WWL-TV

WWL-TV is a television station on channel 4 serving New Orleans, Louisiana, and the surrounding southeastern Louisiana market. The station is affiliated with CBS and is particularly associated with locally focused news, weather, hurricane coverage, community identity, and programming connected to the New Orleans region. Its studios are located on Rampart Street in the historic French Quarter, where it operates alongside WUPL, while its transmitter is in Terrytown, Louisiana. WWL-TV began broadcasting on September 7, 1957, under the ownership of Loyola University of the South, now Loyola University New Orleans. The university also owned WWL radio, which had been affiliated with the CBS Radio Network since 1935. As a result, the television station joined CBS from its launch and inherited the WWL call letters and an established association with the network. During the 1960s and 1970s, channel 4 competed closely with NBC affiliate WDSU-TV. Its local ownership and emphasis on regional stories, personalities, culture, and public affairs helped it build a strong connection with viewers. By the early 1980s, WWL-TV had become the ratings leader in the New Orleans market. Loyola sold its media holdings in the late 1980s. WWL-TV was acquired in 1990 by Rampart Broadcasting, an employee-investor group led by general manager J. Michael Early and news director Phil Johnson. The transaction was notable because it made WWL-TV the first U.S. television station acquired by an employee group. Local ownership ended in 1994, when Dallas-based Belo Corporation purchased the station. Belo later acquired WUPL, creating a two-station operating relationship in the market. The station has maintained a broad local-news operation, including morning, midday, evening, and late-night newscasts, weather reporting, investigative journalism, political analysis, and breaking-news coverage. Its long-running “Spirit of Louisiana” image campaign presents the state’s music, cultural traditions, landscapes, and communities, reinforcing a positioning built around regional authenticity rather than generic network affiliation. WWL-TV has also carried selected CBS sports programming, including some New Orleans Saints games, although its role as the market’s primary Saints station ended when CBS lost the National Football Conference package to Fox in the 1990s. WWL-TV’s most consequential journalistic episode was its coverage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The station began continuous coverage before landfall and operated from several backup locations after flooding, evacuation, security concerns, and infrastructure damage disrupted its New Orleans facilities. Staff worked from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, the station’s transmitter site, and Louisiana Public Broadcasting’s studios. Assistance from sister stations and other broadcasters helped preserve live coverage. WWL-TV’s Katrina reporting received a Peabody Award and a duPont-Columbia Award and became a defining example of local broadcasting during a regional catastrophe. The station used a similar statewide emergency-relocation arrangement during Hurricane Gustav in 2008. Belo was acquired by Gannett in 2013. In 2015, Gannett separated its broadcasting and digital assets into Tegna, which retained WWL-TV and WUPL. Nexstar Media Group subsequently acquired Tegna in a transaction announced in 2025 and completed in 2026, bringing WWL-TV into Nexstar’s New Orleans station group alongside WGNO and WNOL-TV. The station remains an active CBS affiliate with a principal focus on local news, severe-weather information, public-service broadcasting, and coverage of the cultural and civic life of the Gulf South.

WWL-TV signed on September 7, 1957, as a commercial television station owned by Loyola University of the South. Its connection to WWL radio gave it an established CBS relationship, and channel 4 has remained a CBS affiliate since its launch. The station initially competed with WDSU-TV and other New Orleans broadcasters, but its emphasis on local ownership and regional programming gradually strengthened its market position. By the early 1980s, WWL-TV was the leading station in the market. The station expanded its regional role in the late 1980s through NewsWatch 15, a cable news service created with Cox Cable. The channel carried rebroadcasts, simulcasts, and breaking-news coverage, giving WWL-TV an additional outlet for local reporting. In 1989, Loyola sold its media properties. WWL-TV employees formed Rampart Broadcasting and completed the purchase in August 1990. Led by J. Michael Early and Phil Johnson, the group represented a rare employee-led acquisition of an American television station. That same year, the station introduced the Spirit of Louisiana campaign, which used music and images of southeastern Louisiana to express its identity and distinguish the station from nationally standardized competitors. Belo purchased WWL-TV in 1994. The change coincided with the loss of the station’s longstanding position as the unofficial home broadcaster of the New Orleans Saints. When CBS lost the NFC television package to Fox, Saints broadcasts moved first to WNOL-TV and later to WVUE-TV after that station joined Fox. WWL-TV continued to air games available through CBS, including selected Saints contests and the team’s Super Bowl XLIV victory, as well as coverage of Super Bowls hosted in New Orleans. Belo’s relationship with WUPL became the subject of a transaction dispute in the mid-2000s. Viacom had sought to acquire WWL-TV, which could have made it a CBS-owned station, but that proposal was rejected. Belo instead agreed to buy WUPL from Viacom. Hurricane Katrina delayed the transaction, and CBS filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit in 2006. The dispute was settled in 2007, when Belo completed the WUPL acquisition and moved its operations into WWL-TV’s Rampart Street facility. Hurricane Katrina became the most important event in WWL-TV’s journalistic history. The station began continuous coverage before landfall and developed an emergency operating structure that moved between its New Orleans studios, Baton Rouge facilities at LSU, its transmitter location, and Louisiana Public Broadcasting’s studios. The station remained on the air while much of the market’s infrastructure was damaged or inaccessible. Support from other Belo stations supplied equipment, transportation, live-reporting resources, and additional distribution. WWL-TV returned to New Orleans after approximately six weeks. Its work received a Peabody Award in 2006 and a duPont-Columbia Award in 2007. The same emergency partnership with Louisiana Public Broadcasting was used during Hurricane Gustav in 2008, extending the station’s coverage across Louisiana and to evacuees receiving broadcasts in Texas. WWL-TV also continued its local editorial tradition after Katrina, including political commentary addressing redevelopment and public issues. Gannett announced its acquisition of Belo in 2013, and the transaction closed later that year after regulatory approval. In 2015, Gannett divided its publishing and broadcasting businesses; WWL-TV became part of the broadcasting company Tegna. Nexstar later acquired Tegna, with the transaction completing in 2026 according to the supplied reference material. WWL-TV consequently became part of a larger Nexstar New Orleans group while continuing its CBS affiliation and local-news mission.

1. 2026Nexstar ownership begins

   Nexstar completes its acquisition of Tegna and adds WWL-TV to its New Orleans group.

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2. 2015Tegna becomes owner

   WWL-TV is transferred to Tegna after Gannett separates its broadcasting and publishing businesses.

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3. 2013Gannett acquires Belo

   WWL-TV becomes part of Gannett’s television portfolio.

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4. 2007WUPL acquisition completed

   Belo completes its purchase of WUPL after settling litigation with CBS.

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5. 2005Hurricane Katrina coverage

   The station maintains continuous coverage through evacuations, flooding, and relocation of its operations.

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6. 1994Belo ownership begins

   Belo acquires WWL-TV and ends the station’s local employee ownership.

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7. 1990Employee group completes acquisition

   Rampart Broadcasting closes its purchase of WWL-TV from Loyola University.

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8. 1989NewsWatch 15 launches

   WWL-TV and Cox Cable create an early regional cable-news service.

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9. 1980Becomes New Orleans ratings leader

   After years of competition with WDSU-TV, WWL-TV emerges as the market’s leading station by the early 1980s.

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10. 1957WWL-TV signs on

    Channel 4 begins broadcasting in New Orleans as a Loyola University-owned CBS affiliate.

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A locally rooted, service-oriented New Orleans broadcaster emphasizing trusted news, severe-weather coverage, regional culture, and community identity.

• WWL-TV local newsTelevision news1957

  The station’s core offering consists of locally produced morning, midday, evening, and late-night newscasts. Coverage includes municipal and state politics, public safety, education, investigations, business, culture, community affairs, and breaking events. The news operation is positioned around local knowledge and regular service to viewers in the New Orleans area.

• Weather and hurricane coverageWeather broadcasting1957

  WWL-TV provides daily forecasts, severe-weather alerts, tropical-storm information, live field reporting, and emergency guidance. Its extensive Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Gustav operations established weather and disaster coverage as a central part of the station’s public-service identity.

• CBS network programmingNetwork television1957

  As a CBS affiliate since its first broadcast, WWL-TV carries most of the CBS schedule, subject to local-news, scheduling, and weekend programming arrangements. The station also carries selected CBS sports events, including some NFL games involving the New Orleans Saints.

• Spirit of LouisianaStation branding campaign1990

  Spirit of Louisiana is a long-running station image platform built around the state’s music, cultural heritage, landscapes, and communities. Its short promotional pieces use regional imagery and local performers to associate WWL-TV with Louisiana identity and civic belonging.

• NewsWatch 15Cable news service1989

  Created with Cox Cable, NewsWatch 15 was a cable-only service carrying WWL-TV newscast simulcasts, rebroadcasts, and breaking coverage that did not require extended treatment on the main broadcast channel. It represented an early local or regional cable-news extension.

• 1990Spirit of Louisiana

  Louisiana · New Orleans metropolitan area

  WWL-TV launched a station image campaign celebrating Louisiana’s musical traditions, cultural heritage, places, and everyday communities. The campaign used short promotional films and appearances by regional musicians and singers to present the station as an expression of local identity.

  Outcome. The campaign became one of the station’s defining brand assets and continued in various forms over subsequent decades.

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• 2026Nexstar acquisition of TegnaM&A

  Nexstar sought to acquire Tegna, whose portfolio included WWL-TV and WUPL.

  What changed. Nexstar completed the transaction and assumed ownership of WWL-TV, while committing to divest WUPL within the stated regulatory period.

  Aftermath. WWL-TV joined Nexstar-owned WGNO and WNOL-TV in the New Orleans market, subject to the planned WUPL divestiture.

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• 2015Transfer to TegnaStrategy

  Gannett separated its publishing assets from its broadcasting and digital-media assets.

  What changed. WWL-TV and WUPL were retained by the newly formed Tegna broadcasting company.

  Aftermath. The stations continued operating as a New Orleans television group under Tegna until Nexstar’s later acquisition.

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• 2013Gannett acquisition of BeloM&A

  Belo’s television holdings were targeted in a broader media-company transaction.

  What changed. Gannett announced and completed the acquisition of Belo, including WWL-TV and WUPL.

  Aftermath. WWL-TV remained in the broadcasting business after Gannett later separated its publishing and television operations.

  Announced transaction value. $1.5 billion (2013 announcement)

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• 2007Completion of WUPL acquisitionM&A

  Belo’s proposed purchase of WUPL was delayed after Hurricane Katrina, leading CBS to file a breach-of-contract lawsuit.

  What changed. After settling the litigation, Belo completed the purchase and integrated WUPL’s operations with WWL-TV at the Rampart Street facility.

  Aftermath. WWL-TV and WUPL operated as a local station combination under Belo and later under Gannett, Tegna, and Nexstar ownership.

  Purchase price. $14.5 million (2005 agreement; completed 2007)

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• 2005Emergency relocation during Hurricane KatrinaStrategy

  Flooding, evacuation, infrastructure failures, and security concerns threatened the station’s New Orleans operations during Katrina.

  What changed. WWL-TV moved portions of its operation to LSU in Baton Rouge, its transmitter site, and Louisiana Public Broadcasting facilities while maintaining continuous coverage through relay and satellite resources.

  Aftermath. The station remained on air through the disaster, expanded its reach through partner broadcasters, and received major journalism awards for its coverage.

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• 1990Employee-led purchase of WWL-TVM&A

  Loyola University decided to sell its media properties, creating an opportunity for station employees to preserve local ownership.

  What changed. A group led by general manager J. Michael Early and news director Phil Johnson formed Rampart Broadcasting and acquired the station.

  Aftermath. The transaction made WWL-TV the first U.S. television station acquired by an employee-investor group. Belo purchased the station in 1994, ending the arrangement.

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• 2026Nexstar completes Tegna acquisition

  Nexstar brings WWL-TV into its New Orleans broadcasting group after completing its acquisition of Tegna.

  M&A
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• 2015Broadcast assets move to Tegna

  Following Gannett’s corporate split, WWL-TV becomes part of Tegna’s broadcasting and digital-media portfolio.

  M&A
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• 2013Gannett announces Belo acquisition

  Gannett announces a $1.5 billion acquisition of Belo’s television properties, including WWL-TV and WUPL.

  M&A
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• 2006CBS files lawsuit over WUPL transaction

  CBS sued Belo over the delayed completion of Belo’s agreement to acquire WUPL; the dispute was settled in 2007 and the acquisition was completed.

  LawsuitM&A
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• 2006WWL-TV wins recognition for Katrina reporting

  The station’s Hurricane Katrina coverage receives a Peabody Award, followed by a duPont-Columbia Award in 2007.

  Other
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• 2005WWL-TV provides continuous Hurricane Katrina coverage

  The station broadcasts around the clock before and after Katrina, relocating operations among New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and other facilities as flooding and evacuation disrupted the city.

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• 1994Belo acquires WWL-TV

  Dallas-based Belo purchases the station, ending its period of local employee ownership.

  M&A
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• 1990Rampart Broadcasting acquires WWL-TV

  An employee-investor group completes the purchase of the station, ending Loyola’s ownership and creating an unusual employee-owned television station.

  M&A
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• 1990WWL-TV launches Spirit of Louisiana campaign

  The station introduces a regional image campaign centered on Louisiana music, culture, places, and community life.

  Campaign
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• 1957WWL-TV begins broadcasting

  The station signs on channel 4 in New Orleans as a Loyola University-owned CBS affiliate.

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1. WWL-TV
2. WWL-TV official website