WFLI-TV

WFLI-TV, virtual channel 53 (UHF digital channel 23), is a dual CW/MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station serving Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States that is licensed to Cleveland. The station is owned by MPS Media; New Age Media, which owns Chattanooga-licensed This TV affiliate/Comet-operated station WDSI-TV (channel 61), operates WFLI-TV under a local marketing agreement (LMA). Both stations, in turn, are operated under a master service agreement by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, making them sisters to Chattanooga-licensed dual ABC/Fox affiliate WTVC (channel 9).

Not to be confused with WLFI-TV.
WFLI-TV
Cleveland/Chattanooga, Tennessee
United States
CityCleveland, Tennessee
ChannelsDigital: 23 (UHF)
Virtual: 53 (PSIP)
BrandingThe CW Chattanooga
MyNetworkTV Chattanooga
(on DT2)
MeTV Chattanooga
(on DT3)
SloganDare to Defy
Programming
Affiliations53.1: The CW (2006–present)
53.2: MyNetworkTV
53.3: MeTV
53.4: Charge!
Ownership
OwnerMPS Media, LLC
(MPS Media of Tennessee License, LLC)
OperatorNew Age Media, LLC
(via LMA; certain services provided by Sinclair Broadcast Group)
broadcast: WDSI-TV, WTVC
cable: Fox Sports South, Fox Sports Southeast[1]
History
FoundedNovember 12, 1985
First air date
May 25, 1987 (1987-05-25)
Former channel number(s)
Analog:
53 (UHF, 1987–2009)
Digital:
42 (UHF, until 2020)
Analog/DT1:
Independent (1987–1995)
UPN (1995–2001)
The WB (1999–2006; secondary until 2001)
Fuel TV[2][3] (Saturday nights; 2001–2003)
DT2:
MeTV (2011–2015; now on DT3)
Call sign meaning
taken from former sister radio station
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID72060
ClassDT
ERP550 kW
HAAT306 m (1,004 ft)
Transmitter coordinates35°9′38.7″N 85°19′5.8″W
Links
Public license information
Profile
LMS
Websitechattanoogacw.com

WFLI and WDSI share studios on East Main Street (SR 8/US 41/US 76) in Chattanooga's Highland Park section; master control and some internal operations for the two stations are based at WTVC's facilities on Benton Drive in Chattanooga. WFLI-TV's transmitter is located on Signal Mountain in the town of Walden.

On cable, WFLI is available on Comcast Xfinity channels 6 and 435, and on EPB Fiber Optics channels 6 and 306. Although parts of the Chattanooga market are in the Central Time Zone, all schedules are listed in Eastern Time.

History

The station signed on May 25, 1987 as an independent co-owned with WFLI radio (1070 AM) (hence the television station call sign). It aired an analog signal on UHF channel 53 from a transmitter in Cohutta, Georgia. On January 16, 1995, WFLI joined UPN as a charter affiliate. In 1997, the station was sold to Lambert Broadcasting, LLC. It added The WB in 1999 as a secondary affiliation; two years later, WFLI dropped UPN and became a full-time WB affiliate. The Meredith Corporation acquired WFLI in 2004.

Between 2001 and 2003, the station sold late-night Saturday paid programming time to an independent producer, out of which eventually arose the format and style of Fuel TV (now Fox Sports 2), which went by that name on WFLI. Fox Cable Networks eventually bought the trademarks and concept of Fuel TV in 2003 to launch it as a full-fledged cable network in July of that year, and the original Fuel TV program on WFLI ended in September 2003.[4][5]

Logo from 2006 to 2016

On March 7, 2006, WFLI was announced as Chattanooga's CW affiliate at the network's launch on September 18 in the wake of the merger of the WB and UPN into The CW.[6] Meanwhile, WDSI launched a new second digital subchannel to serve as the area's MyNetworkTV affiliate beginning September 5. On November 26, 2007, Meredith announced the sale of WFLI to MPS Media which closed April 1, 2008.[7] Shortly thereafter, New Age Media (owner of WDSI) began operation of the station through an LMA. On May 23, 2011, WFLI signed on a new second digital subchannel of its own to offer MeTV.[8]

Sinclair Broadcast Group purchased the non-license assets of WFLI-TV and WDSI-TV from New Age Media for $1.25 million in September 2015 and began operating them under a master services agreement.[9]

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[10]
53.1720p16:9WFLI-CWMain WFLI-TV programming / The CW
53.2480iMyNETWFLI-DT2 / MyNetworkTV
53.3MeTVMeTV
53.4CHARGECharge!

Analog-to-digital conversion

WFLI-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 53, on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 42.[11] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 53, which was among the high band UHF channels (52–69) that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition.

Programming

Syndicated programming on WFLI includes Pawn Stars, 2 Broke Girls, Family Feud, and Two and a Half Men among others.

References
  1. Miller, Mark K. (August 23, 2019). "Sinclair Closes $10.6B Disney RSN Purchase". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheckMedia. Archived from the original on August 23, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  2. "2001 Fuel TV Trademark". Archived from the original on 2012-10-16. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  3. "Original Fuel TV promos on WB". Archived from the original on 2016-06-23. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  4. "2001 Fuel TV Trademark". Archived from the original on 2012-10-16. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  5. "Original Fuel TV promos on WB". Archived from the original on 2016-06-23. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  6. "Welcome to 'The CW'". ABC News. 2006-01-24. Archived from the original on 2008-06-19. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  7. Michael Malone (2007-11-26). "MPS Media Buying WFLI from Meredith". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on 2008-06-18. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2011-05-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. Flessner, Dave (September 11, 2015). "Sinclair buys Chattanooga TV stations WDSI-TV and WFLI-TV". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Archived from the original on September 14, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  10. "RabbitEars TV Query for WFLI". Archived from the original on 2014-08-11. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
  11. "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
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