WBOY-TV
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| Clarksburg/Fairmont/ Morgantown, West Virginia |
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| City of license | Clarksburg |
| Branding | 12 News Your ABC (on DT2) |
| Slogan | Working For You. |
| Channels | Digital: 12 (VHF) |
| Subchannels | 12.1 NBC 12.2 ABC |
| Affiliations | NBC |
| Owner | West Virginia Media Holdings |
| First air date | November 17, 1957 |
| Sister station(s) | WOWK-TV, WVNS-TV, WTRF-TV |
| Former channel number(s) | 12 (VHF analog, 1957-2009) 52 (UHF digital) |
| Former affiliations | ABC (secondary on analog, 1957-1980s) |
| Transmitter power | 12.25 kW |
| Height | 262 m |
| Facility ID | 71220 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 39°17′5.7″N 80°19′44.8″W / 39.284917°N 80.329111°W |
| Website | wboy.com |
WBOY-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for North-Central West Virginia that is licensed to Clarksburg. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 12 from a transmitter east of downtown and U.S. 50. Owned by West Virginia Media Holdings, the station has studios on West Pike Street in Downtown Clarksburg. Syndicated programming on WBOY includes: Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune, and Dr. Phil. It identifies on-air as "Clarksburg/Fairmont/Morgantown" even though the third city is considered part of the Pittsburgh market. This is because it operates a bureau in Morgantown which makes it the only commercial station to have facilities there.
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[edit] Digital channels
| Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP Short Name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | WBOY-DT1 | Main WBOY programming / NBC |
| 12.2 | 480i | 4:3 | WBOY-DT2 | Your ABC |
[edit] History
The station was launched November 17, 1957. It was the second television station in its small market. WBOY was originally intended to be the ABC affiliate for all of North-Central West Virginia. However the area's intended NBC affiliate, Parkersburg's WTAP-TV, did not have a signal strong enough to reach Clarksburg and Weston. North-Central West Virginia is a very rugged dissected plateau and WTAP's analog signal on UHF channel 15 was not strong enough to carry across the terrain. After it became clear that Parkersburg and Clarksburg were going to be separate markets, WBOY joined NBC and remains with the network to this day. However, it retained a secondary ABC affiliation for many years. In 2001, Hearst Television (owner of Pittsburgh's WTAE-TV) acquired WBOY along with ABC affiliate WMUR-TV in Manchester, New Hampshire from Imes Communications of Mississippi.
Hearst's acquisition of WBOY was finalized on April 30 of that year. Almost immediately, the company sold WBOY to West Virginia Media Holdings (which was creating a statewide "network" of stations to share resources) in September of that year with the sale closing on December 13. It is the only primary station owned by the company to not be affiliated with CBS as well as the only one that leads its market ratings. Along with sister station WTRF-TV in Wheeling, WBOY launched a new second digital subchannel with ABC programming on August 1, 2008 bringing shows from that network back to the station. Previously, both the Clarksburg/Weston/Fairmont and Wheeling/Steubenville, Ohio markets were served by WTAE as the de facto affiliate while WDTV aired selected ABC sports programming. WBOY shut down its analog signal on February 17, 2009 continuing digital broadcasts on channel 12.[1]
[edit] News operation
After being acquired by West Virginia Media Holdings, the station upgraded its news operation and built secondary studios in Morgantown on Scott Avenue. A major emphasis was placed on news from that town in the hopes of increasing ratings and thus getting the town reassigned to the Clarksburg/Fairmont market. The move made WBOY the highest rated station in Monongalia County according to Nielsen ratings beating even Pittsburgh stations. The channel produces a large amount of sports content relative to West Virginia University, located in that town, for use by the other member stations. Today, it is the only West Virginia Media Holdings station to have the lead in local news ratings in its respective market.
West Virginia Media produces a half-hour evening newscast that airs at 5:30pm. The newscast, titled West Virginia Tonight Live, is broadcast live from the Charleston studios in high definition on all 4 stations and is anchored by April Kaull. Independent WJAL in Hagerstown, Maryland simulcasts the broadcast. When WBOY-DT2 launched, it resulted in the debut of the market's first weeknight 7 o'clock newscast. Known as 12 News Live on ABC, it broadcasts exclusively on the ABC station. Otherwise, WBOY-DT2 simulcasts the weekday editions of 12 News at 6 a.m., noon, 6, and 11 p.m. It does not simulcast weekend broadcasts from the main channel. In addition, there is a public affairs program called Decision Makers. Hosted by company president and CEO, Bray Cary, it airs on Sunday mornings at 8 on all West Virginia Media Holdings stations. In another arrangement between all of the company channels, weekend weather forecasts originate from WOWK's new facilities on 350 Quarrier Street In Charleston, W.Va.
On April 1, 2013, WBOY became the second station in the market and the last station owned by West Virginia Media Holdings to upgrade its local newscasts to high definition. With the upgrade came new graphics and a new music package (Aerial by Stephen Arnold).
[edit] News team
[edit] Anchors
- Don Graye - weekday mornings and noon
[edit] Producer
- Albert Zipp - Managing Editor seen weeknights at 5, 6, and 11
- Dana Arquilla - weeknights at 5 and 6
- Jeff Schrock - weekends at 6 and 11
[edit] StormTracker 12 Meteorologists
- Jason Parrish (CBM and NWA Seals of Approval) - Chief seen weeknights and "Firehouse Fridays" segment producer
- Tony J. Amormino-AM and Noon Meteorologist
[edit] Sports
- Scott Grayson - WV Illustrated.com
- Matt Hauswirth - weeknight sports anchor
[edit] Reporters
- Bray Cary - West Virginia Media Holdings President and Chief Executive Officer
- Decision Makers host
- Stacy Moniot - Morgantown and fill-in news anchor
- Kelly Rippin - Monongalia & Preston County Reporter, Weekend Anchor
- Stacy Jacobson - Reporter
- Chris Marrs - videojournalist
- Alex Hines - Reporter
- Jaime Stover - Reporter
- Lisa Robbins - Reporter
- Michael Corley - Chief Photographer
[edit] Newscast Titles
- WBOY-TV News (1957-1961)
- The 6 'O Clock Report/The 11 'O Clock Report (1961-1966)
- Eyewitness News (1966-1975)
- TV-12 News (1975-1982)
- NewsWatch 12 (1982-1989)
- News 12 (1989-1994)
- Team 12 News (1994-2001)
- 12 News (2001-present)
[edit] Notable former staff
- Natalie Tennant - (WV Secretary of State)
- Erik Wells - (Democratic member of the West Virginia Senate)
- Brian Slocum - meteorologist (2002–2005; now at WXII-TV)
[edit] References
- ^ Transmission Complete: WBOY Broadcasting In Digital, WBOY-TV, February 17, 2009
[edit] External links
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