WVAW-LD

WVAW-LD, virtual and UHF digital channel 16, is a low-powered ABC-affiliated television station licensed to Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. Owned by Lockwood Broadcast Group, it is a sister station to dual CBS/Fox affiliate WCAV (channel 19). The two stations share studios on Rio East Court in Charlottesville and transmitter facilities on Carters Mountain south of the city. There is no separate website for WVAW-LD; instead, it is integrated with that of sister station WCAV.

WVAW-LD
Charlottesville, Virginia
United States
BrandingABC 16 (general)
CBS 19 News (newscasts)
SloganVirginia's Own
ChannelsDigital: 16 (UHF)
Virtual: 16 (PSIP)
Affiliations
  • 16.1: ABC
  • 19.2: CBS19 Weather Authority
  • 27.2: MeTV
OwnerLockwood Broadcast Group
LicenseeCharlottesville TV, LLC
First air dateJune 12, 1979 (1979-06-12)
(as translator of WHSV-TV)
April 9, 2004 (2004-04-09)
(as separate station)
Call sign meaningVA (Virginia postal abbreviation)
Sister station(s)WCAV, WSKY-TV
Former call signsW64AO (1979–2004)
WVAW-LP (2004–2009)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog:
  • 64 (UHF, 1979–2004)
  • 16 (UHF, 2004–2009)
Transmitter power15 kW
Height320 m (1,050 ft)
Facility ID4687
Transmitter coordinates37°59′3″N 78°28′52″W
Licensing authorityFCC
Public license informationProfile
CDBS
Websitewww.cbs19news.com

On cable, WVAW-LD is available on Comcast Xfinity channel 3 and in high definition on digital channel 803.

History

What is now WVAW-LD originally debuted on June 12, 1979 on analog UHF channel 64 with the call sign W64AO. The station was a low-powered translator of WHSV-TV, which was the area's default ABC affiliate. At the time, WHSV-TV was owned by Worrell Newspapers along with the Charlottesville Daily Progress.

On April 9, 2004, W64AO moved to UHF channel 16, changed call letters to WVAW-LP, upgraded power, and separated from WHSV-TV. WVAW-LP was the market's third local station after WVIR-TV (channel 29) and WCAV.

In early 2005, after the launch of WCAV and WVAW, Gray Television launched a third station in the area, Fox affiliate WAHU-CA. WVAW was temporarily taken off-the-air by a fire on its transmitter tower at the top of Carters Mountain on November 9, 2006. The signal was restored on November 13. On December 28, WVAW moved to Comcast channel 3.

The new set of stations replaced out-of-market stations from Richmond and Washington, D.C. on local cable. On Comcast's system in Charlottesville, the only remaining out-of-market channel on the basic tier is WTTG, although WRIC-TV, WWBT and WTVR-TV remain on the digital tier.

On October 27, 2009, WVAW's digital transmitter had a glitch over-the-air. The signal was put on WAHU-CD2 for a short time and the problem was fixed a day later.

Gray announced the sale of WVAW-LD and WCAV to Lockwood Broadcast Group on March 4, 2019. The sale is concurrent with Gray's purchase of rival WVIR-TV from Waterman Broadcasting. WAHU-CD was not included in the sale and would be retained by Gray as a sister station to WVIR-TV.[1][2][3] The transaction was completed on October 1.[4]

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[5]
16.1720p16:9ABC16Main WVAW-LD programming / ABC
19.2480i19NOW19NOW Weather Channel
27.2Me-TVMeTV

Analog-to-digital conversion

WVAW shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 16, on February 16, 2009, and "flash-cut" its digital signal into operation UHF channel 16.[6] It also changed its calls to the current WVAW-LD with "LD" standing for low-powered digital.

Programming

Syndicated programming on the station includes Inside Edition and The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Newscasts

WVAW and its sister stations employ the largest television news team dedicated exclusively to the Charlottesville market. While WVIR dedicates some staff to adjacent areas, WVAW focuses its coverage solely on the counties that comprise the Charlottesville viewing area. As the primary station in the "Charlottesville Newsplex" operation, WCAV airs the most newscasts. WVAW simulcasts the second hour of Good Morning Charlottesville on weekday mornings (6:00-7:00 a.m.), CBS19 News weeknights at 5:00, 5:30 and 6:00, and 19News Nightcast weeknights at 11:00 p.m.

References
  1. Aycock, Jason (March 4, 2019). "Gray Television changing stations in Virginia". Seeking Alpha. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  2. "Gray Television to acquire NBC 29 from Waterman Broadcasting". The Daily Progress. March 4, 2019.
  3. "Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. March 4, 2019. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  4. "Consummation Notice", CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, 2 October 2019, Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  5. RabbitEars TV Query for WVAW
  6. "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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