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The WHTM-TV/WHP-TV deals are under scrutiny; as it is currently arranged it would dissolve the time brokerage agreement between WHP-TV and WLYH-TV in favor of one between WHTM and WLYH. The FCC says that would form a duopoly not allowed in this market.
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*''The 6 O'clock News/The 11 O'Clock News'' (1962-1970)
*''The 6 O'clock News/The 11 O'Clock News'' (1962-1970)
*''21 Newsroom'' (1970-1980)
*''21 Newsroom'' (1970-1980)
*''News 21'' (1980-1996)
*''News 21'' (1980-19??)
*''WHP-TV News'' (19??-1996)
*''[[Eyewitness News]] 21'' (1996-2004)
*''[[Eyewitness News]] 21'' (1996-2004)
*''CBS 21 News'' (2004–present)
*''CBS 21 News'' (2004–present)

Revision as of 22:58, 14 December 2013

{{Infobox broadcast}} may refer to:

{{Template disambiguation}} should never be transcluded in the main namespace.

WHP-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for South Central Pennsylvania licensed to Harrisburg.[1][2] It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 21. Its transmitter on a ridge north of Linglestown Road in Susquehanna Township. Its tower is co-located with WITF-TV and is distinguishable as the unlit red and white tower (WITF's tower is unpainted and flashes strobes at all times.) Owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, WHP operates CW affiliate WLYH (owned by the Nexstar Broadcasting Group) through a local marketing agreement (LMA). The two share studios on North 6th Street in the Uptown section of Harrisburg. Syndicated programming on the station includes: Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune, Ellen and The Doctors.The station can also be seen on cable channel 2 and HD channel 802.

Digital Television

Channel Video Aspect Name Programming
21.1 1080i 16:9 WHPDT Main WHP-TV programming / CBS
21.2 480i 4:3 WHPMY WHP-DT2 / MyNetworkTV

History

File:WHP CBS 21 Old Logo.jpg
Previous logo.

WHP launched on Independence Day in 1953 on UHF channel 55 as a dual affiliate of CBS and DuMont. [citation needed] It was originally owned by Commonwealth Communications along with WHP radio (AM 580 and FM 97.3, now WRVV). The station kept the CBS affiliation after DuMont's demise in 1956 and later began to share CBS programming with WLYH-TV in Lebanon and WSBA-TV in York as part of the Keystone Network. This arrangement was necessary in the days before cable television, since the Harrisburg/Lancaster/York market is very mountainous and UHF signals have never traveled far in rugged terrain. The three stations had a strong combined signal with 55 to 60% signal overlap.

WHP-TV moved from channel 55 to 21 in 1961. Also around this time, it began airing separate local programming during off-network hours, while WLYH and WSBA-TV continued to simulcast virtually the entire broadcast day. WLYH and WSBA-TV ran about 3/4ths of the CBS schedule compared to separately programmed and owned WHP. All three stations preempted moderate amounts of CBS programming, but any shows preempted by WLYH and WSBA-TV ran on WHP while shows preempted by WHP would run on WLYH and WSBA-TV.

WSBA was sold off in 1983 and relaunched as independent (now Fox affiliate) WPMT. WHP-TV and WLYH continued to have primary CBS affiliations, with approximately a 75 percent signal overlap. The deal where one station ran whatever CBS shows the other one did not continued. Also, both continued to duplicate most network shows but continued to have separate newscasts and syndicated programs.

The unusual situation of two primary CBS affiliates in the same market continued until 1995, when Commonwealth sold channel 21 to Clear Channel Communications. At this time, WHP began controlling WLYH through a local marketing agreement. As part of the deal, WLYH became a UPN affiliate, leaving WHP-TV as the sole CBS affiliate in South Central Pennsylvania.

On July 12, 2006, WHP announced that it would launch a new second digital channel to be the area's MyNetworkTV affiliate when that network launched on September 5. This also became available on Comcast digital cable while WPHL-TV (which had been serving as the area's de facto WB affiliate) remained on the basic tier after becoming Philadelphia's MyNetworkTV affiliate. Meanwhile, WLYH joined the other new network, The CW.

On April 20, 2007, Clear Channel entered into an agreement to sell its entire television station group to Providence Equity Partners' Newport Television.[3] Originally, WHP aired a digital signal on VHF channel 4. WHP-TV ended programming on its analog signal, on UHF channel 21, on June 12, 2009, as part of the DTV transition in the United States. The station then moved back to channel 21 for its post-transition operations.[4][5] In addition to WHP, Comcast systems also offer KYW-TV from Philadelphia.

On July 19, 2012, Newport Television announced that the Sinclair Broadcast Group purchased WHP-TV and five other stations as part of a deal to sell 22 of its 27 stations to Sinclair, Nexstar Broadcasting Group and Cox Media Group. Included in the Newport–Sinclair deal is the LMA with WLYH-TV despite Nexstar owning the license to the latter station.[6] The group deal with Sinclair was completed on December 3, 2012.

On July 29, 2013, Allbritton Communications Company announced that it would sell its entire television group, including WHTM-TV, to Sinclair.[7] As part of the deal, Sinclair will sell the license assets of WHP-TV to Deerfield Media, but will continue to operate the station through shared services and joint sales agreements.[8] This is due to Federal Communications Commission duopoly regulations that not only disallow common ownership of two of the four highest-rated stations in a single market, but also require a market to be left with eight unique owners after a duopoly is formed. In this case, the Harrisburg–Lancaster–York market, despite being the 43rd-largest market at the time of Sinclair's announced purchase of the Allbritton stations, has only six full-power stations, which are too few to permit a legal duopoly in any case. In addition, WHTM and WHP are ranked second and third, respectively, in the market. On December 6, 2013, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) informed Sinclair that applications related to the deal need to be "amended or withdrawn," as the time brokerage agreement between WHP-TV and WLYH-TV would remain with Sinclair; this would, in effect, create a new time brokerage agreement between WHTM and WLYH, even though the FCC had ruled in 1999 that such agreements made after November 5, 1996 covering more than 15% of the broadcast day would count toward the ownership limits for the brokering station's owner.[9]

Cable & Satellite Availability

WHP once had carriage in northern Bucks County in the 1970s and 1980s.[10]

News operation

File:Whp news.png
Weekday morning news open.

WHP has traditionally struggled in the ratings and has stayed in third and sometimes even fourth place for many years. The staff has earned numerous awards, including an Emmy Award in 2010 among other recognitions for its news team. WLYH's news department was shut down after being taken over by WHP. This was followed by a prime time newscast at 10 debuting in September 1996 but was canceled in September 2003.[11] A new show weeknights at 10, again produced by WHP, launched in January 2009 and competes with WPMT.[12]

News broadcasts on WHP remained mainly in pillarboxed 4:3 standard definition and it was unclear if and when the channel will make to upgrade to enhanced or high definition. Then in mid-March 2012, demolition and construction began on creating a new set for their eventual switch to HD. Then on April 14, 2012, WHP-TV became the last station in the Central Pennsylvania market and the third to broadcast local news in full high definition from both the studio and field reports. The debut included a brand new, state-of-the-art HD news set, new digital microwave and editing equipment, and a new, leading-edge HD weather graphic system.[13] In addition to its main studios, WHP operates a bureau in Lancaster. Unlike most CBS affiliates in the Eastern Time Zone, the station does not air a midday show during the week. Weather forecasts from the channel can be heard on: WLAN-FM 96.9, WQLV-FM 98.9, and WLAN-AM 1390.

News/Station Presentation

Newscast titles

  • The Susquehanna Valley News Report (1953-1958)
  • WHP-TV News (1958-1962)
  • The 6 O'clock News/The 11 O'Clock News (1962-1970)
  • 21 Newsroom (1970-1980)
  • News 21 (1980-19??)
  • WHP-TV News (19??-1996)
  • Eyewitness News 21 (1996-2004)
  • CBS 21 News (2004–present)

News team

Current on-air staff[14]

Anchors

  • Sherry Christian - weekday mornings (5:00-7:00 a.m.)
  • Joel D. Smith - weekday mornings (5:00-7:00 a.m.)
  • Tanya Foster - weeknights at 5:00, 5:30, 6:00, 10:00 (WLYH) and 11:00 p.m.; also "Living Well with a Disability" segment producer
  • Robb Hanrahan - weeknights at 5:00, 5:30, 6:00, 10:00 (WLYH) and 11:00 p.m.; also Face the State host
  • James Tully - weekends at 6:00, 10:00 (WLYH) and 11:00 p.m.

CBS 21 First Warning Meteorologists

  • Tom Russell (AMS and NWA Seals of Approval) - Chief seen weeknights at 5:00, 5:30, 6:00, 10:00 (WLYH) and 11:00 p.m.
  • Steve Knight - weekday mornings (5:00-7:00 a.m.) and "Cool Schools" segment producer
  • TBD - weekends

Sports

  • Jason Bristol - Director seen weeknights at 6:00, 10:00 (WLYH) and 11:00 p.m.
    • First Score Friday host
  • James Tully - weekends at 6:00, 10:00 (WLYH) and 11:00 p.m.; also ?sports reporter

Reporters

  • Christina Butler
  • Jesse Knutson
  • Brandie Meng
  • Chris Papst
  • Ewa Roman
  • Kyle Rogers
  • Charlie Gerow - political analyst
  • Tony May - political analyst

References

  1. ^ "Service Area Map - Digital Signal". Federal Communications Commission (FCC). 2008-02-17. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
  2. ^ "Service Area Map - Analog Signal". FCC. 2008-02-17. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
  3. ^ "Clear Channel Agrees to Sell Television Station Group to Providence Equity Partners" (Press release). Clear Channel Communications. 2007-04-20. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  4. ^ CDBS Print
  5. ^ http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf
  6. ^ Newport Sells 22 Stations For $1 Billion, TVNewsCheck, July 19, 2012.
  7. ^ Heath, Thomas; Wilgoren, Debbi (July 29, 2013). "Allbritton to sell 7 TV stations, including WJLA, to Sinclair for $985 million". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  8. ^ "Sinclair Buying Allbritton Stations For $985M". TVNewsCheck. July 29, 2013. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  9. ^ Kreisman, Barbara A. (December 6, 2013). "Letter to Sinclair and Allbritton legal counsel" (PDF). CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
  10. ^ http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/coals7/forms/search/cableSearchNf.cfm
  11. ^ Davis Hudson, Eileen (March 6, 2000). "Market profile". Mediaweek. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
  12. ^ "WHTM cuts jobs, pay, worker says". The Patriot-News. January 31, 2009. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
  13. ^ A behind the scenes look at the new CBS 21 News HD set
  14. ^ News Team Bios

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WHP-TV&oldid=586108077"