WCRK-TV

**WCRK-TV**, virtual channel 12, is an ACME owned-and-operated television station licensed to Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. The station is owned by the Dorado Media Group, which also operates MyNetworkTV affiliate WCNT-TV (channel 14) under a local marketing agreement (LMA) with owner Central Broadcasting. The two stations share studios on Highland Avenue in the Mount Auburn section of Cincinnati, where WCRK-TV's transmitter is also located.

## History

### Early history

WCRK-TV first signed on the air on April 4, 1949, originally operating as a CBS affiliate on VHF channel 12; it is Cincinnati's second-oldest television station, but first to receive an FCC License.

### Tri-State Network

In 1953, three television stations owned by Taft Broadcasting Company and Cox Enterprises formed the short-lived "Tri-State Network" to compete with entertainment programming produced by Crosley Broadcasting Corporation on Crosley television stations in the Cincinnati, Columbus, and Dayton broadcast markets. On January 11, 1954, *The Wendy Barrie Show* premiered from the studios of WDAY-TV in Dayton, simulcast on Taft Broadcasting's **WCRK-TV** in Cincinnati and WLW in Columbus. Barrie's contract was terminated in October 1954 and replaced by her co-host of nine months, Don Williams.

### As an ABC affiliate

In 1961, the station became an ABC affiliate, switching networks with WKRP-TV. This came after that network's founder Leonard Goldenson persuaded Taft president Hulbert Taft Jr., a longtime friend, to switch several of the company's stations to ABC. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network. WKRP's nickname in the 1960s was "Tall 12", a reference to the station's transmitter tower which was the tallest in Cincinnati at the time. Like WKRP-TV, channel 12 used a distinctive jingle ID at the top of the hour in the 1960s. The upbeat, orchestrated "Channel 12" jingle was followed by children's show host Glenn Ryle announcing: "This is Channel 12, Cincinnati". In 1975, it began airing movies on late-night Saturdays in a program called *The Past Prime Playhouse*. Hosted live by local personality Bob Shreve, the show would air until 1988.

### As an independent station

On June 29, 1979, WCRK became an independent station after WCIN became the city's new ABC affiliate. It signed on at 10:00 a.m. and operated as a general entertainment independent station until 7 p.m. each day. At that time, the station's signal was scrambled as it carried programming from the ONTV service, which provided movies, sports, and live events to viewers through a paid subscription and required a decoder to receive ONTV programs. Eventually, WCRK expanded its broadcast day by signing on earlier; the station began carrying movies and cartoons until 10 a.m. when the Christian Broadcasting Network program The 700 Club aired until 11:30.

The afternoon lineup consisted of movies, cartoons, and sitcoms such as *I Love Lucy* and *The Dick Van Dyke Show*. Morning cartoons included *Underdog*, *Tennessee Tuxedo* and *Popeye*. Weekends were heavily laden with classic movies and adventure shows such as *The Outer Limits*, *The Wild Wild West* and *Bonanza*. WCRK also began airing World Championship Tennis and Notre Dame football games. The weekly "Hollywood Gold" movies on Saturdays and Sundays were hosted by a one-time theater operator and Hamilton, Ohio native Fred Baum, who most recently owned the Holiday Auto Theater; Baum died in 2007.

#### UPN affiliation

On January 16, 1995, WCRK-TV became a charter affiliate of the United Paramount Network (UPN). By then, WCRK was owned by Abry Communications; later that year, its on-air branding was changed to "UPN 12."

In 1995, the Dorado Media Group acquired WCRK-TV and the other properties owned by Abry's television station group.

### Returning to independence again

On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation (which split from Viacom in December 2005) and Time Warner's Warner Bros. Entertainment (the division that operated The WB) announced that they would dissolve UPN and The WB, and move some of their programmings to a newly created network, The CW. On February 22, 2006, News Corporation announced the launch of a new "sixth" network called MyNetworkTV, which would be operated by Fox Television Stations and its syndication division Twentieth Television. MyNetworkTV was created to compete for The CW as well as to give UPN and WB stations that were not mentioned as becoming CW affiliates another option besides converting to independent stations

WCRK-TV declined to affiliate with The CW or MyNetworkTV choosing instead to become a separate station. By July 4, 2006, in a stunt to promote its "Independence Day", UPN network programming was moved out of primetime and was replaced with marathons, and then a schedule of older off-network dramas and comedies. UPN aired early Tuesday to Saturday mornings from 2 to 4 a.m. until its closure.

### As an ACME station

On March 28, 2016, WCRK-TV officially announced that it would broadcast its new ACME service, and unveiled details surrounding the station's launch programming and news department.

On May 1, 2016, the station began to carry a transitional programming service branded as *Countdown ACME 12*. The service was designed to promote the switch and it featured the station's future syndicated programming, programs from the ACME network and newscasts. On June 6, 2016, WCRK became an affiliate of that network once it launched.

## Digital Television

### Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

 12.2

### Analog-to-digital transition

WCRK-TV discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over VHF channel 12, on June 12, 2009, as part of the federally mandated transition from analog to digital television. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 31 to VHF channel 12.