Why You Shouldn’t Watch Wink News
WINK-TV is a television station based in Fort Myers, Florida. It is the CBS affiliate for Southwest
Florida. Owned by the McBride family, WINK-TV is one of the few locally owned television stations in
the area. While the station uses the latest trending technologies and APIs to produce its shows, some
viewers have found it lacking in the news department. This article will discuss some of the reasons why
you should not watch WINK-TV.
WINK-TV is a CBS-affiliated television station
WINK-TV is a CBS affiliate in Southwest Florida, airing news in HD. It started showing the “Early
Show” in January 2008, and is the first high-definition station in the region. It was replaced by “CBS This
Morning” in January 2012 and then by “CBS Mornings” in September 2021. The network has announced
plans to expand its local newscasts.
WINK-TV is a CBS affiliate that is available in Lee, Collier, and Sarasota counties. It also serves portions
of DeSoto, Highlands, and Hardee counties. While WINK-TV may be referred to as “CBS 5” on the air, it
was actually part of a quirk in the FCC’s plan for allocating stations. While the FCC had limited options,
WINK-TV was allocated the most desirable channel.
The WINK-TV network has two news bureaus in the area. One is located in Port Charlotte and the other
is on 8th Street South, downtown Naples. WINK-TV uses the same weather radar as WXCW, a CBS-
affiliated television station. Its microphones are commonly seen in the city alongside WFOR Channel 4
news vans.
WINK-TV was the first television station in Southwest Florida to broadcast high definition news. The
network purchased high-definition studio cameras, field cameras, weather computers, and graphics. The
upgrade also involved WXCW, which had previously broadcast local news in standard definition. WZVN
soon followed. The network also started airing episodes of “The Early Show” on WXCW’s high-
definition channel.
It is a local competitor to WBBH
If you are tired of watching the same old broadcast news stories from WBBH, Wink has something better
for you. The live stream is available in 1080p pixels without buffering. If you don’t have cable or satellite
access, you can still watch Wink without paying a dime. Streaming is free, and it loads in a few seconds.
Streaming the show is also available on the station’s website.
WINK’s new anchors are made up of two former WBBH employees. Therese Dougherty, a graduate of
Sacred Heart University, will join the station as news anchor in July. Lois Thome, an independent
investigative reporter, is another member of the WINK team. Both have ties to Fort Myers and have
backgrounds in journalism. While there is some overlap in their backgrounds, they share the same passion
for local news.
Wink-TV has started airing an afternoon newscast. It preempted the first hour of WBBH’s early show to
air “Hello Southwest Florida” at seven in the afternoon. WINK-TV is a local competitor to WBBH, so the
two stations are trying to compete in the same market. But WINK-TV is also trying to entice more
viewers by airing a prime time news show.
WINK-TV has been a dominant news station in the Fort Myers market for nearly all of its history. It is the
only full-power VHF station in the market, and its flagship newscast has the highest household rating in
the market. Wink News’ audience is half of NBC2’s. WBBH, ABC7, and FOX4 news all had lower
ratings.
WBBH has the advantage of high-definition broadcasts. WINK-TV is the only local station in Southwest
Florida to broadcast news in full high-definition. Its newscasts are broadcast in high-definition, and it also
has weather radar in its studios. WINK also shares spring training coverage with WBZ-TV in Boston, and
cooperates with WZVN and Fox 4 in Florida.
