WLEX-TV

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WLEX-TV
WLEX-TV logo.png
Metv wlex.png
Lexington, Kentucky
United States
CityLexington, Kentucky
ChannelsDigital: 28 (UHF)
Virtual: 18
BrandingLEX 18 (general)
LEX 18 News (newscasts)
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
OwnerE. W. Scripps Company
(Scripps Broadcasting Holdings LLC)
WCPO-TV
History
First air date
March 15, 1955 (66 years ago) (1955-03-15)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog:
  • 18 (UHF, 1955–2009)
  • Digital:
  • 39 (UHF, 2004–2019)
  • All secondary:
  • DuMont (1955)
  • CBS (1955–1957, 1958–1968)
  • ABC (1955–1958)
  • DT2:
  • Wazoo Sports Network (2009–2011)
Call sign meaning
LEXington
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID73203
ERP379 kW
1,000 kW (CP)
HAAT286 m (938 ft)
302.4 m (992 ft) (CP)
Transmitter coordinates38°2′3″N 84°23′39″W / 38.03417°N 84.39417°W / 38.03417; -84.39417
Links
Public license information
Profile
LMS
Websitewww.lex18.com

WLEX-TV, virtual channel 18 (UHF digital channel 28), is an NBC-affiliated television station licensed to Lexington, Kentucky, United States, serving the east-central region of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The station is owned by the Cincinnati-based E. W. Scripps Company. WLEX-TV's studios are located on Russell Cave Road (KY 353) in Lexington, and its transmitter is located six miles (10 km) east of downtown Lexington near Hamburg Pavilion on competitor WTVQ-DT's tower.

History[]

WLEX first went on the air in 1955. The station began transmitting its signal in color in 1962.

In November 2009, WLEX added the Wazoo Sports Network, which was dedicated to Kentucky sports, on a digital subchannel as part of a service branded as WZLEX.[1] Wazoo Sports filed for bankruptcy in December 2011; WLEX pulled the network at that time, with the station's general manager stating that Wazoo was "[not] strong enough to make a second commitment to it." Wazoo Sports would be replaced by MeTV.[2][3]

Cordillera Communications (the Evening Post subsidiary that operated its television stations) announced on October 29, 2018 that it would sell most of its stations, including WLEX, to the E. W. Scripps Company.[4] The sale was completed on May 1, 2019.[5]

News operation[]

WLEX-TV broadcasts 38 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 6½ hours each weekday, 2½ hours on Saturdays and three hours on Sundays). In the spring of 2007, WLEX-TV became the second station in Lexington and the entire state of Kentucky to broadcast local newscasts in high definition, and it debuted a new set in preparation for the transition. In September 2010, WLEX became the first station in Lexington to have an on-the-air 4:00 p.m. newscast.[6]

Technical information[]

Subchannels[]

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[7]
18.1 1080i 16:9 WLEX-TV Main WLEX-TV programming / NBC
18.2 720p MeTV MeTV
18.3 480i Bounce Bounce TV
18.4 CourtTV Court TV
18.5 QVC2 QVC2

Analog-to-digital conversion[]

WLEX-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 18, at 7 a.m. 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 39.[8] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 18. The digital signal originates from the tower that also transmits the WTVQ-TV signal.[9][10]

TV spectrum repack[]

WLEX moved its channel allocation from digital channel 39 to digital channel 28 and remains on virtual channel 18.[11]

Out-of-market coverage[]

In Tennessee, Lexington television stations WLEX and WKYT are carried in Jellico. In addition, some providers in the easternmost portions of the Louisville market carry WLEX, including Campbellsville and Bardstown.[12]

References[]

  1. ^ "WLEX, Wazoo Sports Debut Channel". TVNewsCheck. November 25, 2009. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
  2. ^ Sloan, Scott (January 9, 2012). "Kentucky broadcaster Wazoo Sports files for bankruptcy". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  3. ^ "Media Notebook: WTVQ, WLEX add subchannels of retro TV". Kentucky Herald-Leader. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
  4. ^ "The E.W. Scripps Company buys more television stations, bringing total to 51". WCPO-TV. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  5. ^ Miller, Mark K. (May 1, 2019). "Scripps Closes On Cordillera Stations Purchase". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheckMedia. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  6. ^ "WLEX to add 4 p.m. newscast". Lexington Herald-Leader. August 6, 2010. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
  7. ^ RabbitEars TV Query for WLEX
  8. ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  9. ^ "LEX 18 To Turn Off Analog Broadcast Signal On Friday". WLEX-TV. June 11, 2009. Archived from the original on June 16, 2009. Retrieved June 11, 2009.
  10. ^ "Cannot GET story". www.kentucky.com. Retrieved June 6, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ "Digital TV Market Listings". www.rabbitears.info. Retrieved June 6, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ "LEX 18 Coverage Map". WLEX-TV. Archived from the original on September 29, 2003 via Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 14, 2015.

External links[]

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