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| WCAV,WSKY-TV | |
| History | |
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Call sign meaning | VA (Virginiapostal abbreviation) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 4687 |
| Class | LD |
| ERP | 15kW |
| HAAT | 320 m (1,050 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 37°59′3″N78°28′52″W / 37.98417°N 78.48111°W /37.98417; -78.48111 |
| Links | |
Public license information | LMS |
| Website | www |
WVAW-LD (channel 16) is alow-power television station inCharlottesville, Virginia, United States, affiliated withABC. It is owned byLockwood Broadcast Group alongside dualCBS/Fox affiliateWCAV (channel 19). The two stations share studios on Rio East Court in Charlottesville; WVAW-LD's transmitter is located on Carters Mountain south of the city.
Due to WVAW-LD's low-power status, itsbroadcast radius only covers the immediate Charlottesville area. Therefore, it relies oncable andsatellite to reach the entire market.
What is now WVAW-LD originally debuted on June 12, 1979, onanalog UHF channel 64 with the call sign W64AO. The station was a low-poweredtranslator ofWHSV-TV inHarrisonburg, which was the area's default ABC affiliate. At the time, WHSV-TV was owned by Worrell Newspapers along with theCharlottesville Daily Progress.
On April 9, 2004, W64AO moved to UHF channel 16, changed call letters to WVAW-LP, upgraded power, and separated from WHSV-TV. WVAW-LP was themarket's third local station afterWVIR-TV (channel 29) and WCAV.
In early 2005, after the launch of WCAV and WVAW,Gray Television launched a third station in the area, Fox affiliateWAHU-CA. WVAW was temporarily taken off-the-air by a fire on its transmitter tower at the top of Carters Mountain on November 9, 2006. The signal was restored on November 13. On December 28, WVAW moved toComcast channel 3.
The new set of stations replaced out-of-market stations fromRichmond andWashington, D.C., as the primary network affiliates on localComcast cable. Washington'sWTTG and Richmond'sWRIC-TV,WWBT andWTVR-TV remained available for some time in less prominent channel assignments on basic, then digital tiers before being gradually removed.
Gray announced the sale of WVAW-LD and WCAV toLockwood Broadcast Group on March 4, 2019. The sale was concurrent with Gray's purchase of rival WVIR-TV from Waterman Broadcasting. The WAHU-CD license was not included in the sale, and would be retained by Gray as a translator to WVIR-TV, eventually moving to theWVIR-CD call; WAHU's programming withFox,MeTV andAccuWeather affiliations were redistributed among WCAV and WVAW-LD subchannels.[2][3][4] The transaction was completed on October 1.[5]
WVAW presently broadcasts17+1⁄2 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with3+1⁄2 hours each weekday and 30 minutes each on Saturdays and Sundays).
WVAW and its sister stations employ the largest television news team dedicated exclusively to the Charlottesville market. While WVIR dedicates some staff to adjacent areas, WVAW focuses its coverage solely on the counties that comprise the Charlottesville television market. As the primary station in theCBS19 News operation, WCAV airs the most newscasts. WVAW simulcasts the2+1⁄2 hours ofGood Morning Charlottesville on weekday mornings from 4:30 to 7 a.m., as well as simulcastingCBS19 News at 6 andCBS19 News at 11.
The station's signal ismultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16.1 | 720p | 16:9 | ABC16 | ABC |
| 19.2 | 480i | 19NOW | Local weather | |
| 27.2 | Me-TV | MeTV |
WVAW shut down its analog signal, overUHF channel 16, on February 16, 2009, and "flash-cut" its digital signal into operation UHF channel 16.[7] It also changed its calls to the current WVAW-LD with "LD" standing for low-power digital.
Broadcast television stations by affiliation in the Commonwealth ofVirginia | ||
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Includes stations in out-of-state TV markets, but reaching a portion of Virginia | ||
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| The CW | ||
| Ion Television | ||
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| ATSC 3.0 | ||
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