Affiliations ABC | Founded August 1, 2008 | |
Branding "ABC Ohio Valley"
7 News Slogan Live and Local
From Your Town Channels Digital: 7 (VHF, WTRF-DT 7.3) Owner Nexstar Media Group
(Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.) | ||
WTRF-DT3 is the ABC-affiliated television station for Wheeling, West Virginia and Steubenville, Ohio, United States. It is a third digital subchannel of CBS affiliate WTRF-TV which is owned by Nexstar Media Group. Over-the-air, the station broadcasts a standard definition digital signal on VHF channel 7.3 from WTRF's transmitter located in Bridgeport, Ohio. WTRF-DT3 is also offered on Comcast digital cable channel 205. The station is known on-air as ABC Ohio Valley. WTRF-DT3's parent station has studios on 16th Street in downtown Wheeling. Syndicated programming on the station includes: Judge Joe Brown, Judge Judy, Family Feud, and The Rachel Maddow Show.
Contents
History
WTRF launched a new third digital subchannel with ABC programming on August 1, 2008, a year after it had launched Fox programming on WTRF-DT2. Previously, WTRF and WTOV-TV aired ABC programming in off-hours, but began phasing out ABC in the 1970s. WTRF dropped it entirely in the early 1980s, but WTOV continued to air a few ABC programs until 2000. However, WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh provided grade B coverage to most of the Wheeling/Steubenville market and was available in most area cable systems, while the far western part of the market could also get WSYX-TV in Columbus and WYTV in Youngstown. The launch of WTRF-DT3 allowed the tiny Wheeling/Steubenville market to finally receive full-time affiliates of all four major networks. Despite the presence of WTRF-DT3, however, both WTAE and WYTV retain their analog cable carriage on local Comcast systems, with ABC Ohio Valley airing only on Comcast digital cable. ABC Ohio Valley is broadcast in 480i 4:3 standard definition via WTRF-DT3 but is simulcast in 720p 16:9 high definition over WVTX-CD2 in Bridgeport, Ohio.
Newscasts
WTRF-DT3 simulcasts the weekday editions of 7 News at 6 a.m., Noon, 6, and 11 p.m. from its main channel. The only difference in news between the two channels is separate on-screen branding to denote ABC Ohio Valley.