| Youngstown, Ohio | |
|---|---|
| Branding | 21 WFMJ (general) 21 News (newscasts) |
| Slogan | More Local News |
| Channels | Digital: 20 (UHF) Virtual: 21 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels | 21.1 NBC 21.2 The CW |
| Owner | Vindicator Printing Company (WFMJ Television, Inc.) |
| First air date | March 8, 1953 |
| Call letters' meaning | William F. Maag, Jr. (founder) |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 73 (1953-1954) 21 (1954-2009) |
| Transmitter power | 460 kW (digital) |
| Height | 295 m (digital) |
| Facility ID | 72062 |
| Website | www.wfmj.com/ |
WFMJ-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Youngstown, Ohio. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 20 from a transmitter on Mabel Street in Youngstown. Owned by the Maag family, the station has studios on West Boardman Street in downtown Youngstown. WFMJ-TV is locally owned along with the city's major newspaper. Syndicated programming on the station includes: The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Dr. Phil, Inside Edition, Judge Judy and Live with Kelly.
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The station was founded by William F. Maag, Jr., publisher of the Vindicator. It was owned alongside and WFMJ radio (AM 1390, now WNIO, and FM 105.1, now WQXK). The Maags then purchased the construction permit issued for channel 21 (originally granted to WUTV) and moved to that frequency on August 7, 1954.
WFMJ is the only locally owned and operated station in the market, and, in fact, one of the few stations left in the country that is still locally owned and operated. The station points it out very often in advertisements, as the "Only Locally-Owned Station in Youngstown", compared with rivals WKBN-TV (owned by New Vision Television, which also owns low-power Fox affiliate WYFX-LP) and WYTV (owned by Parkin Broadcasting, which also owns the My Network TV digital subchannel MY-YTV, but operated under a local marketing agreement with WKBN parent New Vision). As a result, WFMJ has been a strong ratings force in Youngstown for several years. WFMJ's newscasts typically garner higher ratings than its competitors combined in the morning, 6 and 11 newscasts.
WFMJ is one of the few stations in the country that can boast airing Live with Kelly, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Anderson (TV series) and (Dr. Phil, on the same station. WFMJ's morning show (WFMJ Today), Today, and Live with Regis and Kelly ratings are among the highest in the country. WFMJ is also the Youngstown market's carrier station for the Ohio Lottery and its weekly game show, Cash Explosion Double Play. On Thursday October 29, 2009, at 6:00pm, the station's weather graphics were changed to the 3D:LIVE weather central system.
In addition to its main service area of extreme northeastern Ohio and northwestern Pennsylvania, WFMJ can be seen as far as the eastern and southern suburbs of Cleveland with a good antenna.
WFMJ can be seen on Time Warner Youngstown cable channel 3, Armstrong channel 2, and Time Warner Warren channel 4. It can also be seen on Comcast Channel 7 and in HD on Channel 721 in New Castle & Bessemer, both of which are located in Western Pennsylvania. WFMJ is also carried on both the DirecTV and Dish Network home satellite systems.
WFMJ founded the market's first expanded Friday Night high school football coverage with The Overtime Report. WFMJ also carries select Youngstown State University away football games live along with Penguin Gameday and the YSU coaches show for both football and basketball. WFMJ also airs local sports coverage during the morning, 6 P.M., and 11 P.M. newscasts.
Autumn Ziemba, co-anchor of WFMJ's 6 and 11 p.m. news broadcasts, left WFMJ in June 2007 after her contract ended. She stated that she made the decision in order to pursue other interests and spend more time with her family. On her last night as co-anchor, an announcement was made of her plans; however, viewers were unable to hear the announcement due to inclement weather that caused the channel's signal to go out. Afterwards, Ziemba got married and was a freelance reporter for WEWS in Cleveland; she is currently a weekend reporter for WJW. She was replaced by Cindy Matthews in January 2008.
Cindy Matthews, co-anchor of WFMJ's 6 and 11 p.m. news broadcasts, left WFMJ TV in January 2011 to pursue her career. Her last newscast on WFMJ was Friday January 7, 2011.
Scott Schneider, co-anchor of WFMJ Today and Midday newscasts, left WFMJ on December 23, 2011 after 14 years. Scott stated in his final sign off on the WFMJ Today morning show, this was a personal reason to leave WFMJ. Mike Case (morning reporter and fill in anchor) took over the anchor spot for WFMJ Today and the midday newscast on December 26, 2011.
WFMJ-DT broadcasts on digital channel 20.
| Virtual channel | Physical channel | Programming |
|---|---|---|
| 21.1 | 20.1 | Main WFMJ-TV programming / NBC |
| 21.2 | 20.2 | Main WFMJ-DT2 programming / The CW |
It was announced on May 8, 2010 that WFMJ would begin broadcasting its news in HD in "the next few weeks". However, as of January 2012, newscasts are still aired in 4:3 standard definition with HD pillar boxes . Viewers can view severe weather and lottery scrolls in 16:9 format. Once WFMJ begins HD newscasts, every channel in the Youngstown, Ohio market will be broadcasting their news in high definition.
In October 2010 the station starting carrying Syndication programs, and Commercials when available in HD. In April 2011 the station started carrying Ohio Lottery's Cash Explosion show in HD.
During the summer of 2011 the station ran promos stating that Ellen DeGeneres Show will be moving to 5PM on September 12, 2011 replacing the "The Oparh Winfery Show on the station. On that same day Dr. Phil will moving to the 3PM. The new "Anderson Cooper" syndicated talk show which will air at 4PM starting the same day. The Oparh Winfery Show ended its run on May 26, 2011 the station will air repeats till September 9, 2011.
WFMJ also owns Youngstown's CW affiliate, WBCB. It operates WBCB as one of its digital subchannels and is available on all area cable systems on an analog basis including channel #16 on Armstrong and channel #14 on Time Warner. WBCB is also carried as a local channel available on the DirecTV home satellite system. WBCB launched in November 2004 as the market's first WB affiliate and was chosen by the new CW Network to serve the Youngstown DMA as its affiliate. The station carries a full 24/7 program schedule, including Seinfeld, TMZ, Extra, Access Hollywood, Friends, and Frasier.
The station formerly signed off on weekend early mornings from about 2:30 AM to 4:30 AM until 2011, when paid programming filled the former off-air time, though on the digital signal color bars were placed on the main signal while the WBCB channel continued to show syndicated programming and infomercials during WFMJ's off-air time. WFMJ was the last station in the Youngstown market to sign off on a regular basis. WYTV, which from 1997-2006 signed off on a nightly basis, ended the practice with the launch of MY-YTV.
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