WCCW

WCCW is The CW affiliate serving Charlotte, NC and the greater Charlotte area. Broadcasting on channel 17, WCCW is owned and operated by Lady Luck Communications, as part of a Duopoly with NBC-affiliate WCTU. WCCW was launched on May 3, 1978 as an independent, four years after WAXC was launched. Shortly after their launch and when WCTU became an NBC affiliate, WCCW acquired the majority of WCTU's independent programming. WCCW remained an independent until 1995 when they became an affiliate with The WB. When the WB and UPN merged to form The CW, WCCW became an affiliate of The CW. In addition to running The CW schedule, WCCW also airs syndicated programming, including Ellen, The Big Bang Theory, The Simpsons, How I Met Your Mother and TMZ on TV. WCCW also operates three subchannels: 17.2 (for UPN Retro), 17.3 (for Trio Sports Network) and 17.4 (for Me-TV)

History
WCCW was launched on May 3, 1978 as WAYS-TV. The first owners were the Bahakel Communications. For a brief moment, WAYS-TV was in a rivalry with WCTU, but that was changed on Sept. 1, 1978 when WCTU became an NBC affiliate, and the majority of WCTU's programming, including The Jim Bakker Telecast, was moved to WAYS-TV. WAYS-TV found themselves fighting a losing battle to WQNC, but they did had a cult following, and by 1990, WAYS-TV's ratings started to rise. In 1995, WAYS-TV became an affiliate of The WB. After 25 years of ownership with the station Bahakel Communications, decided to put the station up for sale. Lady Luck Comunications bought the station for $175 million. In 2006, The WB and UPN merged to become The CW. Thus, WAYS-TV changed their call sign to WCCW.

In 2013, Lady Luck Communications shocked the market when they bought NBC affiliate WCTU from Belo Broadcasting for $250 million.

Newscast
When the station was an affiliate of The WB, WAYS-TV had their own newscast WAYS News went from 1995-98, but due to low ratings, the newscast was cancelled. In 2006, three years after Lady Luck bought the station, WCCW relaunched their newscast as The CW 17 News. From 2006-13, the newscast's ratings were moderate. When Lady Luck Communications bought WCTU in 2013, WCCW's newscast was closed down and WCTU started producing WCCW's newscasts.

Newscast Titles
The Morning Exchange (7-9 AM)

NBC Charlotte News @ 10 on CW 17 (10-11 PM)