of religious and public affairs shows Sunday mornings) and changed its call letters to WBSF. Its barter cartoons and other barter shows moved to WAYK (now WOPX-TV). Finally, UHF channel 68 went on-the-air as WKCF in November 1988. It originally aired an analog signal from studios at a strip mall in Winter Park. The channel's early programming lineup consisted mostly of shows that had previously been seen on WMOD until January. The shows were originally a blend of cartoons, classic sitcoms, recent sitcoms, older movies, and drama shows. The station provided a city-grade signal to Orlando and a Grade B signal to Daytona Beach and Melbourne. WKCF was branded on-air as "TV 68".
The station eventually moved from the strip mall to facilities in a multi-floor office building also in Winter Park. Press Broadcasting wanted to move WKCF's transmitter to the Christmas/Bithlo tower farm in order to improve its signal in the other two major cities in the market
, Daytona Beach and Melbourne. However the company soon discovered that as long as WKCF transmitted on channel 68, it could not move its transmitter to Bithlo and still reach Clermont with a city-grade signal. In 1991, Press Broadcasting approached Brevard Community College
about swapping channels with its educational station, WRES. Under this plan, both stations would move their transmitters to Bithlo. At the time, WRES was a relatively low-powered station serving the immediate Brevard County
area on UHF channel 18. However if that station moved to Bithlo, it would be able to boost its power to the maximum five million watt
s. The college agreed and the FCC approved the swap. As a result in 1992, WKCF moved to channel 18 which was re-classified as a commercial license and WRES moved to channel 68 as well as adopting the call sign WBCC
. After the switch, WKCF re-branded itself as "TV 18".
Soon after moving to channel 18, WKCF started producing a kids club program called The Buckaroo Club hosted by Ranger Bob. Despite low ratings, it seemed most people in Central Florida
knew who Ranger Bob was. The show was on-the-air from 1992 until 1994. A reunion program was aired on WKCF in 2004. Another move that put the station on the map was partnering up with the Orlando Magic
and broadcasting many of their road games. It gradually added some home games as well. This was right around the time Shaquille O'Neal
put the Magic on the map. In 1994, the station was re-branded as "18 WKCF". The station joined The WB on January 11, 1995 as a charter affiliate. A year after the network affiliation was in place, the station rebranded itself as "WB 18". For most of The WB's eleven-year run, WKCF was consistently the network's top affiliate and was even the fourth-highest rated station in Central Florida.
In 1998, the studios of WKCF were moved to Lake Mary
into a building that Press Broadcasting had built on an empty lot right next to the main competition, WOFL
. The station was sold to Emmis Communications
in 1998 for $200 million. As the station focused more on its network commitments, it did not renew its contract with the Orlando Magic in 1999. The games then went to WRBW
. From 2001 until 2005, the WKCF studios in Lake Mary served as the home of Emmis with centralcasting. Using Florical Automation, the company was responsible for master control operations for several Emmis owned Fox and WB affiliates in the Southeastern United States
. These stations included WVUE
in New Orleans, Louisiana
, WALA-TV
and WBPG (now WFNA) in Mobile, Alabama
, and WFTX
in Fort Myers. From WKCF's facilities, Emmis maintained broadcast capabilities during several major hurricanes impacts on several of its stations including Katrina
(affecting WVUE), Ivan
(affecting WALA), and Charley
(affecting WFTX and WKCF). The Emmis model was later discontinued as the company sold off the stations.
On January 24, 2006, UPN
and The WB announced that they would cease broadcasting and merge. The new combined network would be called The CW. The letters would represent the first initial of its corporate parents, CBS
(the parent company of UPN) and the Warner Bros.
unit of Time Warner
. On March 1, Emmis officials confirmed that WKCF would affiliate with The CW. This channel had been the obvious choice as Orlando's CW affiliate in any case. Network officials were on record as preferring the "strongest" WB and UPN affiliates, and as mentioned, WKCF had been The WB's strongest affiliate for virtually all of the network's run. On May 8, Emmis announced the sale of WKCF to what was then known as Hearst-Argyle Television for $217.5 million. The sale was finalized on August 31. This created the third duopoly in the Orlando market joining WFTV
/WRDQ
and WOFL/WRBW. As part of the move, WKCF moved its operations to WESH's facilities in Winter Park. It may now take on the responsibility of airing NBC programs when WESH is not able to so such as in a news-related emergency.
Until October 2008, WKCF was the only Hearst-owned station whose web site was not powered by Internet Broadcasting
. That changed when Hearst and Internet Broadcasting created a separate page for the station within WESH's web address. On January 22, 2009, a tube in WKCF's analog transmitter failed forcing the station to transmit its analog signal at a reduced three megawatts power (which was sixty percent of its authorized five megawatt ERP) under special temporary authority
from the FCC. The station had applied to cease analog transmissions on the original February 17, 2009 but its application was rejected by the FCC. WKCF like most other Hearst-owned stations, continued to broadcast regular programming on its analog signal until June 12. On that day, it discontinued regular programming on its analog signal and became one of three Orlando-area stations (along with WKMG-TV
and WOFL) to participate in the analog nightlight
program which lasted until July 12.
Although not in a traditional big three network
affiliate time period, Orlando has been very competitive in the prime time slot at 10 over the years. WKCF was the first television station in the area to launch a prime time newscast. This effort was established in 1991 through a news share agreement with WKMG. Eventually, future sister station WESH would take over production duties of WKCF's broadcast. Meanwhile, WFTV entered into the 10 o'clock news race with its own production on WRBW. At some point in time, this newscast moved to sister station WRDQ where is remains today. In 1998, WOFL premiered the first thirty minute independently-produced newscast outside Orlando's big three network outlets. This effort would be expanded to an hour on weeknights in the fall of 1999.
WESH canceled its first WKCF newscast in September 2002 in response to increased competition from WOFL and WRDQ. There continues to be speculations that 10 p.m. news may return to WRBW. Station officials have not ruled out the possibility even though such a program would air in direct competition against sister station WOFL. However, this may not be the case if that station moves its local newscast to 11. From August 2004 until 2007, WKCF's studios were home based of the nationally syndicated
morning show The Daily Buzz
which could be seen on weekdays from 6 until 9. After Hearst-Argyle bought this station in 2007, the show moved operations to the Disney-MGM Studios
while clearance in the Orlando area was picked up by WRDQ.
When WESH became a sister outlet to WKCF, it led to speculation the former would bring back a prime time show at 10 to this station someday. In January 2007, WESH began producing a two-hour extension of its weekday morning newscast on WKCF. This joined two other broadcasts airing at the same time on WOFL (established in September 2000) and WRDQ (launched at the same point as WKCF's morning show). A simulcast of the 6 a.m. hour of WESH's weekday morning newscast would subsequently be added to the station. On November 1, 2007, this station began airing local news in high definition after WESH made the upgrade. After a seven year hiatus, it was finally announced a nightly 10 p.m. newscast produced by WESH would return to WKCF on August 31, 2009.
First Alert Meteorologists
Sports
Reporters
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
for Central Florida
Central Florida
Central Florida is a regional designation for the area surrounding Orlando in east central Florida, United States. The area represents the third largest population concentration in Florida, after the South Florida and Tampa Bay regions, respectively....
licensed to Clermont
Clermont, Florida
Clermont is a city in Lake County, Florida, United States, west of Orlando. The population was 13,100 in 2008. The city is essentially residential in character and its economy is centered in retail trade, lodging, and food and beverage establishments, which are tourism oriented. The historic...
. It broadcasts a high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
digital signal on UHF channel 17 (or virtual channel
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
18.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter in unincorporated
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
Bithlo
Bithlo, Florida
Bithlo is a census-designated place and an unincorporated community in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 4,626 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area. For 20 years in the early 20th century, Bithlo was an incorporated...
. The station can also be seen on Bright House Networks
Bright House Networks
Bright House Networks is a cable television company, the seventh largest cable operator and the sixth largest traditional multiple system operator in the United States owned by Advance/Newhouse, headquartered in Syracuse, New York...
channel 8 and Comcast
Comcast
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...
channel 13. There is a high definition feed provided on Comcast digital channel 435 and Bright House Networks digital channel 1080. Owned by Hearst Television, WKCF is sister to NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate WESH
WESH
WESH is the NBC affiliate in Orlando, Florida. It is licensed to Daytona Beach, with studio facilities in Winter Park. It transmits its digital signal on VHF channel 11, which redirects to virtual channel 2.1, reflecting its former analog channel assignment, through PSIP. It is currently owned by...
and the two outlets share studios on North Wymore Road in Eatonville
Eatonville, Florida
Eatonville is a town in Orange County, Florida, six miles north of Orlando. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee metropolitan statistical area. The population was 2,432 at the 2000 census. As of 2006, the population recorded by the U.S...
(official address says Winter Park
Winter Park, Florida
Winter Park is a suburban city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 24,090 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2006 estimates, the city had a population of 28,083. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area...
) along I-4
Interstate 4
Interstate 4 is a intrastate Highway located entirely within the state of Florida, United States. It goes from Interstate 275 in Tampa, Florida to Interstate 95 at Daytona Beach, Florida . It also has the Florida Department of Transportation designation of State Road 400, but only a small...
. Syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
programming on this station includes Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
, How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother is an American sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays.As a framing device, the main character, Ted Mosby with narration by Bob Saget, in the year 2030 recounts to his son and daughter the events that led to his meeting...
, New Adventures of Old Christine, and Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
among others.
Digital programming
On WKCF-DT2, Comcast digital channel 223, Bright House Networks digital channel 466, and CenturyLink Prism TV channel 19 is This TVThis TV
This TV is a United States general entertainment television network, with a large emphasis in its programming on movies....
. Saturday nights from 8 until 10, the main feed simulcasts this service. On WKCF-DT3, Comcast digital channel 224, Bright House Networks digital channel 464, and CenturyLink Prism TV channel 20 is Estrella TV
Estrella TV
Estrella TV is a Spanish-language television network owned by Liberman Broadcasting. The network launched September 14, 2009.-Affiliates:-Former Affiliates:-Controversy:...
.
| Channel | Video Display resolution The display resolution of a digital television or display device is the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. It can be an ambiguous term especially as the displayed resolution is controlled by all different factors in cathode ray tube , flat panel or projection... |
Aspect Aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,... |
Name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18.1 | 1080i 1080i 1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels... |
16:9 | WKCF-DT | Main WKCF programming / The CW |
| 18.2 | 480i 480i 480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC... |
4:3 | this | "This TV Orlando" |
| 18.3 | estrell | "Estrella TV Orlando" |
History
WKCF's intellectual unit began operation in July 1982 on UHF channel 43 as WMOD and was licensed to MelbourneMelbourne, Florida
Melbourne is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. As of 2009, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 78,323. The municipal area is the second largest by size and by population in the county. Melbourne is a principal city of the Palm Bay – Melbourne – Titusville, Florida...
. It was owned by Press Broadcasting and programmed a general entertainment format with an emphasis on movies and drama along with some game shows. In 1984, it became a more traditional Independent. Being licensed to Melbourne placed WMOD at a disadvantage. Its transmitter was located located fifty miles (80 km) southeast of Orlando. It only reached the city itself with a Grade B signal and did not reach Daytona Beach
Daytona Beach, Florida
Daytona Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, USA. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city has a population of 64,211. Daytona Beach is a principal city of the Deltona – Daytona Beach – Ormond Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which the census bureau estimated had...
at all. As a result, the station received low ratings despite decent programming.
In late-1984, the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) allocated a commercial license to Clermont (a western suburb of Orlando) on UHF channel 68. Press applied for the license in 1985 and received it in March 1986. The company planned to sell WMOD to the Home Shopping Network
Home Shopping Network
Home Shopping Network or HSN began in 1977 as a 24-hour/7 day a week home shopping television network televised via cable, satellite, and some terrestrial channels in the Philippines. HSN can also be shopped online at hsn.com...
at the same time that the new analog channel 68 went on-the-air. In the meantime, the station agreed to affiliate with the Home Shopping Network on a part-time basis starting with several hours overnight in the fall of 1986. Press sold more and more of this channel's broadcast day to HSN in order to raise money to move forward with building channel 68. HSN programming occupied eighteen hours a day of WMOD's schedule by the Summer of 1987. General entertainment continued running from 5 until 11 p.m. The station still was unable to move its programming unit of general entertainment to channel 68 by the fall due to technical and financial constraints.
In January 1988 to finish building the new station, Press sold WMOD was sold to Blackstar Broadcasting (an HSN affiliate). That February, it began to run HSN full time (except for a few hours of religious and public affairs shows Sunday mornings) and changed its call letters to WBSF. Its barter cartoons and other barter shows moved to WAYK (now WOPX-TV). Finally, UHF channel 68 went on-the-air as WKCF in November 1988. It originally aired an analog signal from studios at a strip mall in Winter Park. The channel's early programming lineup consisted mostly of shows that had previously been seen on WMOD until January. The shows were originally a blend of cartoons, classic sitcoms, recent sitcoms, older movies, and drama shows. The station provided a city-grade signal to Orlando and a Grade B signal to Daytona Beach and Melbourne. WKCF was branded on-air as "TV 68".
The station eventually moved from the strip mall to facilities in a multi-floor office building also in Winter Park. Press Broadcasting wanted to move WKCF's transmitter to the Christmas/Bithlo tower farm in order to improve its signal in the other two major cities in the market
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
, Daytona Beach and Melbourne. However the company soon discovered that as long as WKCF transmitted on channel 68, it could not move its transmitter to Bithlo and still reach Clermont with a city-grade signal. In 1991, Press Broadcasting approached Brevard Community College
Brevard Community College
Brevard Community College, founded in 1960, is a community college on Florida's Space Coast, in Brevard County, Florida. It has four campuses in Cocoa, Melbourne, Palm Bay, and Titusville, as well as an Aerospace program at Kennedy Space Center and a Virtual Campus...
about swapping channels with its educational station, WRES. Under this plan, both stations would move their transmitters to Bithlo. At the time, WRES was a relatively low-powered station serving the immediate Brevard County
Brevard County, Florida
Brevard County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida, along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2007 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the population is 536,521, making it the 10th most populous county in the state. Influenced by the presence of the John F. Kennedy Space Center, Brevard...
area on UHF channel 18. However if that station moved to Bithlo, it would be able to boost its power to the maximum five million watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s. The college agreed and the FCC approved the swap. As a result in 1992, WKCF moved to channel 18 which was re-classified as a commercial license and WRES moved to channel 68 as well as adopting the call sign WBCC
WBCC
WBCC is a PBS member station serving the Orlando television market. It broadcasts a digital signal on UHF channel 30, and serves as the sole PBS affiliate in the Central Florida television market....
. After the switch, WKCF re-branded itself as "TV 18".
Soon after moving to channel 18, WKCF started producing a kids club program called The Buckaroo Club hosted by Ranger Bob. Despite low ratings, it seemed most people in Central Florida
Central Florida
Central Florida is a regional designation for the area surrounding Orlando in east central Florida, United States. The area represents the third largest population concentration in Florida, after the South Florida and Tampa Bay regions, respectively....
knew who Ranger Bob was. The show was on-the-air from 1992 until 1994. A reunion program was aired on WKCF in 2004. Another move that put the station on the map was partnering up with the Orlando Magic
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic is a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association and are currently coached by Stan Van Gundy...
and broadcasting many of their road games. It gradually added some home games as well. This was right around the time Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal , nicknamed "Shaq" , is a former American professional basketball player. Standing tall and weighing , he was one of the heaviest players ever to play in the NBA...
put the Magic on the map. In 1994, the station was re-branded as "18 WKCF". The station joined The WB on January 11, 1995 as a charter affiliate. A year after the network affiliation was in place, the station rebranded itself as "WB 18". For most of The WB's eleven-year run, WKCF was consistently the network's top affiliate and was even the fourth-highest rated station in Central Florida.
In 1998, the studios of WKCF were moved to Lake Mary
Lake Mary, Florida
Lake Mary is a city in Seminole County, Florida, United States. The population was 11,456 at the 2000 census. As of 2009, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 15,230...
into a building that Press Broadcasting had built on an empty lot right next to the main competition, WOFL
WOFL
WOFL, channel 35, is the Fox owned-and-operated television station serving the Orlando, Florida metropolitan area. It is licensed to Orlando, with studios located in Lake Mary. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 22. On cable, WOFL-TV is currently seen on channel 3 for subscribers of...
. The station was sold to Emmis Communications
Emmis Communications
Emmis Communications is a media conglomerate based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company owns radio stations and magazines in the United States, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria.-History:...
in 1998 for $200 million. As the station focused more on its network commitments, it did not renew its contract with the Orlando Magic in 1999. The games then went to WRBW
WRBW
WRBW is the MyNetworkTV owned and operated station serving the Orlando/Daytona Beach/Melbourne, Florida television market. It is owned by the Fox Television Stations Group, along with Fox station WOFL Channel 35. Known on-air as "My65", the station offers sitcoms, cartoons, court shows, and...
. From 2001 until 2005, the WKCF studios in Lake Mary served as the home of Emmis with centralcasting. Using Florical Automation, the company was responsible for master control operations for several Emmis owned Fox and WB affiliates in the Southeastern United States
Southeastern United States
The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....
. These stations included WVUE
WVUE
WVUE-DT, broadcasting on virtual channel 8, is a TV station in New Orleans, Louisiana, affiliated with the Fox Broadcasting Company. WVUE is owned by Louisiana Media Company, with studios in the Gert Town section of New Orleans and transmitter in Chalmette, Louisiana.- Digital television :WVUE-DT...
in New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, WALA-TV
WALA-TV
WALA-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for Southern Alabama, Southeastern Mississippi, and the Western Florida Panhandle that is licensed to Mobile. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 9 from a transmitter in Spanish Fort, Alabama...
and WBPG (now WFNA) in Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
, and WFTX
WFTX
WFTX-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for Southwest Florida licensed to Cape Coral. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 35 from a transmitter in Punta Gorda east of I-75/SR 93 near the Charlotte and Lee County line. The station can also be seen on Comcast...
in Fort Myers. From WKCF's facilities, Emmis maintained broadcast capabilities during several major hurricanes impacts on several of its stations including Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
(affecting WVUE), Ivan
Hurricane Ivan
Hurricane Ivan was a large, long-lived, Cape Verde-type hurricane that caused widespread damage in the Caribbean and United States. The cyclone was the ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane and the fourth major hurricane of the active 2004 Atlantic hurricane season...
(affecting WALA), and Charley
Hurricane Charley
Hurricane Charley was the third named storm, the second hurricane, and the second major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. Charley lasted from August 9 to August 15, and at its peak intensity it attained 150 mph winds, making it a strong Category 4 hurricane on the...
(affecting WFTX and WKCF). The Emmis model was later discontinued as the company sold off the stations.
On January 24, 2006, UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
and The WB announced that they would cease broadcasting and merge. The new combined network would be called The CW. The letters would represent the first initial of its corporate parents, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
(the parent company of UPN) and the Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
unit of Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
. On March 1, Emmis officials confirmed that WKCF would affiliate with The CW. This channel had been the obvious choice as Orlando's CW affiliate in any case. Network officials were on record as preferring the "strongest" WB and UPN affiliates, and as mentioned, WKCF had been The WB's strongest affiliate for virtually all of the network's run. On May 8, Emmis announced the sale of WKCF to what was then known as Hearst-Argyle Television for $217.5 million. The sale was finalized on August 31. This created the third duopoly in the Orlando market joining WFTV
WFTV
WFTV, channel 9, is the ABC-affiliated television station for Central Florida that is licensed to Orlando. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter between Bithlo and Christmas. Owned by Cox Enterprises, WFTV is sister to Independent WRDQ. The two stations...
/WRDQ
WRDQ
WRDQ is an Independent television station in Orlando, Florida. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 27 from a transmitter in Christmas. Owned by Cox Enterprises, the station is sister to ABC affiliate WFTV. The two share studios on East South Street in downtown Orlando....
and WOFL/WRBW. As part of the move, WKCF moved its operations to WESH's facilities in Winter Park. It may now take on the responsibility of airing NBC programs when WESH is not able to so such as in a news-related emergency.
Until October 2008, WKCF was the only Hearst-owned station whose web site was not powered by Internet Broadcasting
Internet Broadcasting
Internet Broadcasting , or IB, is a provider of Websites, content and advertising revenue solution to the largest and most successful media companies in the world. IB hosts over 70 local stations' sites, and co-produced NBCOlympics.com for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece and the 2006...
. That changed when Hearst and Internet Broadcasting created a separate page for the station within WESH's web address. On January 22, 2009, a tube in WKCF's analog transmitter failed forcing the station to transmit its analog signal at a reduced three megawatts power (which was sixty percent of its authorized five megawatt ERP) under special temporary authority
Special temporary authority
In U.S. broadcast law, a special temporary authorization or special temporary authority is a type of broadcast license which temporarily allows a broadcast station to operate outside of its normal technical or legal parameters...
from the FCC. The station had applied to cease analog transmissions on the original February 17, 2009 but its application was rejected by the FCC. WKCF like most other Hearst-owned stations, continued to broadcast regular programming on its analog signal until June 12. On that day, it discontinued regular programming on its analog signal and became one of three Orlando-area stations (along with WKMG-TV
WKMG-TV
WKMG-TV channel 6 is the CBS network affiliate for Central Florida . WKMG is licensed to Orlando and is owned and operated by Post-Newsweek Stations, Inc., a subsidiary of the Washington Post Company. The station refers to itself as "Local6". WKMG's transmitter is located in Bithlo, Florida...
and WOFL) to participate in the analog nightlight
Short-term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness Act
The Short-term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness Act, or SAFER Act, is a U.S. law to require the Federal Communications Commission to allow the continuation of full-power analog TV transmissions in 2009 for 30 more days, for the purpose of broadcasting public service announcements regarding the...
program which lasted until July 12.
News operation
Big Three Television Networks
The Big Three Television Networks are the three traditional commercial broadcast television networks in the United States: ABC, CBS and NBC...
affiliate time period, Orlando has been very competitive in the prime time slot at 10 over the years. WKCF was the first television station in the area to launch a prime time newscast. This effort was established in 1991 through a news share agreement with WKMG. Eventually, future sister station WESH would take over production duties of WKCF's broadcast. Meanwhile, WFTV entered into the 10 o'clock news race with its own production on WRBW. At some point in time, this newscast moved to sister station WRDQ where is remains today. In 1998, WOFL premiered the first thirty minute independently-produced newscast outside Orlando's big three network outlets. This effort would be expanded to an hour on weeknights in the fall of 1999.
WESH canceled its first WKCF newscast in September 2002 in response to increased competition from WOFL and WRDQ. There continues to be speculations that 10 p.m. news may return to WRBW. Station officials have not ruled out the possibility even though such a program would air in direct competition against sister station WOFL. However, this may not be the case if that station moves its local newscast to 11. From August 2004 until 2007, WKCF's studios were home based of the nationally syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
morning show The Daily Buzz
The Daily Buzz
The Daily Buzz is a nationally syndicated breakfast television news and infotainment program. The show is produced by Fisher Communications and is owned and distributed by ACME Communications; it is broadcast every weekday morning from studios at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida...
which could be seen on weekdays from 6 until 9. After Hearst-Argyle bought this station in 2007, the show moved operations to the Disney-MGM Studios
Disney's Hollywood Studios
Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. Spanning 135 acres in size, its theme is show business, drawing inspiration from the heyday of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s...
while clearance in the Orlando area was picked up by WRDQ.
When WESH became a sister outlet to WKCF, it led to speculation the former would bring back a prime time show at 10 to this station someday. In January 2007, WESH began producing a two-hour extension of its weekday morning newscast on WKCF. This joined two other broadcasts airing at the same time on WOFL (established in September 2000) and WRDQ (launched at the same point as WKCF's morning show). A simulcast of the 6 a.m. hour of WESH's weekday morning newscast would subsequently be added to the station. On November 1, 2007, this station began airing local news in high definition after WESH made the upgrade. After a seven year hiatus, it was finally announced a nightly 10 p.m. newscast produced by WESH would return to WKCF on August 31, 2009.
News team
Anchors- Syan Rhodes - weekday mornings (6 until 7) and weekday morning reporter (7 until 9)
- Jason Guy - weekday mornings (6 until 9)
- Aixa Diaz - weekday mornings (7 until 9) and reporter
- Martha Sugalski - weeknights
- Jim Payne - weeknights
- Craig Lucie - weekends and reporter
First Alert Meteorologists
- Tony Mainolfi (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...
and 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...
Seals of Approval) - Chief seen weeknights - Amy Sweezey (CBMCertified 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,...
and NWA Seals of Approval) - weekday mornings - Malachi Rodgers - weekends
- Dan Billow (AMS Seal of Aproval) - fill-in and space reporter
Sports
- Guy Rawlings - weeknights
- Pat Clarke - weekends and reporter
Reporters
- Kate Amara - weekday morning Washington Bureau
- Bob Kealing - investigativeInvestigative journalismInvestigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
and criminal justiceCriminal justiceCriminal Justice is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts... - Kimberly Williams - weekday morning traffic
- Claire Metz - VolusiaVolusia County, FloridaVolusia County is a county located in the state of Florida. The U.S. Census Bureau 2010 official county's population was 494,593 . Its county seat is DeLand, and its most populous city is currently Deltona....
and FlaglerFlagler County, FloridaFlagler County was created in 1917 from portions of Saint Johns and Volusia counties. It was named for Henry Morrison Flagler, a famous railroad builder who built the Florida East Coast Railway. Bunnell is the county seat of Flagler County....
Counties - Nikole Killion - Washington Bureau
- Dave McDaniel - Seminole CountySeminole County, FloridaSeminole County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. Located between Orlando to the south and Deland and Daytona Beach to the north, it is part of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. Its county seat and largest city is Sanford...
- Sally Kidd - Washington Bureau
- Dan McCarthy - helicopter
- Gail Paschall-Brown
- Greg Fox - politics
- Michelle Meredith
- Kendra Oestreich
- Andrea Jackson
- Amanda Ober
- Todd Wilson
- Cara Moore