Elmira/Corning/ Ithaca, New York |
|
---|---|
City of license | Elmira |
Branding | WENY-TV ABC WENY-TV News WENY-TV CBS (on DT2) Twin Tiers CW 2 (on DT3) |
Slogan | Expect Everything |
Channels | Digital: 36 (UHF) |
Subchannels | 36.1 ABC 36.2 CBS 36.3 The CW |
Translators | 6 W06AR Hornell |
Owner | Lilly Broadcasting |
First air date | November 19, 1969 |
Call letters' meaning | Elmira, New York |
Sister station(s) | WICU-TV, WSEE-TV |
Former channel number(s) | 36 (UHF analog, 1969-2009) 55 (UHF digital, 2000-2009) |
Transmitter power | 75 kW |
Height | 342 m |
Facility ID | 71508 |
Website | weny.com |
WENY-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Central and Western Southern Tier of New York State and Northern Pennsylvania licensed to Elmira. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 36 from a transmitter on Higman Hill in Corning. The station can also be seen on Time Warner channel 4 and in high definition on digital channel 703. Owned by Lilly Broadcasting, WENY has studios on Old Ithaca Road in Horseheads. Syndicated programming on the channel includes: Judge Judy, Dr. Phil, Ellen, and Judge Jeanine Pirro. It can also be seen on analog repeater W06AR channel 6 licensed to Hornell with a transmitter in South Hornell.
Contents[hide] |
It operates the area's CBS affiliate on a second digital subchannel. This can also be seen on Time Warner channel 12 and in high definition on Time Warner digital channel 701. Syndicated programming on WENY-DT2 includes: Entertainment Tonight, TMZ on TV, Inside Edition, and The Insider. WENY also operates the area's CW affiliate on a third digital subchannel and Time Warner channel 2 (hence the Twin Tiers CW 2 branding) and gets all of its programming from The CW Plus.
Channel | Programming |
---|---|
36.1 | main WENY-TV programming/ABC HD |
36.2 | WENY-DT2 CBS |
36.3 | WENY-DT3 "Twin Tiers CW 2" |
The station signed-on November 19, 1969 after Howard Green owner of WENY radio (1230 AM and 92.7 FM) and WCMC-AM-TV in Wildwood, New Jersey was awarded analog UHF channel 36 by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Another area broadcaster, Frank Saia, had surrendered the construction permit to build what would have been WEHH-TV on the same channel. Green purchased the equipment of WNYP-TV, a defunct station in Jamestown, and hired Larry Taylor (that station’s Assistant Chief Engineer) to move and install the equipment into a space on the ground floor of the Mark Twain Hotel in Downtown Elmira. The station’s analog transmitter was placed on Hawley Hill in a newly constructed addition to the building that housed NBC affiliate WSYE-TV (now WETM-TV).
WENY began operations out of a mixed color/black-and-white facility. Its broadcasts of ABC network programming were in actuality retransmissions of either WABC-TV in New York City or WNYS-TV (now WSYR-TV) in Syracuse. The former was received via microwave while the latter was received via deep fringe hotel rooftop antenna. The station aired a small amount of locally produced programming including an Elmira edition of Claster Television's long-running children's program Romper Room and a late-Saturday night horror movie hosted by disc jockey Paul Leigh as the ghoulish "Undertaker".
During the disastrous flooding caused by Hurricane Agnes in 1972, WENY was abandoned due to rising waters. Engineers were able to remove a limited amount of equipment to the Hawley Hill site where the station managed a limited broadcasting schedule of news and emergency announcements until the studios could be reoccupied. After this, Green obtained a building on Old Ithaca Road in Horseheads that had been previously used by the Army Corps of Engineers. In 1973, Taylor, along with engineer Gary Simon, moved the station from the hotel to the garage of the property where it remains to this day. In 2000, longtime owner Howard Green sold WENY to current owner Lilly Broadcasting (owned by Brian Lilly son of SJL Broadcasting's George Lilly) thus separating the television station from its radio sisters which were sold to White Broadcasting.
Lilly Broadcasting was granted the local CW affiliation in Spring 2006. The network's programming, from The CW Plus, began to air on cable-only "WBE" (which Lilly owns as well) when the network launched on September 18. That station had been affiliated with the network's predecessor, The WB via The WB 100+. On October 20, 2008, CBS signed an affiliation agreement with WENY to air the network on a new second digital subchannnel with a proposed launch date of January 1, 2009.[1][2] This would mark the first time that CBS has ever had an affiliate based in Elmira. The area had been served by longtime default affiliate WBNG-TV in Binghamton while Ithaca was served by WTVH. Canisteo and Hornell were covered by Buffalo's WIVB-TV.
According to the FCC, WENY had a request to flash-cut from analog to digital broadcasting after the old transition date of February 17, 2009.[3] On that date, WENY-DT2 launched on Time Warner systems in Elmira, Corning, Hornell, and Ithaca.[4][5][6] At the end of May, WENY performed a flash-cut and began broadcasting exclusively in digital. The new CBS station began its transmission over-the-air at this point. "WBE" eventually began to be offered on a new third digital subchannel of WENY and now uses the WENY-DT3 call sign in an official manner.
According to the FCC, it had an application to air a digital signal on UHF channel 55. However, the station opted to perform a flash-cut instead. Qualcomm holds licenses for the channel 55 spectrum. Approval of WENY's request to flash-cut allowed that company's wholly owned subsidiary, MediaFLO USA, to expand its "mediacast" service coverage in New York State without loss of broadcast service to the public.[7] WENY-DT2's coverage area includes Steuben and Chemung Counties in New York which borders the Erie market and sister station CBS affiliate WSEE-TV. It is unknown if there is any coordination of the two CBS stations that come within one county of each other in coverage and serve an area reaching between Cleveland, Ohio and Binghamton (not inclusive).
At first, the station's only local programming were newscasts seen weeknights at 6 and 11. The original anchor team featured News Director Bill Miller, long-time WENY disc jockey Steve Christy with weather, and sports with Dick Ireland. Christy, the last of the three to retire, remained with the station until early-2009 at which point he retired due to health problems. Also known as "Mr. WENY" in reference to his long tenure at the station, he died in July 2010.[8] In 1975, WENY became the first in the market to switch from sixteen mm black-and-white reversal news footage to color electronic news gathering using the Sony U-Matic system. In 1977, it became the first in Elmira to use an electronic character generator during newscasts.
Compared with rival WETM, WENY's news department is quite small for a big three affiliate, and the station airs the second-fewest hours of news per week of any ABC affiliate in New York, ahead only of WUTR. There is an hour-long weekday morning show at 6 that is simulcasted on WENY-DT2. Unlike most ABC affiliates, it does not offer a midday show during the week. Although there is no news in the 5 o'clock hour on weeknights, WENY airs broadcasts at 6, 7, and 11. The prime time show at 7 is seen exclusively on WENY-DT2 and that channel simulcasts the late news at 11 from the main channel. There are no weekend newscasts on either station. Like all CW Plus affiliates in the Eastern Time Zone, WENY-DT3 offers the nationally syndicated morning show The Daily Buzz on weekday mornings from 6 until 9. WENY shares resources with sister stations WSEE and WICU-TV in Erie.
Anchors
Reporters
|
|