WPVI-TV
kW | |
HAAT | 342 m (1,122 ft) |
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Transmitter coordinates | 40°2′39″N 75°14′25″W / 40.04417°N 75.24028°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Website | 6abc |
WPVI-TV (channel 6), branded 6 ABC, is a
History
WFIL-TV
The station first signed on the air on September 13, 1947, as WFIL-TV. It is Philadelphia's second-oldest television station, signing on six years after WPTZ (now KYW-TV). The first program broadcast on channel 6 was a live remote of an exhibition game of the Philadelphia Eagles against the Chicago Bears from Franklin Field. This was followed by an inaugural program that evening.[5]
WFIL-TV was originally owned by
The WFIL radio stations originally broadcast from the Widener Building in downtown Philadelphia. With the anticipated arrival of WFIL-TV, Triangle secured a new facility for the stations, located at Market and 46th streets, which opened in 1947. In 1963, Triangle built one of the most advanced broadcast centers in the nation on City (or City Line) Avenue in the Wynnefield Heights community, in a circular building across from rival
Channel 6 was the first station to sign on from the Roxborough neighborhood. It started transmitting from a 600-foot (183 m) tower, but in 1957, it moved to a new 1,100-foot (335 m) tower, which it co-owned with NBC-owned WRCV-TV (channel 3, now CBS owned-and-operated station KYW-TV).[6] The new tower added much of Delaware and the Lehigh Valley to the station's city-grade coverage. WFIL-TV was also one of the first TV stations in Philadelphia to broadcast local color.
WPVI-TV
In 1968, the
In 1970, the FCC forced Triangle to sell off its broadcasting properties due to protests from then-
In March 1985, Capital Cities Communications announced it was purchasing ABC, a move that stunned the broadcast industry since ABC was some four times larger than Capital Cities at the time. Some have said that Capital Cities was only able to pull off the deal because WPVI-TV, the company's
purchased Capital Cities/ABC.On January 22, 1987, the station partially rebroadcast the suicide of Pennsylvania state treasurer R. Budd Dwyer—which had occurred at a press conference earlier that morning—during its noon newscast.
On September 12, 2009, WPVI moved to a new broadcasting complex at their same location at 4100 City Avenue near
On December 19, 2023, at approximately 8:30 p.m. WPVI's Chopper 6 crashed in Washington Township, Burlington County, New Jersey, while returning from an assignment, killing both the pilot and photojournalist.[16] The victims were identified as 67-year-old pilot Monroe Smith and 45-year-old photographer Christopher Dougherty.[17]
Programming
Past program preemptions and deferrals
Under Capital Cities ownership, channel 6 frequently preempted ABC programming in favor of locally produced and syndicated shows. In January 1975, when ABC entered the morning news field with
Local programming
Channel 6 has a long history of producing local programs. On March 26, 1948, it aired a production of "Parsifal" from the
Other well known locally produced shows included the children's programs
Sports programming
As a result of ABC losing
On January 28, 2010, WPVI entered into a multi-year agreement with Major League Soccer expansion team Philadelphia Union to broadcast selected games along with CSN and later WPHL. Since 2023, these rights have been picked up by Apple TV and selected nationally televised games involving the Union on FOX (locally televised on WTXF). The station also formerly broadcast Union games through ABC's MLS television contracts from the league's inception until 2022. [22][23]
Since 2021, WPVI serves as the free-to-air broadcaster of nationally aired NHL on ESPN games featuring the Philadelphia Flyers; formerly, these were aired from 1997 to 2004 in conjunction with the NHL on ABC.
WPVI also airs select Philadelphia 76ers contests via the network's contract with the NBA.
News operation
WPVI-TV presently airs 53 hours, 25 minutes of locally produced newscasts each week (with 8 hours, 5 minutes each weekday and 6+1⁄2 hours each on Saturdays and Sundays). Action News Sports Sunday airs Sunday nights at 11:30 after the 11 p.m. newscast. In addition, the station produces a
Pioneer of Action News
The station is famous for pioneering the Action News format, which was used by many stations throughout the United States. When WFIL-TV premiered it on April 6, 1970, the format allowed the news program to feature more stories than KYW-TV's Eyewitness News due to strict time limits on story packages. Within a few months, the station took first place in the Philadelphia news ratings for the first time. It had previously been behind KYW-TV and WCAU-TV, as was the case with most ABC affiliates. Despite the station's newspaper roots, it was hampered by the fact that ABC was not on par with CBS and NBC until the early 1970s.
WFIL-TV/WPVI-TV waged a battle for first place with KYW-TV for most of the 1970s. However, in 1977, it won a sweeps period by a wide margin, and has been in first place since. It is one of the most dominant major-market stations in the country, winning virtually every time slot. Its dominance has only been challenged twice—in the 1980s, when WCAU briefly took the lead at 5 p.m.; and in 2001, when WCAU took first place at 11 p.m. for a few months. Many top executives in ABC's television station group previously worked at WPVI. WPVI's longtime anchor Jim Gardner and weatherman Dave Roberts respectively joined the station in 1976 and 1978, after each had spent time at WPVI's then-sister station in Buffalo, New York, WKBW-TV. Gary Papa joined in 1981 from another Buffalo station, WGR-TV (now WGRZ), and stayed with the station until his death in 2009.
One factor in WPVI's dominance is talent continuity. Most of WPVI's on-air staff has been at the station for over ten years, and several for 20 years or more. Gardner was the station's main weeknight anchor from May 1977 until his retirement in December 2022, the longest tenure for any main anchor in Philadelphia history, and the second-longest anchor tenure of any United States local television anchor after Dave Ward at Houston sister station KTRK-TV.[24] Rob Jennings served as longtime weekend anchor beginning in that same year and held that post until his retirement on July 21, 2013.[25]
Action News of Philly
The station's newscasts have used the same theme music, "
For many years, WPVI's dominance fostered an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality. Its logo, a simple stylized "6", has been used with only minor changes since 1967 when it was still WFIL-TV. In June 1995, the "6" was placed in a blue box, the station was later re-branded as 6ABC in June 1996 with the red ABC logo augmented on the bottom right of the 6. The red ABC logo was later replaced with a 2007-era glossy logo on December 4, 2010, and the ABC logo was updated (as recent as 2021). Well into the 1990s, it still used
After the 2009 death of Gary Papa, Channel 6 took eighteen months to name a replacement for the position of Sports Director. In January 2011, Keith Russell was named as the 6 and 11 p.m. sports anchor, while Jamie Apody was named sports anchor for the 5 p.m. newscast, a position vacant since the departure of longtime 5 p.m. sports anchor Scott Palmer. Russell left in 2012, and was replaced by Ducis Rodgers who was officially named Sports Director.[28]
On March 12, 2024 starting with the noon newscast, WPVI became the penultimate station in the group to debut the standardized ABC O&O graphics package. This retains the 1995 arrangement of "Move Closer to Your World".
Extended newscast
On May 26, 2011, WPVI debuted an hour-long 4 p.m. newscast to replace The Oprah Winfrey Show, which ended its 25-year syndication run one day prior; this edition was broadcast from a smaller news desk located next to the main anchor desk that only housed the anchors of that newscast and allowed the team to utilize the Big Board more frequently. This changed on June 26, 2017, when the entire news set was redone in a more modernized style and the smaller desk was removed, moving the anchors to the new main desk.[29] The station also introduced "Mobile 6", a news vehicle used for reports during the station's early evening newscasts. In the spring of 2012, the station expanded its weekend 11 p.m. newscasts to one hour. On September 8, 2014, the station's noon newscast also expanded to one full hour as a new daytime schedule was implemented.[30]
On September 15, 2012, WPVI-TV took over production of MyNetworkTV affiliate WPHL-TV (channel 17)'s 10 p.m. newscast from NBC-owned WCAU (which began producing the 10 p.m. newscast in December 2005, after WPHL shut down its own in-house news department). The newscast, Action News at 10pm on PHL 17, respectively utilizes most of the same personalities as WPVI's weekday 5 p.m. and weekend evening newscasts with a few notable differences. Features anchor Alicia Vitarelli does not appear on the weeknight edition of the broadcast. Meteorologist Adam Joseph joins the weeknight broadcast and Brittany Boyer covers the weekend edition, while Sports Director Ducis Rodgers and Jamie Apody join their respective teams.[31] Additionally, weeknight anchors Sharrie Williams and Gray Hall and weekend anchor Walter Perez operate from the main anchor desk.
On January 12, 2022, Sharrie Williams temporarily became the sole anchor of the weeknight edition when her 5 p.m. co-anchor Rick Williams (no relation) was promoted to anchor of the 11 p.m. newscast the previous day, replacing longtime anchor
Competitor station WPSG was the only station in the area to broadcast a half-hour newscast in the time slot, Eyewitness News at 10 on The CW Philly, produced by sister station KYW. This would change on July 18, 2022, when the newscast was officially modified to become a hybrid local and national news-based hour-long broadcast, CBS News Philadelphia NOW on The CW Philly, to coincide with the launching of the broadcast's format across several CBS O&Os and affiliated stations and KYW itself beginning the use of a brand new updated studio for all Eyewitness News broadcasts earlier that day.[37] This would change again on August 31, 2023, when CBS News Philadelphia NOW on The CW Philly was ended due to WPSG dropping its CW affilation and returning to being an independent station the next day, September 1. While the newscast would return to being an hour-long edition of CBS News Philadelphia on the newly renamed Philly 57 on September 5, it has now been moved to an earlier start time of 8 p.m.
In December 2013, WPVI entered into a news share agreement with
In 2016, WPVI lost the rights to televise the Wawa Welcome America festivities to WCAU. The station had televised July 4 event since at least 1983.
In September 2018, WPVI became the third station in the Philadelphia area to start its weekday morning newscast at 4 a.m., following WTXF and WCAU. Only KYW-TV currently starts its morning newscast at 4:30 a.m. while WPHL-TV starts its newscast at 5 a.m.; however, WPHL's program, PHL 17 Morning News, is not produced by WPVI but rather in-house.
On September 11, 2023, WPVI-TV, along with sister stations WABC-TV and WTVD, launched an additional hour-long newscast at 10 a.m. which took over the time slot previously occupied by Tamron Hall. The newscast is co-anchored by Alyana Gomez, Nydia Han and Alicia Vitarelli with meteorologist Karen Rogers. The broadcast will continue to deliver news in a traditional format, and will also allow more focus to be placed on local newsmakers, and further discussion on topics addressed on Good Morning America and Live with Kelly and Mark.[40]
Notable current on-air staff
- Tamala Edwards – anchor
- Matt O'Donnell – anchor
- Walter Perez – anchor
- Ducis Rodgers – sports director
- Cecily Tynan (AMS Seal of Approval) – chief meteorologist
- Alicia Vitarelli – anchor; also co-host of FYI Philly
Inside Story staff
- Tamala Edwards – Host
- Matt O'Donnell – Host
- Franklin and Marshall College)
- Marjorie Margolies (former congresswoman)
Notable former on-air staff
- Al Alberts (died in 2009)
- Renee Amoore R.N. (died in 2020)
- WUSA-TV in Washington, D.C.)
- Dick Clark (died in 2012)
- Larry Ferrari (died in 1997)
- Dave Frankel (1984–1997) (later at KYW-TV; now an attorney)
- Jim Gardner (retired in 2022)
- Traynor (Chief) Halftown (died in 2003)
- Bob Horn (died in 1966)
- Marc Howard (later at KYW-TV; now retired from journalism)
- Rob Jennings(retired in 2013)
- Larry Kane (retired from journalism)
- Jeff Kaye(news announcer) (died in 2012)
- Wally Kennedy (now college professor and also at KYW Newsradio 1060)
- Monica Malpass (now a business anchor at the Nasdaq)
- Jillian Mele – anchor/reporter (now owner of her own firm, Jillian Mele Communications)
- Tug McGraw (died in 2004)
- W. Carter Merbreier ("Captain Noah", died in 2016)
- Patricia Merbreier ("Mrs. Noah", died in 2011)
- skydivingaccident in 1983)
- Charlie O'Donnell (announcer for American Bandstand and later Wheel of Fortune, died in 2010)
- Vernon Odom – reporter; also hosted Visions (retired in 2018)
- Gary Papa (died in 2009)
- Dave Roberts (retired in 2009)
- Eliott Rodriguez (now with WFOR-TV in Miami, Florida)
- Sally Starr (died in 2013)
- Mike Strug
- Kristen Sze (now at KGO-TV in San Francisco)
- Lisa Thomas-Laury (retired in 2016)
- Don Tollefson (later with WTXF-TV, incarcerated 2015–2017)
- Joe Torres (now at WABC-TV)
- Bill "Wee Willie" Webber(died in 2010)
- Bill White (later New York Yankees announcer and president of the National League, now retired)
In popular culture
The 2011–13 ABC series
In the second episode of the ABC sitcom Abbott Elementary, Jacob, Melissa and Barbara are seen watching a WPVI newscast.[41]
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's signal is
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
---|---|---|---|---|
6.1 | 720p | 16:9 |
WPVI-HD | Main WPVI-TV programming / ABC |
6.2 | LOCLish | Localish | ||
6.3 | 480i | CHARGE! | Charge! | |
6.4 | QVC | QVC | ||
57.4 | 480i | 16:9 | TBD | TBD (WPSG) |
Analog-to-digital conversion
WPVI-TV signed on its digital signal on November 1, 1998. The station shut down its analog signal, over
Reception issues
In an analog world, operations on VHF channels (those between 2 and 13) could operate at power levels significantly lower than UHF stations (saving electricity costs), and still cover greater areas. The All-Channel Receiver Act of 1964 guaranteed that all new TVs must be designed to receive UHF channels, but the major networks were already well established. For digital transmissions VHF channels are very noisy in particular Low-VHF (channels 2–6). It is difficult to receive the signals without the standardized 30' outdoor antenna. Fewer than 40 full power stations in the United States are using Low-VHF channels since the mandatory digital conversion in 2009, and major network affiliates are mostly in large sparsely populated direct marketing areas where outdoor antennas are common.
WPVI-TV had been broadcasting digital signals on UHF channel 64 from 1998 until 2009, but that channel was recovered by the FCC for resale in March 2008. WPVI-TV was by far the largest urban station to broadcast in the Low-VHF band after the mandatory digital transition in 2009. Next to Philadelphia, the next largest market area served by a major network affiliate with a Low-VHF channel was
WPVI's audio signal transmitted on a frequency of 87.75
The FCC granted the station a temporary power increase to 30 kilowatts, following consent given from
On August 10, 2023, CBS News and Stations activated their station WPSG (channel 57) as the market's lighthouse station for ATSC 3.0, which includes a simulcast in that standard for WPVI-TV's main channel. As WPSG's physical channel is UHF channel 33, it is the first time in 16 years that WPVI-TV is available in some form on the UHF band.[50]
Cable and satellite carriage
Outside of the Philadelphia market in central New Jersey, WPVI is carried on Channel 6 on
In
In the Lehigh Valley (most of which is in the Philadelphia market), WPVI is carried by
WPVI is also carried on cable systems in
See also
References
- Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, PA. July 19, 1946. Retrieved May 6, 2019.(subscription required)
- Broadcasting - Telecasting. July 22, 1946. p. 88. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WPVI-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "TV Query Results for WPVI-TV". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
- ^ "WFIL-TV televises first day programs". Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, PA. September 14, 1947. Retrieved May 6, 2019.(subscription required)
- ^ Fybush, Scott (October 2, 2003). "Roxborough Tower Farm, Philadelphia PA (part I)". fybush.com. Northeast Radio Watch. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
- ^ Shafer, Jack (October 2, 2002). "Citizen Annenberg So long, you rotten bastard". slate.com. Archived from the original on April 28, 2006.
- ^ "WFIL, other stations sold". Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, PA. February 14, 1970. p. 1. Retrieved May 12, 2019.(subscription required)
- ^ "Capcities buys 9 Triangle outlets" (PDF). Broadcasting. February 16, 1970. p. 9.
- ^ "WFIL-AM-FM sold" (PDF). Broadcasting. April 20, 1970. p. 9.
- ^ "WFIL is sold for $11.5 million" (PDF). Broadcasting. September 21, 1970. p. 40 – via worldradiohistory.com.
- ^ "TV Roundup—Philadelphia". Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, PA. April 27, 1971. p. 19. Retrieved May 5, 2019.(subscription required)
- ^ "Last-minute clearance for Capcities" (PDF). Broadcasting. March 1, 1971. pp. 19–20 – via worldradiohistory.com.
- ^ May, Marvin (April 4, 1971). "WFIL changes name to WPVI—Here's why". Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, PA. Retrieved May 5, 2019.(subscription required)
- ^ "More musical chairs at CC/ABC" (PDF). Broadcasting. January 27, 1986. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
- ^ "Pilot, photographer killed after Action News' Chopper 6 crashes in wooded area of New Jersey". 6abc.com. December 20, 2023. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
- ^ "WPVI news helicopter crashes in New Jersey, 2 killed". abcnews.com. December 20, 2023. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
- ^ Harris, Harry (April 14, 1975). "'Captain Noah' to get earlier time". Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, PA. Retrieved May 7, 2019.(subscription required)
- ^ Harris, Harry (November 3, 1975). "'Face-Off' puts opposing views on ABC show". Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, PA. Retrieved May 7, 2019.(subscription required)
- ^ Harris, Harry (January 12, 1976). "The good, the bad, and the changing". Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, PA. Retrieved May 8, 2019.(subscription required)
- ^ Harris, Harry (June 15, 1977). "Capt. Noah charts a weekend course". Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, PA. Retrieved May 8, 2019.(subscription required)
- ^ "Philadelphia Union To Air on 6ABC - Regional Broadcast Leader Partners with MLS Expansion Club". Archived from the original on July 15, 2011.
- ^ Tannenwald, Jonathan (January 28, 2010). "Union sign local TV deal with Channel 6". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on February 5, 2010.
- ^ "Jim Gardner Has A Record That Will Never Be Broken – Larry Kane Report". Archived from the original on November 30, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
- ^ Eichel, Molly (May 23, 2013). "6abc weekend anchor Rob Jennings to retire". philly.com. Archived from the original on July 8, 2013.
- ^ Shister, Gail (October 2, 1996). "For Angry Ch. 6 News Viewers, The Theme Was: 'Drop The Music'". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
- ^ "Philadelphia ABC debuts on air overhaul". NewscastStudio. June 26, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
- ^ "Ducis Rodgers - 6abc Philadelphia".
- ^ "6abc Action News unveils new set - 6abc Philadelphia". June 26, 2017.
- ^ "'General Hospital' Time Slot Switch: The Affected Stations Fall Afternoon Lineups". Soap Opera Network. Errol Lewis. August 19, 2014. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
- ^ "Jeff Skversky Resurfaces with Local Basketball Gigs". January 25, 2022.
- ^ "Brian Taff".
- ^ "Watch Jim Gardner's final broadcast at Action News". YouTube.
- ^ @GrayHall6abc (March 9, 2022). ".I have some NEWS to share!! Weekend Mornings, here at Action News, has been my home for 6 years. Thanks to all the..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ Action News Moves to Prime Time on PHL17!
- ^ "KYW | CBS 3 Eyewitness News at 5PM - New Set Debut - July 18, 2022". YouTube.
- ^ "WPVI and 2 Other ABC Owned Stations to Launch 10 AM Newscast". www.adweek.com. August 24, 2023.
- ^ @6abc (January 3, 2022). "Everybody loves Jim Gardner, even the staff at Abbott Elementary! Be sure to tune in to Abbott Elementary, Tuesdays..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Digital TV Market Listing for WPVI". RabbitEars.Info. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
- ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
- ^ Grotticelli, Michael (June 22, 2009). "DTV Transition Not So Smooth in Some Markets". Broadcast Engineering. Archived from the original on June 28, 2009. Retrieved June 24, 2009.
- ^ Dickson, Glen (June 22, 2009). "WPVI Gets Power Boost From FCC". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
- ^ Svensson, Peter (September 18, 2009). "Don't change that channel: DTV woes still abound". NBC News. Retrieved September 23, 2009.
- ^ "Can't get channel 6 in Center City". Archived from the original on November 3, 2013. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
- ^ "More power for 6abc DTV Transition". Archived from the original on May 10, 2013. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
- ^ "Band". Archived from the original on August 22, 2013.
- ^ "NEXTGEN TV & The CW Philly 57". CBS News Philadelphia. July 11, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
- ^ "Slide show | DSLReports, ISP Information".
- ^ "TV Listings Comcast Garden State - Digital 08533". Zap2it.com. Gracenote. June 1, 2018. Retrieved June 1, 2018. [permanent dead link]
External links
- Official website
- WPVI-TV on Facebook
- WPVI-TV on Twitter