WBNG-DT2
  | |
| Binghamton, New York United States | |
|---|---|
| Branding |
Binghamton CW 11 Action News (newscasts) |
| Slogan |
TV Now (general) Your News Leader |
| Channels |
Digital: WBNG-DT2 7.2 (VHF) Virtual: 12.2 (PSIP) |
| Affiliations | The CW (via The CW Plus; 2006–present) |
| Owner |
Quincy Media (WBNG License, LLC) |
| First air date | September 1998 |
| Call letters' meaning | seen WBNG |
| Sister station(s) | WTVH |
| Former callsigns | "WBXI" (1998–2007) |
| Former affiliations | The WB (via The WB 100+, 1998–2006) |
| Transmitter power | 20.4 kW (digital) |
| Height | 342 m (digital) |
| Facility ID | 23337 (digital) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 42°3′31″N 75°57′6″W / 42.05861°N 75.95167°W (digital) |
| Licensing authority | FCC (digital) |
WBNG-DT2 is the CW-affiliated television station for the Eastern Twin Tiers of Southern Upstate New York and Northern Pennsylvania. The station is part of The CW Plus and is a second digital subchannel of CBS affiliate WBNG-TV (owned by the Quincy Media). Over-the-air, it broadcasts a 720p high definition digital signal on VHF channel 7.2 (or virtual channel 12.2 via PSIP) from a transmitter on Ingraham Hill Road in the town of Binghamton. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 11 (hence the on-air branding Binghamton CW 11) and in HD on digital channel 1212. WBNG-DT2's parent station has studios on Columbia Drive in Johnson City.
History
What is now WBNG-DT2 was established in September 1998 alongside the launch of The WB 100+ and its cable-only affiliates. Prior to that, The WB programming was only available on cable via either Chicago-based Superstation WGN or out-of-market stations such as WPIX from New York City. Since the station was cable exclusive, its call sign "WBXI" was used in a fictional manner and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) did not recognize them. It was operated by WBNG which provided advertising sales and promotional duties. UPN was seen in Binghamton on low-powered WBPN-LP (a sister station to Fox affiliate WICZ-TV). On September 18, 2006, The WB and UPN ended broadcasting and merged to form The CW.
At that point, WBXI began serving as the area's CW affiliate for the network as part of The CW Plus (a similar service to The WB 100+). Meanwhile, WBPN affiliated with rival service MyNetworkTV, a sister operation to Fox. In September 2007, it began to be simulcasted on a new second digital subchannel of WBNG and started using the WBNG-DT2 call letters in an official manner. Quincy Newspapers announced on February 11, 2014 that it would acquire WBNG (and WBNG-DT2) from Granite Broadcasting.
WBNG produces a nightly prime time newscast on this CW second digital subchannel. Known as Action News at 10 on Binghamton CW 11, it can be seen for thirty minutes. The program competes with another broadcast seen every night on rival WICZ which airs for 35 minutes on weeknights and a half-hour on weekends. Like all The CW Plus affiliates, WBNG-DT2 also features the nationally syndicated morning show The Daily Buzz on weekdays.