KYW-TV
KYW-TV, branded CBS Philadelphia, is a CBS-owned-and-operated television station serving Philadelphia and surrounding markets.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
KYW-TV is a television station serving Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the surrounding Delaware Valley. It operates on digital channel 3 and is branded primarily as CBS Philadelphia, while also using the long-standing local identity CBS 3. The station is owned and operated by the CBS television network through CBS News and Stations, and it is commonly operated alongside independent sister station WPSG. Their facilities are located on Hamilton Street near Center City Philadelphia, while KYW-TV’s transmitter is in the Roxborough section of the city. The station traces its roots to W3XE, an experimental television operation established by the Philco Corporation in 1932. Philco, then one of the world’s major radio and television manufacturers, developed much of the station’s early technical equipment, including cameras. The facility received a commercial license as WPTZ in 1941, becoming the first licensed television station in Pennsylvania and one of the earliest commercial television stations in the United States. Its early studios occupied locations in North Philadelphia and Center City, and it helped introduce regular NBC television service after the Second World War. Westinghouse Electric Corporation, whose Philadelphia radio station used the KYW call sign, acquired WPTZ in 1953. A controversial 1955 exchange with NBC changed the station’s calls to WRCV-TV and transferred control to NBC. The transaction prompted regulatory scrutiny and ultimately led to a reversal. Westinghouse regained the Philadelphia stations in 1965, restoring the KYW-TV identity. During its later Westinghouse years, the station was a major NBC affiliate but became known for extensive programming preemptions, including the substitution of locally produced or syndicated programs for portions of NBC’s schedule. This approach was initially commercially successful but contributed to poor ratings and friction with NBC. A major affiliation realignment took effect in September 1995. Westinghouse Broadcasting reached an agreement to affiliate KYW-TV with CBS, while NBC acquired Philadelphia station WCAU. The transaction involved a complicated exchange of stations, ownership interests, and facilities among CBS, NBC, and Westinghouse because of tax and regulatory considerations. KYW-TV therefore ended a 54-year relationship with NBC and became a CBS affiliate. Westinghouse subsequently acquired CBS, making the Philadelphia station a CBS-owned-and-operated outlet. The station later came under Viacom ownership when Viacom acquired the combined Westinghouse/CBS company in 2000. After the 2006 separation that created a reconstituted CBS Corporation, KYW-TV remained within CBS’s broadcasting portfolio. CBS and Viacom reunited in 2019 under ViacomCBS, now Paramount Global. In 2007, KYW-TV and WPSG moved from the Independence Mall East facility to a new high-definition-capable broadcast complex at 1555 Hamilton Street. KYW-TV’s identity has also evolved visually. From 1965 through 2003, it used Westinghouse Group W’s distinctive stylized numeral 3. The CBS eye was added to the logo in 1998, and the station later adopted CBS 3 and CBS Philadelphia branding. The station remains an important local outlet for CBS network programming, local newscasts, weather, sports coverage, public-affairs content, and digital news distribution. It is notable, together with Pittsburgh sister station KDKA-TV, as one of the only CBS-affiliated stations east of the Mississippi River retaining a K-prefixed call sign.
History
KYW-TV began in 1932 as W3XE, an experimental station created by Philadelphia-based Philco Corporation. Philco’s engineers designed much of the station’s early equipment, and the operation was initially integrated into the company’s manufacturing plant in North Philadelphia. In 1941, W3XE received a commercial license and adopted the WPTZ call sign. It became the first licensed television station in Pennsylvania and one of the earliest commercial stations in the United States. WPTZ developed an early relationship with NBC, sharing programming with the network’s New York operation before and during the Second World War. Wartime conditions reduced the station’s schedule, but full operations resumed after 1945. The station participated in the expansion of regular NBC television service and moved its studios through several Center City locations. In 1953, Westinghouse Electric Corporation purchased WPTZ for a record price at the time. Westinghouse already owned Philadelphia radio station KYW, creating a local broadcasting combination. In 1955, Westinghouse exchanged WPTZ and KYW radio to NBC for stations in Cleveland and additional cash. NBC took control in early 1956, and channel 3 was renamed WRCV-TV. The ownership transfer became the subject of a prolonged regulatory dispute after Westinghouse alleged that NBC had pressured it into the transaction. NBC also invested in a taller Roxborough transmitter during this period, improving coverage of the expanded Philadelphia market, including parts of Delaware, the Lehigh Valley, and southern New Jersey, and enabling color broadcasting. The FCC eventually required the transaction to be reversed. After years of investigations, proposed trades, objections, and appeals, Westinghouse regained control of the Philadelphia stations on June 19, 1965. The KYW call letters, which had been moved to Cleveland during the NBC period, returned to Philadelphia, and channel 3 became KYW-TV. Under Westinghouse, KYW-TV continued as an NBC affiliate but frequently replaced network programs with local and syndicated offerings. Group W programming, including The Mike Douglas Show, The David Frost Show, and Evening Magazine, occupied portions of the schedule. The station’s preemption policy was profitable during some of the 1960s and 1970s, but its ratings later deteriorated, particularly as NBC became the country’s leading network. The station’s decisions to preempt NBC programs, including selected sports coverage, produced continuing tension with the network. The competitive and regulatory environment changed in the mid-1990s. After affiliation disruptions involving Westinghouse’s Baltimore station, Westinghouse sought a broader arrangement with CBS. KYW-TV, WBZ-TV in Boston, and WJZ-TV in Baltimore were designated to become CBS affiliates. In Philadelphia, the change required an unusually complex exchange because CBS owned WCAU and faced substantial tax consequences from a straightforward sale. CBS, NBC, and Westinghouse therefore exchanged stations, ownership interests, and transmission facilities. The final arrangement took effect on September 10, 1995, when KYW-TV ended its NBC affiliation and joined CBS; NBC moved its Philadelphia programming to WCAU. Westinghouse purchased CBS later in 1995, turning KYW-TV into a CBS-owned-and-operated station. Viacom’s acquisition of the combined company in 2000 brought KYW-TV under common ownership with WPSG, Philadelphia’s former UPN station. CBS retained the stations after the 2006 corporate separation that recreated CBS Corporation. The 2019 CBS-Viacom recombination placed the station in the current Paramount Global corporate structure, with operations managed through CBS News and Stations. KYW-TV moved with WPSG to a new facility at 1555 Hamilton Street in 2007. The building was designed for modern, high-definition broadcasting and replaced the station’s long-standing Independence Mall East studios. In November 2017, the television station was separated from its former radio counterpart when CBS Radio merged with Entercom, now Audacy. KYW-TV continues to serve the Philadelphia market with CBS programming, local news, weather, sports, public affairs, and digital content. Its K-prefixed call sign is unusual for an east-of-the-Mississippi CBS station; the only comparable CBS station identified in the source history is Pittsburgh sister station KDKA-TV.
- 2019
CBS and Viacom recombine
[1]The station becomes part of the reunited company now known as Paramount Global.
- 2017
Television and radio ownership separate
[1]KYW-TV is separated from the KYW radio operation when CBS Radio combines with Entercom.
- 2007
New Hamilton Street facility opens
[1]KYW-TV and WPSG consolidate operations in a new broadcast complex near Center City Philadelphia.
- 2000
Viacom acquires CBS
[1]KYW-TV enters common ownership with WPSG through Viacom’s acquisition of the CBS broadcasting group.
- 1995
Affiliation changes from NBC to CBS
[1]KYW-TV becomes a CBS affiliate after a multilateral station and ownership transaction involving CBS, NBC, and Westinghouse.
- 1965
KYW-TV identity returns to Philadelphia
[1]The FCC-ordered reversal of the Westinghouse-NBC exchange restores Westinghouse control and the KYW-TV call sign.
- 1957
Roxborough transmitter enters service
[1]A taller transmitter improves coverage across the enlarged Philadelphia television market and supports color broadcasting.
- 1956
Station becomes WRCV-TV under NBC
[1]NBC takes operational control following its exchange with Westinghouse, and channel 3 changes its call sign from WPTZ to WRCV-TV.
- 1953
Westinghouse acquires WPTZ
[1]Westinghouse Electric Corporation purchases the Philadelphia television station from Philco.
- 1941
WPTZ receives commercial license
[1]The station becomes WPTZ and receives one of the earliest commercial television licenses in the United States.
Products and positioning
A legacy Philadelphia broadcast station combining CBS network programming with locally focused news, weather, sports, and community coverage.
Television news
Local news
KYW-TV produces and distributes local Philadelphia-area news coverage, including reporting, interviews, breaking-news updates, weather, traffic, and public-affairs content. The service is delivered through broadcast newscasts and digital channels under the CBS Philadelphia identity.
Network television · 1995
CBS network programming
As a CBS-owned-and-operated station, KYW-TV carries CBS entertainment, news, sports, and special-event programming for the Philadelphia market, subject to network scheduling and local programming requirements.
Broadcast information service
Weather coverage
The station provides forecasts and weather updates tailored to Philadelphia, the Delaware Valley, southern New Jersey, northern Delaware, and nearby parts of the Lehigh Valley.
Brand decisions
2007
Relocation to a high-definition broadcast facilityStrategyBackground
KYW-TV and sister station WPSG required a modernized facility for consolidated production and digital broadcasting.
Action taken
The stations moved to 1555 Hamilton Street near Center City Philadelphia.
Aftermath
The new complex supported high-definition newscast production and became the stations’ principal operating base.
1995
Switch from NBC to CBSStrategyBackground
Westinghouse sought a new network affiliation after disputes involving its Baltimore station and negotiated a broader arrangement with CBS.
Action taken
KYW-TV ended its NBC affiliation and began carrying CBS programming on September 10, 1995.
Aftermath
NBC moved its Philadelphia programming to WCAU, while KYW-TV became a CBS-owned-and-operated station after Westinghouse acquired CBS.
1955
Exchange with NBCM&ABackground
Westinghouse and NBC agreed to exchange Philadelphia and Cleveland broadcast properties, giving NBC the Philadelphia station it had long sought.
Action taken
NBC assumed control of WPTZ and KYW radio, changed the television station to WRCV-TV, and moved the KYW calls to Cleveland.
Aftermath
The transaction triggered regulatory scrutiny and was ultimately reversed in 1965, restoring Westinghouse ownership and the KYW-TV identity in Philadelphia.
Sources2 sources
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