WFMZ-TV

WFMZ-TV

Allentown, Pennsylvania
Branding 69 WFMZ-TV, WFMZ-TV, WFMZ-TV 69.1 (general)
69 News (newscasts)
Slogan Your Life,
Your World,
Your News
Channels Digital: 46 (UHF)
Virtual: 69 (PSIP)
Subchannels 69.1 WFMZ (Ind.)
69.2 AccuWX
69.3 Me-TV
69.4 RTV
Translators 45 (UHF) Philadelphia
(construction permit)
Affiliations Independent
Owner Maranatha Broadcasting Company, Inc.
First air date November 25, 1976
Call letters' meaning Family Minded Zone
Former channel number(s) Analog:
69 (1976-2009)
Transmitter power 800 kW
Height 331 m
Facility ID 39884
Website www.wfmz.com

WFMZ-TV, virtual channel 69 (UHF digital channel 46), is a general interest independent television station in Allentown, Pennsylvania, which is part of the Philadelphia DMA. Its studio and transmitter are located on South Mountain in Allentown.

Contents

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Background

WFMZ went on the air on Thanksgiving 1976 with two daily newscasts and a mix of religious and general interest programming. (An earlier television station with the WFMZ calls, also based in Allentown, operated on channel 67 from December 1954 to April 1955.)

WFMZ mainly serves the Lehigh Valley and Berks County areas with cable coverage in much of the Philadelphia DMA. There is over-the-air signal coverage in some northwest New Jersey counties that are part of the New York City DMA. WFMZ also serves as a local station in news and cable coverage to Carbon County and Monroe County within the Wilkes-Barre-Scranton DMA.

Programming

The schedule consists of first run syndicated programs like Judge Judy, Judge Joe Brown, Family Feud, and Dr. Phil, off-network syndicated programs like Cold Case Files , Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Cash Cab and classic TV shows like Matlock, along with news rebroadcasts and a simulcast of The 69News AccuWeather Channel during the overnight hours. The station also produces various local programs about business, sports and health related issues.

Local programming

Digital television

WFMZ-DT subchannels

Channel Name Video Format Programming
69.1 WFMZ-HD 720p Main WFMZ-TV programming
69.2 WFMZ-AW 480i The 69News AccuWeather Channel
69.3 WFMZ-ME MeTV
69.4 WFMZ RT RTV

The 69News AccuWeather Channel

WFMZ debuted The 69News AccuWeather Channel on February 4, 2001. It is broadcast on WFMZ DT2 and digital cable 24-hour a day, 7 days a week, and according to WFMZ, was the first 24-hour local weather channel in the United States. Local weather updates are given every 15 minutes from one of WFMZ's meteorologists, plus national updates provided by AccuWeather. A link on the station's website offers live streaming video of this channel. This channel is entirely locally produced, unlike The Local AccuWeather Channel associated with other AccuWeather-affiliated stations.

Weekdays

Weekends

News operation

WFMZ-TV originally had two daily newscasts called "Newspulse" that ran when the station launched in 1976. These would be renamed "Channel 69 News" until finally being shortened to "69 News". Those two newscasts have expanded to over fifty a week including a nightly local Spanish newscast (which launched in February 2003). In 2005, WFMZ formed a partnership with Philadelphia station WPVI which allows the stations to cooperate in news gathering purposes. The current set for 69 News debuted in April 2006. High-definition news broadcasts began on May 1, 2008 making WFMZ the fourth station in the Philadelphia market to air HD news.

News/station presentation

Newscast titles

Station slogans

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News team

Current on-air staff

Anchors

Weather team

Sports team

Reporters

Out of market cable, satellite and over the air coverage

In the western part of the New York DMA in New Jersey, it is carried in Phillipsburg and Milford on basic cable. In northwestern part of the state for Comcast Northwest - Port Murray subscribers, it is available on digital cable alongside with KYW, WTXF and WCAU. It is not carried on satellite in the NYC DMA side of the market. Over-the-air reception from its main transmitter begins to fade away past US Highway 206.

See also

External links