WHAM-TV

WHAM-TV

Rochester, New York
Branding	13 WHAM (general) 13 WHAM News (pronounced "wham") Rochester's CW (on DT2)
Slogan	Your Breaking News & Weather Authority
Channels	Digital: 13 (VHF)
Affiliations	13.1 ABC 13.2 The CW
Owner	Newport Television (Newport Television License, LLC)
First air date	September 15, 1962
Call letters' meaning	taken from former sister WHAM-AM
Sister station(s)	WSYR-TV, WWTI, WETM-TV, WIVT, WBGH-CA, WXXA-TV
Former callsigns	WOKR (1962-2005)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 13 (1962-2009) Digital: 59 (2005-2009)
Transmitter power	10.5 kW
Height	152 m
Facility ID	73371
Transmitter coordinates	43°8′7″N 77°35′3″W / 43.13528°N 77.58417°W / 43.13528; -77.58417
Website	13wham.com

WHAM-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for Rochester, New York. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 13 from a transmitter on Pinnacle Hill on the border between Rochester and Brighton. The station can also be seen on Time Warner channel 13 and in high definition on digital channel 1013. Owned by Newport Television, it has studios on West Henrietta Road (NY 15) in the city. However, master control and some internal operations are based at centralcasting facilities within WSYR-TV's studios on Bridge Street in East Syracuse. Syndicated programming on WHAM includes: The Insider, Entertainment Tonight, Oprah, and Access Hollywood.

Digital programming

On WHAM-DT2 is the area's CW affiliate. This can also be seen on Time Warner channel 16 and in high definition on digital channel 1016. Syndicated programming on this station includes: Family Guy, My Name Is Earl, Everybody Hates Chris, and Tyra. Although most CW Plus affiliates are on digital subchannels of other stations, WHAM-DT2 is not part of the national service.

Channel	Video	Programming
13.1	720p	main WHAM programming/ABC HD
13.2	720p	WHAM-DT2 "Rochester's CW"

History

The station signed-on at 4 in the afternoon on September 15, 1962 with the call sign WOKR (for "We're OK Rochester"). Right from the start, it was an ABC affiliate and is the only commercial station in the area that has never changed its affiliation. In March 1970, it was sold to Flower City Television Corporation. In 1977, Flower City was sold to Post Corporation, a media conglomerate based in Wisconsin. George N. Gillett Jr. purchased the station from Post Corporation in August 1984 transferring it into Gillett Holdings, Inc. Hughes Broadcasting Partners (Paul Hughes and Veronis, Suhler & Associates) purchased the station in June 1991. Guy Gannett Communications acquired WOKR in April 1995.

The Ackerley Group acquired the station from that company (who sold most of its stations to the Sinclair Broadcast Group which already owned WUHF and duopolies were illegal at the time) in 1998 with the acquisition closing in April 1999. The station came under common ownership with Rochester's WHAM-AM 1180 in June 2002 after the Ackerley Group merged with Clear Channel Communications, WHAM radio's owner. Speculation immediately started about whether WOKR would take on the WHAM-TV calls which had been used on what is now WROC-TV from 1949 until 1956. On January 10, 2005 at 1:42 in the morning, this channel signed off-the-air for the last time as WOKR and returned to the air at 4:59 that same day as WHAM-TV. For many years, it was one of three Rochester area stations offered on cable in the Ottawa/Gatineau and Eastern Ontario regions.

The Rochester area stations were replaced with Detroit channels in September 2003 when the microwave relay system that provided these signals was discontinued. Until January 2009, WHAM was also the ABC affiliate carried in several Central Ontario communities such as Belleville, Cobourg, and Lindsay. Buffalo ABC affiliate WKBW-TV replaced WHAM in these communities. On November 16, 2006, Clear Channel announced its intention to sell off all of its television stations after the company was bought by private equity firms. On April 20, 2007, the company entered into an agreement to sell its entire television stations group to Newport Television, a broadcasting holding company established by the private equity firm Providence Equity Partners. ^[1] WHAM radio was not part of the sale to Providence Equity. Nevertheless, the WHAM-TV call sign has been retained for the foreseeable future. On June 12, 2009, WHAM-TV shut off its analog signal on channel 13 and had been on the air since 1962. Its digital signal shifted from channel 59 to channel 13 prior to the analog television shutdown and digital conversion.

WHAM-DT2

What is now WHAM-DT2 was launched in 2000 as cable-only "WRWB". It was an affiliate of The WB through The WB 100+. The station was operated by Time Warner and the call sign was used in a fictional manner. On January 24, 2006, The WB and UPN announced that they would end broadcasting and merge. The new combined network would be called The CW. The letters would represent the first initial of its corporate parents: CBS (the parent company of UPN) and the Warner Bros. unit of Time Warner. On February 22, News Corporation announced that it would start up another new network called MyNetworkTV. This new service, which would be a sister network to Fox, would be operated by Fox Television Stations and its syndication division Twentieth Television. MyNetworkTV was created in order to give UPN and WB stations, not mentioned as becoming CW affiliates, another option besides becoming Independent. It was also created to compete against The CW. UPN was seen locally on Class A station WBGT-CA.

WRWB's CW affiliation was officially announced on March 7. As a result of Time Warner's half ownership in the new network, this was virtually a guarantee. After the switch on September 18, the station's on-air identity changed from "Rochester's WB 16" to "Rochester's CW" (with a "TV 16" logo used to denote its cable channel) and the fictional WRWB calls were laid aside. meanwhile, WBGT became part of MyNetworkTV when that network launched on September 5. On November 13, 2006, WHAM took over the operation of "Rochester's CW" from Time Warner. It renamed the service "CW WHAM" and began to simulcast on a new second digital subchannel of WHAM to offer over-the-air viewers access to CW programming.

"CW WHAM" moved its operations from the downtown Time Warner offices on Mount Hope Avenue into this station's facilities on West Henrietta Road. However, the station continues to air on Time Warner channel 16 and in high definition on digital channel 1016. On September 8, 2007, WHAM-DT2 began airing Next Era Wrestling's Superstars of Wrestling, a popular wrestling program filmed and produced locally for the Rochester audience. The show was canceled after eight episodes.

News operation

News open seen every night at 6.

WHAM has led the news ratings in Rochester for many years and lead anchor Don Alhart has been at the station since 1966 along with longtime anchors Ginny Ryan and Doug Emblidge. As of 2007, portions of WHAM's programming (including its weekday noon newscast) is streamed live on its website. On January 15, 2007, the station expanded its weekday morning show to include two hours (7 to 9) on WHAM-DT2. On September 13, 2010, WHAM became the first station in Rochester to broadcast newscasts in high definition. The station debuted an updated logo featuring the "circle 13" design (derivative of the circle 7 logo) similar to ABC affiliate WTVG in Toledo, Ohio. The show on WHAM-DT2 was included in the upgrade but can only be seen in HD on Time Warner digital channel 1016 since the digital subchannel airs in standard definition. ^{[2] [3] [4]} On January 1, 2011, WHAM-DT2 began airing a half-hour prime time newscast every night at 10. This competes with Fox affiliate WUHF that has a nightly 45 minute broadcast produced by WROC. ^[5]

Newscast titles

• WOKR-TV News (1962-1964)
• Channel 13 Newscope (1964-1969)
• Channel 13 News (1969-1976)
• Eyewitness News (1976-1982, Weinstein version)
• NewsCenter 13 (1982-1989)
• WOKR 13 News (1980s)
• NewsSource 13 (1989-2005)
• 13 WHAM News (2005-present)

Station slogans

• "13 Country" (1970s)
• "Keep Your Eye on Eyewitness News" (late 1970s-1982)
• "Hello Rochester, 13 Loves You" (1982-1988, used with Frank Gari's "Hello News")
• "NewsSource 13: Rochester's #1 Choice for News" (early 1990s)
• "Where the News Comes First" (mid-late 1990s)
• "More Local News, More Local Experience" (late 1990s-2005)
• "Your Breaking News & Weather Authority" (2005-present)

News music packages

• "WOKR News"
• "Home Country"
• "Move Closer to Your World"
• "Morning Break"
• "Hello News"
• "The Great News Package"
• "Advantage"

News team

Anchors

• Norma Holland - weekday mornings and noon (also Many Voices, Many Visions host)
• Doug Emblidge - weekday mornings also weeknights at 5 and 5:30 (reporter and heard on WFXF-FM 95.1)
• Jennifer Johnson - weekday mornings
• Evan Dawson - weekday mornings
• Ginny Ryan - weeknights at 5, 5:30, 10 and 11
• Don Alhart - weeknights at 6 and 11
• Rachel Barnhart - weekend (Sunday) and reporter
• Adam Chodak - weekend (Saturday) and reporter

13 WHAM News Weather Authority Meteorologists

• Glenn Johnson (NWA and AMS Seals of Approval) - Chief seen weeknights
• Mark McLean (AMS Seal of Approval) - Director of Weather Services seen weekdays at noon and weekends
• Marty Snyder (AMS Seal of Approval) - weekday mornings and heard on WHAM-AM 1180
• Jeff Najder - Weekday noon newscasts.

Sports

• Mike Catalana - Director seen weeknights at 6, 10, and 11 (also "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" segment producer)
• Chuck Wade - weekends and reporter
• Toby Motyka - reporter and fill-in anchor
• Rich Donnelly - reporter and fill-in anchor

Reporters

• Patrice Walsh
• Sean Carroll
• Jane Flasch
• Evan White
• Alexis Arnold
• Chris Conte
• Jerry Manley - "Soul Plates" segment producer
• Liz Bonis - health

References

1. ^ "Clear Channel Agrees to Sell Television Station Group to Providence Equity Partners" (Press release). Clear Channel Communications. 2007-04-20. http://www.clearchannel.com/Corporate/PressRelease.aspx?PressReleaseID=1943. Retrieved 2007-04-20. 
2. ^ 13WHAM readies for HD news, Democrat and Chronicle, 2010-07-11, http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20107110347, retrieved 2010-07-16 
3. ^ http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/2010/09/08/45076/wham-to-debut-local-hd-newscasts
4. ^ http://www.13wham.com/news/local/story/13WHAM-Goes-HD/kwXwOn_yNUCMl4bjbXZbXA.cspx
5. ^ http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/2010/12/28/48011/wham-to-launch-news-on-cw-subchannel

• Fybush, Scott. "And Now...The CW?". NorthEast Radio Watch. fybush.com. http://www.fybush.com/NERW/2006/060130/nerw.html. Retrieved 2006-02-20. 
• Fybush, Scott. "Dominoes Tumble on Philly FM Dial". NorthEast Radio Watch. fybush.com. http://www.fybush.com/NERW/2006/060814/nerw.html. Retrieved 2006-08-17. 

External links

• WHAM-TV
• WHAM-TV mobile
• WHAM-DT2 "Rochester's CW"
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WHAM-TV