WNYT (TV)

This article is about the television station known as WNYT. For former FM and current internet radio station known as WNYT, see WNYT (internet radio).

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WNYT is the NBC-affiliated television station for the Capital District of New York State and Western New England that is licensed to Albany. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 12 from a transmitter at the Helderberg Mountains tower farm in New Scotland. Owned by the Hubbard Broadcasting Corporation, WNYT has studios located on North Pearl Street in Menands even though it has an Albany address. Syndicated programming on the station includes: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Deal or No Deal, Friends, and Entertainment Tonight. WNYT is one of several NBC affiliates that do not air Poker After Dark.

Digital programming

The station's signal is multiplexed.

Virtual Channel	Physical RF Channel	Video	Aspect	Programming
13.1	12.1	1080i	16:9	main WNYT programming / NBC HD
13.2	12.2	480i	4:3	WNYT-DT2 "WNYT NC 13 Now!" (24-hour local weather channel)
13.3	12.3	480i	4:3	WNYT-DT3 "NewsChannel 13 First Warning Live Doppler" (weather radar and special events)

Repeaters

In addition to its main signals, WNYT operates three additional repeaters. Until the early-1990s, WNYT maintained a translator in Kingston. It was first located on channel 63 but moved to channel 36 after the launch of WTZA in 1985. All three stations have construction permits to broadcast low-powered digital signals. However unlike the main signal, they are not mandated by law to transition from analog to digital. WNYT has construction permits for two low-powered digital repeater stations. *Unlike analog repeaters, these will retain the WNYT call sign.

Call letters	Channel	City of license	Transmitter location	Note
*WNYT	18	Troy	Bald Mountain, Brunswick, New York	located on former analog transmitter
W21CP	21	Gloversville	southwest of town center	until 2006, it had the call letters W07AJ but changed after WXXA-DT began broadcasting on digital channel 7
W28DA	28	Pittsfield	south of downtown on South Mountain along U.S. 7 and U.S. 20	until 2006, it had the call letters W07AI and was also changed due to sign on of WXXA-DT
W38DL	38	Adams	Mount Greylock	until 2005, it had the call letters W51AE and was changed due to the sign on of WNYA in Pittsfield
*WNYT	45	Glens Falls	southeastern Warren County

History

The station began broadcasting on February 17, 1954 as ABC affiliate WTRI licensed to Troy. The station aired on UHF channel 35 and was co-owned with WTRY radio. WTRI's studios and transmitter were east of Troy on Bald Mountain. It left the air in January 1955 but returned in August 1956 as an ABC affiliate. In 1958, the station was re-licensed to Albany, moved to VHF channel 13, and received new call letters WAST (for Albany / Schenectady / Troy). Originally, the station had wanted to take the "WTAS" calls (for Troy / Albany / Schenectady) but the similarity of the "TAS" letters to the news agency of the Soviet Union led to the use of WAST. It was sold to a company called Van Curler Broadcasting Corporation in 1959. Shortly after the upgrade, WAST moved to a converted warehouse on the Albany / Menands town line on North Pearl Street (where it is today) which previously housed Selective Service records. Although improvements to WAST's signal had been made, it was still significantly weaker than the other television stations due to a sizable short spacing to New York City's WNDT (now WNET). Also, the Bald Mountain transmitter location played a factor as well. The other stations in the market had their transmitters at a common location in the Helderberg Mountains in New Scotland. In 1969, WAST was sold to Sonderling Broadcasting.

In 1977, the station switched affiliations with WTEN and became the Capital District's CBS affiliate. During the next year, Viacom purchased Sonderling which made WAST the company's first television station holding. Ironically, Viacom had started as the syndication arm of CBS. On September 21, 1981, WRGB swapped affiliations with WAST and it became the area's NBC affiliate. Seeking a fresh start and a new identity, Viacom decided to mark the affiliation change with the current call sign of WNYT. It is one of the few stations in the United States to have been a primary affiliate of all of the big three networks. In 1994 after Viacom bought Paramount Pictures, that company became the parent for all of Viacom's television stations including WNYT. Not long after that, Paramount announced formation of the United Paramount Network. It also announced it would sell off all of its non-UPN stations. In 1996, Paramount / Viacom traded WNYT and WHEC-TV in Rochester to Hubbard Broadcasting Corporation for UPN affiliate WTOG-TV in Tampa, Florida. WNYT signed-on its digital signal in October 2003 on VHF channel 12. Unlike the station's analog signal, WNYT-DT's transmitter was and continues to be located in the Helderberg Mountains with the market's other stations. On June 12, 2009, it left channel 13 and moved to channel 12 when the analog to digital conversion was completed.

News operation

File:Wnyt open.png

WNYT's news open.

For many years, WNYT was a distant third in the area behind WRGB and WTEN. This was not only because it was the youngest station in the market but also because of its signal issues. Under Viacom ownership, the station expanded and modernized its studios, newsroom, and offices (including the market's first modern computers). The company also made a significant investment in electronic equipment including a satellite receiving news station. Investment in talent increased with the channel with the building of its own talent and acquiring key personalities from other stations in the market. WNYT had overtaken WTEN for the runner-up spot by the late-1980s, and in 1992, scored its first late news victory. Gradually, the station overtook longtime leader WRGB in other time slots. In Viacom's last sweeps period owning WNYT the station won every time slot.

It has remained the overall market leader under Hubbard ownership although it lost the lead weeknights at 11 to WRGB in the May 2009 sweeps period. Two years after Hubbard bought WNYT, it won the distinction of being the first and only station outside of New York City to win a regional Emmy award for best newscast in New York State. With the re-branding of the station's newscasts from News 13 to NewsChannel 13 in 1991, WNYT became the first station to use the "Live. Local. Late Breaking." tag line slogan which is now commonplace throughout the country. In the mid-1990s, the station began an alliance with PBS affiliate WMHT. This led to WNYT producing several programs for WMHT including semi-regular Town Hall meetings, the weekly call-in show Health LINK (which continues today), and for two years the market's first 10 P.M. newscast on WMHT's then-secondary station, WMHQ (now WCWN). This production was canceled due to a lack of support. From 2001 until 2004, WNYT also maintained a joint sales agreement (JSA) with PAX affiliate WYPX that included rebroadcasts of newscasts and local non-news programming.

In 2001, WNYT opened the Berkshire County Bureau on South Church Street in downtown Pittsfield to cover the Massachusetts side of the market. At that time, the bureau was the first of a Capital District station. After forging an alliance with the (Glens Falls) Post-Star, the Saratoga / North Country Bureau was opened on Broadway in downtown Saratoga Springs in early-2004. In December 2005, WNYT began broadcasting NBC Weather Plus on its second digital subchannel with a full launch coming two months later on Time Warner digital channel 556. On March 24, 2008, WNYT replaced its weekday Noon news with an hour-long broadcast at 11 in the morning entitled Midday. Family Feud, which originally aired for a half-hour at that time, moved to the Noon time slot and was eventually dropped. WNYT operates its own weather radar, known as "NewsChannel 13 First Warning Live Doppler", at its former analog transmitter site on Bald Mountain.

Newscast titles

• WTRI-TV News (1954-1958)
• WAST News (1958-1966)
• WAST Eyewitness News (1966-1977)
• 13 News (1977-1981)
• TV 13 News (1981-1986)
  • 6 P.M. newscast was known as The 30 Minute News signifying its length versus the then hour long news on WRGB and WTEN
• News 13 (1986-September 1991)
• NewsChannel 13 (September 1991-present)

News music packages

• Home Country
• Look For Us
• WNYT 1985 News
• We Know What Happens
• The One For All
• Image IX
• Prime News
• NBC Stations
• The Tower
• LA Groove

News team

The station's former analog transmitter and weather radar on Bald Mountain outside of Troy.

Anchors

• Phil Bayly - weekday mornings
• Elaine Houston - weekdays at 11 A.M. and 5:30
  • education and general assignment reporter
• Jim Kambrich - weeknights at 5, 6, and 11
  • reporter
• Benita Zahn - weeknights at 6 and 11
  • health reporter and Health LINK co-producer / host
• Jessica Layton - weekend mornings and Berkshire County Bureau
• Kumi Tucker - weekend evenings and reporter

NewsChannel 13 First Warning Meteorologists

• Bob Kovachick (AMS Seal of Approval) - Chief seen weeknights
• Paul Caiano - weekday mornings and 11 A.M.
• Tim Drawbridge (AMS Seal of Approval) - weekend mornings
• Jason Gough (AMS Seal of Approval) - weekend mornings

Sports

• Rodger Wyland - Director seen weeknights at 6 and 11
  • heard on WOFX-AM 980
• Andrew Catalon - weekend evenings and Big Board Sports host
• Mike Levin - sports photographer and fill-in sports anchor

Reporters

• Mark Mulholland - Saratoga / North Country Bureau
• Abigail Bleck
• Subrina Dhammi
• Bill Lambdin
• Matt McFarland
• Beth Wurtmann

Past personnel

Anchors

• Nancy Cozean (?-1985) The first lead female weekday anchor in the Albany market, left in 1985 to co-anchor the evening newscast at upstart WTZA in Kingston, NY. Later became the mayor of the City of Poughkeepsie
• Ed Dague (Lead anchor and managing editor. 1984-2003) His arrival at the station is seen as the reversal of WNYT's fortunes; now the caretaker of the In Media Res blog at the Albany Times-Union website)
• John Gray (Left for WXXA at the end of 2003 after being passed up as Ed Dague's replacement; most notably anchored the 5:00/5:30 newscasts)
• Chris Kapostasy (Jansing) (1981-1998, was an anchor from 1987-1998) Now at MSNBC
• Lydia Kulbida (Anchor, 2000-2008) Laid-off
• Kelly Lynch (1995-1996, 1998-2008); reporter and weekend anchor, then later anchor of the Noon news (later known as Midday, as well as host of Forum 13); left WNYT for a two-year stint at WKTV in Utica
• Pat Minarcin (Weekend anchor, early to mid-1990s) Now at the Tampa Tribune
• Miles O'Brien Weekend anchor, mid-1980s; Now at CNN
• Randy Salerno (Weekend anchor, 1988-93) Later went to WBBM-TV in Chicago; killed in snowmobile accident in 2008

Meteorologists

• Howie Altschule (1997-2004), now a notable forensic meteorologist)
• George Caldes (Weekend meteorologist, May-December 2008)
• Lee Copson (Weekend meteorologist, 2000-2006). He said on his last newscast that he was leaving the business to pursue a career in financial services
• Todd Gross (Chief meteorologist, 1980-1983)
• Brandon Hertell (Fill-in meteorologist) Now morning meteorologist at WXXA-TV
• Josh Linker (Fill-in Meteorologist, 1997-1998) Now a meteorologist at Bay News 9 in Tampa, FL
• Norm Sebastian (Former weekend, then weekday morning/noon meteorolgist until his death in December 2000)
• Herb Stevens (Chief Meteorologist following Todd Gross' departure and prior to Bob Kovachick's arrival, Stevens is known as the Skiing Weatherman of syndicated weekly ski forecast fame)
• Don Weeks (Weatherman during the late 1960s under the name of "Wally Weather") Now a morning show host at WGY, a position he has held since 1980
• John R Wolfe (Weatherman during the later WAST years)

Sports

• Gary Apple (mid-1980s) Now at SportsNet New York)
• Lars Lifrak (Weekend sports anchor, late 1990s-2004) Now a reporter at Soccer365.com)
• Bob McNamara (Sports director, 1981-2001) McNamara was the first talent WNYT acquired from another station (WRGB) and the only person to have on-air roles at all 3 of the area's VHF stations
• Scott Murray (Sports anchor, late 1970s-1980) Retired, previously at KXAS-TV in Dallas)

Reporters

• Dan Bazile
• John Allen (Reporter, 1996-2008)
• Jay Bobbin (Part-time entertainment reporter, 1993-2008; still heard on WGY)
• Chris Brunner (Longtime reporter and later assistant News Director, ?-2002) Retired from Capital News 9 as News Director in May 2007.
• Lindsay Cohen (News reporter and fill-in anchor, 2002-2005) Now at KOMO-TV in Seattle, WA
• John Craig (reporter, 2008) Now at WXXA-TV
• Josh Einiger (Original chief of the Berkshire Newsroom) Now a general assignment reporter at WFTV in Orlando, Florida
• Wilson Hall (Joined the station as the main news anchor in the late 1970s after a long stint at NBC.) Deceased
• Joe Moskowitz (Reporter and weekend evening anchor, early-mid 1980s.)
• Steve Scoville (Reporter and later contributor of "Capital Region Backroads", a longtime segment at the end of Wednesday and Friday night newscasts, 1982-2006)
• Julie Wilcox (Staff reporter and occasional weekend anchor) Now weekend morning meteorologist at WVEC in Norfolk, VA
• Karl Osborne (late 50's? - mid 70's); was chief announcer for then WAST during its early years. Deceased

External links

• WNYT "NewsChannel 13"
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