WRNN-TV

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WRNN-TV is an independent television station licensed to Kingston, New York, USA. Broadcasting on digital channel 48, WRNN broadcasts a schedule of mainly infomercials and home shopping programming. The station's studios are located in Rye Brook, New York, and its transmitter is based on Beacon Mountain. WRNN also programs a low-power translator station, WRNN-LP (analog channel 57), based in Nyack, New York.

Digital television

The station's signal is multiplexed:

Digital channels

Channel	Name	Video	Aspect	Programming
48.1	WRNN-1	480i	4:3	main WRNN-TV programming
48.2	WRNN-2	480i	4:3	simulcast of TBN programming from WTBY
48.3	WRNN-3	480i	no programming

History

As WTZA

The station first went on the air in December 15, 1985, on analog channel 62 as WTZA, an independent station serving the mid-upper Hudson Valley region of New York State, primarily made up of the cities of Kingston, Poughkeepsie and Newburgh, and their surrounding areas. However, by virtue of the outer range of its signal, WTZA also served the Capital District area and the northern suburbs of New York City. The call letters designated the coverage area, and also served as the station's slogan -- From the Tappan Zee to Albany. The upper Hudson Valley area is one of the largest in the country to lack its own television stations, this due to its proximity to both the New York and Albany-Schenectady-Troy television markets.

The RNN talk set, where nightly programming is hosted from, in Rye Brook, NY. July 2006.

Founded by WTZA Associates, a group led by Albany-area businessman Edward Swyer, WTZA was programmed as a traditional independent station, with movies, off-network reruns, children's shows, and public affairs programs filling its airtime. Sports programming was also included, mostly high school and college contests, and later Army football games. The station also ran a small news operation, leaded by former CNN executive producer Gerry Harrington, which was relatively successful given the underserved nature of its coverage area. The weather portion of the newscast was unique in that it gave full forecasts for both New York City and Albany, even though the station was not on the air in either city.

Though WTZA was still doing well in its market, the station had begun to struggle prior to the sale due to the station being shut out of many syndicated programs by larger stations in New York and Albany. Being licensed within the New York market did not help the station's cause either, and in the early 1990s the WTZA lost most of its higher-profile syndicated programs as the New York City outlets claimed territorial rights. In 1993, Swyer and his group sold the station to Richard French Jr., a businessman from Harrison, New York. French soon made WTZA into a family-run operation, with his wife and three sons involved in various aspects of the station. His oldest son, Richard French III, was installed as WTZA's general manager. He would eventually become the face of the station.

Transition to WRNN

In early 1995, most of WTZA's remaining general entertainment programs were replaced with infomercials. In October 1995, the call letters were changed to the current WRNN, and the station shifted into a news-heavy operation. With the new call sign also doubling as the on-air slogan -- Your Regional News Network, WRNN initally produced news programming seven days a week, and 24 hours a day on weekdays. Their coverage area now included the entire Hudson Valley region, and news bureaus were established in the Capital District and Long Island within New York state, and the neighboring states of New Jersey and Connecticut. The news product, however, was tilted with a lean towards the French family's home base of Westchester County, and a philosophical shift to the left. It should be noted that Richard French III, WRNN's general manager, news director, and host of a nightly call-in talk program, had been active in the New York state Democratic party prior to his father's purchase of WTZA.

Bugetary concerns led to a reduction of news programming in 1999, to only weekday evening hours. But WRNN decided the time had come for the station to target New York City. Soon thereafter, the operation placed a greater emphasis on New York City news than there had been before, in spite of WRNN's invisible profile within the Five Boroughs. The over-the-air channel 62 signal barely reached the Bronx, the City's northernmost borough, and none of the local cable systems (operated by Time Warner and Cablevision) carried the station. WRNN opened a studio in Manhattan and was successful in getting its evening news shows simulcast on a low-power station there, though it was mostly an effort to gain must-carry coverage on local cable. The shift towards the City of New York resulted in decreased coverage for its main signal area -- for example, WRNN weather forecasts did not include areas north of Kingston, the station's city of license. Oddly enough, the station applied for must-carry in the entire Albany market several years after the station stopped covering the area outside of politics. Within about two years, the simulcast in New York City was gone. It would take a few more years before WRNN would appear on New York City cable, and as part of satellite provider DirecTV's local station package. WRNN opened a new main studio facility in the village of Rye Brook in 2005, though it has retained its facilites in Kingston and Manhattan.

Over the years, WRNN's news output has gradually decreased. As of June 2009, the station is only producing one hour of news daily, Monday through Friday. Richard French III continues to host his call-in show, now called Richard French Live and counting as one-half of the news product. The station has gradually integrated some general-entertainment shows back on its airwaves, and presently programs Inside Edition, Access Hollywood and Law & Order: Criminal Intent on its schedule. The remainder of WRNN's airtime is filled with paid programs (informercials and religious shows) and home-shopping.

Going digital

In 2004, the Federal Communications Commission opened an early digital conversion window for stations located between channels 52 and 69 in the analog UHF band, as long as the stations all met certain qualifing criteria. This portion of the television spectrum is scheduled to be reassigned to other communications purposes. WRNN applied for FCC permission to shut off its analog signal on channel 62 and broadcast solely on its assigned digital frequency, channel 48. The FCC granted the request on July 8, 2004 , and WRNN's analog channel 62 went silent later that year.

The early analog shutoff authority was granted during a time when the full transition from analog to digital had been tenatively scheduled for the end of 2006. Analog television broadcasts in the United States ended on June 12, 2009.

On March 6, 2007, WRNN agreed to a contract with the FUNimation Channel, a network which broadcasts Japanese anime cartoons, to run its feed on digital channel 48.3. However, this feed is no longer airing on the subchannel as of June 2009. WRNN uses its 48.2 subchannel to rebroadcast the main programming feed of WTBY, a Trinity Broadcasting Network-owned station licensed to Poughkeepsie.

Broadcasts

Weekdays

• Real Politics Live - 5:30-6:00 p.m.
• Richard French Live - 6:30-7:00 p.m.

Newscenter Now

In January 2007 it was announced that RNN and The Journal News would be teaming up beginning in mid-March 2007 to create a 2-hour "daily in-depth newscast" titled Newscenter Now. The newscast was broadcast from RNN's Rye Brook studios and aired weekdays, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Its main anchors were Christa Lauri, Andrew Whitman, Stacy Ann Gooden and Ben Sosenko.

Newscenter Now was dropped after the September 27, 2008 broadcast; it was replaced with syndicated programming and Real Politics Live. The Newscenter Now name was also used on a half-hour long newscast targeted to Long Island, which has since been dropped from their schedule.

Sports

WRNN used to air competitions of local college sports teams. It previously aired Army football before Army signed a TV contract with ESPN to put all its games there (aside from the Army-Navy Game, which airs on CBS.) It also in the past has aired Manhattan College basketball games. WTZA was also the home for all Marist College basketball home games from 1986-1995. Brian Kenny was the play-by-play announcer during this time.

Notable alumni

• Mark Sudol - Sports Anchor/Reporter at News 12 CT
• Jeanine Agnolet
• Nina Anastos
• Kelly (Cass) Boland
• Kevin Connors
• Nancy Cozean
• Greg Floyd ([1])
• Cat Greenleaf ([2])
• Brian Kenny
• Phil Lipof
• John Patrick
• Rolland Smith
• Alexandra Steele

External links

• WRNN website
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