WOI-TV

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WOI-TV

Ames/Des Moines, Iowa
Branding	ABC5
Slogan	"Clear. Concise. Complete."
Channels	5 (VHF) analog, 59 (UHF) digital
Affiliations	ABC
Owner	Capital Communications, a subsidiary of Citadel Broadcasting
Founded	February 21, 1950
Call letters meaning	reverse spelling of "IOWA"
Former affiliations	CBS (1950-55), NBC (1950-54), DuMont (1950-56)
Website	www.woi-tv.com

WOI-TV is the ABC affiliate in Des Moines, Iowa. It is licensed to Ames, with studios in West Des Moines. It transmits from the WOI-Tower near Alleman, Iowa.

1 History
2 Personalities and programming
3 References
4 External links

[edit] History

WOI-TV signed on the air on February 21, 1950. It was Iowa's second television station, following WOC-TV (now KWQC-TV) in Davenport. WOI-TV was on channel 4 before moving to channel 5 in 1952. Programming came from ABC, CBS, NBC, and the DuMont network during the station's early years, but it was a primary CBS affiliate. NBC disappeared from the schedule when WHO-TV signed on in 1954, and CBS disappeared when KRNT-TV (now KCCI-TV) signed on in 1955, leaving WOI as the ABC affiliate.

WOI-TV was originally owned by Iowa State University in Ames, making it the first commercial television station in the United States to be owned by a major college. On March 1, 1994, the Iowa Board of Regents sold WOI-TV to Capital Communications (a subsidiary of Citadel Broadcasting) while keeping the WOI radio stations, and Capital moved WOI-TV's studios to a temporary location in Des Moines later that year. In 1998 WOI-TV moved to its current studios on Westown Parkway in West Des Moines.

WOI-TV was home to America's longest running local children's program, The Magic Window. The show ran continuously from 1951 through 1994, and was hosted by Betty Lou Varnum for all but three of those years.

WOI has long been in third place in the Des Moines market, occasionally trailing both KCCI and WHO by a wide margin. According to the May 2006 Nielsen ratings, WOI's morning newscast, Channel 5 Eyewitness News This Morning, did not register.

On September 11, 2006, WOI dropped the Eyewitness News brand (which the station only used for five years) and rebranded themselves as "ABC5", using a rendition of the circle logo.

[edit] Personalities and programming

Current personalities on WOI-TV's ABC5 News broadcasts (as of November 2006) include:

Anchors

Chris Flanagan- 5,6&10 M-F
Lisa Carponelli- 5,6,&10 M-F
Stephanie Angleson- Mornings & Midday M-F
Bobbi Bergman- Weekend Anchor & Weekday Reporter

Weather

Brad Edwards- Chief Meteorologist
Chris Maiers- Weekend Meteorologist
Sarah Kelley- Morning Meteorologist

Sports

John Walters- Sports Director, M-F 6&10
Eric Murphy- Weekend Sports Anchor
Dave Zawilinski- Sports Reporter

Reporters

Nicole Collins
Kristen Cullen
Elizabeth Erwin
Sunny Layne
Jay Villwock

In addition to ABC programming, WOI-TV airs syndicated programs such as Entertainment Tonight, The Insider, Martha, Judge Judy, and reruns of ER and 24. The station also airs Iowa State University football and basketball games. WOI-TV does not carry ABC World News Now.