WFSB
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| WFSB | |
|---|---|
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| Hartford - New Haven, Connecticut | |
| Branding | Channel 3 (general) Channel 3 Eyewitness News (newscasts) |
| Slogan | Eyewitness News is Everywhere |
| Channels | Analog: 3 (VHF) |
| Affiliations | CBS |
| Owner | Meredith Corporation |
| First air date | September 23, 1957 |
| Call letters’ meaning | Frederick S. Beebe (former president of former owner Post-Newsweek Stations) |
| Former callsigns | WTIC-TV (1957-1974) |
| Former affiliations | Independent (1957-1958) |
| Transmitter Power | 100 kW (analog) 1000 kW (digital) |
| Height | 271.1 m (analog) 288.8 m (digital) |
| Facility ID | 53115 |
| Transmitter Coordinates | |
| Website | www.wfsb.com |
WFSB, channel 3, is an affiliate of the CBS television network serving most of the state of Connecticut. The station is owned by the Meredith Corporation. Licensed to the state capital of Hartford, WFSB's signal reaches as far away as southwest New Hampshire. WFSB's studios are located in the town of Rocky Hill, just south of Hartford, with transmitter on Avon Mountain.
WFSB broadcasts a digital signal of sister station WSHM-LP, the CBS affiliate in Springfield, Massachusetts, on its second digital subchannel (3.2).
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[edit] History
Connecticut's second VHF station debuted September 21, 1957 as WTIC-TV, an independent station owned by the Hartford-based Travelers Insurance Company along with WTIC radio (1080 AM) and WTIC-FM (96.5 MHz.). It was one of the most powerful stations in the Northeast, covering nearly all of Connecticut, much of western Massachusetts (including Springfield), and parts of Long Island.
By 1958, CBS was looking to sell its owned and operated station in Hartford, WHCT-TV (channel 18, now WUVN). CBS' ratings had been low in Hartford because television manufacturers were not required to have UHF tuners at the time, and the network decided that it was better to have its programming on a VHF station, even if the station was an affiliate (as opposed to an owned-and-operated station). The new WTIC-TV was selected as its Connecticut affiliate, in part due to WTIC-TV being one of the most powerful stations in New England.
WTIC-TV officially became Connecticut's CBS station in early 1958. Within a short time, the combination of its strong signal and the CBS affiliation catapulted the station to the top spot in the ratings--a position it has held more or less ever since.
In early 1974, Travelers Insurance sold channel 3 to the Washington Post Company. The Post's broadcasting division, Post-Newsweek Stations, changed the calls to WFSB after broadcasting division president Frederick S. Beebe. (The WTIC-TV calls would return to Connecticut in 1984 when Arch Communications, the then-owners of WTIC radio, signed on as part-owners of the new station on channel 61.)
In the late 1980s, Post-Newsweek moved its corporate offices from Washington, D.C., to office space located alongside WFSB, making that station the company's flagship. This was part of a move by the Post to give its various subcorporations their own independent identities. Although this strategy worked well at first, by the mid 1990s, WFSB found itself in a shrinking market without any significant growth opportunities. In June 1997, Post-Newsweek swapped WFSB to the Meredith Corporation for WCPX-TV (now WKMG-TV) in Orlando, Florida. The sale closed that October, although the Post-Newsweek group maintained its base in Hartford until 2000 when it relocated to the company's then-largest station, WDIV in Detroit.
Construction started in 2006 on a new building for WFSB to the suburb of Rocky Hill, moving from its longtime home on 3 Constitution Plaza in downtown Hartford. But on May 25, 2007, the Constitution Plaza facility was flooded by a water main break. The water damaged two of the station's cameras and its telephone systems. The flooding caused the power to be turned off, which in turn caused WFSB to go dark. The master control facilities of sister station WSHM-LP was also affected. [1] [2]
On June 27, 2007, WFSB's master control was switched to the new facility, and on July 10, the remaining parts (mostly the news side) of the station's operation were moved to Rocky Hill as well. The main desk and anchors for the news would be in a second studio temporarily, until the main set was ready. WFSB unveiled part of their new set in early October 2007. The final set was unveiled in early February, 2008.
In June 2006, the station's website was redesigned (along with those of four of Meredith Corporation's other stations). The old website was operated by the Local Media Network division of World Now and is currently operated by Internet Broadcasting.
[edit] WSHM-LP
When channel 3 became a CBS affiliate in 1958, it was deemed to be the primary CBS affiliate for the nearby Springfield - Holyoke, Massachusetts television market as well. WFSB has repeatedly blocked attempts by Springfield's original CBS affiliate WGGB-TV (now an ABC affiliate) to switch back to CBS.
To increase its presence in Western Massachusetts, WFSB began operating a low-power station in the Springfield - Holyoke market, WSHM-LP, in late 2003. From its sign-on, master control of that station has been located at WFSB's studios. WSHM is a low-powered station, and as a result, does not broadcast a digital signal of its own. However, the station can be seen on WFSB's second digital subchannel. WSHM has plans to build a digital transmitter and sign-on a digital signal in the near future.
Though identifying as a station in its own right, WSHM is considered a semi-satellite of WFSB. It has most of its internal operations run alongside WFSB, and clears all of the station's syndicated programming.
[edit] Digital television
The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
Digital channels
| Channel | Programming |
|---|---|
| 3.1 / 33.1 | main WFSB/CBS programming |
| 3.2 / 33.2 | WSHM-LP simulcast |
| 3.4 / 33.4 | "Eyewitness News Now"/Local weather channel |
[edit] Post-analog shutdown
After the analog television shutdown and digital conversion, which is tentatively scheduled to take place on February 17, 2009[1], WFSB will remain on its current pre-transition channel number, 33. [2] However, through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers will display WFSB's virtual channel as 3.
[edit] News operation
WFSB has used the Eyewitness News title and format for its newscasts since the mid-1970s. They have been rated number-one in nearly all time slots for the past thirty years.
On February 5, 2007, WFSB began operating a 24-hour local news and weather channel on its third digital subchannel. Known as Channel 3 Eyewitness News Now, it can also be viewed live on WFSB's website and on local digital cable systems.
On January 7, 2008, WFSB started airing The Early Show in its entirety, as CBS now requires all of its affiliates to do so. The Early Show has been reformatted, and CBS hopes the program can better compete against its rivals, Today and Good Morning America. Before this change, WFSB preempted the first hour of the broadcast in favor of a third hour of local news.
In addition to their main studios, WFSB operates news bureaus in New London and New Haven. In 2008, WFSB will open a bureau at the new Connecticut Science Center that is currently under construction in downtown Hartford.
[edit] Current personalities
- Anchors
- Erika Arias - weekend evenings
- Denise D'Ascenzo - weeknights 5:00, 5:30, 6:00 pm.(stoped doing 11:00 pm show on 4/1/08)
- Kevin Hogan - weekend evenings (also New London bureau chief)
- Dennis House - weeknights 6:00 and 11:00 p.m.(also host of Face The State)
- Mike Hydeck - weekday mornings
- Irene O'Connor - weekday mornings
- Jessica Schneider - weekend mornings
- Kara Sundlun - weekdays Noon (also Better Connecticut co-host)
- Al Terzi - weekdays Noon, 5:00, and 5:30 p.m.
- Weather
- Melissa Cole - sundays
- Bruce DePrest - chief meteorologist/weeknights
- Mark Dixon - weekend mornings
- Scot Haney - weekday mornings & noon (also Better Connecticut co-host and feature reporter)
- Darren Sweeney - saturdays
- Sports
- John Holt - weekend evenings/ Friday Night Football/ Friday Night Frenzie
- Chris Kelley - sports reporter/substitute anchor
- Joe Zone - sports director/weeknights; also host of Eyewitness News Sports Sunday, Friday Night Football/ Friday Night Frenzie
- Reporters
- Len Besthoff (investigative)
- Aleesha Chaney
- Leon Collins (New Haven bureau; also investigative reporter)
- Hena Daniels
- Ray Daudani
- Heather Hegedus
- Dan Kain
- Teresa LaBarbera (traffic)
- Eric Parker
- Susan Raff
- Jessica Schneider
- Katy Zachry
[edit] Notable alumni
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[edit] News/Station Presentation
[edit] Newscast Titles
- Channel 3 News (1966-1974)
- Channel 3 Eyewitness News (1974-present)
[edit] Station Slogans
- Discover the Land of the 3 (1976-1980)
- Your News is Our News (1980-1984; used on news promos)
- Eyewitness News is Everywhere (1997-present)
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- WFSB Website
- WFSB Tower & Transmitters
- Query the FCC's TV station database for WFSB
- BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WFSB-TV
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