| Derry/Manchester, New Hampshire/ Boston, Massachusetts |
|
|---|---|
| Branding | The New WBIN-TV |
| Slogan | Watch and see… |
| Channels | Digital: 35 (UHF) Virtual: 50 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels | 50.1 Independent 50.2 Live Well Network 50.3 TheCoolTV |
| Affiliations | Independent (1983–2006, 2011–present) |
| Owner | Carlisle One Media, Inc. (WBIN, Inc.) |
| First air date | September 5, 1983 |
| Call letters' meaning | Bill BINnie (president of Carlisle One Media) |
| Former callsigns | WNDS (1983–2005) WZMY-TV (2005–2011) |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 50 (UHF, 1983–2008) |
| Former affiliations | MyNetworkTV (2006–2011) Universal Sports (on DT2, 2010–2011) |
| Transmitter power | 7.3 kW |
| Height | 204.8 m |
| Facility ID | 14682 |
| Website | www.wbintv.com |
WBIN-TV is an independent station licensed to Derry, New Hampshire and serving the Boston market. Its transmitter is located on Merrill Hill in Hudson, New Hampshire. Owned by Carlisle One Media, the station has studios on A Street in Derry. Additional offices are located on the 51st floor of the John Hancock Tower in downtown Boston.
Syndicated programming on the station includes: Family Feud, Better, Maury, Judge Karen's Court, Judge Mathis, The People's Court, and Cheaters. WBIN can generally be seen on Comcast cable channel 18 (outside of downtown Boston) and Verizon FiOS cable channel 6 (506 in HD). It is offered on cable systems throughout New Hampshire, southern Vermont and southern Maine, as well as on DirecTV and Dish Network within the Boston market.
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Channel 50 first appeared early in October 1969 as WXPO-TV, from two studios. Its offices and master production facilities were located on Dutton Street in downtown Lowell, Massachusetts; however, its transmitter and "main" studio was on Governor Dinsmore Road in Windham, New Hampshire to comply with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations requiring that a station's transmitter be located within 15 miles of the city of license.
However, the station's coverage in many parts of Greater Boston was spotty at best. The station's Lowell studios were located less than 1,000 feet from the transmitter of WLLH, making high-quality production impossible during the day due to RF interference with the cameras. Advertisers were scared off when the Lowell Sun blacklisted anyone who advertised on the station. Bills went unpaid for several months.
By early 1970, the vast majority (90%) of the staff was removed from the payroll, although many continued with the station, believing it could pull through. The Lowell studio was closed that spring; finally, in June the power company pulled the plug at the Windham studios during a Maverick rerun, taking WXPO off the air.
On July 17, 1973, channel 50 returned to the air with a test transmission, with plans to return the station to the air later that year, possibly as New Hampshire's CBS affiliate. Those plans were never realized, and the WXPO-TV license was deleted in 1975.
The current iteration of channel 50 began broadcasting on September 5, 1983[1] as WNDS, an independent station known on-air as "The Winds of New England." It was owned by CTV of Derry, a company not related to the CTV Television Network in Canada. The station acquired some of the assets of WNHT (channel 21, now occupied by WPXG-TV) in 1989 after that station's closure on March 31; the deal did not include the channel 21 license or WNHT's CBS affiliation.[2]
In 1997, CTV of Derry attempted to sell the station to the Global Shopping Network (GSN). That network operated channel 50 from April to June with a home shopping format.[3] However, GSN soon ran into financial problems;[4] after it missed a payment for the station, CTV of Derry canceled the sale and reverted WNDS to its previous general entertainment programming.[5]
In 2004, CTV sold channel 50 again, this time to Shooting Star Broadcasting.[6]
Soon after assuming control, in August 2005, Shooting Star Broadcasting announced that WNDS would change its call letters to WZMY-TV and its branding to "My TV".[7] At that time, the station overhauled its schedule, based on viewer responses on the old WNDS website. The changes were implemented on-air on September 26, 2005.[8]
On February 22, 2006, News Corporation announced that it would start up a new network called MyNetworkTV, in response to the merger of UPN and The WB to form The CW. Since WZMY had already filed a trademark in mid-2005 for use of the MyTV name, it was speculated that WZMY would take legal action with News Corporation over its similar name.[9] Ultimately on July 21, 2006, WZMY's My TV Club newsletter announced that the station would become the region's MyNetworkTV affiliate, later revealed on July 24 to the media and visitors to WZMY's website, and to the general public on July 26. Until the announcements were made, Boston and Southern New Hampshire had been the largest market without a stand-alone MyNetworkTV affiliate.
MyNetworkTV is the first television network that channel 50 has ever affiliated with in its history. With network affiliation beginning with the network's launch (which happened on September 5, 2006), the station continued to use its "My TV" branding, though the logo was changed to reflect the MyNetworkTV logo (a different logo had been in use in the year following the 2005 relaunch).
In December 2009, the station laid off seven employees as part of strategy change to streamline operations and change some of the programming options to be more hyper local. Operation of WZMY was taken over by New Age Media, LLC, making it a sister station to WPXT and WPME in Portland, Maine.[10] The station added a digital subchannel affiliated with Universal Sports in June 2010.[11]
On March 3, 2011, Portsmouth-based Carlisle One Media, Inc., a company controlled by Bill Binnie, announced that it had reached an agreement to purchase WZMY-TV.[12] The sale was completed on May 17;[13] ten days later, the call letters were changed to WBIN-TV.[12][14] It also dropped the "My TV New England" branding (becoming one of a number of MyNetworkTV affiliates to not feature the programming service's branding), and now refers to itself using its call letters. Binnie had indicated that the station would retain its affiliations with MyNetworkTV and Universal Sports;[12] however, the station announced on June 15 that it would leave MyNetworkTV and revert to being independent as part of an increased local emphasis, with the service's programming moving to WSBK-TV on September 19,[15][16][17] while Universal Sports ended its affiliations with its over-the-air affiliates (including WBIN) in January 2012 and became a cable and satellite channel.[18] Nonetheless, the station added an additional subchannel, carrying TheCoolTV, in October 2011;[19] additionally, it replaced Universal Sports with Live Well Network on January 1, 2012.[20] WBIN will be the flagship of a group that will also include WYCN-LP (channel 13) in Nashua and several New Hampshire radio stations.[21]
Soon after going on the air in the fall of 1983, WNDS began nightly newscasts at both 6:00 PM and 10:00 PM. The news team included news anchor Larry Sparano, sportscaster Doug Brown, and meteorologist Al Kaprielian. The weekend newscasts were cut in 1985, and the nightly newscasts were off the air by 1986.
On September 28, 1998, WNDS began the News Now local newscasts weeknights at 7 and 10 p.m.,[22] as well as weekend afternoon newscasts (which were dropped by early 2002). By 2003, the 11:57 a.m. weekday news update was expanded into a full half-hour newscast at noon. Shortly after Shooting Star bought the station, the noon broadcast was discontinued, and the 10 p.m. edition was cut down to 10 minutes.[23] In addition to the full newscasts, some news / weather updates as well as stand-alone weather updates from chief meteorologist Al Kaprielian were provided throughout the day.
When the station was relaunched as WZMY, the 10 p.m. newscast was dropped entirely; the early evening newscast was renamed MyTV Now and aired weeknights from 7:30 to 8 p.m. An additional 60-minute news and commentary program, MyTV Prime, aired from 9 to 10 p.m.[8] On March 10, 2006, however, the two programs were consolidated into a new, 90-minute version of MyTV Prime that aired from 8 to 9:30 p.m. News was no longer provided outside of that program. By July 2006, channel 50 had discontinued MyTV Prime in favor of sitcom reruns. Weather updates from Al Kaprielian were still provided each hour from noon to midnight; for a time, these were accompanied by news updates that used the MyTV Now title.
WZMY dissolved its news department completely (with the exception of weather) in November 2007, after Nicole Papageorge and Mike DeBlasi (the longest-tenured on-air employee after Al Kaprielian) departed the station. As a result, WZMY eliminated all daily news cut-ins, political commentary, and locally-produced public affairs programming.
Channel 50, as WNDS and WZMY, was well known in New England for Al Kaprielian. His quirky, offbeat style made him a minor celebrity in Southern New Hampshire. As a result of his popularity, he was a "Guest Meteorologist" on The Weather Channel's Abrams & Bettes: Beyond the Forecast on November 10, 2006. He had worked for WNDS/WZMY for his whole career. However, as a result of the station's December 2009 cutbacks, Al was laid off from the station, with his final day on-air December 31; as a result, the station no longer broadcast weather updates.[24][25] On October 11, 2011, WBIN-TV sponsored a Charlie Rose-moderated Republican presidential debate at Dartmouth College in association with Bloomberg and The Washington Post.[21][26]
Soon after the sale to Carlisle One, the station announced plans to re-establish a local news department, including a bureau at Carlisle One's headquarters in Portsmouth. Rival ABC affiliate WMUR-TV also maintains a bureau in that city at Harbor Place. On September 29, 2011, WBIN debuted a new thirty minute weeknight broadcast. Known as The News at 10 on WBIN, the show is produced in partnership with the Independent News Network (INN) of Davenport, Iowa. The news anchor and meteorologist are provided by the centralized news operation and other personnel from INN can fill-in as necessary. WBIN maintains two local reporters who contribute relevant Southern New Hampshire content.
All of the broadcasts originate from INN's facility on Tremont Avenue in Davenport. There is no regularly-scheduled sports report. The station maintains additional partnerships with The Boston Globe (provides headlines through an on screen ticker) and Bloomberg. According to published reports, WBIN plans on further expanding its newscast offering although specific details are unknown at this time. It remains to be seen how much a dent in the ratings this station will make against longtime favorite and established outlet WMUR (owned by Hearst Television).[21][26][27][28]
+ denotes INN personnel
Anchors
Reporters
During its first year on the air, WNDS ran an impressive number of locally produced programs, including a cooking show (The Yankee Gourmet), a children's show (Just Kidding Around) and a weekly prime-time variety show (The Best of New Hampshire). All of these shows were cancelled by the end of 1985, which in the case of Just Kidding Around, was largely due to one child in the audience during a live broadcast misquoting the title in a lewd manner. The station also covered live local sports, including high school football, college hockey and minor league baseball. WNDS also ran a candlepin bowling show each weekend at noon called Candlepin Stars and Strikes, which aired from 1984[29] until August 2005.[30]
Prior to the switch to Global Shopping Network in April 1997, WNDS also ran three additional shows: High School Sports Review (which looked at high school sports news in the station's broadcast region), Sports Wrap (a Sports Talk show discussing Boston sports), and WNDS News Up Front (a local newsmagazine). When regular programming was restored in June, these three shows were not resurrected.
In addition, during the early 2000s, channel 50 ran a public affairs program titled Capitol Ideas hosted by Arnie Arnesen.
Friday Night Chaos, a 30-minute weekly show from independent wrestling promotion Chaotic Wrestling, aired on WNDS from 2001 to 2002. The station also aired a locally-produced talk show hosted by singer-comedian Bucky Lewis.
After the station became WZMY, much of its local programming consisted of visits to businesses around the region, in a format known as "My Shows". The original show for this format was My New England,[8] but variants focusing on specific topics were subsequently added, such as My Premier Bride and My Good Health and My Home and Garden. Additionally, several local businesses (particularly car dealerships, but sometimes other businesses such as Dollar Bill's Discount World) produce programs that appear on weekend mornings; those programs had also appeared on WNDS. At the time of the relaunch, two other local programs also existed: a talk show entitled MyTV Prime[8] (which originally aired from 9 to 10 p.m.[8] and later from 8 to 9:30 p.m.), and Wild World (a review of action sports around the region, which was produced by Dan Egan). However, the station has subsequently discontinued these shows from its lineup (although Wild World is still produced for other outlets).
In its later years as "My TV", the station adopted a "Branded Entertainment" model, focusing on local product placement. Most of the station's local programming during this time, in addition to the remaining "My Shows"-formatted programs, have included 30-minute wrestling show from the Massachusetts-based "Big Time Wrestling" promotion (which aired on the station from May 1, 2009 until moving to WMFP in December 2010), Scorch's PFG-TV (a talk show hosted by WGIR-FM personality Scorch), The Chef's Plate (which showcases New Hampshire's top chefs creating their signature dishes), ''The Steve Katsos Show'' (also aired on sister station WPME in Portland), Debra Crosby's Talent Quest TV Show, Quiet Desperation (a reality comedy TV show based in Allston, Massachusetts), Inside the Revolution (a spotlight on the New England Revolution. AFO Proving Grounds, Animation Nation, Boston Ruit, theGreenScreen.tv, and AsianBoston TV. Many of these programs were produced in collaboration with independent production companies through what the station referred to as "MyTV New England Studios." Some of these programs continue to be shown on WBIN-TV, though Quiet Desperation was dropped following the sale to Carlisle One due to concerns over the program's content.[31] The station intends to offer increased coverage of high school, college, and professional sports;[26] this includes telecasts of New Hampshire Wildcats hockey and basketball (produced by the University of New Hampshire in association with Pack Network)[32] Merrimack Warriors hockey,[33] and the UMass Minutemen.[34]
| Channel | Video | Aspect | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50.1 | 720p | 16:9 | Main WBIN-TV programming |
| 50.2 | 480i | 4:3 | Live Well Network |
| 50.3 | TheCoolTV |
WZMY-TV discontinued analog transmission on December 1, 2008, which was within the permissible 90-day window prior to the since-delayed February 17, 2009 deadline.[35] The station's digital broadcasts operate on WZMY's pre-transition channel, 35.[36] However, through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display WBIN's virtual channel as 50.1.
In 2010, WZMY-TV began broadcasting prime time MyNetworkTV programming in high definition.
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