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WLS-TV
Chicago, Illinois
Branding ABC 7 Chicago (general)
ABC 7 News (newscasts)
Slogan People make the difference.
Chicago's #1 News
Channels Analog: 7 (VHF)

Digital: 52 (UHF)
Subchannels (see article)
Affiliations ABC
Owner Disney/ABC
(WLS Television, Inc.)
First air date September 17, 1948
Call letters’ meaning World's
Largest
Store
(reflecting its sister radio station's past ownership by Sears)
Transmitter Power 55 kW (analog)
153.6 kW (digital)
Height 515.1 m (analog)
514 m (digital)
Facility ID 73226
Transmitter Coordinates 41°52′44″N, 87°38′8.9″W (analog)
41°52′44″N, 87°38′10.2″W (digital)
Website www.abc7chicago.com

WLS-TV, channel 7, is a television station in Chicago, Illinois. The station is owned and operated by Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company. WLS-TV produces its broadcasts at 190 North State Street in The Loop and transmits its signal from the Sears Tower. The WLS-TV call letters stand for "World's Largest Store," recognizing its past affiliation with Sears on radio.

Contents

History

The station first went on the air as the third TV station in Chicago (after WBKB-TV which later became WBBM-TV, and WGN-TV) on September 17, 1948 as WENR-TV. It was named after WENR-AM, ABC's Chicago radio affiliate. As one of the original ABC-owned stations on channel 7, it was the second station after WABC-TV in New York City to begin operations, ahead of WXYZ-TV in Detroit, KGO-TV in San Francisco and KABC-TV in Los Angeles.

In 1953, ABC merged with United Paramount Theatres, the former theater division of Paramount Pictures. UPT owned WBKB on channel 4 (which shared a CBS affiliation with WGN-TV) but the new ABC could not keep both, because of Federal Communications Commission regulations at that time. As a result, WBKB was sold to CBS and renamed WBBM-TV; while WENR was renamed WBKB-TV. The old WBKB's talent stayed at WBBM (which moved to channel 2), while the old WBKB's call letters and management moved to channel 7. The general manager from the early 1950s to the mid-1960s was Sterling "Red" Quinlan,[1] who was a giant in early Chicago television. He was instrumental in the careers of Tom Duggan, Frank Reynolds, and Bob Newhart. The station courageously aired The Tom Duggan Show in the mid-1950s, which was the most popular show in Chicago far out drawing other network competition. The station became WLS-TV in 1968, after WLS-AM, which ABC had owned since 1959.

Today, the WBKB-TV calls are used by a CBS affiliate in Alpena, Michigan.

Digital Television

The station's digital channel is multiplexed:

Digital channels

Channel Programming
7.1 / 52.1 Main WLS programming / ABC HD
7.2 / 52.2 ABC 7 Plus
7.3 / 52.3 The Local AccuWeather Channel, branded as ABC 7 News Now

Analog-to-digital conversion

After the analog television shutdown and digital conversion, which is tentatively scheduled to take place on February 17, 2009,[1] WLS-TV will move its digital broadcasts back to its present analog channel number, 7.[2]

News operations

WLS-TV's ABC 7 News opening.
WLS-TV's ABC 7 News opening.

WLS, like the other ABC owned-and-operated stations, adopted the Eyewitness News format in the late 1960s after it became a hit at flagship WABC-TV in New York. Fahey Flynn, a local broadcaster known for his bow ties and Joel Daly served as the anchormen of the newscasts from the late 1960s until the early 1980s. In 1973, Eyewitness News surpassed WMAQ-TV to become Chicago's top-rated new operation, a lead it held until WBBM-TV surpassed it in 1979. For much of the 1970s and 1980s, it waged a spirited battle for second place in the Chicago news ratings.

By 1983, changing tastes and a disastrous anchor change had dropped WLS into third place. That prompted two major changes. First was the hiring of Dennis Swanson as General Manager, who in turn, hired Bill Applegate as News Director. Secondly, ABC commissioned Frank Gari to write an updated version of the Cool Hand Luke theme widely associated with the Eyewitness News format. The result was News Series 2000, which was quickly picked up by the other ABC O&Os.

Swanson was instrumental in hiring talk show hostess Oprah Winfrey (originally for AM Chicago, later renamed "The Oprah Winfrey Show), lead anchor John Drury, who had previously worked at WLS, WBBM and WGN-TV and Floyd Kalber, who had led WMAQ-TV to the top of the ratings in the 1960s.

WLS-TV's State Street Studio Sign, 2007
WLS-TV's State Street Studio Sign, 2007

Drury and Mary Ann Childers were a popular anchor team at WLS during the 1980s and 1990s, accompanied by weatherman Steve Deshler and sportscaster Tim Weigel. In March 1986, WLS passed longtime leader WBBM-TV as the highest-rated news station in Chicago. It has held the lead ever since, aside from a brief period when WBBM managed to forge a tie for first.

As of 1996, the station currently brands its newscast as "ABC7 News," even though it still uses the same basic format from its Eyewitness News days. The station has been using its current news music package, News Series 2000 Plus by Frank Gari since 1992. It also updated the on-air graphics for its newscasts on Saturday, June 3rd, 2005.

The new State Street Studio officially debuted Monday, April 10, 2006 during its morning newscast, but they started broadcasting their newscast from the new studio on Saturday, April 8, 2006[2].

On the weekend of April 29-30, 2006, ABC7 began using Chopper 7 HD.

On Saturday, January 6, 2007, ABC7 became the first Chicago station to broadcast its entire news and local programming in high definition.

On Sunday, December 23, 2007, the State Street Studio became news when a minivan drove through a reinforced studio window two minutes into the 10pm newscast, startling anchor Ravi Baichwal on air and creating a 20° draft, but injuring no one. [3]

ABC 7 News personnel

Current ABC 7 News anchors

WLS-TV's 10 PM weeknight anchors.
WLS-TV's 10 PM weeknight anchors.
Ron Magers and Cheryl Burton anchor the June 16, 2006, edition of ABC7 News at 5:00, as seen from State Street.
Ron Magers and Cheryl Burton anchor the June 16, 2006, edition of ABC7 News at 5:00, as seen from State Street.
  • Stacey Baca - weekend mornings; also reporting during the week
  • Ravi Baichwal - weekend evenings; also reporting during the week
  • Kathy Brock - 6 p.m. & 10 p.m. weeknights
  • Cheryl Burton - 5 p.m. weeknights; also contributing anchor 10 p.m. weeknights
  • Judy Hsu - weekday mornings
  • Karen Jordan - weekend evenings; also reporting during the week
  • Alan Krashesky - 4 & 6 p.m. weeknights; also host of NewsViews on Sunday mornings
  • Ron Magers - 5 & 10 p.m. weeknights
  • Sylvia Perez - 11 a.m. weekdays; also Healthbeat reporter 4 p.m. weekdays & 10 p.m. Thursdays
  • Kevin Roy - weekend mornings; also reporting during the week
  • Hosea Sanders - weekday mornings
  • Roz Varon - weekday morning traffic
  • Linda Yu - 11 a.m. & 4 p.m. weekdays

ABC 7 Weather team

  • Mark Bishop - Saturday mornings
  • Mike Caplan - 4 p.m. weekdays
  • Phil Schwarz (AMS Seal of Approval) - Sunday mornings, weekend evenings
  • Jerry Taft (AMS Seal of Approval) - chief meteorologist; 5, 6 & 10 p.m. weeknights
  • Tracy Butler (AMS, NWA Seal of Approval) - Mornings & 11 a.m.

ABC 7 Sports team

ABC 7 local program hosts

  • Bill Campbell - Chicagoing host; also producer
  • Janet Davies - 190 North host; also feature/entertainment reporter
  • Theresa Gutierrez - The ñ Beat specials; also reporter
  • Harry Porterfield - People, Places, & Things specials; also occasional substitute anchor and '"Someone You Should Know" reporter

ABC 7 reporters

  • Michelle Alegria - 190 North contributor
  • Doug Banks - 190 North contributor
  • Ben Bradley
  • Lou Canellis - 190 North contributor
  • Steve Dolinksy - Food Reporter
  • Michelle Gallardo
  • John Garcia
  • Chuck Goudie - Chief Investigative Reporter
  • Theresa Gutierrez
  • Evelyn Holmes
  • Leah Hope
  • Frank Mathie - features reporter
  • Paul Meincke
  • Karen Meyer - specializes in disablilty issues
  • Dan Ponce
  • Harry Porterfield - reporter, "Someone You Should Know"
  • Sarah Schulte
  • Andy Shaw - political reporter
  • Charles Thomas

Past personalities

Other WLS-TV produced programs

  • 190 North - local life style program named after the station's studio address at 190 N. State St. in the Loop - began broadcasting in HD on Sunday, May 6, 2007
    • Sundays 10:35pm, reruns Saturdays 11:05pm
  • Chicagoing - local public affairs program
    • Sundays 11am
  • The Chicago Huddle - local sports program about the Chicago Bears hosted by Ryan Chiaverini - premiered Saturday, September 8, 2007 [3]
    • Saturdays 11:05pm during Bears season

190 North and Chicagoing are featured on channel 7.2.

Syndicated programming produced in Chicago

News directors

Identifying slogans

Newscast titles

  • Channel 7 Eyewitness News (late 1960s-1996)
  • ABC7 News (1996-present)

Station slogans

  • 1977-1980: Still The One on Channel 7 (customized version of the ABC campaign)
  • 1980-1981: You and Me, and Channel 7 (customized version of the ABC campaign)
  • 1981-1982: Now is the Time, Channel 7 is the Place (customized version of the ABC campaign)
  • 2000-Present: People Make the Difference
  • late 1980s-Present: Chicago's # 1 News"
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See also

References

  1. ^ http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf
  2. ^ Application View ... Redirecting
  3. ^ YouTube - WLS-TV Studio Car Crash

External links

v • d • e
Broadcast television in the Chicago market (Nielsen DMA #3)
Local stations

WBBM 2 (CBS) · WMAQ 5 (NBC, WX Plus on DT2) · WLFM-LP 6 (MTV3) · WLS 7 (ABC, AccuWX TV on DT3) · WGN 9 (The CW, LATV on DT2) · WTTW 11 (PBS, Create on DT3, V-me on DT4) · WOCK-CA 13 (AZA) · WYCC 20 (PBS) · WWME-CA 23 (Ind) · WCIU 26 (Ind) · WFLD 32 (Fox) · WEDE-CA 34 (Ind) · WCPX 38 (ION, qubo on DT2, ION Life on DT3, Worship on DT4) · W40BY 40 (TBN) · WOCH-CA 41 (Ind) · WSNS 44 (TEL) · WMEU-CA 48 (Ind) · WPWR 50 (MNTV) · WYIN 56 (PBS) · WXFT 60 (TFT) · WCHU-LP 61 (MTV3) · WJYS 62 (Ind) · WGBO 66 (UNI)
Local stations
in outlying areas

WODN-LP 13 (DW) · WHNW-LP 18 (LeSEA) · WHVI-LP 24 (LeSEA) · WSPY-LP 30 (A1) · WWTO 35 (TBN) · WHCH-LP 40 Digital only (LeSEA) · WAAA-LP 49 (Ind) · W54BE 54 (Edu. Ind) · W57DN 57 (TBN) · W64CQ 64 (TBN)
Local cable
channels
Defunct local
cable channels
Defunct over-the-air
pay television services
Illinois Broadcast television markets: Champaign-Urbana-Springfield • Chicago • Evansville, IN • Paducah, KY • Peoria-Bloomington • Quad Cities • Quincy • Rockford • St, Louis, MO • Terre Haute, IN

Indiana broadcast television markets: Chicago, IL • Cincinnati, OH • Dayton, OH • Evansville • Fort Wayne • Indianapolis • Lafayette • Louisville, KY • South Bend • Terre Haute

See also Milwaukee TV
v • d • e
ABC Network Affiliates in the state of Illinois

WSIL 3 (Harrisburg) - WLS 7 (Chicago) - WQAD 8 (Moline) - WICD 15 / WICS 20 (Champaign / Springfield) - WTVO 17 (Rockford) - WHOI 19 (Peoria)

Defunct Affiliates

WJJY 14 (Jacksonville) (Also served the Quincy market as well.)
See also: ABC, CBS, CW, Fox, ION, MyNetworkTV, NBC, PBS and Other stations in Illinois
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