1949–1951 | 1951–1953 | 1953–1956 | 1956–1959 | 1959–1960 | 1960–1962 |
1962–1963 | 1964–1965 | 1965–1966 | 1966–1977 | 1977–1994 | 1985–1994 |
1992–1995 | 1995–1996 | 1996–1997 | 1997–2002 | 2002–2007 | 2007–present |
WXEL-TV[]
1949–1951[]
Channel 9 first signed on the air on December 19, 1949, as WXEL, originally broadcasting on VHF channel 9. It was founded by the Empire Coil Company, a wartime manufacturer of radio coils and transformers. In its early years, WXEL was a primary DuMont affiliate, and later became a secondary provider of ABC programs, sharing that affiliation with WEWS-TV (channel 5). WXEL also carried a number of CBS programs that WEWS declined to air. WXEL also carried an affiliation with the short-lived Paramount Television Network, and in fact was one of that network's strongest affiliates.
1951–1953[]
1953–1956[]
In 1954, Empire Coil sold two of its television interests—WXEL and KPTV in Portland, Oregon, the United States' first UHF station—to Storer Broadcasting. George B. Storer, the company's founder and president, was a member of the board of directors of CBS, and used his influence to take the CBS television affiliation from WEWS in March 1955. WEWS became an exclusive ABC affiliate, which remains so to this day.
Following the 1952 release of the FCC's Sixth Report and Order, a realignment of VHF channels in the Midwest forced WXEL to move to channel 8 on December 10, 1953. Its former channel 9 allocation was moved to Steubenville and given to a new station, WSTV-TV; the switch took place only two weeks before WSTV-TV went on the air.
WJW-TV (first era)[]
Storer changed channel 8's call letters to WJW-TV on April 15, 1956, to complement WJW radio (AM 850, and FM 104.1, now WQAL).
1956–1959[]
1959–1960[]
1960–1962[]
1962–1963[]
1964–1965[]
1965–1966[]
1966–1977[]
WJKW-TV[]
When Storer sold WJW-AM to Lake Erie Broadcasting in late 1976, Storer was forced to change channel 8's call letters, per a since-repealed FCC rule that prohibited radio and television stations in the same city, but with different owners from sharing the same base call letters. As a result, channel 8 changed its callsign to WJKW-TV on April 22, 1977. The added "K" did not stand for anything.
1977–1985[]
This was the only logo the station used as WJKW-TV. This "TV8" logo was carried over after channel 8 changed its callsign back to WJW-TV until 1994. WJKW's Storer in-state sister station, WSPD-TV (now WTVG) in Toledo, would also use a logo based on this design.
WJW (second era)[]
On September 16, 1985, the station reacquired the WJW-TV callsign (eventually shortened to simply WJW), as WJW-AM had changed its callsign to WRMR following the radio station's own transfer of ownership to Booth American Broadcasting (the aforementioned call letter rule was still in effect then). After Storer Broadcasting was bought out by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in 1985, the station underwent a series of ownership changes. KKR sold the stations to Gillett Communications in 1987; shortly thereafter, SCI Television was spun off from Gillett to take over the stations after Gillett's bankruptcy.
1985–1992 (primary), 1992–1994 (primary)[]
The station kept, but slightly redid its WJKW "TV8" logo, with the "TV" portioned of it being rendered in lines, and a WJW script added to the left of the logo. Although a new squared '8' logo was unveiled in 1992, it would still be used as the main station logo until 1994.
1992–1994 (secondary), 1994–1995 (primary)[]
On May 23, 1994, as part of an overall deal in which network parent News Corporation also purchased a 20% equity interest in the group, New World signed a long-term affiliation agreement with Fox to switch 13 television stations—five that New World had already owned and eight that the company was in the process of acquiring through separate deals with Great American Communications and Argyle Television Holdings (which New World purchased one week later in a purchase option-structured deal for $717 million), including WJW-TV—to the network. The deal was motivated by the National Football League (NFL)'s awarding of the rights to the National Football Conference (NFC) television package to Fox on December 18, 1993, in which the conference's broadcast television rights moved to the network effective with the 1994 NFL season, ending a 38-year relationship with CBS.
In Cleveland, CBS would reach an agreement with Malrite Communications to move its programming to Fox charter affiliate WOIO (channel 19). WJW switched to Fox on September 3, 1994, becoming the first New World station to switch to the network under the agreement (WDAF-TV was the only other station in the group that switched to the network before December of that year, as it switched to Fox on September 12); WOIO concurrently switched to CBS. This squared '8' survived the affiliation switch for another year afterward.
1995–1996[]
The station brought back its 1966-77 "ei8ht" set in Futura, but it was only used for a year.
1996-present[]
The Stone Sans Bold '8' in this logo has been used by the station since 1996, undergoing various secondary design element changes since. It has been also shared by now-sister WGHP in High Point, NC since 2007.
1996–1997[]
1997–2002[]
2002–2007[]
2007–present[]
Shortly after this logo was introduced in July 2007, Fox Television Stations sold WJW to a company named Local TV, with the sale being completed in July 2008.
External links[]