WJZ-TV
| File:WJZ-TV logo.svg WJZ-TV logo used since 2023 | |
| Company type | Television station |
|---|---|
| Industry | Broadcasting |
| Predecessor | WAAM (original call sign) |
| Founded | November 1, 1948 in Baltimore, Maryland, United States |
| Headquarters | Baltimore, Maryland , United States |
Area served | Baltimore metropolitan area and surrounding regions including parts of Pennsylvania, Delaware, Washington, D.C., and Virginia |
Key people | Denise Koch (anchor), Gail Bending (former news director until 2023) |
| Owner | CBS News and Stations (Westinghouse Electric Corporation acquired in 1957; CBS acquired Westinghouse in 1995) |
| Parent | CBS News and Stations |
| Website | baltimore |
WJZ-TV (channel 13) operates as a television station based in Baltimore, Maryland, serving as the local CBS affiliate. The station is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division. Its studios and administrative offices are situated on Television Hill within Baltimore’s Woodberry neighborhood, adjacent to a transmission tower shared with other area broadcasters.
Early years
The station commenced operations on November 1, 1948, under the call sign WAAM, becoming Baltimore’s third television outlet after WBAL-TV (channel 11) and WMAR-TV (channel 2). Initially owned by Radio-Television of Baltimore Inc., a company led by local entrepreneurs Ben and Herman Cohen, it launched as an ABC affiliate—marking the network’s fifth affiliate on the East Coast. Additionally, WAAM held a secondary affiliation with the DuMont Television Network until DuMont folded in 1956. These affiliations transitioned from WMAR-TV, which then became exclusively affiliated with CBS.
On its second day of broadcasting, WAAM aired coverage of the 1948 presidential election returns alongside entertainment programming, staying on air continuously for 23 hours. Since its establishment, the station has operated from the same facility near Druid Hill Park on Malden Hill (now known as Television Hill), which was Baltimore’s first structure purpose-built for television production. During its time as a DuMont affiliate, WAAM broadcast numerous Baltimore Colts games as part of DuMont’s NFL coverage.
Acquisition by Westinghouse and rebranding as WJZ-TV
In May 1957, the Westinghouse Electric Corporation purchased WAAM from the Cohen brothers for $4.4 million. Westinghouse took over operations in August and rebranded the station to WJZ-TV in September of that year. The WJZ call letters had formerly been assigned to ABC’s flagship stations in New York City until 1953. Westinghouse’s association with the WJZ callsign extends further back, originally owning WJZ radio—the flagship of NBC’s Blue Network, which eventually evolved into ABC.
In 1959, WJZ-TV collaborated with WBAL-TV and WMAR-TV to construct the world’s first three-pronged candelabra tower, located behind WJZ-TV’s studios. Upon completion, this tower was the tallest freestanding television antenna in the United States, significantly boosting channel 13’s broadcast signal throughout central Maryland and extending its reach into neighboring regions including Pennsylvania, Delaware, Washington, D.C., and Virginia.
By 1977, WJZ-TV faced a potential loss of its ABC affiliation when ABC considered switching to WBAL-TV amidst its ascent as the leading prime time network. However, WBAL-TV declined due to ABC’s underperforming evening newscasts at that time, ensuring that channel 13 retained its ABC partnership.
Transition to CBS
In June 1994, ABC entered an affiliation agreement with the broadcasting arm of the E. W. Scripps Company, resulting in its Baltimore affiliation moving from WJZ-TV to WMAR-TV—which was then an NBC affiliate. This change formed part of a broader strategy by ABC to maintain affiliations on Scripps’ largest stations amid CBS courting WXYZ-TV in Detroit and WEWS in Cleveland. Despite strong ratings for WJZ-TV as an ABC affiliate, ABC opted for WMAR to avoid relegation to UHF channels in key markets.
After serving as Baltimore’s ABC affiliate for 46 years, Group W sought new affiliations following this shift. NBC approached WJZ-TV but was turned down. Instead, Westinghouse secured a long-term deal with CBS in July 1994, leading to WJZ-TV switching its affiliation to CBS on January 2, 1995—alongside WBZ-TV in Boston and KYW-TV in Philadelphia. This represented Baltimore’s second major affiliation change and restored NBC programming to WBAL-TV after a 14-year absence.
This realignment resolved scheduling conflicts CBS experienced at WBAL-TV by moving programs such as the Late Show with David Letterman to WJZ-TV. After Westinghouse acquired CBS on November 24, 1995, WJZ-TV became a CBS owned-and-operated station—the first fully owned by CBS within the Baltimore/Washington market.
WJZ-TV used a distinctive "13" logo unique to Group W from 1967 until 2023; it was refreshed in 2002 with incorporation of the CBS eye symbol and later updated in 2018 adopting a silver and gold color scheme consistent with sister stations.
On November 3, 2008, CBS extended the WJZ brand to radio by renaming WHFS (105.7 FM) and WJFK (1300 AM) as WJZ-FM and WJZ (AM), respectively—integrating local sports content featuring personalities associated with WJZ-TV. However, on February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced plans to spin off and merge with Entercom (now Audacy, Inc.), separating these radio stations from WJZ-TV; this transaction was finalized on November 17, 2017.
Programming
WJZ-TV served as Baltimore's affiliate for the It's Academic high school quiz show, which is currently on pause while seeking a new local broadcaster after its longtime sponsor withdrew.
In its earlier years, WJZ-TV frequently replaced ABC network programs with locally created content and syndicated shows from Westinghouse's Group W division, such as The Mike Douglas Show and the original version of The Merv Griffin Show. A notable example includes the preemption of the ABC soap opera Dark Shadows during the mid-1960s. Between 1970 and 1972, WJZ-TV removed General Hospital, The Newlywed Game, and The Dating Game from its lineup to air The Mike Douglas Show, with those shows shifting to the now-defunct WMET-TV. By 1972, The Newlywed Game returned to WJZ-TV’s schedule, and General Hospital was reinstated in the mid-1970s until it transitioned to WMAR-TV in 1995. Following its switch from CBS to ABC in 1975, WJZ-TV broadcast The Edge of Night until 1983, later moving it to a delayed 11 a.m. slot before temporarily pausing for the 1984 Summer Olympics coverage. Despite such scheduling changes, ABC regarded WJZ-TV as one of its most valuable affiliates; Baltimore audiences also received ABC programming via Washington’s WMAL-TV/WJLA-TV.
From 1957 through 1964, WJZ-TV’s highest-rated program was The Buddy Deane Show, a teen dance program that preempted ABC’s American Bandstand. This show inspired John Waters’ 1988 film Hairspray along with its later musical and cinematic adaptations.
Since becoming a CBS affiliate, WJZ-TV has generally aired the full network schedule without preemptions aside from breaking news and Orioles baseball broadcasts, in line with agreements between Group W and CBS. Until September 2019, the station aired the CBS Evening News on a thirty-minute delay due to an hour-long newscast at 6 p.m.
Sports programming
WJZ-TV has been the primary television partner for the Baltimore Ravens, televising most games since CBS secured rights to the American Football Conference starting with the 1998 season. This includes coverage of their Super Bowl victories in Super Bowl XXXV and XLVII, concluding the 2000 and 2012 seasons respectively.
The station also held broadcasting rights for the Baltimore Orioles during two distinct periods: from 1954 through 1978, and again from 1994 until 2017. While affiliated with ABC, WJZ-TV aired selected Orioles games under ABC’s MLB contract between 1976 and 1989, including their appearances in the 1979 and championship-winning 1983 World Series.
News operation
WJZ-TV currently produces a total of 44 hours and 55 minutes of local newscasts each week—comprising 7 hours and 35 minutes on weekdays, four hours on Saturdays, and three hours on Sundays.
Following Westinghouse’s acquisition of WJZ-TV, the station significantly expanded its news division. On October 12, 1957, cameraman John Kelly captured footage of Sputnik 1’s rocket passing over Baltimore; this was featured in a half-hour special aired on sister station WBZ-TV. Within a few years, WJZ-TV surpassed WMAR-TV to claim second place in ratings and adopted the Eyewitness News format modeled after Philadelphia sister station KYW-TV. By the early 1970s, it overtook WBAL-TV to secure first place—a position it maintained for over three decades. Around 2001, WBAL-TV reclaimed top evening ratings; however, WJZ remained a strong runner-up. In November 2009 Nielsen ratings, WJZ regained first place at 11 p.m. Both stations remained competitive until November 2011 when WJZ led all news time slots in total households and among viewers aged 25–54; WBAL continues as a formidable rival. Since switching affiliations in 1995, WJZ has been one of CBS’s most robust owned-and-operated stations.
WJZ-TV was a pioneer in Baltimore by hiring its first full-time consumer reporter and establishing an investigative journalism team. In 1965, Wiley Daniels became Baltimore’s first African-American news anchor alongside popular anchorman Jerry Turner. Al Sanders joined Turner in 1977; together they dominated ratings until Turner's death from esophageal cancer. Denise Koch succeeded Turner in 1988 and remains an anchor today. Vic Carter took over following Sanders' death in 1995.
As a legacy broadcaster, many staff members have served for decades. Denise Koch holds the record for longest tenure as a Baltimore TV anchor, having anchored the 6 p.m. newscast since 1988. The former morning anchor duo Don Scott and Marty Bass led weekday morning ratings from 1984 through 2014 with programs like Eyewitness News Morning Edition and Rise & Shine. Bob Turk served as evening weather anchor for nearly five decades before his dismissal in 2022. Former news director Gail Bending held her position from 1991 until her departure in March 2023.
In 1976, Oprah Winfrey joined as co-anchor with Turner on the 6 p.m. newscast before transitioning to morning cut-ins and co-hosting the local talk show People Are Talking alongside Richard Sher from 1978 to 1984. She also co-anchored Eyewitness News at Noon and contributed to launching Eyewitness News Morning Edition in 1983.
On October 25, 2009, WJZ-TV became Baltimore's third station to broadcast newscasts in high definition (HD). By September 2011, all locally produced content—including field reports—was delivered in HD, making WJZ the first station in Baltimore to complete this transition fully.
On August 9, 2018, WJZ introduced a new studio set along with updated on-air graphics consistent with other CBS owned-and-operated stations. Eleven days later, on August 20, morning newscasts were extended from a two-hour block (5–7 a.m.) to start at 4:30 a.m., marking Baltimore’s last station to begin broadcasts that early. On September 9, 2019, WJZ launched its inaugural 7 p.m. newscast while moving the CBS Evening News to a new timeslot at 6:30 p.m.
WJZ debuted its streaming news platform CBSN Baltimore (now CBS News Baltimore) on August 23, 2021, as part of CBS’s broader rollout of localized streaming services nationwide.
In 2022, WJZ formed a partnership with The Baltimore Banner, collaborating by sharing content across platforms and featuring Banner journalists on its daily 9 a.m. newscasts.
Distinguished former on-air personalities
- Nick Charles
- Boomer Esiason – served as an intern during his time at the University of Maryland
- Adam May
- Bob McAllister
- Michael Olesker
- Royal Parker
- Al Sanders
- Richard Sher
- Ken Singleton
- Sally Thorner
- Jerry Turner
- Oprah Winfrey
Subchannel lineup
The broadcast signal of WJZ-TV is multiplexed as follows:
| Channel | Resolution | Aspect Ratio | Identifier | Content |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | WJZ-TV | CBS |
| 13.2 | 480i | StartTV | Start TV | |
| 13.3 | Dabl | Dabl | ||
| 13.4 | FaveTV | Fave TV | ||
| 13.5 | Catchy | Catchy Comedy | ||
| 13.6 | Movies | Movies! |
Transition from analog to digital
On June 12, 2009, WJZ-TV ceased analog transmissions on VHF channel 13 in accordance with the federal directive requiring full-power stations to switch to digital broadcasts. The station’s digital signal relocated from UHF channel 38 back to VHF channel 13. Subsequently, WMAR-TV took over channel 38 after channels 52 through 69 were decommissioned.
This conversion led to reception difficulties for certain viewers; however, the Federal Communications Commission authorized an increase in WJZ-TV’s transmission power to enhance coverage.
Reallocation of spectrum
As part of the FCC’s incentive auction and the subsequent spectrum repacking between 2016 and 2017, WJZ-TV shifted its broadcast frequency to VHF channel 11 on July 3, 2020, while retaining virtual channel number 13. At the same time, WBAL-TV transitioned to channel 12.
External links
- – Promotional film for WJZ-TV from 1959
- WJZ-TV Collection, Mid-Atlantic Regional Moving Image Archive
- Archival footage, University of Baltimore repository