WKBD-TV commenced programing January 10, 1965, launched by the Kaiser Broadcasting Company as an independent television station on UHF channel 50. This logo incorporated Kaiser's standard branding of its other independent stations.
Lou Gordon slide (1977)
Beethoven slide (1977)
Star Trek slide (1977)
Station ID (1978)
Liars Club promo (1978)
1978–1984[]
Field Communications acquired the Kaiser stations in 1978, and WKBD began using Field standardized station branding.
Station ID (1978–1981)
Casper promo (1979)
Station ID (1981–1984)
The Fly (1958) promo
1984–1995[]
Field Communications would put its TV assets up for sale in 1982, finding new owners for the stations except for the liquidated WKBS-TV/Philadelphia. WKBD-TV would be the last Field station sold, as finding a buyer for their asking price proved difficult. Cox Enterprises would purchase the station in January 1984, unveiling this logo soon after. WKBD would become one of the original charter Fox affiliates in October 1986 along with sister stations KTVU/Oakland and KDNL-TV/St. Louis.
WKBD lost its Fox affiliation on December 11, 1994, the result of WJBK owner New World Communications signing a deal with the network. The Fox logo was removed from the station's logo as a result.
Version without the callsign
1995–2001[]
SVG NEEDED
On January 16, 1995, Viacom launched UPN, with WKBD serving as a major backbone of the new network and adopting the "UPN 50" branding.
UPN 50 10:00 News promo (1995)
UPN 50 10:00 News promo
UPN 50 10:00 News open (1995–1997)
UPN 50 News Update bumper (1995–1997)
Schedule bumper #1 (1995–1998)
Schedule bumper #2 (1995–1998)
UPN 50 10:00 News open (1997–2000)
Schedule bumper (1998–2000)
2001–2002[]
SVG NEEDED
2002–2004[]
SVG NEEDED
In 2002, UPN unveiled a new logo and WKBD changed its name to UPN Detroit.
10:00 news open from May 15, 2003. The Action News branding was used by WXYZ-TV, which produced the newscast for WKBD.
2004–2006[]
SVG NEEDED
2006–2023[]
UPN and The WB merged to form The CW in 2006, with WKBD serving as the network's first Detroit affiliate. The channel number returned to the station's identity upon the relaunch, after a four-year absence.
Exercising an option in its 2022 sale of controlling interest in The CW to Nexstar Media Group, CBS News and Stations announced on May 5, 2023 that WKBD-TV and all of their affiliated CW stations would drop the network and move to independent status on September 1. For WKBD-TV, it meant a return to independence for the first time since the 1994-1995 interim period. As part of the move, the station began rolling out this "Detroit50" logo in August 2023; the logo is similar in "city + channel" form to fellow ex-CW siblings WUPA/Atlanta, WTOG/St. Petersburg-Tampa, KMAX-TV/Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, KSTW/Tacoma-Seattle and WPSG/Philadelphia.
2024–present[]
Designer:
Unknown
Typography:
Custom (The CW logo) F37 Bolton (Detroit 50)
Launched:
September 1, 2024
In July 2024, as part of a broader concord that renewed CBS affiliations with 40 Nexstar stations, it was announced that WKBD would reunite with The CW on September 1 of that year.
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Notes Stations are arranged alphabetically by state and territory, and based on the station's city of license or Designated Market Area. +Station carries CW programming on a digital subchannel, via The CW Plus. +1Local CW Plus affiliate operates as cable-only channel. 1Local CW affiliate carries only sports programming.