Westinghouse Broadcasting
Encyclopedia
The Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, also known as Group W, was the broadcasting
division of Westinghouse Electric Corporation
. It owned several radio
and television
stations across the United States and distributed television shows for syndication
.
Westinghouse Broadcasting was formed in the 1920s as Westinghouse Radio Stations, Inc. It was renamed Westinghouse Broadcasting Company in 1954, and adopted the Group W moniker on May 20, 1963. It was a self-contained entity within the Westinghouse corporate structure; while the parent company was headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Westinghouse Broadcasting maintained headquarters in New York City
. It kept national sales offices in Chicago
and Los Angeles
.
Group W stations are best known for using a distinctive corporate typeface
, introduced in 1963, for their logos and on-air imaging. Similarly-styled typefaces had been used on some non-Group W stations as well and several former Group W stations still use it today. The Group W corporate typeface is closely, but not accurately, mimicked in Ray Larabie
's freeware
font "Anklepants." The font is also used in the video game Damnation.
Westinghouse Broadcasting was also well known for two long-running television programs, the Mike Douglas Show
and PM Magazine
(called Evening Magazine
in Group W's core broadcast markets).
radio in Pittsburgh. The oldest surviving licensed commercial radio station in the United States, KDKA was an outgrowth of experimental station 8XK, a 75-watt station that was located in the Pittsburgh suburb of Wilkinsburg
, and founded in 1916 by Westinghouse assistant chief engineer Frank Conrad
.
Westinghouse launched three more radio stations in 1921: WJZ
, originally licensed to Newark, New Jersey
, in September; WBZ
, first located in Springfield, Massachusetts
, in October; and KYW
, originally based in Chicago
, in November. WBZA in Boston
, a station which shared WBZ's frequency and simulcasted WBZ's programming, signed on in November 1924.
Westinghouse was one of the founding owners of the Radio Corporation of America in 1919, and in 1926 RCA established the National Broadcasting Company
, a group of 24 radio stations that made up the first radio network in the United States. Westinghouse initially owned a 20 percent stake in NBC, and as a result all of Westinghouse's stations became affiliates of NBC's Blue Network
when it was launched on January 1, 1927. Most of the Blue Network's programming originated at WJZ, which in 1923 had its license moved to New York City, and its ownership transferred to RCA.
In 1931, Westinghouse switched the call letters of its two Massachusetts stations, with WBZA moving to Springfield and WBZ going to Boston. The two stations had suffered from interference problems, though the Boston facility was the more powerful of the two. In 1934, KYW was moved from Chicago to Philadelphia following a Federal Communications Commission
-dictated frequency realignment. Westinghouse's next station was its first purchase: WOWO
in Fort Wayne, Indiana
joined the group in August 1936.
The North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement
of 1941 saw all of Westinghouse's original stations move to their current dial positions. With WOWO's power increase to 50,000 watt
s later that year, the Westinghouse stations were now also clear-channel stations. A decade later, the FCC forbade common ownership of two or more clear channel stations with overlapping nighttime coverage, though the commission allowed Westinghouse to keep WBZ, KYW, KDKA and WOWO together under a grandfather clause
. Between them, the four stations' nighttime signals blanketed almost all of the eastern half of North America
. Despite the assignments which resulted from NARBA, WBZA became a 1,000-watt daytime-only operation as it continued to share a frequency with WBZ.
The Westinghouse group survived the government-dictated split of NBC's radio division in 1943. WBZ/WBZA, KDKA and KYW became affiliates of NBC's Red Network while WOWO, which had a secondary affiliation with the Blue Network, fell back on its primary relationship with CBS
. Westinghouse expanded to the West Coast in 1944 with its purchase of 5,000-watt KEX
in Portland, Oregon
, a station which also shared a frequency with WOWO. Westinghouse would increase KEX's power to 50,000 watts in 1948.
Later in the 1940s, Westinghouse moved on to develop FM and television stations as the FCC began to issue permits for those services. Westinghouse built FM sister stations
for WBZ/WBZA, KDKA, KYW, KEX and WOWO, all of which were on the air by the end of the decade. FM radio was, initially, an unsuccessful venture for Westinghouse, and the company would silence most of its FM stations during the 1950s. Of the early Westinghouse FMs, only the original KDKA-FM (now WLTJ
) and the second WBZ-FM facility (now WMJX
) proved to be worth keeping, and Westinghouse sold those outlets in the early 1980s.
Moving back to AM radio, Westinghouse returned to Chicago with its 1956 purchase of WIND
. In 1962 Westinghouse re-entered the New York market when it bought WINS
, then a local Top-40 powerhouse. That same year the company also agreed to buy another top-rated music station, KFWB in Los Angeles
. Since Westinghouse was already at the FCC's then-limit of seven AM stations, it had to sell two of its existing AM stations. The company sold KEX to actor and singer Gene Autry
, and later decided to shut down WBZA and return its license to the FCC. The KFWB deal was not finalized until 1966.
On April 19, 1965 WINS dropped music and instituted a 24-hour, all-news format, which continues to this day. KYW went all-news six months later on September 12, three months after Westinghouse regained control of the station (see The 1956 Trade with NBC, below). KFWB would adopt the format on March 11, 1968. The three stations all prospered with their new formats, usually ranking among the five highest-rated stations in their markets. During the 1970s and 1980s, WIND also tinkered with a part-time news format, though it had little success against the dominant all-news station in Chicago, CBS-owned WBBM
.
Over the next quarter-century, Westinghouse would purchase several other radio stations, including KFBK in Sacramento, California
; WMAQ in Chicago, WNEW-FM in New York, and WMMR-FM
in Philadelphia. WOWO was sold to other interests in 1982, and WIND was spun off in 1985, three years before Group W bought WMAQ from NBC after that network closed its radio division.
in Boston. It is the only television station to have been built by the company. Westinghouse's first station purchase was with WPTZ in Philadelphia, in 1953. KPIX in San Francisco was bought in 1954; WDTV (now KDKA-TV
) in Pittsburgh was added in 1955; and WAAM-TV (now WJZ-TV
) in Baltimore
was purchased in 1957. Westinghouse's only other outright television station purchase was in Charlotte, North Carolina
, where it purchased WRET-TV from Ted Turner
in early 1980, and changed its call letters to WPCQ-TV.
The company also purchased cable TV system operator TelePrompTer
in 1981, which it renamed Group W Cable the following year. The TelePrompTer acquisition also brought animation producer Filmation
into the Group W fold. However, Westinghouse would leave the cable TV system business in 1986, and would later sell Filmation to L'Oréal
in 1988. During that period, Group W was known in full as Westinghouse Broadcasting and Cable, Inc.
stations, WTAM radio
and WNBK television
, along with $
3 million in compensation. After the deal was approved in February 1956, Westinghouse moved the KYW call letters to Cleveland, NBC renamed the Philadelphia stations WRCV (AM) and WRCV-TV, and both companies also transferred much of their respective on-air personnel and management to their new cities. Most notably, both The Mike Douglas Show
and the Eyewitness News
format originated on KYW-TV during its' tenure in Cleveland.
However, the ink had barely dried on the trade when the FCC and the United States Department of Justice
opened an investigation into the deal, on claims that NBC had employed extortion
and coercion
. The Justice Department believed that NBC used its power as a broadcast network by threatening to withhold or cancel affiliations with Westinghouse-owned stations unless Westinghouse signed off on the deal. A civil suit was filed against NBC and its parent company RCA, on behalf of Westinghouse in December 1956.
According to several sources, the coercion and extortion charges stemmed from NBC's threat to drop its programming from WPTZ unless Westinghouse agreed to the trade. NBC also reportedly promised to disaffiliate from Boston's WBZ-TV, and to withhold a primary affiliation from newly-acquired KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh (that station would sign with CBS as a primary affiliate) and any other major-market network affiliated station Westinghouse would purchase in the future.
In August 1964, after a nearly eight-year-long investigation, the FCC ordered a reversal of the swap. NBC appealed the ruling, extending the ordeal by another year, but to no avail. Westinghouse was also allowed to keep the cash compensation from the original deal. When Westinghouse regained control of the Philadelphia stations on June 19, 1965, it restored the KYW calls to the radio station and renamed the television station KYW-TV
. And in a reversal of nine years prior, both NBC and Westinghouse relocated various personnel between both cities.
station. All of Group W's stations were located within the top thirty television markets
.
Westinghouse's television stations were all known for their very deep connection to their home markets. They often pre-empted network programming in favor of local programs, and all of them carried programming produced by Group W, which was a major force in television syndication
(see Syndication programs, below). However, for the most part the networks did not seem to mind. Most of them were among their networks' strongest performers. KDKA-TV and WJZ-TV dominated their markets, while WBZ-TV and KPIX were solid runners-up. The only exceptions were KYW-TV and WPCQ. KYW-TV had been one of Westinghouse's (and NBC's) crown jewels for many years, but faltered in the late 1970s and eventually became NBC's weakest major-market affiliate by the middle 1980s.
Westinghouse found no success in the Charlotte market, as WPCQ remained an also-ran during its Group W years. Despite the record purchase price, Group W ran the station on a shoestring budget. Under Group W, WPCQ had a minimal local news presence and a program schedule more typical of an independent station, with a large number of cartoons and second-hand syndicated programming. WPCQ was also a UHF network affiliate competing against two long-established network stations on VHF
. It also had to deal with three longer-established NBC affiliates, on VHF channels from nearby cities, that were also available over-the-air in large parts of the Charlotte market. Westinghouse was able to escape Charlotte when it sold WPCQ (now WCNC-TV
) to Renaissance Broadcasting
in 1984.
In 1994, the Fox Broadcasting Company
agreed to a multi-year, multi-station affiliation deal with New World Communications
, resulting in most of New World's stations switching to Fox. Among these stations were longtime CBS affiliates WJBK-TV in Detroit and WJW-TV in Cleveland. To avoid being consigned to the UHF band in two major markets, CBS pursued ABC affiliates WXYZ-TV
in Detroit and WEWS in Cleveland. Both stations were owned by the E.W. Scripps Company, who used this leverage to strike a similar affiliation deal of its own with ABC. Unwilling to risk losing two of its strongest and longest-standing affiliates, ABC agreed to 10-year affiliation contracts with WEWS, WXYZ and four other Scripps stations. One of them was Baltimore's then-NBC affiliate, WMAR-TV
, which would displace that city's longtime ABC affiliate, Group W-owned WJZ-TV. In turn, the NBC affiliation would be reacquired by the Hearst-Argyle
-owned WBAL-TV
, which had been Baltimore's CBS affiliate since 1981, when it swapped affiliations with WMAR-TV.
This development did not sit well with Westinghouse. At the time, WJZ-TV had been affiliated with ABC for 47 years, longer than any station that wasn't owned by the network. Westinghouse sought an affiliation deal of its own, and after 6 months of on and off negotiations with CBS, NBC, and Fox, Westinghouse agreed to affiliate its entire television unit with CBS. Under the terms of the deal, all five Group W stations would carry the entire CBS schedule with no pre-emptions except for local news emergencies (as noted above, prior to this, Group W stations were known for pre-empting selected programming of their affiliated networks with Group W-mandated content).
The deal resulted in a three-way transaction between Group W, CBS and NBC, which unfolded between the summer of 1994 and the summer of 1995. The terms were as follows:
A short time later, Westinghouse announced it was buying CBS proper, a transaction which closed in early 1996. As a condition of the merger, both CBS and Group W were forced to sell off several radio stations due to the FCC's then-current ownership limits. CBS also had to sell recently-acquired WPRI-TV
in Providence, Rhode Island
due to a significant signal overlap with WBZ-TV. At the time, the FCC normally did not allow common ownership of stations with overlapping signals.
to move to its old dial position, all of the former Group W radio stations are part of CBS Radio
.
From that point forward, however, Westinghouse proceeded to transform itself from its legendary role as a diversified conglomerate with a strong industrial heritage into a media giant. Over the next year, it sold off almost all of its nonbroadcast properties. In 1997, Westinghouse changed its name to CBS Corporation and moved its headquarters to New York. In 1998, the company created a new licensing subsidiary under the Westinghouse Electric Corporation
name. In this sense, the Westinghouse-CBS merger turned out to be a "wag the dog" transaction.
After selling off its nuclear assets
to BNFL
in 1999, CBS Corporation was merged into Viacom a year later, thus shutting down the Original Westinghouse for good. Viacom, however, changed its name to CBS Corporation
in 2005 and spun off most of its cable and movie interests as a new Viacom
. With a few exceptions, the current CBS Corporation holds the same properties that the old CBS Corporation held prior to the Viacom merger, including the new Westinghouse. National Amusements
retains majority control of both CBS Corporation and Viacom.
A few of the former Westinghouse radio stations still use the former Group W font today (e.g. KDKA, KYW, and WINS). WOWO, now owned by Pathfinder Communications Corporation, and two television stations, WJZ-TV and KPIX, continue to use this font as well. The other stations discontinued using the typeface early in the 21st century.
.
Note: Two boldface asterisks appearing following a station's call letters (**) indicate a station that was built and signed-on by Westinghouse.
Group W also syndicated and franchised the program PM Magazine
(alternatively titled Evening Magazine on stations owned and operated by Westinghouse Broadcasting) to local stations.
After the merger with CBS in 1996, Group W Productions was renamed Eyemark Entertainment, with CBS Broadcast International acquiring the overseas rights to the Group W backlog. Eyemark was in turn folded into King World Productions
following the latter company's acquisition by CBS in 2000. King World gained control of most of the Group W and Eyemark libraries from 2000-2005. These libraries are now controlled by CBS Television Distribution
. The Filmation library is now the property of Boomerang Media
subsidiary Classic Media
and the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series is now owned by Viacom with Lionsgate Home Entertainment
owning DVD rights. Couch Pototoes is co-owned by Disney-ABC Domestic Television and CBS.
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
division of Westinghouse Electric Corporation
Westinghouse Electric (1886)
Westinghouse Electric was an American manufacturing company. It was founded in 1886 as Westinghouse Electric Company and later renamed Westinghouse Electric Corporation by George Westinghouse. The company purchased CBS in 1995 and became CBS Corporation in 1997...
. It owned several radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
stations across the United States and distributed television shows for syndication
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...
.
Westinghouse Broadcasting was formed in the 1920s as Westinghouse Radio Stations, Inc. It was renamed Westinghouse Broadcasting Company in 1954, and adopted the Group W moniker on May 20, 1963. It was a self-contained entity within the Westinghouse corporate structure; while the parent company was headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Westinghouse Broadcasting maintained headquarters in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. It kept national sales offices in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Group W stations are best known for using a distinctive corporate typeface
Typeface
In typography, a typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly....
, introduced in 1963, for their logos and on-air imaging. Similarly-styled typefaces had been used on some non-Group W stations as well and several former Group W stations still use it today. The Group W corporate typeface is closely, but not accurately, mimicked in Ray Larabie
Ray Larabie
Ray Larabie is a designer of computer TrueType and OpenType fonts. Beginning in 1996, Larabie distributed his designs over the internet as freeware, operating as his own independent type foundry LarabieFonts....
's freeware
Freeware
Freeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...
font "Anklepants." The font is also used in the video game Damnation.
Westinghouse Broadcasting was also well known for two long-running television programs, the Mike Douglas Show
The Mike Douglas Show
The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that aired in syndication from 1961 to 1982, distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations.The program featured light banter with...
and PM Magazine
PM Magazine
PM/Evening Magazine was a television series with a news and entertainment format. It was syndicated to stations throughout the United States...
(called Evening Magazine
Evening Magazine
Evening Magazine is the name of various news and entertainment style local television shows in different markets.-The original concept:...
in Group W's core broadcast markets).
Radio origins
The Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company entered broadcasting with the November 2, 1920 sign-on of KDKAKDKA (AM)
KDKA is a radio station licensed to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Created by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation on November 2, 1920, it is one of the world's first modern radio stations , a distinction that has also been challenged by other stations, although it has claimed to be the first in...
radio in Pittsburgh. The oldest surviving licensed commercial radio station in the United States, KDKA was an outgrowth of experimental station 8XK, a 75-watt station that was located in the Pittsburgh suburb of Wilkinsburg
Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania
Wilkinsburg is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States adjacent to the city of Pittsburgh. The population was 15,930 at the 2010 census, having lost more than 13,000 in the 70 years since 1940, when 29,853 people were enumerated...
, and founded in 1916 by Westinghouse assistant chief engineer Frank Conrad
Frank Conrad
Frank Conrad was a radio broadcasting pioneer who worked as the Assistant Chief Engineer for the Westinghouse Electric Corporation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,...
.
Westinghouse launched three more radio stations in 1921: WJZ
WABC (AM)
WABC , known as "NewsTalkRadio 77 WABC" is a radio station in New York City. Owned by the broadcasting division of Cumulus Media, the station broadcasts on a clear channel and is the flagship station of Cumulus Media Networks...
, originally licensed to Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
, in September; WBZ
WBZ (AM)
WBZ is the call sign for an AM radio station in Boston, Massachusetts owned by CBS Radio, itself owned by the CBS Corporation. Originally based in and broadcast from Springfield, Massachusetts, WBZ was the first commercial radio station in the United States...
, first located in Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...
, in October; and KYW
KYW (AM)
KYW is a class A AM radio station on 1060 kHz licensed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. KYW is owned by the CBS Radio unit of CBS Corporation, and has broadcasted an all-news format since 1965. The station's studios are located on Market Street in Center City Philadelphia, and it transmitters...
, originally based in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, in November. WBZA in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, a station which shared WBZ's frequency and simulcasted WBZ's programming, signed on in November 1924.
Westinghouse was one of the founding owners of the Radio Corporation of America in 1919, and in 1926 RCA established the National Broadcasting Company
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...
, a group of 24 radio stations that made up the first radio network in the United States. Westinghouse initially owned a 20 percent stake in NBC, and as a result all of Westinghouse's stations became affiliates of NBC's Blue Network
Blue Network
The Blue Network, and its immediate predecessor, the NBC Blue Network, were the on-air names of an American radio production and distribution service from 1927 to 1945...
when it was launched on January 1, 1927. Most of the Blue Network's programming originated at WJZ, which in 1923 had its license moved to New York City, and its ownership transferred to RCA.
In 1931, Westinghouse switched the call letters of its two Massachusetts stations, with WBZA moving to Springfield and WBZ going to Boston. The two stations had suffered from interference problems, though the Boston facility was the more powerful of the two. In 1934, KYW was moved from Chicago to Philadelphia following a Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
-dictated frequency realignment. Westinghouse's next station was its first purchase: WOWO
WOWO
Located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, WOWO is an independent news/talk radio station transmitting on 1190 kHz at 50,000 watts during the daylight hours and 9,800 watts during the nighttime hours. An application is on file with the Federal Communications Commission to add a fourth tower to the three...
in Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
joined the group in August 1936.
The North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement
North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement
The North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement, usually referred to as NARBA, is a treaty that took effect in March 1941 and set out the bandplan and interference rules for mediumwave AM broadcasting in North America. Although mostly replaced by other agreements in the 1980s, the basic bandplan...
of 1941 saw all of Westinghouse's original stations move to their current dial positions. With WOWO's power increase to 50,000 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 later that year, the Westinghouse stations were now also clear-channel stations. A decade later, the FCC forbade common ownership of two or more clear channel stations with overlapping nighttime coverage, though the commission allowed Westinghouse to keep WBZ, KYW, KDKA and WOWO together under a grandfather clause
Grandfather clause
Grandfather clause is a legal term used to describe a situation in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations, while a new rule will apply to all future situations. It is often used as a verb: to grandfather means to grant such an exemption...
. Between them, the four stations' nighttime signals blanketed almost all of the eastern half of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Despite the assignments which resulted from NARBA, WBZA became a 1,000-watt daytime-only operation as it continued to share a frequency with WBZ.
The Westinghouse group survived the government-dictated split of NBC's radio division in 1943. WBZ/WBZA, KDKA and KYW became affiliates of NBC's Red Network while WOWO, which had a secondary affiliation with the Blue Network, fell back on its primary relationship with CBS
CBS
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...
. Westinghouse expanded to the West Coast in 1944 with its purchase of 5,000-watt KEX
KEX (AM)
KEX is a class A clear channel AM radio station broadcasting from Portland, Oregon. As of 2005 it is owned by Clear Channel Communications and runs news/talk programming. Because KEX is a Class A station, KEX reaches most of the densely populated areas of Oregon, providing grade B coverage as far...
in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, a station which also shared a frequency with WOWO. Westinghouse would increase KEX's power to 50,000 watts in 1948.
Later in the 1940s, Westinghouse moved on to develop FM and television stations as the FCC began to issue permits for those services. Westinghouse built FM sister stations
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
for WBZ/WBZA, KDKA, KYW, KEX and WOWO, all of which were on the air by the end of the decade. FM radio was, initially, an unsuccessful venture for Westinghouse, and the company would silence most of its FM stations during the 1950s. Of the early Westinghouse FMs, only the original KDKA-FM (now WLTJ
WLTJ
WLTJ , is an Hot Adult Contemporary music format radio station based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The station, which is owned by Steel City Media, broadcasts with an ERP of 43 kW. Its transmitter is located in Pittsburgh.- History :...
) and the second WBZ-FM facility (now WMJX
WMJX
WMJX is a radio station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts. It has an Adult Contemporary format. The station's transmitter is located atop the Prudential Tower in Downtown Boston...
) proved to be worth keeping, and Westinghouse sold those outlets in the early 1980s.
Moving back to AM radio, Westinghouse returned to Chicago with its 1956 purchase of WIND
WIND (AM)
WIND "AM 560" is a radio station based in Chicago, Illinois, broadcasting its talk radio format on 560 kHz.Its current owner is Salem Media, a company specializing primarily in Christian radio...
. In 1962 Westinghouse re-entered the New York market when it bought WINS
WINS (AM)
WINS , known on-air as "Ten-Ten Wins", is a radio station in New York City, owned by CBS Radio. WINS's studios are in the combined CBS Radio facility at 345 Hudson Street in the TriBeCa section of Manhattan, and transmitting towers in Lyndhurst, New Jersey.WINS is one of the nation's oldest...
, then a local Top-40 powerhouse. That same year the company also agreed to buy another top-rated music station, KFWB in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Since Westinghouse was already at the FCC's then-limit of seven AM stations, it had to sell two of its existing AM stations. The company sold KEX to actor and singer Gene Autry
Gene Autry
Orvon Grover Autry , better known as Gene Autry, was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television for more than three decades beginning in the 1930s...
, and later decided to shut down WBZA and return its license to the FCC. The KFWB deal was not finalized until 1966.
On April 19, 1965 WINS dropped music and instituted a 24-hour, all-news format, which continues to this day. KYW went all-news six months later on September 12, three months after Westinghouse regained control of the station (see The 1956 Trade with NBC, below). KFWB would adopt the format on March 11, 1968. The three stations all prospered with their new formats, usually ranking among the five highest-rated stations in their markets. During the 1970s and 1980s, WIND also tinkered with a part-time news format, though it had little success against the dominant all-news station in Chicago, CBS-owned WBBM
WBBM (AM)
WBBM is an all-news CBS radio station in Chicago, Illinois broadcasting on the AM dial at 780 kHz. It is owned by CBS along with WBBM-TV....
.
Over the next quarter-century, Westinghouse would purchase several other radio stations, including KFBK in Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
; WMAQ in Chicago, WNEW-FM in New York, and WMMR-FM
WMMR
WMMR is an active rock radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, broadcasting at 93.3 MHz FM. The station is owned by Greater Media....
in Philadelphia. WOWO was sold to other interests in 1982, and WIND was spun off in 1985, three years before Group W bought WMAQ from NBC after that network closed its radio division.
Expansion into television
Westinghouse entered television on June 9, 1948 with the sign-on of WBZ-TVWBZ-TV
WBZ-TV, virtual channel 4, is a CBS owned-and-operated television station, located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WBZ-TV's studios and office facilities, shared with sister station WSBK-TV , are located in the Allston-Brighton section of Boston, and its transmitter is located in Needham,...
in Boston. It is the only television station to have been built by the company. Westinghouse's first station purchase was with WPTZ in Philadelphia, in 1953. KPIX in San Francisco was bought in 1954; WDTV (now KDKA-TV
KDKA-TV
KDKA-TV, channel 2, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. KDKA-TV broadcasts from a transmitter located in the Perry North neighborhood of Pittsburgh, and its studios are located in downtown Pittsburgh at Gateway Center....
) in Pittsburgh was added in 1955; and WAAM-TV (now WJZ-TV
WJZ-TV
WJZ-TV, channel 13, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Baltimore, Maryland. WJZ-TV's studios and offices are located on Television Hill in the Woodberry section of Baltimore, adjacent to the transmission tower it shares with four other Baltimore...
) in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
was purchased in 1957. Westinghouse's only other outright television station purchase was in Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
, where it purchased WRET-TV from Ted Turner
Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...
in early 1980, and changed its call letters to WPCQ-TV.
The company also purchased cable TV system operator TelePrompTer
Teleprompter
An autocue is a display device that prompts the person speaking with an electronic visual text of a speech or script. Using a teleprompter is similar to the practice of using cue cards...
in 1981, which it renamed Group W Cable the following year. The TelePrompTer acquisition also brought animation producer Filmation
Filmation
Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live action programming for television during the latter half of the 20th century. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1963...
into the Group W fold. However, Westinghouse would leave the cable TV system business in 1986, and would later sell Filmation to L'Oréal
L'Oréal
The L'Oréal Group is the world's largest cosmetics and beauty company. With its registered office in Paris and head office in the Paris suburb of Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France, it has developed activities in the field of cosmetics...
in 1988. During that period, Group W was known in full as Westinghouse Broadcasting and Cable, Inc.
The 1956 trade with NBC
In June 1955 Westinghouse announced that it would sell its Philadelphia stations, KYW radio and WPTZ-TV, to NBC. In exchange, Westinghouse received NBC's ClevelandCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
stations, WTAM radio
WTAM
WTAM — branded Newsradio WTAM 1100 — is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio. Owned by Clear Channel Communications, the station broadcasts primarily a news/talk format...
and WNBK television
WKYC-TV
WKYC, virtual channel 3 , is an NBC-affiliated television station located in Cleveland, Ohio, owned by the Gannett Company. Its studio is located on the shores of Lake Erie, while its transmitter is located in Parma, Ohio....
, along with $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
3 million in compensation. After the deal was approved in February 1956, Westinghouse moved the KYW call letters to Cleveland, NBC renamed the Philadelphia stations WRCV (AM) and WRCV-TV, and both companies also transferred much of their respective on-air personnel and management to their new cities. Most notably, both The Mike Douglas Show
The Mike Douglas Show
The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that aired in syndication from 1961 to 1982, distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations.The program featured light banter with...
and the Eyewitness News
Eyewitness News
Eyewitness News is a style of news broadcasting used by local television stations in different markets across the United States. It refers to a particular style of television newscast with an emphasis on visual elements and action video...
format originated on KYW-TV during its' tenure in Cleveland.
However, the ink had barely dried on the trade when the FCC and the United States Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
opened an investigation into the deal, on claims that NBC had employed extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
and coercion
Coercion
Coercion is the practice of forcing another party to behave in an involuntary manner by use of threats or intimidation or some other form of pressure or force. In law, coercion is codified as the duress crime. Such actions are used as leverage, to force the victim to act in the desired way...
. The Justice Department believed that NBC used its power as a broadcast network by threatening to withhold or cancel affiliations with Westinghouse-owned stations unless Westinghouse signed off on the deal. A civil suit was filed against NBC and its parent company RCA, on behalf of Westinghouse in December 1956.
According to several sources, the coercion and extortion charges stemmed from NBC's threat to drop its programming from WPTZ unless Westinghouse agreed to the trade. NBC also reportedly promised to disaffiliate from Boston's WBZ-TV, and to withhold a primary affiliation from newly-acquired KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh (that station would sign with CBS as a primary affiliate) and any other major-market network affiliated station Westinghouse would purchase in the future.
In August 1964, after a nearly eight-year-long investigation, the FCC ordered a reversal of the swap. NBC appealed the ruling, extending the ordeal by another year, but to no avail. Westinghouse was also allowed to keep the cash compensation from the original deal. When Westinghouse regained control of the Philadelphia stations on June 19, 1965, it restored the KYW calls to the radio station and renamed the television station KYW-TV
KYW-TV
KYW-TV, virtual channel 3, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. KYW-TV shares a studio facility with its sister station, CW flagship WPSG just north of Center City Philadelphia...
. And in a reversal of nine years prior, both NBC and Westinghouse relocated various personnel between both cities.
Later years in television
Throughout its history as an operator of television stations, Westinghouse Broadcasting had relationships with all three major networks. KYW-TV, WBZ-TV, and WPCQ-TV were NBC affiliates, KPIX and KDKA-TV were aligned with CBS, and WJZ-TV was an ABCAmerican 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...
station. All of Group W's stations were located within the top thirty television markets
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...
.
Westinghouse's television stations were all known for their very deep connection to their home markets. They often pre-empted network programming in favor of local programs, and all of them carried programming produced by Group W, which was a major force in television syndication
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...
(see Syndication programs, below). However, for the most part the networks did not seem to mind. Most of them were among their networks' strongest performers. KDKA-TV and WJZ-TV dominated their markets, while WBZ-TV and KPIX were solid runners-up. The only exceptions were KYW-TV and WPCQ. KYW-TV had been one of Westinghouse's (and NBC's) crown jewels for many years, but faltered in the late 1970s and eventually became NBC's weakest major-market affiliate by the middle 1980s.
Westinghouse found no success in the Charlotte market, as WPCQ remained an also-ran during its Group W years. Despite the record purchase price, Group W ran the station on a shoestring budget. Under Group W, WPCQ had a minimal local news presence and a program schedule more typical of an independent station, with a large number of cartoons and second-hand syndicated programming. WPCQ was also a UHF network affiliate competing against two long-established network stations on VHF
Very high frequency
Very high frequency is the radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 300 MHz. Frequencies immediately below VHF are denoted High frequency , and the next higher frequencies are known as Ultra high frequency...
. It also had to deal with three longer-established NBC affiliates, on VHF channels from nearby cities, that were also available over-the-air in large parts of the Charlotte market. Westinghouse was able to escape Charlotte when it sold WPCQ (now WCNC-TV
WCNC-TV
WCNC-TV is the NBC affiliate in Charlotte, North Carolina. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 22 and is carried on cable channel 6 on most area cable systems. It is owned by the Belo Corporation...
) to Renaissance Broadcasting
Renaissance Broadcasting
Renaissance Broadcasting, founded in 1982 by Michael Finkelstien, was a company that owned several UHF television stations, it was sold to Tribune Broadcasting in 1997...
in 1984.
Merger with CBS
Within a year-long span during 1994-95, a series of surprising events occurred which not only changed the look of the television industry, but also ended Westinghouse's uniqueness among television station operators.In 1994, the Fox Broadcasting Company
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...
agreed to a multi-year, multi-station affiliation deal with New World Communications
New World Communications
New World Pictures was an independent motion picture and television production company, and later television station owner in the United States from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s...
, resulting in most of New World's stations switching to Fox. Among these stations were longtime CBS affiliates WJBK-TV in Detroit and WJW-TV in Cleveland. To avoid being consigned to the UHF band in two major markets, CBS pursued ABC affiliates WXYZ-TV
WXYZ-TV
WXYZ-TV, channel 7, is an ABC-affiliated television station in Detroit, Michigan, USA. WXYZ-TV is owned by the E.W. Scripps Company, and is the media company's largest-market TV station property...
in Detroit and WEWS in Cleveland. Both stations were owned by the E.W. Scripps Company, who used this leverage to strike a similar affiliation deal of its own with ABC. Unwilling to risk losing two of its strongest and longest-standing affiliates, ABC agreed to 10-year affiliation contracts with WEWS, WXYZ and four other Scripps stations. One of them was Baltimore's then-NBC affiliate, WMAR-TV
WMAR-TV
WMAR-TV, channel 2, is the ABC affiliate television station in Baltimore, Maryland, owned by the broadcasting division of the E.W. Scripps Company...
, which would displace that city's longtime ABC affiliate, Group W-owned WJZ-TV. In turn, the NBC affiliation would be reacquired by the Hearst-Argyle
Hearst-Argyle
Hearst Television, Inc. is a broadcasting company in the United States, owned by the New York City-based Hearst Corporation. It holds joint ventures in television production with NBC Universal Television Distribution...
-owned WBAL-TV
WBAL-TV
WBAL-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station in Baltimore, Maryland. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 11. It is one of the flagship stations of Hearst Television, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Hearst Corporation, which also owns sister radio stations WBAL and...
, which had been Baltimore's CBS affiliate since 1981, when it swapped affiliations with WMAR-TV.
This development did not sit well with Westinghouse. At the time, WJZ-TV had been affiliated with ABC for 47 years, longer than any station that wasn't owned by the network. Westinghouse sought an affiliation deal of its own, and after 6 months of on and off negotiations with CBS, NBC, and Fox, Westinghouse agreed to affiliate its entire television unit with CBS. Under the terms of the deal, all five Group W stations would carry the entire CBS schedule with no pre-emptions except for local news emergencies (as noted above, prior to this, Group W stations were known for pre-empting selected programming of their affiliated networks with Group W-mandated content).
The deal resulted in a three-way transaction between Group W, CBS and NBC, which unfolded between the summer of 1994 and the summer of 1995. The terms were as follows:
- In September 1994, KPIX and KDKA-TV ended their long-standing policies of pre-empting some CBS shows, and began carrying the entire CBS schedule with no pre-emptions. (KPIX however at the time aired CBS prime time programming an hour earlier than normal, a practice that continued until 1998.)
- On January 2, 1995, WJZ-TV and WBZ-TV switched from ABC and NBC, respectively, to CBS.
- On September 10, 1995, KYW-TV switched from NBC to CBS.
- Also on September 10, CBS traded its previous Philadelphia station, WCAU-TV, to NBC in return for KCNC-TVKCNC-TVKCNC-TV, virtual channel 4, is a CBS owned-and-operated station television station in Denver, Colorado, owned by CBS Television Stations, Inc. KCNC broadcasts on UHF channel 35 from Lookout Mountain near Golden, Colorado.- Digital programming :...
in Denver and KUTV in Salt Lake City. CBS then traded controlling interest in KCNC and KUTV to Westinghouse in return for a minority stake in KYW-TV. (KCNC's station history page erroneously implies that this trade was between NBC and Westinghouse.) - On September 10, CBS-owned WCIX in Miami swapped channel locations with NBC-owned WTVJWTVJWTVJ, virtual channel 6 , is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC television network, located in Broward County. WTVJ shares its TV studio and office facility with co-owned Telemundo station WSCV in Miramar, Florida, and its transmitter is located near Sun Life Stadium in north...
. CBS and NBC traded their Miami broadcasting facilities to compensate each other for the loss of stations. WCIX changed its call letters to WFOR-TVWFOR-TVWFOR-TV, virtual channel 4.1 , is the CBS owned-and-operated station in Miami, Florida. WFOR shares its TV studio facilities with sister station WBFS-TV in Doral, near Miami International Airport, and its transmitter is located in Miramar.WFOR-TV also previously had two translator stations in the...
, and CBS sold controlling interest in the station to Westinghouse. - Westinghouse and CBS formed a joint venture that assumed ownership of KYW-TV, KCNC, KUTV and WFOR, with Westinghouse as majority owner.
A short time later, Westinghouse announced it was buying CBS proper, a transaction which closed in early 1996. As a condition of the merger, both CBS and Group W were forced to sell off several radio stations due to the FCC's then-current ownership limits. CBS also had to sell recently-acquired WPRI-TV
WPRI-TV
WPRI-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for the state of Rhode Island and Bristol County, Massachusetts that is licensed to Providence. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 13 from a transmitter on Homestead Avenue in Rehoboth, Massachusetts...
in Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
due to a significant signal overlap with WBZ-TV. At the time, the FCC normally did not allow common ownership of stations with overlapping signals.
Epilogue
Following the completion of the CBS takeover, the former Westinghouse Broadcasting operations took on the CBS name and identity, though the Group W name survived until the end of the 1990s as a holding company within the merged entity's structure. The Westinghouse-CBS merger resulted in several longtime rivals on the radio dials of New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia becoming sister stations. Except for WMAQ, which shut down in 2000 to allow all-sports WSCRWSCR
WSCR is a sports radio station in the Chicago, Illinois radio market. The station is owned by CBS Radio and transmits on 670 kHz on the AM dial. Its transmitter is located just off Army Trail Road in Bloomingdale, which is a western suburb of Chicago. It is known as "The Score," and has been on...
to move to its old dial position, all of the former Group W radio stations are part of CBS Radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
.
From that point forward, however, Westinghouse proceeded to transform itself from its legendary role as a diversified conglomerate with a strong industrial heritage into a media giant. Over the next year, it sold off almost all of its nonbroadcast properties. In 1997, Westinghouse changed its name to CBS Corporation and moved its headquarters to New York. In 1998, the company created a new licensing subsidiary under the Westinghouse Electric Corporation
Westinghouse Electric (1998)
Westinghouse Licensing, doing business as Westinghouse Electric Corporation , is a Delaware General Corporation Law organized subsidiary that was founded by CBS Corporation in managing the intellectual property assets relating to the Westinghouse trademarks.Westinghouse Licensing has...
name. In this sense, the Westinghouse-CBS merger turned out to be a "wag the dog" transaction.
After selling off its nuclear assets
Westinghouse Electric Company
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC is a nuclear power company, offering a wide range of nuclear products and services to utilities throughout the world, including nuclear fuel, service and maintenance, instrumentation and control and advanced nuclear plant designs...
to BNFL
BNFL
British Nuclear Fuels Limited was a nuclear energy and fuels company owned by the UK Government. It was a former manufacturer and transporter of nuclear fuel , ran reactors, generated and sold electricity, reprocessed and managed spent fuel , and decommissioned nuclear plants and other similar...
in 1999, CBS Corporation was merged into Viacom a year later, thus shutting down the Original Westinghouse for good. Viacom, however, changed its name to CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on commercial broadcasting, publishing, billboards and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's...
in 2005 and spun off most of its cable and movie interests as a new Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
. With a few exceptions, the current CBS Corporation holds the same properties that the old CBS Corporation held prior to the Viacom merger, including the new Westinghouse. National Amusements
National Amusements
National Amusements, Inc. is a privately owned theatre company based in Dedham, Massachusetts, USA. The company was founded in 1936 as the Northeast Theatre Corporation by Michael Redstone....
retains majority control of both CBS Corporation and Viacom.
A few of the former Westinghouse radio stations still use the former Group W font today (e.g. KDKA, KYW, and WINS). WOWO, now owned by Pathfinder Communications Corporation, and two television stations, WJZ-TV and KPIX, continue to use this font as well. The other stations discontinued using the typeface early in the 21st century.
Former Westinghouse-owned stations
Stations are arranged in alphabetical order by state and city of licenseCity of license
A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator....
.
Note: Two boldface asterisks appearing following a station's call letters (**) indicate a station that was built and signed-on by Westinghouse.
Television stations
| City of License City of license A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator.... /Market |
Station | Channel TV 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.... (DT Digital terrestrial television Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals... ) |
Years owned | Current affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco San Francisco, California San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland... - Oakland Oakland, California Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724... - San Jose San Jose, California San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay... |
KPIX | 5 (29) | 1954–1995 | CBS CBS 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... owned-and-operated (O&O) |
| Baltimore | WJZ-TV WJZ-TV WJZ-TV, channel 13, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Baltimore, Maryland. WJZ-TV's studios and offices are located on Television Hill in the Woodberry section of Baltimore, adjacent to the transmission tower it shares with four other Baltimore... |
13 (13) | 1957–1995 | CBS owned-and-operated (O&O) |
| Boston | WBZ-TV WBZ-TV WBZ-TV, virtual channel 4, is a CBS owned-and-operated television station, located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WBZ-TV's studios and office facilities, shared with sister station WSBK-TV , are located in the Allston-Brighton section of Boston, and its transmitter is located in Needham,... ** |
4 (30) | 1948–1995 | CBS owned-and-operated (O&O) |
| Charlotte Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009... |
WPCQ-TV (now WCNC-TV WCNC-TV WCNC-TV is the NBC affiliate in Charlotte, North Carolina. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 22 and is carried on cable channel 6 on most area cable systems. It is owned by the Belo Corporation... ) |
36 (22) | 1980–1984 | NBC 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... affiliate owned by Belo Corporation Belo Belo Corp. is a Dallas-based media company that owns 20 commercial broadcasting television stations and two regional 24-hour cable news television channels. The company was previously known as A.H. Belo Corp. after one of the early owners of the company, Alfred Horatio Belo, now the name of the... |
| Cleveland Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border... |
KYW-TV (now WKYC-TV WKYC-TV WKYC, virtual channel 3 , is an NBC-affiliated television station located in Cleveland, Ohio, owned by the Gannett Company. Its studio is located on the shores of Lake Erie, while its transmitter is located in Parma, Ohio.... ) |
3 (17) | 1956–1965 | NBC affiliate owned by Gannett Company Gannett Company Gannett Company, Inc. is a publicly-traded media holding company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States, near McLean. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation. Its assets include the national newspaper USA Today and the weekly USA Weekend... |
| Philadelphia Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,... |
WPTZ/KYW-TV KYW-TV KYW-TV, virtual channel 3, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. KYW-TV shares a studio facility with its sister station, CW flagship WPSG just north of Center City Philadelphia... |
3 (26) | 1953–1956 1965–1995 |
CBS owned-and-operated (O&O) |
| Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States... |
KDKA-TV KDKA-TV KDKA-TV, channel 2, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. KDKA-TV broadcasts from a transmitter located in the Perry North neighborhood of Pittsburgh, and its studios are located in downtown Pittsburgh at Gateway Center.... |
2 (25) | 1955–1995 | CBS owned-and-operated (O&O) |
- This list does not include KCNC-TVKCNC-TVKCNC-TV, virtual channel 4, is a CBS owned-and-operated station television station in Denver, Colorado, owned by CBS Television Stations, Inc. KCNC broadcasts on UHF channel 35 from Lookout Mountain near Golden, Colorado.- Digital programming :...
in DenverDenver, ColoradoThe City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
, WFOR-TVWFOR-TVWFOR-TV, virtual channel 4.1 , is the CBS owned-and-operated station in Miami, Florida. WFOR shares its TV studio facilities with sister station WBFS-TV in Doral, near Miami International Airport, and its transmitter is located in Miramar.WFOR-TV also previously had two translator stations in the...
in MiamiMiami, FloridaMiami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, and KUTV in Salt Lake City. These stations were taken over by Group W in the interim period before the completion of CBS's acquisition by Westinghouse.
Radio Stations
(a partial listing)| AM Stations | FM Stations |
| City of License/Market | Station | Years owned | Current ownership |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Los Ángeles Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants... |
KFWB-980 | 1966–1995 | owned by Clark Radio LLC |
| KTWV KTWV KTWV is a commercial radio station located in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting to the Los Angeles, Orange County, Riverside–San Bernardino and Ventura County areas on 94.7 FM. KTWV airs a hybrid Smooth AC radio format branded as "94.7 The Wave"... -94.7 |
1989–1995 | owned by CBS Radio CBS Radio CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country... |
|
| San Francisco - Oakland | KPIX-1550 (now KZDG) |
1994–1995 | owned by CBS Radio |
| KPIX-FM-95.7 (now KGMZ KGMZ KKOL-FM is an oldies music formatted radio station serving Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. The Salem Communications outlet broadcasts at 107.9 MHz with an ERP of 100 kW and is licensed to Aiea, Hawaii.-History:... ) |
1994–1995 | owned by Entercom Communications Entercom Communications Entercom Communications Corporation is the fourth-largest broadcasting company in the United States. As of November 2009, Entercom operates 110 radio stations in 23 markets across the United States.... |
|
| Sacramento Sacramento, California Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,... |
KFBK KFBK KFBK is a radio station in Sacramento, California broadcasting on a frequency of 1530 kHz. KFBK is a class A clear channel station, formerly designated as a class "I-B" station, sharing 1530 with WCKY in Cincinnati, Ohio... -1530 |
1986–1994 | owned by Clear Channel Communications Clear Channel Communications Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008... |
| KAER/KGBY KGBY KFBK-FM is a news/talk formatted radio station serving the Sacramento, California area and broadcasts at 92.5 FM. It is owned by Clear Channel Communications and simulcasts KFBK .-History, 2000-2011:... -92.5 |
1986–1994 | owned by Clear Channel Communications | |
| Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution.... (Northern Virginia Northern Virginia Northern Virginia consists of several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in a widespread region generally radiating southerly and westward from Washington, D.C... ) |
WCPT-730 (now WTNT WTNT (AM) WTNT —branded AM 730 WTNT—is a news/talk radio station licensed to Alexandria, Virginia and serving the Washington metro area. It operates with unlimited hours, with 8,000 watts during the daytime, and 25 watts in the evening hours... ) |
1989–1993 | owned by Red Zebra Broadcasting Red Zebra Broadcasting Red Zebra Broadcasting is a media company based in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The primary investors in Red Zebra are Daniel Snyder, better known as the owner of the Washington Redskins football franchise, and Dwight Schar, a minority owner of the team. Both are members of the... |
| WCXR-FM-105.9 (now WMAL-FM) |
1989–1993 | owned by Cumulus Media Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is the second largest Owner and Operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States, behind Clear Channel Communications, operating 570 stations in 150 markets as of September 16, 2011. The company also owns Cumulus Media Networks... |
|
| Chicago | KYW ** (pre-NARBA North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement The North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement, usually referred to as NARBA, is a treaty that took effect in March 1941 and set out the bandplan and interference rules for mediumwave AM broadcasting in North America. Although mostly replaced by other agreements in the 1980s, the basic bandplan... ) |
1921–1934 | defunct, moved to Philadelphia in 1934 |
| WIND WIND (AM) WIND "AM 560" is a radio station based in Chicago, Illinois, broadcasting its talk radio format on 560 kHz.Its current owner is Salem Media, a company specializing primarily in Christian radio... -560 |
1956–1985 | owned by Salem Communications Salem Communications Salem Communications is a U.S. radio broadcaster, Internet content provider, and magazine and book publisher specializing in evangelical Christian and conservative political talk radio. It owns 99 commercial radio stations, 65 of which are in the top 25 markets. Salem is the fifth largest U.S.... |
|
| WMAQ-670 (now WSCR WSCR WSCR is a sports radio station in the Chicago, Illinois radio market. The station is owned by CBS Radio and transmits on 670 kHz on the AM dial. Its transmitter is located just off Army Trail Road in Bloomingdale, which is a western suburb of Chicago. It is known as "The Score," and has been on... ) |
1988–1995 | owned by CBS Radio | |
| Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana... |
WOWO WOWO Located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, WOWO is an independent news/talk radio station transmitting on 1190 kHz at 50,000 watts during the daylight hours and 9,800 watts during the nighttime hours. An application is on file with the Federal Communications Commission to add a fourth tower to the three... -1190 |
1936–1982 | owned by Federated Media (controlled by Pathfinder Communications Corporation) |
| Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, northwest of Indianapolis. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 67,140. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, which has a large impact on... |
WAZY-1180 (now WSHY at 1410 AM) |
1955–1956 | owned by Artistic Media Partners Artistic Media Partners Artistic Media Partners owns 14 radio stations in 4 markets in Indiana. It was formed on June 23, 1987.-History:... |
| WAZY-FM-96.5 | 1955–1956 | owned by Artistic Media Partners | |
| Boston | WBZA/WBZ WBZ (AM) WBZ is the call sign for an AM radio station in Boston, Massachusetts owned by CBS Radio, itself owned by the CBS Corporation. Originally based in and broadcast from Springfield, Massachusetts, WBZ was the first commercial radio station in the United States... -1030 ** |
1924–1995 | owned by CBS Radio |
| WBZ-FM-100.7 ** | 1946–1948 | changed frequencies frequency now used by WZLX WZLX WZLX is a prominent classic rock radio station in the Boston, Massachusetts market. WZLX was one of the first classic rock FM stations in America... |
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| WBZ-FM-92.9 | 1948–1952 | defunct, went silent in 1952 frequency now used by WBOS WBOS WBOS is a commercial radio station located in Brookline, Massachusetts, broadcasting to the Greater Boston area on 92.9 FM. The station airs a mainstream rock format branded as "Radio 92.9"... |
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| WBZ-FM-106.7 ** (now WMJX WMJX WMJX is a radio station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts. It has an Adult Contemporary format. The station's transmitter is located atop the Prudential Tower in Downtown Boston... ) |
1956–1981 | owned by Greater Media Greater Media Greater Media, Inc., known as Greater Media, is an American media company that specializes in radio stations. The markets where they own radio stations include Boston, Detroit, Philadelphia, Charlotte, and the state of New Jersey... |
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| Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern... |
WBZ/WBZA-1030 ** | 1921–1962 | defunct, went silent in 1962 |
| WBZA-FM-102.1 ** | 1946–1962 | defunct, went silent in 1962 frequency now used by WAQY WAQY WAQY is a Springfield, Massachusetts area classic rock radio station. Since the late 1980s, the station has been known as "Rock 102".-History:... |
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| Detroit Detroit, Michigan Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River... |
WLLZ-FM-98.7 (now WDZH) |
1989–1995 | owned by CBS Radio |
| Newark, New Jersey Newark, New Jersey Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S... |
WJZ ** (now WABC WABC (AM) WABC , known as "NewsTalkRadio 77 WABC" is a radio station in New York City. Owned by the broadcasting division of Cumulus Media, the station broadcasts on a clear channel and is the flagship station of Cumulus Media Networks... ) (pre-NARBA North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement The North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement, usually referred to as NARBA, is a treaty that took effect in March 1941 and set out the bandplan and interference rules for mediumwave AM broadcasting in North America. Although mostly replaced by other agreements in the 1980s, the basic bandplan... ) |
1921–1923 | owned by Cumulus Media |
| New York City New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and... |
WINS WINS (AM) WINS , known on-air as "Ten-Ten Wins", is a radio station in New York City, owned by CBS Radio. WINS's studios are in the combined CBS Radio facility at 345 Hudson Street in the TriBeCa section of Manhattan, and transmitting towers in Lyndhurst, New Jersey.WINS is one of the nation's oldest... -1010 |
1962–1995 | owned by CBS Radio |
| WNEW-FM-102.7 (now WWFS) |
1989–1995 | owned by CBS Radio | |
| Cleveland Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border... |
KYW-1100 (now WTAM WTAM WTAM — branded Newsradio WTAM 1100 — is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio. Owned by Clear Channel Communications, the station broadcasts primarily a news/talk format... ) |
1956–1965 | owned by Clear Channel Communications |
| KYW-FM-105.7 (now WMJI WMJI WMJI — branded Majic 105.7 — is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio broadcasting a classic hits format. The station serves Cleveland, Akron and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio.... ) |
1956–1965 | owned by Clear Channel Communications | |
| Portland, Oregon Portland, Oregon Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States... |
KEX KEX (AM) KEX is a class A clear channel AM radio station broadcasting from Portland, Oregon. As of 2005 it is owned by Clear Channel Communications and runs news/talk programming. Because KEX is a Class A station, KEX reaches most of the densely populated areas of Oregon, providing grade B coverage as far... -1190 |
1944–1962 | owned by Clear Channel Communications |
| KEX-FM-92.3 ** | 1948–1962 | defunct, went silent in 1962 frequency now used by KGON KGON KGON is a radio station broadcasting a classic rock format. The station also broadcasts in HD featuring live rock performances. Licensed to Portland, Oregon, USA, the station serves the Portland OR/Vancouver WA area... |
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| Philadelphia | KYW KYW (AM) KYW is a class A AM radio station on 1060 kHz licensed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. KYW is owned by the CBS Radio unit of CBS Corporation, and has broadcasted an all-news format since 1965. The station's studios are located on Market Street in Center City Philadelphia, and it transmitters... -1060 |
1934-1956 1965-1995 |
owned by CBS Radio |
| KYW-FM-100.3 ** | 1946–1948 | changed frequencies frequency now used by WPHI-FM WPHI-FM WPHI-FM, " Hot 107.9", is a radio station owned by Radio One, that airs a Urban Contemporary format. The station is licensed to Pennsauken, New Jersey and serves the Philadelphia market. When WPHI was on 100.3, it was known as "100.3 The Beat". On August 27, 2011, the "Beat" moniker was dropped... |
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| KYW-FM-92.5 | 1948–1955 | defunct, went silent in 1955 frequency now used by WXTU WXTU WXTU is a Country music formatted radio station which is broadcast in the Philadelphia area. It is the largest country radio station in the United States based on listener cume . The station plays a variety of country music, including current hits, as well as older hits... |
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| WMMR WMMR WMMR is an active rock radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, broadcasting at 93.3 MHz FM. The station is owned by Greater Media.... -93.3 |
1989–1995 | owned by Greater Media | |
| Pittsburgh | KDKA KDKA (AM) KDKA is a radio station licensed to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Created by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation on November 2, 1920, it is one of the world's first modern radio stations , a distinction that has also been challenged by other stations, although it has claimed to be the first in... -1020 ** |
1920–1995 | owned by CBS Radio |
| KDKA-FM-92.9 ** (now WLTJ WLTJ WLTJ , is an Hot Adult Contemporary music format radio station based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The station, which is owned by Steel City Media, broadcasts with an ERP of 43 kW. Its transmitter is located in Pittsburgh.- History :... ) |
1946–1984 | owned by Steel City Media | |
| Houston 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 ... |
KODA Koda Koda may refer to:*Ehretia acuminata , a tree from China, Japan, New Guinea and Australia*KODA, callsign of a Houston FM radio station*KODA , the collecting society for songwriters, composers and music publishers of Denmark... -99.1 |
1979–1989 | owned by Clear Channel Communications |
| KILT KILT (AM) KILT is a Sports/Talk formatted radio station in the Houston, Texas, metropolitan area. The station is currently owned by CBS Radio. KILT shares its call letters with sister station 100.3 FM, a country music station.... -610 |
1989–1995 | owned by CBS Radio | |
| KILT-FM KILT-FM KILT-FM is a Houston, Texas-based radio station with a country music format. It is owned by CBS Radio. Its transmitter is located in Missouri City, Texas. The station's callsign is a tribute to the station's former owner, Gordon McClendon, who was known as the "Old Scotchman". It is a sister... -100.3 |
1989–1995 | owned by CBS Radio | |
| KIKK KIKK KIKK is a daytime-only station in the Houston, Texas area and broadcasts a news/talk radio format under ownership of CBS Radio. Despite different owners, KIKK and KHOU-TV maintain a strong partnership .... -650 |
1993–1995 | owned by CBS Radio | |
| KIKK-FM-95.7 (now KKHH-FM) |
1993–1995 | owned by CBS Radio | |
Syndicated programs
Some of their best-known programs were syndicated and seen in primetime and early/late fringe through its syndication division, Group W Productions, which was originally known as WBC Productions until 1968. Many of these programs were also sold internationally.Late night talk/variety shows
- PM East (with Mike WallaceMike Wallace (journalist)Myron Leon "Mike" Wallace is an American journalist, former game show host, actor and media personality. During his 60+ year career, he has interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers....
and Joyce DavidsonJoyce DavidsonJoyce Davidson was a Canadian and American television personality.-Career:She was a member of CBC Television's Tabloid, a current affairs program with a light entertainment manner, in the 1950s....
)/PM West (with Terrence O'Flaherty) (1961–1962) - The Steve Allen ShowSteve Allen (comedian)Stephen Valentine Patrick William "Steve" Allen was an American television personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. Though he got his start in radio, Allen is best known for his television career. He first gained national attention as a guest host on Arthur Godfrey's Talent...
(1962–1964) - That Regis Philbin Show!Regis PhilbinRegis Francis Xavier Philbin is an American media personality, actor and singer, known for hosting talk and game shows since the 1960s. Philbin is often called "the hardest working man in show business" and holds the Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of a television camera...
(1964–1965) - The Merv Griffin ShowThe Merv Griffin ShowThe Merv Griffin Show is an American television talk show, starring Merv Griffin. The series ran from October 1, 1962 to March 29, 1963 on NBC, September 20, 1965 to September 26, 1969 in first-run syndication, from August 18, 1969 to February 11, 1972 at 11:30 PM ET weeknights on CBS and again in...
(1965–1969) - The David Frost Show (1969–1972)
Daytime shows
- The Mike Douglas ShowThe Mike Douglas ShowThe Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that aired in syndication from 1961 to 1982, distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations.The program featured light banter with...
(1963–1980) - The John Davidson ShowJohn Davidson (entertainer)John Hamilton Davidson, Sr. is an American singer, actor and game show host known for hosting That's Incredible!, Time Machine, and Hollywood Squares in the 1980s, and a revival of The $100,000 Pyramid in 1991....
(1980–1982) - Hour Magazine, hosted by Gary CollinsGary Collins (actor)Gary Ennis Collins is an American film and television performer.-Early life and career:Collins was born in Venice, California, to a waitress/factory worker mother. After attending Santa Monica City College, he enlisted in the U.S...
(1980–1990) - The Wil Shriner Show (1986–1987)
- Couch PotatoesCouch Potatoes (game show)Couch Potatoes was an American game show that aired in syndication as a midseason replacement from January 23 to September 8, 1989 with reruns airing on USA Network...
, game show hosted by Marc SummersMarc SummersMarc Summers is an American television personality, comedian, game show host, producer, and a two-time talk show host. He is best known for hosting the Nickelodeon game show Double Dare and currently hosts Unwrapped on The Food Network.- Early career :Summers was born Marc Berkowitz in...
(1989) - Every Second CountsEvery Second Counts (US game show)Every Second Counts was a television game show that aired in United States syndication from September 17, 1984 to September 1985. The show was produced by Group W Productions in association with Charles Colarusso Productions....
, game show hosted by Bill RaffertyBill RaffertyWilliam "Bill" Rafferty is a comedian and impressionist who hosted the game shows Every Second Counts , Card Sharks , and Blockbusters .Rafferty was born in Queens, New York...
, produced by Charles Colarusso Productions (1984) - Vicki!, talk show hosted by Vicki LawrenceVicki LawrenceVicki Lawrence is an American actress, comedienne, and Billboard Hot 100 #1 singer, who was frequently a game show panelist in the 1970s and 1980s...
(1992–1994) - Marilu, talk show hosted by Marilu HennerMarilu HennerMary Lucy Denise "Marilu" Henner is an American actress, producer and author. She is best known for her role as Elaine O'Connor Nardo on the sitcom Taxi from 1978 to 1983.-Early life:...
(1994–1995) - Morning Stretch, exercise and fitness program hosted by Joanie GreggainsJoanie GreggainsJoanie Greggains is an American radio host of The Joanie Greggains Show, a weekend health and fitness program on KGO Radio, San Francisco, California. She is also known for her long-running television exercise show, Morning Stretch....
(produced at KPIX during the 1980s)
Group W also syndicated and franchised the program PM Magazine
PM Magazine
PM/Evening Magazine was a television series with a news and entertainment format. It was syndicated to stations throughout the United States...
(alternatively titled Evening Magazine on stations owned and operated by Westinghouse Broadcasting) to local stations.
Made-for-TV movies
- Mafia Princess, starring Tony CurtisTony CurtisTony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...
and Susan LucciSusan LucciSusan Victoria Lucci is an American actress and entrepreneur, best known for portraying Erica Kane on the daytime drama All My Children. The character is considered an icon, and Lucci has been called "Daytime's Leading Lady" by TV Guide, with New York Times and Los Angeles Times citing her as the...
(1986)
Children's/animated series
- Teenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series)Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an American animated television series produced by Murakami-Wolf-Swenson. The pilot was shown during the week of December 28, 1987 in syndication as a five part miniseries and began its official run on October 1, 1988...
(1987 version) - Speed RacerSpeed RacerSpeed Racer is an English adaptation name of the Japanese manga and anime, which centered on automobile racing. Mach GoGoGo was originally serialized in print form in Shueisha's 1958 Shōnen Book, and was released in tankōbon book form by Sun Wide Comics, re-released in Japan by Fusosha...
(1993 version) - Way Cool (1991–1992) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0233123/)
- The FilmationFilmationFilmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live action programming for television during the latter half of the 20th century. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1963...
library (He-Man and the Masters of the UniverseHe-Man and the Masters of the UniverseHe-Man and the Masters of the Universe is an American animated television series produced by Filmation based on Mattel's successful toy line Masters of the Universe...
, She-Ra: Princess of PowerShe-Ra: Princess of PowerShe-Ra: Princess of Power is an American animated television series produced in 1985 by Filmation. It is a spinoff of Filmation's highly successful He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series, aimed primarily at a young girls' audience to counter-balance the latter show's popularity with boys...
, Fat Albert and the Cosby KidsFat Albert and the Cosby KidsFat Albert and the Cosby Kids is an animated series created, produced, and hosted by comedian Bill Cosby, who also lent his voice to a number of characters, including Fat Albert himself. Filmation was the production company for the series. The show premiered in 1972 and ran until 1985...
, Ghostbusters, BravestarrBravestarrBraveStarr is an American space Western animated television series. The original episodes aired from September 1987 to February 1988 in syndication. It was created simultaneously with a collection of action figures. BraveStarr was the last animated series produced by Filmation and Group W...
, among other titles)
First-run syndicated shows
- Fight Back! with David Horowitz (1976–1992)
- The George Michael Sports MachineThe George Michael Sports MachineThe George Michael Sports Machine is a syndicated, sports-related television program which aired from 1984 until 2007. The show was hosted by George Michael, a former radio disc jockey-turned television sports anchor, and was produced at WRC-TV, the NBC-owned station in Washington,...
(1991–1995) - Martha Stewart LivingMartha Stewart LivingMartha Stewart Living is a magazine and a television show featuring entertaining and home decorating guru Martha Stewart. Both the magazine and the television program focus on the domestic arts. Martha Stewart Living began as a quarterly magazine in 1990, published by Time Inc..and is currently...
(1993–2004)
After the merger with CBS in 1996, Group W Productions was renamed Eyemark Entertainment, with CBS Broadcast International acquiring the overseas rights to the Group W backlog. Eyemark was in turn folded into King World Productions
King World Productions
King World Productions, Inc. was a production company and a syndicator of television programming in the United States until its eventual 2007 incorporation into CBS Television Distribution...
following the latter company's acquisition by CBS in 2000. King World gained control of most of the Group W and Eyemark libraries from 2000-2005. These libraries are now controlled by CBS Television Distribution
CBS Television Distribution
CBS Television Distribution is a global television distribution company, formed from the merger of CBS Corporation's two domestic television distribution arms CBS Paramount Domestic Television and King World Productions, including its home entertainment arm CBS Home Entertainment...
. The Filmation library is now the property of Boomerang Media
Boomerang Media
Boomerang Media, L.L.C. is an American media company founded by John Engelman and Eric Ellenbogen and the private equity firm GTCR in 2008...
subsidiary Classic Media
Classic Media
Classic Media, LLC, is an American production company and distributor of family programming. It was founded in 2000 by former Marvel Entertainment CEO Eric Ellenbogen and former Broadway Video executive John Engelman in hopes of acquiring mismanaged classic properties and giving exposure to...
and the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series is now owned by Viacom with Lionsgate Home Entertainment
Lionsgate Home Entertainment
Lionsgate Home Entertainment is the home video and DVD distribution arm of Lions Gate Entertainment and most former Artisan Entertainment releases. Its library of more than 8000 films owes some of its size to output deals with other studios...
owning DVD rights. Couch Pototoes is co-owned by Disney-ABC Domestic Television and CBS.
Cable networks
- The Nashville Network (TNN) (then co-owned with Gaylord EntertainmentGaylord Entertainment CompanyThe Gaylord Entertainment Company operates a number of hotel, resort, and media companies that were built by Edward Gaylord. It was previously a subsidiary of the Oklahoma City-based Oklahoma Publishing Company, which is owned by the Gaylord family and publishes the Daily Oklahoman newspaper...
; Group W later bought Gaylord's stake in the channel; later owned by ViacomViacomViacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
's MTV NetworksMTV NetworksMTV Networks is a division of media conglomerate Viacom that oversees the operations of many television channels and Internet brands, including the original MTV channel in the United States...
as Spike TVSpike TVSpike is an American cable television channel. It launched on March 7, 1983 as The Nashville Network , a joint venture of WSM, Inc...
) - The Disney Channel (then co-owned with the Walt Disney Company; Disney later bought Group W's 50 percent stake)
- Home Team Sports (now Comcast SportsNetComcast SportsNetComcast SportsNet is a group of regional sports networks in the United States primarily owned by the Comcast cable television company....
Mid-Atlantic) (Baltimore\WashingtonWashington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
network) and FSN SouthwestFox Sports NetThe Fox Sports Regional Networks, or simply Fox Sports Net , are a collection of cable TV regional sports networks in the United States owned and operated by News Corporation.- Beginnings :...
(DallasDallas, TexasDallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
network) - Satellite News ChannelSatellite News ChannelSatellite News Channel was a joint venture of the American Broadcasting Company and Westinghouse Broadcasting . Designed as a satellite-delivered cable TV network, SNC used footage from ABC News and seven Washington DC based crews, in addition to stories from other overseas networks to provide...
(co-owned with ABC; Network went defunct after a year and transponder space was sold to Ted TurnerTed TurnerRobert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...
, who used it to start CNN Headline NewsCNN Headline NewsHLN, formerly known as CNN Headline News and CNN2, is a cable television news channel based in the United States and a spinoff of the cable news television channel, CNN. Initially airing tightly-formatted 30-minute newscasts around the clock, since 2005, the channel has increasingly aired long-form...
) - Showtime (50 percent stake with Viacom from 1981 [when Group W acquired TelePrompterTeleprompterAn autocue is a display device that prompts the person speaking with an electronic visual text of a speech or script. Using a teleprompter is similar to the practice of using cue cards...
], until they sold their half of Showtime back to Viacom in 1982) - Wisconsin Sports Network (co-owned with the MilwaukeeMilwaukee, WisconsinMilwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
Time Warner CableTime Warner CableTime Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
franchise from 1996–1998, then merged into CBS Cable's Midwest Sports Channel (MSC). Later bought by FoxFox Broadcasting CompanyFox 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...
in 2000 and became FSN NorthFSN NorthFox Sports North is a regional sports network serving Minnesota, Wisconsin, northern Iowa, Upper Michigan along the Wisconsin border and the eastern parts of North Dakota and South Dakota...
and FSN WisconsinFSN WisconsinFox Sports Wisconsin is a regional sports network serving the state of Wisconsin. Originally the "Wisconsin" sub-feed of Fox Sports North, the network officially became Fox Sports Wisconsin on April 1, 2007 with its own feed originating from facilities in Milwaukee; the network had formerly been...
). (No relation to the present-day website of the same nameWisconsin Sports NetworkWisconsin Sports Network is an integrated publishing company with a focus on student athletes, their communities, families, friends, fans and coaches within the Wisconsin prep scene. It was created in 2002 by Nicholas Kartos, who was joined soon after by Rick Hamilton. The company currently...
.) - Z ChannelZ ChannelThe Z Channel was one of the first pay cable stations in the United States. Launched in 1974 from Los Angeles, California, this station was known for its devotion to the art of cinema due to the eclectic choice of films by the programming chief, Jerry Harvey...
(under TelePrompter-owned Theta Cable)