History
What is now WSAV-DT2 began on September 21, 1998, after WSAV entered into a partnership with The WB 100+, a national programming service operated by The WB for television markets ranked greater than 100, and cable systems in the Savannah area. WSCG also carried The WB from the network's launch in January 1995 to 1997. After WSCG's switch to UPN and prior to the launch of The WB 100+, cable providers piped in WGN-TV's national feed and/or local WB affiliate WATL in Atlanta. It was a cable-exclusive station, and as a result, used the call sign "WBVH" (standing for "The WB Savannah") in a fictional manner for identification purposes. WSAV-TV provided local advertisement opportunities and performed promotional duties for the outlet.
On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation (which split from Viacom after 2005) and Warner Bros. Television (the company which owned The WB) announced they then would cease operating the UPN and The WB networks and combine their resources to create a programming service entitled The CW. The letters would represent the first initial of the new network's respective corporate parents.
On September 18 of that year, The CW officially launched nationwide at which point WGCW-LP started to simulcast "WBVH" and allowing non-cable subscribers access to the new network; WGCW-LP was, in turn, relayed over the second subchannel of WSCG, until becoming exclusive to WSCG-DT1/DT2 on May 2, 2012, when WGCW-LP had suddenly fallen silent (with the "WGCW" call letters remaining as a part of this CW+ affiliate's branding, although at that point a fictitious call sign that was no longer recognized by the FCC). With its over-their-air launch, "WBVH" began using WGCW as its official calls and became part of The CW Plus, a successor to The WB 100+.
On September 5, 2006, WSAV-DT2 signed on as a MyNetworkTV/Retro TV affiliate. It switched to MeTV on September 26, 2011.
On April 1, 2016, it was announced that WSAV-DT2 would assume the CW affiliation from WSCG-DT1/DT2 on September 12 of that year, thus shifting MyNetworkTV and MeTV to WSAV-DT3 (replacing the station's weather radar, which launched on May 16, 2012).[17][18] Shortly thereafter, WSAV-TV added Laff as a new fourth digital subchannel. After the move of MeTV to WJCL-DT2 in the fall of 2019, the third subchannel was replaced with Court TV, and MyNetworkTV's schedule was shifted onto WSAV-DT2 to overlay the national late night paid programming carried as part of The CW Plus schedule. As of March 16, 2021, MyNetworkTV programming has moved to WSAV-DT3, replacing Court TV programming weeknights from 9 to 11 p.m.[19] WSAV-DT2 currently airs a half-hour newscast at 10 p.m., moving the first episode of Seinfeld to 1:30 a.m.
