WABI-TV
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HAAT | 391.4 m (1,284 ft) |
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Transmitter coordinates | 44°42′12.5″N 69°4′45.4″W / 44.703472°N 69.079278°W |
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WABI-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Bangor, Maine, United States, affiliated with CBS and The CW Plus. Owned by Gray Television, the station has studios on Hildreth Street in West Bangor, and its transmitter is atop Peaked Mountain in Dixmont.
Prior to 2017, WABI-TV was the
History
WABI-TV was the first television station in Maine and the first in northern New England. It began broadcasting on January 25, 1953, and aired an
The only other station that the Community Broadcasting Service would build and sign on was
. Most of these stations were sold off by the late 1990s; by 2017, it was down to two stations: WABI-TV and WCJB-TV.The radio stations were eventually spun off in 1993[4][5] and are currently under the ownership of Blueberry Broadcasting.
At one point, WABI operated an analog
On July 15, 2014, WABI-TV's contract with
On February 16, 2017, it was announced that WABI and its sister station WCJB-TV in Gainesville, Florida, would be sold to Gray Television for $85 million.[8] The deal reunited WABI with its former Diversified-owned station in Presque Isle, WAGM-TV. The sale was approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on April 18,[9] and was completed on May 2. WABI-TV was the last station in the market to be locally owned.[10]
WABI-DT2
WABI-DT2, branded Eastern and Central Maine's CW, is the
History
WABI-DT2 started broadcasting in late-1998 and had the fictional call letters "WBAN". It was part of
On July 28, WABI announced it was creating a new second digital subchannel to become part of The CW. On the station's website, an announcement said Time Warner Cable (which was in the process of taking over cable coverage in the Bangor area for bankrupt Adelphia) would have "WBAN" on its system. WABI-DT2 would then become a simulcast of "WBAN" to provide over-the-air viewers access to the new network. The arrangement was part of a three-year deal with WABI which also let the main station be on the system as well. The CW launched on WABI-DT2 (call sign used officially) September 18. On January 10, 2007, WABI introduced redesigned websites for itself and WABI-DT2.
In addition to morning and prime time preemptions designated for local news, WABI-DT2 preempts the allowed two hours in daytime (noon to 2 p.m.) for syndicated fare. The channel also preempts some overnight infomercials in order to provide additional syndicated shows and movies. On June 15, 2012, WABI-DT2 upgraded to high definition as part of a national upgrade of The CW Plus.[11]
Programming
At one point, WABI-TV did not carry all of the network's
The station often preempted CBS programming to air University of Maine sports. It usually rescheduled network prime time to air overnights or on weekends. WABI ended its longtime carriage of UMaine sports in 2013 after failing to reach a new contract with Learfield Sports (which handles marketing for UMaine sports broadcasts); it had been the television flagship of the Black Bear Sports Network for the bulk of its history, with the only break between 1989 through 1997, when WLBZ-TV held the rights. WABI now airs a package of six high school football games on Friday nights during the season (in addition to its long-standing coverage of the championship games).[12] Black Bear sports telecasts would subsequently move to WVII-TV and WFVX-LD.[13]
WABI also formerly aired Boston Red Sox baseball games in 2000 and 2001, syndicated from the Fox 25 Red Sox Television Network. These games moved to WBGR-LP in 2002.
News operation
Main channel
For its entire existence, WABI has often earned more viewership than competitors WLBZ and WVII combined.[
WABI's longtime dominance can also be attributed to its status as the market's last locally owned-and-operated commercial station (prior to the sale to Gray Television). Furthermore, some of its main personnel have remained employed at the station for more than 20 years, which is unusual since Bangor has always been a fairly small market.[citation needed]
On October 11, 2010, WABI became Maine's first station to upgrade newscasts to high definition level. Unlike sister station WCJB-TV in Gainesville, Florida, which revamped its on-air appearance when it converted to high definition newscasts back in January 2009, WABI's newscast elements stayed the same except for slightly updated on-screen graphics. Newscasts seen on WABI-DT2 were not included in the upgrade because the subchannel only aired in standard definition at the time.[14][15] WABI-DT2 upgraded to HD on June 15, 2012, at which point all local newscasts on the subchannel were also upgraded to HD. In addition to its main studios, WABI operates a Central Maine Bureau on Main Street in Waterville.
WABI-DT2
Corresponding with the launch of The CW on September 18, 2006, WABI-DT2 added local news and weather cut-ins during its airing of the nationally syndicated morning show The Daily Buzz from 6 to 8 a.m. A simulcast of the weekday noon news was also added. This was subsequently shifted to a rebroadcast at 12:30 p.m. in September 2008. A new half-hour weeknight newscast at 10 p.m. known as WABI-TV 5 Prime Time News on The CW debuted on its schedule featuring a modified set and "CW" labeled mics. That show competes with a one-hour broadcast seen at the same time on low-powered Fox affiliate WFVX-LD which is produced by WVII. In January 2008, WABI-DT2 replaced the first half hour of the second hour of The Daily Buzz with a thirty-minute extension of the main station's weekday morning show (and that 7–7:30 a.m. morning newscast of WABI-DT2 is now an hour later re-airing of the 6–6:30 a.m. segment). Known as WABI-TV 5 Morning News on The CW, this production is taped in advance and competes with live local news seen at the same time on WFVX-LD (which is also produced by WVII).
Notable former on-air staff
- Bill Karins – meteorologist, now at NBC News
- WNBC-TV(died October 17, 2017)
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's signal is
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
---|---|---|---|---|
5.1 | 1080i | 16:9 |
WABI TV | CBS |
5.2 | 720p | THE CW | The CW Plus | |
5.3 | 480i | DECADES | Catchy Comedy | |
5.4 | CIRCLE | Outlaw | ||
5.5 | ION | Ion Television | ||
5.6 | GRIT | Grit |
WABI-TV entered into an additional affiliation agreement with
On October 1, 2020, an Ion Television digital subchannel was launched on channel 5.5. As a result, WLBZ's Ion digital subchannel 2.3 was replaced by Quest.
Analog-to-digital conversion
WABI's broadcasts became digital-only, effective on June 12, 2009.[19] On January 4, 2010, the FCC issued a "Report & Order" allowing WABI to move from this allotment to VHF channel 13.[20] The station made this move to be consistent with other full-power stations in the market (which are also on the VHF dial) to save on energy costs as well as improve reception of the station. At 2 p.m.on December 13, 2010, WABI turned off channel 19 and commenced operations on channel 13.[21][22]
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WABI-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Thompson, Ellie (1990). The History of Broadcasting in Maine: The First 50 Years. Augusta, Maine: Maine Association of Broadcasters. p. 69.
- ^ "Require Prime Evening Time for NTA Films". Boxoffice: 13. November 10, 1956. Archived from the original on June 14, 2009. Retrieved December 11, 2018. [dead link]
- ^ "Application Search Details (WABI sale)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
- ^ "Application Search Details (WYOU-FM sale)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
- ^ Hashemzadeh, Hossein (November 9, 2009). "In re: LPTV/TV Translator Station Of..." CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved November 29, 2009.
- ^ "DISH Negotiations Notices | WABI TV5". Archived from the original on April 26, 2016. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
- ^ Diana Marszalek, Gray Buys Diversified's Stations in Bangor, Gainesville[permanent dead link] Broadcasting & Cable, February 16, 2017
- ^ CONSENT TO ASSIGNMENT Archived April 28, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, Federal Communications Commission
- ^ Consummation Notice, CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, Retrieved May 4, 2017.
- ^ "About the CW | WABI TV-5". Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
- ^ Mahoney, Larry (May 30, 2013). "WABI TV5 and UMaine part ways; Bangor station to televise high school football". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
- ^ Mahoney, Larry (July 15, 2013). "UMaine signs deal to broadcast sports on ABC, FOX". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
- ^ "WABI Makes Maine Broadcasting History - WABI TV5". Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved October 13, 2010.
- ^ "TVB | WABI-TV Launched Local in HD". Archived from the original on October 17, 2010. Retrieved October 13, 2010.
- ^ "RabbitEars TV Query for WABI". RabbitEars.info.
- ^ "Decades | Wabi Tv5". Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
- ^ "Cable & Satellite Channel Numbers | WABI TV5". Archived from the original on October 7, 2015. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). hraunfoss.fcc.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Licensing document FCC [dead link]
- ^ "DTV FAQs | WABI TV-5". Archived from the original on December 28, 2010. Retrieved December 6, 2010.
- ^ "WABI Officially a VHF Station - WABI TV5". Archived from the original on December 16, 2010. Retrieved December 14, 2010.