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|---|---|
| Channels | |
| Branding | MeTV Indianapolis |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| WTHR | |
| History | |
First air date | May 1991 (1991-05) |
Former call signs |
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Former channel numbers |
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Call sign meaning | Station's original branding was27 Alive |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 70161 |
| Class | CD |
| ERP | 8.18kW |
| HAAT | 268.2 m (880 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 39°55′43″N86°10′55″W / 39.92861°N 86.18194°W /39.92861; -86.18194 |
| Translator(s) | WTHR 13.03 (VHF) Indianapolis |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
WALV-CD (channel 46) is alow-power,Class A television station inIndianapolis, Indiana, United States, affiliated withMeTV. It is owned byTegna Inc. alongsideNBC affiliateWTHR (channel 13). The two stations share studios on NorthMeridian Street (south ofI-65) in downtown Indianapolis; WALV-CD's transmitter is located near Ditch Road and West 96th Street (nearI-465) inCarmel. The MeTV programming is mirrored on WTHR's thirddigital subchannel.
WALV has been associated with WTHR since it was put on the air in May 1991. Originally simulcasting channel 13 with occasional breaks for specific local and alternate programs, it operated as a secondary station with its own programming known as "27 Alive" from 1994 to 2000. The launch of 27 Alive included several dedicated local newscasts from WTHR. It was converted to the SkyTrak Weather Network, featuring news and weather information, and continued to air this programming until affiliating withCozi TV in 2013. It is still occasionally used for overflow programming from WTHR.
Dispatch Broadcast Group, the owner of WTHR, obtained theconstruction permit for channel 27 in 1988, but it did not begin broadcasting until May 1991.[3] It served primarily as a simulcaster of WTHR, breaking from channel 13's signal for network programs that it preempted[4] and programs of local interest, such as high school football and basketball.[5][6]
With the advent ofretransmission consent rules, WTHR reached deals with most of the major cable television systems in the area to provide a channel slot for W27AR on their systems.[7] In January 1994, the station relaunched as 27 Alive with a new lineup. The station featured daytime rolling news coverage in a news wheel format, using WTHR staff and some dedicated employees; dedicated 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts;[8] programming fromNational Empowerment Television (NET); a daily morning talk show,The Morning Show; andTime Out, a nightly sports talk show, as well as syndicated talk shows.[9][10] Within months, the news portion of 27 Alive's lineup was scaled back, with the news staffers merging into WTHR's newsroom.[11][12] The station changed its call letters to WALV-LP on December 1, 1995, to reflect its name.[13] That year, it aired longform coverage of the criminal murder trial ofO. J. Simpson.[14] It also dropped NET due to low ratings.[15] Meanwhile, WTHR reached a deal to produce a 10 p.m. newscast forWNDY-TV beginning in March 1996, displacing the WALV newscast.[16]
In January 2000, 27 Alive was replaced by the SkyTrak Weather Network, specializing in weather forecasts and traffic headlines and competing with a similar service fromWISH-TV.[17][18] The station moved to channel 50 in 2002.[19]
WALV shut down its analog signal in 2012 and began broadcasting in digital on channel 46, usingvirtual channel 46 instead of 50.
WTHR obtained an affiliation withCozi TV, a newdiginet owned by NBC airing classic TV programming, in 2013 and placed it on WALV-CD and one of its own subchannels. It continued to air a limited amount of its own programming; for instance, when WTHR expanded its morning newscast to 4 a.m. in 2014, it displacedEarly Today to WALV-CD.[20][21] Some WTHR syndicated programs moved to WALV-CD during the2016 Summer Olympics and2018 Winter Olympics.[22][23] WALV simulcasts the 4–5 a.m. hour of WTHR's weekday morning and 6–7 a.m. hour weekend morning newscasts.[24]
By May 26, 2017, WALV-CD began simulcasting MeTV along with WTHR 13.3, dropping Cozi TV programming, which continued on WTHR 13.2.[25] In thespectrum reallocation repack, the station moved to physical channel 17 from 46.[13]
On June 11, 2019, Dispatch announced it would sell its broadcasting assets, including WALV-CD and WTHR, toTegna Inc. for $535 million in cash.[26] The sale was approved by the FCC on July 29,[27] and was completed on August 8.[28]
Beginning with the2024 season, WTHR and WALV-CD became the local broadcast home ofIndiana Fever women's basketball, timed withCaitlin Clark's arrival on the team as theWNBA's #1 draft pick that year. Of the 17 games the two stations aired, seven were broadcast on WALV.[29]
On August 19, 2025,Nexstar Media Group agreed to acquire Tegna for $6.2 billion.[1] In Indianapolis, Nexstar already ownsWTTV andWXIN.[30]
The station's signal ismultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13.13 | 1080i | 16:9 | WTHR-HD | NBC (WTHR UHF simulcast) |
| 46.1 | WALV-CD | MeTV | ||
| 46.2 | 480i | CRIME | True Crime Network | |
| 46.3 | ShopLC | Shop LC | ||
| 46.4 | OPEN | [Blank] | ||
| 46.5 | ||||
| 46.6 |
Broadcast television stations by affiliation in the state ofIndiana | ||
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Includes stations in out-of-state TV markets, but reaching a portion of Indiana | ||
| ABC | ||
| CBS | ||
| Fox | ||
| NBC | ||
| The CW | ||
| Ion Television | ||
| Independent | ||
| PBS | ||
| Religious | ||
| Spanish | ||
| Other | ||
| ATSC 3.0 | ||
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