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WLEX-TV

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For the experimental television station in Boston that used the branding "WLEX", see W1XAY.

WLEX-TV
Channels
BrandingLEX 18
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
March 15, 1955 (69 years ago) (1955-03-15)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 18 (UHF, 1955–2009)
  • Digital: 39 (UHF, 2004–2019)
  • All secondary:
  • DuMont (1955)
  • ABC (1955–1961)
  • CBS (1962–1968)
Call sign meaning
Lexington
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID73203
ERP
  • 379 kW
  • 1,000 kW (CP)
HAAT
  • 286 m (938 ft)
  • 302 m (991 ft) (CP)
Transmitter coordinates38°2′3″N 84°23′39″W / 38.03417°N 84.39417°W / 38.03417; -84.39417
Links
Public license information
Websitewww.lex18.com

WLEX-TV (channel 18) is a television station in Lexington, Kentucky, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. The station's studios are located on Russell Cave Road (KY 353) in Lexington, and its transmitter is located six miles (10 km) east of downtown Lexington near Hamburg Pavilion.

WLEX-TV began broadcasting in March 1955 as the first television station in Lexington, primarily an NBC affiliate for its entire history. Its founding ownership retained ownership for 44 years until it sold to Cordillera Communications in 1999; Scripps acquired it in 2019. It has generally been competitive in news ratings throughout its history.

History

[edit]

When the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) lifted its freeze on television channel applications in April 1952 and opened the ultra high frequency (UHF) band for television, two channels were allocated for Lexington: 27 and 33, both in the new band. Two Lexington radio stations, WLEX (1300 AM) and WVLK, applied for channel 33, only to see the commission adjust the proposed station to channel 64.[2] A total of four applicants sought the two channels, and in response to a petition from WVLK, channel 18 was added to Lexington from Gallipolis, Ohio, with WLEX and WVLK each amending their applications to specify the lower channel.[3]

On February 18, 1954, two related events took place. WLAP had won the channel 27 construction permit but announced that, for economic reasons related to the failures of early UHF stations elsewhere, it would not construct the station at the present time. For the same reason, WVLK withdrew its channel 18 application, effectively handing the license to WLEX parent Central Kentucky Broadcasting Company (later WLEX-TV, Inc.), a consortium of the Gay and Bell families.[4] The construction permit for WLEX-TV was granted on April 13, 1954,[5] and construction was under way by the end of the year.[6] WLEX-TV had obtained affiliations with three of the four networks of the era: NBC, ABC, and DuMont; CBS had presented an affiliation agreement described by the station manager as "not acceptable".[7] The station began broadcasting on March 15, 1955, as the first television station in Lexington.[8] Its launch was not heavily noticed in town: Snooky Lanson, master of ceremonies for the dedication program, asked to be taken to the TV station in a taxi and found himself at the WLAP radio studios instead.[9] After WLAP was sold along with its construction permit, new owners built channel 27 as WKXP-TV in September 1957;[10] originally operating as an independent station, it became Lexington's CBS affiliate months later and was then sold to become WKYT-TV.[11][12]

The Gay and Bell families spun off WLEX radio in 1958 to Roy White (who renamed it WBLG) but retained WLEX-TV;[13] the move was necessary to raise capital to shore up the money-losing television station.[9] On January 21, 1959, the station's 654-foot (199 m) tower collapsed in a windstorm and landed on the building, inflicting significant damage; a WLEX-TV receptionist, Suzanne Grasley, was killed, and two other people were hurt. A nearby tower used by the state highway department collapsed onto the guy wires, causing an impact that buckled the mast.[14] The station was out of service for more than a month, resuming with reduced power on February 24.[15] After WKYT-TV switched to full-time ABC affiliation in 1961, WLEX-TV began carrying some CBS programs the next year.[16][17]: 295 

In 1964, Gay–Bell attempted to sell WLEX-TV to the Crosley Broadcasting Corporation for $2 million. Crosley officials cited the fact that WLEX-TV was the first UHF station in the nation to air network and local color programming among other factors for the purchase.[18] However, months later, a new FCC rule barred ownership of stations with overlapping signal coverage areas. As WLEX-TV had a significant overlap with Crosley flagship WLWT in Cincinnati, the deal was called off.[19] Instead of selling, Gay–Bell turned around and bought WCOV radio and television in Montgomery, Alabama.[20] In 1968, WKYT-TV switched back to CBS from ABC,[21] but ABC programs in Lexington moved to a new station, WBLG-TV, on June 2 of that year.[22] Station ownership briefly returned to radio with the launch of WLEX-FM 98.1 in July 1969;[23] the automated stereo rock station was sold five years later due to equipment problems and became WKQQ.[17]: 153–154, 295 

Gay–Bell family ownership outlasted the original Gay and Bell (H. Guthrie Bell died in 1969 and J. Douglas Gay in 1988). It also outlasted Harry Barfield, who had started with the station as one of its original salesmen, rising to became general manager and then chairman before dying in 1991. However, in 1998, with an impending conversion to digital television as well as a seller's market for television stations nationally, Gay–Bell opted to sell WLEX-TV. By then, channel 18 was the last locally owned station in the market, though no Gay-Bell heirs were actively involved in station operations.[24] More than 30 parties expressed interest in purchasing WLEX-TV, including Jefferson-Pilot; the South Carolina-based Evening Post Publishing Company (now Evening Post Industries) emerged with the station in 1999 for an undisclosed sum, making WLEX-TV the company's only television property east of the Mississippi River and Lexington the company's largest market.[25][26]

Unlike most NBC stations in the 1980s, WLEX did not have a complete NBC weekend morning lineup. WLEX produced multiple locally produced shows such as Call the Doctor, In the Know, and Winner's Circle, as well as local and nationally syndicated sports coverage and reruns of The Beverly Hillbillies. At the time, it aired in NBC's Saturday Morning cartoon slots, replacing multiple cartoon programs that normally aired on NBC.[27]

In November 2009, WLEX added the Wazoo Sports Network, which was dedicated to Kentucky sports, on a digital subchannel as part of a service branded as WZLEX.[28] Wazoo Sports filed for bankruptcy in December 2011; WLEX pulled the service at that time, with the station's general manager stating that Wazoo was "[not] strong enough to make a second commitment to it". Wazoo Sports would be replaced by MeTV.[29][30]

Cordillera Communications (the Evening Post subsidiary that operated its television stations) announced on October 29, 2018, that it would sell most of its stations, including WLEX, to the E. W. Scripps Company.[31] The sale was completed on May 1, 2019.[32]

News operation

[edit]

WLEX was the first station to generally lead the news ratings in Lexington, but WKYT-TV began to edge it out in the mid-1970s.[33] This began a dominant run for WKYT-TV's local news offerings, while WLEX-TV was typically left in second place. The lone exception was in the 1990s, when WTVQ edged out WLEX at times for the second-place position.[34][35]

In the early 2000s, channel 18 rebuilt its newsroom. When WLEX passed WKYT in 2004 after a multi-year rebuild of its news department, it was front-page news; however, WKYT management asserted that the combination of WKYT and WYMT still garnered more viewers.[36] The market has more recently been a two-station battle between WLEX and WKYT, with WLEX tending to perform better in Fayette County itself while rural areas continue to prefer channel 27.[37][38]

Notable on-air staff

[edit]

Technical information

[edit]

Subchannels

[edit]

The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of WLEX-TV[41]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
18.1 1080i 16:9 WLEX-TV Main WLEX-TV programming / NBC
18.2 720p Grit Grit
18.3 480i Bounce Bounce TV
18.4 CourtTV Court TV
18.5 QVC2 QVC2

Analog-to-digital conversion

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WLEX-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 18, at 7 a.m. on June 12, 2009, the official date on 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 39, using virtual channel 18.[42][43] The station was then repacked to channel 28 in 2020.[41]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WLEX-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "Changing Of Local Channels May Delay TV In Lexington". The Lexington Leader. Lexington, Kentucky. July 25, 1952. p. 5. Archived from the original on November 20, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Two More TV Channels Set For Lexington". The Lexington Leader. Lexington, Kentucky. November 6, 1953. p. 24. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "WVLK Gives Up On UHF Idea: Station Withdraws Federal Permit Bid". The Lexington Herald. Lexington, Kentucky. February 19, 1954. p. 1, 16. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Channel 18 Okayed For Station WLEX". The Lexington Herald. Associated Press. April 14, 1954. p. 18. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Lexington TV Station To Go on Air Soon". The Courier-Journal. Associated Press. December 2, 1954. p. 15. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Program Tests Planned Soon By WLEX-TV". The Lexington Herald. January 20, 1955. p. 22. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "City, County Officials On Hand For Local TV Station's Opening". The Lexington Herald. March 16, 1955. p. 26. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ a b Reed, David (March 13, 1980). "WLEX-TV Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary". The Lexington Herald. p. B-1, B-6. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "WKXP-TV Goes On Air On Monday". The Lexington Herald. September 22, 1957. p. 2. Archived from the original on November 20, 2022. Retrieved November 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Local TV Station To Join CBS". The Lexington Leader. March 21, 1958. p. 24. Archived from the original on November 20, 2022. Retrieved November 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "WKXP, WLAP Sale Is Approved". The Lexington Leader. June 3, 1958. p. 11. Archived from the original on November 20, 2022. Retrieved November 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Transfer Of Station WLEX Is Completed". The Lexington Leader. March 2, 1958. p. 7. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Barrickman, Jim (January 22, 1959). "1 Killed, 2 Hurt As 654-Foot TV Tower Crashes: Mrs. Suzanne Grasley Is Crushed By Debris". The Lexington Herald. p. 1, 2. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Lexington Station Resumes Telecasts". The Courier-Journal. Associated Press. February 25, 1959. p. 10. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Plans For Third Lexington TV Station Are Announced". The Lexington Leader. August 29, 1962. p. 1. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ a b Nash, Francis M. (1995). Towers Over Kentucky: A History of Radio and TV in the Bluegrass State (PDF). ISBN 9781879688933. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 27, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via World Radio History.
  18. ^ "$2 Million Buy: Crosley Broadcasting To Purchase WLEX-TV". The Lexington Herald. February 5, 1964. p. 1. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Crosley Firm Drops Plans To Buy WLEX-TV". The Indianapolis Star. June 20, 1964. p. 17. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "WCOV-TV And Radio Sold To Lexington, Ky. Company". The Montgomery Advertiser. Montgomery, Alabama. July 4, 1964. p. 1. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Board Will Permit Powerful TV Tower". The Lexington Herald. Lexington, Kentucky. March 23, 1968. p. 12. Archived from the original on November 20, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Ceremony Marks Telecast Beginning". The Lexington Herald. September 5, 1968. p. 2-WB. Archived from the original on August 28, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "WLEX(FM)" (PDF). Broadcasting Yearbook. 1973. p. B-81. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 20, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via World Radio History.
  24. ^ Butters, Jamie (September 16, 1998). "Owners: Time to put WLEX-TV on the market". Lexington Herald-Leader. p. A1, A11. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ Lockwood, Frank; Baldwin, Amy; Honeycutt, Valarie (January 19, 1999). "S. Carolina media firm acquiring WLEX-TV: Purchase price goes undisclosed". Lexington Herald-Leader. pp. A1, A2. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ Baldwin, Amy (September 2, 1999). "WLEX hires new chief from Rochester". Lexington Herald-Leader. pp. C1, C2. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ "The unique Saturday Morning lineup from WLEX, spot the difference". PulaskiLibrary. June 27, 1986. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  28. ^ "WLEX, Wazoo Sports Debut Channel". TVNewsCheck. November 25, 2009. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
  29. ^ Sloan, Scott (January 9, 2012). "Kentucky broadcaster Wazoo Sports files for bankruptcy". Lexington Herald-Leader. Archived from the original on January 12, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  30. ^ "Media Notebook: WTVQ, WLEX add subchannels of retro TV". Kentucky Herald-Leader. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
  31. ^ "The E.W. Scripps Company buys more television stations, bringing total to 51". WCPO-TV. Archived from the original on October 29, 2018. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  32. ^ Miller, Mark K. (May 1, 2019). "Scripps Closes On Cordillera Stations Purchase". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheckMedia. Archived from the original on May 1, 2019. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  33. ^ Reed, David (April 6, 1975). "Riggins' Resignation Result Of Ratings Race?". The Lexington Herald. p. TV Spotlight 8. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved November 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  34. ^ White, Susan (April 2, 1991). "Channel 27 way ahead of ratings competition". Lexington Herald-Leader. Lexington, Kentucky. p. D1, D3. Retrieved April 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  35. ^ Svokos, Heather (February 1, 2000). "Sweeps ratings put WKYT-TV in top news spot again". Lexington Herald-Leader. Lexington, Kentucky. p. B5. Retrieved April 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  36. ^ Copley, Rich (January 29, 2005). "WLEX passes WKYT in ratings: Channel 27 had No. 1 newscast for 28 years". Lexington Herald-Leader. p. A1, A9. Archived from the original on November 21, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  37. ^ "WLEX wins May news ratings; WKYT disputes survey". Lexington Herald-Leader. Lexington, Kentucky. July 9, 2012. p. C1. Retrieved April 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  38. ^ Malone, Michael (September 22, 2014). "Market Eye: A Two-Horse Race in Kentucky". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on November 21, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  39. ^ Anderson, Virginia (December 24, 1984). "Sports, business keep Hammond on the run". Lexington Herald-Leader. p. D3, D4. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  40. ^ Svokos, Heather (May 31, 2002). "The Heather Channel". Lexington Herald-Leader. p. Weekender 2. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  41. ^ a b "RabbitEars TV Query for WLEX". RabbitEars. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  42. ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. May 23, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  43. ^ Sloan, Scott (February 10, 2009). "All but one station delay TV switch: WTVQ will pull analog on Feb. 17 as planned". Lexington Herald-Leader. Lexington, Kentucky. pp. A1, A7. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
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