KWQC-TV

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KWQC-TV, channel 6, is the NBC affiliate for the Quad Cities television market (the Davenport, Iowa/Moline, Illinois/Rock Island, Illinois market). It is licensed to Davenport and is owned by Young Broadcasting. Its transmitter is located in Bettendorf, Iowa.

File:KWQC Building.png

The KWQC building, the first television station in Davenport.

KWQC's audio signal transmits on a frequency of 87.76 MHz (+10 kHz shift), and as a result, can be picked up on the lower end of the dial on most FM radios at 87.7. This is true of all other channel 6 stations in the United States, regardless of whether channel 6 is an over-the-air station like KWQC or a Cable TV system's channel 6 traveling strictly through the cable television wire on the exact same frequency/channel.

KWQC-TV can be seen on Mediacom cable channel 5 in the Quad Cities area.

History

KWQC originally signed on the air on October 31, 1949, as WOC-TV. It has the distinction of being Iowa's and the Quad Cities' first television station, carrying programming from all four networks at the time (NBC, CBS, ABC and DuMont). It lost CBS to WHBF-TV in 1950, and the two stations shared ABC until WQAD-TV signed on in 1963. Originally on channel 5, it moved to channel 6 in 1952 due to interference with WOI-TV in Des Moines.

The station was founded by B. J. Palmer, who owned the Palmer College of Chiropractic (the WOC calls stood for Wonders of Chiropractic) along with WOC radio (AM 1420 and FM 103.7, now WLLR) and WHO-AM-FM-TV in Des Moines. It remained with the Palmer family after his death in 1961.

In 1986 the Palmers announced that they would sell channel 6, and in the process changed the call letters to KWQC-TV. KWQC was sold to Broad Street Television in 1989 and to Young Broadcasting in 1995.

On July 31, 2007, KWQC debuted a drastic change to its graphics and music, dumping the original "Hello News" music package that had been in use since 1990. KWQC added a "cube" (similar to Fox News) which stirred up a lot of controversy. Eventually, KWQC slowed the cube down as a result of a vote by nearly 2000 people on its website. KWQC began using "U-Phonix", a syndicated music package produced by Stephen Arnold Music. Less than 2 months later on September 24, KWQC switched back to the "Hello News" package, making KWQC the first station to use a syndicated music package for the least amount of time. KWQC remains the only station that continues to use the original "Hello News" package.

The January 9, 2008 episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno featured a brief clip of a KWQC newscast showing anchor Mike Mickle's reaction to difficulties with a tape on a story about a Boise, Idaho woman struck by lightning.

Ratings

KWQC has been the ratings leader in the Quad Cities for most of its history, mainly because of the longetivity of the station's personalities. It briefly lost the lead to WHBF in the mid-1970s, but regained it in 1980 and has held the lead ever since. The February, 2008 ratings show that KWQC holds the number one spot in the market. According to the Des Moines Register in the November 2007 books, KWQC had the 3rd highest, top 100 market newscast rating, of 16%.

Personalities

Illinois 17th District Republican candidate Andrea Zinga was a former anchor for KWQC-TV (while it was still WOC-TV) during the mid-1980s.

Anchors

• Mike Mickle Quad Cities Today
• Jessica Tighe Quad Cities Today
• Marcia Lense Noon
• Gary Metivier 5, 6, 10 PM Weekdays
• Paula Sands 5, 6 Weekdays; Host Paula Sands Live
• Sharon DeRycke 10 PM Weekdays
• Elizabeth Goodsitt Weekend Anchor

First Alert Weather

• Chief Meteorologist Ryan Burchett (AMS CBM Certified) 5, 6, & 10PM Weekdays
• Weather Specialist Theresa Bryant Noon & Weekends
• Meteorologist Kristina Shiroma QC Today

Reporters

• Fran Riley
• Matt Lidner
• Lindsey Morone
• Meredith Hailey

Sports

• Thom Cornelis Sports Director
• Dan Pearson Sports Anchor Friday/Saturday
• Kory Kuffler Sports Reporter/Fill In Anchor

Also Appearing on KWQC-TV 6

• Linda Cook Cook's Critique (Paula Sands Live)
• 4 Legged Friends (Paula Sands Live Pet Segment)
• Mr Food
• Food Guru Peter Harman
• Jim Victor (QC Today Financial)

The "Highlight Zone"

KWQC-TV studios

KWQC is well-known by locals for the "Highlight Zone," an Emmy award-winning Friday night feature showcasing area high school football and basketball. The "Highlight Zone" airs during the 10 p.m. newscast from roughly late August through early March, with a break in December. Each member of the news anchor staff, along with whomever is giving the weather that night, take turns recapping a featured game.

The camera crews invite fans from each of the games they cover to participate in a skit related to the night's theme. The theme usually centers on a holiday (e.g., Valentine's Day) or local promotion (e.g., The Student Food Drive, an initiative by area high schools to collect food for the needy).

The "Highlight Zone" was started for the 1989-1990 season, and the format has since been copied by many TV stations.

Syndicated programming

Syndicated programs on KWQC's schedule include Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Rachael Ray, and The Oprah Winfrey Show. Reruns of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation air during the weekends; the station also airs Cheers, often on weekends or during telethons as part of a special marathon.

KWQC 24-7 Weather Channel

On Monday August 13, 2007, KWQC started up a local digital weather service called "24/7 Weather." This new weather service is available to viewers via KWQC's digital subcarrier channel 6.2 over the air and on Mediacom Digital Cable channel 247 in the Quad Cities and surrounding areas. The purpose of 24/7 weather is similar to that of NBC stations who do offer NBC Weather Plus and other stations which either offer AccuWeather, The Weather Channel, or strictly local weather from their own weather centers, and that purpose is to bring the latest radar, local weather conditions and forecasts to viewers at their convenience regardless of the time of day or night. At this time, KWQC 24/7 Weather has no affiliation with NBC Weather Plus. Its main competitor is the WQAD Storm Track 8000 doppler weather channel.

KWQC's 24/7 Weather Channel provides Quad Cities area viewers with the latest weather forecasts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Every 5 minutes, the KWQC TV 6 First Alert Weather Team updates the weather forecasts, especially the forecast for the next 24 to 48 hours. Also featured is an "L" bar similar to the one used on NBC Weather Plus except KWQC's "L" bar covers the right side and bottom of the screen where the "L" bar for NBC Weather Plus covers the left side third and bottom third of the screen, thus making KWQC's "L" bar look more like a "backwards L" bar. On the right hand side of the screen is the current conditions and at the bottom of the screen is the 6 day forecast. Live 3D Doppler Radar and Forecasts help viewers to plan their day according to the weather. KWQC also breaks in live on the 24/7 Weather Channel whenever severe weather is forecast for the KWQC viewing area. The main purpose of the 24/7 Weather Channel is to make getting the forecast for KWQC's viewers convenient due to the tight schedules of people all around the Quad Cities and surrounding areas.

Digital Television

Digital channels

Channel	Programming
6.1 / 56.1	Main KWQC programming / NBC HD
6.2 / 56.2	KWQC 24-7 Weather Channel

Transmitter

The KWQC-TV Tower is a 1,381-foot (421 m) high guy-wired aerial mast for the transmission of FM radio and television programs in Bettendorf, west of the Scott Community College campus. (Geographical coordinates: 41°32′49″N 90°28′35″W). It was built in 1982. In addition to KWQC, WHBF-TV and radio stations WOC, WLLR-FM, WDLM-FM, and WVIK transmit their signals from this site.

KWQC's digital transmission tower is located in Orion, Illinois.

Station notes

• Mike Mickle did weather when he first joined KWQC in the early 90's
• Paula Sands is a graduate of Moline High School
• David Sands (Paula Sands' husband) is KWQC's voice-over

References

• Fybush.com (2001). "The Big Travelogue, Part Four". Retrieved 2006-04-08.
• KWQC.com. "The History of KWQC-TV 6". Retrieved 2006-03-22.
• KWQC On-Airaccessed 2007-04-03
• Stein, Jeff (2004). Making Waves: The People and Places of Iowa Broadcasting. Cedar Rapids, Iowa: WDG Communications. ISBN 0-9718323-1-5.
• KWQC.com (2007). "KWQC-TV6 News and Weather For The Quad Cities - First Alert Weather 24/7". Retrieved 2007-08-21.

External links

• Station website
• "Listing 1035417". Antenna Structure Registration database. U.S. Federal Communications Commission.
• WOC's Captain Ernie's Cartoon Showboat website
• The Unofficial WOC Broadcast Center Website
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