A Surprising Secret About Buffalo’s WIVB

I swear, we learn something new here every day!

Some smart Western New Yorkers have known this about WIVB in Buffalo for years, but others on social media (including, admittingly, us) are just finding out about it - and it’s blowing our minds. 

How could we have never noticed before?

News 4 Buffalo, a Western New York news staple for years, is well known for its slogan of “We’re 4 Buffalo” - an obvious spin-off of their channel number. It’s even displayed on the side of their building. 

But that is far from the end of their cleverness.

WIVB News 4 Buffalo Has A Secret Hidden In Their Name

We’re sure you’ve noticed on News 4 that they always start their broadcasts with the letters “WIVB;” the station’s call letters.

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Every TV and radio station has four letters assigned to them called their “call letters.” Call letters are issued by the FCC, and are used to identify TV and radio stations. In several cases, TV and radio stations can request specific call letters, so they’re not just assigned at random - as long as they’re unique and not used by another station somewhere.

Well, News 4 must have done just that, because their call letters are certainly unique based on the hidden message hidden in them.

When you break down the call letters of News 4, they spell out W-IV-B.

W, standing for “we’re”, “IV”, representing the Roman numeral for the number four, and finally ending with “B” - which represents Buffalo.

W. IV. B.

We’re 4 Buffalo. 

Yeah, we feel kind of dumb for not realizing this before. But if you’re like us and just discovered this fun fact, you’ll never look at WIVB News 4 the same way again.