WMBD-TV

WMBD-TV is a commercial television station licensed to Peoria, Illinois, and serving the Peoria-Bloomington market. The station broadcasts on virtual channel 31 and is affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group and operates from studios on North University Street in Peoria, with additional facilities and a news bureau on East Lincoln Street in Bloomington. Its transmitter is located on Pinecrest Drive in East Peoria, in Tazewell County. The station began broadcasting on January 1, 1958, as the third television outlet in the Peoria market, following WEEK-TV and WTVH, the latter now known as WHOI. It was established by WMBD, Inc., an entity associated with Charles Caley and John Fetzer, and operated alongside WMBD radio stations. Because the radio operation had long been affiliated with the CBS Radio Network, channel 31 adopted the CBS television affiliation when it launched. The station originally transmitted an analog signal on UHF channel 31 and shared facilities with its radio counterparts in the Majestic Theatre. WMBD-TV became part of Midwest Television Incorporated in 1960 when the company acquired the WMBD stations. Midwest also owned WCIA in Champaign, and the two television operations shared some programming and resources. During the early 1960s, WMBD-TV became the first Peoria station to broadcast in color. It also helped extend coverage into northern Illinois through a low-power repeater in LaSalle that operated during the 1960s and 1970s. The station moved to its North University Street facility in June 1977. It later became the Peoria market's first station to broadcast in stereo, beginning in September 1988. Ownership shifted toward Nexstar during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Nexstar acquired a controlling interest in Midwest Television's Illinois stations in 1999 and purchased the remaining interest in WMBD-TV, WCIA, and WCFN in 2001. The associated WMBD radio stations were sold separately to Triad Broadcasting. WMBD-TV has also played an operational role in the market through its relationship with WYZZ-TV, a Fox affiliate licensed to Bloomington. Beginning in December 2001, WMBD entered a local marketing agreement under which it assumed operational responsibilities for WYZZ. The stations share Peoria facilities, and WMBD produces programming for WYZZ, including a prime-time newscast and the weekday morning program Good Day Central Illinois. This arrangement created a virtual station combination in the Peoria-Bloomington market. The station expanded its local-news operation over time. In April 2002, it launched a jointly produced 9 p.m. newscast on WYZZ. Following the consolidation of WHOI's operations with WEEK-TV in 2009, WMBD became one of the market's two remaining distinct local news operations. On May 7, 2015, it became the first broadcast television station in the Peoria market to produce local news in full high definition. The upgrade also covered WYZZ's evening newscast and introduced a two-hour weekday morning program for the Fox affiliate. WMBD-TV later adopted a new graphics package and the Aerial news theme in January 2019. In addition to CBS programming and locally produced news, the station has carried or made available additional multicast network programming through Nexstar's agreements with Katz Broadcasting and related network operators. WMBD-TV remains an active local broadcaster focused on news, weather, sports, public-service information, and network television for viewers across Central Illinois.

WMBD-TV traces its origins to Peoria's postwar expansion of television broadcasting. A predecessor company, Peoria Broadcasting Company, had received a construction permit for VHF channel 6 in 1948, but the proposed station never went on the air and the permit was surrendered to the Federal Communications Commission in 1949. The later WMBD venture successfully launched on UHF channel 31 on January 1, 1958. The station was created by WMBD, Inc., associated with Charles Caley and John Fetzer, alongside WMBD radio. Its CBS affiliation followed naturally from the radio stations' existing relationship with CBS. At launch, WMBD-TV operated from the second floor of the Majestic Theatre, sharing space with its radio sister stations. It became the third television station in the Peoria market and displaced WTVH as the CBS television affiliate. In 1960, Midwest Television Incorporated of Champaign purchased the WMBD stations. The change brought WMBD-TV into a broader Illinois television group that also included WCIA in Champaign. The stations exchanged resources and, at times, programming. WMBD-TV reached an important technical milestone in the early 1960s when it became the first Peoria station to transmit color programming. To improve coverage beyond the immediate Peoria area, WMBD-TV and WEEK-TV operated a low-power repeater in LaSalle during the 1960s and 1970s. WMBD-TV moved into its current North University Street studios in June 1977. In September 1988, it became the first station in the market to broadcast in stereo. These technical changes accompanied the station's continuing role as a full-service network affiliate, combining CBS programs with local news, weather, sports, and community coverage. Nexstar entered the ownership structure in 1999 by acquiring a controlling interest in Midwest Television's Illinois television properties. In 2001, Nexstar acquired the remaining interest in WMBD-TV and related Illinois stations. The WMBD radio properties were transferred separately to Triad Broadcasting, ending the station's direct ownership relationship with the radio outlets that had helped establish its identity. A major operational development occurred in December 2001, when Nexstar and Sinclair entered a local marketing agreement concerning WYZZ-TV, a Fox affiliate licensed to Bloomington. WMBD began providing operational services for WYZZ, and WYZZ moved its Peoria operations into WMBD's studios. In April 2002, the relationship produced a jointly operated 9 p.m. newscast on WYZZ. The stations later added Good Day Central Illinois, a weekday morning program designed for the Fox affiliate, while continuing to maintain a Bloomington bureau and secondary facility on East Lincoln Street. WMBD's competitive position changed after WHOI consolidated its operations with WEEK-TV in March 2009. With fewer independently produced local news operations in the market, WMBD experienced increased visibility and viewership. The station continued investing in production technology, becoming the first Peoria-market broadcast station to produce local news fully in high definition on May 7, 2015. The upgrade covered WMBD's noon newscast, WYZZ's evening news, and the expanded weekday morning show. Nexstar also broadened the station's multicast programming options through a 2016 agreement involving Katz Broadcasting and the Escape, Laff, Grit, and Bounce networks. In 2018, Nexstar announced its planned purchase of Tribune Media, a transaction that would have added relationships with stations in Chicago, St. Louis, and other nearby markets. By January 2019, WMBD had adopted a new graphics package and the Aerial news theme. The station remains an active CBS affiliate and a central local-news operation for Peoria, Bloomington, and surrounding communities.

• 2019

  New graphics and news theme

  [1]WMBD-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WMBD introduced a new graphics package and adopted the Aerial news theme.

• 2015

  Full high-definition local news launch

  [1]WMBD-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WMBD became the first Peoria-market broadcast station to produce local news in full high definition.

• 2009

  Local-news competition changes

  [1]WMBD-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WHOI consolidated operations with WEEK-TV, leaving WMBD among the market's two distinct local news departments.

• 2001

  Nexstar obtains remaining interest

  [1]WMBD-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Nexstar purchased the remaining interest in WMBD-TV and related Illinois stations.

• 1999

  Nexstar acquires a controlling interest

  [1]WMBD-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Nexstar acquired control of Midwest Television's Illinois television stations.

• 1988

  Stereo broadcasting begins

  [1]WMBD-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The station became the first broadcaster in the Peoria market to transmit in stereo.

• 1977

  Move to North University Street

  [1]WMBD-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WMBD-TV relocated to its current Peoria studio complex.

• 1962

  LaSalle repeater authorization

  [1]WMBD-TVen.wikipedia.org

  A low-power repeater serving LaSalle received its broadcast license, supporting wider regional coverage.

• 1960

  Acquisition by Midwest Television

  [1]WMBD-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Midwest Television Incorporated acquired the WMBD stations and connected WMBD-TV with WCIA in Champaign.

• 1958

  WMBD-TV signs on

  [1]WMBD-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WMBD-TV began broadcasting on January 1 as Peoria's third television station and became the market's CBS affiliate.

• 1948

  Predecessor receives a VHF construction permit

  [1]WMBD-TVen.wikipedia.org

  Peoria Broadcasting Company received a permit for proposed VHF channel 6, although the planned station never launched and the permit was later surrendered.

A locally focused CBS network affiliate and Central Illinois news provider, with a major operational and newsgathering role in the Peoria-Bloomington market.

• Local television news · 1958

  WMBD local news

  WMBD's locally produced news service covers Peoria, Bloomington, and surrounding Central Illinois communities. Its output includes regularly scheduled newscasts, weather reporting, sports, traffic, public-service information, and digital video. The station's local-news operation is also used to supply programming for its WYZZ-TV operating partner.

• Network television · 1958

  CBS programming

  As a CBS affiliate, WMBD-TV carries the network's entertainment, news, daytime, sports, and special-event programming for the Peoria-Bloomington market. The affiliation has been central to the station's identity since its sign-on, when WMBD-TV assumed CBS television programming from WTVH.

• Prime-time local news · 2002

  Fox 43 News at 9

  This half-hour evening newscast was launched on WYZZ-TV in 2002 through a news-sharing arrangement with WMBD. The program extended WMBD's local-news production into prime time on the Fox affiliate and formed part of the stations' broader operating relationship.

• Morning local news · 2015

  Good Day Central Illinois

  Good Day Central Illinois is a weekday morning program produced for WYZZ as part of WMBD's operating and news-sharing arrangement. The two-hour program provides local news, weather, and community information during the morning period.

• Digital news platform

  Central Illinois Proud

  The station's official digital presence publishes local news, weather, video, alerts, and related Central Illinois content under the Central Illinois Proud identity.

• 2016

  Add multicast-network programmingStrategy

  Background

  Nexstar entered an affiliation arrangement involving Katz Broadcasting and several multicast networks.

  Action taken

  The agreement made Escape, Laff, Grit, and Bounce programming available to stations owned or operated by Nexstar, including WMBD-TV.

  Aftermath

  The arrangement expanded the station group's secondary-channel programming options beyond its primary CBS service.

  Source

• 2015

  Upgrade local news production to full high definitionOther

  Background

  WMBD sought to modernize its local-news presentation and strengthen its position in the Peoria television market.

  Action taken

  Beginning with the May 7 noon newscast, the station introduced full-high-definition local news production and applied the upgrade to WYZZ's evening news.

  Aftermath

  The change made WMBD the first broadcast television station in the market to produce local news fully in high definition and accompanied the launch of Good Day Central Illinois.

  Source

• 2001

  Assume operating responsibilities for WYZZ-TVStrategy

  Background

  Nexstar and Sinclair sought to coordinate the operations of WMBD-TV and Bloomington-licensed Fox affiliate WYZZ-TV through a local marketing agreement.

  Action taken

  WMBD began providing operational services for WYZZ, and WYZZ moved its Peoria operations into WMBD's studio facilities.

  Aftermath

  The arrangement enabled shared facilities and programming, including a jointly produced WYZZ prime-time newscast and later a weekday morning program.

  Source

1. 1WMBD-TVen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Central Illinois Proud official websitecentralillinoisproud.com