WNAB
Encyclopedia
WNAB, virtual channel
58 (digital channel 23) is the CW
-affiliated television station in Nashville, Tennessee
. It is owned by Tennessee Broadcasting, although operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group
under an outsourcing
agreement. It currently serves as a sister station to WZTV
and WUXP-TV
. It is currently branded as "CW58". WNAB's transmitter is located in Whites Creek, Tennessee
.
In 2009, WNAB turned off its analog transmitter and remained on its pre-transition channel 23. However, through the use of PSIP
, digital television receivers display WNAB's virtual channel
as 58. As a part of a deal involving several Sinclair Broadcast Group
owned stations similar to the earlier deal between Sinclair and theCoolTV
, WNAB added a subchannel for The Country Network, a fairly new network, on RF channel 23.2 (virtual channel 58.2) as of September 18, 2010, while WNAB still uses programming from The CW on RF channel 23.1 (virtual channel 58.1).
Original owner Speer Communications, a company founded by Home Shopping Network
co-founder Roy Speer
, launched the station from studios on Dickerson Road in Nashville, in a former Sam's Club
building. Offering five hours of live, locally-produced programming each weekday, WNAB was quickly a hit among Nashville viewers, although the station lacked cable coverage in many of the suburbs. Controversial former Nashville mayor and U.S. congressman Bill Boner
hosted an hour-long interview/call-in show, Prime Talk each weeknight. Its follow-up, Sports Talk, featured Nashville Banner
sportswriter Greg Pogue and popular radio personality George Plaster
showing highlights and taking calls about the day's sports action. On Friday nights in the fall, Sports Talk was extended by an hour and featured Nashville's first television show entirely devoted to high school football scores. Since the 1996 season at least one of Nashville's television stations has continued this tradition. Within two years, all of the live programming except Sports Talk had been canceled (partly due to budget constraints, partly due to The WB expanding its lineup past Sundays and Wednesdays). Plaster left Sports Talk and it was rebranded as Sports Plus and featured news and weather in addition to its sports content. It too was canceled in 1998. WNAB also aired several Nashville Predators
games when the team made its debut during the 1998-1999 NHL season, and split time as the TV flagship alongside Fox Sports South until the end of the 1999–2000 NHL season.
Speer Communications had planned to use WNAB as a base of operations for a small network of television stations in each of Tennessee's six television markets. A statewide newscast was planned as part of the network. However, the company went bankrupt before any of the plans could come to fruition. The station was later sold to Lambert Broadcasting (now Tennessee Broadcasting) who operated the station for a short while and later outsourced its sales and operations to Sinclair Broadcast Group
via an outsourcing agreement.
On September 18, 2006 WNAB became a CW affiliate.
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
58 (digital channel 23) is the CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
-affiliated television station in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. It is owned by Tennessee Broadcasting, although operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group
Sinclair Broadcast Group
The Sinclair Broadcast Group is an American telecommunications company that operates the largest number of local television stations in the United States. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, it owns a total of 57 stations across the country in 35 primarily small and medium markets, many of...
under an outsourcing
Outsourcing
Outsourcing is the process of contracting a business function to someone else.-Overview:The term outsourcing is used inconsistently but usually involves the contracting out of a business function - commonly one previously performed in-house - to an external provider...
agreement. It currently serves as a sister station to WZTV
WZTV
WZTV is the Fox-affiliated television station for Nashville, Tennessee. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 15 from a transmitter on Knob Road north of downtown along I-24...
and WUXP-TV
WUXP-TV
WUXP, channel 30 is the MyNetworkTV affiliate in Nashville, Tennessee. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, and is a sister station to Fox affiliate WZTV channel 17 and the CW affiliate WNAB channel 58. It is currently branded as My 30. Its transmitter is located in Whites Creek, Tennessee...
. It is currently branded as "CW58". WNAB's transmitter is located in Whites Creek, Tennessee
Whites Creek, Tennessee
Whites Creek, Tennessee is a community located in the northern part of Davidson County, Tennessee. The community is named for the creek of the same name running north-south along U.S. Route 431...
.
Digital programming
| Channel | Video Display resolution The display resolution of a digital television or display device is the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. It can be an ambiguous term especially as the displayed resolution is controlled by all different factors in cathode ray tube , flat panel or projection... |
Aspect Aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,... |
Name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 58.1 | 720p 720p 720p is the shorthand name for 1280x720, a category of High-definition television video modes having a resolution of 1080 or 720p and a progressive scan... |
16:9 16:9 16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ... |
WNAB-DT | Main WNAB programming / The CW |
| 58.2 | 480i 480i 480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC... |
4:3 | WNAB-DT2 | The Country Network |
In 2009, WNAB turned off its analog transmitter and remained on its pre-transition channel 23. However, through the use of PSIP
Program and System Information Protocol
The Program and System Information Protocol is the protocol used in the ATSC digital television system for carrying metadata about each channel in the broadcast MPEG transport stream of a TV station and for publishing information about television programs so that viewers can select what to watch...
, digital television receivers display WNAB's virtual channel
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
as 58. As a part of a deal involving several Sinclair Broadcast Group
Sinclair Broadcast Group
The Sinclair Broadcast Group is an American telecommunications company that operates the largest number of local television stations in the United States. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, it owns a total of 57 stations across the country in 35 primarily small and medium markets, many of...
owned stations similar to the earlier deal between Sinclair and theCoolTV
TheCoolTV
THECOOLTV is a United States over-the-air digital subchannel launched in March 2009. The network's current program schedule consists of an all-music video lineup that can be customized to meet an affiliate's preference, along with the three hours per week of E/I programming as required by the...
, WNAB added a subchannel for The Country Network, a fairly new network, on RF channel 23.2 (virtual channel 58.2) as of September 18, 2010, while WNAB still uses programming from The CW on RF channel 23.1 (virtual channel 58.1).
History
The station signed on the air on November 29, 1995 and was Nashville's affiliate for The WB. By mere coincidence, the call letters were chosen in 1987 (as a construction permit) as WNAB; something that would be exploited when the station became affiliated with The WB.Original owner Speer Communications, a company founded by Home Shopping Network
Home Shopping Network
Home Shopping Network or HSN began in 1977 as a 24-hour/7 day a week home shopping television network televised via cable, satellite, and some terrestrial channels in the Philippines. HSN can also be shopped online at hsn.com...
co-founder Roy Speer
Roy Speer
Roy Speer was the financial backing behind the Home Shopping Network. He was the first CEO of the company and saw its revenue from $1.9 million to over $1 billion annually...
, launched the station from studios on Dickerson Road in Nashville, in a former Sam's Club
Sam's Club
Sam's Club is a chain of membership-only retail warehouse clubs owned and operated by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., founded in 1983 and named after Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton. , the Sam's Club chain serves more than 47 million U.S. members...
building. Offering five hours of live, locally-produced programming each weekday, WNAB was quickly a hit among Nashville viewers, although the station lacked cable coverage in many of the suburbs. Controversial former Nashville mayor and U.S. congressman Bill Boner
Bill Boner
William Hill "Bill" Boner is a Tennessee educator and former Democratic politician. He was the third mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, serving from 1987 to 1991. He served in the U.S...
hosted an hour-long interview/call-in show, Prime Talk each weeknight. Its follow-up, Sports Talk, featured Nashville Banner
Nashville Banner
The Nashville Banner is a defunct daily newspaper of Nashville, Tennessee, United States, which published from April 10, 1876 until February 20, 1998...
sportswriter Greg Pogue and popular radio personality George Plaster
George Plaster
George Plaster is the former host of The Sports Zone, a daily afternoon sports talk radio program broadcasting on WGFX-FM in Nashville, Tennessee. Plaster had hosted the show since shortly after its 2003 inception, and for ten years prior, hosted SportsNight, a similar program on WWTN-FM...
showing highlights and taking calls about the day's sports action. On Friday nights in the fall, Sports Talk was extended by an hour and featured Nashville's first television show entirely devoted to high school football scores. Since the 1996 season at least one of Nashville's television stations has continued this tradition. Within two years, all of the live programming except Sports Talk had been canceled (partly due to budget constraints, partly due to The WB expanding its lineup past Sundays and Wednesdays). Plaster left Sports Talk and it was rebranded as Sports Plus and featured news and weather in addition to its sports content. It too was canceled in 1998. WNAB also aired several Nashville Predators
Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
games when the team made its debut during the 1998-1999 NHL season, and split time as the TV flagship alongside Fox Sports South until the end of the 1999–2000 NHL season.
Speer Communications had planned to use WNAB as a base of operations for a small network of television stations in each of Tennessee's six television markets. A statewide newscast was planned as part of the network. However, the company went bankrupt before any of the plans could come to fruition. The station was later sold to Lambert Broadcasting (now Tennessee Broadcasting) who operated the station for a short while and later outsourced its sales and operations to Sinclair Broadcast Group
Sinclair Broadcast Group
The Sinclair Broadcast Group is an American telecommunications company that operates the largest number of local television stations in the United States. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, it owns a total of 57 stations across the country in 35 primarily small and medium markets, many of...
via an outsourcing agreement.
On September 18, 2006 WNAB became a CW affiliate.