A CW-affiliated television station serving New York's Capital District from Schenectady and Niskayuna.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
WCWN is a full-power television station licensed to Schenectady, New York, and serving the Albany–Schenectady–Troy television market. The station is affiliated with The CW and is commonly branded as CW 15, reflecting its position on major cable systems including Charter Spectrum and Verizon Fios. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group and operated alongside CBS affiliate WRGB. WCWN and WRGB share studios on Balltown Road in Niskayuna, while WCWN's transmitter is located on the Helderberg Escarpment west of New Salem. The station began broadcasting on December 3, 1984, as independent station WUSV. Union Street Video owned the station, with assistance from Media Central, a Chattanooga-based company involved in launching several UHF independent stations. WUSV struggled to establish itself against the Capital District's existing independent outlet, WXXA-TV, and faced additional competition from independent stations available through cable from New York City and Boston. Its original schedule consisted largely of afternoon cartoons and reruns, while stronger syndicated programming generally went to WXXA. When WXXA became a charter Fox affiliate in 1986, WUSV had difficulty replacing the programming displaced by Fox's arrival and continued to experience financial problems. Union Street Video sold the station to WMHT Educational Telecommunications in July 1987. Under WMHT, channel 45 became WMHX, a secondary PBS service. Although it retained a commercial license, the station operated on a largely noncommercial basis, carrying educational programming. Financial pressures led WMHT to take WMHX off the air in 1991. The station returned in 1993 as WMHQ, carrying instructional material, repeats, and additional programming from WMHT. WMHT eventually placed the commercially licensed station on the market during the late 1990s. Tribune Broadcasting acquired the station in 1999 for $18.5 million after an earlier proposed sale to Sinclair, which planned a UPN/WB combination, failed to close. The station ended its PBS-era programming on September 5, 1999, and relaunched the next morning as WB affiliate WEWB-TV, using the WB 45 identity. It later adopted the name Capital Region's WB. Tribune also operated the station's master control through sister station WLVI-TV in Boston for several years, while local offices were maintained in the Albany area. In January 2006, CBS and Time Warner announced that UPN and The WB would be replaced by the jointly owned CW network. WEWB was selected for a CW affiliation through Tribune's agreement with the new network. Its call letters changed to WCWN in May 2006, and the station adopted a Capital Region's CW identity when The CW launched on September 18, 2006. Tribune sold WCWN to Freedom Communications, owner of WRGB, in a transaction announced in June 2006 and completed in December after the Federal Communications Commission granted a failed-station waiver. The acquisition created the Capital District's first television duopoly and consolidated WCWN's operations with WRGB in Niskayuna. Freedom Communications announced in 2011 that it would leave the television business. Sinclair acquired WCWN and WRGB as part of Freedom's station sale, receiving a comparable FCC waiver in March 2012. The transaction closed in April 2012. WCWN remains a CW outlet and also provides programming flexibility for WRGB, including carriage of CBS programs, local newscasts, sports coverage, and special programming when WRGB's schedule is occupied or interrupted. Its schedule has included CW network programs, syndicated content, selected New York Mets telecasts produced by WPIX, and rebroadcasts or alternate presentations of WRGB news.
History
WCWN signed on December 3, 1984, as WUSV, an independent station licensed to Schenectady. Union Street Video owned the outlet, while Media Central assisted with construction and launch operations. The station entered a difficult competitive environment. WXXA-TV was already established as the market's principal independent station, and cable systems carried several better-known independent stations from New York City and Boston. WUSV therefore relied heavily on cartoons, reruns, and whatever syndicated programming it could obtain, limiting its ability to build audience or revenue. WXXA's 1986 conversion into a Fox charter affiliate made the local programming environment more complicated rather than less competitive. WUSV had trouble filling the schedule gaps and continued to face financial pressure. Union Street Video sold the station to WMHT Educational Telecommunications on July 24, 1987. WMHT changed the call sign to WMHX and used the facility as a secondary PBS outlet. Although the license remained commercial, channel 45 operated in a noncommercial educational role, carrying PBS-related and instructional material. WMHT's own financial difficulties eventually forced WMHX off the air in 1991. The station returned in 1993 under the WMHQ call sign. Its revised schedule combined instructional programming with repeats and double runs supplied by WMHT. By the late 1990s, the commercial license had become more valuable because the Capital District had expanded sufficiently to support another major non-Big Three commercial station. WMHT placed WMHQ on the market. A proposed Sinclair acquisition intended to create a UPN/WB combination did not close. Tribune Broadcasting subsequently acquired the station in 1999 for $18.5 million. WMHQ ended its PBS-era schedule on September 5 of that year and returned the next morning as WEWB-TV, a WB affiliate branded WB 45. The station later adopted the identity Capital Region's WB. During much of the Tribune period, master control was handled from sister station WLVI-TV in Boston, although local offices operated in the Albany area. A digital signal began broadcasting in 2004. The next major change came from the 2006 creation of The CW through the planned combination of UPN and The WB. Tribune had an affiliation agreement covering WEWB and several other stations. The call letters changed to WCWN on May 8, 2006, and the station adopted a CW identity when the network launched on September 18. Tribune announced a sale to Freedom Communications, owner of CBS affiliate WRGB, in June 2006. Because the market had only eight full-power stations, the proposed duopoly required regulatory review. The FCC granted Freedom a failed-station waiver on November 22, allowing the transaction to close on December 6. WCWN's operations were then moved into WRGB's Niskayuna facilities, creating the market's first television duopoly. Freedom announced in November 2011 that it would leave television broadcasting. Sinclair Broadcast Group agreed to acquire Freedom's stations, including WCWN. The FCC granted Sinclair a similar waiver on March 13, 2012, and the transaction closed on April 2. WCWN has continued as a Sinclair-owned CW affiliate alongside WRGB. The station's programming role has extended beyond its CW affiliation. It has carried WRGB newscasts when CBS sports coverage preempted them, including coverage periods involving the Masters Tournament and NCAA basketball. It has also aired CBS programs when WRGB was unable to carry them, selected New York Mets games produced by WPIX, and special or overflow programming. WCWN's local news service developed in stages: a WMHQ prime-time newscast produced with NBC affiliate WNYT ran from 1996 to 1998 but ended because of weak support. A WRGB-produced morning extension returned in 2007, and a ten-minute high-definition prime-time newscast began in 2008. That program expanded to thirty minutes in 2010 under the title The CW 15 News at 10. The station completed the United States' mandated analog shutdown on June 12, 2009, retaining virtual channel 45 while using digital channel 43. During the 2019 television repack, its physical digital assignment moved to channel 22. WCWN also experimented with digital multicast services, including The Tube, This TV, and Universal Sports, although those services were later discontinued or moved away from the station.
- 2019
Digital channel changes during television repack
[1]WCWN moves its physical digital transmission from channel 43 to channel 22 while retaining virtual channel 45.
- 2012
Sinclair becomes owner
[1]Sinclair completes its acquisition of WCWN and WRGB from Freedom Communications.
- 2010
The CW 15 News at 10 expands
[1]The WRGB-produced prime-time newscast expands from ten minutes to thirty minutes.
- 2009
Analog transmission ends
[1]WCWN shuts down its analog channel 45 signal as part of the nationwide digital transition.
- 2006
WCWN adopts its current call sign and joins The CW
[1]The station changes from WEWB-TV to WCWN and becomes a CW affiliate at the network's launch.
- 2006
Freedom creates a WRGB–WCWN duopoly
[1]Freedom Communications completes its acquisition after receiving an FCC failed-station waiver.
- 2004
Digital broadcasting begins
[1]The station's digital signal begins operating on UHF channel 43.
- 1999
Tribune relaunches channel 45 as WEWB-TV
[1]The station leaves its PBS role and becomes a WB affiliate branded WB 45.
- 1996
First local prime-time news experiment
[1]WMHQ and WNYT launch a 10 p.m. newscast, which ends in 1998 because of insufficient support.
- 1993
WMHQ returns
[1]The station resumes transmission with instructional and WMHT-supplied programming.
Products and positioning
Local broadcast television station and CW network affiliate serving the Capital District, with a schedule combining national network programming, syndicated entertainment, locally produced news, and overflow programming from sister station WRGB.
Local television station brand · 2006
CW 15
WCWN's current on-air identity emphasizes its cable channel 15 placement. The brand identifies the station as the Capital District's CW outlet and is used across its network schedule, local news presentation, and promotional materials.
Local television news · 2008
The CW 15 News at 10
A WRGB-produced prime-time newscast carried by WCWN. It began in 2008 as a ten-minute high-definition program and expanded to a half-hour in 2010, using a faster-paced format with local stories, features, and an updated weather report.
Local television news · 2007
CW 15 Morning News
A weekday morning-news extension produced by WRGB and moved to WCWN in 2007. The program gave the station a recurring local-news presence while using the resources of its sister CBS affiliate.
Broadcast television programming · 2006
CW network programming
WCWN's principal programming service consists of national programming supplied by The CW, supplemented by syndicated entertainment, local news, sports, and schedule substitutions from WRGB.
Brand decisions
2012
Sinclair acquisitionM&ABackground
Freedom Communications announced that it would withdraw from television broadcasting and sell its stations.
Action taken
Sinclair Broadcast Group acquired WCWN and WRGB after obtaining an FCC waiver similar to the one used in the prior transaction.
Aftermath
WCWN became part of Sinclair's television station group and continued operating alongside WRGB.
2006
Conversion from WB to CW affiliationStrategyBackground
The WB and UPN were combined into the new CW network, and Tribune secured affiliation agreements for several of its stations.
Action taken
WEWB-TV changed its call sign to WCWN and adopted a CW identity for the network's September launch.
Aftermath
The station continued as a major entertainment affiliate under The CW and was later branded CW 15.
2006
Freedom Communications acquisitionM&ABackground
Tribune sought to sell WCWN to Freedom Communications, owner of WRGB, but the transaction required an exception because of the market's limited number of full-power stations.
Action taken
The FCC granted a failed-station waiver, allowing Freedom to acquire WCWN and combine its operations with WRGB.
Aftermath
The transaction created the Capital District's first television duopoly.
1999
Tribune acquisition and WB relaunchM&ABackground
WMHT's financial pressures led it to sell the commercially licensed station, whose value had increased as the Capital District grew.
Action taken
Tribune Broadcasting acquired the station for $18.5 million and relaunched it as WEWB-TV, a WB affiliate.
Aftermath
Channel 45 left its PBS-era schedule and became a commercial entertainment station.
Acquisition price. $18.5 million (1999)
1987
Sale to WMHTM&ABackground
WUSV faced continuing financial difficulty and struggled to compete as an independent station.
Action taken
Union Street Video sold the station to WMHT Educational Telecommunications.
Aftermath
The station became WMHX and operated primarily as a secondary PBS and educational service.
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