WLS-TV
ABC-owned television station serving the Chicago market with local news, network programming, sports, and community-focused content.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
WLS-TV is the ABC-owned-and-operated television station serving Chicago, Illinois, and the surrounding metropolitan region. Broadcasting on channel 7, the station operates as part of ABC Owned Television Stations, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Its studios are in Chicago’s Loop at 190 North State Street, while its transmitter is located on the Willis Tower, giving the station a prominent technical and physical presence in the market. The station began broadcasting on September 17, 1948, as WENR-TV. It was one of the earliest ABC-owned television outlets and the third commercial television station to launch in Chicago, following WGN-TV and the original WBKB. After ABC’s 1953 merger with United Paramount Theatres, regulatory limits on common ownership required the reorganization of the two Chicago stations associated with the merged company. The WBKB call letters and much of the station’s management structure moved to channel 7, while the former channel 4 operation became WBBM-TV under CBS ownership. Channel 7 operated as WBKB, and later WBKB-TV, until 1968. The station adopted the WLS-TV call sign on October 7, 1968. The name connected it to WLS radio, an ABC-controlled Chicago radio property whose roots lay in the Prairie Farmer broadcasting operation. During the late 1960s, WLS-TV adopted the Eyewitness News format used by other ABC-owned stations. Its news operation became one of the most influential in Chicago, developing recognizable anchor teams, strong local reporting, and a competitive ratings position. The station has continued to make local news its central offering, airing extensive weekday and weekend newscasts alongside weather, traffic, investigative reporting, politics, sports, and community affairs. WLS-TV has also been an important production and distribution center. It originated A.M. Chicago, the local program that evolved into The Oprah Winfrey Show. In 1988, production rights were sold to Harpo Productions, although WLS-TV continued carrying the program until its conclusion in 2011. The station has produced or hosted local programs including 190 North, Windy City Live and its successor Windy City Weekend, Countdown Chicago, Chicagoing, The Chicago Huddle, and food and lifestyle programming for ABC-related digital services. These programs extended the station’s identity beyond conventional newscasts and connected its brand with Chicago culture, restaurants, entertainment, civic life, and regional personalities. Its schedule has periodically been adjusted to accommodate local programming, syndicated shows, sports, and ABC network commitments. WLS-TV has carried selected Chicago Cubs games, Chicago Bears Monday Night Football simulcasts, Chicago Bulls games through ABC’s national NBA package, and selected Chicago Blackhawks games through ABC’s NHL coverage. The station also operates digital and streaming extensions through ABC7 Chicago, including online news, video, weather, and live coverage. WLS-TV remains an active local broadcaster and a major ABC distribution outlet in one of the United States’ largest media markets. Its positioning combines national network affiliation with a distinctly Chicago-focused news, lifestyle, sports, and community-service identity.
History
WLS-TV’s broadcasting history began on September 17, 1948, when it signed on as WENR-TV. The new station was associated with ABC and occupied channel 7, becoming one of the network’s earliest owned stations. It entered a Chicago market that already included WGN-TV and the original WBKB, making it the city’s third commercial television outlet. A major structural change came in 1953, when ABC merged with United Paramount Theatres. Balaban and Katz, a United Paramount subsidiary, controlled WBKB on channel 4. Because Federal Communications Commission rules restricted common ownership of two television stations in the same market, the merger required the Chicago properties to be separated and reorganized. The channel 4 operation was sold to CBS and became WBBM-TV, while the WBKB identity and associated management moved to channel 7. Channel 7 used the WBKB name, including WBKB-TV from 1965 to 1968. The station’s news and programming profile developed substantially during the 1950s and 1960s. General manager Sterling “Red” Quinlan was associated with the growth of early Chicago television and supported programs and personalities that became prominent in the market. In 1968, the station changed its call letters to WLS-TV, reflecting ABC’s ownership of WLS radio. The following year it adopted the Eyewitness News format, modeled on the successful presentation used by ABC’s New York flagship. Anchors including Fahey Flynn, Joel Daly, and John Drury helped establish the station as a serious competitor in Chicago news. By the early 1970s, its newscasts had overtaken WMAQ-TV in the ratings, although the station later competed closely with WBBM-TV and other local outlets. The 1980s brought both management changes and experimentation. Following a period of declining ratings, ABC recruited new station and news leadership, including news director Bill Applegate and general manager Dennis Swanson. In 1984, WLS-TV launched Tele1st, an overnight subscription service designed to let viewers record encrypted films and lifestyle programming. The service was short-lived and ended later that year. WLS-TV’s most consequential entertainment legacy is connected to Oprah Winfrey. The station produced A.M. Chicago, the local talk program that became The Oprah Winfrey Show after Winfrey took over as host. The program developed into a nationally syndicated phenomenon. WLS-TV later transferred production rights to Harpo Productions, but continued airing the program until its final original broadcast in 2011. That same year, the station launched Windy City Live as a local replacement in its daytime schedule. Windy City Live later became Windy City Weekend, continuing the station’s investment in locally produced lifestyle content. The station has also used its ABC affiliation to carry selected professional sports. It has broadcast Chicago Cubs games, ABC’s national coverage involving the Chicago Bears, and selected Bulls and Blackhawks games. The Cubs agreement ran through the 2019 season, after which the team’s television strategy shifted to the Marquee Sports Network. Today, WLS-TV operates as ABC7 Chicago, combining a large local-news operation with network entertainment, news discussion, educational programming, sports, weather, and digital publishing. Its Chicago Loop studios and Willis Tower transmitter remain central elements of its local identity, while its website and digital services extend the brand beyond over-the-air broadcasting.
- 2021
Windy City Weekend replaces daily format
[1]The daily Windy City Live format ends and the program continues as a weekly local lifestyle show.
- 2014
Cubs agreement announced
[1]WLS-TV announces a five-year deal to televise 25 Chicago Cubs games per season beginning in 2015.
- 2011
The Oprah Winfrey Show ends
[1]The program’s final original episode airs on May 25, ending a major chapter in the station’s programming history.
- 2011
Windy City Live premieres
[1]WLS-TV introduces a locally produced daytime talk and lifestyle program.
- 1991
Countdown Chicago begins
[1]The station begins its local New Year’s Eve special.
- 1988
Oprah production rights move to Harpo
[1]WLS-TV agrees to sell production rights for The Oprah Winfrey Show to Harpo Productions.
- 1984
Tele1st launches and closes
[1]The overnight subscription television experiment begins in January and ends on June 30 after limited adoption.
- 1969
Eyewitness News format adopted
[1]WLS-TV introduces the ABC-owned-station news format that becomes central to its identity.
- 1968
Station becomes WLS-TV
[1]Channel 7 adopts the WLS-TV call letters on October 7.
- 1953
WBKB identity moves to channel 7
[1]Following the ABC–United Paramount Theatres merger and an ownership-rule conflict, the WBKB operation associated with channel 7 is reorganized.
Products and positioning
A leading Chicago local-news and broadcast brand combining ABC network programming with extensive regional journalism, weather, sports, lifestyle, and community coverage.
Local television news · 1969
ABC7 Eyewitness News
WLS-TV’s core local-news franchise, covering Chicago and the surrounding region through morning, midday, evening, late-night, and weekend broadcasts. The operation includes breaking news, investigative reporting, politics, consumer coverage, transportation, weather, and community reporting. Its Eyewitness News identity dates to the station’s adoption of the ABC-owned-station format in 1969.
Lifestyle programming · 2021
Windy City Weekend
A weekly local lifestyle program descended from Windy City Live. It presents Chicago-area food, entertainment, travel, events, and community features, extending WLS-TV’s local programming beyond hard news.
Holiday special · 1991
Countdown Chicago
WLS-TV’s locally produced New Year’s Eve broadcast, featuring live or recorded entertainment and coverage connected with Chicago’s year-end celebrations.
Talk show · 1986
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The nationally syndicated talk show developed from WLS-TV’s A.M. Chicago. Although later produced by Harpo Productions, it remained a major part of the station’s schedule until its final original broadcast in 2011.
Subscription television · 1984
Tele1st
An overnight subscription service launched by WLS-TV in 1984. It offered encrypted films and lifestyle programs intended for recording through a specialized decoder and VCR-based system, but ended after a brief operating period.
Brand decisions
2014
Chicago Cubs broadcast agreementStrategyBackground
The Cubs reorganized their local television distribution after WGN-TV reduced its long-running game package.
Action taken
WLS-TV signed a five-year agreement to televise 25 Cubs games annually beginning in 2015.
Aftermath
The arrangement continued through the 2019 season, before the club moved its television strategy to the Marquee Sports Network.
1988
Transfer of Oprah production rightsStrategyBackground
The Oprah Winfrey Show had grown from a locally produced WLS-TV program into a nationally syndicated property.
Action taken
WLS-TV agreed to sell production rights to Harpo Productions while ABC-owned stations continued carrying the show.
Aftermath
The program remained a major part of WLS-TV’s schedule until its final original broadcast in 2011.
1984
Launch of Tele1stProduct launchBackground
WLS-TV entered the early over-the-air subscription television market as competing services experimented with pay programming and home recording.
Action taken
The station launched an overnight encrypted service with decoder equipment designed to work with a subscriber’s VCR.
Aftermath
Tele1st attracted only a limited audience and ceased operations on June 30, 1984.
Recent events
ABC7 Chicago kicks off Feed the Love 2026 campaign[3]
Reported:
ABC7 Chicago kicked off its annual Feed the Love campaign to raise awareness about food insecurity in the Chicago area and northwest Indiana. The campaign encourages donations to local food banks and includes planned volunteer and reporting activities during the holiday season.
ABC7 Chicago wins six regional Emmy Awards[4]
Reported:
ABC7 Chicago received six regional Emmy Awards at the NATAS Chicago/Midwest awards ceremony, including Outstanding Achievement for Evening Newscast for its coverage of the March 10 tornado outbreak.
ABC 7 Chicago partners with Chicago Public Schools on educational programming[5]
Reported:
ABC 7 Chicago partnered with Chicago Public Schools to air supplemental educational programming on ABC 7's digital channel 7.2. The programming was scheduled to be available starting May 6, 2020.
Sources5 sources
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