WLEX-TV
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| Lexington-Frankfort, Kentucky United States |
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| Branding | LEX 18 (general) LEX 18 News (newscasts) |
| Slogan | Count on LEX 18 |
| Channels | Digital: 39 (UHF) Virtual: 18 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels | 18.1 NBC 18.2 Me-TV |
| Affiliations | NBC (Secondary through 1968) Me-TV (DT2; 2011-present) |
| Owner | Cordillera Communications (WLEX Communications, LLC) |
| First air date | March 15, 1955 |
| Call letters' meaning | LEXington |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 18 (UHF, 1955-2009) |
| Former affiliations | All secondary: DuMont (1955) CBS (1955-1957, 1958-1968) ABC (1955-1957) DT2: Wazoo Sports Network (2009-2011) |
| Transmitter power | 475 kW (digital) |
| Height | 286 m (digital) |
| Facility ID | 73203 |
| Transmitter coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (digital) |
| Licensing authority | FCC |
| Public license information: | Profile CDBS |
| Website | www |
WLEX-TV, channel 18, is the NBC-affiliated television station for Lexington, Kentucky and the East-Central Kentucky region. Its transmitter is located in Southern Lexington near Hamburg Pavilion on WTVQ-DT's tower. WLEX's studios are located on Russell Cave Road (KY 353) in Lexington.
Contents
History
Channel 18 signed on March 15, 1955 as Lexington's first television station and the third in Kentucky (following Louisville's WAVE-TV and WHAS-TV). It was co-owned with WLEX radio (1300 AM, now WLXG) and carried programming from all four networks (NBC, ABC, CBS, and DuMont). The DuMont network went out of business later that year. In 1957, CBS programming moved to WKXP-TV (channel 27, now WKYT-TV). After only one year, however, new owners switched channel 27 to primary ABC affiliation, leaving WLEX to pick up a secondary CBS affiliation once again. In 1968 CBS moved to WKYT when WBLG-TV (now WTVQ-TV) signed on and took the ABC affiliation, making WLEX a full-time NBC affiliate. For many years, the station was owned by the Gay & Bell families until they sold WLEX to the Evening Post in 1999.
In November 2009, it was announced that WLEX has partnered with online sports site Wazoo Sports to form the Wazoo Sports Network. The new regional television network will be dedicated to carrying live coverage of Kentucky High School sporting events, as well as classic coverage of past high school & college events. The network was available until late 2011 on the Lexington-area digital cable outlet, as well as on WLEX digital subchannel 18.2.[1][2]
On December 31, 2011, WLEX digital subchannel 18.2 started broadcasting programming from Me-TV.
Digital television
Digital channels
The station's digital channel is multiplexed:
| Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP Short Name | Programming[3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | WLEX-TV | Main WLEX-TV programming / NBC |
| 18.2 | 480i | 4:3 | MeTV | Me-TV |
Analog-to-digital conversion
WLEX-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 18, at 7 a.m. on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 39.[4] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 18. The digital signal originates from the tower that also transmits the WTVQ-TV signal.[5][6]
News operation
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. In the Spring of 2007, WLEX-TV became the second station in Lexington and the entire state of Kentucky to broadcast local newscasts in high definition, and it debuted a new set in preparation for the transition. In September 2010, WLEX became the first station in Lexington to have an on-the-air 4:00 p.m. newscast.[7]
In the fall of 2013, the station's 6 p.m. newscast began to be simulcasted on a half-hour delay on Louisville's Ion Television station, WBNA (Channel 21); that station also airs the midday newscast of fellow NBC affiliate WAVE in Louisville.
Notable current on-air staff
- Nancy Cox-Kenny – weeknights anchor
Notable former on-air staff
- Jessica Moore – reporter (now at KSNV)
Out-of-market coverage
In Tennessee, Lexington television stations WLEX and WKYT are carried in Jellico. WLEX is also available in Ashland, which is in the Charleston/Huntington, West Virginia market. In addition, some providers in portions of the easternmost portions of the Louisville market carry WLEX, including Campbellsville and Bardstown.[8]
References
- ↑ http://www.kentucky.com/kentuckysports/mensbasketball/story/1027207.html
- ↑ http://www.tvnewscheck.com/articles/2009/11/25/daily.8
- ↑ RabbitEars TV Query for WLEX
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.kentucky.com/211/story/689551.html
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "LEX 18 Coverage Map". WLEX-TV. Archived from the original on September 29, 2003 via Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
