WQCW
WQCW is a CW-affiliated television station licensed to Portsmouth, Ohio, and serving the Charleston–Huntington, West Virginia market.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
WQCW is a full-power commercial television station licensed to Portsmouth, Ohio, but primarily serving viewers in the Charleston–Huntington regional television market. It operates as an affiliate of The CW under the on-air identity “Tri-State’s CW.” Although its city of license is in southern Ohio, the station’s principal facilities and market orientation are tied to Huntington and Charleston, West Virginia, as well as portions of eastern Kentucky. WQCW is owned by Gray Media and operates alongside Gray’s Huntington-licensed NBC affiliate, WSAZ-TV. The stations share studios on Fifth Avenue in Huntington, while WQCW’s transmitter is located near Milton, West Virginia, on Barker Ridge. The station’s history began with a construction permit for channel 30 issued in 1984 under the proposed call sign WUXA. The facility did not begin broadcasting until October 5, 1998, when it signed on as WHCP, an affiliate of The WB. In 2000, it also began carrying UPN programming after that network’s programming was dropped by Fox affiliate WVAH-TV. UPN shows were generally scheduled outside their normal network windows, including on weekends and after WB programming. WQCW faced significant technical and geographic challenges. The Charleston–Huntington market covers a large and mountainous area extending across central West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, and southern Ohio. UHF signals have historically been difficult to receive across the region’s rugged terrain. WHCP therefore supplemented its main signal with low-power translators in Huntington and Charleston, and the station depended heavily on cable and satellite distribution. Its digital transition and subsequent transmitter changes improved coverage substantially. The transmitter was moved to the WOWK tower near Huntington, and the station’s digital power was increased to provide coverage more comparable to other major market stations. When The WB and UPN were replaced by The CW in 2006, WHCP became a CW affiliate. The station changed its call sign to WQCW on May 31, 2006, initially using the brand “The Q” before adopting the regional identity “Tri-State’s CW.” The change aligned the station with the newly formed network and made its regional positioning clearer to viewers across the three-state market. Ownership changed several times. Commonwealth Broadcasting sold the station to Lockwood Broadcast Group in a transaction announced in January 2007 and completed in May of that year. Lockwood later announced a proposed sale to Excalibur Broadcasting, but the transaction was abandoned in favor of a direct sale to Gray Television for $5.5 million. Gray assumed operational control through a local marketing agreement in February 2014, and the acquisition closed on April 1, 2014. Gray later sold the redundant low-power repeater WOCW-LP, leaving WQCW as the principal CW service associated with the operation. WQCW has historically carried network entertainment and syndicated programming, with a limited local-production profile. Its local programming has included high-school sports and professional wrestling events, including programming associated with Portsmouth-based Revolutionary Championship Wrestling. A short-lived WHCP local news operation ran from November 2005 until February 2006, but was discontinued after several months. Under Gray ownership, WSAZ-TV’s 10 p.m. newscast moved from WSAZ’s digital subchannel to WQCW in March 2014 and was expanded to one hour, giving WQCW a more substantial local-news offering while preserving its CW affiliation. The station also completed the nationwide analog shutdown in 2009, retaining virtual channel 30 on its digital facility.
History
WQCW’s origins trace to a construction permit for a Portsmouth, Ohio, channel 30 facility issued in 1984 under the call sign WUXA. The permit did not immediately result in a broadcasting station. Channel 30 eventually became active on October 5, 1998, when WHCP began operations as an affiliate of The WB. The station later added UPN programming in 2000 after WVAH-TV stopped carrying that network. Because the UPN material was scheduled outside the network’s standard programming windows, WHCP functioned as a combined WB and secondary UPN outlet for part of its early history. The station’s technical position was difficult from the outset. The Charleston–Huntington market is geographically extensive and includes mountainous areas of West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, and southern Ohio. WHCP’s analog UHF signal did not adequately cover the entire market despite its high effective radiated power. Unlike WVAH, which had previously moved from a UHF channel to a VHF channel, WHCP could not make a comparable analog channel change because of interference concerns involving digital stations in other markets. To improve reception, the station established low-power translators in Huntington and Charleston. Cable and satellite distribution consequently became important parts of its effective coverage, particularly in remote communities and eastern Kentucky. The 2006 creation of The CW from the merger of The WB and UPN gave the station a new network affiliation. WHCP joined The CW and changed its call sign to WQCW on May 31, 2006. Its first branding was “The Q,” accompanied by a logo concept based on the CW mark, but the station later adopted “Tri-State’s CW,” a regional brand that emphasized its service area rather than only its Ohio city of license. The associated translators also received new call signs in preparation for the affiliation change. Commonwealth Broadcasting sold WQCW to Lockwood Broadcast Group in a deal announced in January 2007 and completed on May 21. During the Lockwood period, the station produced relatively little local programming and operated primarily as a pass-through for automated, network, and syndicated material. Its local output included high-school sports and local professional wrestling programming. An earlier attempt to establish a local news department under the WHCP name ran from November 7, 2005, through February 21, 2006. The operation carried weekday evening newscasts at 6 and 10 p.m., but it was discontinued shortly after its anchor and news director departed. WQCW’s digital transition produced important technical changes. The station ended analog broadcasting on June 12, 2009, while retaining virtual channel 30 on its digital facility. During the transition period, the transmitter was moved to the WOWK tower near Huntington and digital power was increased to approximately one million watts. The improvement gave WQCW coverage more comparable to other full-power stations in the Charleston–Huntington market. The station’s distribution also expanded in high definition on satellite services: DirecTV began carrying the HD feed in 2010 and Dish Network followed in 2012. In November 2013, Lockwood announced a proposed $5.5 million sale to Excalibur Broadcasting. The proposal contemplated a shared-services relationship with Gray Television, owner of WSAZ-TV. In February 2014, the parties changed course and pursued a direct sale to Gray for the same price. Gray cited the station’s ratings position and ownership structure in its regulatory filing, and it began operating WQCW through a local marketing agreement on February 1, 2014. The acquisition closed on April 1. Gray subsequently sold WOCW-LP to DTV America for a nominal payment in January 2015 because the repeater had become unnecessary after WQCW’s transmitter improvements. Gray’s ownership strengthened the station’s local-news role. On March 31, 2014, WSAZ-TV moved its 10 p.m. newscast to WQCW from WSAZ-DT2 and expanded the program from 30 minutes to one hour. This positioned WQCW as a CW entertainment outlet with a substantial late local-news block supplied by its sister NBC station. WQCW remains a CW affiliate serving the broader Tri-State region.
- 2015
WOCW-LP sold
[1]Gray sold the redundant low-power repeater WOCW-LP to DTV America.
- 2014
Gray acquisition closes
[1]Gray completed its purchase of WQCW and WOCW-LP and began integrating the station with WSAZ-TV.
- 2014
WSAZ late news moves to WQCW
[1]The WSAZ 10 p.m. newscast moved to WQCW and expanded to one hour.
- 2009
Analog broadcasting ends
[1]WQCW shut down its analog channel 30 signal during the federally mandated U.S. full-power television transition to digital broadcasting.
- 2007
Lockwood ownership begins
[1]Commonwealth Broadcasting’s sale of the station to Lockwood Broadcast Group closed on May 21.
- 2006
Station becomes WQCW and joins The CW
[1]Following the launch of The CW, WHCP adopted the WQCW call sign and began operating as a CW affiliate.
- 2000
UPN programming added
[1]WHCP began carrying UPN programming after WVAH-TV dropped the network.
- 1998
WHCP begins broadcasting
[1]The station signed on October 5 as WHCP, carrying The WB network.
- 1984
Channel 30 construction permit issued
[1]A construction permit was issued for a proposed Portsmouth channel 30 station using the call sign WUXA, although the station did not begin broadcasting at that time.
Products and positioning
Regional CW television affiliate serving the Charleston–Huntington market, with a focus on network entertainment, syndicated programming, selected local events, and locally produced news supplied by WSAZ-TV.
Television network affiliate · 2006
Tri-State's CW
WQCW’s principal consumer-facing service is its CW network affiliation, offering The CW’s scripted series, entertainment programming, specials, and other network content to viewers in the Charleston–Huntington market. The station uses the “Tri-State’s CW” identity to emphasize its coverage of West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky communities.
Local television news · 2014
WSAZ 10 p.m. newscast on WQCW
A one-hour late-evening newscast produced by sister station WSAZ-TV and broadcast on WQCW. The program became part of WQCW’s schedule in 2014 after moving from WSAZ’s second digital channel, giving the CW affiliate a significant local-news offering.
Local programming
Local sports and community programming
WQCW has carried selected local productions rather than maintaining a large original programming department. Known examples include high-school sports and local professional wrestling events, including programming connected with Portsmouth-based Revolutionary Championship Wrestling.
Brand decisions
2014
Gray chooses direct acquisition over proposed Excalibur transactionM&ABackground
Lockwood initially proposed selling WQCW and WOCW-LP to Excalibur Broadcasting with a shared-services relationship involving Gray Television.
Action taken
The proposed arrangement was abandoned and Gray instead purchased the stations directly for the reported $5.5 million consideration.
Aftermath
Gray assumed operational control through a local marketing agreement and completed the purchase on April 1, integrating WQCW with WSAZ-TV.
Reported purchase price. $5.5 million (2013–2014 transaction)
2014
Relocation and power increase of digital transmitterStrategyBackground
The market’s mountainous terrain and the station’s former UHF coverage limitations made reliable over-the-air reception difficult across parts of West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio.
Action taken
WQCW’s digital transmitter was moved to the WOWK tower near Huntington and its power was increased to approximately one million watts.
Aftermath
The station achieved a coverage area more comparable to other full-power stations in the market, making the WOCW low-power repeater redundant.
2014
Expansion of late local newscast on WQCWProduct launchBackground
Gray’s acquisition brought WQCW into closer operational alignment with sister station WSAZ-TV.
Action taken
WSAZ moved its 10 p.m. newscast from WSAZ-DT2 to WQCW and expanded it from 30 minutes to one hour.
Aftermath
WQCW gained a stronger local-news component and entered direct late-news competition with the newscast carried by WVAH and produced by WCHS-TV.
2006
Adoption of The CW affiliation and WQCW brandingStrategyBackground
The WB and UPN were discontinued and replaced by The CW, creating a new network affiliation opportunity for the station then operating as WHCP.
Action taken
WHCP joined The CW, changed its call sign to WQCW, and shifted from the initial “The Q” identity to the regional “Tri-State’s CW” brand.
Aftermath
The station became the market’s CW outlet and continued to use channel 30 and regional branding to reach viewers across the three-state area.
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