WNKY
Encyclopedia
WNKY is the NBC
-affiliated television station
for South Central
Kentucky
licensed to Bowling Green
. It broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on UHF channel 16 (virtual channel
40.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter on Pilot Knob in Smiths Grove
along I-65
. The station can also be seen on Insight
channel 7 and in high definition on digital channel 906. Owned by Max Media
, WNKY has studios on Emmett Avenue in Bowling Green. Syndicated
programming on the station includes King of the Hill
, Entertainment Tonight
, Jeopardy!
, and The Doctors
among others.
affiliate on a second
digital subchannel
. Known on-air as CBS 40, this can also be seen on Insight channel 10 and in high definition on digital channel 912. Syndicated programming on WNKY-DT2 includes My Name Is Earl
, Friends
, The Insider
, and Swift Justice with Nancy Grace
along with others. Its local logo includes the network's "eye logo" representing the "0" in "40".
in 1983, the station did not began broadcasting until December 17, 1989. At its sign-on, the outlet operated as an Independent under the call sign WQQB. Airing an analog signal on UHF channel 40, the station had a general entertainment format with a mixture of sitcoms, old movies, and cartoons. In its early days, the picture and sound quality of the station was very poor resulting in a low-budget feel. Programs would often broadcast mis-tracked, sticking, and skipping. Sometimes, the picture would appear clear but the sound would consist of complete static.
It had little presence in the market
at the time. Many people in the area did not even know of its existence. WQQB would become the area's first Fox
affiliate and change its calls to WKNT in 1992. Ultimately the station became a NBC affiliate in 2001, changed its call sign to the current WNKY, and boosted its power from 776,000 watt
s to 1,640,000 directional with a null to the east. Before changing to NBC, the network's Nashville, Tennessee
affiliate WSMV was the default station in the area. Even after WNKY flipped to NBC, WSMV could still be received in the Bowling Green market in parts that WNKY could not.
After dropping Fox, Bowling Green was served on cable and over-the-air by WZTV
in Nashville. In March 2003, Max Media bought the station. On December 12 of that year, it signed-on a digital signal on UHF channel 16 from its transmitter tower in Smiths Grove. WNKY-DT was then added to digital cable systems including Insight in Bowling Green and Electric Power Board in Glasgow
. On August 7, 2004, this signal began airing NBC in high definition. The upgrade was made in time to broadcast special coverage of the 2004 Summer Olympics
from Athens, Greece. WNKY also installed a Dolby
model 569 AC-3 surround sound encoder to relay the 5.1 full surround audio from the network.
The station signed a long term affiliation deal with CBS to air the network on a new second digital subchannel. This launched on February 1, 2007 and until that point Bowling Green did not have its own affiliate. Nashville's WTVF
or Louisville, Kentucky
's WLKY-TV
were formerly the default CBS stations in the market. The distant CBS and NBC affiliates, including WSMV, have now been mostly removed from cable providers in South Central Kentucky. Bowling Green currently has every major network affiliate except MyNetworkTV
and ION Television. Despite the existence of WNKY-DT2, WTVF remains on Insight systems.
television station to launch in Bowling Green, ABC
afifliate WBKO
has been a longtime leader according to Nielsen ratings
. Even after the sign-on of WQQB (now WNKY) in 1989, the station has remained the dominant outlet for South Central Kentucky. However, it has also competed with Nashville stations transmitting rimshot signals into parts of the Bowling Green area. As the area's original Fox affiliate in the mid-1990s, WNKY established its own news department. Unable to gain consistent viewership and ratings against WBKO, that station's short lived full news operation was eventually shut down.
In October 2005, WNKY slowly re-entered the market with an unusual weather-only approach. Instead of full newscasts, it offers weekday morning and nightly local weather forecast cut-ins provided through AccuWeather
of State College, Pennsylvania
. It began airing five minute long First Look AccuWeather forecasts on weeknights. In December of that year, weekend weather forecasts were added to the schedule at 10. In January 2006, local weather updates began airing during NBC's Today on weekday mornings from 7 until 11. It covers severe weather events in addition to the regular updates. Its weather team currently consists of three people although a fourth non-human member of the weather team, "Radar the Weather Dog", can also be seen on-air.
"Radar" is a Border Collie
adopted from the Bowling Green/Warren County
Humane Society
and has served as the station's mascot since the weather shows began with former meteorologist Chris Sowers. Viewers can often catch "Radar" interacting with one of the three meteorologists as they begin the weather updates. The weather dog idea may have been inspired by KPRC-TV
in Houston, Texas
which once had a "Radar, the Weather Dog". WNKY's former sister station in Tyler, Texas
KYTX
took a similar approach with "Stormy, the Weather Dog".
In late-January 2009 in an attempt to increase its presence against WBKO, WNKY launched a weekday morning show known as Bowling Green Today. Airing for a half-hour at 6:30, the broadcast is produced in partnership with the Bowling Green Daily News
. The newspaper provides short local news updates and WNKY produces traditional weather segments. The show is replayed at 9 in the morning on WNKY's CBS-affiliated second
subchannel. Weather forecasts from this station can be heard on WBGN-AM
1340, WBVR-FM
96.7, WUHU
-FM 107.1, and WLYE-FM
94.1.
SkyWatch 40 Meteorologists
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
-affiliated television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
for South Central
South Central Kentucky
South Central Kentucky is a cultural region of 22 Kentucky counties located roughly between I-65 in the Bowling Green area and I-75 around the London area, but within three counties of the Tennessee border and south of the "Golden Triangle"...
Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
licensed to Bowling Green
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Bowling Green is the third-most populous city in the state of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, with a population of 58,067 as of the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Warren County and the principal city of the Bowling Green, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area with an estimated 2009...
. It broadcasts a high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
digital signal on UHF channel 16 (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....
40.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter on Pilot Knob in Smiths Grove
Smiths Grove, Kentucky
Smiths Grove is a city in Warren County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 784 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Bowling Green, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area.- Geography :Smiths Grove is located at ....
along I-65
Interstate 65 in Kentucky
In the U.S. state of Kentucky, Interstate 65 enters the state five miles south of Franklin. It passes by the major cities of Bowling Green, Elizabethtown, and Louisville before exiting the state.- Route description :...
. The station can also be seen on Insight
Insight Communications
Insight Communications is the 13th largest multiple system operator in the United States with approximately 692,000 customers in the three contiguous states of Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio...
channel 7 and in high definition on digital channel 906. Owned by Max Media
Max Media
Max Media is a company that owns radio and television stations throughout the United States. It is based out of Virginia Beach, Virginia.-History:Max Media was founded in 2001...
, WNKY has studios on Emmett Avenue in Bowling Green. Syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
programming on the station includes King of the Hill
King of the Hill
King of the Hill is an American animated dramedy series created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, that ran from January 12, 1997, to May 6, 2010, on Fox network. It centers on the Hills, a working-class Methodist family in the fictional small town of Arlen, Texas...
, Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
, Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
, and The Doctors
The Doctors (2008 TV series)
The Doctors is an American syndicated talk show airing daily in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Ireland, Sweden and Finland. It debuted on September 8, 2008. The hour-long daytime program is produced by Phil McGraw and his son Jay McGraw and is distributed domestically and globally by CBS Television...
among others.
Digital programming
WNKY operates the area's CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliate on a second
WNKY-DT2
WNKY-DT2 is the CBS-affiliated television station for South Central Kentucky. The station is a second digital subchannel of NBC affiliate WNKY owned by Max Media. Over-the-air, it broadcasts a standard definition digital signal on UHF channel 16.2 WNKY-DT2 is the CBS-affiliated television station...
digital subchannel
Digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
. Known on-air as CBS 40, this can also be seen on Insight channel 10 and in high definition on digital channel 912. Syndicated programming on WNKY-DT2 includes My Name Is Earl
My Name Is Earl
My Name Is Earl is an American television comedy series created by Greg Garcia that was originally broadcast on the NBC television network from September 20, 2005, to May 14, 2009, in the United States...
, Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, The Insider
The Insider (TV series)
The Insider is an American tabloid television news program covering events and celebrities. It debuted on September 13, 2004 as a spinoff of Entertainment Tonight and started as a popular segment that took viewers "behind closed doors" and gave them "inside" information...
, and Swift Justice with Nancy Grace
Swift Justice With Nancy Grace
Swift Justice with Jackie Glass is a syndicated court program hosted by Judge Jackie Glass....
along with others. Its local logo includes the network's "eye logo" representing the "0" in "40".
| Channels (physical/virtual) | Name | 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,... |
Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16.1/40.1 | WNKY-HD | 1080i 1080i 1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels... |
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 ... |
main WNKY programming/NBC (HD) |
| 16.3/40.2 | WNKY-DT2 | 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 | "CBS 40" (SD) |
History
Although granted a construction permitConstruction permit
A construction permit or building permit is a permit required in most jurisdictions for new construction, or adding on to pre-existing structures, and in some cases for major renovations. Generally, the new construction must be inspected during construction and after completion to ensure compliance...
in 1983, the station did not began broadcasting until December 17, 1989. At its sign-on, the outlet operated as an Independent under the call sign WQQB. Airing an analog signal on UHF channel 40, the station had a general entertainment format with a mixture of sitcoms, old movies, and cartoons. In its early days, the picture and sound quality of the station was very poor resulting in a low-budget feel. Programs would often broadcast mis-tracked, sticking, and skipping. Sometimes, the picture would appear clear but the sound would consist of complete static.
It had little presence in the market
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
at the time. Many people in the area did not even know of its existence. WQQB would become the area's first Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
affiliate and change its calls to WKNT in 1992. Ultimately the station became a NBC affiliate in 2001, changed its call sign to the current WNKY, and boosted its power from 776,000 watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s to 1,640,000 directional with a null to the east. Before changing to NBC, the network's 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...
affiliate WSMV was the default station in the area. Even after WNKY flipped to NBC, WSMV could still be received in the Bowling Green market in parts that WNKY could not.
After dropping Fox, Bowling Green was served on cable and over-the-air by 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...
in Nashville. In March 2003, Max Media bought the station. On December 12 of that year, it signed-on a digital signal on UHF channel 16 from its transmitter tower in Smiths Grove. WNKY-DT was then added to digital cable systems including Insight in Bowling Green and Electric Power Board in Glasgow
Glasgow, Kentucky
Glasgow is a city in and the county seat of Barren County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 14,200 at the 2000 census. The city is well-known for its annual Scottish Highland Games. In 2007, Barren County was named the number one rural place to live by Progressive Farmer magazine...
. On August 7, 2004, this signal began airing NBC in high definition. The upgrade was made in time to broadcast special coverage of the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
from Athens, Greece. WNKY also installed a Dolby
Dolby Laboratories
Dolby Laboratories, Inc. , often shortened to Dolby Labs, is an American company specializing in audio noise reduction and audio encoding/compression.-History:...
model 569 AC-3 surround sound encoder to relay the 5.1 full surround audio from the network.
The station signed a long term affiliation deal with CBS to air the network on a new second digital subchannel. This launched on February 1, 2007 and until that point Bowling Green did not have its own affiliate. Nashville's WTVF
WTVF
WTVF is the CBS-affiliated television station for Middle Tennessee that is licensed to Nashville. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 5 from a transmitter north of downtown along I-24. Owned by Landmark Media Enterprises, the station has studios on James Robertson Parkway...
or Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
's WLKY-TV
WLKY-TV
WLKY-TV is a television station located in Louisville, Kentucky USA, and serves the Louisville area and southeastern Indiana. The station is owned by the Hearst Corporation, and is an affiliate of the CBS television network. WLKY's transmitter is located north of Louisville in Floyds Knobs,...
were formerly the default CBS stations in the market. The distant CBS and NBC affiliates, including WSMV, have now been mostly removed from cable providers in South Central Kentucky. Bowling Green currently has every major network affiliate except MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
and ION Television. Despite the existence of WNKY-DT2, WTVF remains on Insight systems.
Newscasts
As the first commercialCommercial broadcasting
Commercial broadcasting is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship...
television station to launch in Bowling Green, ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
afifliate WBKO
WBKO
WBKO is the ABC-affiliated television station for South Central Kentucky licensed to Bowling Green. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 13 from a transmitter along KY 185/Richardsville Road in unincorporated Northern Warren County. The station can also be seen on Insight...
has been a longtime leader according to Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
. Even after the sign-on of WQQB (now WNKY) in 1989, the station has remained the dominant outlet for South Central Kentucky. However, it has also competed with Nashville stations transmitting rimshot signals into parts of the Bowling Green area. As the area's original Fox affiliate in the mid-1990s, WNKY established its own news department. Unable to gain consistent viewership and ratings against WBKO, that station's short lived full news operation was eventually shut down.
In October 2005, WNKY slowly re-entered the market with an unusual weather-only approach. Instead of full newscasts, it offers weekday morning and nightly local weather forecast cut-ins provided through AccuWeather
AccuWeather
AccuWeather is an American media company that provides for-profit weather forecasting services worldwide.AccuWeather was founded in 1962 by Joel N. Myers, then a Penn State graduate student working on degrees in meteorology. His first customer was a gas company in Pennsylvania. While running the...
of State College, Pennsylvania
State College, Pennsylvania
State College is the largest borough in Centre County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Centre County. As of the 2010 census, the borough population was 42,034, and roughly double...
. It began airing five minute long First Look AccuWeather forecasts on weeknights. In December of that year, weekend weather forecasts were added to the schedule at 10. In January 2006, local weather updates began airing during NBC's Today on weekday mornings from 7 until 11. It covers severe weather events in addition to the regular updates. Its weather team currently consists of three people although a fourth non-human member of the weather team, "Radar the Weather Dog", can also be seen on-air.
"Radar" is a Border Collie
Border Collie
The Border Collie is a herding dog breed developed in the Anglo-Scottish border region for herding livestock, especially sheep. It is the most widespread of the collie breeds....
adopted from the Bowling Green/Warren County
Warren County, Kentucky
Warren County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky, specifically the Pennyroyal Plateau and Western Coal Fields regions. It is included in the Bowling Green, Kentucky, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 113,792 in the 2010 Census. The county seat is Bowling Green...
Humane Society
Humane Society
A humane society may be a group that aims to stop human or animal suffering due to cruelty or other reasons, although in many countries, it is now used mostly for societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals...
and has served as the station's mascot since the weather shows began with former meteorologist Chris Sowers. Viewers can often catch "Radar" interacting with one of the three meteorologists as they begin the weather updates. The weather dog idea may have been inspired by KPRC-TV
KPRC-TV
KPRC-TV is the NBC affiliated television station based in Houston, Texas, and serving the Greater Houston television market. It has studios located in the Sharpstown district on the Southwest portion of the city, and has a transmitter site in unincorporated Fort Bend County near Missouri City...
in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
which once had a "Radar, the Weather Dog". WNKY's former sister station in Tyler, Texas
Tyler, Texas
Tyler is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, in the United States. It takes its name from President John Tyler . The city had a population of 109,000 in 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau...
KYTX
KYTX
KYTX, virtual channel 19, is a television station based in Tyler, Texas, licensed to Nacogdoches. It operates on digital UHF 18. The CBS affiliate, owned by London Broadcasting Company, serves a swath of East Texas, including Tyler, Jacksonville, Lufkin and Nacogdoches. It is the sister station of...
took a similar approach with "Stormy, the Weather Dog".
In late-January 2009 in an attempt to increase its presence against WBKO, WNKY launched a weekday morning show known as Bowling Green Today. Airing for a half-hour at 6:30, the broadcast is produced in partnership with the Bowling Green Daily News
The Daily News (Kentucky)
The Daily News is a daily newspaper based in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It is published Saturday and Sunday mornings and Monday through Friday evenings....
. The newspaper provides short local news updates and WNKY produces traditional weather segments. The show is replayed at 9 in the morning on WNKY's CBS-affiliated second
WNKY-DT2
WNKY-DT2 is the CBS-affiliated television station for South Central Kentucky. The station is a second digital subchannel of NBC affiliate WNKY owned by Max Media. Over-the-air, it broadcasts a standard definition digital signal on UHF channel 16.2 WNKY-DT2 is the CBS-affiliated television station...
subchannel. Weather forecasts from this station can be heard on WBGN-AM
WBGN (AM)
WBGN is a radio station broadcasting a sports radio format. Licensed to Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA, the station serves the Bowling Green area. The station is currently owned by Forever Communications, Inc....
1340, WBVR-FM
WBVR-FM
WBVR-FM is a radio station broadcasting a Country format. Licensed to Auburn, Kentucky, USA, the station serves the Bowling Green area. The station is currently owned by Forever Communications, Inc..-History:...
96.7, WUHU
WUHU
WUHU is a radio station broadcasting a Top 40 format. Licensed to Smiths Grove, Kentucky, USA, the station serves the Bowling Green area. The station is currently owned by Forever Communications, Inc. and features programing from ABC Radio....
-FM 107.1, and WLYE-FM
WLYE-FM
WLYE-FM is a radio station broadcasting a Classic Country format. Licensed to Glasgow, Kentucky, USA, the station serves the Bowling Green area. The station is currently owned by Forever Communications, Inc. and features programing from ABC Radio....
94.1.
SkyWatch 40 Meteorologists
- Jay Brandon - Lead seen Sunday through Friday nights (also "Around Town" and "Finding Forever Families" segments producer)
- Morgan Watson - weekday mornings and Bowling Green Today host
- Emily McKinney - Saturday nights and "Word from Radar" segment producer