WCCO-TV
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Broadcasting |
| Predecessor | WTCN-TV |
| Founded | July 1, 1949 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States |
| Founder | Robert Ridder (inaugural president) |
| Headquarters | Minneapolis , United States |
Area served | Twin Cities region |
Key people | Wendy McMahon (President of CBS News and Stations, as of 2023) |
| Products | Television broadcasting |
| Owner | CBS News and Stations (Paramount Global) |
| Parent | CBS Television Stations |
| Website | minnesota |
WCCO-TV (channel 4), operating under the brand CBS Minnesota, is a television station officially licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and serves the Twin Cities region. It is owned and managed directly by the CBS network through its CBS News and Stations division. The station’s production facilities are located on South 11th Street near Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis, while its transmission equipment is situated at the Telefarm site in Shoreview, Minnesota.
Programming from WCCO-TV is also broadcast on the full-power satellite station KCCW-TV (channel 12) based in Walker, with its transmitter positioned near Hackensack. Nielsen Media Research combines the ratings for WCCO-TV and KCCW-TV, collectively referring to them as WCCO+. Between 1987 and 2017, WCCO-TV additionally operated a second satellite station, KCCO-TV (channel 7) in Alexandria.
Within the Twin Cities market, WCCO stands as one of three CBS-owned-and-operated stations, alongside Fox O&O KMSP-TV (channel 9) and MyNetworkTV O&O WFTC (channel 9.2).
History
The origins of WCCO-TV trace back to radio station WRHM, established in 1925. In 1934, it was acquired by "Twin Cities Newspapers," a joint enterprise formed by the Minneapolis Tribune and Saint Paul Pioneer Press-Dispatch, and was subsequently renamed WTCN. Expanding into FM broadcasting, the company launched WTCN-TV on July 1, 1949, marking Minnesota’s second television station with studios located in downtown Minneapolis. The inaugural president of the station was Robert Ridder. Since its inception, channel 4 has primarily affiliated with CBS but also held a secondary affiliation with ABC from 1949 until 1953, when ABC programming moved to the newly established WTCN-TV (now known as KARE-TV) on channel 11.
In 1952, Twin Cities Newspapers sold channel 4 to the Murphy and McNally families—who owned the leading radio station WCCO—and merged their holdings under Midwest Radio and Television with CBS holding a minority interest. The station’s call letters were changed to WCCO-TV on August 17 of that year. Due to Federal Communications Commission ownership restrictions, CBS divested its minority stake in 1954.
WCCO-TV began transmitting in color in 1955 and became the first station in the Midwest to install a videotape recorder in 1959. On July 23, 1962, it took part in the world’s first live international broadcast via the Telstar satellite, providing feeds for all three major networks at the time: ABC, CBS, and NBC.
In the autumn of 1979, a labor strike by members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers affected technical staff; however, management and news teams continued broadcasting without interruption during this period.
In September 1983, WCCO relocated its facilities to South 11th Street at Nicollet Mall. CBS assumed full ownership in 1992 after acquiring Midwest Communications. Following Viacom’s acquisition of CBS in 2000, WCCO became part of Viacom Television Stations Group—later renamed CBS Television Stations after Viacom’s corporate split in 2006.
During the 1980s, cable-only channel WCCO II transitioned into the Midwest Sports Channel, concentrating on local sports content. This channel was sold to Fox Entertainment Group in 2000 and rebranded as Fox Sports North.
On February 2, 2017, CBS reached an agreement to sell CBS Radio to Entercom (now Audacy), which resulted in WCCO radio separating from WCCO-TV; this transaction was finalized on November 17, with CBS shareholders retaining majority ownership but Entercom becoming the surviving company.
On August 13, 2019, Viacom and CBS Corporation merged again to form ViacomCBS; as a result, CBS Television Stations including WCCO became subsidiaries under this new entity. On February 16, 2022, ViacomCBS was renamed Paramount Global.
On August 14, 2023, former creative services director at WCCO-TV Wendy McMahon was appointed president of CBS News and Stations.
Sports programming
When the Minnesota Vikings joined the National Football League in 1961, WCCO, through its affiliation with CBS, which held the NFL broadcast rights, effectively became the team's 'unofficial' flagship station. This association continued until the conclusion of the 1993 season, after which the majority of Vikings broadcasts shifted to WFTC. Presently, most Vikings games are televised on KMSP-TV; however, since 1998, WCCO has aired at least two games annually when the Vikings host an AFC opponent or, following the 2014 implementation of 'cross-flex' rules, any contests reassigned from KMSP-TV. Additionally, WCCO provided coverage of Super Bowl XXVI and that year’s Final Four held at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in 1992.
Starting with the 2023 season, WCCO began broadcasting select Minnesota Golden Gophers football matchups as part of a new agreement between CBS and the Big Ten Conference.
News operation
As of February 2024, WCCO airs a total of hours each week of locally produced news content ( hours on weekdays and three hours across weekends). It maintains a leading position in the Twin Cities market for most time slots, dominating overall household viewership while encountering stronger competition from NBC affiliate KARE in the key 25–54 age demographic.
WCCO initiated high-definition local newscasts on May 28, 2009, becoming the third major station in the Twin Cities to upgrade to HD broadcasts.
On December 12, 2019, WCCO introduced CBSN Minnesota (now CBS News Minnesota), a streaming news platform launched as part of CBS’s broader rollout of localized CBSN services.
The station debuted The 4, a one-hour newscast at 4 p.m., on September 5, 2022.
Notable former on-air staff
- Clellan Card – portrayed "Axel" on children's programming (1954–1966)
- Bill Carlson – entertainment correspondent and midday news anchor
- Paul Douglas – chief meteorologist (1997–2008)
- Randi Kaye – reporter and anchor
- Bud Kraehling – weather anchor and staff announcer (1949–1996)
- Dave Moore – news anchor during the 1950s through 1991
- Barry Petersen – reporter
- David Schechter – investigative journalist
- Hal Scott – sports anchor (1960s–1980)
- Don Shelby – reporter and anchor (1978–2010)
- Susan Spencer – reporter and anchor
- Bill Stewart – reporter
- Michele Tafoya – sports reporter and anchor
- Heather Tesch – meteorologist
- Ben Tracy – reporter
Subchannels
The stations transmit multiple subchannels as follows:
| Channel | Resolution | Aspect Ratio | Short Name | Content | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WCCO-TV | KCCW-TV | |||||
| 4.1 | 12.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | WCCO-DT | KCCW-DT | CBS |
| 4.2 | 12.2 | 480i | WCCODT2 | KCCWDT2 | Start TV | |
| 4.3 | 12.3 | WCCODT3 | KCCWDT3 | Dabl | ||
| 4.4 | 12.4 | WCCODT4 | KCCWDT4 | Fave TV | ||
| 4.5 | 12.5 | WCCODT5 | KCCWDT5 | Nosey | ||
Analog-to-digital conversion
On June 12, 2009, WCCO-TV discontinued its analog transmission on VHF channel 4 in compliance with the federal digital transition deadline. The station's digital broadcast persisted on its original UHF channel 32, while maintaining virtual channel identification as channel 4.
In accordance with the SAFER Act, the station continued to transmit its analog signal until July 12, providing public service announcements to inform viewers about the digital switchover.
Satellite stations and translators
WCCO-TV manages a single satellite station located northwest of the Twin Cities:
| Station | City of license | Channel (TV/RF) | First air date | Former call letters | ERP | HAAT | Transmitter coordinates | Facility ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KCCW-TV | Walker, Minnesota | 12 (12) | 1964-01-01 | KNMT (1964–1987) | 59 kW | 286.4 m | 46°56′5″N 94°27′20″W | 9640 |
Previously, WCCO-TV operated a second satellite station:
| Station | City of license | Channel (TV/RF) | First air date | Last air date | Former call letters | ERP | HAAT | Transmitter coordinates | Facility ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KCCO-TV | Alexandria, Minnesota | 7 (7) | 1958-10-08 | 2017-12-30 | KCMT (1958–1987) | 29 kW | 339.6 m | 45°41′10″N 95°8′4″W | 9632 |
Both stations were launched by Central Minnesota Television Company and initially held primary affiliations with NBC and secondary ties to ABC before switching their allegiance to CBS in the summer of 1982. They were acquired by Midwest Radio and Television in 1987, at which point they adopted their current call signs and began operating as semi-satellites of WCCO-TV.
Until the year 2002, these stations largely simulcast WCCO-TV’s programming with distinct commercial breaks and local inserts; however, local operations ended that year, transitioning them into full-time satellite stations. Since then, channel 4 markets itself collectively as "Minneapolis–St. Paul/Alexandria/Walker," with only minimal differentiation during broadcasts.
Following CBS’s participation in the FCC’s spectrum incentive auction, KCCO’s spectrum was sold, but a channel-sharing arrangement was planned. CBS announced that KCCO would cease operations on December 30, 2017; nevertheless, WCCO-TV continues to be accessible in Alexandria through cable and satellite providers such as Selective TV, Inc., via existing agreements.
Translators
To broaden its coverage area, WCCO-TV utilizes eight translator stations scattered throughout various locations in Minnesota:
- K22DV-D Alexandria (rebroadcasts WCCO-TV)
- K33DB-D Alexandria (rebroadcasts WCCO-TV)
- K35IU-D Frost (rebroadcasts WCCO-TV)
- K35IZ-D Jackson (rebroadcasts WCCO-TV)
- K18IR-D Olivia (rebroadcasts WCCO-TV)
- K22MF-D Red Lake (rebroadcasts KCCW-TV)
- K33LB-D Redwood Falls (rebroadcasts WCCO-TV)
- K33OT-D Willmar (rebroadcasts WCCO-TV)