WHSV-TV
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WHSV-TV (channel 3) is a
WHSV-TV operates two fill-in digital
As of December 1, 2019, WHSV is used to provide full-market over-the-air coverage of WSVW-LD (simulcast over WHSV-DT2) and WSVF-CD2 (simulcast over WHSV-DT5); however, only the WSVW-LD simulcast is aired in high definition.
History
Early years
Channel 3 signed on in October 1953, as WSVA-TV (for "We Serve Virginia Agriculture"). It was owned by Harrisonburg businessman Frederick L. Allman and his Shenandoah Valley Broadcasting Corporation along with WSVA radio (
In 1965, the Star sold the WSVA stations to James Gilmore Jr., a Michigan businessman; the sale was necessary because WMAL-TV's new tall tower would have caused a large grade B overlap with WSVA-TV.[7] Under Gilmore's ownership, the station became a primary ABC affiliate in 1968. This was a very unusual move since, then as now, it was the only station in its market; ABC was not nearly on par with CBS and NBC in the ratings at the time (and would not be until the 1970s). It picked up NBC's morning program Today from 1968 until ABC debuted Good Morning America in 1975, but only aired the second hour of Today since the station did not sign on until 8 a.m. (a practice that continued well into the 1970s). Despite wealthier ownership, it was still unable to get a network feed. Occasionally, channel 3 accidentally aired WMAL-TV's commercials when engineers forgot to switch from WMAL-TV's signal during local breaks.
In 1975, channel 3 dropped the remaining NBC programs from its schedule. Gilmore sold WSVA-TV to Charlottesville-based Worrell Newspapers, publisher of
Since 1990s
In 1994,
Benedek went bankrupt in 2002, and most of its stations, including WHSV, were bought by Gray Television.[11] A 5 p.m. weekday newscast was also added that same year. At that time, a new set was constructed in the station's Augusta County newsroom in Staunton. The streetside set featured a window overlooking downtown Staunton along West Frederick Street. The 5 p.m. weekday newscast became WHSV's first newscast to originate from the Augusta County Newsroom. In October 2003, WHSV began originating its 5 p.m. newscast from both Harrisonburg and Staunton. WHSV's 6 p.m. weekday newscast also originated from both Staunton and Harrisonburg for a brief period in the spring of 2004. During that time, WHSV's 6 p.m. weekday newscast featured three anchors. The three-anchor, dual-city format was abandoned after a few months.
In August 2004, WHSV management began providing managerial, sales and human resources support to Gray Television's upstart CBS affiliate
To this day, WHSV remains the only full-power commercial station in the Shenandoah Valley. This is due to the area's small population, as well as the fact that virtually all of the market is located in the United States National Radio Quiet Zone. Low-powered sister stations WSVF-CD and WSVW-LD now provide complete major-network service to the market. However, cable television providers still supplement the area with stations from Washington, Richmond or Charlottesville, depending on the location.
Subchannel history
WHSV-DT3
WHSV-DT3 is the
On March 5, 2007, WHSV launched "TV3 Winchester", an ABC affiliate for Winchester, Virginia. The station was a joint project between WHSV and Shenandoah University. Along with Winchester, the station served Frederick, Clarke, Warren and Shenandoah counties in Virginia. Although TV3 Winchester transmitted an over-the-air signal on WHSV-DT3, it could only be seen on cable in its primary coverage area. TV3 Winchester ceased operations on December 5, 2013; WHSV-DT3 remained vacant until October 2018 when a standard definition feed of Ion Television was eventually added to that subchannel.
WHSV-DT4
WHSV-DT4 is the dual MyNetworkTV/MeTV-affiliated fourth digital subchannel of WHSV-TV, broadcasting in 16:9 widescreen standard definition on channel 3.4. Outside MyNetworkTV programming, there is no syndicated fare since MeTV takes up all of the remaining broadcasting time.
A new transmitter tower was built behind WHSV's Harrisonburg studios to accommodate the additional satellite receivers needed for both channels. The station began broadcasting on the date of MyNetworkTV's launch, September 5, 2006. The CW affiliation for the market went to Charlottesville-based NBC affiliate WVIR-TV which broadcasts the network on a third digital subchannel through The CW Plus programming service. On September 24, 2012, WHSV-DT4 added a secondary affiliation with the Weigel-owned classic television network MeTV, with the network's programming replacing syndicated programs previously seen outside of MyNetworkTV's prime time schedule.[12]
Newscasts
WHSV-DT4 does not carry any live newscasts produced by WHSV that are exclusive to the subchannel. Rather, it airs repeats of newscasts seen on the main channel including the two-hour weekday morning show (at 7) and the nightly 6 o'clock broadcast (at 7). The subchannel also simulcasts the weeknight half-hour prime time newscast at 10 from Fox affiliate WSVF-CD. Even if this program is delayed or preempted on the Fox station, it still airs in the regular time slot on WHSV-DT4. In addition, this subchannel may occasionally air WHSV's 11 p.m. newscast normally seen on the main channel on Saturday evenings in the event there are delays or a preemption due to ABC sports programming. The 10 o'clock program maintains a dedicated news anchor and reporter separate from newscasts on WHSV.
Local programming
In addition to its local newscasts and ABC network programs, WHSV produces other locally produced programs: The Endzone is a 40-minute sports highlight program covering high school football games across the Shenandoah Valley that airs Fridays at 11:25 p.m. during the high school football season. Sports X-tra is an online sports discussion show produced by WHSV's sports department, covering sports news from the previous week.
The station also produces the Sunday morning religious program Light for Today, which broadcasts from People's Baptist Church in Harrisonburg, and broadcasts the music and variety show Virginia Dreams Centerstage. WHSV also sponsored an annual singing competition called "Voice of the Valley", an idea that was originated by former WHSV personality Jenelle Smith. Finalists are unveiled during the station's noon newscasts the week of the Rockingham County Fair with an hour-long live finale that is broadcast from the fair.
News operation
The station's weekday morning newscast, WHSV News Daybreak, has received recognition as one of the highest-rated local morning news programs in the United States.[13] WHSV utilizes Facebook and Twitter accounts to relay local news stories through social media.[14][15]
In the early 1990s, the station began producing a midday newscast at noon on weekdays. WHSV-TV purchased its first microwave live truck in 2004. Prior to that, the station relied on rented equipment for remote broadcasts. Since 2004, WHSV-TV has purchased additional microwave equipment for use by its news department.
2006 was a year of significant change at WHSV-TV. First on February 27, 2006, WHSV's weekday morning newscast expanded from a 90-minute program to a two-hour program with the addition of a half-hour at 5 a.m.; this coincided with the debut of new weather technology purchased from
On October 30, 2006, WHSV-TV dropped The Andy Griffith Show from its longtime 5:30 p.m. timeslot in favor of a half-hour newscast anchored by longtime reporter Melanie Lofton. This coincided with the debut of a new logo for the station, the retitling of the station's newscasts as WHSV News 3 and updated graphics for its newscasts. While the logo itself was new, elements of the previous graphics package were retained. On November 27, 2006, WHSV dropped Gari Communications' "Making a Difference" in favor of 615 Music's "News One" as the theme music for its newscasts, which remained until 2015, when it was replaced by Stephen Arnold Music's "This is the Place."[16]
On April 7, 2008, the station's 5 and 5:30 p.m. newscasts began featuring a three-anchor lineup consisting of Melanie Lofton, Bob Corso and meteorologist Tracy Turner. This new format came along with a new arrangement of the newscast.
On December 5, 2013, TV3 Winchester ceased its news operation.[17]
Notable former on-air staff
- Fox News Channel
- Regional Emmy award winning news anchor and reporter for WCAU in Philadelphia
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's digital signal is
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
---|---|---|---|---|
3.1 | 720p | 16:9 |
ABC-HD | ABC |
3.2 | 1080i | NBC-HD | NBC (WSVW-LD) | |
3.3 | 480i | ION-SD | Ion Television | |
3.4 | MeTV-SD | MyNetworkTV & MeTV | ||
3.5 | CBS-SD | WSVF-CD2) in SD
| ||
3.6 | Outlaw | Outlaw |
Translators
- WHSV-TV (DRT) 25 (CP) Broadway
- WHSV-TV (DRT) 28 Luray
- WHSV-TV (DRT) 34 Massanutten
- WHSV-TV (DRT) 24 Winchester
- W33EJ-D 33 Moorefield, WV
During the late summer and early fall of 2006, WHSV underwent major technical upgrades to make way for the station's new digital subchannels. A new transmitter tower was built behind the station's Harrisonburg studios to accommodate the additional satellite receivers needed for WHSV's Fox and MyNetworkTV-affiliated subchannels. WHSV's main analog transmitter was replaced during the week of August 31, 2006. Broadcasts were only available to viewers with cable while the transmitter was being replaced.
On January 16, 2008, WHSV reached a carriage agreement with DirecTV to add WHSV, and its Fox and MyNetworkTV-affiliated digital subchannels to the satellite providers' local channel lineup.
WHSV originally planned on turning off its analog transmitter of February 17, 2009, the original deadline of the federally mandated
Spectrum reallocation, move to Staunton
As part of the
Gray proposed a series of engineering changes and new translators to make up for lost coverage in the northern part of the Shenandoah Valley. The existing translator on channel 42 from
Gray applied for a waiver to begin operations from Elliott Knob by August 31, 2018, nearly two years before its original March 2020 deadline.[24] Although the waiver was not yet approved, WHSV-TV announced the switch-over date as September 10 at midnight. When this date passed without approval, Gray reapplied to move WHSV's transition date to December 2018.[25] The switch-over was completed on December 7.[26]
Notes
References
- ^ https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getimportletter_exh.cgi?import_letter_id=86291&.pdf
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WHSV-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "Digital TV Market Listing for W33EJ-D". RabbitEars.Info. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
- ^ "Television Highlights". Cumberland Evening Times. Cumberland, MD. June 1, 1954. p. 21.
- Broadcasting-Telecasting. April 9, 1956. pp. 35–6. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
- ^ "Changing hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. August 10, 1959. p. 54. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
- ^ "Four stations sold for $6.8 million" (PDF). Broadcasting. June 7, 1965. pp. 79–80. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
- ^ a b "Worrell Newspapers Purchases TV Station". The Middlesboro Daily News. June 9, 1976. p. 11. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
- ^ "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. September 22, 1986. p. 86. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
- ^ "With Ratings Only So-So, WHSV Drops Fox's Redskins". Daily News-Record. March 4, 1996. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
- ^ McClellan, Steve (April 2, 2002). "Gray Communications to buy Benedek". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
- ^ "Where to Watch MeTV In Harrisonburg". © 2018 MeTV National Limited Partnership. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
- ^ http://setxhomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=43882%7CMike McNeil Profile, WHSV Daybreak Recognition
- ^ "Niet compatibele browser". Facebook. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
- ^ "WHSVnews (WHSVnews) op Twitter". Twitter.com. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
- ^ "News Music Search Archive".
- ^ "TV3 Winchester ceases local broadcast". Archived from the original on December 5, 2013. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
- ^ RabbitEars TV Query for WHSV
- ^ "Digital TV Goes Dark For Some Rural Viewers". NPR.org. NPR. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
- ^ "Amendment to a Modification of a Licensed Facility for DTV Application". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
- ^ "WHSV-TV Unable to Construct Waiver". FCC LMS.
- ^ "Minor Modification of a Digital Replacement Translator Licensed Facility Application". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
- ^ "New Digital Replacement Translator Construction Permit Application [Luray]". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
- "New Digital Replacement Translator Construction Permit Application [Massanutten]". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
- "New Digital Replacement Translator Construction Permit Application [Broadway]". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ "DTV Legal STA Application". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ "Amendment to a DTV Legal STA Application". FCC LMS.
- ^ Webb, Jay. "WHSV Channel Change". WHSV-TV.