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{{short description|CBS affiliate in Lafayette, Indiana}}
{{distinguish|WFLI-TV}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 20192024}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign = WLFI-TV
| city =
| logo = [[File:WLFI 2012 Logo.png|150px]]
| logo_size = 150px
----
[[File:| image = WLFI-DT2 Logo.png|150px]]
| image_size = 150px
| branding = WLFI 18 ''(general)''<br>''News 18'' ''(newscasts)''<br>Lafayette's CW18 ''(DT2)''
| digital branding = 11{{ubl|WLFI ([[very18; high''News frequency18''|VHF]]Lafayette's CW18.2 ''(DT2)''}}
| virtualdigital = 1811 ([[VHF]])
| translatorsvirtual = 18
| translators =
| affiliations = {{ubl|'''18.1:''' [[CBS]]<br>|'''18.2:''' [[The CW Plus|CW+]]<br>'''18.3:'|''for [[Ionothers, see Television]]<br>{{Section link||Subchannels}}'''18.4:''' [[GetTV]]}}
| owner = [[Entertainment Studios|Allen Media Broadcasting]]<ref name="allenmedia">{{cite web|url=https://tvnewscheck.com/article/top-news/239568/byron-allen-buying-11-stations-for-290m/|title=Byron Allen Buying 11 Stations For $290M|last=Miller|first=Mark K.|work=TVNewsCheck|publisher=NewsCheckMedia|date=October 1, 2019|access-date=October 1, 2019}}</ref>
| licensee = Lafayette TV License Company, [[Limited liability company|LLC]]
| location = [[Lafayette, Indiana]]
| country = United States
| airdate = {{Start date and age|1953|06|15|p=y}}
| last_airdate =
| callsign_meaning = '''L'''a'''F'''ayetteLafayette, '''I'''ndianaIndiana
| sister_stations = {{ubl|[[WFFT-TV]], [[WTHI-TV]], [[WEVV-TV]]/[[|WEVV-TV|, WEEV-LD]]<br>|'''Cable:'''<br> [[Bally Sports Indiana]], [[Bally Sports Ohio]]}}
| former_callsigns = WFAM-TV (1953–1967)
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:'''<br> 59 ([[Ultra high frequency|UHF]], 1953–1957)<br>, 18 (UHF, 1957–2009)}}
| former_affiliations = {{ubl|'''Secondary:'''<br>|[[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]] (1953–1956)<br>|[[NTA Film Network|NTA]] (1956–1961)<br>'''DT2:'''<br>[[TheCoolTV]] (2011–2013)}}
| erp = 30 [[kilowatt|kW]]
| haat = {{convert|214|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id = 73204
| coordinates = {{nowrap|{{coord|40|23|20|N|86|36|46|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}}}
| licensing_authority = [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]]
| website = {{ubl|{{URL|https://www.wlfi.com/}}<br>|[https://www.yourcwtv.com/partners/lafayettein/ WLFI-DT2] }}
}}
 
'''WLFI-TV''', [[virtual (channel]] 18 ([[Very high frequency|VHF]] [[digital terrestrial television|digital]] channel 11), is a dual [[CBS]]/[[The CW Plus|CW+]]-[[network affiliate|affiliated]] [[television station]] [[city of license|licensed]] toin [[Lafayette, Indiana]], United States., Theaffiliated station is owned bywith [[Allen Media BroadcastingCBS]], a subsidiary ofand [[LosThe AngelesCW Plus]]-based. Owned by [[Entertainment Studios|Allen Media Broadcasting]]., WLFI-TV'sthe studiosstation aremaintains locatedstudios on Yeager Road in [[West Lafayette, Indiana|West Lafayette]], and; its transmitter is located on County Road 700 in rural northwestern [[Clinton County, Indiana|Clinton County]] (southwest of [[Rossville, Indiana|Rossville]]). On [[cable television|cable]], WLFI-TV is available on [[Xfinity|Comcast Xfinity]] channel 8 and Metronet channel 18 in [[standard-definition television|standard definition]] and on Xfinity [[digital cable|digital]] channel 1018 and Metronet channel 818 in [[high-definition television|high definition]].
 
==History==
The station first signed on the air at 6:00&nbsp;p.m. on June 15, 1953, as '''WFAM-TV''',<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wlfi.com/Global/story.asp?S=6512244|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070711100039/http://www.wlfi.com/Global/story.asp?S=6512244|archive-date=July 11, 2007|title=History of WLFI}}</ref> broadcasting on [[Ultra high frequency|UHF]] channel 59. It was founded by O.E. Richardson, owner of radio station [[WASK (AM)|WASK]] (1450 AM).<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://uhfhistory.com/articles/wfam.html|title=History of UHF Television: WFAM-TV/59, Lafayette IN|access-date=June 11, 2019}}</ref> The station originally operated as a primary CBS and DuMont affiliate. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the [[NTA Film Network]].<ref name="Boxoffice7">{{Citation| title = Require Prime Evening Time for NTA Films| journal = Boxoffice| pages = 13| date = November 10, 1956| url = http://issuu.com/boxoffice/docs/boxoffice_111056-1}}</ref>
 
WFAM-TV's transmitter had originally broadcast at low power, making it unreceivable in parts of west-central Indiana outside of the immediate Lafayette area. Out of its original 20-person staff, only one person had any experience in television; the rest were radio personalities who pulled double duty.
 
[[File:WLFI Logo.png|150px|thumb|left|WLFI-TV logo used from 2000 to 2012.]]
In 1957, both the television station wasand soldthe toradio WASKstation were sold to assistant generalstation manager Henry Rosenthal and his partners, who filed with the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) to move WFAM-TV to channel 18, but the station instead went dark in May 1959. Rosenthal sold the station to [[Sarkes Tarzian]], a radio manufacturer based in [[Bloomington, Indiana|Bloomington]], which also owned primary [[NBC]]/secondary [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] and [[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]] affiliate [[WTTV]] (now a CBS affiliate) in [[Indianapolis]] and ABC affiliate [[WPTA]] in [[Fort Wayne, Indiana|Fort Wayne]]. It was Tarzian who finished the relocation to channel 18, returning WFAM-TV to the air on that channel on November 15 of that year.<ref name="auto"/> (The channel 59 allocation remained dormant until the FCC later reassigned the allotment to Indianapolis used by WPDS-TV—now [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] affiliate [[WXIN]]—in February 1984.) The station changed its call letters to '''WLFI-TV''' in 1967. In 1979, the station was purchased by [[Block Communications]]. In 2000, [[LIN Media|LIN TV Corporation]] acquired WLFI from Block in exchange for a 67% ownership interest in ABC affiliate [[WAND]] (now an NBC affiliate) in [[Decatur, Illinois]] (LIN TV later sold off its remaining 33% interest in WAND to Block Communications).
 
WLFI's broadcasts became digital-only, effective June 12, 2009.<ref name="Analog to Digital">{{Cite web |url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=June 26, 2014 |archive-date=August 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
 
On March 21, 2014, [[Media General]] announced that it would merge with LIN Media in a $1.6 &nbsp;billion deal.<ref name=ibj-saletomg>{{cite news|title=Media General to buy WISH-TV parent in deal worth $1.6B|url=http://www.ibj.com/media-general-to-buy-wish-tv-parent-in-deal-worth-16b/PARAMS/article/46796|access-date=March 22, 2014|newspaper=[[Indianapolis Business Journal]]|date=March 21, 2014|agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-linmedia-offer-idUSBREA2K0S720140321|title=Media General to buy LIN Media for $1.6 billion|author=Sruthi Ramakrishnan|date=March 21, 2014|publisheragency=Reuters|access-date=March 21, 2014}}</ref> The merger was completed on December 19.<ref>[http://www.mediageneral.com/press/2014/dec19_14_merger.html{{Cite Mediaweb General|title=Nexstar CompletesMedia MergerGroup, WithInc. LIN Media] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219194453/http://www.mediageneralnexstar.comtv/press/2014/dec19_14_merger.html |access-date=DecemberJanuary 1926, 20142024 }},|website=Nexstar Press Release, [[Media General]]Group, RetrievedInc. December 19, 2014|language=en-US}}</ref> [[Nexstar Media Group|Nexstar Broadcasting Group]] announced on January 27, 2016, that it would merge with Media General in a $4.6 &nbsp;billion acquisition;<ref name="b&c-saletonexstar">{{cite news|last1=Lafayette|first1=Jon|title=Nexstar Agrees to Buy Media General for $4.6B|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/currency/nexstar-agrees-buy-media-general-46b/147293|access-date=June 13, 2016|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable]]|date=January 27, 2016}}</ref> it then announced on June 13, 2016, that it would sell WLFI-TV and four other stations to Heartland Media, through its USA Television MidAmerica Holdings [[joint venture]] with MSouth Equity Partners, for $115 &nbsp;million, to comply with FCC ownership caps following the merger.<ref name="tvnc-saletoheartland">{{cite news|title=Prather Buys 5 TVs From Nexstar-Media Gen.|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/95456/prather-buys-5-tvs-from-nexstarmedia-gen|access-date=June 13, 2016|work=TVNewsCheck|date=June 13, 2016}}</ref>
 
WLFI was one of the Lafayette area's two commercial network television broadcasters between its launch in 1953 and the 2016 launch of [[WPBI-LD]], a Fox and NBC affiliate; the other station was WTTK (channel 29), a satellite station of WTTV that began broadcasting in 1988.<ref>[http{{Cite web |title=Fox, NBC stations broadcasting in town |url=https://www.jconline.com/story/news/local/lafayette/2016/10/26/new-tv-station-arrives-lafayette/92789574/ "Fox|access-date=January 26, NBC2024 stations broadcasting in town"]. ''[[|website=Journal &and Courier]]''. Retrieved October 29, 2016.|language=en-US}}</ref> Cable providers have long supplemented the area with stations from Indianapolis. Comcast Xfinity dropped the Indianapolis stations from its lineup on March 7, 2018,<ref>[http{{Cite web |last=Bangert |first=Dave |title=Comcast kills last of Indy stations from Lafayette's cable lineup |url=https://www.jconline.com/story/news/2018/03/08/comcast-kills-last-indy-stations-lafayettes-cable-lineup/407606002/ "Comcast|access-date=January kills26, last2024 of Indy stations from Lafayette's cable lineup"]. ''|website=Journal &and Courier''. Retrieved March 8, 2018.|language=en-US}}</ref> but resumed carriage of NBC affiliate [[WTHR]] and ABC affiliate [[WRTV]] two days later.<ref>[{{Cite web |last=Bangert |first=Dave |title=Comcast: Indianapolis broadcast stations back ... at least for now |url=https://www.jconline.com/story/news/2018/03/09/comcast-indianapolis-network-stations-back-least-now/410575002/ "Comcast:|access-date=January Indianapolis26, broadcast2024 stations back … at least for now"]. ''|website=Journal &and Courier''. Retrieved March 9, 2018.|language=en-US}}</ref>
 
==Programming==▼
==Digital channels==
WLFI-TV carries the entire CBS network schedule; however, it airs the [[CBS Dream Team]] lineup in two blocks—with the first two hours airing on Saturday mornings (leading into the [[CBS ThisSaturday Morning#Saturday edition|Saturday edition]] of ''[[CBS This MorningMornings]]'', which itself airs two hours later than most CBS stations that carry the broadcast) and the final hour airing on Sunday mornings. [[Broadcast syndication|Syndicated]] programs broadcast by WLFI-TV include ''[[Dr. Phil (talk show)|Dr. Phil]]'', ''[[Jeopardy!]]'', ''[[Wheel of Fortune (American game show)|Wheel of Fortune]]'' and ''[[The Ellen DeGeneres Show]]''.▼
The station's digital signal is [[multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]]:▼
 
===News operation===▼
WLFI-TV presently broadcasts {{frac|22½|1|2}} hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with four hours each weekday, {{frac|1|1½|2}} hours on Saturdays and one hour on Sundays); unlike most CBS affiliates in the [[Eastern Time Zone]], the station's early evening newscast at 5:00&nbsp;p.m. runs only for a half-hour, with the station opting to run syndicated programs during the 5:30&nbsp;p.m. half-hour.▼
 
Even after cable systems began piping in Indianapolis stations in the 1970s, the station's newscasts have performed well in the [[Nielsen ratings|ratings]]; its success was largely attributed to the longevity of most of its news staff, some of whom had been at the station for over 20 years, including former anchors Jeff Smith and Chris Morisse, sports anchor Larry Clisby and meteorologist Steve Scherer [http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~scherer/ Steve Scherer - Purdue University].▼
 
In September 2012, WLFI became the third television station in [[Central Indiana]] to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in [[high-definition television|high definition]]; as part of the upgrade, the station unveiled a new graphics package (a modified version of the package used by CBS [[owned-and-operated station]] [[WBBM-TV]] in [[Chicago]] from when it upgraded its newscasts to high definition in 2008 until 2010) and a new set for its newscasts.▼
 
====Notable former on-air staff====▼
* [[Jane King (journalist)|Jane King]] (now New York correspondent for [[CNN]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/king.jane.html|title=CNN Programs - Anchors/Reporters - Jane King|websitepublisher=www.cnn.comCNN}}</ref>▼
 
==Subchannels==
▲The station's digital signal is [[multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]]:
{| class="wikitable"
!|+Subchannels Programmingof WLFI-TV<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WLFI#station|title = RabbitEars TV Query for WLFI|website=RabbitEars.Infoinfo}}</ref>▼
|-▼
! Channel
! [[VideoDisplay resolution|VideoRes.]]
! [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! PSIP shortShort name
! Programming
▲! Programming <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WLFI#station|title = RabbitEars.Info}}</ref>
|-
! scope = "row" | 18.1
| 18.1 || rowspan="2"|[[1080i]] || rowspan="45"|[[16:9]] || CBS || Main WLFI-TV programming / [[CBS]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 18.2
| 18.2 || CW || [[The CW Plus|Lafayette's CW18]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 18.3 |
| rowspan="23"|[[480i]] || ION || [[Ion Television]]
▲|-
! scope = "row" | 18.4
| 18.4 || GETTV || [[GetTV]]▼
|-
! scope = "row" | 18.5
| START || [[Start TV]]
|-
▲| 18.4 || GETTV || [[GetTV]]
|}
WLFI formerly carried [[TheCoolTV]] on digital subchannel 18.2 from 2011 to 2013, when LIN Media terminated its affiliation agreement with the [[music video]] network.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://m.thecooltv.com/stations.php?id=31|title=Thecooltv.com|website=m.thecooltv.com}}</ref> The live feed of "Storm Team 18 Live Doppler Radar" moved from digital subchannel 18.3 to 18.2 in the fall of 2013. [[Sony Pictures Television]]'s [[GetTV]] network, which features classic movies, replaced the weather radar channel on WLFI-DT2 in early 2015. In Fall 2015, WLFI-DT3 was launched to serve as an [[Ion Television]] affiliate. [[The CW Plus]] began to be broadcast over WLFI-DT2 in [[720p]] HD in August 2017, moving [[GetTV]] to a new DT4 subchannel and leading to the CBS feed on their main channel being downscaled into 720p for the time being (presumably due to bandwidth limitations resulting from their encoding equipment, which is only capable of utilizing a "Constant" Bitrate Allocation, versus "Variable"); however, by November 2021 CBS and CW+ programming was upgraded to 1080i full HD, at the expense of bandwidth on the remaining subchannels.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rabbitears.info/market.php?request=print_station&facility_id=73204|title=WLFI-TV LAFAYETTE, IN|website=rabbitears.info}}</ref> WLFI-DT2 is being identified on-air as "'''Lafayette's CW18'''".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/simgad/16918428724833032503|title=A Promotional Logo Of WLFI-DT2}}</ref>▼
 
▲WLFI formerly carried [[TheCoolTV]] on digital subchannel 18.2 from 2011 to 2013, when LIN Media terminated its affiliation agreement with the [[music video]] network.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://m.thecooltv.com/stations.php?id=31|title=Thecooltv.com|website=m.thecooltv.com}}</ref> The live feed of "Storm Team 18 Live Doppler Radar" moved from digital subchannel 18.3 to 18.2 in the fall of 2013. [[Sony Pictures Television]]'s [[GetTV]] network, which features classic movies, replaced the weather radar channel on WLFI-DT2 in early 2015. In Fall 2015, WLFI-DT3 was launched to serve as an [[Ion Television]] affiliate. [[The CW Plus]] began to be broadcast over WLFI-DT2 in [[720p]] HD in August 2017, moving [[GetTV]] to a new DT4 subchannel and leading to the CBS feed on their main channel being downscaled into 720p for the time being (presumably due to bandwidth limitations resulting from their encoding equipment, which is only capable of utilizingusing a "Constant" Bitrate Allocation, versus "Variable"); however, by November 2021 CBS and CW+ programming was upgraded to 1080i full HD, at the expense of bandwidth on the remaining subchannels.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rabbitears.info/market.php?request=print_station&facility_id=73204|title=WLFI-TV LAFAYETTE, IN|website=rabbitears.info}}</ref> WLFI-DT2 is being identified on-air as "'''Lafayette's CW18'''".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/simgad/16918428724833032503|title=A Promotional Logo Of WLFI-DT2}}</ref>
▲==Programming==
▲WLFI-TV carries the entire CBS network schedule; however, it airs the [[CBS Dream Team]] lineup in two blocks—with the first two hours airing on Saturday mornings (leading into the [[CBS This Morning#Saturday edition|Saturday edition]] of ''[[CBS This Morning]]'', which itself airs two hours later than most CBS stations that carry the broadcast) and the final hour airing on Sunday mornings. [[Broadcast syndication|Syndicated]] programs broadcast by WLFI-TV include ''[[Dr. Phil (talk show)|Dr. Phil]]'', ''[[Jeopardy!]]'', ''[[Wheel of Fortune (American game show)|Wheel of Fortune]]'' and ''[[The Ellen DeGeneres Show]]''.
 
▲==News operation==
▲WLFI-TV presently broadcasts 22½ hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with four hours each weekday, 1½ hours on Saturdays and one hour on Sundays); unlike most CBS affiliates in the [[Eastern Time Zone]], the station's early evening newscast at 5:00&nbsp;p.m. runs only for a half-hour, with the station opting to run syndicated programs during the 5:30&nbsp;p.m. half-hour.
 
▲Even after cable systems began piping in Indianapolis stations in the 1970s, the station's newscasts have performed well in the [[Nielsen ratings|ratings]]; its success was largely attributed to the longevity of most of its news staff, some of whom had been at the station for over 20 years, including former anchors Jeff Smith and Chris Morisse, sports anchor Larry Clisby and meteorologist Steve Scherer [http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~scherer/ Steve Scherer - Purdue University].
 
▲In September 2012, WLFI became the third television station in [[Central Indiana]] to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in [[high-definition television|high definition]]; as part of the upgrade, the station unveiled a new graphics package (a modified version of the package used by CBS [[owned-and-operated station]] [[WBBM-TV]] in [[Chicago]] from when it upgraded its newscasts to high definition in 2008 until 2010) and a new set for its newscasts.
 
▲===Notable former on-air staff===
▲* [[Jane King (journalist)|Jane King]] (now New York correspondent for [[CNN]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/king.jane.html|title=CNN Programs - Anchors/Reporters - Jane King|website=www.cnn.com}}</ref>
 
==References==
Line 85 ⟶ 95:
 
==External links==
* {{Official website|https://www.wlfi.com/}}
*{{TVQ|WLFI}}
*{{BIA|WLFI|TV|TV}}
 
{{Lafayette IN TV}}
Line 95 ⟶ 103:
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wlfi-Tv}}
[[Category:Entertainment1953 Studiosestablishments in Indiana]]
[[Category:CBS network affiliates]]
[[Category:GetTVAllen affiliatesMedia Group]]
[[Category:Get (TV network) affiliates]]
[[Category:Ion Television affiliates]]
[[Category:Start TV affiliates]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1953]]
[[Category:1953 establishments in Indiana]]
[[Category:Television stations in Lafayette, Indiana|LFI-TV]]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WLFI-TV"