 | |
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|---|---|
| Channels | |
| Branding | Telemundo Cleveland |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WOIO,WUAB, WOHZ-CD | |
| History | |
First air date | November 30, 1989 (35 years ago) (1989-11-30) |
Former call signs |
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Former channel number |
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| |
Call sign meaning | "Telemundo Cleveland" |
| Technical information[3] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 6699 |
| Class | LD |
| ERP | 15kW |
| HAAT | 306.8 m (1,007 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 41°22′45″N81°43′11″W / 41.37917°N 81.71972°W /41.37917; -81.71972 |
| Links | |
Public license information | LMS |
| Website | telemundocleveland |
WTCL-LD (channel 6) is alow-power television station inCleveland, Ohio, United States, affiliated withTelemundo. It is owned byGray Media alongsideCBS affiliateWOIO (channel 19),MyNetworkTV affiliateWUAB (channel 43) andindependent stationWOHZ-CD (channel 22); WTCL and WOHZ also function asultra high frequency (UHF)repeaters for WOIO. All four stations have studios atReserve Square indowntown Cleveland; WTCL-LD's transmitter is located in suburbanParma. WTCL's visibility is extended to the southern part of the Cleveland market via repeaters WOHZ and W28FG-D inAkron; WOHZ is additionally relayed over WTCL.
Founded as a mostly obscure low-power station in the Cleveland area on UHF channels 47 and 65, this station moved to channel 6 in 2012 after several failed attempts to convert the station fordigital broadcasting, enabling it to operate as WLFM-LP,ade facto radio station on87.7FM. After briefly carrying a hybridmodern rock/talk format, a lease toTSJ Media resulted in the installation of aSpanish language radio format as "La Mega 87.7", the first such format to operate on a full-time basis in the market. Increasing technical complications and limitations forced WLFM-LP to convert to digital in July 2020. A sale to Gray Television the following year saw the station relaunched as the market's first Telemundo affiliate.
This station signed on as a low-power station on channel 47 on November 30, 1989,[4] using the sequentially assigned W47BEcall sign.[5] Moving to channel 65 (which had been previously reserved for commercialUHF broadcasts in the early 1950s which were never built[6][7]) on April 15, 1998,[8] the calls were changed to W65DL, then adopted the WXOX-LP calls on January 12, 2000.[5] In the final years as WXOX, the station was affiliated with the Home Shopping Network (HSN).
WXOX-LP filed paperwork requesting the station move to channel 44 and increase power to 120 kW,[9] but amended the request fordigital conversion.[10]Federal Communications Commission (FCC) findings stated channel 44 would cause interference with adjacentWNEO,[11] prompting WXOX-LP to request broadcasting over a subchannel ofWCDN-LP.[12] WXOX-LP was then forced off the air on October 27, 2009, when wireless carrierVerizon purchased the part of the wireless spectrum where the station had been broadcasting.[13] An attempt was made to convert WXOX to a low-power digital station on channel 31,[14] whichWJW broadcast from prior to the June 12, 2009, analog shutoff date. Due to potentialco-channel interference issues withCITY-DT-2 inWoodstock, Ontario, which also broadcast onRF channel 31, the application was abandoned.
In May 2011, the station's then-owner, Venture Technologies Group, filed a new FCC request to move the station to channel 6 analog,[15] leading to speculation that it couldcarry the audio feed of an FM radio station due to analog transmissions on that frequency also being audible over87.7FM.[16] After entering into an operating agreement with Murray Hill Broadcasting—headed by formerWWWE,[17]WRMR andWDOK co-owner Tom Wilson and aligned with Venture executive Paul Koplin[18]—Wilson announced the launch of a personality-drivenalternative rock/talk format,[19] using the WLFM-LP call sign[5] which Venture transferred from theirlow-power channel 6 station in Chicago.[20]
With studios located within theCleveland Agora,[21] what became known as "87.7 Cleveland's Sound" was originally scheduled to launch in July 2012, but did not debut until September 9, 2012.[22] WLFM-LP aired a taped loop of Cleveland-themed sports songs and "My Town" as a prolongedstunt,[19] while the TV signal displayed either a loop of slides of local landmarks, or a screensaver forWestern Digital.[23] Acasting call was conducted for possible air talent, with formerWKRK-FM host Rachel Steele named as afternoon host and formerWFBQ program director Marty Bender assuming like duties.[22] Former WMMS personalities Dan Stansbury[24] and Chad Zumock were later added to the airstaff.[25]
Readers ofCleveland Scene awarded WLFM-LP as "Best Local Radio Station" in 2013.[26] The station also featured area local music showInner Sanctum but the program was cancelled in September 2013; host Pat Johnson said the station "was hoping for a big summer and that hasn't translated into sales yet".[27]
Murray Hill Broadcasting announced alocal marketing agreement (LMA) withCincinnati-basedTSJ Media on December 11, 2013, effectively changing WLFM-LP to aSpanish language radio format,de facto becoming the first full-time Hispanic radio station in Cleveland proper. Tom Wilson viewed Murray Hill's LMA with TSJ Media as "a significant upgrade of an opportunity... sometimes you just don't realize what opportunity is there until somebody presents it to you. It's really the way to go".[21] When the LMA took effect on January 1, 2014,[28] WLFM-LP was renamed "La Mega 87.7: Latino and Proud", boasting an airstaff that included several area disc jockeys.[29] TSJ Media would later be acquired byColumbus-based La Mega Media, Inc., on April 16, 2019.[30]
Beginning with the2014–15 NBA season, WLFM-LP carried Spanish-language broadcasts of theCleveland Cavaliers, then added Spanish-language broadcasts of theCleveland Browns in 2018; Rafael Hernandez Brito served asplay-by-play announcer for both teams.[31][32]
WLFM-LP suspended operations on February 26, 2019, whenWOUC-TV inCambridge, Ohio, moved to RF channel 6 during the repacking of broadcast spectrum initiated by the FCC's2016 auction;[33] WLFM-LP returned to the air several days later with a power reduction to 3watts.[34] While low-power television stations operating as "Franken-FMs", including WLFM-LP, had deadlines for digital conversion extended multiple times by the FCC,[35] the spectrum repack forced the station to convert to digital broadcasting on RF channel 20. Thus, WLFM-LP discontinued analog broadcasting on June 30, 2020, with the "La Mega 87.7" format moved to an internet-only platform.[36]
On July 29, 2020, the renamed WLFM-LD launched, carryingJewelry Television as a temporary affiliation.[18]
Murray Hill Broadcasting sold WLFM-LD toWOIO andWUAB ownerGray Television on July 29, 2021, for $1.65 million,[18] which the FCC approved on September 13.[2] Shortly thereafter, Gray announced WLFM-LD would adopt the WTCL call sign and joinTelemundo on January 1, 2022; prior to this, Cleveland was the largest market in the United States not to have a dedicated Telemundo affiliate.[1] The new station would also have evening newscasts in Spanish produced by WOIO, the first such newscasts to be broadcast in the Cleveland market, asUnivision-ownedWQHS-DT only carries remotely-produced news briefs.[1][37] WOIO previously produced a daily Spanish-language newscast,Al Día, for their website, social media andOTT services, but was suspended due to theCOVID-19 pandemic; WOIO retained bothAl Día reporters and planned to hire two additionalbilingual reporters.[38]
WLFM-LD was renamed WTCL-LP on October 15, 2021, and adopted the -LD suffix on August 5, 2022.[5]
WTCL-LD transmits from a tower inParma, Ohio.[3] WTCL's reach is extended by twotranslators:WOHZ-CD, licensed toCanton, Ohio, which transmits from a tower in northeast Canton;[39] and low-power W28FG-D, licensed toAkron, Ohio, which transmits from a tower inCopley Township, Ohio.[40] All three stations carry the samemultiplexed signal:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | TLMD | Telemundo |
| 19.10 | 1080i | WOIOHD | CBS (WOIO simulcast) | |
| 22.1 | 720p | RESN | Rock Entertainment Sports Network |
| Call sign | City of license | Channel | ERP | HAAT | Facility ID | Transmitter coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WOHZ-CD | Canton | 34 | 15 kW | 252.9 m (830 ft) | 41892 | 40°53′24″N81°16′11″W / 40.89000°N 81.26972°W /40.89000; -81.26972 (WOHZ-CD) |
| W28FG-D | Akron | 28 | 15 kW | 564.2 m (1,851 ft) | 184642 | 41°3′52.7″N81°34′58.3″W / 41.064639°N 81.582861°W /41.064639; -81.582861 (W28FG-D) |
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Includes stations in out-of-state TV markets, but reaching a portion of Ohio | ||
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