WMEM

WMEM is a CBS affiliate serving Memphis, Tennessee and the Mid-South. Broadcasting on Channel 7, WMEM is owned and operated by Local TV, LLC. WMEM launched in 1955, and is the oldest station in Memphis, launching about 3 months before WJEI. In addition to carrying the CBS schedule, WMEM also airs syndicated programming, including Live with Kelly & Michael, The Dr. Oz Show, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. In addition to running WMEM, Local TV, LLC runs WWLM, making WMEM and WWLM sister stations

History
WMEM first signed on the air on January 1, 1955 as and began regular broadcasts the following day on January 2. It was 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), It took the CBS affiliation WMEM's original studios were located inside the Peabody Hotel in downtown Memphis. In 1963, Wooten sold WMEM to Cowles Communications, earning a handsome return on his original investment of 40 years earlier. In turn, Cowles sold WMEM to The New York Times Company in 1971. Four years later, the Times Company built new studio facilities for WMEM on one of the highest points on Chickasaw Bluff, overlooking the Mississippi River. The station had long since outgrown the Peabody Hotel, and management felt that building a new studio near the Mississippi would be appropriate since Memphis has long been identified with the river. On March 2, 1975, channel 7 signed off from the Peabody Hotel for the last time, and signed back on 45 minutes later with its first transmission from the new studios on Channel 7 Drive. The station also maintained studio space in the Peabody Place shopping center, adjacent to the Peabody Hotel, marking a partial return of sorts to its early years. The studio was shut down in 2011 when Peabody Place closed.

On September 12, 2006, The New York Times Company announced its intention to sell its nine television stations. On January 4, 2007, the company entered into an agreement with private equity group Oak Hill Capital Partners to sell the stations to the Oak Hill-operated holding company Local TV, the sale was finalized on May 7.

Newscast
For more than two decades, WMEM has been in a Nielsen ratings war for first place with longtime powerhouses WMCT-TV and WBTN. WREG did not actually win a ratings period, however, until February 2006. Since that time, WMEM has gradually built on its wins in the all-important 10 p.m. slot and now consistently dominates that time period. Since the February 2014 sweeps period, the station's newscasts have placed first in all time slots. Shortly after purchasing WWLM, WMEM began producing newscast for WWLM.