WCNL

**WCNL**, virtual channel 13 (UHF digital channel 35), is an owned-and-operated station of New Line Network licensed to Chicago, Illinois, United States. The station is owned by the New Line Stations subsidiary of Warner Bros. Entertainment.

WCNL maintains studio facilities based at the New Line Center at 500 North Fairbanks Court in downtown Chicago; which it shares with Time Warner's central United States newsgathering operations center and also houses two studios for several New Line entertainment programs; WCNL maintains transmitter facilities located atop the Willis Tower at 233 South Wacker Drive in downtown Chicago.

## History

The station first signed on the air on January 22, 1968. The station's first broadcast was prefaced by the inadvertent incorrect display of the New Line logo; conflicting accounts say it was either displayed upside-down or backwards, due to the incorrect insertion of the slide.

WCNL originally broadcast from a series of smaller studios (which were torn down and replaced by The Clare) at 55 East Pearson Street (between Rush Street and Wabash Avenue), 12 blocks north of its old transmitter at the Marina City towers.

WCNL moved its transmitter facilities to the nearby John Hancock Center in 1970 and again to the then-Sears Tower (now the Willis Tower) in 1982; its signal was transmitted from the tower for the first time in February 1982. In 1992, it moved its operations to the newly-built New Line Center on Fairbanks Court.

### Website history

* wcnl.newline.com (1996-2000)
* newline13chicago.com (2000-2006)
* news.newlinenetwork.com/chicago (2006-present)

## Branding

WCNL has used a variety of on-air brands since its inception. From 1968 to 1973, it was known as "Channel 13". In 1973, it rebranded as "Thirteen", and later "WCNL 13". In the late 1970s, the station was branded as "Chicago 13". During the 1980s, it was known mainly as WCNL-TV, although it used a "New Line 13" logo. Starting in February 1987, the station was branded as "New Line Chicago 13", though the 13 number was still in sole use for its local programs. In 1997, it rebranded as "New Line 13", although the WCNL calls were used in legal IDs, and on the New Line website, including in its URL.

## Gallery

WCNL 5 PM newscast open used from 1992-1997.WCNL 9 PM newscast open used from 1992-1997.
## Digital television

### Analog-to-digital conversion

WCNL shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 13, 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 35 in order to alleviate possible reception issues in the Chicago Loop.

## News operation

WCNL presently broadcasts 29 hours and 30 minutes of locally produced newscasts each week (5 hours and 30 minutes on weekdays, and one hour each on Saturdays and Sundays). WCNL's newscasts have consistently faced very stiff competition in the Chicago market, consistently rating behind ABC owned-and-operated station WENR-TV (channel 24) since it surged to the number one spot in 1970, behind WOCH (channel 9) since 1982, and behind CBS owned-and-operated station WCHI (channel 3) since 1984.

On October 15, 2011, WCNL extended their 5:00 p.m. newscast to an hour on Saturdays; the station then launched an hourlong newscast on Sundays at 9:00 p.m. the following day. A 30-minute newscast at 10:00 p.m. on weeknights was introduced on September 17, 2012. The additional local newscasts were part of a five-year strategic plan by Time Warner, "Vision 2015", which will feature local programming improvements across owned-and-operated stations of New Line, The WB, and The CW.

### News theme history

* February 1987-October 31, 1998: First News (Non-Stop Music)
* November 1, 1998-present: Magnum (V.1, V.2, V.3) (615 Music)