WIVT
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| WIVT | |
|---|---|
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| Binghamton, New York | |
| Branding | News Channel 34 |
| Channels | 34 (UHF) analog, 4 (VHF) digital |
| Affiliations | ABC |
| Owner | Clear Channel Communications (sale pending) |
| Founded | August 25, 1962 |
| Call letters meaning | Based on WIXT |
| Former callsigns | WBJA-TV (1962-1978) WMGC-TV (1978-1998) |
| Website | www.newschannel34.com/ |
WIVT is the ABC affiliate for the Binghamton Metropolitan Area of Upstate New York. Its transmitter is located in Binghamton. The station is known as News Channel 34 and has newscasts at 5:30am, 5:00pm, 6:00pm, and 11:00pm on weekdays. There is also an 11:00pm broadcast on Sundays. WIVT is owned by Clear Channel, who also operates WBGH-CA, the NBC affiliate in Binghamton.
Even though its callsign was derived from it, WIVT was never a satellite of WIXT. It has always been its own station.
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[edit] History
On Jan. 1, 1956, WILK-TV 34 in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and WARM-TV 16 in Scranton merged into WNEP-TV 16. That left channel 34 available for use in the region. A few years later, a channel 56 was allocated to a new station in the Binghamton market, according to [WBJA.com]. Its owners got the allocation for channel 34 moved to Binghamton and signed on Nov. 25, 1962, as WBJA. Coincidentally, the station now known as WOLF-TV signed on in 1982 using channel 56.
The station has been an ABC affiliate for its entire existence.
WBJA was sold in the late 1970s and the call letters were changed to WMGC, with the station adopting the slogan "Magic 34." It dropped the "Magic 34" branding by the mid to late 1980s, but kept the call letters until the Ackerley Group bought the station in 1997. This was where the connection to WIXT came in, as the new calls were based on the group's Syracuse station's calls. Both became Clear Channel stations when that company bought Ackerley in 2001.
Ackerley nearly lost its investment shortly after buying the Binghamton station. On May 31, 1998, a tornado ripped through the station's Ingraham Hill studio and blew down its tower. Cross-town rival WBNG-TV had live reports that night literally from the WIVT studio. WIVT had a feed restored to cable providers within days but was off the air for several months.
On November 16, 2006, Clear Channel announced its intention to sell off all of its television stations, including WIVT, after the company was bought out by a private equity firm.
[edit] Logos
 WBJA logo |
 Post-"Magic 34" WMGC logo |
[edit] Newscasts
[edit] Monday-Friday
- Daybreak News (5:30-7:00AM) Anchor: Jillian Mele
- Newschannel-34 Live at 5 (5:00-5:30PM) Anchor: Steve Craig
- Newschannel-34 at 6 (6:00-6:30PM) Anchors: Steve Craig & Demetra Ganias
- Newschannel-34 11 at 11(11:00-11:35PM) Anchors: Steve Craig & Demetra Ganias
[edit] Other reporters/Fill-in anchors
- Marisa Brahney
- Sophia Ojeida
- Peter Quinn
[edit] Newschannel-34 Storm Team
- Samantha Hensell (Daybreak)
- Steve Prinzivalli (5, 6, and 11)
- Jordan Gremli (Fill-in)
[edit] Sports Anchors
- Vannessa Brunetti (Interim)
- Rod Wankel (Fill-in)
- Dave Perritano (Fill-in)
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- newschannel34.com
- Query the FCC's TV station database for WIVT
- Broadcast Localism in Binghamton Market, report filed under FCC's Broadcast Localism NOI.
| Clear Channel Communications, Inc. |
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Corporate officers: Lowry Mays | Mark Mays | Randall Mays | Tom Hicks |
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Radio / Television stations: (See List of broadcast stations owned by Clear Channel) |
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