WHEC-TV
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| WHEC-TV | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Rochester, New York | |
| Branding | News 10NBC |
| Slogan | Coverage You Can Count On. |
| Channels | 10 (VHF) analog, 58 (UHF, under STA) digital |
| Affiliations | NBC
NBC Weather Plus (DT2) |
| Owner | Hubbard Broadcasting Corporation |
| Founded | November 1, 1953 under STO with now defunct WVET-TV |
| Call letters meaning | Hickson Electric Company |
| Former affiliations | CBS (1953-1989) |
| Website | www.whec.com |
WHEC-TV ("News 10NBC") is a television station in Rochester, New York. It is an NBC network affiliate, and broadcasts on channel 10. The station is owned by the Hubbard Broadcasting Corporation. Its transmitter is located on Pinnacle Hill in Brighton, New York.
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[edit] History
Channel 10 signed on as a CBS affiliate on November 1, 1953, through a share-time operation with WVET-TV (owned by Veterans Broadcasting Company) and WHEC-TV (owned by Gannett, owners of the Democrat and Chronicle alongside the radio stations of the same calls). Veterans sold its half of channel 10 to WHEC and purchased WROC-FM (now WPXY) and WROC-TV (channel 8) from Transcontinent Broadcasting in 1961, making WHEC the sole occupant of the channel 10 frequency in Rochester.
In 1979, Gannett sold WHEC in the wake of its purchase of Combined Communications under the fear that the FCC, then against grandfathering existing print/broadcast ownership, would force it to sell either property. WHEC made history by being purchased by African-American investor Ragan Henry, marking the first time an existing station was purchased by a minority-owned firm. This ownership was to be short lived, as in 1983 Henry swapped WHEC to Viacom for KDIA(AM) in San Francisco. During this time, WHEC stayed steadily in the #2 spot in the market between WOKR and WROC (who swapped spots in the 1970s after WROC was crippled by complacency and a strike).
On July 1, 1989, WHEC swapped affiliations with WROC and became the NBC affiliate for the Rochester market. This move came out of WROC's poor performance and constant preemptions of network programming and as a byproduct of Viacom's renewals of affiliations in Hartford and Albany. This move proved successful as NBC's standing in the market increased whereas CBS's still has not fully recovered.
After Viacom bought Paramount Pictures in 1994 (putting the Viacom stations under Paramount's group), the company decided to divest itself of all stations not affiliated with its fledgling UPN network. In Spring 1996, Paramount traded WHEC and WNYT in Albany to Hubbard Broadcasting Corporation for UPN affiliate WTOG in Tampa.
Also, WHEC's digital signal (Channel 58) signed onto the air on September 27, 2002 under a Special Temporary Authority. On January 30, 2006, the station launched News 10 NBC WeatherPlus, a 24-hour weather station on its digital sub-channel; the service is also available on Time Warner digital cable.
For many years WHEC-TV was one of 3 Rochester area stations offered on Cable in the Ottawa/Gatineau and Eastern Ontario regions. The Rochester area stations were replaced with Detroit stations when the microwave relay system that provided these signals was discontinued. However, WHEC and other Rochester stations are still available on cable in several communities along the north shore of Lake Ontario, such as Belleville and Cobourg.
[edit] News Cast
- Morning: Pat McGonigle, Rebecca Leclair, Rich Caniglia with weather, Lynette Adams Morning Reporter,
- Noon: Rebecca Leclair, Rich Caniglia with weather,
- 5pm: Rich Funke, Janet Lomax, Kevin Williams with weather, Mark Gruba with Sports
- 6pm: Rich Funke, Janet Lomax, Kevin Williams with weather, Mark Gruba with Sports
- 11pm: Rich Funke, Jennifer Johnson, Kevin Williams with weather, Mark Gruba with Sports
- Weekend: Nikki Rudd, Josh Nichols, with weather, Brett Stagnitti with Sports
- Reporters
- Berkeley Brean
- Lila Carney
- Brett Davidsen
- Deanna King
- Ray Levato
- Weather
- Kevin Williams
- Rich Caniglia
- Josh Nichols
- Christopher Gloninger
- Sports
- Mark Gruba
- Brett Stagnitti
- Health
- Robin DeWind
[edit] Past personalities
- Maggie Brooks: Now county executive for Monroe County, New York
- Gabe Dalmath: Weeknight anchor, passed away September 16, 2006
- Keith Eichner: Meteorologist, now with WGRZ in Buffalo, New York.
- Kevin Jolly: Reporter, now with WROC-TV
- Kristine Lopez: Reporter, now with WGXA in Macon, Georgia
- Brian Martin: Reporter, now in Salt Lake City
- Lou Paris: Reporter/anchor, retired, now living in Germantown, Tennessee
- Emily Smith: Reporter, now with WABC-TV in New York NY
- Jessica Weinstein: Reporter, now with WGRZ in Buffalo, NY.
