Originally owned by electrical engineer and radio dealer Hoyt Wooten (who had applied for one of the first television licenses in the country in 1928), along with WREC radio (600 AM and 102.7 FM, now WEGR), WREC-TV signed on New Year's Day 1956 and took the CBS affiliation from WHBQ-TV.
1962–1967[]
LOGO MISSING
Wooten sold channel 3 to Des Moines, Iowa-based Cowles Communications (no relation to the Spokane-based Cowles Company) in 1963.
1967–1975[]
In 1971, Cowles sold channel 3 to The New York Times Company, making it their first television station ever owned.
WREG-TV[]
Channel 3 signed off from the Peabody Hotel for the last time as WREC-TV on March 2, 1975, and returned to the air 45 minutes later, renamed WREG-TV, with its first transmission from its new studios on Channel 3 Drive.
1975–1982[]
1982–present[]
1982–1993[]
1982–1987[]
WREG Station ID (1982-1986)
1987–1993[]
"CBSpirit" (1987–1988)
"Get Ready for Channel 3" (1989-1990)
"Get Ready for Channel 3" (1991–1992)
1993–1997[]
1997–present[]
Designer:
Unknown
Typography:
Helvetica ("3" and "NEWS") Bank Gothic Gotham (wordmark, 2015 version)
Launched:
1997
The Times left broadcasting entirely in 2007, selling their nine-station group to Local TV. Tribune Broadcasting would then acquire Local TV in 2013, and Tribune would be acquired by Nexstar Media Group in 2019, which they had sold WATN-TV and WLMT to Tegna to acquire WREG.
1Owns a 75% stake of the network, the other 12.5% stake is co-owned between Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery. 2Joint venture with Warner Bros. Discovery, in which Nexstar owns 31% while Warner Bros. Discovery owns the remaining 69%. 3Nexstar operates these stations owned by Mission Broadcasting. 4Nexstar operates this station owned by Cunningham Broadcasting. 5Nexstar operates this station owned by White Knight Broadcasting through an SSA. 6Nexstar operates this station owned by Vaughan Media. 7Predecessor company of LIN Media. 8Nexstar operates this station owned by Londen Media Group.