WLNY-TV
| Company type | Television station |
|---|---|
| Industry | Broadcasting |
| Predecessor | WLIG |
| Founded | April 28, 1985 in Riverhead, New York, United States |
| Founder | Michael Pascucci |
| Fate | Acquired by CBS Television Stations in 2012 |
| Headquarters | Midtown Manhattan, New York City , United States |
Area served | New York City broadcast market and Long Island |
| Products | Television broadcasting, local news programming |
| Owner | CBS News and Stations division |
Number of employees | Approximately 55 (pre-2012 acquisition) (2012 (approximate)) |
| Parent | CBS Television Stations |
WLNY-TV (channel 55), marketed as New York 55, operates as an independent television station licensed to Riverhead, New York, serving the New York City broadcast market. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations division alongside flagship station WCBS-TV (channel 2). Both stations operate from shared studios located at the CBS Broadcast Center in Midtown Manhattan. WLNY-TV's transmitter is situated in Ridge, New York, providing over-the-air coverage primarily across Long Island. Additionally, the station is accessible via cable and satellite providers throughout the greater New York City region.
The station began broadcasting on April 28, 1985, originally under the call sign WLIG. For its initial 26 years, ownership was held by Long Island entrepreneur Michael Pascucci. During this period, programming mainly consisted of classic films and syndicated shows, supplemented by a 10 p.m. local newscast. WLIG encountered a seven-year carriage dispute with Cablevision, which restricted its cable distribution until must-carry regulations mandated its inclusion on New York area cable systems. These regulations enabled WLNY to reach viewers despite its geographic distance from New York City and allowed it to air syndicated content also available on city stations. A local news operation was reinstated in 1993, eventually producing a nightly Long Island–focused newscast by 2011.
In 2011, CBS agreed to acquire WLNY, taking operational control in 2012. This acquisition led to the dissolution of WLNY’s independent news department, replaced by newscasts produced at the Broadcast Center that incorporate extensions of WCBS newscasts and nationally distributed programs from other CBS-owned independent stations. These broadcasts no longer include Long Island–specific reporting. Since 2023, WLNY has featured morning and 8 p.m. newscasts produced by WCBS-TV.
In 2021, the Los Angeles Times revealed that the purchase deal included a membership to the exclusive Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton, established by Pascucci. Peter Dunn, president of CBS Television Stations, treated this membership as his own; an executive humorously remarked that acquiring WLNY was more about obtaining a golf club membership than a television station. These disclosures contributed to Dunn’s eventual dismissal from CBS.
History
In 1965, the Island Broadcasting System—owners of WRIV and WALK—applied for a construction permit for UHF channel 55. NBC newscaster Chet Huntley held partial ownership with expectations of securing NBC affiliation. However, Huntley withdrew prior to FCC approval in 1967. Although intended to serve Suffolk County, the station was never constructed; in 1968, the FCC mandated that WRIV-TV and seven other unbuilt UHF stations either commence operations or forfeit their permits.
WLIG (1985–1996)
Businessman Michael Pascucci’s Life Broadcasting Network filed an application for channel 55 in 1979 with plans to provide nondenominational religious and family-oriented programming. The FCC approved the construction permit in 1982. Broadcasting from Ridge, New York, WLIG maintained a loose association with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre and offered family-friendly content such as classic sitcoms, films, and a Long Island–focused 10 p.m. newscast.
WLIG commenced transmissions on April 28, 1985, aiming to avoid the short lifespan experienced by WSNL-TV, which had ceased operations after less than two years. Its news program, News 55 Long Island, operated with three full-time employees and two camera crews; it also aired Focus on Long Island, a public affairs series.
One significant obstacle was securing cable carriage, particularly from Cablevision of Long Island. Although must-carry regulations initially required cable providers to carry local stations within a 35-mile radius, Cablevision excluded WLIG citing factors such as distance from New York City, copyright concerns, and limited channel availability. By June 1987, WLIG reached approximately 200,000 viewers through eight out of nine Long Island cable providers; Cablevision remained the sole holdout, arguing that WLIG duplicated existing content and competed with their own News 12 Long Island service. Pascucci declined Cablevision's proposal to carry only WLIG’s newscast on public access channels.
In 1988, Pascucci intended to sell WLIG to First Century Broadcasting; however, this transaction did not materialize. As a result, WLIG discontinued its full local news broadcasts in April 1989 but retained a brief five-minute news segment.
The early 1990s saw enhancements in both programming and distribution. In 1991, WLIG acquired popular syndicated programs including Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, and The Oprah Winfrey Show, leveraging its transmitter location outside New York City’s exclusivity zone for syndication rights. The station also upgraded its movie lineup with more recent titles. In 1992, Cablevision finally added WLIG to its Long Island cable systems, expanding potential viewership by over 300,000 subscribers; by then the station had reached financial break-even status. Pascucci described this development as the most positive since launching channel 55.
WLIG relocated its studios to Melville alongside Pascucci’s Oxford Resources Corporation offices. Following reinstatement of must-carry laws in January 1994, the station revived its local news operation with a new 10 p.m. broadcast.
In 1995, a wildfire within the Long Island Central Pine Barrens forced WLIG off-air due to threats posed to its transmission infrastructure.
WLNY (1996–present)
The expansion of must-carry regulations greatly enhanced channel 55's distribution. In early 1996, the station established news bureaus in Wayne, New Jersey and Fairfield, Connecticut, and secured press credentials for New York City. To reflect its wider market presence, the call letters were changed to WLNY on September 1, 1996, symbolizing Long Island and New York. The sale of Pascucci's auto leasing company, Pascucci Oxford Resources, in 1997 provided additional funding for the station.
Although must-carry rules increased cable availability, WLNY’s location on the outskirts of the New York City market constrained its cable carriage. In 1997, the FCC permitted certain New Jersey cable operators to drop WLNY from their lineups. The station challenged this decision alongside WRNN-TV and WPXN-TV, but courts upheld the FCC ruling. WLNY relocated to channel 10 on Cablevision systems in Long Island in 2003 but remained assigned to higher channel numbers elsewhere in the metropolitan area. By 2008, it was acknowledged as a profitable entity, albeit operating with fewer resources and a more relaxed atmosphere compared to major New York City broadcasters.
Digital transmissions began for WLNY in May 2002. In 2005, the station collaborated with Qualcomm to relinquish its analog license and construct digital facilities on channel 57, allowing Qualcomm to utilize channel 55 for MediaFLO services. Since approximately 92% of Long Island households received cable or satellite service, the FCC approved this transition; WLNY ended analog broadcasts on December 31, 2005. Following the nationwide digital transition on June 12, 2009, WLNY moved from channel 57 to channel 47. Local programming was upgraded to high-definition format on April 9, 2012.
CBS ownership
On December 12, 2011, CBS Television Stations declared its intention to acquire WLNY-TV, forming a duopoly with its flagship station WCBS-TV. Subsequent FCC filings disclosed that CBS paid $55 million for WLNY. The network aimed to broaden WLNY’s local news output beyond its existing late-night newscast and increase on-air personnel. After receiving FCC approval, CBS assumed ownership on June 29, 2012, marking its tenth duopoly and largest by market size. The sale did not include repeaters WLNY-CD (Mineola), WLIG-LD (Morristown), and W27CD (Stamford), which were sold separately to Local Media TV Holdings.
Before CBS took control, local newscasts at WLNY were discontinued in March 2012; roughly half of the staff—about 30 out of 55 employees—were retained. Richard Rose was the only on-air talent who remained during this transition period. Once acquired by CBS, WLNY resumed producing local news from the CBS Broadcast Center in Manhattan. Despite this operational shift, CBS leased the Melville studios from Pascucci for approximately eight years following the acquisition. Additionally, WLNY continues to broadcast the annual Christmas Eve Midnight Mass from St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre.
In July 2018, under special temporary authority, WLNY switched to UHF channel 27 to facilitate T-Mobile’s rapid deployment of cellular services within the newly cleared 600 MHz spectrum band following the 2016 wireless auction. The station later transitioned again to UHF channel 29 in August 2019 during phase four of the national repack designed to clear the same frequency band.
A January 2021 investigation by the Los Angeles Times uncovered that as part of the 2011 sale arrangement, Peter Dunn—head of CBS Television Stations—received access to a CBS-funded membership at Sebonack Golf Club owned by Pascucci. This provided opportunities for networking with billionaires such as Stephen Ross and was regarded internally as a personal benefit tied to the deal; it was humorously referred to as "the acquisition of our golf membership ... I mean TV station." The investigation also highlighted allegations of workplace misconduct at CBS-owned KYW-TV Philadelphia, resulting in Dunn and senior vice president Steve Friend being placed on leave and ultimately dismissed.
In 2025, due to scheduling conflicts involving New York Yankees broadcasts on YES Network, WLNY started airing a limited number of Brooklyn Nets games.
Newscasts
Following CBS's acquisition of the station, WLNY introduced a 9 p.m. newscast lasting one hour and a morning show titled Live from the Couch, which aired for two hours starting July 2, 2012. Carolina Bermudez, who had spent seven years at New York City's Z100 radio station, served as the host for the morning program. David Friend, the news director at WCBS-TV, intended the 9 p.m. newscast to appeal to audiences unable to view the 6 p.m. broadcast.
The newscast drew criticism due to its minimal focus on Long Island stories, opting instead to cover wider regional news with Manhattan as the primary backdrop. The Long Island Fair Media Council accused WLNY of disregarding its foundational market area. CBS executives explained that this was partly due to ongoing construction at the Melville facility, which was finalized in July 2012 and included a specialized sales team. On May 23, 2014, the station discontinued Live from the Couch.
On April 8, 2019, the station replaced the 9 p.m. newscast with CBSN New York on WLNY, which was a replay of WCBS's local CBSN prime time edition. In 2022, this format was succeeded by CBS News New York Now, a program combining local reporting with national segments produced at CBS News and Innovation Lab in Fort Worth, Texas. In September 2023, WLNY rebranded as New York 55, aligning with other former CW affiliates owned by CBS adopting similar branding strategies. The "Now" format was phased out in favor of a weeknight newscast airing at 8 p.m. Later that year, WLNY began broadcasting the 7 and 8 a.m. editions of CBS News New York, originally created for streaming platforms.
Subchannels
WLNY-TV’s transmitter operates from Ridge, New York. Its broadcast signal is divided into multiple subchannels as detailed below:
| Channel | Resolution | Aspect Ratio | Identifier | Content |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | WLNY-DT | Primary WLNY-TV programming |
| 55.2 | 480i | 16:9 | QVC2 | QVC2 |
| 55.3 | HSN2 | HSN2 | ||
| 55.4 | HSN | HSN | ||
| 55.5 | Nosey | Nosey | ||
| 55.6 | Defy | Defy |