WWAY-DT2
 | |
| Wilmington, North Carolina | |
|---|---|
| Branding | Cape Fear CW |
| Slogan |
TV Now (general) It's About Time |
| Channels |
Digital: WWAY-DT 46.2 (UHF) Virtual: 3.2 (PSIP) |
| Affiliations |
The CW (via The CW Plus) (To be CBS effective January 1, 2017) |
| Owner |
Morris Multimedia (WWAY-TV, LLC) |
| First air date |
September 21, 1998 (cable only) September 30, 2013 (Free OTA launch) |
| Call letters' meaning | see WWAY |
| Former callsigns | "WBW" (as cable-exclusive channel) |
| Former affiliations |
as "WBW": The WB (via The WB 100+) as WWAY-DT2: 24-hour local weather Retro TV (2008–2013) |
| Transmitter power | 1,000 kW (digital) |
| Height | 590 m (digital) |
| Facility ID | 12033 (digital) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 34°7′53.8″N 78°11′15.4″W / 34.131611°N 78.187611°W (digital) |
WWAY-DT2 is the CW-affiliated television station for North Carolina's Cape Fear region. It is a second digital subchannel of ABC affiliate WWAY (owned by Morris Multimedia) and is part of the national CW Plus service. Over-the-air, the station airs a 720p high definition digital signal on UHF channel 46.2 (or virtual channel 3.2 via PSIP) from a transmitter, west of Winnabow, in Town Creek Township. It can also be seen in standard definition on Charter channel 17, Time Warner Cable digital channel 106, and ATMC Cable digital channel 911. WWAY's parent station has studios on North Front Street in Downtown Wilmington next to Cape Fear Community College.
History
WWAY-DT2 began life as "WBW", a cable-only affiliate with The WB through the national WB 100+ service. Since it was only available on cable, the call sign was fictional in nature and thus not officially recognized by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Before the cable-only WBW signed-on, Wilmington was the one of the portions of North Carolina, and one of the few in the Eastern Time Zone, without a WB affiliate of its own.
The area's cable systems piped in WRAZ in Raleigh, and later WLFL when WRAZ switched to Fox. With the merge between UPN and The WB on September 18, 2006, "WBW" became part of The CW through the new network's similar national service, The CW Plus. During this time, the station was seen exclusively on Charter channel 17 and Time Warner Cable channel 20. Meanwhile, WWAY's second digital subchannel was originally a 24-hour local weather channel. On June 15, 2008, this switched to Luken Communications' Retro Television Network.
In September 2013, WWAY announced it would add The CW to its second digital subchannel displacing Retro TV to a new third subchannel. The CW was officially added to WWAY-DT2 on September 30, 2013 giving over-the-air viewers in the Wilmington market access to the network for the first time. As a result, the faux "WBW" call letters were dropped and WWAY-DT2 immediately took over the Charter channel location. The CW was relocated to the digital tier of Time Warner Cable at that point.
WWAY launched a thirty-minute weeknight newscast on WWAY-DT2 beginning January 6, 2014 called Cape Fear CW Primetime News at 10. It features a separate graphics package from the main shows seen on WWAY. It is the first competition to Fox affiliate WSFX-TV which has a well-established nightly newscast at 10 produced by NBC outlet WECT.
On March 30, 2016, it was announced that CBS has signed an affiliation deal with WWAY-DT2, and would move its programming to the subchannel effective January 1, 2017. Morris Multimedia will retain the CW affiliation, and will presumably move it to WWAY-DT3.[1]
References
- ↑ WWAY adding CBS affiliation to ABC, CW lineup WWAYTV3.com, March 30, 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2016.