WQCW
Encyclopedia
WQCW is the CW affiliate for the Huntington
/Charleston, West Virginia
television market. It is licensed to Portsmouth, Ohio
and is the one of two commercial stations in the market licensed outside of West Virginia. Its transmitter is located in West Portsmouth, Ohio
. The station operates two low-powered repeaters: WOCW, channel 21 in Charleston and WVCW, channel 45 in Huntington.
programming in 2000 after it was dropped from WVAH-TV
, although it retained the on-air name WB30. It showed WB programming in-pattern, with UPN programming at odd hours, sometimes after the WB primetime programming ended or on weekends.
Channel 30's analog transmitter, despite its over 2 million-watt ERP
, was not strong enough to cover the entire Huntington-Charleston market, even though it identifies itself on-air as "Portsmouth-Charleston." The market, the largest geographic market east of the Mississippi River
, covers 61 counties in central West Virginia, eastern Kentucky
and southern Ohio. Most of this territory is a very rugged dissected plateau
, making UHF reception difficult. WVAH faced similar problems when it originally signed on in 1982 on channel 23, forcing it to move to channel 11 in 1989. WHCP, on the other hand, couldn't move to another channel or increase the power on its analog transmitter because it would interfere with digital television
stations in Roanoke, Virginia
and Knoxville, Tennessee
. Shortly after going on the air, it signed on two low-power satellites-- WBWV, channel 69 in Huntington and WOWB channel 53 in Charleston. Even with these satellites, it still had to rely on cable
for most of its viewership, especially in the market's share of Kentucky. The station's digital signal
, on channel 17, has far better reception.
The station was not carried on DirecTV
's Huntington/Charleston local feed when DirecTV began airing local channels because its signal did not meet DirecTV's technical requirements. However, DirecTV added WHCP to its lineup on January 25, 2006. It has always been carried on Dish Network
's local feed, however.
When CBS
and Time Warner
announced formation of The CW in January 2006, it was generally expected that WHCP would join the new network. On March 9, WHCP officially agreed to become a CW affiliate.
On May 26, WOWB and WBWV became WOCW channel 21 and WVCW channel 45, respectively. WHCP followed suit on May 31, changing its calls to WQCW. It initially rebranded itself as "The Q," with a logo showing The CW's logo turning into a capital "Q." It has since rebranded itself as "Tri-State's CW."
On January 20, 2007, longtime owner Commonwealth Broadcasting sold the station to Lockwood Broadcasting Group
. The deal closed on May 21, 2007. All of Lockwood's stations are either primary CW stations or have the CW on a digital subchannel.
On June 12, 2009, WQCW ceased transmitting on channel 30 and became digital-only TV station on channel 17. http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-07-138A2.pdf
on Saturday afternoons, from Portsmouth-based promotion
Revolutionary Championship Wrestling, these have since moved to another station. During the fall and winter of 2006 and 2007, WQCW aired taped high school football and basketball games from 9-11 p.m. on Saturday nights, but the practice ended when Lockwood Broadcasting bought the station. Musical theme performances were shown on late-Saturday night, but this too has ended also.
On November 7, 2005 WQCW (as WHCP) began airing newscasts at 6 and 10 p.m. with popular, but controversial local anchor Tom McGee at the helm. The newscast was regarded as very amateurish, with no teleprompter
s, no IFB
system and generally sloppy presentation. Furthermore, WHCP never even subscribed to The Associated Press newswire. The newscast never seriously threatened the "Big Three" newscasts at 6 p.m. or WVAH's newscast at 10 p.m.
On February 21, 2006, McGee quit the newscast. He claimed that the station made false promises made to the employees over health insurance which never even went into effect and paid some employees with food coupons. He also had a dispute over the addition of a news helicopter. Two days later, on February 23, the entire news staff was fired and the 4-month-old newscast was canceled. The manager cited low ratings and recent shakeups in the newscasts.
Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia, along the Ohio River. Most of the city is in Cabell County, for which it is the county seat. A small portion of the city, mainly the neighborhood of Westmoreland, is in Wayne County. Its population was 49,138 at...
/Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers in Kanawha County. As of the 2010 census, it has a population of 51,400, and its metropolitan area 304,214. It is the county seat of Kanawha County.Early...
television market. It is licensed to Portsmouth, Ohio
Portsmouth, Ohio
Portsmouth is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Scioto County. The municipality is located on the northern banks of the Ohio River and east of the Scioto River in Southern Ohio. The population was 20,226 at the 2010 census.-Foundation:...
and is the one of two commercial stations in the market licensed outside of West Virginia. Its transmitter is located in West Portsmouth, Ohio
West Portsmouth, Ohio
West Portsmouth is a census-designated place in Scioto County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,458 at the 2000 census. The citizens of West Portsmouth are served by the Washington-Nile Local School District ....
. The station operates two low-powered repeaters: WOCW, channel 21 in Charleston and WVCW, channel 45 in Huntington.
History
Although a construction permit was issued for channel 30 in 1984 under the calls WUXA, no station signed on this channel until 1998, when WHCP signed on as an affiliate of The WB. It added UPNUPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
programming in 2000 after it was dropped from WVAH-TV
WVAH-TV
WVAH-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for Charleston and Huntington, West Virginia which is the second-largest market in terms of area east of the Mississippi River. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 19 from a transmitter south of Scott Depot along the Putnam...
, although it retained the on-air name WB30. It showed WB programming in-pattern, with UPN programming at odd hours, sometimes after the WB primetime programming ended or on weekends.
Channel 30's analog transmitter, despite its over 2 million-watt ERP
Effective radiated power
In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or equivalent radiated power is a standardized theoretical measurement of radio frequency energy using the SI unit watts, and is determined by subtracting system losses and adding system gains...
, was not strong enough to cover the entire Huntington-Charleston market, even though it identifies itself on-air as "Portsmouth-Charleston." The market, the largest geographic market east of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
, covers 61 counties in central West Virginia, eastern Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
and southern Ohio. Most of this territory is a very rugged dissected plateau
Dissected plateau
A dissected plateau is a plateau area that has been severely eroded so that the relief is sharp. Such an area may be referred to as mountainous, but dissected plateaus are distinguishable from orogenic mountain belts by the lack of folding, metamorphism, extensive faulting, or magmatic activity...
, making UHF reception difficult. WVAH faced similar problems when it originally signed on in 1982 on channel 23, forcing it to move to channel 11 in 1989. WHCP, on the other hand, couldn't move to another channel or increase the power on its analog transmitter because it would interfere with digital television
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
stations in Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke is an independent city in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. state of Virginia and is the tenth-largest city in the Commonwealth. It is located in the Roanoke Valley of the Roanoke Region of Virginia. The population within the city limits was 97,032 as of 2010...
and Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
. Shortly after going on the air, it signed on two low-power satellites-- WBWV, channel 69 in Huntington and WOWB channel 53 in Charleston. Even with these satellites, it still had to rely on cable
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
for most of its viewership, especially in the market's share of Kentucky. The station's digital signal
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
, on channel 17, has far better reception.
The station was not carried on DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
's Huntington/Charleston local feed when DirecTV began airing local channels because its signal did not meet DirecTV's technical requirements. However, DirecTV added WHCP to its lineup on January 25, 2006. It has always been carried on Dish Network
Dish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
's local feed, however.
When CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
and Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
announced formation of The CW in January 2006, it was generally expected that WHCP would join the new network. On March 9, WHCP officially agreed to become a CW affiliate.
On May 26, WOWB and WBWV became WOCW channel 21 and WVCW channel 45, respectively. WHCP followed suit on May 31, changing its calls to WQCW. It initially rebranded itself as "The Q," with a logo showing The CW's logo turning into a capital "Q." It has since rebranded itself as "Tri-State's CW."
On January 20, 2007, longtime owner Commonwealth Broadcasting sold the station to Lockwood Broadcasting Group
Lockwood Broadcasting Group
Lockwood Broadcasting Group is a television broadcasting company that owns four television stations. Three stations are CW affiliates. The third is a NBC affiliate which carries The CW and ABC on digital subchannels....
. The deal closed on May 21, 2007. All of Lockwood's stations are either primary CW stations or have the CW on a digital subchannel.
On June 12, 2009, WQCW ceased transmitting on channel 30 and became digital-only TV station on channel 17. http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-07-138A2.pdf
Local Programming
In the last few years, WQCW had been offering more local programming, mostly sports-related. The station offered local professional wrestlingProfessional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
on Saturday afternoons, from Portsmouth-based promotion
Professional wrestling promotion
A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. Promotion also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event...
Revolutionary Championship Wrestling, these have since moved to another station. During the fall and winter of 2006 and 2007, WQCW aired taped high school football and basketball games from 9-11 p.m. on Saturday nights, but the practice ended when Lockwood Broadcasting bought the station. Musical theme performances were shown on late-Saturday night, but this too has ended also.
On November 7, 2005 WQCW (as WHCP) began airing newscasts at 6 and 10 p.m. with popular, but controversial local anchor Tom McGee at the helm. The newscast was regarded as very amateurish, with no teleprompter
Teleprompter
An autocue is a display device that prompts the person speaking with an electronic visual text of a speech or script. Using a teleprompter is similar to the practice of using cue cards...
s, no IFB
Interruptible feedback
IFB or Interrupted Feedback systems are used in filmmaking and video production for television crew communication, audio monitoring and cueing...
system and generally sloppy presentation. Furthermore, WHCP never even subscribed to The Associated Press newswire. The newscast never seriously threatened the "Big Three" newscasts at 6 p.m. or WVAH's newscast at 10 p.m.
On February 21, 2006, McGee quit the newscast. He claimed that the station made false promises made to the employees over health insurance which never even went into effect and paid some employees with food coupons. He also had a dispute over the addition of a news helicopter. Two days later, on February 23, the entire news staff was fired and the 4-month-old newscast was canceled. The manager cited low ratings and recent shakeups in the newscasts.