Branding CW 29 (general)
NBC 29 News Slogan TV to Talk About
Count on Us! (news) Channels Digital: WVIR-DT 32.3 (UHF)
Virtual: 29.3 (PSIP) Affiliations The CW
(via The CW Plus; 2006–present) Owner Waterman Broadcasting Corporation
(Virginia Broadcasting Corporation) First air date September 21, 1998 (1998-09-21)
(as cable-only "WBHA")
September 18, 2006; 10 years ago (2006-09-18)
(as a digital subchannel of WVIR-TV) | ||
WVIR-DT3 is the CW-affiliated television station for Charlottesville and Harrisonburg, Virginia. The station is part of The CW Plus. It is a third digital subchannel of NBC affiliate WVIR-TV owned by the Waterman Broadcasting Corporation. Over-the-air, WVIR-DT3 broadcasts a standard definition digital signal on UHF channel 32.3 (virtual channel 29.3 via PSIP) from a transmitter on Carters Mountain south of the city.
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It can also be seen on Comcast channel 12. Known on-air as CW 29, WVIR-DT3's parent station has studios on East Market Street/U.S. 250 Bus in Downtown Charlottesville. A digital repeater of the main channel in Bridgewater, W41DT-D channel 41, offers this third subchannel as well. This broadcasts from a transmitter on Elliott Knob.
History
The origins of WVIR-DT3 began on September 21, 1998, back when it was known as cable only "WBHA" and "WBC", a cable-only affiliates of The WB Television Network that was originally managed and promoted by Cox Communications alongside the launch of The WB 100+ Station Group, a similar service to The CW Plus that was created to expand national coverage of The WB via primarily local origination channels managed by cable providers in markets ranked above #100 by Nielsen Media Research. Since it was a cable-exclusive outlet and therefore not licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the channel used the "WBHA" and "WBC"callsigns in a fictional manner. Prior to the launch of the cable channels, residents in the Charlottesville and Harrisonburg markets were only able to receive WB network programming on cable via the network's Washington, D.C. affiliate WFTY (which later became WBDC, now WDCW) or via Chicago-based superstation WGN on both cable and satellite.
On January 24, 2006, The WB and UPN announced the two networks would end broadcasting and merge. The new combined service would be called The CW. The letters would represent the first initial of corporate parents "C"BS (the parent company of UPN) and the "W"arner Bros. unit of Time Warner. At the network's launch on September 18, WVIR gained The CW affiliation through The CW Plus. The main station launched a new second digital subchannel to serve as the network's outlet in the Charlottesville and Harrisonburg areas. On September 13, 2007, WVIR began offering NBC Weather Plus on the second digital subchannel. As a result, The CW moved to a new third digital subchannel where it remains today.
On October 17, 2012 the station started broadcasting in full HD.
News operations
Alongside the launch of The CW, WVIR began producing a new nightly prime time newscast on WVIR-DT2 (now WVIR-DT3). Competing with a show already airing on Class A Fox affiliate WAHU-CD (produced by CBS affiliate WCAV), this was originally known as CW 29 News at 10 and featured a separate graphics package and news music theme. Eventually, the broadcast was renamed NBC 29 News at 10 and began mirroring programs seen on the main channel.
Like all CW Plus affiliates in the Eastern Time Zone, WVIR-DT3 offers the nationally syndicated morning show The Daily Buzz on weekday mornings from 6 until 9. On April 19, 2008, WVIR began airing its newscasts in high definition (becoming first in the market to do so). However, the prime time shows on WVIR-DT3 were not included in the upgrade because the digital subchannel had, at that time, only aired in standard definition.
On October 17, 2012 with the upgrade to HD the 10:00 pm newscast has ever since aired in HD as well.