WMAQ-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, serving as the market's NBC outlet.

[1][3] It was also the third of NBC's five original owned-and-operated television stations to begin operations, after WNBC-TV in New York City and WRC-TV in Washington, D.C., and before WKYC in Cleveland and KNBC in Los Angeles.

However, at NBC's request, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved an application filed by the network to change the station's calls to WNBQ.

[4] The station's first mid-week broadcast occurred the month following its sign-on when Paul Winchell and Joseph Dunninger were featured on the NBC variety series, The Floor Show.

[5] WNBQ originated several programs for the NBC television network from its original studio facilities—a 170,000-square-foot (15,794 m2) studio on the 19th floor of the Merchandise Mart on the city's Near North Side—during the 1950s, including Kukla, Fran and Ollie, featuring Burr Tillstrom and Fran Allison; Garroway at Large, starring Dave Garroway; and Studs' Place, hosted by Studs Terkel.

[10] On December 3, 1985, NBC signed a $100 million+ agreement to lease office space in a three-story annex to the north of a planned 34-story, 1,000,000-square-foot (93,000 m2) skyscraper—a project developed by the Equitable Life Assurance Society and Tishman-Speyer Properties—that would be constructed as part of the Cityfront Center development on the northwest corner of Columbus Drive and North Water Street, in which WMAQ-TV's operations would occupy 251,000 square feet (23,000 m2) of the building.

[14] Paid programming has since returned in a much more reduced capacity, but as an NBC O&O with a fully-filled schedule otherwise on weekdays, is usually limited to overnights on weekends and occasional Sunday mornings.

Michael Pfleger, a priest at St. Sabina Church in Auburn Gresham and a group of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish leaders and clergy as part of the "Dump Jerry Springer!"

[16] In July 2000, NBC entered into a local marketing agreement (LMA) with WCPX-TV (channel 38) that indirectly resulted from NBC's partial ownership interest in WCPX-TV network partner Pax TV (now Ion Television) and a related management agreement with that network's owned-and-operated stations.

[22] In December 2009, the Chicago local division of the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians-Communication Workers of America (NABET) launched a boycott of WMAQ-TV.

[25] On February 3, 2012, the station rejected a political advertisement that contained anti-abortion talking points from activist and Democratic presidential candidate Randall Terry to air during Super Bowl XLVI.

[27] A month later, in March 2015, WMAQ, WSNS, and Comcast SportsNet Chicago, along with sister stations in New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas–Fort Worth, Miami, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, went live on Sony's internet television service PlayStation Vue as part of its Access package.

[28] Two years later, in April 2017, WMAQ-TV, WSNS and NBC Sports Chicago, along with sister stations in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, went live on YouTube TV.

[32] From 2001 to 2002, and again since 2008 (with the exception of 2020 due to the event's cancellation resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic), WMAQ has served as an official broadcaster of the Chicago Marathon, which is held annually every second Sunday in October.

Because of its commitments to air the event, the station has had to reschedule NBC News programs preempted or delayed by the telecast of the marathon.

Originally scheduled to debut on January 14, 1991, the service was to be distributed to Centel Videopath systems in Chicago's northern, northwestern, and southern suburbs.

[49] In the spring of 1999, after negotiations between WMAQ-TV management and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), nearly all of the station's on-air talent went on strike.

[53] On January 14, 2008, WMAQ-TV became the second television station in the Chicago market (after WLS-TV) to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition.

[56] In May 2009, the station announced that it would conclude the public affairs program City Desk after 57 years; the show had its final broadcast on May 17, 2009.

[60][61] On December 6, 2011, WMAQ-TV announced a partnership with The Chicago Reporter as part of a larger effort by NBCUniversal to partner with non-profit news organizations, following its acquisition by Comcast.

In 2015, WMAQ became the first television station in the Chicago market to upgrade its news helicopter's camera system to shoot footage in ultra high definition.

With this addition, WMAQ-TV was reduced to only three hours of syndicated daytime shows to back up its newscasts outside of NBC network programming.

"NBC Chicago News" features simulcasts and encores of the station's newscasts as well as original content made for the channel.

[76] Veteran newsman Len O'Connor worked his way up from a news writer for NBC Radio's Blue Network to be the commentator at WMAQ-TV.

[77] O'Connor, who was well known for his often-acerbic political commentary, ran afoul of the station's management in 1974, when he reported on Governor Dan Walker's appointment of Bruce Sagan as head of the Illinois Arts Council.

[78][79] O'Connor proceeded to deliver three commentaries on the 10 p.m. newscast from September 25 to 27, 1974, which were severely critical of the situation's handling by WMAQ-TV station management.

[80][81] WMAQ achieved notoriety in 1997 when, in an effort to boost ratings for its newscasts, the station hired Jerry Springer as a commentator.

Marin, meanwhile, joined rival WBBM-TV, while contributing reports for CBS News, before returning to WMAQ in 2004 as a special correspondent until she stepped down from the station for the second time in 2020.

[91] In October 2014, WMAQ-TV strongly objected to a video clip from one of its news reports appearing in a commercial for Governor Pat Quinn's re-election campaign.

On December 1, 2008, the weather network ceased national broadcasts, although afterward, as NBC Plus, the subchannel continued to provide local weather maps and traffic reports, as well as "raw" coverage of various live events, including Barack Obama's victory rally in Grant Park[97] and Governor Rod Blagojevich's impeachment trial.