Editing WWHO

{{Short description|Television station In Chillicothe, Ohio}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign = WWHO
| city = Chillicothe, Ohio
| logo = Cw-columbus.svg
| branding = The CW Columbus
| digital = 23 ([[UHF]])
| virtual = 53
| affiliations = {{ubl|'''53.1:''' [[The CW]]|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| atsc3 = yes
| owner = Manhan Media, Inc.
| licensee = 
| operator = [[Sinclair Broadcast Group]] via [[local marketing agreement|LMA]])
| location = [[Chillicothe, Ohio|Chillicothe]]–[[Columbus, Ohio]]
| country = United States
| founded = October 29, 1984
| airdate = {{start date and age|1987|08|31|p=y}}
| last_airdate = 
| callsign_meaning = 
| sister_stations = [[WSYX]], [[WTTE]]
| former_callsigns = WWAT (1987–1994)
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 53 (UHF, 1987–2009)|'''Digital:''' 46 (UHF, 2002–2020)}}
| former_affiliations = {{ubl|[[Independent station|Independent]] (1987–1995)|[[The WB]] (primary 1995–2000, secondary 2000–2006)|[[UPN]] (secondary 1997–2000, primary 2000–2006)|[[Ion Television|Pax]] (secondary, 1998–1999)}}
| erp = 885 [[kW]]
| haat = {{convert|286|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id = 21158
| coordinates = {{coord|39|56|14|N|83|1|16|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}
| licensing_authority = [[FCC]]
| website = {{URL|http://cwcolumbus.com/}}
}}

'''WWHO''' (channel 53) is a [[television station]] licensed to [[Chillicothe, Ohio]], United States, serving the [[Columbus, Ohio|Columbus]] area as an affiliate of [[The CW]]. It is owned by Manhan Media, Inc., which maintains a [[local marketing agreement]] (LMA) with [[Sinclair Broadcast Group]], owner of [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]/[[MyNetworkTV]]/[[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] affiliate [[WSYX]] (channel 6), for the provision of certain services.<ref name=tcd-manhansinclair>{{cite news|last=Feran|first=Tim|title=Owner of WSYX will manage local CW affiliate|url=http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2012/02/18/owner-of-wsyx-will-manage-local-cw-affiliate.html|access-date=February 24, 2012|newspaper=[[The Columbus Dispatch]]|date=February 18, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sbgi.net/pr-news/major-broadcasters-launch-nextgen-tv-on-four-local-television-stations-in-columbus-ohio/|title = Major Broadcasters Launch NEXTGEN TV on Four Local Television Stations in Columbus, Ohio}}</ref> Sinclair also operates [[Roar (TV network)|Roar]] station [[WTTE]] (channel 28) under a separate LMA with [[Cunningham Broadcasting]]; however, Sinclair effectively owns WTTE as the majority of Cunningham's stock is owned by the family of deceased group founder Julian Smith. The three stations share studios on [[U.S. Route 33 in Ohio|Dublin Road]] in [[Grandview Heights, Ohio|Grandview Heights]] (with a Columbus [[United States Postal Service|mailing]] address); WWHO's transmitter is located in the [[Franklinton, Columbus, Ohio|Franklinton]] section of Columbus.

WWHO also served briefly as the default CW affiliate (on [[cable television|cable]]) for the [[Zanesville]] media market from March 2008 through early July 2008, after [[WHIZ-TV]] discontinued WBZV, its cable-only [[CW Plus]] affiliate. The CW Plus has since been reinstated to the Zanesville cable line-up via a [[Charter Spectrum|Spectrum]]-provided cable-only CW Plus feed branded as "Zanesville CW 13" in the market, which has no connections to WHIZ-TV. WWHO served as the ''de facto'' over-the-air [[The WB|WB]] affiliate for the [[Dayton, Ohio]], media market until 1999, when [[WBDT]] (then a primary [[Ion Television|Pax]] affiliate) joined The WB; which relegated Pax to a secondary affiliation. WWHO also provided [[UPN]] service to much of the Dayton market over the air until 2006, when The CW was launched.

==History==
[[File:WSYX WTTE WWHO.jpg|thumb|right|WSYX/WTTE/WWHO studios in Columbus.]]
The station began operating on August 31, 1987, as an [[independent station]] using the call letters WWAT, named after its owner, Wendell A. Triplett. It filled in a void created when future sister station WTTE joined Fox in 1986. The station originally operated from studios located on River Road ([[U.S. Route 23 in Ohio|US 23]]) in Chillicothe. It operated a Columbus translator on W17AI channel 17 (now [[WDEM]], which is still owned by Triplett) until 1992, when WWAT was added to many [[cable television|cable]] providers in the Columbus market due to cable [[must-carry]] legislation. It quickly established itself as a solid competitor to WTTE, despite its signal limitations.

Triplett sold the station to Fant Broadcasting for $2 million in 1994 and changed its calls to WWHO on April 15, when the on-air name "Who-53" was adopted. At the same time, the station entered a [[local marketing agreement]] with [[NBC]] affiliate [[WCMH-TV]] (channel 4, then owned by [[The Outlet Company]]). Until 1998, WWHO also served as an alternate NBC affiliate, airing the network's programming when WCMH was unable, due to its annual broadcast of Columbus' [[Independence Day (United States)|July 4]] [[fireworks]] display ''Red, White & BOOM!'' or long-form breaking news coverage; an arrangement which began in 1996 concurrent with NBC's purchase of WCMH.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.radiodiscussions.com/showthread.php?709474-Retro-Chillicothe-Ohio-Wednesday-July-3-1996|access-date=September 11, 2023|date=April 12, 2018|title=Retro: Chillicothe, Ohio - Wednesday, July 3, 1996}}</ref>

WWHO remained an independent station until January 11, 1995, when it became a charter affiliate of The WB Television Network. WWHO (then branded on-air as "WB 53") retained this affiliation until the [[Paramount Stations Group]] (a subsidiary of [[Paramount Pictures]], whose parent company was [[Viacom (1952–2005)|Viacom]]) agreed to acquire the station in 1997, along with sister station [[WLWC]] in [[Providence, Rhode Island]], and sell [[WVIT]] in [[New Britain, Connecticut]], to NBC in return; WCMH-TV ended the LMA at this time and WWHO was operated independently afterwards. At that time the station became a secondary [[UPN]] affiliate, as UPN programming was moved from WTTE, primarily a Fox affiliate, to WWHO; while channel 53 retained a primary WB affiliation through the duration of its contract, the station nonetheless soon began calling itself "UPN 53".<ref name=wwho-wbprimaryonupn53>{{cite web|title=WWHO homepage|url=http://paramountstations.com/WWHO/home.tin|work=UPN 53|publisher=[[Paramount Stations Group]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000307053741/http://paramountstations.com/WWHO/home.tin|archive-date=March 7, 2000|quote=PLEASE NOTE: UPN 53 carries WB primary and UPN secondary, so our schedule is different than the national UPN site. UPN 53 is a dual-affiliate, carrying both WB and UPN programming.}}</ref> In the fall of 1998, WWHO began to carry programming in the overnight hours from the upstart Pax TV network (now [[Ion Television]]), as Pax struggled to find a full-power affiliate in the Columbus market. This arrangement ended in February 1999, when Pax affiliated with [[WSFJ-TV]] (channel 51) in [[Newark, Ohio]]. In 2000, WWHO switched its primary affiliation to UPN, but signed a deal with The WB to retain its prime time programming on a secondary basis through what a Paramount Stations Group executive described as a "program license agreement".<ref name=v-wbtoupn>{{cite news|last=Schneider|first=Michael|title=Sharing the wealth|url=https://variety.com/2000/biz/news/sharing-the-wealth-1117776652/|access-date=April 22, 2012|newspaper=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=February 22, 2000|quote=With Paramount's WWHO Columbus and WLWC Providence about to make a long-planned switch from the WB to UPN…}}</ref> The station dropped the channel number from its branding in 2002, becoming "UPN Columbus". On February 10, 2005, it was announced that the [[Viacom Television Stations Group]] (the successor to the Paramount Stations Group as a result of Viacom merging with [[CBS Corporation|CBS]] in 1999) was selling WWHO and [[WNDY-TV]] (in the [[Indianapolis]] market) to [[LIN Television]] for $85 million, concurrent with a rebranding of the station as "UPN 53 WWHO".

The rebrand proved to be short-lived, as UPN and The WB merged to form The CW in 2006. WWHO was the obvious choice as Columbus' CW affiliate since it already carried both UPN and WB programming. However, when the first list of affiliates outside the core group of CBS-owned UPN affiliates and [[Tribune Company|Tribune]]-owned WB affiliates was announced, WWHO was not on the list. After some delay, LIN eventually agreed to affiliate four of its WB and UPN affiliates, including WWHO, with The CW,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6325651.html?display=Breaking+News |title=CW Signs With LIN for Four More Affils - 4/18/2006 1:54:00 PM - Broadcasting & Cable |access-date=April 18, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312051637/http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6325651.html?display=Breaking+News |archive-date=March 12, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> making WWHO the largest The CW affiliate owned by LIN. (WSYX, the area's ABC affiliate (and sister station to WTTE), launched a new digital subchannel featuring programming from [[MyNetworkTV]] in September of that year.)

On July 31, approximately one month before The CW officially debuted, WWHO rebranded with a new logo and slogan, "The CW on WWHO-TV". Once more, the station's channel number was de-emphasized. The station today currently goes by "The CW Columbus". [[Kids' WB]] and [[The CW Daytime]] returned to WWHO after being absent from Columbus for five years.

In November 2011, it was reported that the [[Sinclair Broadcast Group]], the owner of WSYX and who also effectively owns WTTE, was in talks to purchase WWHO from LIN for an estimated $7 million.<ref>[http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/2011/11/02/55148/sinclair-buying-freedom-for-385-million Sinclair Buying Freedom For $385 Million], ''TVNewsCheck'', November 2, 2011.</ref> This deal, if it were approved, would have given Sinclair control of four of the six largest network affiliations in the Ohio capital. This deal never materialized, however, and LIN filed instead to sell the station to Manhan Media. The sale was granted on December 20, 2011. In February 2012, after consummating the sale, Manhan Media entered into a [[shared services]] agreement (SSA) with Sinclair, making WWHO a sister station to WSYX and WTTE.<ref>[http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/481548-Sinclair_Inks_Shared_Services_Deal_for_WWHO_Columbus.php Sinclair Inks Shared Services Deal for WWHO Columbus], ''Broadcasting & Cable'', March 8, 2012.</ref> (Manhan Media's owner, Stephen P. Mumblow, subsequently started [[Deerfield Media]] to acquire the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) assets, including the licenses, of several stations that are being divested by Sinclair in the wake of its purchase of stations from [[Newport Television]]. However, Sinclair would retain control of those stations through a local marketing agreement.) In a way, the LMA also reunited WWHO with WLWC, which Sinclair owned outright until April 2013 when that station was sold to OTA Broadcasting, LLC. Although Sinclair now controls WWHO, it initially continued to operate from separate studios several blocks east of the WSYX/WTTE studios; by October 2013, WWHO had moved in with WSYX/WTTE.<ref name=wsj-wwhostudios>{{cite news|last=Hagey|first=Keach|title=Sinclair Draws Scrutiny Over Growth Tactic|url=https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323623304579057251488006852|access-date=October 21, 2013|newspaper=[[Wall Street Journal]]|date=October 20, 2013|quote=A modest brick building surrounded by parabolic dishes here by the Scioto River sports three signs: WSYX, WTTE, WWHO.}}</ref>

Due to a conflict on [[Bally Sports Ohio]], WWHO aired a Reds game on April 4, 2023.<ref>{{cite web|title=Channel Information for Tuesday's Reds, Blue Jackets, & Cavs Coverage|url=https://www.ballysports.com/ohio-greatlakes/news/channel-information-for-tuesday-s-reds-blue-jackets-cavs-coverage|website=Bally Sports|date=April 3, 2023|access-date=April 20, 2023}}</ref>

==News operation==
WWHO has never produced its own newscasts, but has aired newscasts from all of Columbus's "Big Three" stations.

When WCMH-TV entered into the LMA to run WWHO, the deal included producing a nightly 10 p.m. newscast using WCMH-TV's facilities and resources. This made WWHO the first station in the market to air a 10 p.m. newscast; WTTE (then owned by Sinclair outright) did not air any newscasts until Sinclair's acquisition of WSYX in 1996, though sister station [[WPGH-TV]] in [[Pittsburgh]] launched a 10 p.m. newscast around the same time, meaning Sinclair may have started a news department at WTTE if not for acquiring WSYX. The 10 p.m. newscast lasted until 1998 when NBC ended its LMA with WWHO and Viacom took over the non-licensed assets of the station.

On February 10, 2005, LIN Television announced its intention to bring 10 p.m. news back to the station. This half-hour newscast was produced by [[WBNS-TV]], and debuted on September 1, 2005. Unlike WCMH in previous years, WBNS chose to use its own station branding on the newscast rather than WWHO's, including WBNS' normal "10TV News HD" graphics beginning in 2007 (despite the fact WWHO's newscast was not broadcast in HD until mid-2008). On December 31, 2008, WBNS ceased production of WWHO's 10 p.m. newscast.

Currently, WWHO repeats the WSYX ''ABC 6 News at 11'' weeknights at midnight. It also airs the 10 p.m. "Fox 28" newscast on an overflow basis when [[Fox Sports (United States)|Fox Sports]] programming would preempt it on WSYX-DT3; no alternate branding noting WWHO's affiliation is used on those nights.

On January 18, 2021, WWHO began airing ''[[The National Desk]]'', a Sinclair-produced national morning newscast sourced from Sinclair stations nationwide. ''The National Desk'' is similar in format to ''[[NewsNation]]'' produced by WCMH-TV parent [[Nexstar Media Group]], and competes locally with all of the network's morning news shows (including ''[[Good Morning America]]'' on WSYX's main channel) as well as the local morning news on WSYX 6.3 that is an extension of the main channel's morning news. In September 2021, it also began to carry the evening edition of ''The National Desk'' for an hour after CW programming.

==Technical information==

===Subchannels===
The station's ATSC 1.0 channels are carried on the [[multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]] signals of other Columbus television stations:
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Subchannels provided by WWHO (ATSC 1.0)<ref>{{cite web|title=RabbitEars TV Query for WTTE|url=https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WTTE#station|website=[[RabbitEars]]|access-date=December 22, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=RabbitEars TV Query for WCMH-TV|url=https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WCMH#station|website=RabbitEars|access-date=December 22, 2020}}</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 = "col" | ATSC 1.0 host
|-
! scope = "row" | 53.1
| [[720p]] || rowspan=3| [[16:9]] || WWHO-DT || [[The CW]] || rowspan=2|[[WTTE]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 53.2
| rowspan="2" | [[480i]] ||Charge!|| [[Charge! (TV network)|Charge!]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 53.3
| Comet||  [[Comet (TV network)|Comet]] || [[WCMH-TV]]
|}

=== Analog-to-digital conversion ===
WWHO was one of only two full-power television stations in the Columbus market (the other being WTTE) that honored the original [[DTV transition in the United States|DTV transition date]] of February 17, 2009. The station shut down its analog signal, over [[UHF]] channel 53, at 11:59&nbsp;p.m. on that date, as part of the [[Digital television transition in the United States|federally mandated transition from analog to digital television]].<ref name="Analog to Digital">{{cite web|url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 29, 2013|title=List of Digital Full-Power Stations|date=August 29, 2013}}</ref> The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 46, using [[virtual channel]] 53.

For around two weeks after the official shutoff, the station was in [[DTV transition in the United States#Nightlighting|nightlight mode]], carrying the [[National Association of Broadcasters]] DTV transition video and local resources about the switchover and how to resolve reception issues for Sinclair's local stations.

===ATSC 3.0 lighthouse===
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Subchannels of WWHO (ATSC 3.0)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WWHO#station|title=RabbitEars TV Query for WWHO|website=www.rabbitears.info}}</ref>
! style="background-color: #bdbdff" scope = "col" | [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! style="background-color: #bdbdff" scope = "col" | [[Display resolution|Res.]]
! style="background-color: #bdbdff" scope = "col" | [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! style="background-color: #bdbdff" scope = "col" | Short name
! style="background-color: #bdbdff" scope = "col" | Programming
|-
! scope = "row" | [[WCMH-TV|4.1]]
| [[1080p]] || rowspan=8|[[16:9]] || WCMH || [[NBC]] ([[WCMH-TV]])
|-
! scope = "row" | [[WSYX|6.1]]
| rowspan=2|[[720p]] || ABC || [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] ([[WSYX]])
|-
! scope = "row" | [[WSYX|6.3]]
| FOX28 || [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] ([[WSYX]])
|-
! scope = "row" | 6.10
| 1080p || style="background-color:#ffffd0|T2 || style="background-color:#ffffd0|[[Tennis Channel#Streaming channels|T2]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 6.11
| || style="background-color:#ffffd0|PBTV || style="background-color:#ffffd0|[[Tennis Channel#Streaming channels|Pickleballtv]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 6.20
| || style="background-color:#ffffd0|GMLOOP || style="background-color:#ffffd0|GameLoop
|-
! scope = "row" | [[WTTE|28.1]]
| rowspan=2|720p || WTTE || [[TBD (TV network)|TBD]] ([[WTTE]])
|-
! scope = "row" | 53.1
| WWHO || [[The CW]]
|}
{{legend|#ffffd0|Subchannel streamed via the Internet<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rabbitears.info/static.php?name=atsc3_streaming|title=ATSC 3.0 Streams Delivered Via Internet|website=[[RabbitEars.info]]|accessdate=March 24, 2024}}</ref>}}

On January 7, 2021, WWHO was launched as [[ATSC 3.0]] multiplex lighthouse for the Columbus area. Its ATSC 1.0 signals began being housed between WTTE and WCMH-TV. The same day saw the Fox programming formerly on WTTE's main channel moved to WSYX-DT3, meaning that WWHO's channel spectrum currently hosts programming from four of the six major networks.<ref name="sbg-nctc">{{cite web|url=https://www.nctconline.org/index.php/members/resources/technical-notices/item/1690-sinclair-acquisition-of-fox-affiliation|title=Sinclair - Acquisition of Fox affiliation|date=January 1, 2021|publisher=Sinclair Broadcast Group/National Cable Television Cooperative|access-date=December 3, 2021}}</ref> The ATSC 3.0 signal includes three unique channels: T2, a [[Free ad-supported streaming television|FAST]] spinoff of Sinclair-owned [[Tennis Channel]] mapped at 6.10; PickleballTV, a sister channel to T2 focusing on [[pickleball]] mapped at 6.11; and GameLoop, an interactive [[video game]]-focused channel that has playable versions of games such as ''[[Pac-Man]]'' and ''[[Tetris]]'' mapped at 6.20.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/gameloop-tv-to-bring-interactive-nextgen-tv-games-to-ces-2025|title=GameLoop TV To Bring Interactive, NextGen TV Games to CES 2025|first=Phil|last=Kurz|website=TVTechnology|date=January 2, 2025|accessdate=February 16, 2025}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{official website|http://cwcolumbus.com/}}

{{Columbus TV}}
{{CW Ohio}}
{{SBGI}}

[[Category:1987 establishments in Ohio]]
[[Category:ATSC 3.0 television stations]]
[[Category:Charge! (TV network) affiliates]]
[[Category:Comet (TV network) affiliates]]
[[Category:The CW affiliates]]
[[Category:Former Viacom subsidiaries]]
[[Category:Paramount Stations Group]]
[[Category:Sinclair Broadcast Group]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1987]]
[[Category:Television stations in Columbus, Ohio|WHO]]