West Virginia Media Holdings is a media chain in West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

. It owns television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 stations in each of the four main media 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...

s in the state, as well as a weekly newspaper.

The group owns WOWK-TV

WOWK-TV

WOWK-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for the Tri-States and Kanawha Valley area of West Virginia that is licensed to Huntington which is the second largest market east of the Mississippi River. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 13 from a transmitter...

 in Huntington

Huntington, West Virginia

Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia, along the Ohio River. Most of the city is in Cabell County, for which it is the county seat. A small portion of the city, mainly the neighborhood of Westmoreland, is in Wayne County. Its population was 49,138 at...

 (Charleston

Charleston, West Virginia

Charleston is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers in Kanawha County. As of the 2010 census, it has a population of 51,400, and its metropolitan area 304,214. It is the county seat of Kanawha County.Early...

 in early 2012 ), WVNS-TV

WVNS-TV

WVNS-TV is the CBS affiliate for Southern West Virginia that is licensed to Lewisburg. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 8 from a transmitter on Keeney's Knob between Alderson and I-64. Owned by West Virginia Media Holdings, the station has studios on Old Cline Road in...

 in Lewisburg

Lewisburg, West Virginia

Lewisburg is a city in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 3,830 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Greenbrier County.-Geography:Lewisburg is located at ....

, and WTRF-TV

WTRF-TV

WTRF-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia and the Allegheny Plateau of Eastern Ohio that is licensed to Wheeling, West Virginia. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 7 from a transmitter in Bridgeport, Ohio. Owned by West...

 in Wheeling, West Virginia

Wheeling, West Virginia

Wheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia; it is the county seat of Ohio County. Wheeling is the principal city of the Wheeling Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, which are all affiliated with the 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...

 network; and WBOY-TV

WBOY-TV

WBOY-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for North-Central West Virginia that is licensed to Clarksburg. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 12 from a transmitter east of downtown and U.S. 50. Owned by West Virginia Media Holdings, the station has studios on West...

 in Clarksburg

Clarksburg, West Virginia

Clarksburg is a city in and the county seat of Harrison County, West Virginia, United States, in the north-central region of the state. It is the principal city of the Clarksburg, WV Micropolitan Statistical Area...

 which is affiliated with 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...

. WVNS and WTRF also carry Fox

Fox Broadcasting Company

Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...

 on their DTV

Digital television

Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...

 subchannels (Fox West Virginia

WVNS-DT2

WVNS-DT2 is the primary Fox and secondary MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for Southern West Virginia. It is a second digital subchannel of CBS affiliate WVNS-TV which is owned by West Virginia Media Holdings. Over-the-air, the station broadcasts a digital signal on VHF channel 8.2 from a...

 and Fox Ohio Valley, respectively), while both subchannels carry MyNetworkTV

MyNetworkTV

MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...

 in addition to Fox as a secondary affiliate. It also owns the State Journal

State Journal

The State Journal is a weekly newspaper based in Charleston, West Virginia and published by West Virginia Media Holdings. It is the only newspaper with political and general news content distributed throughout the state of West Virginia....

 weekly newspaper.

The group was founded in 2001. The idea was to share reporting among the four stations in order to better cover the state. WOWK handles most coverage of state government affairs and Marshall University

Marshall University

Marshall University is a coeducational public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States founded in 1837, and named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States....

 sports, while WBOY handles most coverage of West Virginia University

West Virginia University

West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...

 sports.

The largest private investor in the company is Bray Cary

Bray Cary

Bray Cary is a US-based sports media entrepreneur, currently serving as media president and chief executive officer of West Virginia Media, a multi-media company that serves 90 percent of West Virginia. He is credited with a role in promoting the growth of NASCAR...

, who serves as president and CEO. Cary was formerly an executive with NASCAR

NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

, and was responsible for its television contract, and was also involved in syndication of college basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 games.

WBOY is the only station that leads its DMA

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...

 (designated market area) in the Nielsen ratings.

In August 2008, both WTRF and WBOY began carrying ABC

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

 programming on their digital subchannel

Digital subchannel

In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...

 (7.3 and 12.2

WBOY-DT2

WBOY-DT2 is the ABC-affiliated television station for Clarksburg, West Virginia. It is a second digital subchannel of NBC affiliate WBOY-TV which is owned by West Virginia Media Holdings. Over-the-air, the station broadcasts a digital signal on VHF channel 12.2 from WBOY's transmitter east of...

, respectively; the aforementioned Fox Ohio Valley already occupies 7.2 on WTRF). Previously, longtime ABC affiliate WTAE-TV

WTAE-TV

WTAE-TV is the ABC affiliated television station for Western Pennsylvania that is licensed to Pittsburgh, broadcasting on UHF channel 51 and identifying via PSIP as channel 4 . It also serves as an ABC affiliate for the Wheeling/Steubenville and Clarksburg/Weston, West Virginia market areas...

 in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

 served both markets as the de facto

De facto

De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...

ABC affiliate and remains on cable in both markets (FOX Ohio Valley replaced WPGH

WPGH-TV

WPGH-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 43 from a transmitter at its studios on Ivory Avenue in the city's Summer Hill section. The station can also be seen on Verizon FiOS and Comcast channel 7...

on Comcast systems as the only FOX affiliate on the Comcast channel lineup).