WINK-TV
FCC | |
Facility ID | 22093 |
---|---|
ERP | 793 kW |
HAAT | 416 m (1,365 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 26°48′2.8″N 81°45′44.3″W / 26.800778°N 81.762306°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Website | www |
WINK-TV (channel 11) is a
county line.History
The station began broadcasting on March 23, 1954, owned by the family of taxicab magnate and
Channel 11 lost DuMont when that network ended operations in 1956. In December 1968, WINK-TV finally gained a local competitor when
WINK-TV was a major beneficiary of a quirk in the
After the FCC's Sixth Report and Order ended the license freeze and opened the UHF band in 1952, it devised a plan for allocating VHF licenses. Under this plan, almost all of the country would be able to receive two commercial VHF channels plus one noncommercial channel. Most of the rest of the country ("1/2") would be able to receive a third VHF channel. Other areas would be designated as "UHF islands" since they were too close to larger cities for VHF service. The "2" networks became CBS and NBC, "+1" represented
However, Fort Myers is sandwiched between Miami–Fort Lauderdale (channels
The station has identified almost exclusively with its call letters since the mid-1980s. This is due in large part to the extremely high penetration of cable and
On October 20, 2007, WINK-TV became the first television station in Southwest Florida to begin broadcasting in high definition. In January 2008, several programming changes were made on WINK-TV. It began airing The Early Show (which was replaced by CBS This Morning in January 2012, which in turn was replaced by CBS Mornings in September 2021) in its entirety after CBS began requiring all of its affiliates to air the full two-hour broadcast of the program.[citation needed]
During the landfall of Hurricane Ian on September 28, 2022, the station's studio in downtown Fort Myers was inundated by storm surge flooding from nearby Billy Creek, knocking WINK-TV, WXCW and their sister radio stations off the air.[3] On September 30, WINK-TV returned to the air from a makeshift studio at its transmitter site, though using WXCW's main channel to broadcast the WINK-TV schedule.[4]
Controversy
On September 28, 2022, WINK-TV staff endured extensive criticism on social media after meteorologist Dylan Federico filmed and tweeted a young cat struggling outside the studio during Hurricane Ian. After extensive criticism focused on the station sharing the video without attempting to help the cat, the staff ultimately attempted to bring the animal inside but failed.[5][6] The cat was rescued by emergency personnel later in the evening when evacuating staff from the building.[citation needed] Following additional criticism, staff deleted their original tweets featuring the video and Federico disabled responses and chose to hide critical responses on his account.[7]
News operation
WINK-TV presently broadcasts 46 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 7+1⁄2 hours each weekday, 3+1⁄2 hours on Saturdays and five hours on Sundays).[citation needed] The McBrides have always devoted significant resources to channel 11's news operation, resulting in a higher-quality product than conventional wisdom would suggest for Fort Myers, which has always been a small-to-medium-sized market. It was the undisputed market leader until the 1990s, and has spent most of the last quarter-century in a spirited battle with WBBH.
WINK-TV operates two news bureaus: the
On May 26, 2011, WINK-TV debuted an hour-long 4 p.m. newscast, one of many added on television stations around the United States on that date to replace The Oprah Winfrey Show, which ended its 25-year run the day before.[8] On June 11, 2011, WINK-TV debuted a 90-minute morning newscast on Saturday and Sunday mornings.[9] WINK-TV also added a half-hour late morning newscast at 10 a.m. on September 6, 2011 (which was later dropped).[10] On September 16, 2013, WINK-TV expanded its weekday morning newscast a half-hour early to 4:30 a.m. and expanded the extension of that program on WXCW by one hour to 7 to 10 a.m.[11] In January 2015, WINK-TV expanded the 6:30 p.m. newscast to weekends on WXCW.[12]
Notable former staff include Hoda Kotb (1989–1991),[13] Trey Radel[14] and Kerry Sanders.[15]
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's signal is
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
---|---|---|---|---|
11.1 | 1080i | 16:9 |
WINK HD | CBS |
11.2 | 480i | 4:3 |
MY NET |
|
11.3 | Audio only | WHEL | Hot 93.7 | |
11.4 | WARO-FM | 94.5 The Arrow | ||
11.5 | WFSX-FM | 92.5 Right All Along | ||
11.6 | WINK-FM | 96.9 WINK FM | ||
11.7 | WTLQ-FM | 97.7 Latino | ||
11.8 | WFFY-FM | Fly 98.5 |
WINK-TV operates the Naples–Fort Myers market's
Analog-to-digital conversion
WINK has been digital-only since February 17, 2009.[21] It moved its digital signal to UHF channel 50 in mid-2011.[22][citation needed]
Out-of-market cable coverage
WINK-TV is one of two Fort Myers stations carried by Xfinity in
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WINK-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "About".
- ^ Venta, Lance (September 29, 2022). "Hurricane Ian Storm Surge Causes Overnight Rescue From Fort Myers Broadcasting / Sun Broadcasting Studios". RadioInsight. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
- ^ Montoya, Melissa (September 30, 2022). "WINK News begins broadcasting again after Hurricane Ian". WINK News. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
- ^ "FL Weatherman Slammed for Posting Video of Cat Struggling in Hurricane Ian".
- ^ "Reporter criticized for not rescuing cat stranded by Hurricane Ian surge". Newsweek. September 28, 2022.
- ^ "Dylan Federico X post".
- ^ "Creative Jobs :: Careers for Graphic Designers, Copywriters, Social Media Managers, Proof Readers and More". Mediabistro. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
- ^ "Creative Jobs :: Careers for Graphic Designers, Copywriters, Social Media Managers, Proof Readers and More". Mediabistro. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
- ^ WINK Adds 10 a.m. Newscast to Daily Programming, "Media Bistro", August 22, 2011.
- ^ "News Center".
- ^ Ortega, Roly (January 28, 2015). "WINK's 6:30 p.m. newscast expands to weekends on WXCW". Retrieved January 25, 2024.
- ^ "Hoda Kotb". NBC News. January 13, 2004. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
- Mediabistro. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
- ^ "Kerry Sanders - Nightly News - About Us - msnbc.com". September 15, 2010. Archived from the original on September 15, 2010. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
- ^ "RabbitEars.Info".
- ^ "Interactive Affiliate Map / Antenna TV". © 2013 - 2019 A Tribune Broadcasting Website. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
- ^ "WINK-TV FORT MYERS, FL". Archived from the original on August 11, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
- ^ "WINK-TV FORT MYERS, FL". Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
- ^ "TitanTV Query for WINK".
- ^ "Public Attachmatch" (PDF).
- ^ "Application View ... Redirecting".
- ^ "Not Found". www.wtsp.com.