View source for WLS-TV

{{Short description|Television station in Chicago}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign = WLS-TV
| logo = WABC TV New 2021.svg
| logo_upright = .8
| branding = {{ubl|ABC 7 Chicago|''ABC 7 [[Eyewitness News]]''}}
| digital = 22 ([[UHF]]), shared with [[WXFT-DT]]
| virtual = 7
| affiliations = {{ubl|'''7.1:''' [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]|'''7.2:''' [[Localish]]|'''7.3:''' [[Charge! (TV network)|Charge!]]}}
| owner = [[ABC Owned Television Stations]]
| licensee = WLS Television, Inc.
| location = [[Chicago]], Illinois
| country = US
| airdate = {{Start date|1948|09|17}}
| callsign_meaning = Taken from [[WLS (AM)|WLS-AM]]
| former_callsigns = {{ubl|WENR-TV (1948–1953)|WBKB (1953–1965)|WBKB-TV (1965–1968)<ref name=cards>[https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=86533 FCC History Cards for WLS-TV]. [[Federal Communications Commission]].</ref>}}
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 7 ([[VHF]], 1948–2009)|'''Digital:''' 52 (UHF, 1996–2009), 7 (VHF, June–October 2009), 44 (UHF, October 2009–2019)|'''Translator:''' 7 (VHF, 2009–2013)}}
| former_affiliations = {{ubl|Tele1st (OTA [[subscription television]], 1984 overnights)}}
| erp = 1,000 kW
| haat = {{convert|518|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id = 73226
| coordinates = {{coord|41|52|44|N|87|38|8|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}
| licensing_authority = [[FCC]]
| website = {{URL|https://abc7chicago.com/}}
}}

'''WLS-TV''' (channel 7) is a [[television station]] in [[Chicago]], Illinois, United States, serving as the market's [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] network outlet. It has been [[owned and operated]] by the network's [[ABC Owned Television Stations]] division since the station's inception. WLS-TV's studios are located on [[State Street (Chicago)|North State Street]] in the [[Chicago Loop]], and its transmitter is located atop the [[Willis Tower]].

==History==
=== WENR-TV (1948–1953) ===
The station first signed on the air on September 17, 1948, as WENR-TV.<ref name=cards/> It was the third television station to sign on in the Chicago market behind [[WGN-TV]] (channel 9), which debuted six months earlier in April, and WBKB (channel 4), which changed from an experimental station to a commercial operation in September 1946. As one of the original ABC-owned stations on channel 7, it was the second station to begin operations after [[WABC-TV|WJZ-TV]] in New York City, and before [[WXYZ-TV]] in Detroit, [[KGO-TV]] in San Francisco and [[KABC-TV|KECA-TV]] in Los Angeles.

The station's original call letters were taken from co-owned radio station WENR (890 AM), which served as an affiliate of the ABC Radio Network (WENR would eventually merge with [[WLS (AM)|WLS]], with which it shared a frequency under a time-sharing arrangement until ABC purchased a 50% interest in WLS in 1954).

=== WBKB-TV (1953–1968) ===
In February 1953, ABC merged with [[Plitt Theatres|United Paramount Theatres]] (UPT), the former theater division of [[Paramount Pictures]]. UPT subsidiary [[Balaban and Katz]] owned WBKB (which shared a [[CBS]] affiliation with WGN-TV). The newly merged [[American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres]], as the company was known then, could not keep both stations because of [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) regulations then enforced that forbade the [[duopoly (broadcasting)|common ownership of two television stations]] licensed to the same [[media market|market]]. As a result, WBKB's channel 4 license was sold to CBS, which subsequently changed that station's call letters to [[WBBM-TV]]; that outlet would move to [[VHF]] channel 2 several months later on July 5, 1953. The old WBKB's on-air and behind-the-scenes staff stayed at the new WBBM-TV, while the WBKB call letters and management moved to channel 7 (from 1965 to 1968, a "-TV" suffix was included in the station's calls, modifying it to WBKB-TV<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=For the Record: Station Authorizations, Applications|magazine=Broadcasting|date=October 18, 1965|page=109|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/65-OCR/1965-10-18-BC-OCR-Page-0097.pdf}}</ref>).

=== WLS-TV (1968–present) ===
Sterling "Red" Quinlan served as the station's [[general manager]] from the early 1950s to the mid-1960s,<ref>{{cite web|title=My Afternoon With Red|url=http://www.chicagotelevision.com/RED.htm|website=Chicago Television Alumni Club}}</ref> and became a giant in early Chicago television. Quinlan was instrumental in starting the careers of [[Tom Duggan]], [[Frank Reynolds]] and [[Bob Newhart]]. The station courageously aired ''The Tom Duggan Show'' in the mid-1950s, which became the most popular show in the Chicago market, far outdrawing other network competition. Channel 7 had its call letters changed to WLS-TV on October 7, 1968,<ref>''Television News'' section, [[Chicago Tribune]], October 6, 1968.</ref> named after WLS Radio, which ABC had wholly owned since 1959 when the network bought the 50% interest it did not already hold in the station from the ''[[Prairie Farmer]]'' magazine.<ref>{{cite journal|title=AB-PT buys rest of WLS; purchases Prairie Farmer publishing empire|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1959/1959-11-23-BC.pdf|periodical=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|page=76|date=November 23, 1959}}</ref> Ironically, ABC merged WLS with WENR, its shared-time partner, in 1954.<ref>{{cite journal|title=WDRV, WDRV Chicago merge – now WLS|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1954/1954-02-08-BC.pdf|periodical=Broadcasting - Telecasting|page=52|date=February 8, 1954}}</ref>

In 1963, Al Parker joined the station as an announcer and worked in that capacity for 26 years. Until his departure, he also served as an announcer for ''AM Chicago'' and ''[[The Oprah Winfrey Show]]''. He died September 30, 2000, at the age of 74.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2000-10-02-0010020153-story.html|title=RADIO BROADCASTER AL PARKER, 74|first=Marla|last=Donato|work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=September 21, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref>

WLS-TV had claimed to be "Chicago's first television station" in its [[sign-on and sign-off|sign-ons and sign-offs]] during its first three decades (implying a connection with the original WBKB on channel 4), but admitted to its true roots with WENR with its 30th anniversary in 1978.<ref>Multiple sources:
* {{cite web|title=WLS Channel 7 - "Anthem, Sign-On, Reflections & Editorial" (1984)|url=http://www.fuzzymemories.tv/?c=2929|website=FuzzyMemories.tv|publisher=Museum of Classic Chicago Television}}
* {{cite web|title=ABC7 celebrates 60 years of broadcasting|url=http://abc7chicago.com/archive/6397505/|first=Alan|last=Krashesky|author-link=Alan Krashesky|website=WDRV-TV|publisher=[[ABC Owned Television Stations]]|date=September 18, 2008}}
* http://www.tv-signoffs.com/clips/WLS-signon-1983_1208.htm
* http://www.tv-signoffs.com/clips/WLS-signoff-1981_0125.htm
* {{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0J5UxbsxRk|title = WLS Channel 7 - Ending of Saturday Night Movie, Reflections and Station Sign-Off (1977)|website = [[YouTube]]| date=October 11, 2016 }}</ref>

{{anchor|Tele1st}}On January 17, 1984, WLS-TV launched Tele1st, an ABC-owned overnight [[subscription television]] service that carried a mix of [[feature film|films]] and lifestyle programs for four hours per night six days a week after the station's [[sign-off]] at 2&nbsp;a.m.; the service was similar in format to competitor [[ONTV (pay TV)|ONTV]] (which was carried locally on [[WSNS-TV]], channel 44 (now a [[Telemundo]] owned and operated station)) and other over-the-air pay services that existed during the early and mid-1980s.<ref>{{cite news|title=Cable Notes; Cities are waking up to what were empty promises|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/11/arts/cable-notes-cities-are-waking-up-to-what-were-empty-promises.html|first=Peter|last=Kerr|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 11, 1983}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=ABC Testing Pay-Tv|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/01/17/arts/abc-testing-pay-tv.html|first=Sally|last=Bedell Smith|newspaper=The New York Times|date=January 17, 1984}}</ref> Tele1st was created with the concept of allowing users to record programming for later viewing; therefore, its decoder boxes were designed to unencrypt the signal only with the aid of a [[VCR]]. Scrambling codes that were sent to the box and relayed to the VCR were changed on a monthly basis, requiring subscribers to record additional footage airing immediately before and after that night's schedule to retrieve codes to play back the recorded programs properly; this resulted in any recordings being viewable only during that calendar month. Tele1st was deemed a failure, attributing only 4,000 subscribers at its peak, and ceased operations on June 30, 1984.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tele1st|url=http://chicagotelevision.com/pay2.htm|website=Chicago Television}}</ref>

In 1988, WLS-TV agreed to sell production rights to ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' to her [[Harpo Productions]] company, but ABC O&Os continued to air the show until the end of its run in 2011.<ref>{{Cite news|date=August 8, 1988|title=Oprah reups with King World|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/88-OCR/BC-1988-08-08-OCR-Page-0037.pdf|access-date=October 1, 2021}}</ref>

==Programming==
WLS-TV currently airs the ''[[Weekend Adventure]]'' [[E/I|educational programming]] block and the network's [[Sunday morning talk show|political/news discussion program]] ''[[This Week (American TV program)|This Week]]'' [[broadcast delay|one hour later]] than most ABC stations due to its weekend morning newscasts.

===Network programs time-shifted===
* From that program's debut in January 2003, WLS-TV aired ''[[Jimmy Kimmel Live!]]'' on a one-hour delay at 12:02&nbsp;a.m. as the station aired [[rerun]]s of ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' at 11:02&nbsp;p.m. after ''[[Nightline]]'' (this practice ended after ''Oprah''—by then in reruns, as the daytime talk show aired its last episode that May—discontinued its syndication run on September 9, 2011; ''Kimmel'' was subsequently moved to 11:02&nbsp;p.m. three days later on September 12).
* For many years, WLS-TV was the only ABC owned-and-operated station that did not carry ''[[Live with Kelly and Mark]]'' in its various incarnations.<ref>{{cite web|title=Live! with Regis and Kelly: Local Listings|url=http://bventertainment.go.com/tv/buenavista/regisandkelly/local_listings.html|website=[[Disney-ABC Domestic Television|Buena Vista Television]]|access-date=March 10, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100307002126/http://bventertainment.go.com/tv/buenavista/regisandkelly/local_listings.html|archive-date=March 7, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''Live''{{'}}s traditional 9&nbsp;a.m. timeslot was occupied on Channel 7 by ''Oprah'' prior to the former program's national debut in September 1986 until May 2011, and later by ''[[Windy City Live]]'' from May 2011 to September 2013; the program—which is produced by [[New York City]] sister station [[WABC-TV]]—had, however, occasionally aired in an overnight timeslot on WLS from 1991 to 1993 and again from 1999 to 2002.  Other Chicago stations that aired ''Live'' in a daytime slot included WFLD (1990–1991 and 1997–1999), WBBM-TV (1993–1995) and WGN-TV (1995–1997 and 2002–2013).<ref name="timeout-2012">{{cite web|title=Daytime drama: How will ABC 7 make room for Katie & Kelly?|url=http://www.timeout.com/chicago/tv/daytime-drama-how-will-abc-7-make-room-for-katie-kelly|first=Robert|last=Feder|author-link=Robert Feder|website=[[Time Out Chicago]]|date=May 13, 2012|access-date=September 5, 2015|archive-date=November 6, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151106183814/http://www.timeout.com/chicago/tv/daytime-drama-how-will-abc-7-make-room-for-katie-kelly|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tdogmedia.com/2011/11/regis-finale-scores-for-wgn-tv.html|title="Regis" finale scores for WGN-TV|work=T Dog Media|first=Terence|last=Henderson|date=November 20, 2011|accessdate=January 16, 2021}}</ref><ref>[https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1995-01-18-9501180191-story.html TALK OF THE TOWN: REGIS, KATHIE LEE, PHIL AND SALLY MOVE] ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' Steve Nidetz: January 18, 1995 (retrieved January 16, 2021)</ref> On September 2, 2013, ''Live with Kelly and Mark'' (at the time was named ''Live with Kelly and Michael'') moved to WLS-TV (from WGN-TV), with ''Windy City Live'' being bumped to 11&nbsp;a.m. as a result.<ref name="timeout-2012"/><ref>{{cite web|title=ABC 7 Replacing 11:00 a.m. News with ''Windy City LIVE''|url=https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=583530221669427&id=175146445841142|publisher=WLS-TV|via=[[Facebook]]|date=June 20, 2013}}</ref><ref name="bizjournals.com">{{cite news|title="Windy City Live" revamps its moving plans|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/news/2013/08/07/windy-city-live-revamps-its-moving.html|first=Lewis|last=Lazare|newspaper=Chicago Business Journal|date=August 7, 2013}}</ref>
* From its premiere in September 2019 until September 2021, WLS-TV was the only ABC-owned station not to carry ''[[Tamron Hall (talk show)|Tamron Hall]]'', due to a lack of a viable timeslot in its daytime schedule. [[Independent station]] [[WCIU-TV]] (channel 26) carried it for its first two seasons, with the show moving to WLS-TV in the third season after the end of ''Windy City Live''.<ref>{{cite web|title='Tamron Hall' gets Chicago centric promo|url=https://www.newscaststudio.com/2019/08/08/tamron-hall-chicago-promo/|first=Michael P.|last=Hill|website=Newscast Studio|date=August 8, 2019|access-date=July 18, 2020}}</ref>

===Other WLS-TV produced programs===
* ''190 North'' – a local lifestyle program (named after the station's studio address at 190 North State Street in the [[Chicago Loop|Loop]]) formerly hosted by Janet Davies; the show began broadcasting in 1998 and then in high-definition on May 6, 2007. The show ran on Sundays at 11&nbsp;p.m., with a rebroadcast on Saturday nights from 1998 to 2013. It returned later in 2013 in a retooled format, only airing a few times a year.
* ''Let's Dish'' – a food-based travel program produced by WLS-TV for the [[Live Well Network]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Live Well HD Network debuts|url=https://abc7chicago.com/archive/6779492/|website=WLS-TV|publisher=ABC Owned Television Stations|date=April 2009}}</ref> and shown locally on digital channel 7.2.<ref>{{cite web|title=TV Schedule for Chicago, Illinois|url=http://livewellhd.com/feature?id=6758734|website=[[Live Well HD Network]]|publisher=[[Disney–ABC Television Group]]|access-date=November 2, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110820043703/http://livewellhd.com/feature?id=6758734|archive-date=August 20, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* ''Windy City Weekend'' – a weekly lifestyle program that formerly served as a weekday afternoon talk show with a live audience known as ''Windy City Live'', hosted by [[Ryan Chiaverini]] and Valerie Warner that premiered as a daily program on May 26, 2011, replacing ''The Oprah Winfrey Show''. Initially airing weekdays at 9&nbsp;a.m., the live telecast moved to 11&nbsp;a.m. on September 2, 2013,<ref name="bizjournals.com"/> and at 1&nbsp;p.m. on June 27, 2016, with reruns airing at 2&nbsp;p.m. (on [[digital subchannel]] 7.2) and at 12:07&nbsp;a.m. (after ABC's ''Nightline''). The show ended after 10 years as a daily program on September 3, 2021; it later recast as a weekly program, known as ''Windy City Weekend'' on September 10, 2021, and it airs Fridays at 11:30&nbsp;a.m.<ref name=rf-WCL/>
* Since 1991, the station has broadcast a local [[New Year's Eve]] special known as ''Countdown Chicago''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/news/2017/01/03/countdown-chicago-bests-chi-town-rising.html|title=Countdown Chicago bests Chi-Town Rising in New Year's Eve ratings|website=Chicago Business Journal|access-date=January 5, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://abc7chicago.com/entertainment/countdown-chicago-2016/1124991/|title=Countdown Chicago 2016|date=December 16, 2015|work=ABC7 Chicago|access-date=January 5, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref>

===Former WLS-TV produced programs===
* ''The Chicago Huddle'' – a local sports program about the [[Chicago Bears]] hosted by Ryan Chiaverini.<ref>{{cite web|title=Time to do the "Chicago Huddle"|url=http://www.tdogmedia.com/2007/09/time-to-do-the-chicago-huddle-2.html|website=TDog Media|date=September 5, 2007|access-date=September 5, 2015}}</ref> The program aired Sundays 10:30&nbsp;a.m. during the [[NFL]] season until during the 2009-10 Bears season.
* ''Chicagoing'' – a local [[public affairs (broadcasting)|public affairs]] program hosted by Bill Campbell. Aired on Sunday mornings at 11:30&nbsp;a.m., the program ran its final broadcast on December 26, 2010.

===Former syndicated programming produced in Chicago===
* ''[[At the Movies (1986 TV program)|At the Movies]]'' – nationally syndicated [[film]] [[review]] program, produced at WLS-TV's studios, and distributed by Disney-ABC Domestic Television. It aired Saturdays 10:35&nbsp;p.m. with reruns Sundays 10:30&nbsp;a.m. The program aired its final original broadcast on August 14, 2010.
* ''[[The Oprah Winfrey Show]]'' – previously a local program ''A.M. Chicago'', it received the name about one year after [[Oprah Winfrey]] began hosting. The program was created by WLS-TV, but was later produced by [[Harpo Productions]] and [[CBS Television Distribution]] at Oprah's Harpo Studios. It aired weekdays at 9&nbsp;a.m., in both its local and syndicated incarnations. The program ended with its final original broadcast airing on May 25, 2011. Reruns continued weeknights at 11:02&nbsp;p.m. until September 9, 2011.

===Sports programming===
WLS-TV is the local over-the-air host of ''[[Monday Night Football]]'' games involving the [[Chicago Bears]], airing simulcasts of the team's [[ESPN]]-televised games (WLS-TV's corporate parent, [[The Walt Disney Company]], owns 80% of ESPN, and the ABC Owned Television Stations have [[right of first refusal]] for simulcasts of ESPN's [[NFL]] telecasts within a team's home market). Because of this, atypical for a network-owned station outside of [[breaking news]] and severe weather coverage necessitating such situations, the station has had to reschedule ABC network programs preempted by the telecasts. The preseason and ''MNF'' telecasts mark the only NFL games to have aired on WLS-TV since ABC lost the rights to NFL games in 2006; during the regular season, Bears games are rotated between WBBM-TV (through the ''[[NFL on CBS]]''), [[WMAQ-TV]] (through ''[[NBC Sunday Night Football]]'') and especially WFLD (through the ''[[NFL on Fox]]''). Since 2010, however, it has deferred the right of first refusal due to the popularity and live voting requirements of ABC's ''[[Dancing with the Stars (American TV series)|Dancing with the Stars]]'', with WCIU-TV carrying the ''MNF'' games when the former program's fall season is ongoing (an exception being WLS' carriage of an ''MNF'' Bears game against the [[Dallas Cowboys]] on December 9, 2013, when the team honored former head coach [[Mike Ditka]], after [[Dancing with the Stars (American season 17)|the ''DWTS'' fall season had already ended]]).

On December 12, 2014, WLS-TV signed a new five-year broadcast agreement with the [[Chicago Cubs]], in which WLS televised 25 of the [[Major League Baseball]] team's games per year, starting with the [[2015 Chicago Cubs season|2015 season]]. The arrangement partially replaced one with WGN-TV (which had broadcast Cubs games since its inception in April 1948), which voluntarily pulled out of its existing broadcast deal with the team for the 2015 season and subsequently agreed to carry a reduced slate of 45 games. The WLS broadcasts were seen on [[DirecTV]]'s version of MLB Extra Innings, and the feed provided was the WLS signal seen in the Chicago market (unlike with the feeds of WGN broadcasts, where [[public service announcement]]s were seen in place of local commercials and station promos).

As ABC has a [[ESPN on ABC#Siphoning|limited sports programming schedule]] during the Major League Baseball season prior to September (when the MLB regular season and [[college football]] season overlap), the station mainly carried the team's weekend daytime games in order to limit preemption of the network's prime time programming.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-chicago-cubs-wgn-tv-20131106-story.html|title=Cubs exercise option to end WGN-TV contract after next season|first=Robert|last=Channick|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=November 6, 2013|access-date=September 1, 2014}}</ref><ref name=tribune-closingin>{{cite news|title=It's official: WLS-Ch. 7 to air 25 Cubs games|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/ct-cubs-tv-1212-biz-20141211-story.html|first=Robert|last=Channick|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=December 12, 2014|access-date=December 12, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Cubs reach deal with WGN-TV for remaining 45 broadcasts|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/news/2015/01/07/cubs-reach-deal-with-wgn-tv-for-remaining-45.html|newspaper=Chicago Business Journal|date=January 7, 2015|access-date=September 5, 2015}}</ref><ref name=trib-whitesoxwpwr>{{cite news|title=White Sox add WPWR-Ch. 50 to station rotation|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/whitesox/chi-white-sox-channel-50-20150219-story.html|first=Ed|last=Sherman|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=February 19, 2015|access-date=September 5, 2015}}</ref> The deal (along with all of the Cubs' broadcast television deals) ended after the 2019 season, when the team launched the cable-only [[Marquee Sports Network]] to carry their game telecasts.

WLS-TV also carries select [[Chicago Bulls]] games as part of their ''[[NBA on ABC]]'' telecasts.

From [[1999–2000 Chicago Blackhawks season|1999]] to [[2003–04 Chicago Blackhawks season|2004]] and again since [[2021–22 Chicago Blackhawks season|2021]], WLS-TV carries select [[Chicago Blackhawks]] games as part of their ''[[NHL on ABC]]'' telecasts.

===News operation===
WLS-TV broadcasts 41 hours, 25 minutes of locally produced newscasts each week (with 6 hours, 5 minutes each weekday and {{frac|5|1|2}} hours each on Saturdays and Sundays). WLS-TV also contracts with [[iHeartMedia]] to provide weather forecasts for their Chicago market stations, including [[WLIT-FM]] (93.9), [[WCHI-FM]] (95.5), [[WVAZ]] (102.7), [[WKSC-FM]] (103.5), and [[WGCI-FM]] (107.5).

====News department history====
[[File:WLS TV Eyewitness News team 1972.JPG|thumb|200px|WLS-TV's main ''Eyewitness News'' team, 1972. Back, from left: anchor John Drury, anchor Joel Daly. Front, from left: weatherman John Coleman, anchor Fahey Flynn, sportscaster Bill Frink.]]
In 1969, WLS-TV adopted the ''[[Eyewitness News]]'' format that the other ABC owned-and-operated stations began implementing in the late 1960s, after the news format was popularized when it originated at New York City flagship WABC-TV. Beginning in 1968, the station's main evening newscasts were co-anchored by [[Fahey Flynn]], a [[bowtie]]-wearing broadcaster who had spent the previous 15 years at WBBM-TV; and [[Joel Daly]], who was hired away by WLS from [[WJW-TV]] in [[Cleveland]] in 1967. The duo served as the anchors of the station's 6 and 10&nbsp;p.m. newscasts until Flynn's death in August 1983. In 1970, the two were joined by [[John Drury (television anchor)|John Drury]], who helmed the 5&nbsp;p.m. newscast. By 1973, WLS' ''Eyewitness News'' broadcasts surpassed [[NBC]]-owned WMAQ-TV (channel 5)'s newscasts to become Chicago's top-rated news operation, a lead it held until WBBM-TV surpassed channel 7 for the top spot in 1979. For much of the 1970s and 1980s, it waged a spirited battle for second place in the Chicago news ratings between its two main competitors.

Around the time of Flynn's death, Channel 7 had been experiencing a ratings decline, prompting major changes to the station's management. ABC hired Bill Applegate from WNEV-TV in [[Boston]] (now [[WHDH (TV)|WHDH]]) as the station's news director. Shortly after, general manager Peter Desnoes resigned to co-found Burnham Broadcasting.<ref name="Chic830720">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96985685/wls-tv-general-manager-desnoes-resigns/|date=July 20, 1983|page=2:13|first=Jon|last=Anderson|title=WLS-TV general manager Desnoes resigns|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|location=Chicago, Illinois|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=June 17, 2023|archive-date=March 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306020314/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96985685/wls-tv-general-manager-desnoes-resigns/|url-status=live}}</ref> His replacement was Chicago native [[Dennis Swanson]], who worked for WGN-TV and WMAQ-TV before becoming news director at ABC's Los Angeles station, [[KABC-TV]].<ref name="Chic830720" /><ref name="Sout830731">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96986079/back-to-chicago-for-dennis-swanson-and-a/|date=July 31, 1983|page=Inside 6|first=Marlene|last=Cook|title=Back to Chicago for Dennis Swanson and area spouse|newspaper=Southtown Star|location=Tinley Park, Illinois|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=June 17, 2023|archive-date=March 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306020315/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96986079/back-to-chicago-for-dennis-swanson-and/|url-status=live}}</ref> ABC also commissioned [[Frank Gari]] to compose an updated version of the ''[[Cool Hand Luke]]'' "Tar Sequence" theme widely associated with the ''Eyewitness News'' format. The result was "News Series 2000", a theme package that was quickly picked up by other ABC O&Os and affiliates.

Upon his return to Chicago, Swanson would be tasked with finding a replacement for Flynn on the 6 p.m. news, as well as a new host for its ''AM Chicago'' program after host [[Robb Weller]] departed for [[New York City]].<ref name="Chic830816">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97010222/no-dog-days-of-august-for-ch-7s-new-ch/|date=August 16, 1983|page=2:15|first=Jon|last=Anderson|title=No dog days of August for Ch. 7's new chief|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|location=Chicago, Illinois|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=June 17, 2023|archive-date=March 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306020316/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97010222/no-dog-days-of-august-for-ch-7s-new/|url-status=live}}</ref> He responded to the latter by bringing in [[Oprah Winfrey]], at the time the host of ''People Are Talking'' on ABC's then-affiliate in [[Baltimore]], [[WJZ-TV]].<ref name="Chic831202a">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96987097/picture-of-unemployed-works-in-steel/|date=December 2, 1983|page=5:14|first=Jon|last=Anderson|title=Picture of unemployed works in 'Steel'|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|location=Chicago, Illinois|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=June 17, 2023|archive-date=March 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306020318/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96987097/picture-of-unemployed-works-in-steel/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Within a year, the program had moved to first place in the ratings. ''AM Chicago'' entered into national syndication in 1986 and was renamed ''The Oprah Winfrey Show''. Channel 7 was the [[flagship station]] for the show, and it, along with most of ABC's other owned-and-operated stations, carried it until it went out of production in September 2011. Swanson also re-hired lead anchor John Drury, who had left for WGN-TV in 1979; and [[Floyd Kalber]], who had led WMAQ-TV to the top of the ratings in the 1960s. Drury and [[Mary Ann Childers]] were a popular anchor team at WLS-TV during the 1980s and 1990s, accompanied by weather anchor Steve Deshler and sports anchor [[Tim Weigel]]. In March 1986, channel 7 passed WBBM-TV as the highest-rated news station in Chicago. It has held the lead ever since, aside from a brief period when WBBM-TV forged a tie for first in the late 1980s.

In 1992, the station replaced the "News Series 2000" package (as the other ABC O&Os did over the following year, due partly to increased royalties for use of the ''Cool Hand Luke'' theme and its variants by the original theme's composer, [[Lalo Schifrin]]) with a new news music package, also produced by Gari, called "News Series 2000 Plus" (since renamed "Stimulus"), which has remained in use by WLS ever since and was updated in 2013. In 1996, WLS-TV dropped the ''Eyewitness News'' brand after 26 years, in favor of the network-centric ''ABC 7 News''; the move was part of a standard branding effort imposed by ABC across its owned-and-operated stations which saw the incorporation of the ABC name into their local brands<ref name=rf-ewn/> (most of the other ABC O&Os retained their existing news branding, as sister stations such as WABC-TV and [[WPVI-TV]] in Philadelphia retained their ''Eyewitness News'' or ''[[Action News]]'' identities).

[[File:WLS-TV WMVP Studios & Gene Siskel Film Center.jpg|thumb|250px|WLS-TV's street-side studios at 190 N. [[State Street (Chicago)|State Street]] during a 6 p.m. newscast closed to public viewing; sister radio station [[WMVP]] also maintains a streetside studio directly north in the same building.]]
WLS-TV debuted a street-side studio at its North State Street facility on April 10, 2006, during the station's morning newscast, although the station had begun broadcasting its newscasts from that studio two days earlier on April 8.<ref>{{cite news|title=Lights, cameras ... WLS-Ch. 7 unveils new studio|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2006/04/09/lights-cameras-wls-ch-7-unveils-new-studio/|first=Maureen|last=Ryan|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=April 9, 2006|access-date=September 5, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151024225128/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2006-04-09/news/0604080172_1_wls-blue-man-group-gospel-choir |archive-date= October 24, 2015 }}</ref> On the weekend of April 29–30, 2006, WLS-TV upgraded its news helicopter with a [[high-definition television|high definition]] camera, rebranding it as "Chopper 7 HD". On January 6, 2007, WLS-TV became the first Chicago television station to broadcast all of its local programming—including newscasts—in high definition, although most remote field footage remained in [[16:9]] [[widescreen]] standard definition at the time. Since then, WLS-TV upgraded most of its field footage to HD, although some field reports remain in widescreen SD.{{As of?|date=February 2022}}

On December 23, 2007, a [[Mazda MPV]] [[minivan]] drove through a reinforced studio window at the State Street Studio two minutes into the 10&nbsp;p.m. newscast, startling anchor Ravi Baichwal on air and creating a 20-degree draft as the glass shattered upon the car's impact; no one was injured in the crash. [[Evanston, Illinois|Evanston]] resident Gerald Richardson was subsequently charged with felony damage to property for the incident.<ref>{{Cite web |last=thrawnbutler |date=December 24, 2007 |title=WLS-TV Studio Car Crash |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZqng1s2v9E |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230403212105/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZqng1s2v9E |archive-date=April 3, 2023 |website=YouTube}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Minivan crashes into ABC7 studio during news|url=http://abc7chicago.com/archive/5852858/|website=WLS-TV|publisher=ABC Owned Television Stations|date=December 24, 2007|access-date=September 5, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Driver crashes into WLS-CH. 7 studio during news broadcast|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2007-12-24/news/0712240022_1_newscast-driver-police|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925100332/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2007-12-24/news/0712240022_1_newscast-driver-police|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 25, 2015|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=December 24, 2007|access-date=September 5, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Driver faces felony in studio crash|url=http://abc7chicago.com/archive/5853137/|website=WLS-TV|publisher=ABC Owned Television Stations|date=December 24, 2007|access-date=September 5, 2015}}</ref> On November 11, 2012, WLS-TV expanded its Sunday 8&nbsp;a.m. newscast from {{frac|1|1|2}} to two hours, leading into ABC's ''This Week''.<ref>{{cite web|title=PROGRAM NOTE: ABC7 Sunday AM broadcast expanding|url=https://abc7chicago.com/archive/8872930/|website=WLS-TV|publisher=ABC Owned Television Stations|date=November 4, 2012|access-date=November 9, 2012}}</ref> The 8&nbsp;a.m. portion of the Saturday morning newscast was expanded to two hours from 8 to 10&nbsp;a.m. on August 24, 2013. Nearly a week later on August 30, WLS-TV discontinued its hour-long weekday 11&nbsp;a.m. newscast (which originated in 1992 as a half-hour program at 11:30, before it expanded into an earlier, one-hour broadcast on October 6, 2003, following the cancellation of ''[[Port Charles]]'') after 21 years, and replaced it on September 2 with ''Windy City Live'', whose original 9&nbsp;a.m. slot became occupied by ''Live! with Kelly and Michael'' when it moved to WLS from WGN-TV on that date (as such, it became the first – and currently, the only – ABC owned-and-operated station without a midday newscast). With the move and the midday newscast's cancellation, news and weather cut-ins were incorporated into ''Windy City Live''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Channel 7 is expanding midday news to an hour|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2003/08/26/channel-7-is-expanding-midday-news-to-an-hour/|first=John|last=Cook|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=August 26, 2003|access-date=September 25, 2015}}</ref><ref name="windycitylivemoves">{{cite news|title=Channel 7 to drop 11 a.m. newscast in September|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2013/06/20/channel-7-to-drop-11-am-newscast-in-september/|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=June 20, 2013}}</ref>

On October 26, 2013, WLS-TV reintroduced the ''Eyewitness News'' brand (as ''ABC 7 Eyewitness News''), as part of an overall rebranding of its newscasts that included new graphics and a modernized update to the "Stimulus" theme. In an interview with media columnist [[Robert Feder]], WLS-TV president/general manager John Idler said the reasoning behind the restoration of the ''Eyewitness News'' brand, was that it "[still] resonated strongly with [viewers in] the Chicago market", despite being dropped by the station 17 years earlier.<ref name=rf-ewn>{{cite web|title=ABC 7 looks forward to return of 'Eyewitness News'|url=http://www.robertfeder.com/2013/10/16/abc-7-looks-forward-to-return-of-eyewitness-news/|first=Robert|last=Feder|website=RobertFeder.com|date=October 16, 2013|access-date=October 17, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017133641/http://www.robertfeder.com/2013/10/16/abc-7-looks-forward-to-return-of-eyewitness-news/ |archive-date=October 17, 2013 }}</ref> On November 2, 2013, WLS expanded the early block of its weekend morning newscasts, with the extension of its hour-long 6&nbsp;a.m. newscast on Saturdays and Sundays to two hours at 5&nbsp;a.m.<ref>{{cite news|title=WLS-Channel 7 adding more weekend morning news|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/news/2013/10/18/wls-channel-7-adding-more-weekend.html|first=Lewis|last=Lazare|newspaper=[[Chicago Business Journal]]|date=October 18, 2013}}</ref>

On February 10, 2014, WLS-TV entered into a partnership agreement with the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' to include the use of the station's weather team in the newspaper's weather section, replacing WMAQ-TV, whose previous partnership ended the day before; in addition, the station would air a 'look ahead' of the newspaper's front page and stories, with the ''Sun-Times'' promoting WLS's newscasts and programming in turn.

On December 14, 2014, WLS-TV entered into a news share agreement with [[WCIU-TV]] to produce a weeknight-only 7&nbsp;p.m. newscast titled ''ABC 7 Eyewitness News at 7:00 on The U''; the program debuted on January 12, 2015, and is the fifth newscast produced by ABC O&O for a separately owned station in the station's home market (along with existing programs produced by sister stations in [[Raleigh]], Philadelphia, San Francisco and Los Angeles for [[WLFL]], [[WPHL-TV]], [[KOFY-TV]] and [[KDOC-TV]] in the respective markets, and a since-canceled newscast produced by KFSN-TV for [[KAIL]] in Fresno).<ref name=trib-wlswciu>{{cite web|title=WLS-Ch. 7 and WCIU-Ch. 26 team up for 7 p.m. news|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-wls-wciu-news-biz-1217-20141216-story.html|first=Robert|last=Channick|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=December 14, 2014|access-date=February 21, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=WLS To Produce 7 P.M. Newscast On WCIU|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/81602/wls-to-produce-7-pm-newscast-on-wciu?ref=search|website=TVNewsCheck|date=December 16, 2014|access-date=September 5, 2015}}</ref>

On June 27, 2016, WLS-TV revived its 11&nbsp;a.m. newscasts for the first time since 2013, becoming the fourth television station in Chicago to do so; which completes against WMAQ-TV (who revived its midday newscasts in September 2011 and moved to the time period in September 2014), WBBM-TV (who began airing a half-hour 11&nbsp;a.m. newscasts in early 2000s), and WGN-TV (who began its midday newscasts in 1984; followed by some expansions in September 2008 and October 2009). In June 2016, after several years of unsuccessful syndicated talk show replacements for the canceled ''[[All My Children]]'' (including ''[[Katie (talk show)|Katie]]'' and ''[[FABLife]]''), the station moved ''[[General Hospital]]'' to 2 p.m., then ''Windy City Live'' to 1&nbsp;p.m. to accommodate the 11 a.m. newscast, with a replay of the latter late night after ''[[Nightline]]''.<ref name=rf-WCL>{{cite web|title=ABC 7 moving 'Windy City Live' to afternoons|url=http://www.robertfeder.com/2016/06/07/abc-7-moving-windy-city-live-to-afternoons-restoring-11-a-m-newscast/|first=Robert|last=Feder|website=RobertFeder.com|date=June 7, 2016|access-date=June 28, 2016}}</ref>

On July 29, 2019, it was announced that WLS-TV would end its news share agreement with WCIU-TV, ending the weeknight program for that station, the 7&nbsp;p.m. newscast ''ABC 7 Eyewitness News at 7:00 on The U'' after 4 years, with the final broadcast on August 30 of that same year. The mutual parting of ways came as WCIU became the market's [[The CW|CW]] affiliate on September 1, leaving no room for a newscast on the station's schedule.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.robertfeder.com/2019/07/29/abc-7-end-7-p-m-newscast-u/|title=ABC 7 to end 7 p.m. newscast on The U|first=Robert|last=Feder|newspaper=[[Daily Herald (Arlington Heights)|Daily Herald]]|date=July 29, 2019|access-date=July 29, 2019}}</ref>

On June 19, 2023, WLS-TV debuted its new on-air look for the first time in a decade as it was the first ABC owned-and-operated station to unveil its new standard graphics package.

====Ratings====
According to the Nielsen local news ratings for the February 2011 sweeps period, WLS-TV remained in first place overall, with the 10 p.m. newscast getting a 9.7 rating share, down a tenth of a point from a 9.8 during the same time the previous year.<ref>[http://www.suntimes.com/business/4117157-420/johnson-sullivan-anchor-duo-paying-off-for-wbbm-channel-2.html Johnson-Sullivan anchor duo paying off for WBBM-Channel 2], ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'', March 4, 2011.</ref> The station remained in second place for its prime time lead-in.{{Update inline|date=February 2017}}

====On-air staff====
* [[Cheryl Burton]] – anchor
* [[Ryan Chiaverini]] – ''Windy City Weekend'' host; also host of ''Countdown Chicago''
* [[Chuck Goudie]] – chief investigative reporter
* [[Diane Pathieu]] – reporter and fill-in anchor
* [[Mark Schanowski]] – freelance sports anchor (also with [[NBC Sports Chicago]])
* [[Tom Waddle]] – NFL contributor

====Former on-air staff====
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Mike Adamle]]
* [[Diane Allen]]
* [[Jim Avila]]
* [[Roberta Baskin]]
* [[Kathy Brock]]
* [[Diann Burns]]
* [[Jann Carl]]
* [[Susan Carlson]]
* [[Mary Ann Childers]]
* [[Lauren Cohn]]
* [[John Coleman (weatherman)|John Coleman]]{{note label|†|†}}
* [[Joel Daly]]{{note label|†|†}}
* [[Steve Dolinsky]]
* [[Alex Dreier]]{{note label|†|†}}
* [[John Drury (television anchor)|John Drury]]{{note label|†|†}}
* [[Tom Duggan]]{{note label|†|†}}
* [[Roger Ebert]]{{note label|†|†}}
* [[Steve Edwards (talk show host)|Steve Edwards]]
* [[Russ Ewing]]{{note label|†|†}}
* [[Fahey Flynn]]{{note label|†|†}}
* [[Sandi Freeman]]
* [[Bill Frink]]{{note label|†|†}}
* [[Judie Garcia]]
* [[Mark Giangreco]]
* [[Dick Johnson (reporter)|Dick Johnson]]{{note label|†|†}}
* [[Rob Johnson (news anchor)|Rob Johnson]]
* [[Jack Jones (reporter)|Jack Jones]]{{note label|†|†}}
* [[Floyd Kalber]]{{note label|†|†}}
* [[Tal Kopan]]
* [[Alan Krashesky]]
* [[Ron Magers]]
* [[Larry Moore (reporter)|Larry Moore]]
* [[Johnny Mountain]]
* [[Terry Murphy (broadcaster)|Terry Murphy]]
* [[Kent Ninomiya]]
* [[Sylvia Perez]]
* [[Kim Peterson]]
* [[Bob Petty]]{{note label|†|†}}
* [[Dan Ponce]]
* [[Frank Reynolds]]{{note label|†|†}}
* [[Charlie Rose]]
* [[Jim Rose (sports anchor)|Jim Rose]]
* [[Jim Rosenfield]]
* [[Jerry Taft]]{{note label|†|†}}
* [[Rafer Weigel]]
* [[Tim Weigel]]{{note label|†|†}}
* [[Robb Weller]]
* [[Oprah Winfrey]]
* [[Linda Yu]]
{{div col end}}
:<sup>{{note|†|[†]}}</sup> Indicates deceased

==Studios==
WLS-TV's studios at 190 North State Street include the former State-Lake Theatre's gutted and converted interior.<ref name="cinematreasures/348">{{cite web |title=State-Lake Theatre in Chicago, IL |url=https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/348 |website=cinematreasures.org |publisher=Cinema Treasures |access-date=August 29, 2023}}</ref>

Beginning in 1959, ''[[Playboy]]''{{'}}s first television show, ''[[Playboy's Penthouse]]'', filmed for two years at 190 North State Street.<ref name="chicagotribune/hefners-chicago-040516">{{cite news |last1=Rumore |first1=Kori |title=A Playboy's guide to Hugh Hefner's Chicago |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-playboy-in-hefners-chicago-040516-htmlstory.html |access-date=August 29, 2023 |work=Chicago Tribune |date=September 27, 2017}}</ref>

==Technical information==
===Subchannels===
<section begin=subs />
{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannels of WLS-TV and WXFT-DT<ref>{{cite web|title=RabbitEars TV Query for WLS-TV|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WLS#station|website=[[RabbitEars]]|access-date=September 5, 2015}}</ref>
! scope = "col" | License
! scope = "col" | [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! scope = "col" | [[Display resolution|Res.]]
! scope = "col" | [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! scope = "col" | Short name
! scope = "col" | Programming
|-
! rowspan = "3" scope = "row" style="border-right: 4px solid #60B0FF;" | WLS-TV
! scope = "row" | 7.1
| [[720p]] || rowspan="6"|[[16:9]] || WLS-HD || [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 7.2
| rowspan="2"|[[480i]] || LOCLish || [[Localish]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 7.3
| CHARGE || [[Charge! (TV network)|Charge!]]
|-
! rowspan = "3" scope = "row" style="border-right: 4px solid #0057AF;" | WXFT-DT
! scope = "row" | 60.1 
| 720p || WXFT-DT || [[UniMás]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 60.2 
| rowspan=2|480i || ESCAPE || [[Ion Mystery]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 60.3 
| Quest || [[Quest (American TV network)|Quest]]
|}
<section end=subs />
Prior to February 24, 2011, WLS-DT3 carried ''ABC 7 News NOW'', featuring local news and weather and national/sidebar content from [[The Local AccuWeather Channel]]. The ABC O&Os discontinued their Local AccuWeather channels on February 24, 2011, replacing its programming with a letterboxed [[standard-definition]] [[simulcast]] of their Live Well subchannels, though [[AccuWeather]]'s content/branding agreement with ABCOTS, including WLS-TV, continued unchanged. WLS-DT3 formerly served as a charter affiliate of [[Laff (TV network)|Laff]] diginet from its launch in January 2015. To accommodate the WXFT channel share which took effect in December 2017, WLS-TV discontinued the third Laff subchannel, which shifted over to a subchannel of WXFT's sister station, [[WGBO-DT]]2, and reduced the Live Well feed from a reduced-bitrate [[720p]] broadcast to a [[480i]] format. After WLS moved to their new channel post-spectrum transition, it soon picked up This TV after ABCOTS picked up the network for their stations in the spring of 2021.

===Analog-to-digital conversion===
WLS-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 7, at noon on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States [[Digital television transition in the United States|transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts]] under federal mandate. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition [[UHF]] channel 52, which was among the high band UHF channels (52–69) that were removed from broadcast use as a result of the transition, to its analog-era VHF channel 7.<ref>{{cite web|title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds|url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|access-date=March 24, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf|archive-date=August 29, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

WLS operated its digital signal at low power (4.75 [[kW]]) to protect the digital signal of NBC affiliate [[WOOD-TV]] in [[Grand Rapids, Michigan]] (which also broadcasts on channel 7, but at a much higher radiated power). As a result, many viewers were not able to receive the station.<ref>{{cite news|title=Weigel's Analog Nightlight Could Help Chicago Stations With Reception Issues|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/technology/weigels-analog-nightlight-could-help-chicago-stations-reception-issues/46911|first=John|last=Eggerton|periodical=[[Broadcasting & Cable]]|date=June 17, 2009}}</ref> The FCC sent extra personnel to Chicago, [[Philadelphia]] and [[New York City]] to deal with difficulties in those cities. WLS had received 1,735 calls just by the end of the day on June 12 (WBBM only received 600), and an estimated 5,000 calls in total by June 16.

WLS-TV was just one station which needed to increase its signal strength or move its frequency to solve its problems, but a power increase required making sure no other stations were affected.<ref>{{cite news|title=DTV Transition Problems Linger; FCC Beefs Up Role|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-wed-dtv-0617-jun17,0,5744081.story|first=Wailin|last=Wong|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=June 17, 2009|access-date=June 24, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090622082054/http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-wed-dtv-0617-jun17,0,5744081.story|archive-date=June 22, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> WLS received a two-week experimental permit for a power increase late in June.<ref>{{cite web|title=Boise Station Gets Power Boost|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/technology/boise-station-gets-power-boost/46927|first=John|last=Eggerton|periodical=Broadcasting & Cable|date=June 29, 2009|access-date=July 1, 2009}}</ref> WLS had also applied for a permit to construct a low-power fill-in digital translator station on UHF channel 32 (the former analog frequency of [[WFLD]]),<ref>[https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101319886&formid=346&fac_num=73226 BDRTCDT - 20090630AFT]</ref> but abandoned that plan (the channel 32 RF frequency has since been claimed by [[WMEU-CD]]). Eventually the FCC granted it a permit to transmit on a second frequency, UHF channel 44,<ref>[http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/Auth_Files/1335680.pdf 1335680.pdf]</ref> formerly occupied by WSNS-TV; WLS announced the availability of that frequency on October 31, 2009.<ref>{{cite web|title=ABC7 is adding a DTV frequency; UHF frequency should help reception|url=https://abc7chicago.com/archive/7091863/|website=WLS-TV|publisher=ABC Owned Television Stations|date=October 31, 2009}}</ref>

Throughout construction of the new maximized transmitting facilities at the Willis Tower, WLS operated both channels 7 and 44 from its auxiliary facilities at the [[John Hancock Center]] under an [[Special Temporary Authority|STA]].<ref>[http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1363188&Service=DS&Form_id=911&Facility_id=73226 BELDSTA - 20100408ACD]</ref> WLS operated channel 7 as a fill-in translator with a power of 7&nbsp;kW,<ref>[https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101370985&formid=911&fac_num=73226 WLS operated channel 7 as a fill-in translator with a power of 7 kW]</ref> and operating their full power operations on channel 44 with a power of [[Megawatt|1 MW]].<ref>[https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101360475&formid=911&fac_num=73226 ABC 7 WLS full power operations on channel 44 with a power of 1 MW]</ref> Through the use of [[virtual channel]] technology, both operating frequencies were re-mapped and displayed as channel 7, which would cause some digital tuners to have two versions of virtual channels 7.1, 7.2 and 7.3, while tuning sequentially. In October 2012, WLS-TV completed construction from the Willis Tower and its operating channel 44 at the 1 million watt power level.<ref>[http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1422856&Service=DT&Form_id=301&Facility_id=73226 BMPCDT - 20110331ABW]</ref> The station continued its dual-frequency operations until 12:03&nbsp;p.m. on March 18, 2013, when WLS-TV formally ceased operations on VHF channel 7, leaving UHF channel 44 as its permanent allotment.<ref>{{cite web|title=ABC7 making improvements to over-the-air signal|url=https://abc7chicago.com/archive/9009875/|website=WLS-TV|publisher=ABC Owned Television Stations|date=February 28, 2013}}</ref> Since WLS-TV officially moved its full-power operations to channel 44, it is the only ABC-owned station to vacate its former analog allotment for its digital operations and the second ABC O&O to operate its full-power operations on the UHF band, after [[Fresno]] sister station [[KFSN-TV]] (which was forced onto UHF in 1961 when it was a CBS affiliate, as the FCC preferred Fresno to be a "UHF island").

On June 12, 2017, WLS-TV's parent company [[ABC Owned Television Stations]] and [[Univision Communications]] announced they would enter into a channel sharing agreement following the sale of the over-the-air spectrum of [[UniMás]] owned-and-operated station [[WXFT-DT]] in the FCC's [[spectrum reallocation]] auction for $126.1 million on April 13, 2017; as mentioned above, the transition of WXFT to the WLS-TV spectrum occurred eight months later. During the 2019 digital television repack, the station relocated from UHF channel 44 as it was no longer allocated to broadcast television and is now broadcasting on UHF channel 22.

==See also==
* [[WLS (AM)]]
* [[Circle 7 logo]]
* [[Eyewitness News]]
* [[List of three-letter broadcast call signs in the United States]]

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

===Sources===
* [http://www.chicagotelevision.com/murphy.htm The Bob & Kay Show (WENR-TV). ''Chicago Television''].
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060213010242/http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=stationinfo&id=3360723 WLS-TV station history (2005). ''ABC7Chicago.com''].

==External links==
* {{Official website|https://abc7chicago.com/}}

{{Chicago TV}}
{{Illinois TV}}
{{ABC Indiana}}
{{ABC Owned Television Stations}}
{{Disney–ABC stations}}
{{Major U.S. TV O-O Stations}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wls-Tv}}
[[Category:1948 establishments in Illinois]]
[[Category:ABC Owned Television Stations]]
[[Category:American Broadcasting Company affiliates]]
[[Category:Charge! (TV network) affiliates]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1948]]
[[Category:Television stations in Chicago|LS-TV]]