WREX-TV
 
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Rockford, Illinois United States |
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| Branding | 13 WREX (general) 13 News (newscasts) |
| Slogan |
Your News Leader (news) 13 Weather Authority (weather) 13 Sports Authority (sports) |
| Channels |
Digital: 13 (VHF) Virtual: 13 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels | 13.1 NBC 13.2 CW+ 13.3 MeTV |
| Owner |
Quincy Media (WREX License, LLC) |
| Founded | 1952 |
| First air date | October 1, 1953 |
| Call letters' meaning | In memory of Rex N. Caster, son of founding station president L.E. Caster |
| Former callsigns | WREX-TV (1953–2009) |
| Former channel number(s) |
Analog: 13 (VHF, 1953–2009) Digital: 54 (UHF, 2002–2009) |
| Former affiliations |
CBS (1953–1965) ABC (1953–1995; secondary until 1965) DuMont (secondary, 1953–1955) |
| Transmitter power | 18 kW |
| Height | 216 m (709 ft) |
| Facility ID | 73940 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 42°17′47.9″N 89°14′22″W / 42.296639°N 89.23944°W |
| Licensing authority | FCC |
| Public license information: |
Profile CDBS |
| Website | www |
WREX, channel 13, is the NBC-affiliated television station licensed to and serving Rockford, Illinois, United States. It is the market's only full-powered VHF station and is Rockford's second oldest television station. Owned and operated by Quincy Media, its studios and transmitter are located on Auburn Road west of Rockford.
WREX operates Stateline CW 14, a digital broadcast affiliate of The CW Television Network via The CW Plus. Stateline CW is seen on channel 14 on most Rockford area cable systems, as well as on WREX's digital subchannel 13.2.
On April 4, 2013, WREX added MeTV, on digital subchannel 13.3, that shows classic television shows.
WREX's signal reaches as far away as Madison, Milwaukee's southwestern suburbs, and the northern suburbs of Chicago.
WREX began operation on October 1, 1953, as a primary affiliate of CBS. It shared ABC with NBC affiliate WTVO (which signed on five months earlier), and also aired programming from the DuMont Television Network. It was owned by Greater Rockford Television, a group of local businessmen. The station's call letters were selected in honor of Rex N. Caster, the son of station president L.E. Caster. Rex Caster was a First Lieutenant in the United States Army who was killed in France during World War II.
Besides serving its immediate area, WREX attracted viewers early on in its history from parts of the neighboring Madison, Wisconsin area. In fact, the two areas still share overlapping coverage among their television stations, especially in Rock County, Wisconsin (technically in the Madison television market), and that market's ABC affiliate, WKOW (channel 27) is a sister station to WREX, assisting with newsgathering in the northern part of the Rockford market. Until Madison's WISC-TV signed on in 1956, WREX was the only VHF station for both the Rockford and Madison areas. This was because Rockford and Madison were sandwiched between markets where other VHF channels were already assigned (Chicago (channels 2, 5, 7, and 9) to the east, Milwaukee (channels 4, 6, 10, and 12) to the northeast, and La Crosse (channels 8 and 13) to the west).
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