WBKO

WBKO, channel 13 (virtual), is the ABC-affiliated television station for South Central Kentucky licensed to Bowling Green. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 13 from a transmitter along KY 185/Richardsville Road in unincorporated Northern Warren County. Owned by Gray Television, WBKO has studios on Russellville Road (US 68/KY 80) along the William H. Natcher Parkway in Bowling Green.

The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 9 and in high definition on digital channel 908.

Digital channels

History

The early years

The station signed-on June 3, 1962 with the call letters WLTV (standing for Wonderful Live Television). It was the first commercial outlet to launch in Bowling Green and aired an analog signal on VHF channel 13. Joe Walters (a former RCA engineer) and Mr. & Mrs. George Brown (local sales people) owned the station. It was an Independent owned by Argus Broadcasting and originally had studios at its transmitter in rural Warren County.

On March 6, 1967, WLTV became affiliated with ABC and aired all of its shows. After spending some time off the air in late 1969 due to an explosion destroying its transmitter, the station changed hands to Professional Telecasting Systems on June 11, 1970. The "explosion" was due to an estimated 48 sticks of dynamite being placed on the bottom of the tower. It is suspected that a local bootlegger at the time did not appreciate the news spotlighting his operation. This did not collapse the tower although is still stood with a bow in it, the transmission line on the lower section of the tower was destroyed and the tower was unsafe. A temporary tower with a temporary antenna was erected at the site and station continued operation with diminished coverage a few months later. This heralded the relocation of the transmitter to the site where it now operates.

WBKO-DT3

WBKO-DT3 is The CW-affiliated television station for South Central Kentucky. Licensed to and serving Bowling Green, the station is a third digital subchannel of ABC affiliated WBKO, which is owned by Gray Television. Over-the-air, it broadcasts a standard definition signal on VHF digital channel 13.3 from a transmitter along KY 185/Richardsville Road in unincorporated northern Warren County. WBKO-DT3's parent station has studios at 2727 Russellville Road (US 68/KY 80) in Bowling Green alongside the William H. Natcher Parkway.

Availability

WBKO-DT3 can also be seen in on Time Warner Cable channel 12 (SD) and 117 (HD). It can also be viewed on several other cable television services throughout the Bowling Green media market, including Mediacom, and the Glasgow-area cable systems of the South Central Rural Telephone Cooperative, and the Glasgow Electric Plant Board.

History

As a cable-exclusive WB 100+ affiliate

From the network's launch in 1995 until the September 1998 inception of the WB 100+ feed, markets without a WB affiliate, including Bowling Green, were served via cable TV by Chicago's WB affiliate WGN-TV, one of the few national Superstations in the United States. In September 1998, WBKO-DT3 began as cable-only "WBWG", an affiliate of The WB, and received programming via The WB 100+, a national network feed specifically designed to serve WB affiliates that are not within the top 100 markets. Bowling Green had a market ranking of 183. The local cable channel was a partnership between WBKO and Insight Communications (the local cable TV provider at the time). The call letters were fictional and were not recognized by the FCC since it was a cable-exclusive outlet. The channel provided all of The WB's programming, along with syndicated programming provided by the WB 100+ feed. It had the branding "WB 12" for most of its tenure with the WB.