Editing WWAY

{{Short description|Television station in Wilmington, North Carolina}}
{{Distinguish|WAAY-TV}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign = WWAY
| logo = WWAY logo.png
| logo_size = 250px
| logo_caption = WWAY's logo; depending on the channel, the ABC or CBS logo is shown to the right of the "3" on-air.
| image = WWAY-DT3 2024.svg
| image_size = 125px
| branding = {{ubl|WWAY-TV 3, ''WWAY News''|WWAY ABC (on DT1)|WWAY CBS (on DT2)|Cape Fear CW (on DT3)}}
| analog = 
| digital = 24 ([[UHF]])
| virtual = 3
| affiliations = {{ubl|'''3.1:''' [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]|'''3.2:''' [[CBS]]|'''3.3:''' [[CW+]]|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| sister_stations = 
| founded = 
| airdate = {{Start date and age|1964|10|30|p=y}}
| location = [[Wilmington, North Carolina]]
| country = United States
| callsign_meaning = "Wonderful Watching All Year"
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 3 ([[VHF]], 1964–2008)|'''Digital:''' 46 (UHF, until 2020)}}
| former_affiliations = 
| owner = [[Morris Multimedia]]
| licensee = WWAY-TV, [[LLC]]
| erp = 700 [[kW]]
| class = 
| haat = {{convert|592.2|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id = 12033
| coordinates = {{coord|34|7|54|N|78|11|16|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}
| licensing_authority = [[FCC]]
| website = {{URL|https://www.wwaytv3.com/}}
}}

'''WWAY''' (channel 3) is a [[television station]] in [[Wilmington, North Carolina]], United States, affiliated with [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], [[CBS]], and [[The CW Plus]]. Owned by [[Morris Multimedia]], the station has studios on Magnolia Village Way in [[Leland, North Carolina|Leland]], and its transmitter is located west of [[Winnabow]] in [[Brunswick County, North Carolina|Town Creek Township]].

==History==
WWAY signed on the air on October 30, 1964, as the second television station in Wilmington, {{frac|10|1|2}} years after [[WECT]] (channel 6). It was originally owned by Cape Fear Telecasting, a firm controlled by local interests. The station's first studios were located on the 10th floor of the [[Murchison Building]] in downtown Wilmington.

Previously, primary [[NBC]] affiliate WECT had shoehorned all three networks onto its schedule. Thus, WWAY should have logically signed on as a [[CBS]] affiliate. However, it has been an ABC affiliate from the very first day. This was somewhat unusual for a two-station [[media market|market]], especially one of Wilmington's size. For most of its first 20 years in television, ABC, as the smallest and weakest of the Big Three networks, was relegated to secondary status on existing stations in most two-station markets. However, at the time channel 3 signed on, no ABC affiliate put even a grade B signal into Wilmington. In contrast, [[WBTW]] in [[Florence, South Carolina]], put a fairly strong grade B signal into the area. While WECT continued to cherry-pick CBS programming, WBTW remained CBS' affiliate of record for southeastern North Carolina until WJKA-TV (channel 26, now [[WSFX-TV]], a Fox affiliate) signed on 20 years later; the former continued to serve some portions of the market until [[WILM-LD]] switched its affiliation to CBS in 2000. Cape Fear thus figured that if it signed with ABC, it would not get much local competition.

[[File:WWAY.jpg|thumb|150px|WWAY's former studios in downtown Wilmington.]]
Cape Fear sold WWAY to Clay Broadcasting (later to become Clay Communications) in 1968. In 1969, the station moved its studios to a new building a few blocks north on Front Street that was the first piece of a redevelopment of the north end of downtown. In 1981, a military jet destroyed the WWAY broadcast tower near Winnabow. The tower was replaced with one nearly {{convert|2,000|ft|m|0}} tall. As part of the divestiture of the company's newspaper and television properties, on April 30, 1987, Clay sold its WWAY and its four sister television stations—NBC affiliates KJAC-TV (now [[Dabl]] affiliate [[KBTV-TV]]) in [[Beaumont, Texas|Beaumont]]–[[Port Arthur, Texas]], [[KFDX-TV]] in [[Wichita Falls, Texas]], and ABC affiliate [[WAPT]] in [[Jackson, Mississippi]]—to [[New York City]]–based Price Communications Corporation for $60 million; the sale was approved by the FCC on June 23.<ref>{{cite web|title=For the Record|url=http://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/87-OCR/BC-1987-05-04-OCR-Page-0078.pdf|periodical=Broadcasting|publisher=Broadcasting Publications, Inc.|page=78|date=May 4, 1987|access-date=June 14, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=For the Record|url=http://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/87-OCR/BC-1987-07-06-OCR-Page-0088.pdf|periodical=Broadcasting|publisher=Broadcasting Publications, Inc.|page=88|date=July 6, 1987|access-date=June 14, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Suit Filed Against Raleigh|url=http://newsok.com/article/2184422|newspaper=[[The Daily Oklahoman]]|publisher=Oklahoma Publishing Company|date=May 1, 1987|access-date=August 5, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=COMPANY NEWS; Clay-Price Pact On 4 TV Stations|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/05/01/business/company-news-clay-price-pact-on-4-tv-stations.html|agency=[[Associated Press]]|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=May 1, 1987|access-date=August 5, 2017}}</ref>  In 1988, Price sold WWAY to Adams Communications.<ref name="NYTimes2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/17/business/company-news-briefs.html|title=COMPANY NEWS; BRIEFS|work=The New York Times |date=September 17, 1988|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref> Adams then sold the station to CLG Media in 1993, who then flipped it to Hillside Broadcasting in 1995. Hillside then sold WWAY to Cosmos Broadcasting, a subsidiary of the [[Liberty Corporation]], in 1999.<ref name=WWAYrefCharlotteBizJ1998>{{cite news
   |newspaper=[[BizJournals]].com (Charlotte)
   |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/1998/12/28/daily13.html
   |title=Liberty Corp. buys Wilmington station
   |quote=acquisition of WWAY-TV in Wilmington... company's 11th station and its third ABC affiliate
   |date=December 28, 1998 |access-date=January 10, 2023}}</ref><ref name="NYTimes3">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/01/business/company-news-liberty-subsidiary-buys-tv-station-in-north-carolina.html|title=COMPANY NEWS; LIBERTY SUBSIDIARY BUYS TV STATION IN NORTH CAROLINA|work=The New York Times |agency=Dow Jones|date=January 1, 1999|via=NYTimes.com |last1=Jones |first1=Dow }}</ref> That company sold off its insurance interests two years later, bringing WWAY directly under the Liberty banner. In 2004, WWAY, following the lead of then-owner Liberty's ABC-affiliated stations, preempted a showing of the 1998 movie ''[[Saving Private Ryan]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=DeSantis |first=John |title=No saving 'Private Ryan' on local TV |url=https://www.starnewsonline.com/story/news/2004/11/12/no-saving-private-ryan-on-local-tv/30765522007/ |access-date=November 22, 2022 |website=Wilmington Star-News |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2005, Liberty merged with [[Raycom Media]], which already owned WECT. That company could not keep both stations as [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) [[duopoly (broadcasting)|duopoly]] rules do not allow common ownership of two of the four largest stations in a single market. (In addition, the Wilmington market has only four full-power stations, prohibiting a duopoly in any event.) As a result, Raycom opted to keep the longer-established and higher-rated WECT and spun off WWAY to current owner Morris Multimedia in 2006.<ref name=WWAYfixOranBizJ2005>{{cite news |newspaper=[[BizJournals]].com (Birmingham)
|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/stories/2005/10/31/daily16.html
|title=Raycom Media to sell 15 stations, including 2 it's still buying
|quote=and WWAY-TV in Wilmington
|date=November 1, 2005 |access-date=January 10, 2023}}</ref> However, the station retained the Liberty-era logo that was introduced in 2003. On May 8, 2008, the FCC announced that Wilmington had been selected as a test market for the 2009 national [[DTV transition in the United States|digital television transition]]. Five stations in Wilmington, including WWAY, also agreed to voluntarily cease analog broadcasting on September 8. Channel 3 made its transition from analog to digital at Noon on that date.<ref name="FCC release">{{cite web|url=https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-13-1016A1.pdf|title=TECHNOLOGY TRANSITIONS POLICY TASK FORCE SEEKS COMMENT ON POTENTIAL TRIALS|access-date=September 11, 2023 }}</ref>  On June 15, WWAY started broadcasting the Retro Television Network on its second digital channel. This had previously served as a 24-hour local weather channel.

[[File:WWAY DT2 CW logo.png|thumb|125px|WWAY-DT2's former CW logo before moving to WWAY-DT3, dropping [[Cozi TV]].]]
In September 2013, WWAY announced that it would add The CW on a [[digital subchannel]]. The new channel launched on September 30, 2013, under the branding "Cape Fear CW".<ref name=sno-capefearcw>{{cite web|title=WWAY launching over-the-air CW affiliate|url=http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20130905/ARTICLES/130909840/1177?p=1&tc=pg|work=Star-News Online|access-date=September 8, 2013}}</ref> The addition of The CW pushed RTV to channel 3.3, before [[Cozi TV]] took over the tertiary frequency in January 2015. On March 30, 2016, CBS announced that it would move its local affiliation to WWAY-DT2 from WILM-LD on January 1, 2017.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Holloway|first1=Daniel|title=CBS to Make North Carolina Affiliate Change|url=https://variety.com/2016/tv/news/cbs-to-make-north-carolina-change-1201742103/|work=Variety|language=en-US}}</ref> The move shifted Cape Fear CW to 3.3, thereby bumping Cozi TV from that spot.

In March 2017, the station's parent announced the purchase of the former Thunder Alley [[bowling]] center in [[Leland, North Carolina|Leland]], to be converted to the station's new state-of-the-art broadcast studios.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.wwaytv3.com/2017/03/01/wway-purchases-property-in-leland/|title=WWAY purchases property in Leland for a new home for TV station|date=March 1, 2017|publisher=WWAY|access-date=March 12, 2017}}</ref> On April 29, 2018, WWAY began on-air programming from the Leland facilities at 1224 Magnolia Village Way, completing the move from the 615 North Front Street studios in Downtown Wilmington that the station had occupied since 1969.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wwaytv3.com/2018/04/29/wway-begins-broadcasting-from-new-home-in-leland/|title=WWAY begins broadcasting from new home in Leland|publisher=WWAY|date=April 29, 2018}}</ref>

==News operation==
Rival WECT has been the longtime market leader in terms of attaining consistent viewership and higher [[Nielsen ratings]]. WWAY is the only other Wilmington station that produces local news since WILM-LD did not operate a news department of its own while it was affiliated with CBS (unlike most [[Big Three (American television)|big three]] network-affiliated television stations). However, that outlet does simulcast some newscasts from [[WRAL-TV]] in Raleigh with Wilmington-specific [[weather forecasting|weather]] inserts (that are taped in advance), but there is no news coverage of the Cape Fear region. In order to provide WILM with more localized coverage, a news share agreement was established with WWAY allowing this ABC outlet to produce a live newscast on weeknights at 7 p.m. This half-hour production aired from March 10, 2008, until February 27, 2009.

On August 1, 2009, WWAY stopped airing weekend newscasts, leaving WECT as the only option for viewers. Although it would eventually bring back a Sunday night show at 11 p.m. on October 3, 2010, WECT retained its ratings and viewership dominance throughout all dayparts. On January 6, 2014, WWAY launched a thirty-minute weeknight newscast on WWAY-DT2 under the title ''Cape Fear CW Primetime News at 10''. This is the first competition to [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] affiliate WSFX-TV, which has a well-established nightly newscast at 10 p.m. produced by WECT. Unlike most ABC outlets, WWAY does not air a full two-hour weekday [[breakfast television#United States|morning show]] (its ''[[Good Morning America|Good Morning]] Carolina'' program is only seen from 5:30&nbsp;a.m. until 7 a.m.). It also does not carry a 4 p.m. newscast during the week. WWAY is one of a few ABC affiliates to air [[paid programming]] on weekday mornings and afternoons.

On January 2, 2017, WWAY began producing a midday newscast and a full-hour 7 p.m. newscast for WWAY-DT2, when the subchannel became a CBS affiliate. The 10 p.m. newscast currently on WWAY-DT2 moved with the rest of the [[CW Plus]] schedule to [[WWAY-DT3]]. In addition, WWAY-DT2 simulcasts all of the main WWAY subchannel's other newscasts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://changingnewscasts.wordpress.com/2016/12/26/wilmington-update-wway-wilm/|title=A Wilmington update between WWAY and WILM.|first=Roly|last=Ortega|date=December 27, 2016}}</ref>

===Notable current on–air staff===
* [[Brett Blizzard]] – ''Full Court Press'' host (sports)
* [[Trot Nixon]] – ''Fifth Quarter'' host (sports)

==Subchannels==
The station's signal is [[multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]]:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannels of WWAY<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WWAY|title=RabbitEars TV Query for WWAY|website=www.rabbitears.info}}</ref>
! scope = "col" | [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! scope = "col" | [[Display resolution|Res.]]
! scope = "col" | [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! scope = "col" | Short name
! scope = "col" | Programming
|-
! scope = "row" | 3.1
| [[720p]] || rowspan=5| [[16:9]] || WWAYABC || [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 3.2
| [[1080i]] || WWAYCBS || [[CBS]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 3.3
| 720p || WWAYCW || [[The CW Plus]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 3.4
| rowspan=2|[[480i]] || Ion+ || [[Ion Plus]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 3.5
| START || [[Start TV]]
|}

After CBS moved to WWAY-DT2 from WILM-LD (which became an [[independent station]]), the multiplex bandwidth was switched around so that the main ABC signal continued to be carried in [[720p]], with WWAY-DT2 broadcasting in CBS' default [[1080i]] resolution. In August 2021, WWAY-DT3's CW feed was upgraded to high definition. Prior to this, the feed was only carried in HD on select cable providers.

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* [http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2008/09/wilmington-nc-t.html Digital TV transition kicks off in Wilmington NC, LA Times, September 8, 2008]

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [https://www.wwaytv3.com/ WWAY]
* [https://www.wwaytv3.com/cbs/ WWAY-DT2 CBS]
* [http://www.capefearcw.com/ WWAY-DT3 "Cape Fear CW"]

{{Wilmington TV}}
{{North Carolina TV}}
{{Morris Multimedia}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wway}}
[[Category:1964 establishments in North Carolina]]
[[Category:American Broadcasting Company affiliates]]
[[Category:CBS affiliates]]
[[Category:The CW affiliates]]
[[Category:Ion Plus affiliates]]
[[Category:Morris Multimedia]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1964]]
[[Category:Television stations in Wilmington, North Carolina|WAY]]