WTWI

WTWI, virtual channel 5 (UHF digital channel 44), is an ABC-affiliated station licensed to Waterbury, Illinois and serving the Good Four Cities television market. The station is owned by Nexstar Media Group as part of a duopoly with MyNetwork TV affiliate WILX.

The Golden Age (1948-1972)
WTWI first went on the air under the call letters WBIL-TV (WaterBury, ILlinois). It signed on as an affiliate of the DuMont Television Network, and added CBS several months later. Throughout the early 50s, the station carried 33.3% DuMont programming, 33.3% CBS programming, 16.6% NBC programming, and 16.6% ABC programming. In 1953, the station dropped NBC programming, and ABC a year later in 1954. This left them with a 50/50 split of DuMont and CBS programming.

Following the shutdown of the DuMont Television Network on August 6, 1956, the station swapped affiliations with WGTS-TV, and became a full time ABC station.

On September 23, 1962, the station made the transition from black and white to colour, around the time the ABC network was doing the same thing. In 1971 The station changed its call sign to WTWI, to reflect their new approach to programming.

Modern Era (1972-present)
Throughout the years, WTWI had changed in the ratings numerous times. In 1995, sister station WILX was launched, and tried to reach a more extreme vibe to television audiences. On June 12, 2009, the station shut down its analog signal after 61 years of serving the Good Four Cities.

Analog Shutdown
The station shut down its analog signal on June 12, 2009 at midnight. The final picture shown was the end of a commercial for Huggies Slip on Diapers, during the June 12, 2009 edition of Nightline. After that, the analog signal cut to static permanently.