WGN-TV

WGN-TV
Channels
BrandingWGN Channel 9; WGN News
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
April 5, 1948 (1948-04-05)
Former call signs
WGNA (CP, 1946–1948)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 9 (VHF, 1948–2009)
Call sign meaning
Founded by the Chicago Tribune, the "World's Greatest Newspaper"
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID72115
ERP645 kW
HAAT454 m (1,490 ft)
Transmitter coordinates41°52′44″N 87°38′10.2″W / 41.87889°N 87.636167°W / 41.87889; -87.636167
Translator(s)
Links
Public license information
Websitewgntv.com

WGN-TV (channel 9) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, serving as the local outlet for The CW. It is owned and operated by the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is sister to the company's sole radio property, news/talk/sports station WGN (720 AM). WGN-TV's studios are located on West Bradley Place in Chicago's North Center community; as such, it is the only major commercial television station in Chicago which bases its main studio outside the Loop. Its transmitter is located atop the Willis Tower in the Loop.

The broadcast station signed on in 1948, under the ownership of the Chicago Tribune newspaper. WGN-TV later became a pioneering superstation; on November 9, 1978, it became the second U.S. television station to be made available via satellite transmission to cable and direct-broadcast satellite subscribers nationwide. Later renamed WGN America, the former superstation feed was converted into a conventional basic cable network in December 2014, enabling it to be added to local cable providers, and later soft re-launched as NewsNation in September 2020. A charter affiliate of both The WB and of successor network The CW, WGN-TV reverted to being an independent station in 2016 before returning to the network in 2024.

WGN-TV, WGN radio and the now-defunct regional cable news channel Chicagoland Television (CLTV) were the three flagship properties of Tribune Broadcasting, itself part of the Tribune Media conglomerate (formerly known as the Tribune Company until August 2014), until the company's purchase by Nexstar was completed in September 2019.