WPRI-TV
 
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Providence, Rhode Island/ New Bedford, Massachusetts United States |
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| Branding | WPRI 12 (general) Eyewitness News (newscasts) |
| Slogan | Coverage You Can Count On |
| Channels |
Digital: 13 (VHF) Virtual: 12 () |
| Subchannels | (see article) |
| Affiliations | CBS (from 1955–1977, again since 1995) |
| Owner |
Nexstar Media Group (Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.) |
| First air date | March 27, 1955 |
| Call letters' meaning | Providence, Rhode Island |
| Sister station(s) | WNAC-TV |
| Former callsigns | WPRO-TV (1955–1967) |
| Former channel number(s) |
Analog: 12 (VHF, 1955–2009) |
| Former affiliations | ABC (1977–1995; secondary 1956–1963) |
| Transmitter power | 30 kW |
| Height | 305 m |
| Facility ID | 47404 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 41°52′36″N 71°16′57″W / 41.87667°N 71.28250°W |
| Licensing authority | FCC |
| Public license information: |
Profile CDBS |
| Website | WPRI.com |
WPRI-TV, channel 12, is a CBS-affiliated television station located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. WPRI-TV is owned by Nexstar Media Group, and also operates Fox affiliate WNAC-TV (channel 64), owned by Super Towers, Inc., through a local marketing agreement (LMA). The two stations share studio/office facilities located on Catamore Boulevard in East Providence, and WPRI's transmitter is located in Rehoboth, Massachusetts.
The station debuted on March 27, 1955 known as WPRO-TV (for PROvidence). It was Rhode Island's third television station and was owned-and-operated by retailer Cherry & Webb along with WPRO radio (630 AM and 92.3 FM). WPRO-TV was originally supposed to go on-the-air in 1953 but ran into several delays. It originally planned to build a transmitter in Rehoboth but legal disputes with town officials forced Cherry & Webb to find a site in Johnston, Rhode Island.
The station then planned to sign-on in 1954 but Hurricane Carol destroyed the Johnston transmitter. The legal disputes in Rehoboth were finally settled in late-1954 and WPRO got the go-ahead to begin construction there. The channel was due to join CBS because of WPRO radio's long affiliation with CBS radio. Even when it became apparent that WPRO-TV would miss its target air date, CBS opted to continue its secondary affiliation with NBC station WJAR-TV rather than move its programming to ABC affiliate WNET-TV.
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