WYTV
  | |
Youngstown, Ohio United States | |
|---|---|
| Branding | 33 WYTV (general) 33 WYTV News (newscasts) |
| Slogan | We believe in this Valley. |
| Channels | Digital: 36 (UHF) (shared with WKBN-TV; to move to 31 (UHF)) Virtual: 33 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels | 33.1 ABC 33.2 MyNetworkTV |
| Owner | Vaughan Media (WYTV Television, LLC) |
| Operator | Nexstar Media Group (via JSA/SSA) |
| First air date | April 4, 1953 (1953-04-04) |
| Call letters' meaning | W Youngstown TeleVision |
| Sister station(s) | WKBN-TV, WYFX-LD |
| Former callsigns | WKST-TV (1953–1963) |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 45 (UHF, 1953–1959) 33 (UHF, 1959–2009) |
| Former affiliations | Secondary: Fox (1994–1998) |
| Transmitter power | 1000 kW 703 kW (CP) |
| Height | 177 m (581 ft) 437.1 m (1,434 ft) (CP) |
| Facility ID | 4693 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 41°3′43″N 80°38′6″W / 41.06194°N 80.63500°W / 41.06194; -80.63500 41°3′23.4″N 80°38′43″W / 41.056500°N 80.64528°W / 41.056500; -80.64528 (CP) |
| Licensing authority | FCC |
| Public license information: | Profile CDBS |
| Website | www.wytv.com |
WYTV, virtual channel 33 (UHF digital channel 36), is an ABC-affiliated television station licensed to Youngstown, Ohio, United States. The station is owned by Vaughan Media, LLC; Nexstar Media Group, which owns CBS affiliate WKBN-TV (channel 27) and low-powered Fox affiliate WYFX-LD (channel 19), operates WYTV through joint sales and shared services agreements. The three stations share studios and offices in Youngstown's Pleasant Grove neighborhood; WYTV and WKBN share transmitter facilities at the site of WYTV's former studios in the city's Lansingville section.
Contents
1 History
2 Digital channels
3 Programming
3.1 Children's programming
3.2 Fox programming
3.3 Saving Private Ryan
4 News operation
5 References
6 External links
History
The station originated as WKST-TV (analog signal UHF channel 45) as the television partner to WKST radio, (now AM 1200) and was licensed to New Castle, Pennsylvania on April 4, 1953.
Besides serving New Castle, it was the default ABC affiliate in Youngstown. It also served western portions of the Pittsburgh market with poor signals from WENS-TV (now WINP-TV). After WENS-TV signed off due to financial problems, WKST-TV was the only full-time ABC affiliate in Western Pennsylvania until September 1958 when WTAE-TV went live.
WKST-TV moved to the stronger channel 33 in 1959, improving its over-the-air signal in the process. In September 1963, the station's license moved to Youngstown and became WYTV-TV (the redundant "-TV" suffix would be dropped in 1998). After moving channels, WYTV was replaced on channel 45 by independent station WXTV which moved from channel 73 (the former channel location of WFMJ-TV before moving to channel 21) and remained on-the-air until late 1962. That station had scheduled programming from 6:00 p.m to 11:00 p.m. and repeated the same programs multiple times within a given week. In 1973, channel 45 was re-allocated to nearby Alliance, Ohio as an educational channel and became WNEO; the WXTV calls now reside on the flagship station for Spanish-language network Univision in New York City.
Along with WTAE-TV and to a lesser extent WTVN/WSYX in Columbus, WYTV at times has also served as the default ABC affiliate to the Wheeling, West Virginia/Steubenville, Ohio market, which has only two commercial stations, WTOV-TV and WTRF-TV (the latter being a sister station to WYTV during the 1990s). Although the area finally got a full-time ABC affiliate in 2008 when WTRF-TV launched one on its third digital subchannel, WYTV remains on cable in parts of the market. The station was Youngstown's first Fox network affiliate from 1994 to 1998. Youngstown did not have a full-time Fox affiliate for the network's first decade, so WYTV joined the network as a secondary affiliate in part due to the network's acquisition of the rights to NFL football.
WYTV was owned by a consortium of local investors for years. A company known as Aurovideo, Inc., which was owned by the Adams-Russell Company,[1] acquired WYTV on November 13, 1970.[2] On June 22, 1983, Benedek Broadcasting purchased 50% of the station with investor Robert L. Dudley, and formed the Youngstown Broadcasting Company as licensee.[3] Benedek purchased the remaining stake on November 25, 1985,[4] and remained the station's owner until the company's bankruptcy filing in 2002. Instead of being purchased by Gray Television, WYTV was bought by Chelsey Television, LLC and was managed by Barrington Broadcasting.[5] The station has applied to increase its digital signal to one megawatt at the end of the transition.[6]
On February 6, 2007, Chelsey Television filed an application with the FCC to sell WYTV to Parkin Broadcasting of California, which then leased out the station to WKBN/WYFX owner New Vision Television under a shared services agreement—essentially a local marketing agreement under different legal terms. At the time, some critics wondered if the shared services agreement was legal, since the Youngstown market only has four full-powered television stations (WFMJ, WKBN, WYTV, and PBS member station WNEO)—not enough to legally permit a duopoly under FCC rules. New Vision and Parkin share an office building in Los Angeles and have a "cozy relationship",[citation needed] leading to speculation that Parkin is simply a shell corporation that enables New Vision to circumvent FCC ownership rules. This is not unlike what Sinclair Broadcast Group does with Cunningham Broadcasting, which is a shell corporation of Sinclair. Nonetheless, the FCC approved the shared services agreement on July 30, 2007.[7] WYTV then moved from its 3800 Shady Run Road studios over to the WKBN/WYFX facilities in Boardman Township.
The 24-hour local weather channel had also been offered on the digital tier of Time Warner Cable at one point. Originally called Weather on the 3s, the channel shows continuous weather updates through WYTV's relationship with WeatherBug. It was redesigned on February 24, 2009, when WKBN and WYFX had their on-air look redesigned and Weather on the 3s was made to match those two station's on-air look. It was renamed My Valley Weather to coincide with the launch of the combined weather website for WYTV and WKBN. This station is currently the only commercial outlet in the area with three digital subchannels. Along with sister station WKBN, WYTV plans on having two subchannels broadcasting in high-definition with MyYTV broadcasting in HD. The future of the My Valley Weather subchannel was uncertain due to MyYTV proposing an upgrade to HD. As of February 2012, MyYTV is still in standard definition, however,[8] and its HD feed is currently available only on cable. On July 1, 2013, WYTV added Bounce TV to 33.3, displacing the MyValley Weather channel.
On May 7, 2012, LIN TV Corporation announced that it will acquire the New Vision Television station group for $330.4 million and the assumption of $12 million in debt. Along with the outright ownership of WKBN-TV, the agreement includes the acquisition of New Vision's shared services agreement with PBC Broadcasting (who is also transferring the licenses of the PBC-owned stations to Vaughan Media), giving LIN operational control of WYTV.[9] LIN and Vaughan also entered into a joint sales agreement for WYTV.[10] On October 2, the FCC approved the proposed sale to LIN TV.[11] The transaction was closed on October 12, 2012.[12]
On March 21, 2014, Media General announced that it would purchase LIN Media and its stations, including WKBN-TV, WYFX-LD, and the SSA and JSA with WYTV, in a $1.6 billion merger.[13][14] The FCC approved the deal on December 12, 2014, but a condition of the deal requires Media General to end the JSA between WKBN-TV and WYTV within two years due to tighter regulations on such deals.[15] The merger was completed on December 19.[16]
In 2017, WKBN sold its spectrum for $34 million as part of the FCC's spectrum reallocation program and will move its broadcasting to WYTV's frequency.[17] WKBN-TV moved to WYTV's frequency on April 23, 2018. To make room for WKBN-TV, Bounce TV moved from 33.3 to WYFX's 19.4 while Ion Television moved from 27.3 to WYFX 19.3.[18]
Digital channels
| Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP short name | Programming [19] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33.1 | 720p | 16:9 | WYTV-HD | Main WYTV programming / ABC |
| 33.2 | 480i | 4:3 | My YTV | WYTV-DT2 / MyNetwork TV |
Programming
Children's programming
WYTV became known for its programming targeted to kids. WYTV aired cartoons and other kid-themed programming between the after school hours of 4:00 pm and 6:00 p.m. It once aired a kids' show during the 1980s entitled 33 Powwww which consisted of a "voice-activated" video game powered by the Mattel Intellivision. Viewers would call in to play this game and win prizes. Cartoons were also aired during the show. The TV POWWW concept was a syndicated franchise seen on television stations throughout the United States such as WCLQ in Cleveland (now WQHS-TV). WYTV also has produced the local quiz show YSU Academic Challenge in which high school and middle school students from all over the area answered questions for prizes.
Fox programming
During its affiliation pact with Fox, which lasted until low-powered sister station WYFX signed on in 1998, WYTV pre-empted ABC programming whenever Fox programming aired.[citation needed]
Saving Private Ryan
WYTV was not among the ABC affiliates to preempt the Veterans Day airing of the film Saving Private Ryan in 2004 out of fears of being fined by the FCC for indecency in the wake of the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy, feeling that the film aired unedited on terrestrial television in the past without FCC repercussions.[20] Because WYTV did opt to air Saving Private Ryan, this gave viewers in the Columbus, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh television markets that were able to view WYTV either over-the-air or on cable television the option of watching the film, since Sinclair Broadcast Group, E. W. Scripps Company, and Hearst-Argyle Television (owners of WSYX, WEWS-TV, and WTAE-TV, respectively) did not allow any of their ABC affiliates to air the film. As Sinclair and Scripps each own additional ABC affiliates in the state, WYTV ultimately was one of only two ABC affiliates in the entire state of Ohio to air the film, alongside then-ABC Owned-and-operated station WTVG. It was later determined that showing the movie was not a violation of FCC regulations.
News operation
For a period as a separate station, WYTV produced a prime time newscast at 10:00 p.m. on its MyNetworkTV second digital subchannel. This competed with another broadcast airing at the same time on Fox affiliate WYFX that was produced by WKBN.
In December 2007, the news departments of WYTV and WKBN physically merged. As a result, over 40 personnel at WYTV and six at WKBN were laid-off.[21] Under the shared services agreement, the senior station partner began producing newscasts on this ABC affiliate from a secondary set at the Sunset Boulevard studios. A previous plan calling for WYTV to build streetside satellite studios in downtown Youngstown was abandoned due to the consolidation. The current operational status of its Doppler weather radar based at the old facility on Shady Run Road is unknown. The two stations gradually had their on-air looks mirror each other while their respective websites became identical. New logos for the stations and updated websites debuted in January 2009 including combined operations for sports and weather.
Due to the duopoly, WYTV and WKBN maintain separate primary anchors for news, weather, and sports during the week but share most general assignment reporters and video footage. The two initially maintained separate websites as well; however, after LIN Media took over ownership of WKBN/WYFX and operations of WYTV, WYTV's website became a redirect to WKBN's website with only WYTV's station identification information available on WKBN's site.
On May 6, 2010, the two outlets upgraded their combined news operation to high definition complete with new graphics on WYTV. There are news and weather sharing partnerships with WNCD-FM 93.3, WAKZ-FM 95.9, WMXY-FM 98.9, WBBG-FM 106.1, WKBN-AM 570, and WNIO-AM 1390.
In November 2013, WYTV along with WKBN debuted a branded tool for showing live broadcasts from a moving vehicle. "33 Live Drive Action Cam" is a Jeep Patriot that can chase storms, show road conditions and respond to breaking news.
Also in November 2013, WYTV began separating its content from that of WKBN and WYFX. This included WYTV receiving its own website once again.
References
^ "WYTV Broadcasting Cablecastng Yearbook 1983" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved March 3, 2019..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ "WYTV Broadcasting Cablecasting Yearbook 1973" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
^ "WYTV Broadcasting Cablecastng Yearbook 1985" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
^ "WYTV Broadcasting Cablecastng Yearbook 1986" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 3, 2007. Retrieved July 5, 2006.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
^ Service Area Map - FCC[permanent dead link]
^ "WYTV employees to lose seniority under new owner". vindy.com. Archived from the original on August 22, 2007. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
^ [1] Archived March 6, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
^ Malone, Michael (May 7, 2012). "LIN Acquiring New Vision Stations for $330 Million". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
^ "Joint Sales Agreement" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. May 4, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
^ [2][dead link]
^ "LIN Completes New Vision Stations Buy". TVNewsCheck. October 12, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
^ Reid Blackwell, John (March 21, 2014). "MG will combine with LIN TV chain". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
^ "Television companies to merge". The Vindicator. March 22, 2014. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
^ FCC Okays Media General/LIN Merger Broadcasting & Cable (December 12, 2014)
^ Media General Completes Merger With LIN Media Archived December 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Press Release, Media General, Retrieved December 19, 2014
^ "Big money from FCC auction means end of some TV stations". post-gazette.com. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
^ Attention viewers: WKBN is switching frequencies WKBN-TV (April 20, 2018)
^ "Digital TV Market Listing for WYTV". rabbitears.info. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
^ "Scaring Private Ryan: 20 ABC Affiliates Nix Movie". businessdailyjournal.com. Archived from the original on November 9, 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
^ "WKBN-TV lays off at least 6 workers". Vindy.com. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
External links
- Official website
- Query the FCC's TV station database for WYTV
- BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WYTV-TV
