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WBBM-TV ATSC Virtual channel 2.1 (RF VHF channel 12)- CBS Broadcasting, CBS Corporation. Original Licensee: The Columbia Broadcasting System Inc.
WMAQ-TV ATSC Virtual channel 5.1 (RF UHF channel 29) Comcast. Original Licensee: (as WNBQ) The National Broadcasting Co., a subsidiary of Radio Corporation of America.
WLS-TV ATSC Virtual channel 7.1 (RF VHF Channel 7 [low power] and RF UHF channel 44 [full power]) WLS Television Inc., The American Broadcasting Companies Inc., The Disney Corp. Original Licensee: (as WENR-TV) The American Broadcasting Company; (as WBKB)- American Broadcasting Company, American Broadcasting- Paramount Theaters Inc. The Paramount name would disappear by 1965 with the parent name becoming American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. Formerly United Paramount Theaters Inc., and originally Paramount Pictures Inc.
WGN-TV ATSC Virtual channel 9.1 (RF UHF channel 19) Tribune Broadcasting Co., The Tribune Company Inc. Formerly known as WGN Continental Broadcasting Company Inc.
WTTW Channel 11/WTTW-DT Channel 47- Window To The World Communications Inc. Original Licensee: The Chicago Educational Television Association (which also owned WXXW-channel 20)
WYCC- Channel 20/WYCC-DT Channel 21- Cook County College District #508
WCIU Channel 26/WCIU-DT Channel 27/WFBN-LP Channel 33/WWME-CA Channel 23/WWME-LD Channel 39/WMEU-CA Channel 48- Weigel Broadcasting Company
WFLD Channel 32/WFLD-DT Channel 31- Fox Television Stations Inc., Newscorp Inc. Original Licensee: Field Communications Inc., part of the Marshall Field conglomerate of companies. Previous licensees: Kaiser Broadcasting; Metromedia Stations Group
WCPX Channel 38/WCPX-DT Channel 43- Paxson Chicago License Inc.
WSNS Channel 44/WSNS-DT Channel 45- Comcast. Original Licensee: Harriscope Inc./Video 44 Inc.
WPWR Channel 50/WPWR-DT Channel 51- Fox Television Stations Inc. Original Licensee: Metrowest Corporation (for WPWR Channel 60), and then Newsweb Inc. (for WPWR Channel 50).
WYIN Channel 56/WYIN-DT Channel 17- Northwestern Indiana Public Broadcasting Inc.
WXFT Channel 60/WXFT-DT Channel 59 now, later Channel 50- Univision Inc.
WJYS Channel 62/WJYS-DT Channel 36- Jovon Broadcasting Corp.
WGBO Channel 66/WGBO-DT Channel 38- Univision Inc.
WWTO Channel 68/WWTO-DT Channel 10- All American Network
CHICAGO AREA BROADCAST CHANNELS Full power , low power, and class A analog & digital Note: The FCC changed the VHF frequency assignments three times during the period between the late 1930s through 1946. In Chicago, only two stations were affected by these changes- W9XZV operating on channel 1 at 54-60 megahertz and W9XBK, operating on channel two at 60-66 megahertz. By 1946, W9XZV, which went dark during the war years, returned afterward on channel 2 as KS2XBS and W9XBK found itself on channel 4, while assuming its new commercial calls WBKB in 1943. CHANNEL 1- [54-60 Mhz] (1939-1941) W9XZV CHANNEL 2- [60-66 Mhz] (1940-1943)- W9XBK CHANNEL 2- [60-66 Mhz] (1943-1946)- WBKB CHANNEL 2- KS2XBS (1951-1953) CHANNEL 2- (July 1953 - 2009 ) WBBM-TV CHANNEL 3- (1940) W9XCB (Never built) CHANNEL 3- WBBM-DT (Until 6/2009) CHANNEL 4- (1946 - February 1953) WBKB CHANNEL 4- (February 1953 to July 1953) WBBM-TV (This frequency was reassigned to Milwaukee WI) CHANNEL 5- (1947) WNBY (calls never used) CHANNEL 5- (1949 - August 1964) WNBQ CHANNEL 5- (August 1964- to 2009) WMAQ-TV CHANNEL 6- WLFM-LP (Operating as an analog FM radio station) CHANNEL 7- (1948 - February 1953) WENR-TV CHANNEL 7- (February 1953 - 1968) WBKB CHANNEL 7- (1968 - to present) WLS-TV CHANNEL 8- UNUSED IN CHICAGO AREA CHANNEL 9- WGN-TV CHANNEL 10- WWTO-DT CHANNEL 11- WTTW CHANNEL 12- WBBM-DT CHANNEL 13- A special note on this channel. Once part of the original allotment of VHF channels for Chicago, the city lost it to Rockford early on. However there is a low-power station- WOCK-CA that operates on this channel. CHANNEL 14- WTVG (never on air, channel assigned to Joliet Illinois and Elgin, IL., although Joliet gets first dibs on the assignment. Frequency is currently assigned, for this area, to land-mobile telecommunications services). CHANNEL 15- UNUSED IN CHICAGO AREA CHANNEL 16- UNUSED IN CHICAGO AREA CHANNEL 17- WYIN-DT CHANNEL 18- W18AT CHANNEL 19- WGN-DT CHANNEL 20- WIND-TV (Never on air) CHANNEL 20- (1965 - 1974) WXXW CHANNEL 20- (1977) WCME (Never on air) CHANNEL 20- (1983 to 2009) WYCC CHANNEL 21- WYCC-DT CHANNEL 22- W64CQ CHANNEL 23- WWME-CA CHANNEL 24- W24AJ CHANNEL 25- UNUSED IN CHICAGO AREA CHANNEL 26- WHFC-TV (Never on air) CHANNEL 26- (1964 to present) WCIU CHANNEL 27- WCIU-DT CHANNEL 28- WOCH-LP CHANNEL 29- WMAQ-DT CHANNEL 30- WSPY-LP CHANNEL 31- WFLD-DT CHANNEL 32- WCAD (Never on air) CHANNEL 32- WFLD CHANNEL 33- WFBN-LP CHANNEL 34- W34CK CHANNEL 35- WWTO CHANNEL 36- WJYS-DT
CHANNEL 38- WCFL-TV (Never on air) CHANNEL 38- (1975 - 1998) WCFC CHANNEL 38- (1998 to 2009) WCPX CHANNEL 38- WGBO-DT CHANNEL 39- WWME-LD CHANNEL 40- WPXE-DT CHANNEL 41- NOT USED IN CHICAGO AREA CHANNEL 42- NOT USED IN CHICAGO AREA CHANNEL 43- WCPX-DT CHANNEL 44- WOPT-TV (Never on air) CHANNEL 44- (1970 to 2009) WSNS CHANNEL 45- WSNS-DT CHANNEL 46- W52AT CHANNEL 47- WTTW-DT CHANNEL 48- WFBT-CA CHANNEL 49- NOT USED IN CHICAGO AREA CHANNEL 50- (1987 to 2009) WPWR CHANNEL 50- WXFT-DT CHANNEL 51- WPWR-DT After June of 2009, the following channels are no longer available to television stations. Channel range for UHF television is now channels 14 through 51. Below is a list of stations and their channels during the FCC authorized analog-to-digital test periods. All full power stations have been reassigned to frequencies/channel numbers within the current core. CHANNEL 52- WLS-DT CHANNEL 53- WGBO-DT CHANNEL 54- W54AP CHANNEL 55- WPXE CHANNEL 56- WYIN CHANNEL 57- W57DN CHANNEL 58- UNUSED IN CHICAGO AREA CHANNEL 59- WEHS-DT CHANNEL 60-(1969-1970) WLXT CHANNEL 60- (1982- 1987) WPWR CHANNEL 60- (1982 - 1985) WBBS CHANNEL 60- (1987 to 2001) WEHS CHANNEL 60- (2001- ) WXFT CHANNEL 61- UNUSED IN CHICAGO AREA CHANNEL 62- WJYS CHANNEL 63- UNUSED IN CHICAGO AREA CHANNEL 64- W64CQ CHANNEL 65- UNUSED IN CHICAGO AREA CHANNEL 66- (1981 - 1985) WFBN CHANNEL 66- (1985 to 2009) WGBO CHANNEL 67- UNUSED IN CHICAGO AREA CHANNEL 68- W36AO CHANNEL 69- UNUSED IN CHICAGO AREA Below is the former station and channel assignments for the original high end frequencies (channels 70 through 83) available to television stations from 1953 through 1966. CHANNEL 70-UNUSED IN CHICAGO AREA CHANNEL 71- UNUSED IN CHICAGO AREA CHANNEL 72- KS2XGA (1959-1967) CHANNEL 73- UNUSED IN CHICAGO AREA CHANNEL 74- UNUSED IN CHICAGO AREA CHANNEL 75- UNUSED IN CHICAGO AREA CHANNEL 76- KS2XGD (1959-1967) CHANNEL 77- UNUSED IN CHICAGO AREA CHANNEL 78- WTTW Translator (1964-1972) CHANNEL 79- UNUSED IN CHICAGO AREA CHANNEL 80- UNUSED IN CHICAGO AREA CHANNEL 81- UNUSED IN CHICAGO AREA CHANNEL 82- UNUSED IN CHICAGO AREA CHANNEL 83- WXXW Translator (1965-1972) A NOTE ON UHF CHANNELS 70 TO 83 There weren't many full power stations operating on these channels. The ones that did moved to lower UHF channels or went dark. The stations listed for channels 72 and 76 were licensed to the Midwest Program on Airborne Instruction and technically not Chicago stations. By the end of the 1950s, almost no full power station anywhere in the country aired on a channel above 69. In fact the FCC had stopped assigning licenses for channels 70 to 83 in 1966. Besides being in the upper edge of "UHF No Man's Land," the stations needed to produce much more output power than that required for stations operating at the lower UHF channels. A few stations used the upper frequencies for translator stations which although carried their own call signs, were merely booster stations that spread the main station's signal farther. On May 2, 1970 channels 70 to 83 were eliminated and the frequencies reassigned to land mobile emergency services, the same group that took over channel 1. For years afterward some stations still ran translators on the upper channels but they seem to have all disappeared. The 21st century saw even more slicing of the original UHF allocations, first reassigning channels 60 to 69 and then again with channels 52 to 59. CHICAGO AREA BROADCAST PAY-TV SERVICES
CHANNEL 2- (1951) PHONEVISION CHANNEL 7- (1983) TELEFIRST CHANNEL 44- (1981 - 1985) ON-TV CHANNEL 60- (1982 - 1983) SPORTSVISION CHANNEL 66- (1981 - 1985) SPECTRUM CHANNEL 72- (1959 - 1967) MPATI CHANNEL 76- (1959 - 1967) MPATI
CHICAGO AREA STATIONS- NETWORK AFFILIATIONS
ABC- WENR-TV (1948-1953); WBKB (1953-1968); WLS-TV (1968 to present) CBS- WBKB 1949-1953; WGN-TV (1949-1953- secondary affiliate); WBBM-TV (1953 to present) NBC- WNBQ (1949-1964); WMAQ-TV (1964 to present) DuMont- WGN-TV (1949-1956) Fox- WFLD (1987 to present) UPN- WPWR (1995 to 2006) WB- WGN-TV (1995 to 2006) Pax- WCPX (1998 to 2005) NET- WTTW (1955 to 1969) PBS- WTTW (1969 to present) CW- WGN-TV (2006 to present)
PROGRAMMING (Full Power Stations Only) WBBM-TV- general market WMAQ-TV- general market WLS-TV- general market WGN-TV- general market WTTW- public and educational WYCC- public and educational WCIU- general market WFLD- general market WPXE- family/Christian themed WSNS- Spanish WPWR- general market WXFT- Spanish WGBO- Spanish CHICAGO TV GOES TO COLOR In 1954, color TV had moved from the experimental stage and the FCC accepted NTSC technology became the industry standard. In Chicago, NBC gave WNBQ the honor of becoming the first station to air all of its original programming in color in 1956. By 1958, WGN-TV begins limited color telecasting including Garfield Goose and Friends and The Blue Fairy. When the station opens its new studios in 1961, all original programming is aired in color. In 1962, WBKB begins to air some original programs in color. Wagon Train and The Jetsons are ABC's first color programs, followed by The Flintstones. In 1965, WBBM-TV begins color telecasting when CBS begins to offer a handful of its programs in color. In 1968, WTTW begins limited color telecasting. Its sister station WXXW will never air in color WFLD started off with color. WCIU didn't begin to broadcast in color until the mid 70s. CURRENT DIGITAL CHANNELS (AT A GLANCE) Channel 2- Not used Channel 3- Not used Channel 4- Not used Channel 5- Not used Channel 6- Not used Channel 7- WLS-DT Channel 8 - Not used Channel 9 - Not used Channel 10- WWTO-DT Channel 11- Not used Channel 12- WBBM-DT Channel 13- Not used Channel 14- Not used Channel 15- Not used Channel 16- Not used Channel 17- WYIN-DT Channel 18- Not used Channel 19- WGN-DT Channel 20- Not used Channel 21- WYCC-DT Channel 22- Not used Channel 23- WWME-CA [a low power analog station that was not required to shut down] Channel 24- Not used Channel 25- Not used Channel 26- Not used Channel 27- WCIU-DT Channel 28- Not used Channel 29- WMAQ-DT Channel 30- Not used Channel 31- WFLD-DT Channel 32- Not used Channel 33- Not used Channel 34- Not used Channel 35- Not used Channel 36- WJYS-DT Channel 37- Not used Channel 38- WGBO-DT Channel 39- WWME-DT Channel 40- Not used Channel 41- Not used Channel 42- Not used Channel 43- WPXE-DT Channel 44- WLS-DT (CP) Channel 45- WSNS-DT Channel 46- Not used Channel 47- WTTW-DT Channel 48- WFBN-LP [a low power analog station not required to shut-down] Channel 49- Not used Channel 50- WXFT-DT Channel 51- WPWR-DT
THE VIDEO VETERAN CHANNEL SELECTOR
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