View source for WTRF-TV

{{short description|CBS/MyNetworkTV/ABC affiliate in Wheeling, West Virginia}}
{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign = WTRF-TV
| city = Wheeling, West Virginia
| logo = 7_WTRF_CBS.png
| logo_alt = A white 7 in a red box, partially masked by the CBS eye logo. Beneath it and on a silver background are dark gray letters WTRF in a sans serif.
| logo_size = 125px
| image = WTRF ABC 2022.png
| image_alt = At left, the ABC network logo. At right, in a red box, the letters WTRF in white. In thinner black boxes, the words "Ohio Valley" (above) and "Wheeling • Steubenville" are displayed.
| image_size = 200px
| branding = WTRF 7 News
| digital = 7 ([[VHF]])
| virtual = 7
| subchannels =
| affiliations = {{ubl|'''7.1:''' [[CBS]]|'''7.2:''' [[MyNetworkTV]]|'''7.3:''' [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]|'''7.4:''' [[Ion Mystery]]}}
| airdate = {{start date and age|1953|10|24|p=y|br=yes}}
| country = United States
| location = {{ubl|[[Wheeling, West Virginia]]|[[Steubenville, Ohio]]}}
| callsign_meaning = Assigned randomly to the formerly co-owned radio stations in 1947<ref>{{cite news|url=https://bellaire.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?i=f&e=wtrf,call%20letters&m=between&ord=e1,e2&fn=the_times_leader_usa_ohio_martins_ferry_19471031_english_6&df=11&dt=13&cid=2945|title=Editor's Notebook|date=October 31, 1947|page=6|work=[[Martins Ferry Times Leader|The Times-Leader]]|location=Martins Ferry–Bellaire, Ohio|access-date=May 26, 2022|archive-date=May 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527182338/https://bellaire.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?i=f&e=wtrf%2Ccall+letters&m=between&ord=e1%2Ce2&fn=the_times_leader_usa_ohio_martins_ferry_19471031_english_6&df=11&dt=13&cid=2945|url-status=live}}</ref>
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 7 (VHF, 1953–2009)|'''Digital:''' 32 ([[UHF]], 2001–2009)}}
| owner = [[Nexstar Media Group]]
| licensee = Nexstar Media Inc.
| former_affiliations = {{ubl|[[NBC]] (1953–1980)|[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] (secondary; 1953–1980s)|[[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] (DT2; 2007–2014)}}
| erp = 25.4 [[kW]]
| haat = {{convert|293|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id = 6869
| coordinates = {{coord|40|3|41.3|N|80|45|7.3|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}
| licensing_authority = [[FCC]]
| website = {{url|https://www.wtrf.com/}}
}}
'''WTRF-TV''' (channel 7) is a [[television station]] licensed to [[Wheeling, West Virginia]], United States, serving the Wheeling, West Virginia–[[Steubenville, Ohio]] [[media market|market]] as an affiliate of [[CBS]], [[MyNetworkTV]], and [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]. The station is owned by [[Nexstar Media Group]] and maintains studios on 16th Street in downtown Wheeling; its transmitter is located in [[Bridgeport, Ohio]].
WTRF-TV was the first station to specifically serve Wheeling and Steubenville, beginning broadcasting in 1953. It was originally an NBC affiliate before switching to CBS in January 1980. In the 2000s, it expanded to add two new subchannel services.
==History==
Tri-City Broadcasting Corporation, owner of radio stations [[WLYV|WTRF (1290 AM)]] and [[WOMP (FM)|WTRF-FM 100.5]] across the [[Ohio River]] in [[Bellaire, Ohio]], applied to the [[Federal Communications Commission]] on April 13, 1948, for a construction permit to build a television station on channel 12, then assigned to Wheeling. Another application was made by radio station [[WWVA (AM)|WWVA]], but before a hearing could be held, the FCC declared a freeze on TV construction permits that was to last four years. The WTRF stations moved to Wheeling proper in 1950, and the application was amended to follow suit; it also was changed to specify channel 7 after the FCC lifted the freeze. WWVA instead opted to pursue channel 9 in [[Steubenville, Ohio]], but two other groups—one consisting of radio station [[WBBD|WKWK (1400 AM)]] and the News Publishing Company and the other being Polan Industries of [[Huntington, West Virginia]]—also sought channel 7 after the freeze. Polan opted to abandon the hearing and won a permit for UHF channel 51; to expedite the construction of a station in Wheeling, Tri-City and WKWK merged their applications, with the two groups combining.<ref name="Time531019">{{cite news|url=https://bellaire.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?i=f&e=wtrf,call%20letters&m=between&ord=e1,e2&fn=the_times_leader_usa_ohio_martins_ferry_19531019_english_13&df=1&dt=10&cid=2945|title=Opening Of New TV Station Eagerly Awaited In Valley: Vision Of Company Founders Lauded|page=13|date=October 19, 1953|work=[[Martins Ferry Times Leader|The Times-Leader]]|location=Martins Ferry–Bellaire, Ohio|access-date=May 27, 2022|archive-date=May 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527182338/https://bellaire.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?i=f&e=wtrf%2Ccall+letters&m=between&ord=e1%2Ce2&fn=the_times_leader_usa_ohio_martins_ferry_19531019_english_13&df=1&dt=10&cid=2945|url-status=live}}</ref> The construction permit was granted on April 22, 1953, and WTRF-TV signed on six months later, on October 24.<ref name="hc">{{FCC letter|hcards=yes|callsign=WTRF-TV|letterid=86909}}</ref> The station made its start date despite fears that it would not be able to begin airing programming because of several parts that failed at the last minute.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://bellaire.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?i=f&by=1953&bdd=1950&d=10231953-10251953&e=wtrf&m=between&ord=e1&fn=the_times_leader_usa_ohio_martins_ferry_19531024_english_1&df=1&dt=9&cid=2945|page=1|title=TV Station Set To Start Programming|work=[[Martins Ferry Times Leader|The Times-Leader]]|location=Martins Ferry–Bellaire, Ohio|date=October 24, 1953|access-date=May 27, 2022|archive-date=May 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527182340/https://bellaire.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?i=f&by=1953&bdd=1950&d=10231953-10251953&e=wtrf&m=between&ord=e1&fn=the_times_leader_usa_ohio_martins_ferry_19531024_english_1&df=1&dt=9&cid=2945|url-status=live}}</ref> It carried programming from all three major networks of the day-[[NBC]], CBS and [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]-but was a primary NBC affiliate. It lost CBS when WSTV-TV (channel 9, now [[WTOV-TV]]) signed on in December.{{r|Time531019}}
Tri-City sold the radio stations to [[John Kluge]] in 1954, with Tri-City retaining channel 7 and the WTRF call sign.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://bellaire.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?i=f&e=wtrf,call%20letters&m=between&ord=e1,e2&fn=the_times_leader_usa_ohio_martins_ferry_19541008_english_1&df=1&dt=10&cid=2945|work=The Times-Leader|location=[[Martins Ferry Times Leader|The Times-Leader]]|title=WTRF-Radio Sold To Washington Interests|page=1|date=October 8, 1954|access-date=May 26, 2022|archive-date=May 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527182339/https://bellaire.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?i=f&e=wtrf%2Ccall+letters&m=between&ord=e1%2Ce2&fn=the_times_leader_usa_ohio_martins_ferry_19541008_english_1&df=1&dt=10&cid=2945|url-status=live}}</ref> The Dix family, stockholders in Tri-City and publishers of several Ohio newspapers and owners of radio stations in Ohio and Virginia, acquired majority control in 1959.{{r|hc}} WTRF-TV was sold along with the second [[WEGW|WTRF-FM]] (107.5) in 1969 to Forward Communications of [[Wausau, Wisconsin]], for $7 million.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://ohiocountywv.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?k=wtrf&i=f&d=01011968-12311969&e=forward%20communications&m=between&ord=k1,e1&fn=intelligencer_usa_west_virginia_wheeling_19680521_english_2&df=1&dt=6|title=Wisconsin Company Buys WTRF Television, Radio|page=2|date=May 21, 1968|work=The Wheeling Intelligencer|location=Wheeling, West Virginia|access-date=May 27, 2022|archive-date=May 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527182339/https://ohiocountywv.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?k=wtrf&i=f&d=01011968-12311969&e=forward+communications&m=between&ord=k1%2Ce1&fn=intelligencer_usa_west_virginia_wheeling_19680521_english_2&df=1&dt=6|url-status=live}}</ref>{{r|hc}} During the 1970s, two reporters with futures in network news started their careers at WTRF-TV: [[Faith Daniels]], later an anchor for NBC and CBS, and Bob Orr, later of [[CBS News]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://2a2fc3rfbvx3l0sao396kxen-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/alumni/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2018/02/2009_BethanyToday_Summer.pdf|work=Bethany Today|date=2009|pages=12, 13|title=Alumni Interview|access-date=May 27, 2022|archive-date=April 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416165326/https://2a2fc3rfbvx3l0sao396kxen-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/alumni/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2018/02/2009_BethanyToday_Summer.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Also in this decade, the cable system in [[Canton, Ohio]] began carrying WTRF-TV because it frequently aired [[Cleveland Browns]] games that Cleveland-area stations had to black out under [[National Football League television blackout policies|National Football League blackout rules]] of the time.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED073688.pdf|page=51|first=Robert L.|last=Steiner|title=Visions of Cablevision; The Prospects for Cable Television in the Greater Cincinnati Area|date=December 1972|publisher=Stephen H. Wilder Foundation|access-date=May 27, 2022|archive-date=May 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170515225043/http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED073688.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
In 1979, citing the erosion of NBC's ratings in the preceding years, WTRF-TV announced it would switch to CBS on April 1, 1980. It ruled out ABC, then the leading network, because 56 percent of its market was served by cable systems that put Pittsburgh's ABC affiliate, [[WTAE-TV]], next to WTRF-TV on subscribers' dials.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://ohiocountywv.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?k=wtrf%20affiliation&i=f&d=01011979-01311980&m=between&ord=k1&fn=the_intelligencer_usa_west_virginia_wheeling_19790921_english_15&df=1&dt=6|date=September 21, 1979|work=The Wheeling Intelligencer|location=Wheeling, West Virginia|title=WTRF-TV Makes Change Official|page=15|access-date=May 27, 2022|archive-date=May 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527182340/https://ohiocountywv.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?k=wtrf+affiliation&i=f&d=01011979-01311980&m=between&ord=k1&fn=the_intelligencer_usa_west_virginia_wheeling_19790921_english_15&df=1&dt=6|url-status=live}}</ref> General manager Charles E. Sherman, citing the loyalty of many viewers to NBC, called the change the hardest decision he'd ever had to make.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://ohiocountywv.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?k=wtrf%20affiliation&i=f&d=01011979-01311980&m=between&ord=k1&fn=the_intelligencer_usa_west_virginia_wheeling_19790914_english_19&df=1&dt=6|title=TV-7 To Start CBS Affiliation|date=September 14, 1979|page=19|work=The Wheeling Intelligencer|location=Wheeling, West Virginia|access-date=May 27, 2022|archive-date=May 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527182340/https://ohiocountywv.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?k=wtrf+affiliation&i=f&d=01011979-01311980&m=between&ord=k1&fn=the_intelligencer_usa_west_virginia_wheeling_19790914_english_19&df=1&dt=6|url-status=live}}</ref> The change was brought forward to January 7, 1980; WTOV-TV switched from CBS to NBC, deciding against a bid from ABC.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1980/1980-01-07-BC.pdf|date=January 7, 1980|work=Broadcasting|page=79|title=We're Looking Better|id={{ProQuest|1014703967}}|access-date=May 27, 2022|archive-date=November 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151404/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1980/1980-01-07-BC.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1979/BC-1979-11-12.pdf|page=75|title=Steubenville switch|work=Broadcasting|date=November 12, 1979|access-date=May 27, 2022|archive-date=November 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151315/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1979/BC-1979-11-12.pdf|url-status=live|id={{ProQuest|1014712495}}}}</ref> At that time, WTRF-TV was the leading station in the market.<ref>{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|1014706187}}|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1979/BC-1979-09-17.pdf|date=September 17, 1979|work=Broadcasting|title=Wheeling dealing|page=67|access-date=May 27, 2022|archive-date=November 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151215/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1979/BC-1979-09-17.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> A three-story addition was built to the studio facility in 1980.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://ohiocountywv.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?i=f&d=01011979-05311980&e=wtrf&m=between&ord=e1&fn=intelligencer_usa_west_virginia_wheeling_19800321_english_42&df=21&dt=30|title=Fish Market To Be Razed|date=March 21, 1980|page=11|work=The Wheeling Intelligencer|location=Wheeling, West Virginia|access-date=May 27, 2022|archive-date=May 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527182342/https://ohiocountywv.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?i=f&d=01011979-05311980&e=wtrf&m=between&ord=e1&fn=intelligencer_usa_west_virginia_wheeling_19800321_english_42&df=21&dt=30|url-status=live}}</ref>
Forward was sold in late 1984 to [[Wesray Capital Corporation]], which retained the Forward name for its media holdings.<ref name="Waus850103">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102626833/new-forward-owner-expanding-wesray-must/|date=January 3, 1985|page=3|first=Tom|last=Berger|title=New Forward owner expanding: Wesray must sell WSAW or Marshfield paper|newspaper=Wausau Daily Herald|location=Wausau, Wisconsin|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 27, 2022|archive-date=May 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527182342/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102626833/new-forward-owner-expanding-wesray/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Thu --> Wesray sold the Forward stations to Adams Communications in 1988.<ref name="Chic871016">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102626897/adams-agrees-to-buy-5-wesray-tv-stations/|date=October 16, 1987|page=3:4|first=Charles|last=Storch|title=Adams agrees to buy 5 Wesray TV stations|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|location=Chicago, Illinois|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 27, 2022|archive-date=May 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527083133/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102626897/adams-agrees-to-buy-5-wesray-tv-stations/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Fri --> The  Forward deal left Adams highly leveraged and ill-prepared to confront declines in the value of broadcast properties, prompting it to default on $283 million of debt in 1991.<ref name="Wisc910612">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102626922/ch-15-owner-defaults-on-283-million/|date=June 12, 1991|page=6B|first=Jennifer|last=Riddle|title=Ch. 15 owner defaults on $283 million|newspaper=Wisconsin State Journal|location=Madison, Wisconsin|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 27, 2022|archive-date=May 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527182343/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102626922/ch-15-owner-defaults-on-283-million/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Wed --> Brissette Broadcasting was formed the next year when Paul Brissette, who had been the vice president of Adams Communications's television stations division, bought out the business for $257 million.<ref>{{Cite news|id={{ProQuest|1014738693}}|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1992/BC-1992-03-02.pdf|date=March 2, 1992|work=Broadcasting|title=Brissette forms BBC; acquires eight TV's|page=41|access-date=May 27, 2022|archive-date=April 10, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220410034333/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1992/BC-1992-03-02.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Four years later, in a $270 million merger, Brissette was folded into [[Benedek Broadcasting]] after the company was unable to expand by adding stations.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1996/BC-1996-01-01.pdf|work=Broadcasting & Cable|date=January 1, 1996|title=Park's place in TV, newspapers|page=29|first=Elizabeth|last=Rathbun|access-date=May 27, 2022|archive-date=November 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108151613/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1996/BC-1996-01-01.pdf|url-status=live|id={{ProQuest|1014763525}}}}</ref>
Before Benedek declared bankruptcy in 2002, a weak advertising market in the [[early 2000s recession]] had already led the company to sell WTRF-TV to [[West Virginia Media Holdings]] (WVMH).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_televisionweek_2002-04-01_21_13/page/n25/mode/2up?q=WTRF|date=April 1, 2002|page=24|title=Benedek files for bankruptcy|work=[[Electronic Media]]}}</ref> WVMH was a new group led by [[Bray Cary]] that was buying media properties, primarily in television, in major West Virginia markets.<ref>{{cite news|agency=Associated Press|work=Charleston Daily Mail|title=TV station, newspaper deals complete - Media group chief says options open to additional buys|page=4D|date=December 14, 2001}}</ref> In May of that year, WVMH closed on the $18.5 million purchase of the Wheeling station and the $40.5 million acquisition of [[WOWK-TV]] in [[Charleston, West Virginia|Charleston]].<ref>{{cite news|page=11A|title=Purchase of TV stations completed|work=Charleston Daily Mail|date=May 25, 2002}}</ref>
In 2007, WTRF launched its second [[digital subchannel]], "Fox Ohio Valley", as a [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] and secondary [[MyNetworkTV]] affiliate. WVMH added Fox subchannels to WTRF-TV and [[WVNS-TV]] in the [[Bluefield, West Virginia|Bluefield]]/[[Beckley, West Virginia|Beckley]] market; Cary had known the executives from his prior sports media work with [[NASCAR]] and [[ESPN Events|Creative Sports]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://tvnewscheck.com/uncategorized/article/d2-offers-a1-opportunity-for-big-four-nets/|first=Price|last=Colman|title=D2 Offers A1 Opportunity For Big Four Nets|work=TVNewsCheck|date=April 20, 2011|access-date=May 27, 2022|archive-date=April 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220420020217/https://tvnewscheck.com/uncategorized/article/d2-offers-a1-opportunity-for-big-four-nets/|url-status=live}}</ref> The next year, the region's first full-time ABC affiliate, "ABC Ohio Valley", launched as an additional subchannel.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.wtrf.com:80/page.cfm?pageid=740|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080802215720/http://www.wtrf.com:80/page.cfm?pageid=740|url-status=dead|title=WTRF-TV Announces ABC Ohio Valley|date=July 2008|access-date=May 27, 2022|archive-date=August 2, 2008}}</ref> On September 1, 2014, WTRF lost the Fox affiliation on 7.2 to WTOV.<ref name=tvs-wtovfox>{{cite news|last1=Eck|first1=Kevin|title=Sinclair Adds FOX Affiliation to Wheeling-Steubenville Station|url=http://www.mediabistro.com/tvspy/sinclair-adds-fox-affiliation-to-wheeling-steubenville-station_b124538|access-date=July 11, 2014|work=[[TVSpy]]|date=July 11, 2014|archive-date=July 12, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140712054409/http://www.mediabistro.com/tvspy/sinclair-adds-fox-affiliation-to-wheeling-steubenville-station_b124538|url-status=dead}}</ref> The subchannel's secondary affiliation with MyNetworkTV then became its primary, rebranding as "My Ohio Valley".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wtrf.com/story/26414170/wtrf-my-ohio-valley-starts-september-1 |title=WTRF My Ohio Valley Starts September 1 |publisher=WTRF-TV |access-date=October 14, 2015 |archive-date=March 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301063658/http://www.wtrf.com/story/26414170/wtrf-my-ohio-valley-starts-september-1 |url-status=live }}</ref> These subchannels were originally broadcast in standard definition from the WTRF-TV transmitter and in high definition to the immediate Wheeling area on [[WVTX-CD]] (channel 28), which WTRF leased for this purpose until its spectrum was sold in 2017.<ref name="fcc-wvtxfoxabc">{{cite web|title=Quarterly Issues/Programs List for Station WVTX-CD|url=https://publicfiles.fcc.gov/api/manager/download/52f545ef-4533-20ed-be79-2edef1096e82/d4d7b6fa-c5c5-62c8-33e0-e2c66cf92c27.pdf|website=Public Inspection File|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|accessdate=October 30, 2017|date=January 10, 2014|archive-date=May 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527182343/https://files.fcc.gov/download/d4d7b6fa-c5c5-62c8-33e0-e2c66cf92c27.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
On November 17, 2015, [[Nexstar Broadcasting Group]] announced that it would purchase the West Virginia Media Holdings stations, including WTRF-TV, for $130 million.<ref name=tvnc-saletonexstar>{{cite news|title=Nexstar Buys 4 W.Va. TVs For $130M|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/90089/nexstar-buys-4-wva-tvs-for-130m|access-date=November 17, 2015|work=TVNewsCheck|date=November 17, 2015|archive-date=May 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527182344/https://tvnewscheck.com/article/90089/nexstar-buys-4-wva-tvs-for-130m|url-status=live}}</ref> Under the terms of the deal, Nexstar assumed control of the stations through a [[Local marketing agreement|time brokerage agreement]] in December 2015, with the sale of the license assets completed on January 31, 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1749955&Service=DT&Form_id=905&Facility_id=23342|title=Consummation Notice|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|access-date=February 1, 2017|archive-date=February 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202214018/http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1749955&Service=DT&Form_id=905&Facility_id=23342|url-status=live}}</ref>
==News operation==
WTRF-TV produces morning, noon, early evening and late newscasts from its Wheeling studio. The My Ohio Valley subchannel airs a dedicated 10 p.m. newscast.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://publicfiles.fcc.gov/api/manager/download/975e96ce-1a82-ff89-bbf8-0ac12f2dec05/c80e7989-aed5-4faf-b599-b180c0232f46.pdf|title=Quarterly Issues and Program List|date=March 31, 2022|publisher=WTRF-TV|access-date=May 27, 2022|archive-date=May 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527182343/https://files.fcc.gov/download/c80e7989-aed5-4faf-b599-b180c0232f46.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The ABC subchannel simulcasts the weekday editions of ''7News'' at 6 a.m., noon, 6 and 11 p.m. The news staff has been unionized since 1988, when workers voted to join the [[American Federation of Television and Radio Artists]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://ohiocountywv.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?k=wtrf&i=f&d=01011852-12312021&m=between&ord=k1&fn=the_intelligencer_usa_west_virginia_wheeling_19880611_english_23&df=1&dt=10|date=June 11, 1988|title=WTRF-TV News Staff Joins Union|page=11|work=The Wheeling Intelligencer|location=Wheeling, West Virginia|access-date=May 27, 2022|archive-date=May 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527182407/https://ohiocountywv.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?k=wtrf&i=f&d=01011852-12312021&m=between&ord=k1&fn=the_intelligencer_usa_west_virginia_wheeling_19880611_english_23&df=1&dt=10|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Subchannels==
The station's signal is [[Multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]]:
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Subchannels of WTRF-TV<ref>{{cite web|title=Digital TV Market Listing for WTRF|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WTRF#station|website=RabbitEars.Info|access-date=August 5, 2017|language=en|archive-date=August 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170805062750/http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WTRF#station|url-status=live}}</ref>
! scope = "col" | [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! scope = "col" | [[Display resolution|Res.]]
! scope = "col" | [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! scope = "col" | Short name
! scope = "col" | Programming
|-
! scope = "row" | 7.1
| [[1080i]] || rowspan=4| [[16:9]] || WTRFCBS || [[CBS]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 7.2
| rowspan=2| [[720p]] || WTRFMY || [[MyNetworkTV]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 7.3
| WTRFABC || [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 7.4
| [[480i]] || Escape || [[Ion Mystery]]
|}
==See also==
*[[Channel 7 digital TV stations in the United States]]
*[[Channel 7 virtual TV stations in the United States]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*{{Official website|http://www.wtrf.com/}}
*[http://www.wtrfabcov.com/ WTRF-DT3 website]
{{Wheeling TV}}
{{CBS West Virginia}}
{{NXST TV}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wtrf-Tv}}
[[Category:1953 establishments in West Virginia]]
[[Category:American Broadcasting Company affiliates]]
[[Category:CBS affiliates]]
[[Category:Ion Mystery affiliates]]
[[Category:Nexstar Media Group]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1953]]
[[Category:Television stations in the Wheeling–Steubenville market|TRF-TV]]