WHIO-TV
| File:WHIO-TV logo.svg WHIO-TV "button 7" logo since March 30, 2013 | |
| Company type | Television station |
|---|---|
| Industry | Broadcasting |
| Founded | February 23, 1949 in Dayton, Ohio, United States |
| Founder | Cox publishing family |
| Headquarters | Dayton, Ohio , United States |
Area served | Dayton metropolitan area and surrounding regions including Lima, Ohio |
| Products | Television broadcasting (CBS affiliate) |
| Owner | Cox Media Group |
| Website | www |
WHIO-TV (channel 7) operates as a television station based in Dayton, Ohio, United States, and holds an affiliation with CBS. Since its inception, it has been owned by Cox Media Group, making it one of just two stations that Cox both constructed and launched, alongside its flagship station WSB-TV in Atlanta. The transmitter for WHIO-TV is positioned in the southwestern area of Dayton. The station shares its facilities with sister outlets, including the Dayton Daily News and Cox's Miami Valley radio stations, all housed within the Cox Media Center located on South Main Street near downtown Dayton.
History
WHIO-TV commenced operations on February 23, 1949, originally broadcasting on channel 13 as Dayton’s inaugural television station. From the start, ownership rested with the Cox publishing family—who also control the Dayton Daily News—marking this as Cox’s second television station built from scratch shortly after WSB-TV. The licensee, Miami Valley Broadcasting, functioned as the television division of Cox Media for many years.
The station has maintained a continuous CBS affiliation since its debut and briefly carried shows from the now-defunct DuMont Television Network. In 1952, following the FCC's Sixth Report and Order which restructured VHF channels throughout Ohio and the Midwest, WHIO-TV transitioned to channel 7.
Before the emergence of low-powered CBS affiliate WLMO-LP, WHIO-TV acted as the primary CBS provider for much of the Lima, Ohio market. It continues to be accessible via Spectrum’s Lima cable systems alongside Columbus-based CBS affiliate WBNS-TV.
In 1979, a proposed sale of WHIO to Ohio Valley Broadcasting for $47.5 million was nearly finalized amid a potential General Electric merger with Cox Broadcasting; however, this transaction was ultimately abandoned due to lack of approval from the FCC.
On December 15, 2009, Cox Media Group revealed plans to relocate WHIO-TV and its Dayton radio stations from Wilmington Avenue to the newly constructed Cox Media Center in downtown Dayton. The station began operations from this new location on December 12, 2010.
Since the mid-1970s, WHIO-TV’s newscasts have been presented under the brand NewsCenter 7 and have consistently dominated Nielsen ratings in the Dayton market.
The station enhanced its digital lineup by affiliating subchannel 7.2 with MeTV on December 1, 2014. Branded as "MeTV WHIO Classic Television," this subchannel features classic TV shows along with retro WHIO branding. Subsequently, digital subchannel 7.3 launched on April 15, 2015, as an affiliate of Laff.
In February 2019, Apollo Global Management announced intentions to acquire Cox Media Group along with Northwest Broadcasting's stations. Initially planning to operate under Terrier Media, Apollo retained the Cox Media Group name after purchasing Cox's radio and advertising units in June 2019. The acquisition was finalized on December 17, 2019.
2019 transmitter outage
On November 5, 2019, WHIO-TV's over-the-air (OTA) broadcast ceased due to faults in its newly installed transmitter that produced electrical arcs damaging the existing transmission line. Repair efforts were hampered by necessary inspections and replacements of more than of transmission line, adverse weather conditions, and a shortage of tower crews following a recent spectrum repack. This outage impacted all OTA subchannels including main channel 7.1 (CBS), disrupting satellite viewers dependent on WHIO-TV’s OTA signal. DirecTV temporarily substituted WHIO-TV with WCBS-TV (New York City) followed by WKRC-TV (Cincinnati), while Dish Network replaced it with WOIO (Cleveland). Cable and streaming platforms continued to provide uninterrupted access to WHIO-TV content.
On November 15, WHIO-TV coordinated with Greater Dayton Public Television—the owner of PBS member station WPTD (channel 16)—to seek FCC special temporary authority to simulcast its primary CBS subchannel on WPTD’s 16.2 subchannel. This arrangement displaced WPTD’s "16 Again" service. The OTA simulcast commenced on November 18 and was also carried by DirecTV and Dish Network. This feed transmitted in standard definition (480i), unlike WHIO-TV’s usual high-definition (1080i) broadcast; initially lacking closed captioning and experiencing audio difficulties that were later corrected. Subchannels 7.2 (MeTV) and 7.3 (Laff) remained unavailable via OTA during this period.
By November 21, WHIO-TV had restored its main OTA signal on channel 7.1; satellite providers DirecTV and Dish Network reverted to this feed while WPTD resumed normal programming on channel 16.2. Many OTA viewers needed to rescan their tuners due to recent market channel realignments.
Post-2019
On July 2, 2024, MeTV Toons was introduced on subchannel 7.4.
Tri-State Network
In 1953, Cox and Taft Broadcasting collaborated to establish the brief "Tri-State Network," aiming to rival Crosley Broadcasting's entertainment offerings across the Dayton, Cincinnati, and Columbus regions. A revamped edition of The Wendy Barrie Show debuted on January 11, 1954, originating from WHIO-TV’s studios and simultaneously broadcast on Taft’s WKRC-TV in Cincinnati and WTVN in Columbus. Wendy Barrie’s contract concluded in October 1954.
Logo
Throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, WHIO-TV’s emblem displayed the number "7" with its call letters enclosed within a dotted circle. By the early 1970s, this transformed into a sleek "7" set inside a solid circle, resembling the "Circle 7 logo" utilized by ABC-owned stations such as New York’s WABC-TV. Around 1996, a graphics package was introduced that was also used by Cox-owned stations including WSOC-TV, WFTV, and KIRO-TV. This design largely persisted until early 2007 when the gap in the "7" was eliminated. The "broken 7" logo remained visible on the anchor desk until the transition to Cox Media Center in December 2010.
On March 30, 2013, WHIO-TV unveiled its present-day "button 7" logo featuring a white "7" set against a blue circular background.
From the 1970s through 1992, the station and its sister radio stations employed a unique lowercase font for their call letters. This style was later revived for branding purposes on the MeTV digital subchannel.
Sports programming
Starting April 9, 2009, the Dayton Dragons began broadcasting games on digital channel 7.2 (available on Time Warner Cable channels 23 and 372), eventually airing up to 25 games each season. In 2016, coverage of Dragons games shifted to WBDT.
WHIO broadcasts all Cincinnati Bengals games that are carried by CBS. Given Dayton’s proximity—approximately 50 miles from Cincinnati—it is considered a secondary market where all away games must be televised in full. The Bengals maintain significant popularity in Dayton; thus WHIO airs both home and away contests.
The Cleveland Browns enjoy a substantial following in southwest Ohio as well; WHIO televises their preseason games when feasible and regular season matchups that do not conflict with Bengals broadcasts.
In 2024, WHIO reached an agreement with the University of Dayton to televise select men’s basketball contests.
Storm Center 7
WHIO-TV’s meteorology department operates under the brand "Storm Center 7 weather team," utilizing "Live Doppler 7" radar technology provided by Baron Services.
The station employed its first dedicated meteorologist in 1993—Heidi Sonen, a graduate of Penn State University. It subsequently discontinued its prior AccuWeather affiliation and expanded its meteorological staff with professionals including former Weather Channel forecaster Fred Barnhill and USAF meteorologist Warren Madden.
Following Sonen’s retirement in 1997, WHIO hired additional Penn State alumni as Chief Meteorologists, such as Brian Orzel and Jamie Simpson.
In December 2004, WHIO launched StormCenter 7—a weather center that also serves as a broadcast set.
On May 7, 2015, WHIO announced Eric Elwell as chief meteorologist and Brett Collar as weekend morning meteorologist, growing the team to six members. Collar commenced duties on June 20; Elwell began on June 29.
McCall Vrydaghs was appointed chief meteorologist on November 19, 2018. Elwell continued handling noon broadcasts before departing later that year. Dontae Jones joined following Vrydaghs’ promotion.
On June 28, 2023, Austin Chaney returned as chief meteorologist after previously working at WHIO before relocating to WSOC-TV in Charlotte. Chaney has local roots as the grandson of former Cincinnati Reds shortstop Darrel Chaney.
Live Doppler 7
WHIO-TV introduced its doppler weather radar system on June 29, 2007, initially branded as "New Live Doppler 7," and later renamed "Live Doppler 7 HD." This radar was a key feature in the station’s weather segments and website for many years. Although the "Live Doppler 7" name continued to be used on-air, WHIO discontinued its radar operations in June 2021.
7 Weather Now
On December 15, 2006, WHIO-TV launched 7 Weather Now, a continuous 24-hour channel that combined locally generated weather forecasts with programming from the AccuWeather Channel. The channel offered live severe weather updates along with current watches and warnings. Weekday mornings from 7 to 8 a.m., it aired a replay of the last hour of News Center 7 Daybreak. As of December 1, 2014, 7 Weather Now stopped broadcasting on digital subchannel 7.2 but continues to be accessible via live streaming on WHIO’s website and through the WHIO Weather mobile app.
Widescreen and high definition news
Starting April 1, 2007, WHIO-TV began presenting newscasts in 16:9 widescreen standard definition, marking it as the first Ohio station outside of Cleveland to adopt this format.
Following its relocation to the Cox Media Center on December 12, 2010, WHIO upgraded all cameras, graphics, and equipment to full high definition. From that evening’s late newscast onward, all locally produced segments—both studio and field reports—were broadcast in HD.
WHIO maintained its position as Dayton’s only station airing local newscasts in HD or widescreen until July 21, 2012, when WDTN transitioned to HD; WKEF followed suit after moving studios. Despite this progress, local commercials on WHIO are still presented by stretching their original 4:3 standard definition format to fit widescreen.
On January 21, 2016, WHIO-TV debuted a newly designed set created by FX Group.
Notable alumni
- Jim Baldridge, co-anchor from 1972 to 1988 and lead anchor from 1988 to 2009
- Phil Donahue, co-anchor during the 1960s
- Mick Hubert, sports anchor and director between 1979 and 1989
- Tracie Savage, anchor and reporter from 1986 to 1991
- Bob Shreve, overnight host of Night People Theater, a late-night movie series
- Gil Whitney, weather specialist, reporter, anchor, and master of ceremonies
Trivia
The highest quality known surviving recording of The Star Wars Holiday Special originates from broadcasts by this station.
Subchannels
The station’s digital broadcast signal is multiplexed as follows:
| Channel | Resolution | Aspect | Name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | WHIO-HD | CBS |
| 7.2 | 480i | 16:9 | Me TV | MeTV |
| 7.3 | 480i | 16:9 | LAFF | Laff |
| 7.4 | 480i | 16:9 | MeToons | MeTV Toons |
| 45.3 | 480i | 16:9 | Antenna | Antenna TV (WRGT-TV) |
Analog-to-digital conversion
WHIO-DT commenced digital broadcasts on channel 41 in October of 2001. The station ended analog transmissions on VHF channel 7 on June 12, 2009, in compliance with the federal mandate requiring full-power stations to switch exclusively to digital signals. Its digital broadcasts continued on UHF channel 41 while maintaining virtual channel number 7.
On October 18, 2019, as part of the FCC’s spectrum repacking initiative, WHIO-TV shifted its digital transmission from channel 41 to channel 33.
See also
- Channel 7 virtual television stations across the United States
- Channel 33 digital television stations throughout the United States
- Comprehensive list of Ohio television stations
- Ohio television stations organized by channel number
- Directory of U.S. television stations by call sign beginning with W
- Miami Valley Channel (a cable outlet managed by WHIO-TV from 1994 until 2006; affiliated with UPN between 1998 and 2006)