WZMY-TV

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = WZMY-TV
city =
station_
station_slogan = My TV is Your TV
station_branding = My TV
analog = 50 (UHF)
digital = 35 (UHF)
other_chs =
affiliations = MyNetworkTV
network =
founded =
airdate = September 1983
location = Derry, New Hampshire /
Boston, Massachusetts
callsign_meaning = We're Zooming to MY TV
(the name predates MyNetworkTV by a year)
former_callsigns = WNDS (1983-2005)
former_channel_numbers =
owner = Shooting Star Broadcasting of New England, LLC
licensee =
sister_stations =
former_affiliations = Independent (1983-2006)
effective_radiated_power = 4,790 kW (analog)
7.3 kW (digital)
HAAT = 213 m (analog)
204.8 m (digital)
class =
facility_id = 14682
coordinates = coord|42|44|7.1|N|71|23|33.6|W|type:landmark_scale:2000
homepage = [http://www.mytvstation.tv/ mytvstation.tv]

WZMY-TV, channel 50, is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for southern New Hampshire and Greater Boston, licensed to Derry, New Hampshire. Its transmitter is located on Merrill Hill in Hudson, New Hampshire. Owned by Shooting Star Broadcasting of New England, the station has studios located on A Street in Derry. Additional offices are located on the 51st floor of the John Hancock Building on Clarendon Street in downtown Boston. In addition to MyNetworkTV primetime and overnight paid programming, WZMY's syndicated lineup includes: "Still Standing", "Frasier", "Family Feud", "Becker" and many other popular shows. The station is also offered on cable. On Comcast systems, outside of downtown Boston, WZMY is generally found on channel 18. It is offered on cable systems throughout New Hampshire, southern Vermont and southern Maine as well. Verizon FiOS offers WZMY on channel 6.

History

WNDS

The station began broadcasting on January 22, 1983 and was known on-air as "The Winds of New England". The station had the call letters WNDS and aired an independent format that was a constant for most of its years of operation. In April 1988, the station applied for the WQNH call letters but they were never used. In 1997, CTV of Derry, who owned WNDS, attempted to sell the station to the Global Shopping Network. That network operated channel 50 from April to June with a home shopping format. [cite web | url = http://www.bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-970410.html | title = North East RadioWatch | date = 1997-04-10 | last = Fybush | first = Scott | publisher = The Boston Radio Archives | accessdate = 2008-01-10] However, GSN failed to make payments for WNDS (as well as their other stations) effectively returning control of the station to CTV. [cite web | url = http://www.bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-970605.html | title = North East RadioWatch | date = 1997-06-15 | last = Fybush | first = Scott | publisher = The Boston Radio Archives | accessdate = 2008-01-10] [ cite web | url = http://www.bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-970612.html | title = North East RadioWatch | date = 1997-06-12 | last = Fybush | first = Scott | publisher = The Boston Radio Archives | accessdate = 2008-01-10]

As such, CTV sold channel 50 again, this time to its present owner Shooting Star Broadcasting.

WZMY

In the August, 2005, Shooting Star Broadcasting announced that WNDS would change its call letters to WZMY-TV and its branding to "MyTV". [cite web | url = http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050805/BUSINESS/108050017/-1/ENTERTAINMENT | title = WNDS focuses lens on viewers | last = Kennedy | first = Eileen | work = Nashua Telegraph | publisher = Telegraph Publishing Company | date = 2005-08-05 | accessdate = 2008-01-10] That coincided with a major overhaul of the station's programming lineup, including the discontinuation of the 10 p.m. news, the relocation of the 7 p.m. news to 7:30, new local programs, and other changes based on viewer responses on the old WNDS website. The changes were implemented on-air on September 26, 2005. In July, 2007 MyTV launched a revamped website, similar to the MyNetworkTV website.

Network affiliation

On January 24, 2006, The WB and UPN networks announced that they would cease broadcasting and merge. The new network would be called The CW with the letters representing the first initial of its corporate parents: CBS (the parent company of UPN) and the Warner Bros. unit of Time Warner. Boston's WB affiliate WLVI-TV, which also served Southern New Hampshire, was announced as becoming an affiliate with the new network. That left the area's UPN affiliate WSBK-TV becoming an independent. The CW began broadcasting on September 18, 2006.

On February 22, 2006, News Corporation announced that they would start up another new network called MyNetworkTV. The new service would be a sister network to News Corporation's other network Fox. MyNetworkTV would be operated by Fox Television Stations and its syndication division Twentieth Television. The newtork was created to give UPN and WB stations, not mentioned as becoming CW affiliates, another option besides becoming independent. It was also to compete against The CW.

WZMY, having already copyrighted and established itself as "My TV", reached an agreement with News Corporation to become the Greater Boston and Southern New Hampshire affiliate.

On July 21, 2006, members of the "My TV Club" (who get special "My TV"-related announcements through their email) received an announcement declaring that WZMY would be affiliating with MyNetworkTV. Details became available on July 24 to the media and on WZMY's website. Full notification to the general public occurred on July 26. Until the announcements were made, Boston and Southern New Hampshire had been the largest market without a stand-alone MyNetworkTV affiliate. Speculation abounded that Boston's FOX O&O, WFXT, would add the new network either as a secondary affiliation or on a new second digital subchannel.Fact|date=January 2008

MyNetworkTV is the first television network that WNDS and WZMY have 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 their "My TV" branding. WZMY redesigned its website to reflect its new network affiliation and a new logo was unveiled.

Local programming

Newscasts

WNDS

In September 1998, WNDS began the "News Now" local newscasts weeknights at 7 and 10 p.m. as well as a short-lived Saturday afternoon one. By 2003, the 11:57 a.m. weekday news update was expanded into a full half-hour newscast at Noon. However, the station began to struggle by the 2004–2005 season. As a result, the Noon broadcast was discontinued and the 10 p.m. edition was cut down to 10 minutes in favor of syndicated programming like "That '70s Show".

As WNDS, the station called its newscasts "News Now", which debuted in September 1998. The station produced two nightly newscasts weeknights at 7 and 10 p.m. Both newscasts were originally a half-hour long, but the 10 p.m. edition was later shortened to a 10-minute broadcast. At various points, WNDS also had weekend afternoon and weekday Noon newscasts, but those were eventually dropped.

In addition, some news / weather updates as well as stand-alone weather updates from Chief Meteorologist Al Kaprielian were provided throughout the day. When "MyTV" launched, the 10 p.m. news was dropped. The news team remained the same throughout the transition.

WZMY

When the station was relaunched as WZMY, it had only one news program on the schedule, "MyTV Now", which 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. 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 Chief Meteorologist Al Kaprielian are still provided each hour from Noon to Midnight but these (as of August 2006) are now accompanied by news updates that use the "MyTV Now" title. According to Gene Stienberg, WZMY will not produce newscasts any longer and has no plans to do so. WZMY is well known in New England for Al Kaprielian. 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.

Other local programs

As WNDS

For most of WNDS's existence, the station ran a candlepin bowling show each weekend at Noon called "Candlepin Stars and Strikes", which was dropped from the schedule in August 2005. In addition, during the early 2000s, channel 50 ran a public affairs program titled "Capitol Ideas". The station currently airs "MyVoice", Sunday nights at 11 p.m. which focuses on issues important to New Englanders.

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.

"Friday Night Chaos", a 30-minute weekly show from independent wrestling promotion Chaotic Wrestling, aired on WNDS from 2001-2002. The station also aired a locally-produced talk show hosted by singer-comedian Bucky Lewis.

As WZMY

Much of "MyTV"'s current local programming consists of visits to businesses around the region, in a format known as "MyShows". The general show for this format is "My New England", although as of August 2006 variants focusing on specific topics have been added, such as "My Premier Bride" and "My Good Health". These programs appear throughout the day. Additionally, several local businesses (particularly car dealerships, but sometimes other businesses such as "Dollar Bill's Discount World") have produce programs that appear on weekend mornings. The latter programming had also appeared on WNDS. Chaotic Wrestling began airing a 30-minute monthly show in August 2007.

When "MyTV" launched, two other local programs also existed: a talk show entitled "MyTV Prime" (which originally aired from 9 to 10 p.m. 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).

Al Kaprelien, MyTV Chief Meteorologist, does break-ins with weather updates during prime-time broadcasts, a role he has held since the station's founding as WNDS-TV in 1983. His quirky, offbeat style has made him a minor celebrity in Southern New Hampshire.

News reporter Nicole Papageorge left the station in November to begin work at WINK-TV in Fort Myers, FL.

Award-winning Sports and News Anchor Mike DeBlasi, the longest-tenured on-air employee besides Al Kaprielian, resigned in Nov. As a result, WZMY eliminated all daily news cut-ins, political commentary, and locally-produced public affairs programming.

Digital television

The station's digital channel is multiplexed:

Analog-to-digital conversion

After the analog television shutdown and digital conversion, which is tentatively scheduled to take place on February 17, 2009 http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf] , WZMY-TV will continue digital broadcasts on its current pre-transition channel number, 35. [http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101230904&formid=387&fac_num=65684 CDBS Print ] ] However, through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers will display WZMY's virtual channel as 50.

Logos

ee also

List of television stations in New Hampshire

External links

* [http://www.mytvstation.tv/ WZMY-TV "My TV"]
* [http://www.mynetworktv.com/ MyNetworkTV]
* [http://www.dollarsavershow.com/dollarsaver/index?stationId=5 Dollar Saver]
*TVQ|WZMY
*BIA|WZMY|TV|TV

References