WALV-CD

WALV-CD (channel 46) is a low-power, Class A television station in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, affiliated with MeTV. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside NBC affiliate WTHR (channel 13), CBS affiliates WTTV/WTTK (channels 4 and 29), and Fox affiliate WXIN (channel 59). WALV-CD and WTHR share studios on North Meridian Street (south of I-65) in downtown Indianapolis; WALV-CD's transmitter is located near Ditch Road and West 96th Street (near I-465) in Carmel. The MeTV programming is mirrored on WTHR's third digital subchannel.

WALV has been associated with WTHR since it was put on the air in May 1991. Originally simulcasting channel 13 with occasional breaks for specific local and alternate programs, it operated as a secondary station with its own programming known as "27 Alive" from 1994 to 2000. The launch of 27 Alive included several dedicated local newscasts from WTHR. It was converted to the SkyTrak Weather Network, featuring news and weather information, and continued to air this programming until affiliating with Cozi TV in 2013. It is still occasionally used for overflow programming from WTHR.

History

Early history

Dispatch Broadcast Group, the owner of WTHR, obtained the construction permit for channel 27 in 1988, but it did not begin broadcasting until May 1991.[1] It served primarily as a simulcaster of WTHR, breaking from channel 13's signal for network programs that it preempted[2] and programs of local interest, such as high school football and basketball.[3][4]

With the advent of retransmission consent rules, WTHR reached deals with most of the major cable television systems in the area to provide a channel slot for W27AR on their systems.[5] In January 1994, the station relaunched as 27 Alive with a new lineup. The station featured daytime rolling news coverage in a news wheel format, using WTHR staff and some dedicated employees; dedicated 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts;[6] programming from National Empowerment Television (NET); a daily morning talk show, The Morning Show; and Time Out, a nightly sports talk show, as well as syndicated talk shows.[7][8] Within months, the news portion of 27 Alive's lineup was scaled back, with the news staffers merging into WTHR's newsroom.[9][10] The station changed its call letters to WALV-LP on December 1, 1995, to reflect its name. That year, it aired longform coverage of the criminal murder trial of O. J. Simpson.[11] It also dropped NET due to low ratings.[12] Meanwhile, WTHR reached a deal to produce a 10 p.m. newscast for WNDY-TV beginning in March 1996, displacing the WALV newscast.[13]

In January 2000, 27 Alive was replaced by the SkyTrak Weather Network, specializing in weather forecasts and traffic headlines and competing with a similar service from WISH-TV.[14][15] The station moved to channel 50 in 2002.[16]

WALV shut down its analog signal in 2012 and began broadcasting in digital on channel 46, using virtual channel 46 instead of 50.

Diginet affiliations

WTHR obtained an affiliation with Cozi TV, a new diginet owned by NBC airing classic TV programming, in 2013 and placed it on WALV-CD and one of its own subchannels. It continued to air a limited amount of its own programming; for instance, when WTHR expanded its morning newscast to 4 a.m. in 2014, it displaced Early Today to WALV-CD.[17][18] Some WTHR syndicated programs moved to WALV-CD during the 2016 Summer Olympics and 2018 Winter Olympics.[19][20] WALV simulcasts the 4–5 a.m. hour of WTHR's weekday morning and 6–7 a.m. hour weekend morning newscasts.[21]

By May 26, 2017, WALV-CD began simulcasting MeTV along with WTHR 13.3, dropping Cozi TV programming, which continued on WTHR 13.2.

callsign	WALV-CD
branding	MeTV Indianapolis
digital	17 (UHF)
virtual	46
translators	WTHR 13.03 (VHF) Indianapolis
affiliations	13.13: NBC 46.1: MeTV for others, see
owner	Nexstar Media Group
licensee	VideOhio, Inc.
location	Indianapolis, Indiana
country	United States
airdate	May 1991
callsign meaning	Station's original branding was 27 Alive
sister stations	WTHR, WTTV/WTTK, WXIN
former callsigns	W27AR (1988–1995) WALV-LP (1995–2002) WALV-CA (2002–2012)
former channel numbers	Analog: 27 (UHF, 1988–2002), 50 (UHF, 2002–2012) Digital: 46 (UHF, 2012–2019)
former affiliations	Independent (1988–2000) SkyTrak Weather Network (2000–2013) Cozi TV (2013–2017)
erp	8.18 kW
haat	268.2 m
class	CD
facility id	70161
coordinates	39.92861°N, -86.18194°W
licensing authority	FCC
website	www.metvindianapolis.com

History

Early history

Diginet affiliations

Subchannels

External links

References