WPTV

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = WPTV
city =
station_
station_slogan = Local Coverage You
Can Count On
station_branding = WPTV NewsChannel 5
analog = 5 (VHF)
digital = 12 (VHF)
digital_temporary = 55 (UHF)
other_chs =
affiliations = NBC
NBC WX+ (on DT2)
network =
founded =
airdate = August 22, 1954
location = West Palm Beach, Florida
callsign_meaning = West Palm Beach TeleVision
-or-
Phipps Family TeleVision
(second station owner)
former_callsigns = WJNO-TV (1954-1956)
former_channel_numbers =
owner = E. W. Scripps Company
licensee = Scripps Howard Broadcasting Company
sister_stations =
former_affiliations =
effective_radiated_power = 100 kW (analog)
900 kW (digital)
15.5 kW (after 2009)
HAAT = 391.5 m (analog)
386.5 m (digital)
class =
facility_id = 59443
coordinates = coord|26|35|22|N|80|12|43.1|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|name=WPTV
homepage = [http://www.wptv.com/ wptv.com]

WPTV, channel 5, is the NBC-affiliated television station for West Palm Beach, Florida. Its transmitter is located southeast of Wellington along U.S. 441 and S.R. 7. Owned by the E.W. Scripps Company, the station has studios on South Australian Avenue in downtown West Palm Beach (even though the street address is Banyan Boulevard). Syndicated programming on the station includes "Ellen", "Rachael Ray", "Dr. Phil", "Oprah", "Extra" and "Entertainment Tonight".

History

WPTV began broadcasting on August 22, 1954 with the call letters WJNO-TV. At sign-on, the first words heard on-air were from control room director Vern Crawford (who later became a fishing reporter for the station): "The power has just been turned on for WJNO-TV channel 5 by Frank M. Folsom, President of The Radio Corporation of America." At that time, the station was owned by William Cook and Theodore Granick and there were only 32 employees working at the station. It was later purchased by The Phipps Family in 1956 and they changed the call letters to the current WPTV. Then, in 1961, a man named Mort Watters purchased the station for Scripps Howard. Under Scripps Howard ownership, the station began expanding. WPTV's current 1,000-foot (305 m) transmitter tower was built along with new transmitter facilities. The station's West Palm Beach studios were rebuilt and expanded. In May 1971, Scripps Howard built new studios for the station on Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach. In 1976, WPTV began operating the market’s first live mobile news van.

In 1999, WPTV added a new Harris analog transmitter to improve its signal. The station also built a new 1,325-foot (404 m) transmitter tower. This upgrade came several years after Miami's NBC affiliate WTVJ moved from Channel 4 on the Broward-MiamiDade border to to 6 in South Dade county. This also gave WPTV a city-grade signal the northern half of Broward County, including Fort Lauderdale. WTVJ's signal in most of Broward County is Grade B, not city grade. In March 16, 2001, the station moved from their facilities on Flagler Drive to a larger, newer, and advanced complex at 1100 Banyan Boulevard on the city's west side approaching Clear Lake. The building's exteriors portray the exteriors of the fictional television studio seen during the second season of the NBC sitcom "Good Morning, Miami". WPTV's "Circle 5" logo is a variation of the one used for many years by its Cleveland, Ohio sister station, WEWS-TV (they resurrected the logo in January of 2007, albeit in a slightly different form).

News operation

WPTV has been rated number one in local news in West Palm Beach since Nielsen began recording data in the market. Following the July 2008 sweeps period, WPTV retained its title as the top-rated TV station in the state of Florida (based on sign-on to sign-off household share in metered markets). On August 4, 2007, WPTV became the first television station in south Florida to air its local news in high definition. This upgrade resulted in the debut of a new graphics package and weather set with advanced HD weather equipment.

In addition to its main studios in downtown West Palm Beach, the station operates three news bureaus. The Stuart Bureau is located on South Federal Highway (a.k.a. U.S. 1 in Stuart). The Port St Lucie Bureau is located in the Scripps Treasure Coast Newspaper printing facility. The South County Bureau is located on Congress Avenue in Delray Beach inside the building of news partner "Sun Sentinel". WPTV's 1 million watt weather radar is called "Vipir 5". The station operates a helicopter called Chopper 5. In addition to NBC News, WPTV is also a CNN affiliate. The station offers NBC Weather Plus on its second digital subchannel, Comcast digital cable channel 216 and 188, and via live streaming video on its website.

The news department has been recognized with three regional Edward R. Murrow awards in the past seven years. In 2001, the station won for its continuing coverage of the 2000 Presidential vote controversy in Palm Beach County. In 2003, the station was recognized in the news documentary category for a story on the desperate conditions in Haiti. And in April 2008, the station was recognized for excellence again in the documentary category for its sixty-minute primetime special on Medicare fraud produced by its Contact 5 investigative unit.

Digital television

The station's digital channel is multiplexed:

Post-analog shutdown

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] , WPTV will move its digital broadcasts to channel 12. [http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101257189&formid=387&fac_num=59443 CDBS Print ] ] However, through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers will display WPTV's virtual channel as 5.

News team

Anchors
*Roxanne Stein - weekday mornings and health reporter
*John Favole - weekday mornings
*Chandra Bill - weekdays at Noon and 5
*Kelley Dunn - weeknights at 5, 6, and 11
*Shannon Cake - weeknights at 5:30 and investigative reporter
*Tim Malloy - weeknights at 5:30 and reporter
*Jim Sackett - weeknights at 6 and 11
*Jay Cashmere - weekend mornings and reporter
*Katie Brace - weekend mornings and reporter
*Jamie Holmes - weekend evenings and reporter
*Tania Rogers - weekend evenings and reporter

"Storm Team 5"
*Steve Weagle (Certified Broadcast Meteorologist) - Chief seen on weeknights
*Keenan Smith (AMS Seal of Approval)- weekday mornings and Noon
*Glenn Glazer (AMS Seal of Approval) - weekend mornings
*James Wieland (AMS Seal of Approval) -weekend evenings

Sports
*Jay Gilmore - weeknights at 6 and 11
**sports reporter
*Ryan Lieber - weekend evenings and sports reporter

Reporters
*Bryan Garner - Treasure Coast Bureau Chief
*Eric English - Port St. Lucie Bureau
*Carolyn Scofield - Stuart Bureau
*Eric Glasser - reporter and fill-in anchor
*Paige Kornblue - weekday morning reporter and fill-in anchor
*Nichelle King - weekday morning breaking news reporter and fill-in anchor
*Captain Julie Stevens - Chopper 5 pilot and reporter
*Samantha Hayes - Washington D.C. political correspondent
*Danielle Dubetz
*Marci Gonzalez
*Jennifer Rivera
*Jesse Chavez

References

External links

* [http://www.wptv.com/ WPTV "NewsChannel 5 HD"]
* [http://www.nc5now.com/ WPTV wireless]
* [http://www.nbc.com/ NBC]
*TVQ|WPTV