WUAB

WUAB (channel 43) is an independent television station licensed to Lorain, Ohio, United States, serving the Cleveland area. WUAB is owned by Gray Media alongside CBS affiliate WOIO (channel 19), Telemundo affiliate WTCL-LD (channel 6) and WOHZ-CD (channel 22). All four stations have studios on the ground floor of the Reserve Square building in Downtown Cleveland. WUAB transmits over WOIO's full-power spectrum via a channel sharing agreement and both stations share transmitter facilities in suburban Parma. Founded in 1968¹ by the United Artists film studio, from which its call sign is derived, WUAB was originally one of two ultra high frequency (UHF) independent stations to sign on in the Cleveland market, doing so eight months after Kaiser Broadcasting's WKBF-TV signed on. Prevailing over WKBF-TV in a seven-year-long battle for advertisers and audience, WUAB became one of the highest-rated UHF independent stations in the country by 1971, aided by a strong lineup of off-network reruns, feature films, sporting events, and popular local talent. Purchased by Gaylord Broadcasting in 1977, WUAB bolstered its sports presence as the over-the-air home for Cleveland Indians and Cavaliers telecasts in 1980 and established a news department in 1988¹, with a cable television footprint spanning multiple states. The station was acquired by Stephen J.…

WUAB (channel 43) is an independent television station licensed to Lorain, Ohio, United States, serving the Cleveland area. WUAB is owned by Gray Media alongside CBS affiliate WOIO (channel 19), Telemundo affiliate WTCL-LD (channel 6) and WOHZ-CD (channel 22). All four stations have studios on the ground floor of the Reserve Square building in Downtown Cleveland. WUAB transmits over WOIO's full-power spectrum via a channel sharing agreement and both stations share transmitter facilities in suburban Parma. Founded in 1968 by the United Artists film studio, from which its call sign is derived, WUAB was originally one of two ultra high frequency (UHF) independent stations to sign on in the Cleveland market, doing so eight months after Kaiser Broadcasting's WKBF-TV signed on. Prevailing over WKBF-TV in a seven-year-long battle for advertisers and audience, WUAB became one of the highest-rated UHF independent stations in the country by 1971, aided by a strong lineup of off-network reruns, feature films, sporting events, and popular local talent. Purchased by Gaylord Broadcasting in 1977, WUAB bolstered its sports presence as the over-the-air home for Cleveland Indians and Cavaliers telecasts in 1980 and established a news department in 1988, with a cable television footprint spanning multiple states. The station was acquired by Stephen J. Cannell in 1990 but taken over by WOIO owner Malrite Communications in 1994 via a local marketing agreement, taking effect at the same time WOIO became the market's CBS affiliate and helping provide that station with a news service. A charter affiliate for both UPN and The WB from 1995 to 1997, WUAB became an exclusive UPN affiliate until the network's 2006 closure, subsequently linking up with MyNetworkTV in 2006 and The CW in 2018. Acquired outright by Malrite's successor Raycom Media in 2000, WUAB and WOIO have been in Gray Television's portfolio from 2019 onward, adding startup Telemundo affiliate WTCL-LD in 2022 and Rock Entertainment Sports Network via WOHZ-CD in 2024. The CW was dropped from WUAB in 2025 in favor of additional local news and sports programming, again supplemented with MyNetworkTV syndication. , Storer... Scripps-Howard... and Kaiser."|upright=0.95]] WUAB was signed on by United Artists on September 15, 1968, following WKBF-TV as the second commercial UHF station in Cleveland proper and the fifth full-power UHF station in the market. WUAB used the WKBF-TV transmitter tower in Parma; the installation of the WUAB antenna on the tower several days prior forced WKBF-TV to be off the air for an extended period of time. As their studio facility near Parmatown Mall was still under construction, WUAB operated out of a semi-trailer next to an adjacent Parma bowling alley, with some studios inside the alley's nursery. Marty Sullivan, one of the station's first announcers, later recalled how a restroom adjacent to the main announcer booth had a warning sign, "Do not use Bippy when announcer is in booth". WVIZ's Brook Park studios were also used by WUAB. WUAB's lack of any physical assets in Lorain proper and film studio ownership was met with criticism by the Lorain Journal editorial board, which asked, "Why call it a Lorain station? Why give Lorain's TV franchise to outsiders who want to operate outside of Lorain? Why not give Lorain people an opportunity to operate a TV station in Lorain, to serve Lorain?" The less-than-optimal working arrangement while permanent studios were being constructed severely limited WUAB's local output; by comparison, WKBF-TV boasted an array of local programming and launched a news service. The combined Cleveland–Akron–Canton television market was ranked in 1968 as the eighth-largest in the United States, with the industry taking notice over the two competing UHF stations with well-financed ownership and substantial investment. Befitting its ownership by a film studio, WUAB placed an emphasis on feature films with a prime time showcase dubbed the UA Star Movie. Even with the existing limitations facing the station, WUAB successfully claimed a significant portion of WKBF-TV's audience by the spring of 1969. The Plain Dealer critic William Hinckley retrospectively noted WUAB almost immediately entered the marketplace with better overall programming than WKBF-TV, promptly dividing the available audience. .|alt=At left, a full body portrait of the "Superhost" character (similar in design to Superman, with a triangular shield on his chest with "SH". Other distinguishing marks are a red nose and a lavalier microphone around his neck. At top right, an autograph from Sullivan (reading "Super Host"). At middle right, "super host" in two lines of text. At bottom right, "WUAB 43 Lorain Cleveland" in the Transamerica-United Artists typeface.]] WUAB's studios were completed in June 1969, with the next few months proving to be a turning point. Linn Sheldon, who joined WKBF-TV to host an afternoon movie in August 1968, left that station to join WUAB on December 1, 1969, reviving the acclaimed children's show "Barnaby" which he originated at KYW-TV. Several weeks earlier, a Saturday afternoon science fiction film showcase Mad Theatre launched, hosted by Sullivan under the Superhost persona. Sullivan created the character accidentally during rehearsals for a performance by The Four Lads when the audience reacted positively to his facial contortions; he then adopted a nasal vocalization to distinguish from his announcer voice. Another staff announcer, Jack Reynolds, began emceeing professional wrestling tapings at the station in 1969. Alice Weston, recognized as the first female television host in Cleveland, became the station's public affairs director and a talk show host. An emphasis was also placed on sports, as WUAB carried Ohio State Buckeyes football and men's basketball, Notre Dame Fighting Irish football and Cleveland Barons broadcasts. A daily early-afternoon movie showcase, the Prize Movie, launched with Reynolds as host, with WGAR personality John Lanigan taking over in 1975. At the same time WUAB's fortunes rose, Kaiser Broadcasting began instituting cutbacks at both WKBF-TV and their station group, including the groupwide elimination of local newscasts on November 12, 1970. All but one of Kaiser's stations failed to turn a profit after three years of investment, raising industry concerns over the viability of UHF stations. WUAB, however, became not only the Cleveland market's leading UHF independent by 1971, but the second-highest rated UHF station in the country behind Boston's WSBK-TV. Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Crusaders telecasts were added in 1972, but WUAB declined to renew the Cavaliers contract in 1975 over increasing costs. Kaiser announced a pending shutdown of WKBF-TV on April 8, 1975, after agreeing to sell WKBF's technical and programming assets to United Artists in exchange for a 36 percent equity stake in WUAB. WKBF-TV operated at a loss throughout the station's entire existence of , with Kaiser officials admitting the market could not support more than one UHF independent. In the days prior to the announcement, both WUAB and WKBF-TV management acknowledged negotiations over an asset disposition had been ongoing for "a couple of years". During a farewell on-air statement, WKBF-TV general manager Alan B. Bennett stated that the sign-on of WUAB impeded consumer demand, in turn placing Kaiser in financial jeopardy, "... and that only one successful (station) must merge." WUAB not only acquired the rights to much of WKBF-TV's programming, but replaced the station in several cable systems outside of the market, including Zanesville and Dover/New Philadelphia. The WKBF-TV asset sale came at the same time as a possible dial position move for WUAB. After a construction permit for channel 19, in place since 1968, was sold to Joseph T. Zingale—a former co-owner of WIXY and with ownership interests in multiple area professional sports teams —United Artists protested the sale. Despite meeting FCC approval, Zingale rescinded the purchase in early 1974 due to a pricing dispute. United Artists then offered to purchase the permit in January 1975 with the intent of moving WUAB to channel 19, but Zingale filed a protest against the sale after renewed interest in it. An FCC review board revoked the channel 19 permit in April 1976 after declining to extend the construction deadline. |alt=refer to caption]] Under Gray ownership, WUAB has increased production of local programming. Beginning on September 9, 2019, the station began carrying same-day repeats of Cribbs in the CLE: Josh and Maria Live, a WOIO lifestyle talk show hosted by former Cleveland Brown Josh Cribbs and wife Maria Cribbs. WUAB added a locally produced B-movie showcase, The Big Bad B-Movie Show, on October 17, 2020. Created as a stopgap in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Big Bad B-Movie also became the first locally produced entertainment program on the station in 30 years. Explaining how the show was greenlit, general manager Erik Schrader told The New York Times, "We asked ourselves, do we show repeats or something creative?" After The CW expanded to Saturday night programming, Big Bad B-Movie was moved to Saturday late nights where it aired until it was cancelled in late 2022. During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, WUAB partnered with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) to provide an hour of airtime on weekdays for in-school instructional programming, beginning on April 20, 2020. As part of the arrangement, WUAB also telecast all high school graduations in the district throughout June 2020, which were conducted virtually. CMSD on CW43 ended at the start of the 2022–2023 school year, concurrent with the CMSD relaxing most COVID-19 health protocols and fully resuming normal operations. Nexstar Media Group, owner of WJW, announced its purchase of WBNX-TV in late October 2024, and WBNX reclaimed the market's CW affiliation on September 1, 2025. Gray Television concurrently announced WUAB's relaunch as a sports-oriented independent, including play-by-play from the Rock Entertainment Sports Network (RESN), with MyNetworkTV programming as filler in prime time. Branded "Cleveland's 43", WUAB was removed from several video on demand platforms with the switch, including Hulu. WUAB carried five Cavaliers regular season games during the second half of the 2023–2024 season by arrangement with FanDuel Sports Network Ohio, repeated for the 2024–2025 season as a combined simulcast with RESN and FanDuel. 's studios at Reserve Square in Downtown Cleveland.|alt=Exterior of the southern portion of Reserve Square, consisting of a three-story section including a lower level. The ground level entrance sign reads "WOIO-TV - WUAB-TV RAYCOM MEDIA STATIONS" with logos for "CBS 19", "19 ACTION NEWS" and "MY 43". A full size ad, "19 Action News: Honest, Fair, Everywhere" is at the corner of the building.]] During this period, WUAB's 10 p.m. newscast began trailing WJW's newscast in the ratings, with the spring 1998¹ sweeps period showing WJW beating WUAB by a 2–1 margin despite the popularity of Marschall and Tinsley; this was attributed partly to UPN prime time programming providing a weaker than expected lead-in audience, as well as WOIO's news department assuming top priority. WUAB added an 11:30 a.m. newscast in October 1997, both as a complement to WOIO's established noon newscast and to help establish an autonomous identity for WUAB, but this was cancelled in December 1998 due to low ratings. By 1999, newscasts were branded Hometeam 19 News and Hometeam 43 News, based on WUAB's "Cleveland's Home Team" slogan, with Marschall assuming lead anchor duties at WOIO. WUAB began simulcasting WOIO's noon news in 2002, with all "19" branding remaining intact. Newscasts on WOIO and WUAB have used the same branding since May 2002, when all newscasts were renamed Action News, later amended to 19 Action News. As part of an overall rebrand to Cleveland 19 News in 2015, WUAB's 10 p.m. newscast was moved to a 90-minute block at 9 p.m., in turn moving MyNetworkTV programming into late evenings. After affiliating with The CW, the 9 p.m. newscast was moved back to a full hour at 10 p.m. and a 7 a.m. newscast, in place since 2011, was discontinued. Newscasts at 7 p.m. and 11 a.m. have since been added at WUAB along with a full reinstatement of the 7 a.m. newscast in June 2022. The 9 p.m. news was reinstated in September 2025 concurrent with WUAB switching back to MyNetworkTV. Since 2019, all newscasts produced for WOIO and WUAB have used the 19 News branding.

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