WLVI-TV
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Cambridge/Boston, Massachusetts United States |
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| City | Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| Branding | CW56 (general) 7 News (newscasts) |
| Channels |
Digital: 41 (UHF) Virtual: 56 () |
| Subchannels | See Below |
| Affiliations | The CW |
| Owner |
Sunbeam Television (WHDH-TV) |
| First air date | August 31, 1953 |
| Call letters' meaning | LVI (56 in Roman numerals; former analog channel number and current PSIP number) |
| Sister station(s) | WHDH |
| Former callsigns |
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| Former channel number(s) |
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| Former affiliations | |
| Transmitter power | 550 kW |
| Height | 346 m |
| Facility ID | 73238 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 42°18′10″N 71°13′7″W / 42.30278°N 71.21861°WCoordinates: 42°18′10″N 71°13′7″W / 42.30278°N 71.21861°W |
| Licensing authority | FCC |
| Public license information: |
Profile CDBS |
| Website | www.cw56.com |
WLVI, virtual channel 56 (UHF digital channel 41), is a CW-affiliated television station serving Boston, Massachusetts, United States that is licensed to Cambridge. The station is owned by Sunbeam Television, as part of a duopoly with Independent station WHDH (channel 7). The two stations share studios located at Bulfinch Place in downtown Boston, WLVI's transmitter is located in Needham. The station is automated and operated completely by WHDH staffers.
Channel 56 is the oldest UHF license in Boston. It first went on the air on August 31, 1953 as WTAO-TV; the station was originally owned by Middlesex Broadcasting, along with WTAO radio (740 AM, now WJIB) and WXHR (96.9 FM, now WBQT). The station's studio and transmitter were located atop Zion Hill, in Woburn, Massachusetts. WTAO was nominally affiliated with DuMont and ABC, though it was largely programmed as an independent station, especially after DuMont eliminated entertainment programming in 1955 and ABC opted to revert to secondary clearances on WNAC-TV (channel 7, now WHDH) and, to a lesser extent, WBZ-TV (channel 4) – these moves effectively left WTAO reliant on movies and limited local programming to fill its airtime. WTAO was written off as a failure and signed off for the last time on March 30, 1956 due to low viewership (only a small percentage of Boston area television sets were even capable of receiving UHF as set manufacturers were not required to equip televisions with UHF tuners until 1964, following the 1961 passage of the All-Channel Receiver Act) and therefore, lack of revenue from sponsors. The station went back on the air on May 17, 1962 for a six-month Federal Communications Commission (FCC) study before being taken off the air again on November 17 of the same year.
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Wikipedia