WETM-TV
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| WETM-TV | |
|---|---|
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| Elmira, New York | |
| Branding | WETM 18 |
| Slogan | Coverage You Can Count On |
| Channels | Analog: 18 (UHF) |
| Affiliations | NBC |
| Owner | Newport Television, LLC |
| First air date | September 10, 1956 |
| Call letters’ meaning | Elmira Times Mirror (former owner) |
| Former callsigns | WSYE-TV (1956-1980) |
| Transmitter Power | 45 kW (digital) |
| Height | 376 m (analog) 363 m (digital) |
| Facility ID | 60653 |
| Transmitter Coordinates | |
| Website | www.wetmtv.com |
WETM-TV (Channel 18) is the NBC affiliate for Elmira, New York. The station broadcasts on UHF channel 18 analog while its digital signal, WETM-DT, signed on in 2005 broadcasting on VHF channel 2.
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[edit] History
WETM debuted on September 18, 1956; as WSYE-TV. It was owned by Newhouse Communications, who also owned WSYR-TV in nearby Syracuse. It is Elmira's oldest surviving station; WTVE had signed on channel 24 a few years earlier, but went dark after a hurricane blew through the Elmira area in 1954 and took out the station's tower.
WSYE was largely a semi-satellite of WSYR-TV. However, it originated its own news programming at 6 and 11PM. The local news team consisted of anchors Bruce Flaherty and Carl Proper, anchor/weather reporter Rod Denson and others. Morning news cut-ins during "The Today Show" were originated from the Hawley Hill studio and a ladies informational show, "The Dana Near Show" was also broadcast from the station. Channel 18 began originating its own color programming in 1969 by adding color film capabilities with an RCA TK-27. This author remembers well watching NBC's "Saturday Night at the Movies" and seeing a WSYE-TV ID pop up in color for the first time! Shortly thereafter live color from the studio was added with RCA TK-42's. Videotape rounded out the color upgrades and became a part of the station in 1972.
In 1980, WSYR-TV and WSYE owner Newhouse Communications sold the stations to the Times Mirror Company which changed the call letters to WSTM-TV and WETM respectively. Over the next several years, Times Mirror would cut the last ties between it and WSTM and would later sell the station to Smith Broadcasting in the late 1980's. Under Smith's ownership, a reversal of the station's origins would take place with the launch of partial-satellite WBGH in Binghamton in 1996. Set up in the wake of established NBC affiliate WICZ defecting to FOX, WBGH (originally called NBC 5 and seen only on Time Warner Cable in the Binghamton TV market) would soon split off on its own outside of simulcasting WETM's newscasts.
In 2000, Smith Broadcasting sold WETM, WBGH, and WWTI in Watertown to The Ackerley Group, which maintained a cluster of stations throughout New York state. With this purcase, the last ties between WETM and WBGH were cut given Ackerley's ownership of ABC affiliae WIVT in the Binghamton market. Ackerley itself would be bought out by Clear Channel Communications in late 2001.
On April 20, 2007, Clear Channel entered into an agreement to sell its entire television stations group to Providence Equity Partners.[1]
In 2007, WETM became one of four stations in upstate New York to stream its noon newscast live on an Internet video stream (the other three being WKBW-TV in Buffalo and sister stations WHAM-TV in Rochester and WSYR-TV in Syracuse).
[edit] News Team Line-Up
- WETM-18 News Today Anchor: Ana Liss
- WETM-18 News at Noon Anchor: Camille Williams
- WETM 18 News at Five Anchor: Zach Wheeler
- WETM 18 News at Six Anchor: Jeff Stone & Raegan Medgie
- WETM 18 News at Ten Anchor: Zach Wheeler
- WETM 18 News at Eleven Anchor: Jeff Stone & Raegan Medgie
- WETM 18 News Weekends Anchor: Staci-Lyn Honda
[edit] General Assignment Reporters
- Naveen Dhaliwal
- Katie Graham
- Raegan Medgie
- Camille Williams
[edit] Meteorologists
- Scott Mayer WETM 18 News at 5, 6, 10 and 11
- Joe Pasquarelli WETM-18 News Today and WETM-18 News at Noon
- Nick Bannin Weekend Meteorologist
[edit] Sports Anchors
- Steve Vesey Sports Director
- Emerson Lotzia Weekend Sports Anchor
- Chuck Brame substitute sports reporter
[edit] WETM-2
WETM also operates an independent station on digital channel 18.2, which identifies on-air as "WETM-2". The station airs local sports, movies, as well as a 10:00 p.m. newscast. Time Warner Cable carries WETM-2 on channel 11 in Elmira, Corning, and Watkins Glen.
Until September 2006, it was affiliated with UPN, and from September 2004 to July 2006, it was also available on an analog low-power station, WTTX-LP, which operated on UHF channel 30 (the former W30AA, a WSKG-TV translator), identifying on air as UPN 30. The station's launch gave the Elmira market its first 10:00 p.m. newscast.
With the merger of UPN and The WB into The CW, WTTX had been expected to compete for the affiliation as well as for the Fox-owned MyNetworkTV. However, the inability to get either affiliation (The CW affiliated with a cable-only station operated by WENY-TV; MyNetworkTV went to WJKP-LP) and WSKG's launch of a full-power digital-only satellite (WSKA) on channel 30 in Corning led Clear Channel to shut down the WTTX transmitter and take channel 18.2 independent. WETM-2 won a New York State Broadcasters Association Award for its coverage of high school sports in 2006.
[edit] External links
- www.wetmtv.com
- Query the FCC's TV station database for WETM
- BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WETM-TV
[edit] References
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