WOHL-CD
WOHL-CD, virtual channel 35, is a low-powered, Class A dual ABC/CBS-affiliated television station licensed to Lima, Ohio, United States. Owned by Block Communications, it is sister to full-powered dual NBC/Fox affiliate WLIO. The two stations share studios on Rice Avenue northwest of downtown; WOHL-CD's transmitter is located on Saint Clair Avenue north of downtown.
WOHL-CD operates two digital translators: WPNM-LD in Leipsic and
WAMS-LD in Minster/New Bremen.
History
The station signed-on January 26, 1989, with the calls W67CA. It aired an analog signal on UHF channel 67 from a transmitter west of Cridersville in Auglaize County. The low-powered outlet was initially an independent but joined Fox on October 9. In 1995, the station changed frequencies to UHF channel 25 while adopting the call sign WOHL-LP.W18BP launched on May 28, 1996, as a full-time repeater of this station. This was followed by another translator, W65DP, on September 22, 1998. W18BP broke off from the simulcast in 1999 and became low-powered UPN affiliate WLQP-LP. W65DP would follow suit in 2002, becoming CBS affiliate WLMO-LP. Also that year, channel 25 upgraded to Class A status with the call sign WOHL-CA. All three stations maintained facilities on South Central Avenue in Downtown Lima.
On September 5, 2006, WOHL added MyNetworkTV as a secondary affiliate. It aired programming from the network Monday through Saturday nights from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. Eventually, Saturday shows were dropped.
Despite being a low-power station, WOHL would, by 2007, outrate long-dominant WLIO in the primetime ratings. This did not stop Fox from, later that year, entering into talks to move the network's programming to a WLIO subchannel, as despite WOHL's high ratings the network sought the increased reach of being on a full-power station. The talks led to WOHL suing in 2008 to block the talks; in a court testimony, WOHL owner Greg Phipps stated that "We won't be able to survive" if the station were stripped of its affiliation. The dispute was settled on November 29, when Phipps' company, Metro Video Productions, announced it would sell its stations to West Central Ohio Broadcasting, a subsidiary of WLIO owner Block Communications. While Block assumed operational control of all three after the sale's completion, it was initially stated there would be no consolidation of newscasts or facilities with WLIO. It was then stated some consolidation would take place with WOHL, WLQP, and WLMO being integrated into WLIO's studios on Rice Avenue.
On June 12, 2009, a construction permit allowed WOHL to perform a "flash-cut" to digital and adopt the current calls WOHL-CD. It first operated its high definition digital signal on UHF channel 25, but due to possible interference with WRTV in Indianapolis, Indiana, the station moved to channel 35 for its digital operations. The allotment previously served as WLIO's analog signal and virtual channel display through Program and System Information Protocol. As a result, the virtual channel assignment was displaced since WOHL opted to use the same channel number as its actual frequency. Lima is one of the few markets where two of the largest stations are currently using not only the same virtual channel numbers as actual RF channels, but also virtual channel numbers different from former analog channel number assignments.
Soon after on September 28, WLQP-LP and WLMO-LP terminated analog operations. Programming was shifted to WOHL with CBS on a new second digital subchannel and began to be offered in high definition for the first time. Programming from Fox and MyNetworkTV had moved that July to the second subchannel of WLIO.
Digital channels
The station's digital signal is multiplexed:| Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP Short Name | Programming |
| 35.1 | 720p | WOHLABC | Main WOHL-CD programming / ABC | |
| 35.2 | 720p | WOHLCBS | WOHL-CD2 / CBS |