WSAH

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = WSAH
city =
station_
station_slogan =
station_branding =
analog = silent,
was 43 (UHF)
digital = 42 (UHF)
other_chs =
affiliations = Gems TV
network =
founded =
airdate = September 28, 1987
location = Bridgeport, Connecticut/New York, New York
callsign_meaning = Shop At Home
"(the station's former affiliation)"
former_callsigns = WBCT-TV (1987-1990)
WHAI-TV (1990-1998)
WIPX (1998)
WBPT (1998-1999)
former_channel_numbers =
owner = Multicultural Television Broadcasting, LLC
licensee = MTB Bridgeport-NY Licensee, LLC
sister_stations =
former_affiliations = Independent (1987-1999)
Shop at Home (1999-2007)
effective_radiated_power = 2290 kW (analog)
780 kW (digital)
HAAT = 155.3 m (analog)
168.5 m (digital)
class =
facility_id = 70493
coordinates = coord|41|21|43|N|73|6|47.2|W|type:landmark_scale:2000
homepage =

WSAH is a television station licensed to Bridgeport, Connecticut in the New York City television market, operating a digital signal on UHF channel 42. It is owned by Multicultural Television Broadcasting, LLC (a division of Multicultural Broadcasting), and is affiliated with Gems TV. Until July 4, 2008, WSAH broadcasted an analog signal on channel 43.

History

Channel 43 first appeared in March 1953, when WICC-TV (meaning "Industrial Center of Connecticut", referring to Bridgeportcite web |url=http://www.oldradio.com/archives/nelson/origins.call-list.html |title=Call Letter Origins: The List |accessdate=2008-03-21 |last=Mishkind |first=Barry |date=2005 |work=Oldradio.com] ) signed on with programming from ABC and DuMont, a month after WKNB-TV signed on. The station was named after its sister AM station. Considering that UHF was rather new at the time and required an expensive converter, the station was not seen by many.

None of their attempts to gain viewers succeeded -- one of these included a stunt where Bob Crane (who later became the star of "Hogan's Heroes") offered $100 to the first caller who calls the station. Amazingly, no one called -- a likely sign that no one was watching WICC.

WICC-TV went off the air in December 1960. Most of the station's programming inventory was destroyed by fire a few months later.

A group of women received a construction permit for a new channel 43 on November 20, 1980cite web |url=http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=5443 |title=Application Search Details |accessdate=2008-03-21 |work=CDBS Public Access |publisher=Federal Communications Commission] , and on September 28, 1987, the station signed on as WBCT-TV, airing some community programming, along with infomercials and home shopping. In 1990, the station changed its call letters to WHAI-TV. The station was sold in 1994 to ValueVisioncite web |url=http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=202277 |title=Application Search Details |accessdate=2008-03-21 |work=CDBS Public Access |publisher=Federal Communications Commission] , which in turn sold WHAI to Paxson Communications in 1996cite web |url=http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=213188 |title=Application Search Details |accessdate=2008-03-21 |work=CDBS Public Access |publisher=Federal Communications Commission] . During this timeframe, the community programming was dropped.

Original plans called for the station to pick up the Pax TV networkcite news |first=Scott |last=Fybush |title=WILD -- Still Waiting |url=http://www.bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-971126.html |work=North East RadioWatch |date=1997-11-26 |accessdate=2008-03-22 ] cite news |first=Scott |last=Fybush |title=Mergers and Spinoffs |url=http://www.bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-980827.html |work=North East RadioWatch |date=1998-08-26 |accessdate=2008-03-22 ] (as WIPXcite news |first=Scott |last=Fybush |title=Ice Storm Damage Continues |url=http://www.bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-980115.html |work=North East RadioWatch |date=1998-01-15 |accessdate=2008-03-22 ] ) when it launched in 1998, but those plans were scrapped (mainly due to duopoly concerns resulting from Paxson's acquisition of WPXN-TV, as both stations' signals overlapcite news |first=John |last=Dempsy |title=Paxson seeks to sell station |url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117489231.html?categoryid=14&cs=1 |work=Variety |date=1998-12-09 |accessdate=2008-03-21 ] and are considered part of the New York City DMA; at that time the FCC did not allow common ownership of such stations) and the call letters were again changed, this time to WBPTcite news |first=Scott |last=Fybush |title=One Shoe Drops in Maine... |url=http://www.bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-980904.html |work=North East RadioWatch |date=1998-09-04 |accessdate=2008-03-22 ] . After an attempt to sell the station to Cuchifritos Communications (which planned to make the station the flagship of a Spanish language home shopping servicecite news |first=Scott |last=Fybush |title=Big Apple's Big Changes, and, We Visit The Midwest |url=http://www.bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-981211.html |work=North East RadioWatch |date=1998-12-11 |accessdate=2008-03-21 ] ) fell throughcite news |first=Scott |last=Fybush |title=We Will Never Make Fun of Boston Weather Again... |url=http://www.bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-990305.html |work=North East RadioWatch |date=1999-03-05 |accessdate=2008-03-21 ] , the station was sold in 1999 to the Shop at Home Network, which installed their programming and the WSAH call letters.cite news |first=Scott |last=Fybush |title=CBL: The Final Countdown |url=http://www.bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-990618.html |work=North East RadioWatch |date=1998-06-18 |accessdate=2008-03-21 ]

Azteca América nearly bought the station late in 2000 to serve as their New York City affiliate.cite news |first=Scott |last=Fybush |title=Spinning the Dial in Connecticut |url=http://www.bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-001002.html |work=North East RadioWatch |date=2000-10-02 |accessdate=2008-03-22 ] The deal quickly collapsedcite news |first=Scott |last=Fybush |title=Adios, WHUB! |url=http://www.bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-001211.html |work=North East RadioWatch |date=2000-12-11 |accessdate=2008-03-22 ] (the network later affiliated with WNYN-LP), and the station continued to run Shop at Home, with a brief interruption in 2006 when the network temporarily closed.

On September 26, 2006, The E. W. Scripps Company (the then-owner of the former Shop at Home owned-and-operated stations) announced that it was selling WSAH along with four other stations (KCNS San Francisco, California, WMFP Boston, Massachusetts, WOAC Canton, Ohio and WRAY-TV Wilson-Raleigh, North Carolina) to Multicultural Television for $170 million.cite press release |title=Scripps sells Shop At Home TV stations |publisher=The E. W. Scripps Company |date=2007-09-26 |url=http://pressreleases.scripps.com/release/877 |accessdate=2008-03-22 ] Multicultural assumed control of KCNS, WOAC and WRAY on December 20, 2006 and flipped their format to an all-infomercial format; it did not take control of WSAH and WMFP immediately due the stations' pending license renewal. The licenses were renewed in early April 2007, and on April 24, 2007, Multicultural took control of these stations.

WSAH signed on its digital signal on channel 42 on December 16, 2006; it is currently a simulcast of its analog offering.

In May 2007, WSAH changed shopping networks, from Shop at Home to Gems TV, a shopping network that specialises in jewelry. In addition, infomercials once again became a part of the schedule.

On July 4, 2008, WSAH's analog channel 43 signal was taken off the air, following a lightning strike at the transmitter. Since the cost of repairing the transmitter would be uneconomical, due to the coming analog shutdown, the station's owners sought permission from the FCC to keep the analog transmitter silent. WSAH will still be available on cable and digital broadcast. [ [http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,104600.0.html Radio-Info.com: "WSAH Analog Off Air] ]

References

*cite web|url = http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/3514/wicc.html |title = RadioDXer.com |work = WICC-TV, Channel 43, Bridgeport, CT |accessdate = October 18 |accessyear = 2005 |

External links

*TVQ|WSAH
*BIA|WSAH|TV|TV