WFTV
Encyclopedia
WFTV, channel
9, is the ABC
-affiliated television station
for Central Florida
that is licensed to Orlando
. It broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter between Bithlo
and Christmas
. Owned by Cox Enterprises
, WFTV is sister to Independent
WRDQ
. The two stations share studios on East South Street (SR 15) in downtown Orlando. Syndicated
programming on the station includes: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, The Dr. Oz Show
, Wheel of Fortune
, Jeopardy!
and The Doctors
.
In April 2010, WFTV announced plans to add a simulcast of GenTV
affiliate WAWA-LD on a third digital subchannel. However, before the subchannel could launch, WAWA's chief investor pulled out, effectively closing that station and dissolving the partnership with WFTV.
purchased the station in 1984. SFN in turn sold the station to Cox Communications
in 1985. As of July 2006, WFTV is now seen on the co-owned Cox
cable system in Ocala
(basic on channel 9 and high definition on digital channel 729) in addition to Gainesville
's WCJB-TV
. Ocala and Marion County
are both part of the Orlando market
. Prior to this, the Cox system in Ocala only offered WCJB due to contractual obligations even though that city is not in the same television market as Gainesville. To further complicate matters for viewers in the area of Northwest Marion county, WNBW-DT an NBC affiliate located in Gainesville, Florida and in operation since 2008 also identifies itself as channel 9.
As part of the analog television shutdown and digital conversion
, WFTV shut down its analog transmitter on June 12, 2009 , and continued to broadcast on its pre-transition digital channel 39. However, through the use of PSIP
, digital television receivers display WFTV's virtual channel
as 9. Since February 25, 2009, it has had an application filed with the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) to air a digital auxiliary facility from a transmitter in northeastern Osceola County
.
programming on WFTV includes: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, The Dr. Oz Show
, Wheel of Fortune
, Jeopardy!
and the Doctors after ABC's GMA this show reairs at 9 pm on sister station WRDQ.
moved to the noon slot, WFTV chose to not run whatever show ABC had on at Noon on weekdays in order to run a local newscast. In May 1975, the station controversially preempted the Emmy Award
-winning TV movie A Moon for the Misbegotten
starring Jason Robards
and Colleen Dewhurst
, due to the film's adult language. In 1978, Mork & Mindy was rescheduled by the station to air on Sunday afternoons, but was cleared to air in primetime after a few weeks. After Pyramid was moved to that slot, WFTV ran it earlier in the morning and a day behind. From the mid 1970s through the early-1980s, WFTV preempted the soap opera
The Edge of Night
which was preempted by many other ABC affiliates as well. From 1985 to the early 1990s, WFTV ran only half of the shows ABC put in in the 11 AM to Noon slot. From 1994 through 1996, the station did not air ABC's weekday morning programs at 11 (The Home Show and Mike and Maty
). The station began to carry such programming overnights starting in 1996 not starting to air it in its proper timeslot until The View debuted in 1997. WFTV ran the entire Saturday morning cartoon lineup from ABC until 1990, when it began preempting two hours of it in favor of a two hour local newscast. In 1993, WFTV expanded the newscast to three hours and dropped the entire Saturday morning ABC cartoon lineup, adding a few educational children's shows and other syndicated programming. In 1996 an hour of ABC cartoons was restored on Sunday mornings and another hour was restored to Saturday mornings early in 1997. In the fall of 1997, WFTV began to carry two hours of the lineup that were under the One Saturday Morning banner. In 1999, the station increased the amount of Saturday morning cartoons from ABC to three hours and increased it to four hours in 2002.
WFTV was one of the few ABC affiliates that preempted Jimmy Kimmel Live
. Its sister stations in Atlanta (WSB-TV
) and Charlotte
(WSOC-TV
) as well as Allbritton Communications station KTUL
in Tulsa
and Sinclair Broadcast Group
station WEAR-TV
in Pensacola
also initially did not air the program. However on November 21, 2005, the station did start airing the late night talk show and now airs almost the entire ABC schedule with little preemption. The only current regularly preempted program is the Sunday edition of Good Morning America
; in the past, WFTV has declined some of ABC's other weekend morning programming. Four out of five hours of the ABC Saturday morning lineup were run through 2010, including three out of four hours of the ABC Kids
lineup. The station began carrying the Saturday edition of Good Morning America in the beginning of July 2007 along with its sister stations in Atlanta and Charlotte. While the station now airs the entire three-hour ABC Kids lineup, which complies with federal E/I
regulations, it preempted the block's former fourth hour with shows such as the Power Rangers
series which did not comply with E/I standards (ABC dropped Power Rangers on August 28, 2010). In 2004, all Cox-owned ABC affiliates preempted the movie Saving Private Ryan
due to the graphic violence and profanity in the film after the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) stepped up its vigilance following the Janet Jackson
/ Justin Timberlake
Super Bowl incident
that year. The FCC declared the film as not indecent after the fact. Since the late 1990s, WFTV has not shown the ABC News
Brief that airs between One Life To Live
and General Hospital
in favor of locally sold advertising.
From May-July 2011 due to WFTV's wall-to-wall coverage of the Casey Anthony trial, ABC Daytime
programming was moved over to sister station WRDQ.
In March 2010, WFTV stopped using its station ID bug after commercial break returns during Good Morning America
and elected to show its own time and temperature graphic, instead of the standardized version that the program uses. This move is similar to CBS affiliate WKMG
(channel 6, owned by Post-Newsweek Stations
), which also shows its own time and temperature graphic, instead of using the standardized format that CBS
uses for The Early Show. On March 20, 2010 WFTV reinstated the station ID bug during Good Morning America.
shows, WFTV has also been producing a nightly 10 o'clock news (Eyewitness News at 10 formerly known as Action News
at 10) for sister station WRDQ since 2000. It added a two-hour long weekday morning newscast (Eyewitness News This Morning) at 7 on WRDQ in 2007, and a half-hour 6:30 p.m. newscast on that station in 2010.
The main anchor duo on Eyewitness News, Bob Opsahl and Martie Salt, have been together on-air for over 15 years, from 1984–1994 and again since 2003. Opsahl has been the primary anchor at WFTV since 1984. Salt was originally an anchor from 1982–1994, departing for Tampa, Florida
ABC affiliate WFTS-TV
from 1994 to 2003 (where she anchored the news under her married name, Martie Tucker); she returned to WFTV in 2003.
On June 29, 2006, this station became the first Florida
station to offer newscasts in 720p
high definition
. It was also the first Cox owned-and-operated station and the tenth in the country to begin producing HD newscasts. With the switch to HD came a new set from FX Group
and graphics from Giant Octopus. The station operates a Baron Services weather radar
called "Early Warning Doppler 9 HD" at its old analog transmitter site north of Bithlo along the Orange
and Seminole County
line. WFTV palns to upgrade the radar's power to one million watts, that would make it the second most powerful radar in central Florida (WOFL's also having one million watts).
affiliate WESH
made some temporary advances in the 1990s, WFTV often enjoys ratings higher than the combined rating of the other network affiliates in the Central Florida
market. In some airings, it has been the highest rated ABC station in the Southeastern United States
. In the May 2009 sweeps period, only WESH's weekday morning news programs even came close to tying WFTV in the ratings race while the prime time programs on CBS
affiliate WKMG-TV
led overall.
In fact, during much of the first half of 2009, WFTV's dominance was not as absolute as it had been in the past decade or so even though it continues to lead in most time slots. However, in the November 2009 sweeps period, WFTV regained its dominance over the other stations in the market. It has been one of ABC's strongest affiliates over the years.
Severe Weather Center 9
Sports team (both are seen on Sports Night on 9 Sundays at 11:30 p.m.)
Reporters
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
9, is the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
-affiliated television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
for Central Florida
Central Florida
Central Florida is a regional designation for the area surrounding Orlando in east central Florida, United States. The area represents the third largest population concentration in Florida, after the South Florida and Tampa Bay regions, respectively....
that is licensed to Orlando
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
. It broadcasts a high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter between Bithlo
Bithlo, Florida
Bithlo is a census-designated place and an unincorporated community in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 4,626 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area. For 20 years in the early 20th century, Bithlo was an incorporated...
and Christmas
Christmas, Florida
Christmas is a census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,162 at the 2000 census. Christmas is home to the world's largest alligator shaped building,...
. Owned by Cox Enterprises
Cox Enterprises
Cox Enterprises is the successor to the publishing company founded in Dayton, Ohio, United States, by James Middleton Cox, who began with the Dayton Daily News. He was the Democratic candidate for the President of the United States in the election of 1920...
, WFTV is sister to Independent
Independent station
An independent station is in the category of television terminology used to describe a television station broadcasting in the United States or Canada that is not affiliated with any television network....
WRDQ
WRDQ
WRDQ is an Independent television station in Orlando, Florida. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 27 from a transmitter in Christmas. Owned by Cox Enterprises, the station is sister to ABC affiliate WFTV. The two share studios on East South Street in downtown Orlando....
. The two stations share studios on East South Street (SR 15) in downtown Orlando. Syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
programming on the station includes: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, The Dr. Oz Show
The Dr. Oz Show
The Dr. Oz Show is an American syndicated television talk show, hosted by Dr. Mehmet Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon and teaching professor at Columbia University who became famous for his appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show from 2004 until 2009....
, Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)
Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin, which premiered in 1975. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a large wheel. The title refers to the show's giant carnival wheel that...
, Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
and The Doctors
The Doctors (2008 TV series)
The Doctors is an American syndicated talk show airing daily in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Ireland, Sweden and Finland. It debuted on September 8, 2008. The hour-long daytime program is produced by Phil McGraw and his son Jay McGraw and is distributed domestically and globally by CBS Television...
.
Digital programming
WFTV's signal is multiplexed. The second digital subchannel is a 24-hour local weather and traffic channel. In early 2010, WFTV Traffic and Weather Together was rebranded as Severe Weather Center 9 Now, a 24-hour weather channel produced by WFTV.| Channel | Video | Aspect Aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,... |
Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9.1 | 720p 720p 720p is the shorthand name for 1280x720, a category of High-definition television video modes having a resolution of 1080 or 720p and a progressive scan... |
16:9 16:9 16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ... |
Main WFTV programming / ABC |
| 9.2 | 480i 480i 480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC... |
Severe Weather Center 9 Now |
In April 2010, WFTV announced plans to add a simulcast of GenTV
WGEN-TV
WGEN-TV is a Spanish-language television station in Key West, Florida, broadcasting locally on VHF channel 8 as a Spanish-language independent station under the GenTV branding...
affiliate WAWA-LD on a third digital subchannel. However, before the subchannel could launch, WAWA's chief investor pulled out, effectively closing that station and dissolving the partnership with WFTV.
History
The station signed on-the-air on February 1, 1958 as WLOF-TV (for We Love Orlando, Florida). It has been an ABC affiliate since its launch. For years, the station was owned by a consortium of local investors. It changed its call letters to the current WFTV in 1963. The SFN CompaniesPearson Scott Foresman
Scott Foresman is an elementary educational publisher for PreK through Grade 6 in all subject areas. It is owned by Pearson Education.-Company history:...
purchased the station in 1984. SFN in turn sold the station to Cox Communications
Cox Communications
Cox Communications is a privately owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises providing digital cable television, telecommunications and wireless services in the United States...
in 1985. As of July 2006, WFTV is now seen on the co-owned Cox
Cox Communications
Cox Communications is a privately owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises providing digital cable television, telecommunications and wireless services in the United States...
cable system in Ocala
Ocala, Florida
Ocala is a city in Marion County, Florida. As of 2007, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 53,491. It is the county seat of Marion County, and the principal city of the Ocala, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated 2007 population of 324,857.-History:Ocala...
(basic on channel 9 and high definition on digital channel 729) in addition to Gainesville
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
's WCJB-TV
WCJB-TV
WCJB-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for North Central Florida licensed to Gainesville. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 16 from a transmitter in Wacahoota. The station can also be seen on CommuniComm Services channel 3, Cox channel 7, and Bright House...
. Ocala and Marion County
Marion County, Florida
Marion County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. The U.S. Census Bureau 2006 estimate for the county is 316,183. Its county seat is Ocala....
are both part of the Orlando market
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
. Prior to this, the Cox system in Ocala only offered WCJB due to contractual obligations even though that city is not in the same television market as Gainesville. To further complicate matters for viewers in the area of Northwest Marion county, WNBW-DT an NBC affiliate located in Gainesville, Florida and in operation since 2008 also identifies itself as channel 9.
As part of the analog television shutdown and digital conversion
DTV transition in the United States
The DTV transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...
, WFTV shut down its analog transmitter on June 12, 2009 , and continued to broadcast on its pre-transition digital channel 39. However, through the use of PSIP
Program and System Information Protocol
The Program and System Information Protocol is the protocol used in the ATSC digital television system for carrying metadata about each channel in the broadcast MPEG transport stream of a TV station and for publishing information about television programs so that viewers can select what to watch...
, digital television receivers display WFTV's virtual channel
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
as 9. Since February 25, 2009, it has had an application filed with the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) to air a digital auxiliary facility from a transmitter in northeastern Osceola County
Osceola County, Florida
Osceola County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 172,493. The U.S. Census Bureau 2006 estimate for the county is 244,045, making it the 17th fastest-growing county in the United States. Its county seat is Kissimmee.- History :Osceola County was...
.
Programming
SyndicatedTelevision syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
programming on WFTV includes: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, The Dr. Oz Show
The Dr. Oz Show
The Dr. Oz Show is an American syndicated television talk show, hosted by Dr. Mehmet Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon and teaching professor at Columbia University who became famous for his appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show from 2004 until 2009....
, Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)
Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin, which premiered in 1975. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a large wheel. The title refers to the show's giant carnival wheel that...
, Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
and the Doctors after ABC's GMA this show reairs at 9 pm on sister station WRDQ.
Pre-emptions over the years and today
In the 1970s, WFTV preempted the ABC Sunday morning cartoon rerun lineup, which many affiliates also did not run. Until the $20,000 PyramidPyramid (game show)
Pyramid is an American television game show which has aired several versions. The original series, The $10,000 Pyramid, debuted March 26, 1973 and spawned seven subsequent Pyramid series...
moved to the noon slot, WFTV chose to not run whatever show ABC had on at Noon on weekdays in order to run a local newscast. In May 1975, the station controversially preempted the Emmy Award
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
-winning TV movie A Moon for the Misbegotten
A Moon for the Misbegotten
A Moon for the Misbegotten is a play by Eugene O'Neill. The play can be thought of as a sequel to the autobiographical Long Day's Journey into Night...
starring Jason Robards
Jason Robards
Jason Nelson Robards, Jr. was an American actor on stage, and in film and television, and a winner of the Tony Award , two Academy Awards and the Emmy Award...
and Colleen Dewhurst
Colleen Dewhurst
Colleen Rose Dewhurst was a Canadian-American actress known for a while as "the Queen of Off-Broadway." In her autobiography, Dewhurst wrote: "I had moved so quickly from one Off-Broadway production to the next that I was known, at one point, as the 'Queen of Off-Broadway'...
, due to the film's adult language. In 1978, Mork & Mindy was rescheduled by the station to air on Sunday afternoons, but was cleared to air in primetime after a few weeks. After Pyramid was moved to that slot, WFTV ran it earlier in the morning and a day behind. From the mid 1970s through the early-1980s, WFTV preempted the soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
The Edge of Night
The Edge of Night
The Edge of Night is an American television mystery series/soap opera produced by Procter & Gamble. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that network until November 28, 1975; the series then moved to ABC, where it aired from December 1, 1975, until December 28, 1984...
which was preempted by many other ABC affiliates as well. From 1985 to the early 1990s, WFTV ran only half of the shows ABC put in in the 11 AM to Noon slot. From 1994 through 1996, the station did not air ABC's weekday morning programs at 11 (The Home Show and Mike and Maty
Mike and Maty
Mike and Maty was a daytime talk show that aired on ABC from April 11, 1994, to June 7, 1996. It was aired weekdays at 11:00 a.m. and was a 60-minute show. ABC aired it as a replacement for The Home Show, a daytime/nighttime informational talk show that aired on ABC from 1988 to 1994.It ran for a...
). The station began to carry such programming overnights starting in 1996 not starting to air it in its proper timeslot until The View debuted in 1997. WFTV ran the entire Saturday morning cartoon lineup from ABC until 1990, when it began preempting two hours of it in favor of a two hour local newscast. In 1993, WFTV expanded the newscast to three hours and dropped the entire Saturday morning ABC cartoon lineup, adding a few educational children's shows and other syndicated programming. In 1996 an hour of ABC cartoons was restored on Sunday mornings and another hour was restored to Saturday mornings early in 1997. In the fall of 1997, WFTV began to carry two hours of the lineup that were under the One Saturday Morning banner. In 1999, the station increased the amount of Saturday morning cartoons from ABC to three hours and increased it to four hours in 2002.
WFTV was one of the few ABC affiliates that preempted Jimmy Kimmel Live
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Jimmy Kimmel Live! is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and broadcast on ABC.The nightly hour-long show made its debut on January 26, 2003, following Super Bowl XXXVII. Jimmy Kimmel Live! is produced by Jackhole Productions in association with ABC Studios...
. Its sister stations in Atlanta (WSB-TV
WSB-TV
WSB-TV, virtual channel 2.1 , is the ABC affiliate in Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship television station of Cox Enterprises and its Cox Media Group subsidiary...
) and Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
(WSOC-TV
WSOC-TV
WSOC-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is owned by Cox Enterprises. The station's studio is located at North Tryon and 23rd Streets, just north of Uptown Charlotte, and is shared with sister station WAXN-TV . The transmitter is located just outside...
) as well as Allbritton Communications station KTUL
KTUL
KTUL, virtual channel 8, is the ABC-affiliated television station in Tulsa, Oklahoma, owned by Allbritton Communications Company. KTUL broadcasts from its studios on Lookout Mountain in west Tulsa...
in Tulsa
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
and Sinclair Broadcast Group
Sinclair Broadcast Group
The Sinclair Broadcast Group is an American telecommunications company that operates the largest number of local television stations in the United States. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, it owns a total of 57 stations across the country in 35 primarily small and medium markets, many of...
station WEAR-TV
WEAR-TV
WEAR is the ABC affiliated television station for the Mobile, Alabama/Pensacola, Florida viewing area. It is licensed to Pensacola and is one of two major commercial stations in the market that is licensed on the Florida side of the market, the other being sister station WFGX, a MyNetworkTV affiliate...
in Pensacola
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
also initially did not air the program. However on November 21, 2005, the station did start airing the late night talk show and now airs almost the entire ABC schedule with little preemption. The only current regularly preempted program is the Sunday edition of Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
; in the past, WFTV has declined some of ABC's other weekend morning programming. Four out of five hours of the ABC Saturday morning lineup were run through 2010, including three out of four hours of the ABC Kids
ABC Kids (United States)
ABC Kids was a children's block of animated television series and live-action children's television series. broadcast on the ABC network on Saturday–Sunday mornings in the U.S. and was broadcast on BBS/CTV in Canada until 2002...
lineup. The station began carrying the Saturday edition of Good Morning America in the beginning of July 2007 along with its sister stations in Atlanta and Charlotte. While the station now airs the entire three-hour ABC Kids lineup, which complies with federal E/I
E/I
E/I, which stands for "educational and informative," refers to a type of children's television programming shown in the United States. The Federal Communications Commission requires that every full-service Terrestrial television station in the U.S. show at least three hours of these television...
regulations, it preempted the block's former fourth hour with shows such as the Power Rangers
Power Rangers
Power Rangers is a long-running American entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live action children's television series featuring teams of costumed heroes...
series which did not comply with E/I standards (ABC dropped Power Rangers on August 28, 2010). In 2004, all Cox-owned ABC affiliates preempted the movie Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg, with a screenplay by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 27 minutes, which depicts the Omaha Beach assault of June 6, 1944....
due to the graphic violence and profanity in the film after the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) stepped up its vigilance following the Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
/ Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...
Super Bowl incident
Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy
Super Bowl XXXVIII, which was broadcast live on February 1, 2004 from Houston, Texas on the CBS television network in the United States, was noted for a controversial halftime show in which Janet Jackson's breast, adorned with a nipple shield, was exposed by Justin Timberlake for about half a...
that year. The FCC declared the film as not indecent after the fact. Since the late 1990s, WFTV has not shown the ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
Brief that airs between One Life To Live
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
and General Hospital
General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
in favor of locally sold advertising.
From May-July 2011 due to WFTV's wall-to-wall coverage of the Casey Anthony trial, ABC Daytime
ABC Daytime
ABC Daytime is a programming block on the ABC Network which has historically encompassed soap operas, game shows and talk shows.-Schedule:...
programming was moved over to sister station WRDQ.
In March 2010, WFTV stopped using its station ID bug after commercial break returns during Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
and elected to show its own time and temperature graphic, instead of the standardized version that the program uses. This move is similar to CBS affiliate WKMG
WKMG
WKMG may refer to:*WKMG-TV, a television station licensed to Orlando, Florida, United States*WKMG , a radio station licensed to Newberry, South Carolina, United States...
(channel 6, owned by Post-Newsweek Stations
Post-Newsweek Stations
Post-Newsweek Stations is the official name of the broadcasting division of the Washington Post Company and is a self-contained corporation within that company...
), which also shows its own time and temperature graphic, instead of using the standardized format that CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
uses for The Early Show. On March 20, 2010 WFTV reinstated the station ID bug during Good Morning America.
News operation
In 1992, WFTV dropped two of the five hours of ABC's Saturday morning cartoons in order to add a local newscast. The station ceased airing the block completely in 1993 when the broadcast expanded to three hours. Alongside its own Eyewitness NewsEyewitness News
Eyewitness News is a style of news broadcasting used by local television stations in different markets across the United States. It refers to a particular style of television newscast with an emphasis on visual elements and action video...
shows, WFTV has also been producing a nightly 10 o'clock news (Eyewitness News at 10 formerly known as Action News
Action News
Action News is a local television newscast format in the United States. It was conceived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at WFIL-TV by then-news director Mel Kampmann in 1970 as a response to the "Eyewitness News" format used on rival station KYW-TV...
at 10) for sister station WRDQ since 2000. It added a two-hour long weekday morning newscast (Eyewitness News This Morning) at 7 on WRDQ in 2007, and a half-hour 6:30 p.m. newscast on that station in 2010.
The main anchor duo on Eyewitness News, Bob Opsahl and Martie Salt, have been together on-air for over 15 years, from 1984–1994 and again since 2003. Opsahl has been the primary anchor at WFTV since 1984. Salt was originally an anchor from 1982–1994, departing for Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
ABC affiliate WFTS-TV
WFTS-TV
WFTS, virtual channel 28, is the ABC affiliate television station for the Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida market, owned by The E.W. Scripps Company. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 29. Its transmitter is located in Riverview, Florida.-History:...
from 1994 to 2003 (where she anchored the news under her married name, Martie Tucker); she returned to WFTV in 2003.
On June 29, 2006, this station became the first Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
station to offer newscasts in 720p
720p
720p is the shorthand name for 1280x720, a category of High-definition television video modes having a resolution of 1080 or 720p and a progressive scan...
high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
. It was also the first Cox owned-and-operated station and the tenth in the country to begin producing HD newscasts. With the switch to HD came a new set from FX Group
FX Group
FX Group is a set design, fabrication and lighting design company based in Ocoee, Florida.FX Group has designed and built sets for broadcast programs across the country, mostly in the area of live news...
and graphics from Giant Octopus. The station operates a Baron Services weather radar
Weather radar
Weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, estimate its type . Modern weather radars are mostly pulse-Doppler radars, capable of detecting the motion of rain droplets in addition to the...
called "Early Warning Doppler 9 HD" at its old analog transmitter site north of Bithlo along the Orange
Orange County, Florida
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida and is part of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 1,145,956....
and Seminole County
Seminole County, Florida
Seminole County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. Located between Orlando to the south and Deland and Daytona Beach to the north, it is part of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. Its county seat and largest city is Sanford...
line. WFTV palns to upgrade the radar's power to one million watts, that would make it the second most powerful radar in central Florida (WOFL's also having one million watts).
Ratings
For most of the time since the 1980s, WFTV has been the dominant news station in Central Florida. Although NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate WESH
WESH
WESH is the NBC affiliate in Orlando, Florida. It is licensed to Daytona Beach, with studio facilities in Winter Park. It transmits its digital signal on VHF channel 11, which redirects to virtual channel 2.1, reflecting its former analog channel assignment, through PSIP. It is currently owned by...
made some temporary advances in the 1990s, WFTV often enjoys ratings higher than the combined rating of the other network affiliates in the Central Florida
Central Florida
Central Florida is a regional designation for the area surrounding Orlando in east central Florida, United States. The area represents the third largest population concentration in Florida, after the South Florida and Tampa Bay regions, respectively....
market. In some airings, it has been the highest rated ABC station in the Southeastern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In the May 2009 sweeps period, only WESH's weekday morning news programs even came close to tying WFTV in the ratings race while the prime time programs on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliate WKMG-TV
WKMG-TV
WKMG-TV channel 6 is the CBS network affiliate for Central Florida . WKMG is licensed to Orlando and is owned and operated by Post-Newsweek Stations, Inc., a subsidiary of the Washington Post Company. The station refers to itself as "Local6". WKMG's transmitter is located in Bithlo, Florida...
led overall.
In fact, during much of the first half of 2009, WFTV's dominance was not as absolute as it had been in the past decade or so even though it continues to lead in most time slots. However, in the November 2009 sweeps period, WFTV regained its dominance over the other stations in the market. It has been one of ABC's strongest affiliates over the years.
Newscast titles
- Mid Florida News (1958–1960s)
- Newsline 9 (1970s–1976)
- Eyewitness (1970s)
- (Channel 9) Eyewitness News (1976–present)
Station slogans
- Powerful 9 (1960s)
- Eyewitness News is Everywhere! (1977–1980)
- Central Florida's Leading News Station (1982–1987)
- People You Can Count On (1987–1991; general slogan)
- Central Florida's News Leader (1988–1999; news slogan)
- Coverage You Can Count On (1999–present)
News team
Current anchors- Nancy Alvarez - weekends at 6, 10 (on WRDQ) and 11 p.m.
- Josh Benson - weeknights at 6:30 and 10 p.m. (on WRDQ) and 11 p.m.; also reporter
- Bianca Castro - weekday mornings (7-9 a.m. on WRDQ); also reporter
- Vanessa EcholsVanessa EcholsVanessa Lorraine Echols is a television journalist and is the morning and noon news anchor at WFTV in Orlando, Florida and the morning news anchor at WRDQ in Orlando....
- weekday mornings (5-7 a.m. on WFTV) and noon - Jamie Holmes - weekend mornings (5-9 a.m. on WFTV; 9-10 a.m. on WRDQ) and noon
- Bob Opsahl - weeknights at 5, 5:30 and 6 p.m.
- Martie Salt - weeknights at 5, 6, 10 (on WRDQ) and 11 p.m.
- George Spencer - weekday mornings (7-9 a.m. on WRDQ)
- Greg Warmoth - weekday mornings (5-7 a.m., on WFTV; 7-9 a.m., on WRDQ) and noon
- Vanessa Welch - weeknights at 5:30, 6:30 (on WRDQ); also reporter
Severe Weather Center 9
- Tom Terry (AMSAmerican Meteorological SocietyThe American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...
Certified Broadcast MeteorologistCertified Broadcast MeteorologistCertified Broadcast Meteorologist is a rating for meteorologists given by the American Meteorological Society.The Certified Broadcast Meteorologist program was established to raise the professional standard in broadcast meteorology and encourage a broader range of scientific understanding,...
Seal of Approval) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 5:30, 6, 6:30, 10 (on WRDQ) and 11 p.m. - Eboni Deon - meteorologist; weekend mornings (5-9 a.m., on WFTV; 9-10 a.m., on WRDQ) and noon
- Kassandra Crimi - (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval; weekday mornings (7-9 a.m. on WRDQ)
- Brian Monahan (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weekends at 6, 10 (on WRDQ) and 11 p.m.
- Brian Shields (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and NWANational Weather AssociationThe National Weather Association is an American professional association with a mission to support and promote excellence in operational meteorology and related activities...
Seals of Approval) - meteorologist; weekday mornings (5-7 a.m.) and noon
Sports team (both are seen on Sports Night on 9 Sundays at 11:30 p.m.)
- Joe Kepner - sports director; Monday-Thursdays at 6, 10 p.m. (on WRDQ) and 11 p.m.
- Christian Bruey - sports anchor; Friday-Saturdays at 6, 10 p.m. (on WRDQ) and 11 p.m.; also sports reporter
Reporters
- Steve Barrett - 10 and 11 p.m. reporter
- Kevin Smith - weekday morning traffic reporter
- Kathi Belich - 5, 5:30 and 6 p.m. reporter
- Mark Boyle - 10 and 11 p.m. reporter
- Jeff Deal - 10 and 11 p.m. reporter
- Ryan Hughes - weekday morning and noon reporter
- Daralene Jones - weekday morning and noon reporter
- Q. McCray - Monday, Tuesday, and Friday 5, 5:30 and 6 p.m., and weekend evening reporter
- Mary Nguyen - 5, 5:30 and 6 p.m. reporter
- Kevin Oliver - Brevard CountyBrevard County, FloridaBrevard County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida, along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2007 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the population is 536,521, making it the 10th most populous county in the state. Influenced by the presence of the John F. Kennedy Space Center, Brevard...
reporter; weeknights at 5, 5:30 and 6 p.m. - Berndt Petersen - 5, 5:30 and 6 p.m. reporter
- Blaine Tolison - Monday-Tuesday 10 and 11 p.m., Friday 5, 5:30 and 6, and weekend noon and 6 p.m. reporter
- Todd Ulrich - consumer and investigative reporter
Former on-air staff
- Deborah Roberts - NASA/Brevard County Bureau chief reporter/weekend anchor (now at ABC NewsABC NewsABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
) - Barbara WestBarbara West (TV news anchor)Barbara West is a former television journalist and news anchor for WFTV in Orlando, Florida.-Personal information:West attended the University of Vermont and obtained a Master's degree. While there, she won the 1969 Miss Vermont contest and was selected to represent her state in the national Miss...
- Marla Weech- anchor(later at WKMG/ now morning anchor at Central Florida News 13)