WRTV

WRTV

Indianapolis, Indiana
Branding	RTV6 (general) The News @(time) (newscasts)
Slogan	The Indy Channel
Channels	Digital: 25 (UHF) Virtual: 6 (PSIP)
Subchannels	6.1 ABC 6.2 Hometown Sports & News 6.3 Live Well Network
Affiliations	American Broadcasting Company
Owner	The E.W. Scripps Company (Scripps Media, Inc.)
First air date	May 30, 1949
Call letters' meaning	We aRe TeleVision
Former callsigns	WFBM-TV (1949-1972)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: Channel 6 (1949-2009)
Former affiliations	Primary: CBS (1949-1956) NBC (1956-1979) Secondary: DuMont (1949-1955)[1] ABC (1954-1956)
Transmitter power	1000 kW
Height	294 m (HAAT) 296 m (AGL)
Class	DT
Facility ID	40877
Transmitter coordinates	39°53′56.6″N 86°12′3.7″W
Website	www.theINDYchannel.com

WRTV, channel 6, is the ABC television affiliate in Indianapolis, Indiana; it is owned by The E.W. Scripps Company. Its transmitter is located on the northwest side of Indianapolis at 8001 Township Line Road. Its studios are found at 1330 N. Meridian Street, in the middle of Indianapolis' Television Row.

On cable, the station is carried on Bright House Networks channel 7 in standard definition and digital channel 706 in high definition, and Xfinity channel 5 in standard definition and digital channel 231 in high definition.

Digital television

Channel	Video	Aspect	Programming
6.1	720p	16:9	Main WRTV programming / ABC
6.2	480i		Hometown Sports & News (HTSN)
6.3			Live Well Network

WRTV signed-off its analog signal on June 12, 2009, and continued to broadcast on its pre-transition digital channel 25. Most receivers display WRTV's virtual channel as 6 through the use of PSIP.

Until the government-mandated digital transition on June 12, 2009, WRTV had to provide two call signs (legal IDs) in on-air spots, "WRTV/WRTV-DT Indianapolis". This allowed the station to identify both its analog and digital broadcast signals in the same message. On June 3, 2009, the FCC announced that following the digital transition stations would be allowed to revert to their analog call signs. Since the call letters "WRTV" are only in use by a television station, the station elected to use only "WRTV INDIANAPOLIS" as its official call sign for the station currently broadcasting on RF channel 25.

History

The station signed on the air on May 30, 1949 under the call sign WFBM-TV with a documentary entitled Crucible of Speed covering the history of the Indianapolis 500, followed by the inaugural live television broadcast of the event. It is Indiana's oldest television station. It was owned by the Bitner Group along with WFBM-AM 1260 (now WNDE) and WFBM-FM 94.7 (now WFBQ, which signed on in 1955).

It was originally a CBS affiliate with secondary ABC and DuMont affiliations. When WTTV signed on a few months later, WFBM shared ABC programming until 1954, when WISH-TV signed on and took over the ABC affiliation. WFBM-TV also aired programs from the short-lived Paramount Television Network, among them Time For Beany, Dixie Showboat, Hollywood Reel, Cowboy G-Men, and Hollywood Wrestling. In 1956, WFBM took the NBC affiliation from WTTV. During the late 1950s, WFBM was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network.

Bitner merged with Time-Life in 1957. As part of a sale mandated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), WFBM-TV was sold to McGraw-Hill in 1972 along with sister station KLZ-TV (now KMGH-TV) in Denver, Colorado, KOGO-TV (now KGTV) in San Diego and KERO-TV in Bakersfield, California. The purchase price for the four stations in 1972 was 50 million dollars. At that time, the station assumed its current calls, WRTV. On June 1, 1979 , WRTV traded affiliations with WTHR and became an ABC affiliate. NBC was the lowest rated network in the late 1970s while ABC rose to the ranks of the highest rated network that same time and was seeking out stronger local stations in many markets, thus motivating this affiliation switch in Indianapolis. The last NBC program shown on WRTV was Tomorrow which ended at 1:00 AM June 1, 1979. The first ABC program on WRTV was Good Morning America which began at 7:00 AM. As a result of the affiliation switch, WRTV is one of the few stations in the country to have been a primary affiliate of all three original networks.

As ABC carries the Indianapolis 500, in order to encourage attendance of the race among locals, WRTV has continued to tape-delay coverage of the race since coming back to ABC in 1979 rather than airing it live as it does throughout the nation, and airs it in primetime to assuage the concerns of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In 1999, WRTV did televise the Indianapolis 500 live, in addition to primetime.

WRTV today

WRTV logo used from 1999 through January 2012. The numeric 6 dates to 1989.

WRTV has been a leader in adding innovation to Indiana broadcasting. Some of WRTV's innovations over the years, have included the first station in the state to broadcast in color, the first use of videotape, the first to use news mini-cams, the first use of microwave (a [pre-runner to satellite) (Insta-Cam), the first satellite truck (NewStar 6), the first cable news television on NewsChannel 64 (then 6 News 24/7, and now HTSN'), the first use of non-linear digital editing, the first use of digital news cameras, the first entry into web publishing (www.theINDYchannel.com), and the first into cellphone delivery of news (6News OnTheGo) and VODcasting.

On September 10, 2007, WRTV launched a 7 p.m. newscast, a first for the Indianapolis market (and the second in Indiana). Station Vice President and General Manager Don Lundy attributes the decision to "longer commutes and longer work days" that prevent viewers from being home by 5 or 6. 6 NEWS First at 5:00, the first five o'clock newscast launched in 1988 remains at 5:00 p.m., and has been expanded to one-hour, followed by 6 NEWS at 6:00 then World News with Diane Sawyer at 6:30 p.m. and finally the evening news block concludes with 6 NEWS at 7:00.

WRTV led the ratings in Indianapolis for many years. As recently as the early 1980s, WRTV's news audience often exceeded the combined audience of WISH and WTHR. WISH surged into first place in the mid-1980s, but WRTV managed to remain a solid runner-up even after the retirement of longtime anchorman Howard Caldwell. However, it has never really recovered from a botched relaunch in 1996 and has spent most of the last decade in third place behind WTHR and WISH.

On March 17, 2010, WRTV announced a partnership with Hometown Sports to air live high school and college sporting events on 6.2 (6 News 24/7 now HTSN). Broadcasts will include football, basketball and baseball, but WRTV will not currently have rights to air IHSAA championship events. Details are still being worked out for the full launch.

On October 3, 2011, WRTV launched the Live Well Network on 6.3 to offer home, health and lifestyle programming to over-the-air viewers. By the end of October 6.3 will also be available to Comcast cable customers.

McGraw-Hill announced on October 3, 2011 that it would sell WRTV, along with its other television stations, to The E.W. Scripps Company for $212 million as part of its exit from broadcasting. On November 29, 2011, the FCC approved the sale, which was completed on December 30, 2011.

Programming

WRTV clears nearly all content provided by the network. Syndicated programming includes: Live! with Kelly, The Nate Berkus Show, EXTRA, Judge Judy and The Insider. Some of the specialty and paid programming includes Life Today with James Robison, Livin for the City, Joel Osteen and NASCAR Angels.

ABC in the Terre Haute market

When WBAK (later WFXW) in Terre Haute left ABC for Fox in 1995, WRTV became the default ABC station for the Indiana side of the market. It is viewable in Terre Haute with a rooftop antenna and is carried by all cable systems on the Indiana side of the Terre Haute market. For the Illinois counties in the Terre Haute television market, many systems offer WICD from Champaign, Illinois or WEHT from Evansville, Indiana. As of September 1, 2011, WFXW rejoined ABC with new call letters WAWV-TV.

Newscasts

6 News logo used from 2006 to 2012. The HD part of the logo was added in 2008.

WRTV continues to air the entire ABC network schedule, although the station has no weekend morning local newscasts.

On October 12, 2008, WRTV became the third station in Indiana (and Indianapolis) to broadcast its newscasts in high definition. In the 6:00 p.m. weekend newscast, the station unveiled a number of new aspects to its newscasts; featuring all new graphics, an updated news set, all new opens and rejoins, as well as updated music from the "ABC Affiliate News Collection" (also known as "Eyewitness News"), and an updated logo for all newscasts. Another new look was introduced on January 25, 2012, shortly after the sale to E.W. Scripps. The station also replaced John Young, the station's voice over announcer after 24 years.

News/station presentation

Newscast titles

• TeleNews (1951–1960)
• TV-6 News (1961–1965)
• Channel 6 Early/Final Report (1966–1974)
• The News (1974–1985)
• Channel 6 News (1985–1989)
• WRTV 6 News (1989–1998)
• Nightcast (11 p.m. newscast; 1998–2012)
• 6 News (1998–2001 and 2006–2012)
• RTV6 News/The News At x:xx (2001–2006; 2012–present)

Station slogans

• Channel 6's The One You Can Turn To (1979; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
• The News Leader (1979–1985)
• You and Me and Channel 6 (1980–1981; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
• Now is the Time, Channel 6 is the Place (1981–1982; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
• Come on Along with Channel 6 (1982–1983; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
• That Special Feeling on Channel 6 (1983–1984; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
• We're With You on Channel 6 (1984–1985; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
• You'll Love it on Channel 6 (1985–1986; local version of ABC ad campaign)
• Your Exclusive Newsstar Station (1985–1989)
• Together On Channel 6 (1986–1987; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
• Making a Difference for Indiana (1989–1996)
• Indiana's Watching Channel 6 (1990–1991; localized version of ABC "America's Watching ABC" ad campaign)
• Live, Local, Latebreaking (1996–1998)
• TV is Good, on WRTV-6 (1997–1998; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
• We Love TV, on WRTV-6 (1998–1999; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
• Standing Up for You (1998–2001)
• On Your Side (2006–2011)
• The Indy Channel (2012-Present)

This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it with reliably sourced additions.

On-air staff

WRTV former primary weeknight anchors, Todd Wallace and Trisha Shepherd. This screenshot was taken in 2007, Wallace and Shepherd left WRTV in 2010 and 2011, repectively.

Current on-air staff (as of October 3, 2011)

Anchors

• Todd Connor - weeknights at 5, 5:30, 6, 7 and 11 p.m.
• Erica Flye - weeknights at 5 and 5:30 p.m, and 6 p.m.
• Jenna (Kooi) Maloney - weeknights at 7 and 11 p.m.
• Chris Pisano - weekday mornings and noon
• Tanya Spencer - weekends at 6 and 11 p.m.; also weekday reporter
• Grace Trahan - weekday mornings and noon

Storm Team 6

• Kevin Gregory (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval; NWA Member) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 6, 7 and 11 p.m.
• Todd Klaassen - meteorologist; weekday mornings and noon
• Stephanie Ortmann- meteorologist; weekends
• Scott Akin- meteorologist; fill-in
• Kyle Mounce- meteorologist; fill-in

Sports Team

• Dave Furst - sports director; weeknights at 6 and 11 p.m.
• Brad Brown - sports anchor; weekends at 6 and 11 p.m., also sports reporter
• Jason Spells - sports reporter

Reporters

• Norman Cox - State House reporter
• Rick Hightower (BYU Grad) - Reporter
• Kara Kenney - Reporter
• Joanna Massee - Reporter
• Stacia Matthews - Reporter
• Ebone Money - Reporter
• Johnette Cruz - Traffic reporter ("Sigalert Traffic")
• Myrt Price - Reporter
• Chris Proffitt - Reporter
• Julie Pursley - Reporter
• Jack Rinehart - Reporter
• Rafael Sanchez - Consumer reporter
• Derrik Thomas - Courts reporter
• Chance Walser - Reporter

^{^[a]} Reporter is also fill-in anchor.

Notable former staff

• Tom Carnegie (longtime Sports Director and public address announcer at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway; retired in 1985, died in 2011)
• Chris Denari (former sports reporter; now Indiana Pacers play-by-play announcer for FSN Indiana)
• Frances Farmer (former actress, hosted Frances Farmer Presents afternoon movie show; died in 1970)
• Hal Fryar (aka "Harlow Hickenlooper"; host of the Three Stooges show, now with a Senior Relations firm in Indianapolis)
• Emily Gimmel (morning reporter; currently starring in SOAPnet series Southern Belles: Louisville)
• Durward Kirby (sidekick of Garry Moore and Allen Funt; died in 2000)
• Marilyn Mitzel (reporter; now Adjunct Professor at Florida International University)
• Dave Piontek (former NBA star later sports anchor, died in 2004)
• Phil Ponce (reporter, now at WTTW in Chicago, IL)
• Trisha Shepherd (anchor; now works in the communications department at the Riley Children's Foundation)

Trivia

• In 1993, local video of hockey game and the station logo is used in the movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III.
• Hal Fryar (aka "Harlow Hickenlooper") was one of nine local Three Stooges show hosts from across the country cast as villains in the Three Stooges full-length feature "The Outlaws Are Coming! The Outlaws Are Coming!"
• Harlow Hickenlooper's famous rendition of "Happy Birthday", which always resulted in his getting a pie in the face, was patterned after Jerry Colonna who always exaggerated certain songs. It can be heard on Hal Fryar's website www.harlowhickenlooper.com.
• Emily Gimmel, former reporter for WRTV, went on to star in the SOAPnet series Southern Belles: Louisville.
• Dan O'Rourke, after news internship became WRTV's youngest reporter at age 21, and youngest anchor at 22.
• Kevin Gregory (the chief meteorologist) is the son of former WTHR chief meteorologist Bob Gregory.
• Bill Crawford, weatherman during the 1950s and early 1960s, was really a dentist by profession. Meteorology was only his hobby.
• Bob McLain, who still appears occasionally, was the station's primary meteorologist from 1972 to 2001; he covered the Super Outbreak of 1974 and the Great Blizzard of 1978.

External links

• TheIndyChannel.com (Official Website)
• WRTV History at TheIndyChannel.com
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WRTV
• Listing 1029312 in the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Antenna Structure Registration database
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WRTV-TV
• HarlowHickenlooper.com (Hal Fryar's website)