WWHO wass the Columbus, Ohio television primary affiliate for the United Paramount Network and the Secondary Affiliate for The Warner Bros Television Network. The station is licensed to Chillicothe, though it operates out of a facility in Columbus with its transmitter located in Williamsport, halfway between Columbus and Chillicothe. WWHO is owned by Manhan Media and managed by Sinclair Broadcast Group, making it a sister station to ABC affiliate WSYX and Fox affiliate WTTE. From 1997 until 2000 WWHO was a primary WB Network affilate and a Secondary UPN Affliliate.
History[]
WWHO began operating on August 31, 1987 as independent station WWAT, named after its owner, Wendell A. Triplett. It was the first general-entertainment independent station in Columbus since WTTE signed on in 1984. It operated a Columbus translator on W17AI channel 17 (now WDEM, which is still owned by Triplett) until 1992, when WWAT was added to many cable providers in the Columbus market due to cable must-carry legislation. The station was sold for $2 million in 1994 to Fant Broadcasting and changed its calls to WWHO. At the same time, the on-air name "Who-53" was adopted. At the same time, the station entered a Local marketing agreement with WCMH-TV (then owned by the Outlet Company), which included producing a nightly 10 PM newscast (the first such in the Columbus market) using WCMH's facilities and resources.
The station remained an independent station until the launch of the The WB Television Network on January 11, 1995. WWHO (then "WB 53") remained a The WB affiliate until the Paramount Stations Group (a subsidiary of Paramount Pictures, whose parent company is Viacom) agreed to acquire the station in 1997, along with sister station WLWC in Providence and sell Hartford's NBC affiliate WVIT to NBC in return. At that time the station became a secondary UPN affiliate, as UPN programming was moved from WTTE, primarily a Fox affiliate, to WWHO; while channel 53 retained a primary WB affiliation through the duration of its contract, the station nonetheless soon began calling itself "UPN 53."[2] In 2000, WWHO switched its primary affiliation to UPN, but signed a deal with The WB to retain its programming on a secondary basis through what a Paramount Stations Group executive described as a "program license agreement."[3] The station dropped the channel number from its branding in 2002, becoming "UPN Columbus." On February 10, 2005, it was announced that the Viacom Television Stations Group (the successor to the Paramount Stations Group as a result of Viacom merging with CBS in 1999) was selling WWHO and WNDY-TV (in the Indianapolis market) to LIN Television for $85 million.
On February 10, 2005, LIN Television announced its intention to bring 10 p.m. news, which had disappeared from WWHO following its acquisition by Paramount Stations Group, back to the station. This half-hour newscast was produced by WBNS-TV, and debuted on September 1, 2005, concurrent with a rebranding of the station as "UPN 53 WWHO." Unlike WCMH in previous years, WBNS chose to use its own station branding on the newscast rather than WWHO's, including WBNS's normal "10TV News HD" graphics beginning in 2007 (despite the fact WWHO's newscast was not broadcast in HD until mid-2008).
The rebrand proved to be short-lived, as UPN and The WB merged to form The CW in 2006. Although LIN initially had some hesitancy about the network's business model[citation needed], it eventually agreed to affiliate four of its WB and UPN affiliates, including WWHO, with The CW,[4] making WWHO the largest The CW affiliate owned by LIN. (WSYX, the area's ABC affiliate (and sister station to WTTE), launched a new digital subchannel featuring programming from My Network TV in September of that year.)
On July 31, approximately one month before The CW officially debuted, WWHO rebranded with a new logo and slogan, "The CW on WWHO-TV." Once more, the station's channel number was de-emphasized. However, the station today goes by "The CW Columbus."
Children's Programming Schedules[]
1997-1998 season[]
(WEEKDAY MORNINGS)
6:00 AM - Sonic the Hedgehog
6:30 AM - The Mask
7:00 AM - Tiny Toon Adventures (Mon-Thurs) Channel Umptee-3 (Fri)
7:30 AM - The New Adventures of Captain Planet
8:00 AM - Extreme Dinosaurs
8:30 AM - Extreme Ghostbusters
(WEEKDAY AFTERNOONS)
2:30 PM - Breaker High
2:30 PM - Sweet Valley High
3:00 PM - The Bugs 'n' Daffy Show
3:30 PM - Animaniacs
4:00 PM - Pinky and the Brain
4:30 PM - The New Superman/Batman Adventures
(SUNDAY MORNINGS)
8:00 AM - Captain Simian and the Space Monkeys
8:30 AM - Extreme Ghostbusters
9:00 AM - The Mask
9:30 AM - Extreme Dinosaurs
10:00 AM - Jumanji
10:30 AM - The Incredible Hulk
11:00 AM - Breaker High
11:30 AM - Sweet Valley High
1998-1999 season[]
First Week[]
(WEEKDAY MORNINGS)
6:00 AM - Extreme Dinosaurs
6:30 AM - Jumanji
7:00 AM - Tiny Toon Adventures
7:30 AM - Animaniacs
8:00 AM - Pokemon
8:30 AM - Bananas in Pajamas
(WEEKDAY AFTERNOONS)
2:00 PM - Skysurfer Strike Force
2:30 PM - Pocket Dragon Adventures
3:00 PM - Pinky and the Brain
3:30 PM - Histeria!
4:00 PM - The New Superman/Batman Adventures
4:30 PM - The New Superman/Batman Adventures
September 14 - October 30[]
(WEEKDAY MORNINGS)
6:00 AM - Extreme Dinosaurs
6:30 AM - Jumanji
7:00 AM - Tiny Toon Adventures
7:30 AM - Animaniacs
8:00 AM - Pokemon
8:30 AM - Bananas in Pajamas
(WEEKDAY AFTERNOONS)
2:00 PM - Mummies Alive!
2:30 PM - Pocket Dragon Adventures
3:00 PM - Pinky and the Brain
3:30 PM - Histeria!
4:00 PM - The New Superman/Batman Adventures
4:30 PM - The New Superman/Batman Adventures
November 2, 1998 - July 2, 1999[]
(WEEKDAY MORNINGS)
6:00 AM - Mighty Max
6:30 AM - Jumanji
7:00 AM - Tiny Toon Adventures
7:30 AM - Animaniacs
8:00 AM - Pokemon
8:30 AM - Bananas in Pajamas
(WEEKDAY AFTERNOONS)
2:00 PM - Mummies Alive!
2:30 PM - Pocket Dragon Adventures
3:00 PM - Pinky and the Brain
3:30 PM - Histeria!
4:00 PM - The New Superman/Batman Adventures
4:30 PM - The New Superman/Batman Adventures
July 5 - August 27[]
(WEEKDAY MORNINGS)
6:00 AM - Mighty Max
6:30 AM - Jumanji
7:00 AM - Tiny Toon Adventures
7:30 AM - Histeria!
8:00 AM - Pokemon
8:30 AM - Bananas in Pajamas
(WEEKDAY AFTERNOONS)
2:00 PM - Mummies Alive!
2:30 PM - Pocket Dragon Adventures
3:00 PM - Pinky and the Brain
3:30 PM - Animaniacs
4:00 PM - The New Superman/Batman Adventures
4:30 PM - The New Superman/Batman Adventures
Last Week[]
(WEEKDAY MORNINGS)
6:00 AM - Monster Rancher
6:30 AM - Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles
7:00 AM - Tiny Toon Adventures
7:30 AM - Histeria!
8:00 AM - Pokemon
8:30 AM - Bananas in Pajamas
(WEEKDAY AFTERNOONS)
2:00 PM - Mummies Alive!
2:30 PM - Extreme Ghostbusters
3:00 PM - Pinky and the Brain
3:30 PM - Animaniacs
4:00 PM - The New Superman/Batman Adventures
4:30 PM - The New Superman/Batman Adventures
1999-2000 season[]
First Week[]
(WEEKDAY MORNINGS)
6:00 AM - Disney's Recess
6:30 AM - Sabrina, the Animated Series
7:00 AM - Pokemon
7:30 AM - Histeria!
8:00 AM - Disney's Doug
8:30 AM - Disney's Hercules
(WEEKDAY AFTERNOONS)
3:00 PM - Big Cartoonie Show
3:30 PM - Pokemon
4:00 PM - The New Superman/Batman Adventures
4:30 PM - Batman Beyond
(SUNDAYS)
7:00 AM - Catholic Mass
7:30 AM - Zorro
8:00 AM - Disney's Hercules
8:30 AM - Disney's Doug
9:00 AM - Sabrina, the Animated Series
9:30 AM - Disney's Recess