WFLI-TV

WFLI-TV
Cleveland/Chattanooga, Tennessee; United States
City	Cleveland, Tennessee
Channels	Digital: 23 (UHF); Virtual: 53
Branding	The CW Chattanooga; MyNetworkTV Chattanooga; (on DT2); MeTV Chattanooga; (on DT3)
Programming
Affiliations	53.1: The CW; 53.2: MyNetworkTV; 53.3: MeTV; 53.4: Charge!
Ownership
Owner	MPS Media, LLC ; (MPS Media of Tennessee License, LLC)
Operator	New Age Media, LLC; (via LMA; certain services provided by Sinclair Broadcast Group)
Sister stations	broadcast: WDSI-TV, WTVC; cable: Bally Sports South, Bally Sports Southeast
History
Founded	November 12, 1985
First air date	May 25, 1987 (34 years ago)
Former channel number(s)	Analog:; 53 (UHF, 1987–2009); Digital:; 42 (UHF, until 2020)
Former affiliations	Analog/DT1:; Independent (1987–1995); UPN (1995–2001); The WB (1999–2006; secondary until 2001); Fuel TV (Saturday nights; 2001–2003); DT2:; MeTV (2011–2015; now on DT3)
Call sign meaning	taken from former sister radio station
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	72060
Class	DT
ERP	550 kW
HAAT	306 m (1,004 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	35°9′38.7″N 85°19′5.8″W / 35.160750°N 85.318278°W
Links
Public license information	Profile; LMS
Website	chattanoogacw.com

WFLI-TV, virtual channel 53 (UHF digital channel 23), is a dual CW/MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station licensed to Cleveland, Tennessee, United States and serving the Chattanooga television market. The station is owned by MPS Media; New Age Media, which owns Chattanooga-licensed This TV/Comet affiliate WDSI-TV (channel 61), operates WFLI-TV under a local marketing agreement (LMA). The Sinclair Broadcast Group, owner of Chattanooga-licensed dual ABC/Fox affiliate WTVC (channel 9), provides some engineering functions for both stations under LMAs and also programs WFLI-TV.

WFLI-TV and WDSI-TV share studios on East Main Street (SR 8/US 41/US 76) in Chattanooga's Highland Park section; master control and some internal operations for the two stations are based at WTVC's facilities on Benton Drive in Chattanooga. WFLI-TV's transmitter is located on Signal Mountain in the town of Walden.

Although parts of the Chattanooga market are in the Central Time Zone, all schedules are listed in Eastern Time.

History[]

The station signed on May 25, 1987, as an independent co-owned with WFLI radio (1070 AM) (hence the television station call sign). It aired an analog signal on UHF channel 53 from a transmitter in Cohutta, Georgia. On January 16, 1995, WFLI joined UPN as a charter affiliate. In 1997, the station was sold to Lambert Broadcasting, LLC. It added The WB in 1999 as a secondary affiliation; two years later, WFLI dropped UPN and became a full-time WB affiliate. The Meredith Corporation acquired WFLI in 2004.

Between 2001 and 2003, the station sold late-night Saturday paid programming time to an independent producer, out of which eventually arose the format and style of Fuel TV (now Fox Sports 2), which went by that name on WFLI. Fox Cable Networks eventually bought the trademarks and concept of Fuel TV in 2003 to launch it as a full-fledged cable network in July of that year, and the original Fuel TV program on WFLI ended in September 2003.^[4]^[5]

Logo from 2006 to 2016

On March 7, 2006, WFLI was announced as Chattanooga's CW affiliate at the network's launch on September 18 in the wake of the merger of the WB and UPN into The CW.^[6] Meanwhile, WDSI launched a new second digital subchannel to serve as the area's MyNetworkTV affiliate beginning September 5. On November 26, 2007, Meredith announced the sale of WFLI to MPS Media which closed April 1, 2008.^[7] Shortly thereafter, New Age Media (owner of WDSI) began operation of the station through an LMA. On May 23, 2011, WFLI signed on a new second digital subchannel of its own to offer MeTV.^[8]

Sinclair Broadcast Group purchased the non-license assets of WFLI-TV and WDSI-TV from New Age Media for $1.25 million in September 2015 and began operating them under a master services agreement.^[9]

On July 28, 2021, the FCC issued a Forfeiture Order stemming from a lawsuit against MPS Media. The lawsuit, filed by AT&T, alleged that MPS Media failed to negotiate for retransmission consent in good faith for the stations. Owners of other Sinclair-managed stations, such as Deerfield Media, were also named in the lawsuit. MPS was ordered to pay a fine of $512,288.^[10]

Programming[]

Syndicated programming on WFLI includes Pawn Stars, 2 Broke Girls, Family Feud, and Two and a Half Men among others.

Technical information[]

Subchannels[]

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel	Video	Aspect	PSIP Short Name	Programming^[11]
53.1	720p	16:9	WFLI-CW	Main WFLI-TV programming / The CW
53.2	480i		MyNET	WFLI-DT2 / MyNetworkTV
53.3			MeTV	MeTV
53.4			CHARGE	Charge!

Analog-to-digital conversion[]

WFLI-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 53, on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 42.^[12] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 53, which was among the high band UHF channels (52–69) that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition.

References[]

^ Miller, Mark K. (August 23, 2019). "Sinclair Closes $10.6B Disney RSN Purchase". TVNewsCheck. Archived from the original on August 23, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
^ "2001 Fuel TV Trademark". Archived from the original on 2012-10-16. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
^ "Original Fuel TV promos on WB". Archived from the original on 2016-06-23. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
^ "2001 Fuel TV Trademark". Archived from the original on 2012-10-16. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
^ "Original Fuel TV promos on WB". Archived from the original on 2016-06-23. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
^ "Welcome to 'The CW'". ABC News. 2006-01-24. Archived from the original on 2008-06-19. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
^ Michael Malone (2007-11-26). "MPS Media Buying WFLI from Meredith". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on 2008-06-18. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2011-05-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ Flessner, Dave (September 11, 2015). "Sinclair buys Chattanooga TV stations WDSI-TV and WFLI-TV". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Archived from the original on September 14, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
^ "Forfeiture Order" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. 2021-07-28. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
^ "RabbitEars TV Query for WFLI". Archived from the original on 2014-08-11. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2012-03-24.

External links[]

chattanoogacw.com

[SinclairRSNs-1] Miller, Mark K. (August 23, 2019). "Sinclair Closes $10.6B Disney RSN Purchase". TVNewsCheck. Archived from the original on August 23, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019.

[2] "2001 Fuel TV Trademark". Archived from the original on 2012-10-16. Retrieved 2012-01-05.

[3] "Original Fuel TV promos on WB". Archived from the original on 2016-06-23. Retrieved 2016-12-02.

[4] "2001 Fuel TV Trademark". Archived from the original on 2012-10-16. Retrieved 2012-01-05.

[5] "Original Fuel TV promos on WB". Archived from the original on 2016-06-23. Retrieved 2016-12-02.

[6] "Welcome to 'The CW'". ABC News. 2006-01-24. Archived from the original on 2008-06-19. Retrieved 2008-06-15.

[7] Michael Malone (2007-11-26). "MPS Media Buying WFLI from Meredith". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on 2008-06-18. Retrieved 2008-06-15.

[8] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2011-05-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[ctfp-saletosinclair-9] Flessner, Dave (September 11, 2015). "Sinclair buys Chattanooga TV stations WDSI-TV and WFLI-TV". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Archived from the original on September 14, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2015.

[forfeiture-10] "Forfeiture Order" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. 2021-07-28. Retrieved 2021-10-04.

[11] "RabbitEars TV Query for WFLI". Archived from the original on 2014-08-11. Retrieved 2014-07-31.

[12] "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2012-03-24.

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v t Broadcast television in Southern East Tennessee and Northwest Georgia, including Chattanooga and Calhoun
Reception may vary by location and some stations may only be viewable with cable television
Full-power	WRCB (3.1 NBC, 3.2 Grio, 3.3 Ion, 3.4 Dabl, 3.5 Newsy) WTVC (9.1 ABC, 9.2 Fox, 9.3 TBD) WDEF-TV (12.1 CBS, 12.2 Bounce, 12.3 Mystery, 12.4 Grit, 12.5 Defy, 12.6 Laff) WTCI (45.1 PBS, 45.2 Create/TN Channel, 45.3 PBS Kids) WFLI-TV (53.1 CW, 53.2 MNTV, 53.3 MeTV, 53.4 Charge!) WDSI-TV (61.1 This, 61.2 Comet)
LPTV staion	WOOT-LD (6.1 Heartland, 6.2 Retro, 6.3 Rev'n, 6.4 The Action Channel, 6.5 The Family Channel, 6.6 HSN) WYHB-CD (39.1 Defy, 39.2 beIN Sports, 39.3 GetTV 39.4 Ads, 39.5 [Blank], 39.6 Cozi)
Religious	WELF-TV (23.1 TBN, 23.2 Inspire, 23.3 Smile, 23.4 Enlace, 23.5 Positiv) W18DS-D (26.1 3ABN, 26.2 Proclaim, 26.3 D2D, 26.4 Latino, 26.5 3ABN Radio, 26.6 Radio Latino, 26.7 Radio 74)
Outlying Areas	WNGH-TV (18.1 PBS/GPB, 18.2 Create, 18.3 Knowledge, 18.4 PBS Kids) WTNB-CD (27.1 Heartland) WDGA-CD (43.1 Heartland, 43.2 Antenna TV) WDNN-CD 49 / WRNG-LP 28 / WLFW-LP 41 (Ind.)
Silent/Defunct	WCNT-LP 36 (Ind.) WHUA-LP 44 (Youtoo TV)
Tennessee broadcast television areas by city Chattanooga Jackson Knoxville Memphis Nashville Martin Tri-Cities Georgia broadcast television areas by city Albany Atlanta Augusta Chattanooga, TN Columbus Greenville, SC Jacksonville, FL Macon Savannah Tallahassee, FL See also Huntsville TV

v t CW network affiliates licensed to and serving the state of Tennessee
WCYB-DT 5.2 (Bristol, VA) KFVS-DT 12.2/WQWQ-LD 12.2 (Paducah, KY/Cape Girardeau, MO) WHDF 15 / WHNT-DT 19.2 (Florence/Huntsville, AL) WBXX 20 (Crossville) WLMT 30 (Memphis) WNBJ-LD 39.2 (Jackson) WFLI 53 (Cleveland) WZTV 17.2 (Nashville)
See also ABC CBS CW Fox Ion MyNetworkTV NBC PBS Other stations in Tennessee

v t MyNetworkTV affiliates licensed to and serving the state of Tennessee
WVLT-DT 8.2 (Knoxville) KPMF-LD 26 (Paragould, AR) WYJJ-LD 27 (Jackson) WUXP 30 (Nashville) WDKA 49 (Paducah, KY) WFLI-DT 53.2 (Cleveland) "WAMY" 8/WZDX-DT 54.2 (Huntsville, AL)
See also ABC CBS CW Fox Ion MyNetworkTV NBC PBS Other stations in Tennessee

v t New Age Media, LLC
CBS affiliate WGFL¹ NBC affiliate WNBW-DT^1,2 FOX affiliate³ WOLF-TV¹ The CW affiliates WFLI-TV^1,2 WSWB^1,2 WTLF^1,2 MyNetworkTV affiliates WFLI-DT2¹ WQMY¹ MeTV affiliates WYME-CD¹ WTLH¹ WFLI-DT3¹ Other affiliates WDSI-TV¹ (This TV - DT1/Comet - DT2)
¹ Operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group under master service agreement. ²Owned by MPS Media, LLC; operated by New Age Media through local marketing agreement (LMA). ³ Fox stations air outsourced local newscasts in prime time.