WBXX-TV
A full-power television station licensed to Crossville, Tennessee, serving the Knoxville area as an affiliate of The CW and Telemundo.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
WBXX-TV is a full-power commercial television station licensed to Crossville, Tennessee, and serving the Knoxville, Tennessee, designated market area. The station operates on digital channel 20 and is associated primarily with The CW, while its current channel lineup also carries Telemundo programming. Although its license city is Crossville, the station’s principal facilities and business presence are in the Knoxville area, where it operates alongside Gray Media sister station WVLT-TV. Its transmitter is located at Windrock on Buffalo Mountain near Oliver Springs, allowing the station to cover the broader Knoxville market and communities across East Tennessee. The station began broadcasting on October 3, 1976, as WCPT-TV on analog channel 55. The call sign referred to Wonderful Cumberland Plateau Television, reflecting the station’s original local orientation in and around Cumberland County. Its early schedule consisted of religious programs, syndicated films and dramas, cartoons, westerns, sporting material, public-affairs programming, and locally produced shows. WCPT-TV also produced a nightly local newscast and a live Saturday evening program known as Saturday Night Jamboree. Because the station initially operated with limited facilities and a relatively weak signal, its owners pursued technical and channel changes intended to improve service to the Cumberland Plateau and surrounding communities. In 1980, the Federal Communications Commission approved a channel exchange that moved the station from channel 55 to channel 20. The station adopted the call letters WINT-TV in December 1982 and continued operating with a changing mix of general-entertainment and religious programming. During the 1980s, it remained a small independent outlet with a strong local and regional identity. In 1995, CW TV, led by Cynthia Willis, acquired the station through Crossville TV, LP. The new ownership sought to relocate the transmitter to Upper Windrock and substantially increase effective radiated power, a move designed to transform the station from a limited Crossville outlet into a full Knoxville-market broadcaster. In 1997, Crossville TV, LP sold the license to ACME Communications. ACME changed the call letters to WBXX-TV and relaunched the station from upgraded facilities in October of that year as a Knoxville affiliate of The WB. The station became known on-air as WB20 and later as East Tennessee’s WB. It was among the stronger-performing affiliates in The WB network and also carried selected UPN programming during 2001 and 2002, when Knoxville lacked a separate UPN affiliate. When The WB and UPN were combined to form The CW in 2006, WBXX became the Knoxville-area CW affiliate. Its branding evolved from East Tennessee’s CW to CW20 in 2008. The station has supplemented network programming with syndicated entertainment, sports, promotional interstitials, and locally relevant content. From 1998 through 2004, its WB 20 Kids Club, later called Dubba Clubba, provided weekday children’s interstitials hosted by comedian Jackson Bailey, known on the program as Joe Cool. The segments combined contests with short features about subjects such as science, conservation, music, biology, and pet care. Ownership changed again in 2011, when Virginia-based Lockwood Broadcast Group acquired WBXX from ACME Communications. Gray Television announced its acquisition of the station in 2015 as part of a broader transaction involving Schurz Communications’ broadcast assets. Gray completed the purchase in February 2016 and operated WBXX in conjunction with WVLT-TV. Gray later became Gray Media, retaining the Knoxville duopoly while complying with federal ownership rules through the sale of another Knoxville station, WTNZ, in 2019. WBXX has also used several outsourced local-news arrangements. WBIR-TV formerly produced an abbreviated late-evening newscast for the station, while WATE-TV launched The CW 20 News at 10 in August 2011. WVLT-TV assumed production of WBXX’s local newscasts in January 2017, including morning and prime-time broadcasts. The station has additionally carried syndicated Atlantic Coast Conference football and men’s basketball games, including programming distributed by Raycom Sports from 2015 through 2019. Its current role is that of a network-affiliated, locally marketed Gray Media station serving Knoxville and East Tennessee, with programming distributed through terrestrial broadcast and digital subchannels.
History
WBXX-TV traces its history to WCPT-TV, which began broadcasting on October 3, 1976, from Cumberland County as an independent station on analog channel 55. Founded by Edward M. “Mack” Johnson, the station served the Cumberland Plateau with a modest schedule of religious programs, syndicated movies, westerns, cartoons, sports, public affairs, and original local programming. Its early output included a nightly local newscast and a live Saturday Night Jamboree. The station also used a translator to reach viewers in the Cookeville area and explored the possibility of obtaining an ABC affiliation, although its limited coverage made such an arrangement difficult. The station’s owners sought to improve its technical position during the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1980, the FCC approved a move from channel 55 to channel 20, with channel 55 reassigned for noncommercial use. The station’s call letters changed to WINT-TV on December 27, 1982. Although plans were made to increase its power substantially, the proposed facilities were not fully implemented at that stage. WINT-TV continued as a small independent station and carried a significant amount of religious programming by the late 1980s. In 1995, CW TV, headed by Cynthia Willis, acquired the station through Crossville TV, LP. The new owners proposed relocating the transmitter to Upper Windrock on Buffalo Mountain near Oliver Springs and increasing power enough to serve Knoxville. This expansion was central to the station’s later development because it allowed a license historically associated with Crossville to compete in the larger Knoxville television market. Crossville TV, LP sold the station to ACME Communications in 1997. ACME changed the call letters to WBXX-TV and relaunched the station from new facilities in October of that year as an affiliate of The WB. Initially promoted as WB20, the station became one of The WB’s stronger affiliates and later adopted the identity East Tennessee’s WB. It also carried selected UPN programs in 2001 and 2002 while Knoxville lacked a dedicated UPN outlet. From 1998 to 2004, the station aired children’s interstitials under the WB 20 Kids Club name, later renamed Dubba Clubba. Hosted by Jackson Bailey as Joe Cool, the segments featured contests and short educational or lifestyle features. The formation of The CW in 2006 gave WBXX a continuing network affiliation. It first promoted itself as East Tennessee’s CW and adopted CW20 branding in 2008. The station supplemented network content with syndicated programming and sports. From 2015 through 2019 it carried selected Atlantic Coast Conference football and men’s basketball games distributed by Raycom Sports, with some broadcasts shared with WVLT-TV. ACME sold WBXX to Lockwood Broadcast Group in 2011. Gray Television announced an acquisition in 2015 and completed the transaction on February 1, 2016, taking control of the station through its WVLT-TV operation. Gray’s subsequent acquisition of Raycom Media created a regulatory conflict because Gray would have controlled multiple highly rated Knoxville stations. To satisfy FCC ownership requirements, Gray retained WVLT-TV and WBXX-TV and sold WTNZ to Lockwood in January 2019. WBXX’s local-news history has involved several production partnerships. WBIR-TV once supplied a short late-evening news update, but that arrangement ended in 2011. WATE-TV introduced a 35-minute program, The CW 20 News at 10, in August 2011 and later delivered it in high definition after WBXX upgraded its master-control facilities. Beginning January 1, 2017, WVLT-TV took over production of WBXX’s morning and prime-time newscasts. The station remains a full-power Knoxville-market broadcaster licensed to Crossville, with a transmitter on Windrock and studios shared with WVLT-TV on Knoxville’s west side.
- 2019
WTNZ is sold to satisfy ownership rules
[1]Gray completes the Raycom transaction while retaining WVLT and WBXX and selling WTNZ to Lockwood under FCC ownership constraints.
- 2017
WVLT takes over local-news production
[1]WVLT-TV assumes production of WBXX’s morning and 10 p.m. local newscasts.
- 2016
Gray Television ownership begins
[1]Gray completes its purchase of WBXX-TV and operates it with Knoxville sister station WVLT-TV.
- 2011
Lockwood ownership begins
[1]Lockwood Broadcast Group completes its acquisition of WBXX-TV from ACME Communications.
- 2009
Digital transition completed
[1]The station ends analog broadcasting on June 12 and moves its digital signal from pre-transition channel 50 to channel 20.
- 2006
The CW affiliation begins
[1]WBXX becomes the Knoxville-area affiliate of The CW after The WB and UPN are consolidated into the new network.
- 1997
WBXX-TV launches as a WB affiliate
[1]ACME Communications acquires the license, changes the call sign to WBXX-TV, and relaunches the station as Knoxville’s The WB affiliate.
- 1995
Crossville TV pursues Knoxville expansion
[1]New ownership seeks a transmitter relocation to Upper Windrock and a major power increase to reach the Knoxville market.
- 1982
Call sign changes to WINT-TV
[1]The station adopts the WINT-TV call letters on December 27.
- 1980
Channel move to UHF 20 is approved
[1]The FCC approves the station’s move from channel 55 to channel 20 as part of a broader frequency and service-area restructuring.
Products and positioning
A Knoxville-market CW affiliate with a Crossville license, combining national network entertainment with local news, weather, sports, advertising, and supplementary Spanish-language programming for East Tennessee.
Broadcast television · 2006
CW network programming
WBXX’s principal network offering is The CW schedule, including scripted entertainment, reality programming, specials, and other network-distributed content. The station has promoted this service under several identities, including East Tennessee’s CW and CW20, while using its channel 20 position as a central part of its local brand.
News broadcasting · 2011
Local news and weather
WBXX has carried locally focused morning and prime-time news programming produced under outsourcing agreements with Knoxville stations. WATE-TV produced The CW 20 News at 10 beginning in 2011, and WVLT-TV later assumed production of WBXX’s local newscasts. These programs provide regional news, weather, and related coverage for the Knoxville market.
Spanish-language television
Telemundo programming
The station’s current service description identifies Telemundo among the programming carried by WBXX-TV. This gives the broader channel operation a Spanish-language component in addition to its main CW affiliation, although the precise subchannel schedule and branding may change over time.
Sports broadcasting · 2015
Atlantic Coast Conference sports
From 2015 through 2019, WBXX carried selected Atlantic Coast Conference football and men’s basketball games syndicated through the Raycom Sports-operated ACC Network. Some events were shared with WVLT-TV, giving WBXX a supplementary sports role beyond its entertainment and news schedules.
Children’s programming · 1998
WB 20 Kids Club / Dubba Clubba
This former weekday interstitial service ran from 1998 through 2004. Hosted by comedian Jackson Bailey as Joe Cool, it combined viewer contests with brief features about science, biology, conservation, music, and pet care. The concept was later renamed Dubba Clubba while retaining its short-form children’s and educational orientation.
Brand decisions
2017
Move local-news production to WVLT-TVStrategyBackground
WBXX’s local newscasts had previously been produced by WATE-TV under an outsourcing arrangement.
Action taken
WVLT-TV assumed production of WBXX’s morning and prime-time local newscasts.
Aftermath
The change aligned WBXX’s news operation more closely with its Gray-owned sister station and shared Knoxville facilities.
2016
Integration with Gray’s WVLT operationM&ABackground
Gray Television acquired WBXX as part of a larger broadcast-asset transaction and already operated or was positioned to operate other Knoxville-market assets.
Action taken
Gray completed the acquisition and placed WBXX within an operating relationship with sister station WVLT-TV.
Aftermath
The stations shared studios and later consolidated local-news production under WVLT.
2011
Launch of The CW 20 News at 10Product launchBackground
After an earlier news-production arrangement ended, WBXX sought a new locally focused late-evening news program.
Action taken
WATE-TV began producing a 35-minute prime-time newscast for WBXX under the title The CW 20 News at 10.
Aftermath
The program continued after WBXX’s ownership change and later benefited from technical upgrades that enabled high-definition delivery.
1997
Relaunch as WBXX-TV and The WB affiliateStrategyBackground
ACME Communications acquired the station while The WB was expanding its affiliate footprint.
Action taken
ACME changed the call letters to WBXX-TV and relaunched the station as Knoxville’s The WB affiliate, initially using WB20 branding.
Aftermath
WBXX became one of the stronger-performing affiliates in The WB system and developed a recognizable regional network identity.
1995
Expand from a Crossville outlet into the Knoxville marketStrategyBackground
The station’s limited early signal and Cumberland Plateau license constrained its reach. New ownership pursued a transmitter relocation to Upper Windrock and a substantial power increase.
Action taken
Crossville TV, LP applied to move the transmitter to Buffalo Mountain near Oliver Springs and increase effective radiated power so the station could serve Knoxville.
Aftermath
The technical expansion supported the station’s later relaunch as a Knoxville-market network affiliate.
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