WCIU-TV

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WCIU-TV is an independent television station, based in Chicago, Illinois. It operates on UHF channel 26 and is Chicago's oldest UHF station, signing on the air in 1964. WCWW-LP (formerly WFBN-LP) currently serves as the station's low-powered repeater in Rockford, Illinois on channel 33.

The station is owned by Weigel Broadcasting, a locally-based broadcaster that also owns stations in Milwaukee (CBS affilliate WDJT and two low power stations, independent station WMLW-CA and Telemundo affilliate WYTU-LP) and South Bend, Indiana (three low power stations, ABC affilliate WBND-LP, WB and future CW affilliate WMWB-LP and low-powered independent and future My Network TV affiliate WMYS-LP). Weigel also owns WWME-CA, channel 23, and WFBT-CA (channel 48), a low-powered station, brokered-time ethnic station.

WCIU's digital channel features multicasting of three standard definition digital channels. The first one airs WCIU's regular schedule; the second channel airs "ME TV" from low-powered analog channel 23 (WWME-CA), which has a "classic TV" format similar to TV Land's; the third channel features WFBT. In April 2006 WCIU channel 26-1 Started broadcasting Local Home Games of the Chicago White Sox, Cubs, and Bulls in Full 720p HD with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio

History

WCIU spent much of its history carrying multi-ethnic entertainment, and once carried the Telemundo and Univision networks before those networks bought other competing UHF stations. Channel 26 was the birthplace of the ground-breaking African-American music program Soul Train, hosted by its creator (and then-WCIU station employee) Don Cornelius. The show later moved into national syndication and to Los Angeles by the late 1970s. The show is currently seen on WGN-TV, and has been part of that station's Saturday daytime lineup for over two decades. Currently, WCIU is the home of the long-running locally produced show Svengoolie.

From the late 1960s to 1985, WCIU ran religious shows in the early morning. From about 8 a.m. to about 4 or 5 p.m., it ran The Stock Market Observer (business news similar to MSNBC) from the Chicago Boad of Trade (which, of course, housed the WCIU studios). After 5 p.m. on weekdays, the station ran Spanish entertainment programming from The Spanish International Network (now Univision). On weekends, WCIU ran a blend of religious shows, ethnic brokered shows, and Spanish programming. Beginning in the summer of 1985, SIN (now Univision) moved to Channel 44. WCIU picked up Net Span, which would become Telemundo, shortly after. By the late 1980s, Univision returned to WCIU.

In 1994, Univision asked WCIU to drop "Stock Market Observer" and the non-Spanish programs to become a full-time affiliate. WCIU refused however, and this did not sit well with Univision at all. As a result, Univision bought WGBO in a group deal, moving to Channel 66. In 1995, WCIU began to broadcast general entertainment programming, taking most of the leftover programming from WGBO. Initially, the station ran business news until 5 p.m. and entertainment programming afterwards and on weekends. WCIU then added a 7-9 a.m. weekday kids block by March 1995. In the fall of 1995, the station added an afternoon kids block from Kids WB which WGN-TV opted not to run. The business news was pulled back to 9 a.m. to noon on the weekdays, and a couple years later it would move to their low power station on Channel 23 as "WebFN".

The syndicated shows initially consisted of classic sitcoms from the 1960s and 1970s as well as old movies. Eventually more recent sitcoms were added (due in part to WFLD going towards a more news-intensive format) as well as first run syndicated fare such as talk shows, court shows, and reality shows. WCIU also carries selected telecasts of the Chicago Cubs, White Sox, and Bulls, produced by WGN-TV. Occasionally, the station will air Bears and various NCAA sports games, which are produced by ESPN.

By 1999, WCIU dropped the afternoon kids block and kept WB Kids in the morning. In 2004, the station dropped Kids WB, which moved to WGN-TV. Today WCIU focuses on more recent sitcoms, talk shows, court shows, and newsmagazines.

Early in 2005, the business news format was scaled back to a daily program, "First Business." Channel 23's ethnic programming moved to channel 48, and 23 became WWME-CA which carries classic sitcoms.

TV Shows

External links

Terrestrial television>Broadcast television in the Chicago market [(Nielsen DMA #3)]
WBBM 2 (CBS) - W04CQ 4 (ANC) - WMAQ 5 (NBC) - WLS 7 (ABC) - WGN 9 (The WB/The CW) (The Tube on DT2) - WTTW 11 (PBS) - WOCK-CA 13 (MTV2) - W13BQ 13 (DW) - W18AT 18 / W54BK 54 (LeSEA) - WYCC 20 (PBS) - WWME-CA 23 (Ind) - W24AW 24 (LeSEA) - WCIU 26 (Ind) - WSPY-LP 30 (A1) - WFLD 32 (Fox) - WWTO 35 (TBN) - WCPX 38 (i) - WOCH-CA 41 (Ind) - WSNS 44 (TEL) - WFBT-CA 48 (Ind) - WPWR 50 (UPN/My Network TV) - W54BE 54 (edu.) - WYIN 56 (PBS) - WXFT 60 (TFT) - WJYS 62 (Ind) - W64CQ 64 (TBN) - WGBO 66 (UNI)
Local cable television channels
CLTV - Comcast SportsNet Chicago - Superstation WGN

Broadcast television in the Rockford market [(Nielsen DMA #133)]
WREX 13 (NBC) - WTVO 17 (ABC) - W19BH 19/WDYR-LP 25 (TBN) - WIFR 23 (CBS) - WCWW-LP 33 (Ind) - WQRF 39 (FOX) - WCFC 51 (TLN)
Local digital television channels
WTVO-DT 16.2 (UPN)
Local cable television channels
WTTW 11 Chicago (PBS) - WBR 14 (The WB)- WHA 21 Madison (PBS/WPT)