WEVV-TV

WEVV-TV is a CBS television affiliate located in Evansville, Indiana. The station operates on digital channel 45, or virtual channel 44 via PSIP, from a transmitter located in Henderson, Kentucky. WEVV is owned and operated by Communications Corporation of America. Programming on WEVV channel 44.1 includes the full CBS lineup and syndicated programming including Ellen, Two and a Half Men, Entertainment Tonight, and Grace Under Fire. WEVV also operates a digital subchannel (44.2) that is currently affiliated with MyNetworkTV and will add Fox programming on July 1, 2011.

History
WEVV began broadcasting on November 17, 1983. It was originally anindependent station, then became a Fox affiliate around 1987, originally branded as "Fox 44" and later as "WEVV Fox TV." In 1995, WEVV was involved in a three-way affiliation switch, joining CBS after Fox moved to ABC affiliate WTVW. (WEHT, which had been with CBS, joined ABC.)

In June 2006, WEVV owner Communications Corporation of America filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Western District of Louisiana. In September of that year, WEVV began broadcasting a digital high definition signal; at the time, a digital subchannel was added on virtual 44.2, which was affiliated with MyNetworkTV and was simulcast on WTSN-LP (and as such, was branded as "MyTSN"). In 2009, the relationship with WTSN-LP ended and channel 44.2 changed branding to "My44."

On May 11, 2011, it was announced that WEVV 44.2 would join the Fox network, reuniting WEVV with the network it was previously affiliated with. Beginning July 1, 2011, channel 44.2 will have primary affiliation with Fox, while MyNetworkTV programming will move from the 7-9PM primetime block to 9-11PM. The subchannel will be branded as MyFOX 44.[1] The CBS affiliation will remain on its main channel. The move will leave WTVW without Fox affiliation.[2]

News operation
WEVV established a news department in 1992, with local news, branded Fox 44 News at Nine, originally airing weeknights at 9 p.m. With the switch to CBS, the 9 p.m. newscast was dropped, and the news operation was relaunched as NewsNow, adding newscasts at noon, 5 p.m., 10 p.m., and weekends. NewsNow later became CBS 44 News.

Other newscasts were added to mornings, and the 5 p.m. moved to 6 p.m. However, none of these additions/time period changes helped the news ratings, remaining in fourth place behind WFIE, WEHT and WTVW. WEVV shuttered its news department in June 2001 and has not had any local news programming since then, though WeatherVision does provide weather content for the station. WEVV is one amongst a group of major network affiliates without any local newscasts, a group that also includes WTWC-TV/Tallahassee (NBC), WUTV/Buffalo (Fox), KECY-TV/El Centro (Fox), and WWJ-TV/Detroit (a CBS O&O).

Notable alumni

 * Ryan Owens (ABC World News Now)
 * Adam Alexander (later at Speed Channel, MRN)
 * Mike Puccinelli (now at WBBM in Chicago)
 * Jodi Saeland (now with KSTU-TV in Salt Lake City)
 * Kelly Sutton (now at WZTV in Nashville)

Newscast titles

 * Fox 44 News at Nine (1992-1995)
 * 44 News Now! (1995-1999)
 * CBS 44 News (1999-2001)

Station slogans

 * Don't Let Fox 44 Weekends Pass You By (1987-1988; local version of Fox ad campaign)
 * Your Only Primetime News (1992-1994)
 * The Tri-State's Only Primetime News (1994-1995)
 * Your Home for News (1995-2001)

[edit]External links

 * Official website
 * Query the FCC's TV station database for WEVV
 * BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WEVV-TV