WOLF-TV

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = WOLF-TV
city =
station_
station_slogan = Northeast
Pennsylvania's Fox
station_branding = Fox 56
analog = 56 (UHF)
digital = 45 (UHF)
other_chs = W24DB 24 Clarks Summit
W24DB 52 Sayre
W54?? 54 Waymart
affiliations = Fox
The CW (on DT2)
MNTV (on DT3)
network =
founded =
airdate = June 3, 1985
location = Hazelton / Scranton /
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
callsign_meaning = WOLF (the animal)
former_callsigns = WWLF-TV (1985-1998)
former_channel_numbers =
owner = New Age Media, LLC
licensee = New Age Media of Pennsylvania License, LLC
sister_stations = WQMY
WSWB
former_affiliations = Independent (1985-1986)
effective_radiated_power = 1,580 kW (analog)
420 kW (digital)
HAAT = 503 m (analog)
488 m (digital)
class =
facility_id = 73375
coordinates = coord|41|10|58.2|N|75|52|11.5|W|type:landmark_scale:2000
homepage = [http://www.myfoxnepa.com/myfox myfoxnepa.com]

WOLF-TV, channel 56, is the Fox-affiliated television station for northeastern Pennsylvania that is licensed to Hazelton. Its transmitter is located at the Penobscot Knob antenna farm near Mountain Top. The station is owned by New Age Media and is sister to CW affiliate WSWB and MyNetworkTV affiliate WQMY. All three stations share studios on S.R. 315 in the Fox Hill section of Plains Township. Syndicated programming on WOLF-TV includes: "Seinfeld", "Two and a Half Men", "Everybody Loves Raymond", "The Doctors", and "Dr. Phil". The station has a few original programs like "The Fox 56 High School Sports Show", "The Great Outdoors", and "The Pulse". Overnight, WOLF-TV airs "Wize Buys TV" paid programming.

Digital television

The station's digital signal is multiplexed. WQMY cannot be received in many parts of the Wilkes-Barre area due to its transmitters being located in Williamsport. Although WSWB operates its own digital signal it cannot be received in many parts of the Wilkes-Barre area.

In 2009, WOLF-TV will leave channel 56 and move to channel 45 when the analog to digital transition is complete.http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf]

Translators

WOLF-TV serves one of the largest geographic markets in the country. This area is very mountainous making UHF reception difficult. However, the station is in a unique situation since Scranton / Wilkes-Barre is a "UHF island". As a result, it operates two translators and a Class A station to repeat its signal. W24DB channel 24 has a transmitter located northwest of Scranton and I-476 in Lackawanna County. W24DB channel 52 has a transmitter located southwest of Sayre and U.S. 220.

#WOLF-TV operates this site as a Class A station
#the station was granted this channel under special temporary authority from the FCC, site owned and operated by Florida Power and Light

History

The FCC granted an original construction permit for Hazleton's first full-service television station on September 30, 1982. cite web |url=http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=25050 |title=Original construction permit |publisher=Federal Communications Commission |accessdate=2007-03-15] The new station, given the call letters WERF, cite web |url=http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/call_hist.pl?Facility_id=73375&Callsign=WOLF-TV |title=Channel 56 call sign changes |publisher=Federal Communications Commission |accessyear=2007 |accessmonthday=March 15] was owned by James Oyster and was to broadcast from a tower located south of Hazleton. cite web |url=http://www.topozone.com/states/Pennsylvania.asp?feature=Tower |title=WERF tower location |publisher=www.topozone.com |accessmonthday=March 15 |accessyear=2007] At that location, WERF could serve its city of license but was not able to serve the main cities in the market, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. In April 1983, WERF applied to move its transmitter to the Penobscot Knob antenna farm near Mountaintop where WNEP-TV, WDAU-TV (now WYOU), WBRE-TV, and WVIA-TV also had their transmitters.

The application was denied, however. cite web |url=http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=56374 |title=Denied transmitter move application |publisher=Federal Communications Commission |accessmonthday=March 15 |accessyear=2007] Oyster changed the station's call letters to WWLF-TV on July 25, 1984 then sold the construction permit to Hazleton TV Associates on December 13. cite web |url=http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=74503 |title=1984 assignment of permit |accessmonthday=March 15 |accessyear=2007] Two months later, on February 20, 1985, the station was sold again this time to Scranton TV Partners, Ltd. who completed construction of the station and brought it on-air. WWLF was a satellite of co-owned WOLF-TV in Scranton which was then on UHF channel 38 and was an independent station. WOLF-TV had just began broadcasting on June 3, 1985. WWLF became licensed on June 12, 1987. WWLF, as a satellite of WOLF-TV, was independent for a little more than a year. On October 9, 1986, it became a charter affiliate of the Fox network. cite web |url=http://www.nepatoday.com/about.htm |title=WOLF/WSWB/WQMY Timeline |publisher=NEPA Today |accessdate=2007-03-16] In 1988, WWLF moved to a new transmitter location on Nescopeck Mountain near the junction of I-80 and SR 93 cite web |url=http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/comment.pl?Application_id=87999&File_number=BPCT-19860508KE |title=1988 transmitter site |publisher=Federal Communications Commission |accessmonthday=March 16 |accessyear=2007] but remained a satellite of WOLF-TV. On April 27, 1993, WWLF was sold to Pegasus Broadcast Television cite web |url=http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=179593 |title=Sale to Pegasus |publisher=Federal Communications Commission |accessmonthday=March 16 |accessyear=2007] and the new owners were able to accomplish something that the station's original owner could not: get permission to move the transmitter to the antenna farm at Penobscot Knob. cite web |url=http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=217925 |title=1997 transmitter site |publisher=Federal Communications Commission |accessmonthday=March 16 |accessyear=2007]

The completion of the new transmitter ushered in a new era for WWLF. No longer in a remote location, the station's transmitter provided it with a signal that was accessible to more of the region than that of WOLF-TV. On November 1 1998, Pegasus moved the WOLF-TV call letters and the Fox affiliation to channel 56. It changed the call letters of channel 38 to WSWB and made that station an affiliate of The WB. cite web |url=http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/call_hist.pl?Facility_id=73374&Callsign=WSWB |title=Channel 38 call sign changes |publisher=Federal Communications Commission |accessmonthday=March 16 |accessyear=2007] On January 4, 2007, WOLF-TV was sold to investment group CP Media, LLC cite web |url=http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=1158302 |title=Sale to CP Media |publisher=Federal Communications Commission |accessyear=2007 |accessmonthday=March 16] with the sale consummated on March 31. cite web |url=http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=1179777 |title=Sale consummation - CP Media |publisher=Federal Communications Commission |accessdate=2007-04-03] For the first time in its history, the station was no longer co-owned with WSWB. However, the new owners of WSWB signed a joint sales agreement (JSA) and shared services agreement (SSA) with CP Media meaning that the stations continue to be commonly operated. cite web |url=http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getattachment_exh.cgi?exhibit_id=463303 |title=Revised Joint Sales and Shared Services Agreement |publisher=Federal Communications Commission |accessmonthday=March 16 |accessyear=2007] Eventually, CP Media formed a new broadcasting company, New Age Media. More recently, WOLF-TV launched a new website using the Fox O&O-style platform licensed from Fox Television Stations' interactive division.

Newscasts

When the Fox affiliation moved from channel 38 to channel 56, the WNEP-produced 10 o'clock newscast switched stations as well. It became known as "Fox 56 News at 10" with a secondary title of "Newswatch 16 at 10 on Fox 56". WNEP broadcasts the newscast from a secondary set at its studios on Montage Mountain Road in Moosic. Past WNEP personnel that have anchored on WOLF-TV include Paul Grippi and Jill Garret.

"Fox 56 News at 10" "(10 to 10:30 P.M.)"
"Weeknights"
*Anchor:
**Paola Giangiacomo
*Meteorologist:
**Tom Clark
*Sports:
**Jim Coles

"Weekends"
*Anchor:
**Jon Meyer
*Meteorologist:
**Kurt Aaron
*Sports:
**Sharla McBride

"WOLF-TV uses additional news personnel from WNEP. See that article for a complete listing."

References

External links

* [http://www.myfoxnepa.com/ WOLF-TV/DT "Fox 56"]
* [http://www.wnep.com/ WNEP-TV/DT]
*TVQ|WOLF-TV
*TVQ|W24DB