Gray to rebrand northwest Illinois properties as ‘Rockford News First’

Two of Gray Media’s stations in Rockford, Illinois, will combine under a single branding banner in the fall of 2026 — Rockford News First.

WREX, the market’s NBC affiliate, which currently brands as “13 News,” will begin sharing that branding as well as graphics with WIFR, a CBS affiliate. 

An exact date for the changes was not announced.

WIFR, which typically brands under its call sign, introduced a new logo in 2024 that mirrors the look that Gray would later announce for Rockford News First, including customized letterforms that help emphasize diagonals.

WIFR already uses the “First Alert Weather” branding.

That station, along with WREX, which currently brands its forecasts as “Storm Track 13” will take on “RNF First Alert Weather.” Sports on both stations will become known as “RNF Sports.”

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Both stations will also rebrand their streaming, social and digital offerings and move to a combined website at rockfordnewsfirst.com.

It was not immediately clear if any on-air or behind-the-scenes layoffs are coming. WREX and WIFR currently have their own stables of talent.

Georgia stations to rebrand under ‘Atlanta News First’ name

The “(City Name) News First” branding scheme is also used at Gray’s station, WANF, in Atlanta, Georgia, creating a combined news brand with sister CW affiliate WPCH: “Atlanta News First.”

Both logos also include the “I” in “First” stylized as the numeral “1.”

WANF was previously known as WGCL until Oct. 3, 2022. It had previously been known as CBS Atlanta, CBS 46 and, notably, “Clear TV” and “Clear News” during a short-lived experiment from 2001 to 2002.

Gray Media bought Quincy Media in 2021, which included WREX. Gray, which already owned WIFR, opted to sell WREX to Allen Media Group due to concerns over regulatory ownership limits.

Allen Media and Gray later signed an agreement to carry WIFR’s signal on a WREX subchannel, giving it full-power coverage in the market. 

In August 2025, Gray Media re-acquired WREX in a $171 million deal that included 12 other stations. The sale closed May 1, 2026, effectively creating a triopoly. The deal was ultimately approved, despite concerns over ownership limits about four years earlier.

Gray also owns the market’s CW affiliate, WSLN, which is known as “Stateline CW.” WSLN’s branding also appears on WIFR’s website, though it was no clear if it would also move to the new domain.