WWAY-DT3

WWAY-DT3 is a digital television subchannel associated with WWAY, a commercial television station serving Wilmington and the surrounding Cape Fear region of southeastern North Carolina. The subchannel operates under the Cape Fear CW brand and carries programming from The CW, including network entertainment, syndicated content, and locally produced programming. It is owned by Morris Multimedia through its ownership of WWAY. The service originated as the third digital stream in WWAY's multiplex. WWAY announced in September 2013 that it would add The CW to a digital subchannel, and the service launched on September 30, 2013, as Cape Fear CW. Its introduction gave the Wilmington market a local CW outlet while also creating a new platform for WWAY-produced local news. The channel initially occupied the station's second digital position, while Retro Television Network programming moved to a tertiary stream. Cape Fear CW's channel position changed after WWAY-DT2 became the local CBS affiliate. On January 1, 2017, CBS moved from low-power station WILM-LD to WWAY-DT2. As part of the multiplex reconfiguration, the CW service moved to WWAY-DT3, and the channel's existing 10 p.m. newscast moved with it. The service therefore became the third digital channel in the WWAY lineup rather than the second. The subchannel has also served as a local news outlet. In January 2014, while operating as WWAY-DT2, it began airing Cape Fear CW Primetime News at 10, a half-hour weeknight newscast that competed with the established 10 p.m. news program on Fox affiliate WSFX-TV, produced by WECT. Following the 2017 channel relocation, the 10 p.m. newscast moved to WWAY-DT3 with the CW Plus schedule. WWAY has also produced other newscasts for the digital service, including midday and early-evening programming during the period when CBS occupied WWAY-DT2; the precise current schedule is not established by the supplied reference material. The service broadcasts over WWAY's digital facilities and is distributed through local television and cable systems. Its principal competitive distinction is its combination of national CW programming with locally branded news and weather coverage for the Wilmington market. In August 2021, the WWAY-DT3 CW feed was upgraded to high definition, although the reference material notes that some cable providers had carried the service in high definition earlier.

WWAY-DT3 is the CW-branded digital subchannel of WWAY, a television station serving Wilmington, North Carolina, and the Cape Fear region. The subchannel's history is closely tied to the development of WWAY's digital multiplex and to changes in network affiliations within the Wilmington market. WWAY itself began broadcasting in 1964 as Wilmington's second television station and has historically been affiliated with ABC. Its digital operations later enabled the station to provide additional networks and services beyond its primary ABC signal. In September 2013, WWAY announced that it would launch a CW service on a digital subchannel. The new service began broadcasting on September 30, 2013, under the Cape Fear CW name. It provided local access to The CW's national programming while complementing WWAY's main ABC service. The launch also changed the allocation of WWAY's other digital streams. Retro Television Network programming, which had previously occupied the second digital position, was moved to a tertiary stream. In January 2015, Cozi TV took over that tertiary position. Cape Fear CW subsequently became part of a broader restructuring when CBS changed its Wilmington affiliation. On March 30, 2016, CBS announced that it would move its local affiliation from WILM-LD to WWAY-DT2 effective January 1, 2017. Because WWAY needed to accommodate CBS as its second major network service, the CW feed was moved to WWAY-DT3. The move also transferred the Cape Fear CW late-evening newscast to the third digital channel. WWAY-DT2 carried CBS in the network's customary 1080i format, while the primary WWAY ABC service continued in 720p. The CW service initially had more limited high-definition distribution, depending on the cable provider. Cape Fear CW has not been limited to network entertainment. In January 2014, when the CW service was still located on WWAY-DT2, WWAY launched a thirty-minute weeknight program titled Cape Fear CW Primetime News at 10. The production was positioned against the 10 p.m. newscast on Fox affiliate WSFX-TV, which was produced by market leader WECT. After the 2017 affiliation and channel-position change, the newscast moved to WWAY-DT3 with the CW Plus schedule. WWAY also produced midday and early-evening local news programming for its digital services during the period surrounding the CBS transition. WWAY moved its operations from downtown Wilmington to a new facility in Leland. The station began originating on-air programming from the former Thunder Alley bowling-center site at 1224 Magnolia Village Way on April 29, 2018. WWAY-DT3 operates from those facilities as part of the station's wider broadcast operation. In August 2021, its CW feed was upgraded to high definition. The channel's core role remains that of a local CW outlet, combining national network programming with regional news, weather, and other content produced by WWAY.

• 2021

  High-definition upgrade

  [1]WWAYen.wikipedia.org

  The WWAY-DT3 CW feed was upgraded to high definition.

• 2018

  WWAY begins programming from Leland facility

  [1]WWAYen.wikipedia.org

  WWAY began originating programming from its new Leland studios, which serve the station and its digital subchannels.

• 2017

  CW service moves to WWAY-DT3

  [1]WWAYen.wikipedia.org

  After CBS moved to WWAY-DT2, the CW service shifted to the third digital channel and retained its associated late newscast.

• 2014

  Local 10 p.m. newscast begins

  [1]WWAYen.wikipedia.org

  WWAY introduced Cape Fear CW Primetime News at 10 as a weeknight local newscast for its CW digital service.

• 2013

  Cape Fear CW launches

  [1]WWAYen.wikipedia.org

  WWAY launched its CW-branded digital subchannel on September 30, 2013.

A locally branded CW entertainment and news service for viewers in the Wilmington and Cape Fear television market.

• CW-affiliated digital television service · 2013

  Cape Fear CW

  The primary consumer-facing identity of WWAY-DT3. Cape Fear CW carries programming supplied by The CW and CW Plus, supplemented by syndicated content and locally produced programming for the Wilmington and Cape Fear region. The service launched in 2013 and moved from WWAY-DT2 to WWAY-DT3 in 2017 after CBS assumed the second digital position.

• Local television news · 2014

  Cape Fear CW Primetime News at 10

  A thirty-minute weeknight local newscast introduced for WWAY's CW service in January 2014. The program gave the digital channel a local-news identity and competed with the 10 p.m. newscast carried by WSFX-TV. Following the 2017 channel reallocation, it moved with the CW programming to WWAY-DT3.

• 2021

  High-definition conversionGeneration change

  Background

  The CW feed had not previously been carried in high definition by every distribution partner.

  Action taken

  WWAY upgraded the WWAY-DT3 CW feed to high definition.

  Aftermath

  The service became available in HD through the station's broadcast operation, subject to distributor carriage.

  Source

• 2017

  Reallocation of the CW service to WWAY-DT3Strategy

  Background

  CBS moved its Wilmington affiliation from WILM-LD to WWAY-DT2, requiring WWAY to reorganize its digital channel lineup.

  Action taken

  WWAY moved Cape Fear CW and its associated late newscast from WWAY-DT2 to WWAY-DT3 effective January 1, 2017.

  Aftermath

  WWAY-DT2 became the CBS service while WWAY-DT3 became the designated CW channel.

  Source

• 2013

  Launch of Cape Fear CWProduct launch

  Background

  WWAY sought to expand its digital offering and provide a local outlet for CW programming in the Wilmington market.

  Action taken

  It launched a CW-branded digital subchannel on September 30, 2013.

  Aftermath

  The service became the station's local CW outlet and later moved to the WWAY-DT3 position when CBS joined the WWAY multiplex.

  Source

1. 1WWAYen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Cape Fear CWcapefearcw.com