WKJG-TV → WISE-TV (channel 33)

1953 – today

Founded: 21 November 1953, Fort Wayne. The History Center's WANE-TV videotape collection description, the station histories and the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame biography of Hilliard Gates all agree: WKJG-TV began broadcasting 21 November 1953, Fort Wayne's first television station, as an NBC affiliate on UHF channel 33. Gates's sign-on is quoted with its time: at 7:45 p.m. he said, "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. You are watching history being made. These are the first words and pictures to emanate from WKJG-TV, Fort Wayne's first television station" (Journalism Hall of Fame, by Kerry Hubartt). No FCC history card was retrieved, so the date rests on the accounts cited.

Founder / owner: William Kunkel, owner of The Journal Gazette — The call letters are the combination: WK for William Kunkel and JG for the Journal Gazette. Spelling flagged: older mirrored accounts spell the surname "Kunkle"; the current station and Gates records spell it "Kunkel," which is carried here. Kunkel's WKJG radio (AM 1380, on air 15 November 1947, and FM 97.3) is a separate, earlier firm — this entry covers the 1953 television station only. Hilliard Gates, who had supervised WKJG radio's construction, was the TV station's general manager, vice-president and sports director, its first face on air, and remained until his retirement in 1990 (consultant to May 1993).

What it did: Fort Wayne's first local television service — NBC network programmes plus heavily live local production in the 1950s (the News-Sentinel's 1950s history: live children's, cooking, farm and commercial production, "Cartoon Express with Engineer John" to 1971, and Gates's daily "Gatesway to Sports"). Its West State Street tower was the aerial viewers aimed at — the advantage its first competitor spent years trying to undo (entry 41).

Course (ownership): Sold in 1957 to the Truth Publishing Company of Elkhart (the Dille family; the stations later under the Communicana / Federated Media banner) — (Fybush's tower-site history; WKJG radio history). The TV station was sold separately in 1971. For a period it was owned by Terre Haute industrialist Tony Hulman, and after Hulman's death (1977) and Joseph R. Cloutier's, by a trust company, the Corporation for General Trade — carried as a station-history sequence; the exact Hulman acquisition year is not established on the sources in hand. That company sold on 13 January 2003 for $20 million to New Vision Television. On 26 May 2003 the station changed its call letters to WISE-TV for its 50th anniversary (History Center confirms the date and the anniversary reason). In March 2005 it was sold again, to Granite Broadcasting for $44.2 million (Granite simultaneously sold WPTA, entry 42, to Malara). The 2014–2015 Granite break-up was reworked three times; in its final form SagamoreHill Broadcasting acquired the WISE licence (FCC approval 15 Sept 2015, completed 2 Nov 2015), Quincy Media operated it alongside WPTA, and Quincy then acquired WISE outright for $952,884 (announced 21 May 2018, completed 1 Aug 2018).

Fate: Still operating — renamed, affiliation changed. On 1 August 2016, under Quincy, WISE's NBC affiliation moved to WPTA's second subchannel and WISE took The CW (CW Plus) in exchange, ending a 1953–2016 NBC run. On 2 August 2021 Gray Television completed its acquisition of Quincy Media (SEC Form 8-K; GlobeNewswire closing release lists "WPTA/WISE, Fort Wayne" among the stations retained), so WISE-TV is now a Gray Media station, channel 33, The CW Plus affiliate, in a duopoly with WPTA (entry 42).

Sources:

1. History Center, Collection 89.9.1, WANE-TV Videotapes description (first local station WKJG began 21 Nov 1953; renamed WISE 26 May 2003 for its 50th anniversary) — https://fwhistorycenter.org/virtual-exhibits/vex16/00F48451-00D2-4FE6-ACBF-563911331074.htm
2. Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame, Hilliard Gates biography (Kerry Hubartt, 2018) (WKJG radio Nov 1947, Gates general manager; the 7:45 p.m., 21 Nov 1953 sign-on words, quoted; vice-president / general manager / sports director to 1990, consultant to May 1993) — https://www.ijhf.org/members/2018/hilliard-gates
3. WISE-TV station history (founded 21 Nov 1953 as WKJG-TV, first in Fort Wayne, NBC; William Kunkel, Journal Gazette, WKJG radio; Hulman and Corporation for General Trade period; 13 Jan 2003 New Vision sale, $20M; 26 May 2003 WISE rename; March 2005 Granite sale, $44.2M; 2014–2018 Quincy / SagamoreHill sequence; 2016 NBC-to-WPTA / CW swap) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WISE-TV
4. Fybush, Tower Site of the Week, WKJG 1380 (15 Nov 1947 radio sign-on; 1953 WKJG-TV as Fort Wayne's first TV station, northwest side studios/transmitter; 1957 sale to the Dille / Truth Publishing ownership; TV sold 1971) — https://www.fybush.com/sites/2011/site-111021.html
5. News-Sentinel, Doug LeDuc, "Everything was new on television" (1950s history) (WKJG Channel 33 first clear TV signal, 1953, NBC; live local production; West State Street tower) — http://egen.fortwayne.com/ns/projects/history/2000/1950/atom8.php
6. Gray Television, Form 8-K and closing release, 2 Aug 2021 (Quincy acquisition completed; Fort Wayne WPTA/WISE retained) — https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/08/02/2273228/0/en/Gray-Television-Closes-Quincy-Acquisition.html