WKRN-TV

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WKRN-TV
WKRN logo.png
Nashville, Tennessee
Branding Nashville's News 2
Slogan First. Fast. Accurate.
Channels Digital: 27 (UHF)
Virtual: 2 (PSIP)
Subchannels (see article)
Affiliations ABC
Owner Young Broadcasting
(WKRN, G.P.)
First air date November 29, 1953
Call letters' meaning Knight-Ridder Nashville
(former owner)
Former callsigns WSIX-TV (1953-1973)
WNGE-TV (1973-1983)
Former channel number(s) Analog:
8 (VHF, 1953-1973)
2 (VHF, 1973-2009)
Former affiliations CBS (1953-1954)
Transmitter power 1000 kW
Height 411 metres (1,348 ft)
Facility ID 73188
Transmitter coordinates Coordinates: 36°08′34″N 86°44′46″W / 36.1428°N 86.7460°W / 36.1428; -86.7460 36°02′50″N 86°49′49″W / 36.04733°N 86.83025°W / 36.04733; -86.83025
Website www.wkrn.com

WKRN-TV, virtual channel 2, owned by Young Broadcasting, is an ABC-affiliated television station located in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. WKRN-TV's studio and offices are on Murfreesboro Road (U.S. Routes 41 and 70S) in Nashville, and its transmitter is located in Brentwood, Tennessee.

Contents

History [edit]

The station first signed on the air on channel 8 on November 29, 1953 as WSIX-TV, the second television station in Nashville. It was owned by Louis and Jack Draughon along with WSIX radio (980 AM, now WYFN). The calls came from the 638 Tire Company in nearby Springfield, where the Draughon brothers had started WSIX in 1930; neither the radio nor the television stations have ever had the number six in their frequencies, which would explain it otherwise. Originally a CBS affiliate sharing ABC with WSM-TV (channel 4, now WSMV), it became a full ABC affiliate after only one year when WLAC-TV (channel 5, now WTVF) signed on and took the CBS affiliation due to WLAC radio's long history as a CBS radio affiliate. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network.[1]

Its original studio was on Old Hickory Boulevard, just outside Nashville. In 1961, WSIX-AM-FM-TV moved to a new studio located at 441 Murfreesboro Road, where the TV station is located today. The current WKRN studios is where the Wilburn Brothers' television program, a Show Biz Inc., production, was produced during the 1960s and 1970s (however, WSM-TV had the rights to air the show in the Nashville market).

WSIX-TV, however, did not have much luck against WSM-TV and WLAC-TV. Part of the problem was a weak signal, as its transmitter was short-spaced to channel 8 in Atlanta—occupied first by WLWA-TV (now WXIA-TV) and currently occupied by WGTV. WSIX-TV was also hampered by a weaker network affiliation (ABC was not truly competitive with CBS and NBC until well into the 1970s).

The Draughons sold the WSIX stations to General Electric in 1966. In 1973, GE agreed to a deal with Nashville's PBS station, WDCN-TV (now WNPT), then on channel 2, to swap frequencies. GE participated in the channel trade because the analog channel 2 facility was better suited for a network affiliate as opposed to an non-commercial educational station.[2] The swap occurred on December 11, 1973 at 9 p.m., in the middle of evening prime-time programming, between the Movie of the Week, "The Cat Creature", and Marcus Welby, M.D..[3][4] At the same time, even though General Electric still owned WSIX-AM-FM, WSIX-TV's call letters were changed to WNGE-TV (for Nashville General Electric). This was only the third facility swap in American television history.

As part of General Electric's exit from broadcasting (though it would re-enter the industry via its 1986 purchase of NBC), Knight Ridder bought WNGE-TV in 1983 and changed the calls in November to the current WKRN-TV. Young Broadcasting bought the station in 1989. It is merely a coincidence that the call letters reflect Young Broadcasting's flagship outlet, KRON-TV in San Francisco. Like all other ABC affiliates owned by Young Broadcasting, WKRN preempted ABC's broadcast of the movie Saving Private Ryan in 2004.

Digital television [edit]

Digital channels [edit]

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming
2.1 720p 16:9 WKRN-DT Main WKRN-TV programming / ABC
2.2 480i 4:3 WKRN-SD Nashville WX Channel
2.3 16:9 WKRNLWN Live Well Network

WKRN-DT3 [edit]

On August 26, 2012, WKRN began multicasting Live Well Network.[5] Originally announced to launch on July 18, 2012,[6] this subchannel is part of an agreement announced in January, 2012, between Young Broadcasting and Live Well Network in which the network will be carried as a digital multicast service on Young-owned stations in seven markets.[7][8]

Analog-to-digital conversion [edit]

In 2009, WKRN-TV turned off its analog transmitter and remained on its pre-transition channel 27.[9][10] However, through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display WKRN-TV's virtual channel as 2.

Programming [edit]

The station has an agreement with the Tennessee Titans to air Bridgestone Titans on 2 with Mike Munchak, the team's coach's show that originally aired from 8pm-9pm Tuesday evenings, pre-empting ABC programming in that timeslot during the NFL season (which featured low-rated and critically drubbed sitcoms for the majority of the 2000s). The show can now be seen on Monday and Saturday evenings at 6:30pm, pre-empting Wheel of Fortune in that timeslot during football season.

The station received heavy criticism from viewers in November 2009 for not airing V at the network's original timeslot. V then aired early Wednesday mornings after Jimmy Kimmel Live!.[11] WKRN claimed the thirteen-year agreement to air the coach's show would not allow for the moving of that show to accommodate high-demand network programming without notice months in advance. However, in the past the program has moved at times to accommodate other high-demand programs such as Dancing with the Stars during the early portion of the season and network holiday programming. The station also reversed a plan to air V over NashvilleWX on digital channel 2.2 at 8 p.m. on Tuesdays the day before the premiere. WKRN's sister station in Green Bay, WBAY-TV also faced the same situation with a locally produced football program covering the Green Bay Packers, but after a week moved that program to air before primetime to accommodate V.

News operation [edit]

The two main evening news anchors, Bob Mueller and Anne Holt, have been associated with WKRN since the early 1980s. WKRN is also the only traditional network affiliate in Nashville that does not run an hourlong newscast at 6 p.m., although its newscasts for the evening begin at 4 p.m., including ABC's World News with Diane Sawyer at 5:30 p.m.

On October 11, 2011, WKRN started broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition, becoming the last Nashville television station to do so. This included a brand new news set that was built in a separate studio going off a design shared by all Young stations that have made their HD upgrades, replacing the working newsroom set that had been their home since the 1980s.

Before the advent of satellite technology in the 1980s, the Vanderbilt Television News Archive taped all ABC News broadcasts from the airwaves of WSIX/WNGE/WKRN. Some of the recordings prior to that time include local cut-ins to ABC coverage of national elections, which represent the only preservations of the station's news broadcasts of that time.

News/station presentation [edit]

Newscast titles [edit]

  • WSIX-TV News (1953–1961)
  • The Tennessee Report (1961–1965)
  • The Six O'Clock Report/The Ten O'Clock Report (1965–1968)
  • Newsnight (1968–1969)
  • Eyewitness News (1969–1972)
  • The Big News (1972–1974)
  • Dateline: Today (1974–1976)
  • NewsWatch 2 (1976–1983)
  • Channel 2 News (1983–1994)[12]
  • News 2 (1994–2011)[13]
  • Nashville's News 2 (2011–present)

Station slogans [edit]

  • "The Powerhouse!" (1973–1975)
  • "2 a New Beat" (1979–1980)
  • "The News Specialists" (1981–1983)*"Let's Get Involved" (1983–1985)
  • "The Winner's Circle!" (1985–1986)*"On Your Side" (1990–1996)
  • "Where Coverage Comes First!" (1996–1998)
  • "First. Fast. Accurate." (1998–present; news slogan)
Television.svg This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it with reliably sourced additions.

News team [edit]

Current on-air staff[14][15] (as of January 2012) [edit]

Anchors

  • John Dwyer - weekdays at 4 and 4:30, and Sundays at 5 and 10 p.m.
  • Samantha Fisher - weeknights at 10 p.m.
  • Anne Holt - weekdays at 4 and 4:30, and weeknights at 5 and 6 p.m.
  • Erin Holt - Saturdays at 5 and 10 p.m.; also reporter
  • Julie Kroenig - weekday mornings News 2 This Morning (4-7 a.m.)
  • Bob Mueller - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.; also host of This Week with Bob Mueller
  • Lauren Murphy - weekend mornings News 2 This Morning Weekend
  • Neil Orne - weekday mornings News 2 This Morning (4-7 a.m.)

News 2 StormTracker Weather

  • Lisa Patton - chief meteorologist; weekdays at 4 and 4:30, and weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
  • Justin Bruce - meteorologist; weekday mornings News 2 This Morning (4-7 a.m.)
  • Davis Nolan (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weekend mornings News 2 This Morning Weekend
  • Randy Rauch - meteorologist; weekends at 5 and 10 p.m.

Sports team

  • Cory Curtis - sports director; weeknights at 6 and 10 p.m.
  • Dawn Davenport - sports anchor; weekends at 5 and 10 p.m., also sports reporter
  • Rob Johnson - sports reporter/anchor

Reporters

  • Jerry Barlar - general assignment reporter
  • Chris Bundgaard - general assignment reporter
  • Andy Cordan - general assignment reporter
  • Todd Dunn - general assignment reporter
  • Karen Higbee - general assignment reporter
  • Heather Jensen - weekday morning reporter
  • Stephanie Langston - general assignment reporter
  • Lori Mitchell - general assignment reporter; also fill-in anchor
  • Amy Napier Viteri - general assignment reporter
  • Joseph Pleasant - general assignment reporter
  • Tracee Tolentino - general assignment reporter
  • Jamey Tucker - general assignment reporter

Notable former on-air staff [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ "Require Prime Evening Time for NTA Films". Boxoffice: 13. November 10, 1956. 
  2. ^ "VHF frequency swap in Nashville." Broadcasting. March 26, 1973, pp. 60-62. [1][2]
  3. ^ "In brief: Two gets you eight." Broadcasting. December 17, 1973, pg. 10. [3]
  4. ^ radiodiscussions.com: "Retro: Northern Alabama Tuesday, December 11, 1973", October 7, 2012.
  5. ^ http://nashvilledtv.site11.com/
  6. ^ http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:yZ6s9lf_t5IJ:www.facebook.com/pages/Young-Broadcasting/104069369628341%3Fv%3Dinfo%26rf%3D102159246492207+young+broadcasting+live+well+network&cd=9&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
  7. ^ http://rbr.com/young-stations-add-live-well/
  8. ^ Young To Air Live Well In Seven Markets, TVNewsCheck, July 12, 2012.
  9. ^ "hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf" (PDF). 
  10. ^ "CDBS Print". 
  11. ^ http://www.wkrn.com/Global/story.asp?S=11400190
  12. ^ WKRN Nightside Open, 1991
  13. ^ WKRN News 2 at 6 Open (January 21, 2003)
  14. ^ Anchors
  15. ^ Reporters/VJs
  16. ^ "David Crabtree Bio". WRAL-TV. Retrieved 9 March 2013. 

External links [edit]
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Key people
  • Deborah A. McDermott (president)
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1Broadcasts Live Well Network on a digital subchannel. • 2Owned by Shield Media, LLC, Young operates these stations under an SSA. • 3Owned by Venture Technologies Group and managed by WLNS under a JSA.
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