WABI-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Bangor, Maine, United States, affiliated with CBS and The CW Plus.

Owned by Gray Media, the station has studios on Hildreth Street in West Bangor, and its transmitter is atop Peaked Mountain in Dixmont.

Prior to 2017, WABI-TV was the flagship station of its founding owner Diversified Communications, which was owned by the Hildreth family of Bangor.

It was owned by the Community Broadcasting Service, which was founded in 1949 by former Governor Horace Hildreth when he purchased WABI radio (910 AM, now WTOS; and 97.1 FM, now WBFB).

[3] The only other station that the Community Broadcasting Service would build and sign on was WMTW in Poland Spring, Maine.

This was because the ownership of that station's founder Mount Washington Television, partially overlapped with Community Broadcasting Service.

Community Broadcasting Service merged with Journal Publications to form Diversified Communications in 1971; after the merger, it acquired such stations as WCTI-TV in New Bern, North Carolina, WYOU in Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, WPDE in Florence–Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and WCJB-TV in Gainesville, Florida.

After a breakdown of contract talks which picked up slowly, an agreement was reached October 8, 2014, allowing both stations to return to Dish Network later that day.

[7] On February 16, 2017, it was announced that WABI and its sister station WCJB-TV in Gainesville, Florida, would be sold to Gray Television for $85 million.

[10] WABI-DT2, branded Eastern and Central Maine's CW, is the CW+-affiliated second digital subchannel of WABI-TV, broadcasting in 720p high definition on channel 5.2.

In early 2006, it swapped channel positions with low-powered Fox affiliate WFVX-LP but continued using the same branding.

In addition to morning and prime time preemptions designated for local news, WABI-DT2 preempts the allowed two hours in daytime (noon to 2 p.m.) for syndicated fare.

[11] At one point, WABI-TV did not carry all of the network's Southeastern Conference (SEC) college football games on weekends.

[citation needed] Of the big three network-affiliated television stations in the area, it offers the most live newscasts originating from Bangor.

WABI's longtime dominance can also be attributed to its status as the market's last locally owned-and-operated commercial station (prior to the sale to Gray Television).

Furthermore, some of its main personnel have remained employed at the station for more than 20 years, which is unusual since Bangor has always been a fairly small market.

[citation needed] On October 11, 2010, WABI became Maine's first station to upgrade newscasts to high definition level.

That show competes with a one-hour broadcast seen at the same time on low-powered Fox affiliate WFVX-LD which is produced by WVII.

[19] On January 4, 2010, the FCC issued a "Report & Order" allowing WABI to move from this allotment to VHF channel 13.