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Chronology data should be put on the appropriate chronology page ("Chronology of call letters WFSB") .
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Other material must be reorganized into appropriate categories of articles.
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WFSB, channel 3, is a CBS-affiliated television station in Hartford, Connecticut, USA, owned by the Meredith Corporation. WFSB's studios and offices are located in Rocky Hill, Connecticut, and its broadcast transmitter is based in Avon, Connecticut, near Talcott Mountain.
| [1] | |
| Hartford/New Haven, Connecticut | |
|---|---|
| Branding | Channel 3 (general)
Channel 3 Eyewitness News CBS 3 Springfield (on DT2) |
| Slogan | Eyewitness News is Everywhere |
| Channels | Digital: 33 (UHF) |
| Subchannels | 3.1 CBS HD |
| Owner | Meredith Corporation |
| First air date | September 21, 1957 |
| Call letters' meaning | Frederick S. Beebe
(former president of former owner Post-Newsweek Stations) |
| Sister station(s) | WSHM-LP |
| Former callsigns | WTIC-TV (1957-1974) |
| Former channel number(s) | 3 (VHF analog, 1957-2009) |
| Former affiliations | Independent (1957-1958) |
| Transmitter power | 1,000 kW |
| Height | 288.8 metres (948 ft) |
| Facility ID | 53115 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 41°46′30.1″N 72°48′18.7″W / 41.775028°N 72.805194°W / 41.775028; -72.805194 |
| Website | wfsb.com |
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[edit] Digital programming[]
The station's signal is multiplexed as follows:
| Virtual
channel |
Video | Aspect | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | main WFSB programming/CBS HD |
| 3.2 | 480i | 4:3 | WSHM-LP ("CBS 3 Springfield") |
| 3.3 | 480i | 4:3 | WFSB-DT3 "Eyewitness News Now"
(24-hour local news and weather channel) |
[edit] History[]
[2][3]Logo for "Channel 3 Eyewitness News Now".Connecticut's second analog VHF station debuted on September 21, 1957 as WTIC-TV, an independent station owned by the Hartford-based Travelers Insurance Company along with WTIC radio (1080 AM and 96.5 FM). It was one of the most powerful stations in New England, not only covering the entire state but a large chunk of western Massachusetts, and providing secondary coverage to much of southern New Hampshire.
By 1958, CBS was looking to sell its owned-and-operated station in Hartford, WHCT-TV (now WUVN). The network's ratings had been alarmingly low in the market because television manufacturers were not required to have UHF tuners at the time. CBS decided that it was better to have its programming on a VHF station even if it was only an affiliate as opposed to an owned-and-operated station. The new WTIC-TV was selected as the network's Connecticut affiliate in part due to the station's strong signal and joined the network in early 1958. Ironically, its radio sister had been an NBC Radio affiliate for over 30 years. Within a short time, the station rose to the top spot in the ratings, and has been there more or less ever since. In 1962, WTIC-AM-FM-TV moved to Broadcast House, a state-of-the-art facility in the Constitution Plaza development in downtown Hartford.
In late 1972, Travelers Insurance decided to exit broadcasting, and the firm sold channel 3 to the Washington Post Company in March 1973. On 1 August 1973, the Post's broadcasting division, Post-Newsweek Stations, changed the calls to the current WFSB, in honor of broadcasting division president Frederick S. Beebe. The WTIC-TV call letters returned to Connecticut in 1984 when Arch Communications, the then-owners of WTIC radio, signed on as part-owners of a new television station. In the late-1980s, Post-Newsweek moved its corporate offices from Washington, D.C. to space located alongside Broadcast House, making channel 3 the company's flagship. This was part of a move by the Post to give its various sub-corporations their own independent identities, a strategy which worked well at first. By the mid-1990s, however, WFSB found itself in a shrinking market without any significant growth opportunities. In June 1997, Post-Newsweek swapped WFSB to the Meredith Corporation for WCPX-TV (now WKMG-TV) in Orlando, Florida. The sale closed that October although the Post-Newsweek group maintained its base in Hartford until 2000 when the company relocated to its then-largest station, WDIV in Detroit.
In 2006, WFSB announced plans to move to new HD-ready studios in Rocky Hill. On May 25, 2007, the Constitution Plaza facility was flooded by a water main break. This damaged two of the station's cameras and its telephone system. The flooding caused the power to be turned off which in turn caused WFSB to go dark. The master control facilities of WSHM was also affected. On June 27, WFSB's master control was switched to the new facility, and on July 10, the remaining parts (mostly the news side) of the station's operation were moved to Rocky Hill as well. The main desk and anchors for the news would be in a second studio temporarily until the main set was ready. WFSB unveiled part of their new set in early-October 2007. The final set was unveiled in early-February 2008. In June 2006, the station's website was redesigned along with those of four of Meredith Corporation's other stations. The old website was operated by the Local Media Network division of World Now. It is currently operated by Internet Broadcasting.
WFSB ended programming on its analog signal on VHF channel 3 on June 12, 2009 [1][2] as part of the DTV transition in the United States and continued to broadcast on its pre-transition digital channel 33.[3] Through the use of PSIP, WFSB's virtual channel is displayed as 3. WFSB is the only Connecticut station that participated in the "Analog Nightlight" program and did so through June 26.[4] WFSB airs a repeat of the evening's Entertainment Tonight after Late Show with David Letterman putting The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on a thirty-minute tape delay. This results in The Late Late Show being broadcast on WFSB in 4:3 standard definition and not its native 16:9 high definition broadcast.
[edit] WSHM-LP "CBS 3 Springfield"[]
[4][5]Logo for WSHM-LP.When WTIC-TV became a CBS affiliate in 1958, it was deemed to be the primary CBS affiliate for the nearby Springfield/Holyoke, Massachusetts market as well. This forced Springfield's original CBS affiliate, WHYN-TV (now WGGB-TV) to switch to ABC. Over the years, WTIC-TV/WFSB repeatedly blocked WHYN/WGGB's attempts to switch back to CBS.
To increase its presence in western Massachusetts, WFSB began operating WSHM-LP, a low-power station in Springfield, in late-2003. From its sign-on, master control of that station has been located at WFSB's facilities. Though identifying as a separate channel in its own right, WSHM is considered a semi-satellite of WFSB. It has most of its internal operations run alongside WFSB and airs all of channel 3's syndicated programming, though occasionally at different times.
[edit] News operation[]
[6][7]Its news open.Channel 3 has used the Eyewitness News title and format for its newscasts since Post-Newsweek took control of the station in 1974. It has been rated number one in nearly all time slots for the past thirty years. On February 5, 2007, the station began operating a 24-hour local news and weather channel on a third digital subchannel. Known as "Channel 3 Eyewitness News Now", it can also be viewed live on WFSB's website and on digital cable. Its weather radar is known as "Early Warning Pinpoint Doppler" and is located on top of the passenger terminal at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks.
On January 7, 2008, WFSB began airing The Early Show in its entirety as CBS now requires all of its affiliates to do so. The Early Show has been reformatted and the network hopes the program can better compete against its rivals, Today and Good Morning America. Before this change, WFSB preempted the first hour of the broadcast in favor of a third hour of local news.
In addition to its main studios, WFSB operates three news bureaus in the state. This includes Shaws Cove in New London, Chapel Street in New Haven, and at the new Connecticut Science Center on Columbus Boulevard in Downtown Hartford. The Connecticut Science Center is the current home of WFSB's lifestyle and entertainment program, Better Connecticut, that airs weekday afternoons from 3 until 4. In 2009, Better Connecticut began broadcasting in 16:9 widescreen standard definition. In 2010, WFSB will begin to broadcast its newscasts in 16:9 widescreen standard definition. Alterations have already been completed on the studio to prepare for the change including replacing the two large plasma screens in the main newsroom from 4:3 to 16:9.
[edit] Station slogans[]
- "Discover the Land of the 3" (1976–1980)
- "Your News is Our News" (1980–1984)
- "The One and Only TV 3" (1983–1997)
- "Stay in Touch with Channel 3" (1985–1986, localized version of CBS' "We've Got the Touch" ad campaign)
- "Connecticut's News Station" (1995–2004)
- "Eyewitness News is Everywhere" (2004–present)
[edit] News team[]
- Anchors
- Irene O'Connor - weekday mornings and reporter
- Kara Sundlun - weekdays at Noon and Better Connecticut host
- Al Terzi - weekdays at 5 and 5:30
- Denise D'Ascenzo - weeknights at 5, 5:30, and 6
- Dennis House - weeknights at 6 and 11
- Face The State host
- Heather Hegedus - weekend mornings and reporter
- Hallie Jackson - weekend evenings and reporter
Channel 3 Early Warning Pinpoint Meteorologists
- Bruce DePrest (AMS Seal of Approval) - Chief seen weeknights at 5, 6, and 11
- Scot Haney - weekday mornings and Better Connecticut host
- "Connecticut's Everyday Heroes" segment producer
- Mark Dixon (AMS Seal of Approval) - weekdays at Noon and 5:30
- Curtis Grevenitz - weekends and fill-in
- Melissa Cole - A useless unemployed Fill-In
- Sports
- Joe Zone - Director seen weeknights at 6 and 11
- host of Eyewitness News Sports Sunday and Friday Night Football
- John Holt - weekend evenings and sports reporter
- seen on Friday Night Football
- Chris Kelley - sports reporter and fill-in sports anchor
- Reporters
- Len Besthoff - Hartford Bureau Chief
- Robert Goulston - New Haven Bureau Chief
- Kevin Hogan - New London Bureau Chief
- Dan Kain
- Teresa LaBarbera - weekday morning traffic and Better Connecticut "Better Buddy" segment producer
- Tina Martin - "Tina Around Town" segment producer
- Matt McFarland
- Eric Parker
- Jessica Schneider
- Susan Raff
- Ray Villeda
- Jill Konopka
Notable former staff[]
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News Videographers
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References[]
- ^ http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztee7Q-jKGo
- ^ http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101305937&formid=387&fac_num=53115 CDBS Print
- ^ http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-291375A1.pdf