WCVB-TV

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WCVB-TV
Boston, Massachusetts
Branding	Channel 5 (general) NewsCenter 5 (news)
Slogan	Local Live Coverage You Can Count On
Channels	5 (VHF) analog, 20 (UHF) digital
Affiliations	ABC (1957-61 and since 1972)
Owner	Hearst-Argyle Television
Founded	November 26, 1957 (current license dates from March 19, 1972)
Call letters meaning	Channel V(5 in Roman Numerals) Boston
Former callsigns	WHDH-TV (1957-72)
Former affiliations	CBS (1961-72)
Transmitter Power	61.7 kW/353 m(analog) 625 kW/390 m (digital)
Website	thebostonchannel.com

WCVB-TV is the ABC affiliate in Boston, Massachusetts. The station's transmitter is located at the CBS digital television facility in Needham, Massachusetts. The studios are located nearby along Interstate 95/Route 128. WCVB-TV is one of three flagship stations of Hearst-Argyle Television.

Contents 1 History 2 Newscasts 2.1 Weekdays 2.2 Saturdays 2.3 Sundays 3 Local programming 4 News Team 5 Past Personalities 6 Coverage area 7 References 8 External links

[edit] History

The station first signed on November 26, 1957 as WHDH-TV, owned by the Boston Herald-Traveler along with WHDH radio (AM 850 and FM 94.5, now WJMN). It was originally an ABC affiliate, but switched to CBS in 1961. [1] [2]

However, almost as soon as it signed on, the FCC (according to some, at the behest of the Boston Globe) began investigating the media combination of the Herald-Traveler and WHDH-AM-FM-TV. The struggle lasted 15 years. As a result, WHDH-TV never had a license longer than six months. Most television licenses last for three years. In 1969, a local group, Boston Broadcasters, won a construction permit for a new channel 5 after promising to air more local programming than any other station in America at the time. The Herald-Traveler fought the decision in court, but lost in 1972.

On March 18, 1972, WHDH-TV signed off for the last time, replaced by the new WCVB early the next morning. However, the Herald-Traveler refused to hand over its facilities to the new channel 5, forcing the station to rent tower space from WBZ-TV. For its studios, WCVB used an old International Harvester dealership in Needham, which the station continues to use today. Although WCVB operates under a different license, it claims the former WHDH-TV's history as its own.

CBS was not amused at the prospect of numerous preemptions in the nation's fifth-largest market and refused to have anything to do with WCVB. As a result, WCVB cut a deal with ABC. CBS then moved its programming back to WNAC-TV, which had been Boston's original CBS affiliate from 1948 to 1961. Ironically, WNAC-TV would also lose its license and would later (ironically again) take on its current identity WHDH-TV, on March 19, 1990, exactly 18 years to the day after the calls were last used on Channel 5.

Making good on its promise, WCVB aired more local programming than any other television station in the nation throughout the 1970s and the 1980s. One of its local programs was Good Day!. This program, which first aired in 1973 (as Good Morning!), broke ground by taking its entire production on the road and broadcasting from locations outside the Boston area. Good Day!, along with The Morning Exchange on WEWS-TV in Cleveland, served as a basis for the format of ABC's Good Morning America. From 1974 until 1991 (the show's cancellation), Eileen Prose hosted the show. Due to its commitment to local programming, the station was quick to preempt programs, including low-rated prime time ABC network programs. Most of the time these programs were picked up by an independent station such as WQTV (now WBPX) or WHLL (now WUNI-TV).

The station is also known for exceptional news coverage and has been consistently at the top of the news ratings since the 1980s. This trend continued as the station was sold by Boston Broadcasters to Metromedia in 1981 (for the biggest sale ever made for a local station at the time). In 1986, Metromedia sold their television stations to the News Corporation, who wanted to begin their own network. WCVB was, instead, sold to the Hearst Corporation, who had purchased KMBC-TV in Kansas City, Missouri from Metromedia in 1982. That station was sold to make room in Metromedia's group for WCVB (to comply with then-FCC limits on the number of commonly-owned VHF stations, which at the time was five per company), and it is believed that Metromedia gave Hearst a right-of-first-refusal offer if WCVB ever went up for sale again. News Corp. would get its Boston station in early 1987, when it purchased WXNE-TV Channel 25 (now WFXT) from the Christian Broadcasting Network.

Beginning in the early 1980s and through the next couple decades, the station boasted the most-watched news team of Chet Curtis and Natalie Jacobson, who married each other while co-anchors. However, by the late 1990s and early 2000s, the station was in a period of transition as it saw major competition from a resurgent WHDH-TV. At the same time, the station, known for the longevity and stability of its on-air staff, saw the end of its longtime anchor team of Curtis and Jacobson, as well as their marriage, which ended in a bitter divorce at the same time. Natalie Jacobson is still anchoring at channel 5 while Chet Curtis is at cable news channel NECN.

In 2002, WCVB chief meteorologist Dick Albert was joined by former rival Harvey Leonard, who left WHDH to become co-chief meteorologist with Albert. Widely regarded as two of Boston's top meteorologists, Leonard and Albert were honored by the Associated Press in 2005 for Best Weathercast in New England[3].

In February of 2007, meteorologist Mike Wankum, from WLVI, was hired to work as the weekend morning meteorologist.

In the February 2007 ratings period, WCVB placed first in every newscast timeslot it competed in, and even displaced WHDH in total viewers and in the 25-54 demo at 11 p.m. It was the first time since 1998 that WCVB swept all of its newscast timeslots; only WFXT's 10 p.m. newscast drew more viewers than any of the "Big Three" affiliates' late evening newscasts. [4]

[edit] Newscasts

WCVB operates a Aerospatiale AS350B entitled "Sky 5." The station's radar is called "Storm Trak 5 Live Doppler", and is located in Hopkinton. The station offers a live, non-audio broadcast of the doppler radar on its DT2 digital subchannel.

WCVB's newscasts use the News Center title. During the NFL season, the station produces a local sports program called Patriots All Access, which airs Sunday mornings at 10 AM. The program is hosted by WCVB sports director Mike Lynch. The previous week's edition of this program airs Sunday mornings at 1:35 AM on WPRI, the CBS affiliate for the state of Rhode Island and New Bedford.

WCVB shares its resources with WLNE, the ABC affiliate for Rhode Island and New Bedford, in news coverage of Southeastern Massachusetts. WGGB-TV, the ABC affiliate for Springfield and Holyoke, shares its resources with WCVB for news coverage of Western Massachusetts. WCVB also provides national news from ABC News for half-sister station NECN, a New England regional cable news network.

[edit] Weekdays

• News Center 5 Eye Opener - 5 to 7 a.m.
• News Center 5 Midday - Noon to 12:30 p.m.
• News Center 5 at 5 - 5 to 5:30 p.m.
• News Center 5 at 5:30 - 5:30 to 6 p.m.
• News Center 5 at 6 - 6 to 6:30 p.m.
• News Center 5 Tonight - 11 to 11:35 p.m.

[edit] Saturdays

• News Center 5 Eye Opener Weekend - 6 to 8 a.m.
• News Center 5 at 6 - 6 to 6:30 p.m.
• News Center 5 Tonight - 11 to 11:35 p.m.

[edit] Sundays

• News Center 5 Eye Opener Weekend - 6 to 8 a.m. and 10 to 11 a.m.
• News Center 5 Midday Sunday - Noon to 12:30 p.m.
• News Center 5 at 6 - 6 to 6:30 p.m.
• News Center 5 Tonight - 11 to 11:35 p.m.

[edit] Local programming

Along with its newscasts, WCVB currently produces two other major programs:

• Chronicle, a local nightly newsmagazine started in 1982, is still broadcasting on weekdays as of 2007. It focuses on topics of special interest throughout New England, though at times the program focuses on subjects outside the region such as Ireland. The Main Streets and Back Roads, one of the program's longest running series, looks at life in New England, primarily in the rural areas. A New Hampshire version of the program is produced by WCVB's sister station WMUR. The WCVB edition began broadcasting in HD on October 25, 2006.
• CityLine, which usually airs on Sundays, looks at urban issues and interests within the Boston area. Its long-time host is Karen Holmes Ward.

While the station is no longer so involved in locally-produced programming as it once was, it has had some influential programs:

• Candlepin Bowling, which ran Saturdays at 12 noon for nearly four decades, and was hosted for nearly all of that time by legendary WCVB sports anchor Don Gillis.
• Good Day!, an inspiration for Good Morning America.
• Miller's Court, a dramatized mock-trial program with a live audience.
• Park Street Under, an influence for Cheers.
• The Baxters, a sitcom on an American family, with a discussion component. Norman Lear would later bring the show to the national audience.

Until the late 1990s, WCVB broadcast an annual holiday season showing of the 1954 film White Christmas, preempting ABC's network programming.

From February 1994 to May 1998, WCVB was also the official station for Lottery Live, the weeknight broadcasts of the Mass State Lottery drawings. A frequent substitute host for Dawn Hayes on the drawings was Nancy O'Neil, wife of former Red Sox pitcher Dennis Eckersley. During the original Channel 5 era, the Lottery also backed a Saturday night game show, Bonus Bonanza, hosted by Dawn Hayes and Brian Tracey. The show had randomly drawn contestants play elimination games (a la Price is Right) to win big cash prizes. Bonus Bonanza had a solid run from January 1995 to March 1998. After Channel 5's contract with the lottery commission was up, the drawings moved back to WBZ-TV.

Currently, since August 2004, the drawings have returned to WCVB, albeit with a revamped format. The idea of a host and present lottery ball machine have been dropped, with only on-screen graphics displaying the already-drawn winning numbers for a minute or so. A rotating group of off-screen voiceovers announce the drawings. In the case of the daily Numbers Game however, a mid-screen shot of the traditional "number wheels" are featured, with the balls resting on the chosen digits.

Over the past several years, WCVB's sports department has produced and aired several Patriots pre-season games.

[edit] News Team

Anchors

• Liz Brunner - 5:30 and 11 p.m. weeknights
• Pam Cross - Weekend evenings
• Anthony Everett - Chronicle
• Ed Harding - Early evening weeknights
• Natalie Jacobson - 6 p.m. weeknights
• Steve Lacey - EyeOpener Weekends and Midday Sunday
• Shiba Russell - EyeOpener Weekends and Midday Sunday
• Heather Unruh - EyeOpener Weekdays and 5 p.m.
• Susan Wornick - Midday weekdays (consumer and investigative reporter)
• David Brown - Eyeopener Weekdays

Storm Trak 5 Meteorologists

• Dick Albert - Co-Chief Meteorologist 5 and 6 p.m. weeknights
• Dave Epstein - Fill-in
• Harvey Leonard - Co-Chief Meteorologist 5:30 and 11 p.m. weeknights
• J.C. Monahan - Mornings and noon, also environmental reporter
• Mike Wankum - Weekend mornings

Sports

• Mike Lynch - Sports Director
• Mike Dowling
• Bob Halloran - Weekends

Reporters

• Amalia Barreda
• Jim Boyd - Special Correspondent (formerly noon co-anchor)
• Jack Harper
• Gail Huff - EyeOpener reporter
• Dr. Timothy Johnson - medical editor (also works for ABC News)
• Sean Kelly- investigative reporter
• Jorge Quiroga
• Rhondella Richardson - investigative reporter
• Mary Saladna (also fill-in anchor)
• Kelley Tuthill - investigative reporter
• Janet Wu - State House correspondent/investigative reporter

[edit] Past Personalities

• Marjorie Arons-Barron - commentator/editorial director/host of Five on Five (1979-1998, now head of a conslulting firm [5])
• Steve Aveson - reporter for Good Day! (1978-1981, now at WPRI in Providence)
• Jeanne Blake - Chronicle host/contributor (1981-1984)
• David Boeri - reporter (1991-2006, now at WBUR-FM)
• Clark Booth - reporter (1975-2001)
• Krista Bradford - reporter (1985-1987)
• Susan Burke - morning anchor (1984-1994)
• Brian Christie - anchor/reporter (1981-1989, now at XETV in San Diego)
• Bob Clinkscale - anchor (1972-1983, now a professor at Emerson College)
• Chet Curtis - longtime anchor (1968-2001, now at NECN)
• Jack Edwards - sports anchor/reporter (1985-1988, now at NESN)
• Tom Ellis - anchor (1978-1982, now at NECN)
• Ellen Ferrara - meteorologist (1993-1995)
• Judy Fortin - reporter (1989-1990, now at CNN)
• Dawn Fratangelo - weekend anchor/reporter (1986-1991, now at NBC News)
• Beth Germano - reporter (1994-1996, now at WBZ-TV)
• Don Gillis - legendary sports anchor and host of Candlepin Bowling (1958-1995)
• Ron Gollobin - reporter (1975-1999)
• Andria Hall - Chronicle contributor (1985-1993)
• Jane Hampden - weekend anchor/reporter (1991-1992, now at WUWM-FM in Milwaukee)
• John Henning - anchor (1968-1977)
• Jack Hynes - anchor (1958-1984)
• Jim Jensen - reporter (1957-1964, deceased)
• Heather Kahn - anchor/medical reporter (1994-2001)
• Chuck Kraemer - reporter/Chronicle contributor (1975-2001)
• Brian Leary - anchor/legal analyst (1980-2000)
• Roy Leonard - anchor (1955-1958)
• Paula Lyons - consumer reporter (1978-1989, now a communications consultant [6])
• Anne McGrath - reporter (1974-1984)
• Mark Mills - business reporter (1982-2001, now a producer at WGBH-TV)
• Miles O'Brien - reporter (1987-1992, now at CNN)
• Bill O'Reilly - commentator (1986)
• Keith Olbermann - sports anchor/reporter (1984-1985)
• Kirby Perkins - reporter (1979-1997, deceased)
• Byron Pitts - special assignment reporter (1989-1994, now at CBS News)
• Martha Raddatz - chief correspondent (as Martha Bradlee, 1978-1993, now at ABC News)
• David Ropeik - reporter (1977-1999, now an instructor at the Harvard School of Pulbic Health [7])
• Mark Rosenthal - weekend meterorologist (1988-2002)
• Sydney Seaward - reporter (1992-1993, deceased)
• Steve Sbraccia - street reporter (1989-2005, now at WNCN-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina)
• Jay Schadler - weekend anchor/reporter (1985-1989, now at ABC News)
• Mike Taibbi - reporter (1971-1977, now at NBC News)
• Phil Walters - reporter (1966-1967, deceased)
• Lee Webb - sports anchor (1983-1985, now seen on The 700 Club)
• Tim White - reporter/anchor (1983-1986, now at WKYC-TV in Cleveland)

[edit] Coverage area

WCVB's signal covers Greater Boston, southern New Hampshire (with sister station WMUR), northern Rhode Island and northeastern Connecticut, although it has little cable coverage outside the Boston DMA. It is also one of six local Boston TV stations seen in Canada on the Bell ExpressVu satellite provider, and is carried on several cable systems in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

[edit] References

• WCVB's Station Timeline (2005). TheBostonChannel.com.
• WCVB Boston. The '80s TV Theme SuperSite.
• The Boston TV Dial: WCVB-TV, The Archives @ BostonRadio.org, 2006-04-02.

[edit] External links

• WCVB Website
• WCVB Wireless
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WCVB-TV

v • d • e

Broadcast television in the Boston market (Nielsen DMA #7)

Local television stations WGBH 2 (PBS) - WBZ 4 (CBS) - WCVB 5 (ABC) - WHDH 7 (NBC, WX+ on DT2) - WFXZ 24 (AZA) - WFXT 25 (FOX) - WUNI 27 (UNI) - WTMU 32 / WNEU 60 (TEL) - WSBK 38 (Ind) - WGBX 44 (PBS) - WWDP 46 (Shop NBC) - WYDN 48 (DS) - WZMY 50 (MNTV) - WLVI 56 (The CW, The Tube on DT2) - WMFP 62 (S@H / JTV) - WUTF 66 (TFU) - WBPX 68 (ION)

Defunct stations WJZB 14 (IND/NBC)

Local digital television channels WHDN 26 (DW)

Local and regional cable television channels CN8 - NECN 6 - NESN - FSN New England - CatholicTV - TV3 Medford - CKSH 9 (SRC, Sherbrooke)