WETM-TV
kW | |
HAAT | 375 m (1,230 ft) |
---|---|
Transmitter coordinates | 42°6′22″N 76°52′16″W / 42.10611°N 76.87111°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Website | www |
WETM-TV (channel 18) is a television station in Elmira, New York, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Nexstar Media Group. The station's studios are located on East Water Street in downtown Elmira, and its transmitter is located on Hawley Hill in Big Flats, New York.
History
Prior use of channel 18
The first user of channel 18 in Elmira was its second station, WECT, which was operated by El-Cor Television, a
WSYE-TV
In late 1955, plans surfaced from two groups to reactivate channel 18 for use as a rebroadcaster of another station, one from
In 1980, Newhouse sold its entire television division, including WSYR and WSYE, to the
In 2000, Smith Broadcasting entered into a management agreement with The
WETM2
WETM's second subchannel has its roots in W30AA, a translator of PBS member station WSKG-TV in Binghamton. That station closed down the translator in 2003 after concluding the expenses required to operate W30AA were not justified by its limited viewership base.[15] WSKG subsequently sold the W30AA license to Clear Channel, which brought it back on-the-air in September 2004 as UPN affiliate WTTX-LP (identified on-air as "UPN 30"). At this point, it began to be seen through a simulcast on WETM-TV's second digital subchannel, since its analog broadcasting radius was very limited.[16] It replaced WPIX of New York City on local cable systems.[17]
With the September 2006 merger of UPN and
News operation
WETM-TV has traditionally been a
While serving as a semi-satellite of WSTM, WETM-TV produced separate local newscasts that were seen weeknights at 6 and 11 from its original Hawley Hill studios. There were also weekday morning news and weather cut-ins (airing at :25 and :55 past the hour) during Today (airing from 7 to 9 a.m.). The 2004 launch of WETM-DT2/WTTX-LP introduced the area's first prime time newscast at 10 which is still seen for thirty minutes on weeknights. WETM 18 News at 10 currently competes with another half-hour newscast airing on Fox affiliate WYDC, channel 48 (which is taped in advance). WETM-DT2 formerly simulcast the newscasts from the main channel before becoming an Antenna TV affiliate. Currently, WETM-DT2 replays the 6 p.m. newscast at 7 p.m.
On June 5, 2009, WIVT and WBGH in Binghamton announced there would be a consolidation of news operations with WETM-TV after Newport Television made across the board cuts.[20][21] However, those two stations would continue to be locally operated and maintain engineer staff at their own studios in Binghamton.[22] WIVT and WBGH began simulcasting WETM's newscasts with only regional weather coverage of the Eastern Twin Tiers and not much of a news focus.[23] A separate newscast, specifically focusing on the Binghamton area, was brought back to those two stations on June 28, 2009, through a simulcast on both outlets.[24] This effort originally consisted of a 6 p.m. weeknight newscast entirely produced from WETM's studios.
Eventually, production of the news and sports portions of the broadcast was shifted back to Binghamton. These segments are recorded earlier in the day (usually by 5 p.m.) and feature locally based photojournalists. A repeat of the 6 p.m. newscast at 11 p.m. was subsequently added to the schedules of WIVT and WBGH. Soon after adding the hyper-local Binghamton news, WIVT ceased simulcasting WETM's newscasts making the taped weeknight program the only local news shown on the station. However, WBGH continued to air WETM's weekend 11 p.m. newscast until at some point in late 2013. WETM upgraded its local newscast production to high definition level on July 15, 2014. It is the second television station in the market to perform the change as rival WENY switched on April 23, 2012.
Notable former staff
- Rod Denson
- Jericka Duncan – now at CBS News
- Staci-Lyn Honda – now at WSYR-TV
- Ken Rosato
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's signal is
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
---|---|---|---|---|
18.1 | 1080i | 16:9 |
WETM-DT | NBC |
18.2 | 720p | WETM-2 | Antenna TV | |
18.3 | 480i | WETM-3 | Laff | |
18.4 | WETM-4 | Ion Mystery |
Analog-to-digital conversion
WETM-TV became the first station in Elmira to broadcast a high definition feed in 2001 with the launch of a digital signal on
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WETM-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "FCC May Set Early Hearing On Channel 18, TV Exec Says". Star-Gazette. Elmira, New York. October 8, 1955. p. 7. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "TV Channel 9 Award to City May Deter WSYR Satellite". Star-Gazette. Elmira, New York. November 30, 1955. p. 33. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Use of Channel 18 As WSYR Outlet Formally Approved". Star-Gazette. Elmira, New York. April 5, 1956. p. 22. Retrieved August 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Channel 18 Resumes Telecasts Sept. 15". Star-Gazette. Elmira, New York. July 10, 1956. p. 11. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "New TV Station Starts Tonight". Star-Gazette. Elmira, New York. September 15, 1956. p. 7. Retrieved August 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Hartley, Tom (July 17, 1988). "WETM struts downtown soon: New site boasts better space and equipment". Star-Gazette. Elmira, New York. p. 1C. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Advertising Age. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
- ^ "Application Search Details (WBGH-CD)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
- ^ Fybush, Scott (September 11, 1997). "Fire at WVIP". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
- Clear Channel Communications. April 20, 2007. Retrieved April 20, 2007.
- ^ "Newport Sells 22 Station For $1 Billion". TVNewsCheck. July 19, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
- ^ "Tornado Threat Has Now Passed - WETM 18 Online". Archived from the original on July 30, 2012.
- ^ Hush, Chris (July 27, 2012). "WETM-TV Is Back On The Air". wetmtv.com. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012.
- ^ Fybush, Scott (July 14, 2003). "Car Dealer/Broadcaster Boch Dies". Northeast Radio Watch. Retrieved January 22, 2010.
- ^ Fybush, Scott (September 27, 2004). "Rhode Islanders Fight WRNI Sale". Northeast Radio Watch. Retrieved January 22, 2010.
- ^ "UPN TV affiliate debuts in Tiers". Star-Gazette. September 16, 2004. p. 5C. Retrieved April 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "WB, UPN merger to change TV in Tiers". Star-Gazette. May 13, 2006. p. 6C. Retrieved April 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Blue Ridge Cable adds WETM-2 to lineup". Star-Gazette. May 14, 2008. p. 6C. Retrieved April 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "WIVT and WBGH to expand local news to the Southern Tier". newschannel34.com. June 5, 2009. Archived from the original on June 16, 2009.
- ^ "Workers Fired At Newschannel 34 | WBNG-TV Binghamton, NY | Local Top Stories". www.wbng.com. Archived from the original on June 7, 2009.
- ^ "Pressconnects". Pressconnects. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
- YNN Binghamton. June 5, 2009. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
- ^ "NewsChannel34 will be returning June 29th with local news at 6pm". newschannel34.com. June 26, 2009. Archived from the original on June 29, 2009.
- ^ "RabbitEars TV Query for WETM". www.rabbitears.info. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
- ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Retrieved March 24, 2012.