WKBW-TV
Encyclopedia
WKBW-TV, channel 7, is the ABC
affiliate for the Buffalo, New York
television market, and is one of many local Buffalo TV stations seen over-the-air and on cable in Canada. Its transmitter is located at 8909 Center Street in Colden
. The station is owned by the Granite Broadcasting Corporation
, who previously operated WNGS under a local marketing agreement
(LMA). For many years, it was carried via microwave to cable systems in such areas as Corning
and Horseheads
for ABC service; this ended when WENY-TV
signed on.
WKBW-TV signs off on Saturday and Sunday mornings for a half hour from 4 a.m. to 4:30 a.m.; there is no station info, but the American and Canadian national anthems are played before and after the test pattern, like Sinclair-owned stations WUTV
and WNYO
.
Digital channels>
Virtual
channel
Video
Format
Programming
7.1
720p
16:9
main WKBW-TV programming / ABC HD
WKBW-TV turned-off its analog transmitter on June 12, 2009. The station's digital signal remained on channel 38 while channel 7 was reassigned to WNGS, which at the time was under WKBW's control. Digital televisions with PSIP capability display WKBW-TV's virtual channel
as 7.
Though WKBW has multiplexed its channels in the past, it currently does not do so. Both networks carried by WKBW on its digital subchannels are now carried instead on WGRZ-TV
.
and former WBUF-TV owner Sherwin Grossman tried several times to gain rights to the channel (to compete with The Buffalo News
s WBEN-TV
) but was unable to secure a license. The competition for the channel continued to grow when the city's first UHF station, WBES-TV, failed. Clinton Churchill, original owner of 50,000 watt radio station WKBW AM 1520
in Buffalo, was granted the license to operate the station in 1957.
WKBW was originally intended to be an independent station
. However, when NBC
closed its owned and operated station, WBUF-TV
(now WNED-TV
), on September 30, 1958, then-ABC affiliate WGR-TV (now WGRZ-TV
) went back to NBC. As a result of the network shuffle, WKBW-TV premiered as ABC's new Buffalo affiliate when it went on the air on November 30, 1958. The station was originally located at 1420 Main Street, and remained there until it moved to its current location at 7 Broadcast Plaza in downtown Buffalo in 1978.
Churchill sold the WKBW stations to Capital Cities Broadcasting (which later became Capital Cities Communications
) in 1961. CapCities would serve as WKBW-TV's longest tenured owner, having owned it and its radio sister for 25 years, and the station would reach its peak during Capital Cities' ownership. WKBW-TV produced iconic children's programing such as Rocketship 7
and The Commander Tom Show from the 1960s through the 1980s. A staple of its morning programing for many years was Dialing for Dollars
, which later became AM Buffalo
after the Dialing for Dollars franchise was discontinued. AM Buffalo still airs today.
When Capital Cities merged with ABC in 1986, it sold WKBW-TV to Queen City Broadcasting, a minority-owned firm, instead of becoming an ABC O&O. At that point WKBW radio was sold to Price Communications and renamed WWKB
(currently owned by Entercom Communications
).
In late 1993, the Granite Broadcasting Corporation acquired a large minority (45 percent) stake in WKBW-TV from Queen City Broadcasting. A year and a half later, in June 1995, Granite bought the remainder of the station. Until 2000, lottery drawings were shown on WKBW-TV (they have since moved to WGRZ).
WKBW, through at least the early 2000s, operated the Niagara Frontier Radio Reading Service
on its second audio program
. It was pulled after NFRRS began reading content that was of questionable decency for over-the-air broadcast.
From 2006 to April 2009, WKBW operated WNGS, a station owned by Equity Media Holdings, for most of that time under Equity's then-in-house network Retro Television Network
. Equity went bankrupt in 2009, selling off RTN to one of its shareholders by January 2009 (which led to WNGS and other Equity stations dropping the network) and the Equity stations being liquidated, with WNGS sold to Daystar Television Network
in April 2009 (the station has since been resold to a local group). As a result of the changes, WKBW had dropped all involvement with WNGS. However, WKBW continues to maintain control of the web addresses it registered to that station under their ownership (which all redirect to a 404 error page
on the WKBW site), and this forced the station once it came back to the air under local ownership in late 2010 to rebrand under new call letters WBBZ once all operations were up and running.
s. Live with Regis and Kelly
, Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!
, The Doctors
and the weekend talk show House Smarts with Lou Manfredini
are the station's syndicated offerings. In addition, its noon newscast also features Mr. Food
.
feeds and podcasts.
WKBW streamed its noon newscasts via live video on the Internet, one of the few major network affiliates to offer a video stream. (The video feed was removed from the WKBW.com page in April 2007 but remained in operation through at least mid-2008.) On demand video of newscasts is available.
WKBW redesigned its Web site in April 2007, adding the user-generated content
system YouNews TV, a YouTube
-like video hosting service centered around news in the Buffalo area.
In December 2010, the web-master was laid off and the web page is not overseen by any specific person but updated by employees both in and out of the news department, many without journalistic training. The site's accuracy has suffered and is often outdated.
). The station has only two meteorologists compared to WIVB's four and WGRZ's five and only two sports anchors compared to WGRZ's four (WIVB also currently has just two sports reporters). The station also relies more on photojournalists than its competitors, and as a result, it has fewer general assignment reporters. Regularly scheduled programming was, for a time in early 2008, increasingly being replaced by infomercial
s, mostly prime time network and syndicated programs; although this practice was mostly abandoned prior to the May 2008 sweeps, the station continues to sell this air time to charitable organizations such as Operation Smile
, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
and the Billy Graham Crusades
.
Since January 31, 2008, union employees at that station who work as producers, engineers, reporters, photographers and assignment desk editors, had been working without a contract. Talks were ongoing between NABET Local 25 and the management at WKBW-TV, though recent contract offers have been rejected. The two sides, after significant acrimony and a complaint to the National Labor Relations Board
, came to an agreement on March 4, 2011.
.
From 1970 until 2003, and again since 2008, WKBW called its news operation "Eyewitness News
," and uses that format's iconic circle 7 logo to this day. However, since the fall of 1972, it borrowed most of the basic elements of the "Action News
" format used at longtime sister station WPVI-TV
in Philadelphia, combined with the format news director Irv Weinstein
developed and called "Rock 'n' Roll Radio News" (modified for television). It even used Move Closer to Your World
, the theme song made famous by WPVI (though it was known by the station as The Eyewitness News Theme). Furthermore, WKBW was a source for much of WPVI's on-air talent.
Weinstein was WKBW's main anchor from 1964 until his retirement in 1998, doubling as news director for most of that time. From 1965 to 1989, he was partnered with sports director Rick Azar
and weatherman Tom Jolls
(who did double duty as host of Commander Tom); the three formed the longest continuing anchor team in television history until Azar's retirement in 1989. The noon newscast, during the mid-1970s, featured the first pairing of current WPVI anchor team Jim Gardner
and Dave Roberts
(then known as Dave Thomas), with Danny Neaverth
frequently filling in for Thomas.
The station's morning show, the first in Western New York, began in 1989. Good Morning Western New York (the show's title from 1989 to 2000 and from 2009 to 2010) initially started at 6 a.m. ET before moving up to 5:30 a.m. in 1996. It currently starts at 5 a.m. Between 2000 and 2003 (and from 2008 to 2009), the morning show was known as Eyewitness News This Morning, and from 2003 to 2008 was known as 7 News This Morning. (WKBW's morning show predated by seven years the next competitor, WIVB-TV
, which did not debut its morning show, Wake Up!, until 1994. WGRZ-TV
followed suit with Daybreak in 1996.)
affiliate WJXT
in Jacksonville, Florida from 1997 to 2002, that station also continued to call its newscasts Eyewitness News while identifying as WJXT NewsChannel 4 for general purposes. During this era, it also reorchestrated the theme with a more futuristic synthesizer-based version. From 1998 to 2002, it used the slogan "Your Hometown Advantage."
Eyewitness News had been the most-watched newscast in the Buffalo market for many years, and was at times even more popular in the Toronto market than local Toronto news. Some critics have contended this was due to Canadian viewers' attitudes that local Toronto TV news was "staid" and "boring" as contrasted with WKBW's "tabloid" and "sensational" style of production, with American TV stations approaching local news coverage as a "product" rather than a "public service," as is Canada's tradition. However, in 2000, the Nielsen ratings
system switched the Buffalo market from a diary market to an automatically metered market, and in part because of WKBW's inflated reputation (coupled with Weinstein's and Jolls's retirements), eventually rival WIVB overtook the #1 spot, although it was still very much a three-way battle between the three local news stations.
Beginning in the mid-1990s, the station began making some questionable moves that arguably began its fall to the bottom. The first was declining to renew The Oprah Winfrey Show
, which served as the lead-in for WKBW's 5:00 news; rival WIVB picked up the show, which has been credited with helping hasten WKBW's decline and WIVB's rise in the ratings. In 2000, WKBW displaced longtime 5:00 anchor Kathleen Leighton to mornings in favor of former WIVB weather anchor Maria Genero, who had been host of the talk show Good Day New York
. Genero's experience as an evening news anchor was minimal, and within months, Leighton quit the station, with Genero being moved to mornings. Not long afterward, WIVB passed WKBW for first place in nearly all timeslots--the first time in almost 30 years that WKBW had lost the lead. Then, in 2002, WKBW adopted the slogan "Live, Local, Late-breaking," a slogan used on stations across the country, and started its own local talk show (WNY Live!) that originally was used for long-form features but quickly turned into a spot for paid interviews. This move was described as "deadly" to the ratings for its evening newscasts. In September 2003, however, came the most iconic change: dropping its entire heritage for the much more nondescript 7 News package.
7 News (2003-2008) WKBW decided to adopt a new identity, thus bringing the Eyewitness News era to an end. The station's newscasts were rebranded as 7 News in 2003, and Move Closer to Your World was dropped in favor of a more contemporary piece of news music (Right Here, Right Now by 615 Music). The slogan, from 2002 to 2008, was the alliterative phrase "Live, Local, Late-Breaking,", a phrase that has been used on stations across the country.
From 2006 to 2007, Channel 7 also produced a sport show called Sportsnite, a nightly sports talk program hosted by WKBW's sports department, that aired weeknights at 7:00 p.m. ET on WNGS. However, in April 2007, due to very poor ratings despite a barrage of heavy advertising, the Buffalo Sabres
being in the playoffs and the upcoming 2007 NFL Draft
, Sportsnite was cancelled. http://www.buffalonews.com/214/story/63848.html. WNGS was not available on satellite providers during Sportsnite's run, thus limiting the show's audience. Through 2009, WKBW continued to produce a special version of Sportsnite, Sportsnite Niagara, in cooperation with Niagara University
during college hockey and basketball season.
WKBW suspended both of its Saturday newscasts in September 2008, during college football
season; the station resumed those newscasts in December, after football season ended. (In previous years, each newscast was delayed approximately one hour in the event of football games.)
speech), and began using the Eyewitness News name for its 2 a.m. one-minute news brief. On October 22, 2008, WKBW news anchors launched what has been described as the "Big Tease," an announcement that an ostensibly top-secret "major change" was coming; although only a few of the senior members of the staff knew about the change, it was widely predicted to be a revival of the Eyewitness News name and classic theme.
On October 27 at 5:00 a.m., the name Eyewitness News permanently returned to the newscasts, with Laura Gray, Channel 7's reporter, who was filling in that day for regular Morning and Noon anchor Bridget Blythe, and Move Closer to Your World was fully restored to all of the station's newscasts. Nevertheless, the station retained the 2003 studio set and graphics package for the next two years and has moved the "7 News" and "Live/Local/Latebreaking" slogans back to the 2 a.m. news brief. Preliminary results have been promising: due to this, and in part due to a cable coverage issue with WIVB, WKBW's newscasts have climbed back to a strong second place, behind WGRZ. WKBW, although it has retreated back to third when WIVB returned to cable, has kept many of those viewers gained during the cable dispute and has made the Buffalo ratings race a much closer three-way race again, with only the station's morning newscast still in distant third. Ratings have waffled since that time. From September of 2009 to September of 2010, the morning show's name was changed to Good Morning WNY. After Bridget Blythe's departure in October of 2010, the morning show changed its name back to Eyewitness News This Morning with Ginger Geoffery and Patrick Taney. The morning show increased its popularity in key demographics, tying WIVB for second place in the ratings as of May 2011; however, the late newscast dropped in ratings to fourth place, behind the 10 p.m. newscast on WNLO
. WKBW also updated its set and graphics in October 2010. Ratings have somewhat rebounded as of October 2011; WKBW's 11:00 newscast has jumped to second place, behind WIVB but ahead of WGRZ.http://stilltalkintv.com/2011/10/many-questions-in-november-sweeps/comment-page-1/#comment-83070
Buffalo Business First produces the station's business reports and traffic updates are handled by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority
. WKBW's weather staff provides forecasts to Townsquare Media stations WJYE
and WYRK
.
–Saginaw
market is now the largest Nielsen media market without a station broadcasting local newscasts in true high definition. The move coincides with WKBW's decision to outsource
their master control
operations to a company in Atlanta, which, although it resulted in the loss of several Buffalo jobs, was far less expensive than attempting to upgrade the existing master control room from standard-definition (SD) to HD. Rival WGRZ, which had been using a mix of HD graphics and upconverted SD video, announced its intentions to upgrade to true HD in response to this, which debuted on October 29, 2011. Market leader WIVB-TV
has no intentions to upgrade from its current pillarboxed 4:3 SD newscast.
Weather team
Sports team
Traffic
Reporters
AM Buffalo
Pellegrino and Summers were forced to quit their other news positions after AM Buffalo became a production of the station's sales department, though Summers has since resumed announcing certain news elements.
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...
affiliate for the Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
television market, and is one of many local Buffalo TV stations seen over-the-air and on cable in Canada. Its transmitter is located at 8909 Center Street in Colden
Colden, New York
Colden is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 3,323 at the 2000 census. The town derives its name from John Caldwalder D. Colden, a state senator.The Town of Colden is an interior town in the south part of the county...
. The station is owned by the Granite Broadcasting Corporation
Granite Broadcasting Corporation
Granite Broadcasting Corporation, founded by W. Don Cornwell and Stuart Beck in 1988 , is a broadcasting holding company which owns or operates 14 television stations in the United States, largely centered in the midwest with a cluster in New York state...
, who previously operated WNGS under a local marketing agreement
Local marketing agreement
In U.S. and Canadian broadcasting, a local marketing agreement is an agreement in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another licensee...
(LMA). For many years, it was carried via microwave to cable systems in such areas as Corning
Corning (city), New York
Corning is a city in Steuben County, New York, United States, on the Chemung River. The population was 10,842 at the 2000 census. It is named for Erastus Corning, an Albany financier and railroad executive who was an investor in the company that developed the community.- Overview :The city of...
and Horseheads
Horseheads (village), New York
Horseheads is a village in Chemung County, New York, USA. The population was 6,461 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from the number of bleached skulls of pack horses left behind by the Sullivan Expedition....
for ABC service; this ended when WENY-TV
WENY-TV
WENY-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Central and Western Southern Tier of New York State and Northern Pennsylvania licensed to Elmira. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 36 from a transmitter on Higman Hill in Corning. The station can also be seen on...
signed on.
WKBW-TV signs off on Saturday and Sunday mornings for a half hour from 4 a.m. to 4:30 a.m.; there is no station info, but the American and Canadian national anthems are played before and after the test pattern, like Sinclair-owned stations WUTV
WUTV
WUTV, virtual channel 29, is the Fox-affiliated television station in Buffalo, New York. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 14. The station is owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, in a duopoly with the area's MyNetworkTV affiliate WNYO-TV...
and WNYO
WNYO-TV
WNYO-TV is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station in Buffalo, New York, serving the western region of New York state. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 49 from a transmitter at Ironwood Golf Course in Bennington's Cowlesville section. The station can also be seen...
.
Digital television
The station's digital signal is broadcast on UHF channel 38.channel
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 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 ...
WKBW-TV turned-off its analog transmitter on June 12, 2009. The station's digital signal remained on channel 38 while channel 7 was reassigned to WNGS, which at the time was under WKBW's control. Digital televisions with PSIP capability display WKBW-TV'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 7.
Though WKBW has multiplexed its channels in the past, it currently does not do so. Both networks carried by WKBW on its digital subchannels are now carried instead on WGRZ-TV
WGRZ-TV
WGRZ, virtual channel 2 , is the NBC-affiliated television station in Buffalo, New York. Its studio is located at 259 Delaware Avenue in downtown Buffalo. Its transmitter is located at 11530 Warner Hill Road in South Wales, New York...
.
History
The Channel 7 frequency was hotly contested during the 1950s; the Buffalo Courier-ExpressBuffalo Courier-Express
The Buffalo Courier-Express was a morning newspaper in Buffalo, New York. It ceased publication on September 1982.The Courier-Express was created in 1926 by a merger of the Buffalo Daily Courier and the Buffalo Morning Express. William James Conners, owner of the Buffalo Courier, brought the two...
and former WBUF-TV owner Sherwin Grossman tried several times to gain rights to the channel (to compete with The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News is the primary newspaper of the Buffalo – Niagara Falls metropolitan area, and the area's only daily newspaper. It is the only newspaper owned by Berkshire Hathaway.-History:...
s WBEN-TV
WIVB-TV
WIVB-TV, virtual channel 4, is the CBS-affiliated television station for Western New York that is licensed to Buffalo. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter on Center Street in Colden. Owned by the LIN TV Corporation, the station is sister to CW...
) but was unable to secure a license. The competition for the channel continued to grow when the city's first UHF station, WBES-TV, failed. Clinton Churchill, original owner of 50,000 watt radio station WKBW AM 1520
WWKB
WWKB is an AM radio station in Buffalo, New York that operates on a frequency of 1520 kHz. It is owned and operated by Entercom Communications. The station carries a progressive talk radio format. Declaring itself as A New Voice, A New Choice, The Voice of the New Majority; WWKB carries a number...
in Buffalo, was granted the license to operate the station in 1957.
WKBW was originally intended to be an independent station
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....
. However, when NBC
NBC
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...
closed its owned and operated station, WBUF-TV
WNED-TV
WNED-TV is a Public Broadcasting Service member Public televisionstation in Buffalo, New York. Owned by the Western New York Public Broadcasting Association, it broadcasts on digital channel 43 from studios in downtown Buffalo and a transmitter located in Grand Island, New York...
(now WNED-TV
WNED-TV
WNED-TV is a Public Broadcasting Service member Public televisionstation in Buffalo, New York. Owned by the Western New York Public Broadcasting Association, it broadcasts on digital channel 43 from studios in downtown Buffalo and a transmitter located in Grand Island, New York...
), on September 30, 1958, then-ABC affiliate WGR-TV (now WGRZ-TV
WGRZ-TV
WGRZ, virtual channel 2 , is the NBC-affiliated television station in Buffalo, New York. Its studio is located at 259 Delaware Avenue in downtown Buffalo. Its transmitter is located at 11530 Warner Hill Road in South Wales, New York...
) went back to NBC. As a result of the network shuffle, WKBW-TV premiered as ABC's new Buffalo affiliate when it went on the air on November 30, 1958. The station was originally located at 1420 Main Street, and remained there until it moved to its current location at 7 Broadcast Plaza in downtown Buffalo in 1978.
Churchill sold the WKBW stations to Capital Cities Broadcasting (which later became Capital Cities Communications
Capital Cities Communications
Capital Cities redirects here. For the article about the seat of a government, see Capital .Capital Cities Communications was an American media company best known for its surprise purchase of the much larger American Broadcasting Company in 1985...
) in 1961. CapCities would serve as WKBW-TV's longest tenured owner, having owned it and its radio sister for 25 years, and the station would reach its peak during Capital Cities' ownership. WKBW-TV produced iconic children's programing such as Rocketship 7
Rocketship 7
Rocketship 7 was a children's television series that aired weekday mornings on WKBW-TV in Buffalo, New York from 1962 to 1978 and from 1992 to 1993....
and The Commander Tom Show from the 1960s through the 1980s. A staple of its morning programing for many years was Dialing for Dollars
Dialing for Dollars
Dialing for Dollars was a franchised format local television program in the United States and Canada, popular in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.-Format:...
, which later became AM Buffalo
AM Buffalo
AM Buffalo is an American television talk show based in Buffalo, New York. The program has aired on WKBW-TV since its founding in 1978 and is hosted by Linda Pellegrino...
after the Dialing for Dollars franchise was discontinued. AM Buffalo still airs today.
When Capital Cities merged with ABC in 1986, it sold WKBW-TV to Queen City Broadcasting, a minority-owned firm, instead of becoming an ABC O&O. At that point WKBW radio was sold to Price Communications and renamed WWKB
WWKB
WWKB is an AM radio station in Buffalo, New York that operates on a frequency of 1520 kHz. It is owned and operated by Entercom Communications. The station carries a progressive talk radio format. Declaring itself as A New Voice, A New Choice, The Voice of the New Majority; WWKB carries a number...
(currently owned by Entercom Communications
Entercom Communications
Entercom Communications Corporation is the fourth-largest broadcasting company in the United States. As of November 2009, Entercom operates 110 radio stations in 23 markets across the United States....
).
In late 1993, the Granite Broadcasting Corporation acquired a large minority (45 percent) stake in WKBW-TV from Queen City Broadcasting. A year and a half later, in June 1995, Granite bought the remainder of the station. Until 2000, lottery drawings were shown on WKBW-TV (they have since moved to WGRZ).
WKBW, through at least the early 2000s, operated the Niagara Frontier Radio Reading Service
Radio reading service
A radio reading service or reading service for the blind is a service of many universities, community groups and public radio stations, where a narrator reads books, newspapers and magazines aloud for the benefit of the blind and vision-impaired. It is most often carried on a subcarrier, with...
on its second audio program
Second audio program
Second audio program , also known as secondary audio programming, is an auxiliary audio channel for analog television that can be broadcast or transmitted both over the air and by cable TV.-Usage:...
. It was pulled after NFRRS began reading content that was of questionable decency for over-the-air broadcast.
From 2006 to April 2009, WKBW operated WNGS, a station owned by Equity Media Holdings, for most of that time under Equity's then-in-house network Retro Television Network
Retro Television Network
The Retro Television Network is a system of television stations that airs classic television shows as well as more recently produced programs...
. Equity went bankrupt in 2009, selling off RTN to one of its shareholders by January 2009 (which led to WNGS and other Equity stations dropping the network) and the Equity stations being liquidated, with WNGS sold to Daystar Television Network
Daystar Television Network
The Daystar Television Network is an American evangelical Christian television religious broadcasting network headquartered near Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Bedford, Texas...
in April 2009 (the station has since been resold to a local group). As a result of the changes, WKBW had dropped all involvement with WNGS. However, WKBW continues to maintain control of the web addresses it registered to that station under their ownership (which all redirect to a 404 error page
HTTP 404
The 404 or Not Found error message is a HTTP standard response code indicating that the client was able to communicate with the server, but the server could not find what was requested. A 404 error should not be confused with "server not found" or similar errors, in which a connection to the...
on the WKBW site), and this forced the station once it came back to the air under local ownership in late 2010 to rebrand under new call letters WBBZ once all operations were up and running.
Local programming
- AM BuffaloAM BuffaloAM Buffalo is an American television talk show based in Buffalo, New York. The program has aired on WKBW-TV since its founding in 1978 and is hosted by Linda Pellegrino...
with Linda Pellegrino – Weekday mornings 10–11 a.m. The show, which dates back to 1978 after the cancellation of the local version of Dialing for DollarsDialing for DollarsDialing for Dollars was a franchised format local television program in the United States and Canada, popular in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.-Format:...
, features two types of segments: "talk segments," similar to talk radioTalk radioTalk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
shows where viewers call in and discuss the issues of the day with Pellegrino, and paid segments, with paid sponsors as "guests" (for instance, a local attorney such as Herschel Gelber or Steve Boyd (a former Channel 7 reporter) gives legal advice or insight and to advertise their services, Hughesco airs a home improvement segment, or the local anti-tobacco lobby discusses its latest campaign). The show only had an "a.m." version prior to 2004; a PM Buffalo version aired between 2004 and 2008, and a weekend version called Buffalo Weekend aired from 2008 to 2009. - Rocketship 7Rocketship 7Rocketship 7 was a children's television series that aired weekday mornings on WKBW-TV in Buffalo, New York from 1962 to 1978 and from 1992 to 1993....
, a morning children's show, was hosted by weatherman Dave ThomasDave Roberts (David Thomas Boreanaz)David Thomas Boreanaz is a retired American television broadcaster who broadcast under the stage names Dave Thomas in Buffalo, New York, and Dave Roberts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the main weatherman for WPVI-TV in Philadelphia from 1983 until his retirement in 2009...
(a.k.a. "Dave Roberts" of WPVI, born David Thomas Boreanaz, father of actor David BoreanazDavid BoreanazDavid Boreanaz is an American actor, television producer, and director, known for his role as Angel on the supernatural drama series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, and as Special Agent Seeley Booth on the television crime drama Bones....
) and "Promo the Robot" from 1962 until Thomas left the station for Philadelphia's WPVI-TVWPVI-TVWPVI-TV, channel 6, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. WPVI has its studios located on the border between Philadelphia and Bala Cynwyd, and its transmitter is located in the...
in 1978 (changing his on-air moniker to Dave Roberts in the process). Thomas also hosted Dialing for Dollars which became AM Buffalo in the mid-1970s. - The Commander Tom Show was an afternoon children's show hosted by another WKBW weatherman, Tom JollsTom JollsTom Jolls is a retired television weatherman at WKBW-TV in Buffalo, New York, where he worked for 34 years. He was also the star of the Commander Tom Show which had a 26-year run on WKBW....
from 1965 until budget cuts forced its cancellation in 1991. In its last decade, the show aired on weekends only. - A revival of Rocketship 7 aired from 1992 to 1993 immediately after Commander Tom was cancelled; this version, effectively a retooled version of Commander Tom with new hosts, featured Commander Mike (Randall)Mike Randall (entertainer)Michael E. "Mike" Randall is an American actor, meteorologist and reporter from Buffalo, New York. He is best known for his long run on WKBW-TV, where he has been since 1983 and has been the chief meteorologist since 1999.-Television career:...
and sidekick "Yeoman Bob," with guest appearances by Commander Tom. - Off Beat CinemaOff Beat CinemaOff Beat Cinema is a two-hour hosted movie show that airs on television stations throughout North America late at night and features "the Good, the Bad, the Foreign..." but mostly cult movies like Night of the Living Dead, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians and even more art house fare like The...
, a collection of offbeat B-movieB-movieA B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
s, was created at WKBW in 1993 and features Buffalo native "Airborne Eddy" Dobosiewicz as the beatnik host "Maxwell Truth". Through independent syndication efforts the show has become a cult hit throughout the US and Canada. It airs locally Saturdays in the late night hours and reruns of the series are also syndicated to RTN nationally, where it airs around the same time. - Yule LogYule Log (TV program)The Yule Log is a television program which is broadcast traditionally on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning , originally by New York City television station WPIX but now by many other Tribune Company-owned television stations, including WGN America, and by Antenna TV starting in 2011...
– WKBW-TV introduced its own two-hour version of the Yule Log on Christmas morning 2008, to replace the station's Christmas morning newscast; however, the music played was generic instrumental Christmas-style music, and not any popular Christmas songsChristmas musicChristmas music comprises a variety of genres of music normally performed or heard around the Christmas season, which tends to begin in the months leading up the actual holiday and end in the weeks shortly thereafter.-Early:...
in particular. Previously the station was the only one in the market to air a newscast on Christmas morning. Neither the newscast nor the yule log returned in 2009, instead going straight to ABC's national feed and replays of America This Morning. - Countdown to 20## (title changes each year to correspond with the coming year) is an annual tradition held on New Year's EveNew Year's EveNew Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
. The multi-part broadcast covers, most notably, official coverage of the Buffalo Ball Drop (formerly the 97 RockWGRFWGRF is a radio station in Buffalo, New York, USA. The station's on air branding is "97 Rock". The station mostly plays Classic rock from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s...
Ball Drop), billed as the second-largest New Year's Eve ball drop in the United States (behind only the more famous Times Square BallTimes Square BallThe Times Square Ball is a time ball dropped each year during the New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square, Manhattan, New York City. The ball is made by Waterford Crystal and electric lights is raised to the top of a pole on the One Times Square building at 6:00 pm and then lowered to mark the...
); the event is televised in synchronizedSynchronizationSynchronization is timekeeping which requires the coordination of events to operate a system in unison. The familiar conductor of an orchestra serves to keep the orchestra in time....
split screenSplit screen (film)In film and video production, split screen is the visible division of the screen, traditionally in half, but also in several simultaneous images, rupturing the illusion that the screen's frame is a seamless view of reality, similar to that of the human eye...
alongside Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' EveDick Clark's New Year's Rockin' EveDick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest is a television program that airs every New Year's Eve on ABC. It has been hosted by Dick Clark since its first airing on Sunday, December 31, 1972. Ryan Seacrest has been the program's co-host since the December 31, 2005 telecast...
(causing that broadcast to be in SD through the 2011 celebration [WKBW has coverted to an HD-compatible newscast on August 13, 2011] and also delayed several seconds because of a delay created at WKBW in order to try and keep obscenites off the air.) and has been carried by the station since 1988. Also covered by the broadcast are local First NightFirst NightFirst Night is an artistic and cultural celebration on New Year's Eve, taking place from afternoon until midnight. Some cities have all their events during the celebration outside, but some cities have events that are hosted indoors by organizations in the city, such as churches and theaters...
celebrations. - WKBW airs an annual twelve-hour Variety KidsVariety, the Children's CharityVariety, the Children's Charity is an organisation founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on October 10, 1927, when a group of eleven men involved in show business set up a social club which they named the "Variety Club". On Christmas Eve 1928, a small baby was left on the steps the Sheridan Square...
telethon each March. - Buffalo BillsBuffalo BillsThe Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
football – WKBW-TV is the "Home of the Bills" and airs both its preseason games and any games carried on a cable outlet (ESPNESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
or NFL NetworkNFL NetworkNFL Network is an American television specialty channel owned and operated by the National Football League . It was launched November 4, 2003, only eight months after the league's 32 team owners voted unanimously to approve its formation...
).
Syndicated programming
WKBW currently carries comparatively little syndicated programming, instead opting for the AM Buffalo programs and infomercialInfomercial
Infomercials are direct response television commercials which generally include a phone number or website. There are long-form infomercials, which are typically between 15 and 30 minutes in length, and short-form infomercials, which are typically 30 seconds to 120 seconds in length. Infomercials...
s. Live with Regis and Kelly
Live with Regis and Kelly
Live! with Kelly is a syndicated American television morning talk show, hosted by Kelly Ripa. The show has aired since 1983 in New York City and 1988 nationwide. Tony Pigg has been the show's announcer since its inception...
, Wheel of Fortune, 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...
, 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...
and the weekend talk show House Smarts with Lou Manfredini
Lou Manfredini
Lou Manfredini is an American television/radio personality and home improvement expert. Born in Highland Park, Illinois he is the host of House Smarts TV, Chicago's WGN Radio's Mr. Fix-It program and is a contributor on NBC's Today Show.-Early Years:While a student at Deerfield High School ,...
are the station's syndicated offerings. In addition, its noon newscast also features Mr. Food
Mr. Food
Art Ginsburg, commonly known as Mr. Food, is a television chef and best selling author of cookbooks who emphasizes simple recipes. He is the originator of "quick & easy cooking" who, for the past 30+ years, has paved the way for TV food personalities who have followed. With his enthusiastic style,...
.
Internet initiatives
WKBW has been proactive in its ventures on the Internet. The station was among the first in Western New York to launch a Web site in the mid-1990s. More recently, it was the first to offer RSSRSS (file format)
RSS is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works—such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video—in a standardized format...
feeds and podcasts.
WKBW streamed its noon newscasts via live video on the Internet, one of the few major network affiliates to offer a video stream. (The video feed was removed from the WKBW.com page in April 2007 but remained in operation through at least mid-2008.) On demand video of newscasts is available.
WKBW redesigned its Web site in April 2007, adding the user-generated content
User-generated content
User generated content covers a range of media content available in a range of modern communications technologies. It entered mainstream usage during 2005 having arisen in web publishing and new media content production circles...
system YouNews TV, a YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
-like video hosting service centered around news in the Buffalo area.
In December 2010, the web-master was laid off and the web page is not overseen by any specific person but updated by employees both in and out of the news department, many without journalistic training. The site's accuracy has suffered and is often outdated.
Financial difficulties, cutbacks and infomercials
Granite Broadcasting, WKBW's owner, filed for bankruptcy in 2006; as a result, the station group as a whole has been hit hard by financial difficultieshttp://buffalo.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2006/12/11/daily15.html. Long time anchors have either been dismissed or seen significant pay cuts.http://buffalo.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2006/12/11/daily27.html?surround=lfn The station produces less news content during the week than its competitors (24½ hours, compared to 30 for WGRZ and 35 for WIVB), is the only one in the market that does not produce a 10 p.m. newscast, nor does it produce a weekend morning newscast, while the other two stations in the market have both. From September to November 2008, no Saturday newscasts were produced, and the station again suspended its Saturday 6:00 p.m. newscast in 2010 (though its late newscast now airs after college footballCollege football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
). The station has only two meteorologists compared to WIVB's four and WGRZ's five and only two sports anchors compared to WGRZ's four (WIVB also currently has just two sports reporters). The station also relies more on photojournalists than its competitors, and as a result, it has fewer general assignment reporters. Regularly scheduled programming was, for a time in early 2008, increasingly being replaced by infomercial
Infomercial
Infomercials are direct response television commercials which generally include a phone number or website. There are long-form infomercials, which are typically between 15 and 30 minutes in length, and short-form infomercials, which are typically 30 seconds to 120 seconds in length. Infomercials...
s, mostly prime time network and syndicated programs; although this practice was mostly abandoned prior to the May 2008 sweeps, the station continues to sell this air time to charitable organizations such as Operation Smile
Operation Smile
Operation Smile is a not-for-profit medical service organization based in Norfolk, Virginia , founded in 1982. A secular NGO, the children's medical charity provides cleft lip and palate repair surgeries to children worldwide, assists countries in reaching self-sufficiency with these surgeries, and...
, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, founded in 1962, is a leading pediatric treatment and research facility focused on children's catastrophic diseases. It is located in Memphis, Tennessee. It is a nonprofit medical corporation chartered as a 501 tax-exempt organization under IRS regulations.In...
and the Billy Graham Crusades
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association is an organization started by Billy Graham in 1950. The main focus of the BGEA is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to as many people as possible...
.
Since January 31, 2008, union employees at that station who work as producers, engineers, reporters, photographers and assignment desk editors, had been working without a contract. Talks were ongoing between NABET Local 25 and the management at WKBW-TV, though recent contract offers have been rejected. The two sides, after significant acrimony and a complaint to the National Labor Relations Board
National Labor Relations Board
The National Labor Relations Board is an independent agency of the United States government charged with conducting elections for labor union representation and with investigating and remedying unfair labor practices. Unfair labor practices may involve union-related situations or instances of...
, came to an agreement on March 4, 2011.
The Irv, Rick and Tom era (1970-1989)
The station had news operations from its beginning, but ceased broadcasting a 6 p.m. news in fall 1965 due to a mass exodus of viewers to WBEN-TVWIVB-TV
WIVB-TV, virtual channel 4, is the CBS-affiliated television station for Western New York that is licensed to Buffalo. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter on Center Street in Colden. Owned by the LIN TV Corporation, the station is sister to CW...
.
From 1970 until 2003, and again since 2008, WKBW called its news operation "Eyewitness News
Eyewitness 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...
," and uses that format's iconic circle 7 logo to this day. However, since the fall of 1972, it borrowed most of the basic elements of the "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...
" format used at longtime sister station WPVI-TV
WPVI-TV
WPVI-TV, channel 6, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. WPVI has its studios located on the border between Philadelphia and Bala Cynwyd, and its transmitter is located in the...
in Philadelphia, combined with the format news director Irv Weinstein
Irv Weinstein
Irwin "Irv" Weinstein is a retired local television news anchor. He hosted WKBW-TV's Eyewitness News in Buffalo, New York, for 34 years, from 1964 to 1998, becoming an iconic broadcaster well known in both the Buffalo area and in Southern Ontario, which was within WKBW's broadcast area. Weinstein...
developed and called "Rock 'n' Roll Radio News" (modified for television). It even used Move Closer to Your World
Move Closer to Your World
Move Closer to Your World is a television news music package composed by jingle writer Al Ham under his Mayoham Music label. In the 1970s it was considered an anthem for local television news, and is considered the anthem of WPVI-TV in Philadelphia for its Action News programs to the current day...
, the theme song made famous by WPVI (though it was known by the station as The Eyewitness News Theme). Furthermore, WKBW was a source for much of WPVI's on-air talent.
Weinstein was WKBW's main anchor from 1964 until his retirement in 1998, doubling as news director for most of that time. From 1965 to 1989, he was partnered with sports director Rick Azar
Rick Azar
Rick Azar is an American broadcaster who spent 31 years at WKBW-TV in Buffalo, New York.- WKBW-TV career :Rick Azar was the first voice heard on WKBW-TV on November 30, 1958...
and weatherman Tom Jolls
Tom Jolls
Tom Jolls is a retired television weatherman at WKBW-TV in Buffalo, New York, where he worked for 34 years. He was also the star of the Commander Tom Show which had a 26-year run on WKBW....
(who did double duty as host of Commander Tom); the three formed the longest continuing anchor team in television history until Azar's retirement in 1989. The noon newscast, during the mid-1970s, featured the first pairing of current WPVI anchor team Jim Gardner
Jim Gardner (broadcaster)
Jim Gardner is the stage name of James Goldman , an American news anchor for WPVI-TV in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.A native New Yorker, Jim has lived most of his adult life in the Delaware Valley. In 1970, Jim received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University...
and Dave Roberts
Dave Roberts (David Thomas Boreanaz)
David Thomas Boreanaz is a retired American television broadcaster who broadcast under the stage names Dave Thomas in Buffalo, New York, and Dave Roberts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the main weatherman for WPVI-TV in Philadelphia from 1983 until his retirement in 2009...
(then known as Dave Thomas), with Danny Neaverth
Danny Neaverth
Dan "Danny" Neaverth is an American disc jockey and television personality from Buffalo, New York. He is best known for a run of over 25 years as the morning disc jockey at heritage top-40 and oldies station WKBW-AM/WWKB in Buffalo....
frequently filling in for Thomas.
The station's morning show, the first in Western New York, began in 1989. Good Morning Western New York (the show's title from 1989 to 2000 and from 2009 to 2010) initially started at 6 a.m. ET before moving up to 5:30 a.m. in 1996. It currently starts at 5 a.m. Between 2000 and 2003 (and from 2008 to 2009), the morning show was known as Eyewitness News This Morning, and from 2003 to 2008 was known as 7 News This Morning. (WKBW's morning show predated by seven years the next competitor, WIVB-TV
WIVB-TV
WIVB-TV, virtual channel 4, is the CBS-affiliated television station for Western New York that is licensed to Buffalo. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter on Center Street in Colden. Owned by the LIN TV Corporation, the station is sister to CW...
, which did not debut its morning show, Wake Up!, until 1994. WGRZ-TV
WGRZ-TV
WGRZ, virtual channel 2 , is the NBC-affiliated television station in Buffalo, New York. Its studio is located at 259 Delaware Avenue in downtown Buffalo. Its transmitter is located at 11530 Warner Hill Road in South Wales, New York...
followed suit with Daybreak in 1996.)
1989-2003
From about 1989 until February 1997, the station identified itself as News Channel 7, but kept the Eyewitness News name for posterity, resulting in rather long station announcements (e.g., "From WKBW-TV News Channel 7, this is Eyewitness News at 5"); a similar situation arose on then-CBSCBS
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 WJXT
WJXT
WJXT, channel 4 , is an independent television station serving Jacksonville, Florida, and surrounding communities. Its transmitter is in the Kilarney Shores section of Jacksonville, with the WTLV transmitter. The station originally broadcast an analog signal on VHF channel 4 and a digital signal...
in Jacksonville, Florida from 1997 to 2002, that station also continued to call its newscasts Eyewitness News while identifying as WJXT NewsChannel 4 for general purposes. During this era, it also reorchestrated the theme with a more futuristic synthesizer-based version. From 1998 to 2002, it used the slogan "Your Hometown Advantage."
Eyewitness News had been the most-watched newscast in the Buffalo market for many years, and was at times even more popular in the Toronto market than local Toronto news. Some critics have contended this was due to Canadian viewers' attitudes that local Toronto TV news was "staid" and "boring" as contrasted with WKBW's "tabloid" and "sensational" style of production, with American TV stations approaching local news coverage as a "product" rather than a "public service," as is Canada's tradition. However, in 2000, the Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
system switched the Buffalo market from a diary market to an automatically metered market, and in part because of WKBW's inflated reputation (coupled with Weinstein's and Jolls's retirements), eventually rival WIVB overtook the #1 spot, although it was still very much a three-way battle between the three local news stations.
Beginning in the mid-1990s, the station began making some questionable moves that arguably began its fall to the bottom. The first was declining to renew The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
, which served as the lead-in for WKBW's 5:00 news; rival WIVB picked up the show, which has been credited with helping hasten WKBW's decline and WIVB's rise in the ratings. In 2000, WKBW displaced longtime 5:00 anchor Kathleen Leighton to mornings in favor of former WIVB weather anchor Maria Genero, who had been host of the talk show Good Day New York
Good Day New York
Good Day New York is a weekday morning news and entertainment feature show which airs on WNYW, the New York City flagship television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company...
. Genero's experience as an evening news anchor was minimal, and within months, Leighton quit the station, with Genero being moved to mornings. Not long afterward, WIVB passed WKBW for first place in nearly all timeslots--the first time in almost 30 years that WKBW had lost the lead. Then, in 2002, WKBW adopted the slogan "Live, Local, Late-breaking," a slogan used on stations across the country, and started its own local talk show (WNY Live!) that originally was used for long-form features but quickly turned into a spot for paid interviews. This move was described as "deadly" to the ratings for its evening newscasts. In September 2003, however, came the most iconic change: dropping its entire heritage for the much more nondescript 7 News package.
7 News (2003-2008) WKBW decided to adopt a new identity, thus bringing the Eyewitness News era to an end. The station's newscasts were rebranded as 7 News in 2003, and Move Closer to Your World was dropped in favor of a more contemporary piece of news music (Right Here, Right Now by 615 Music). The slogan, from 2002 to 2008, was the alliterative phrase "Live, Local, Late-Breaking,", a phrase that has been used on stations across the country.
From 2006 to 2007, Channel 7 also produced a sport show called Sportsnite, a nightly sports talk program hosted by WKBW's sports department, that aired weeknights at 7:00 p.m. ET on WNGS. However, in April 2007, due to very poor ratings despite a barrage of heavy advertising, the Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:...
being in the playoffs and the upcoming 2007 NFL Draft
2007 NFL Draft
The 2007 National Football League Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draft was televised for the 28th consecutive year on ESPN and ESPN2. The NFL Network also broadcast coverage of the event, its second year doing so...
, Sportsnite was cancelled. http://www.buffalonews.com/214/story/63848.html. WNGS was not available on satellite providers during Sportsnite's run, thus limiting the show's audience. Through 2009, WKBW continued to produce a special version of Sportsnite, Sportsnite Niagara, in cooperation with Niagara University
Niagara University
Niagara University is a Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition, located in the Town of Lewiston in Niagara County, New York. Originally founded by the Congregation of the Mission in 1856 as Our Lady of Angels Seminary, it became Niagara University in 1883. The University is still run by...
during college hockey and basketball season.
WKBW suspended both of its Saturday newscasts in September 2008, during college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
season; the station resumed those newscasts in December, after football season ended. (In previous years, each newscast was delayed approximately one hour in the event of football games.)
Return to
Eyewitness News (2008-present) The station revived "Move Closer to Your World" for promotions celebrating the station's 50th anniversary, for the intro to breaks during its newscasts. It also reintroduced the theme for the introduction to its 11:00 newscasts on September 19, 2008 (along with the restoration of the Do you know where your children are?Do you know where your children are?
Do you know where your children are? is a popular question used as a public service announcement for parents on American television. Its heyday was throughout the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, but has made a comeback as of late. The question is usually asked around 10:00PM or 11:00PM, depending on the...
speech), and began using the Eyewitness News name for its 2 a.m. one-minute news brief. On October 22, 2008, WKBW news anchors launched what has been described as the "Big Tease," an announcement that an ostensibly top-secret "major change" was coming; although only a few of the senior members of the staff knew about the change, it was widely predicted to be a revival of the Eyewitness News name and classic theme.
On October 27 at 5:00 a.m., the name Eyewitness News permanently returned to the newscasts, with Laura Gray, Channel 7's reporter, who was filling in that day for regular Morning and Noon anchor Bridget Blythe, and Move Closer to Your World was fully restored to all of the station's newscasts. Nevertheless, the station retained the 2003 studio set and graphics package for the next two years and has moved the "7 News" and "Live/Local/Latebreaking" slogans back to the 2 a.m. news brief. Preliminary results have been promising: due to this, and in part due to a cable coverage issue with WIVB, WKBW's newscasts have climbed back to a strong second place, behind WGRZ. WKBW, although it has retreated back to third when WIVB returned to cable, has kept many of those viewers gained during the cable dispute and has made the Buffalo ratings race a much closer three-way race again, with only the station's morning newscast still in distant third. Ratings have waffled since that time. From September of 2009 to September of 2010, the morning show's name was changed to Good Morning WNY. After Bridget Blythe's departure in October of 2010, the morning show changed its name back to Eyewitness News This Morning with Ginger Geoffery and Patrick Taney. The morning show increased its popularity in key demographics, tying WIVB for second place in the ratings as of May 2011; however, the late newscast dropped in ratings to fourth place, behind the 10 p.m. newscast on WNLO
WNLO
WNLO is the CW-affiliated television station for Western New York licensed to Buffalo. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 32 from a transmitter on the eastern side of Grand Island. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 11 and Verizon FiOS channel 23...
. WKBW also updated its set and graphics in October 2010. Ratings have somewhat rebounded as of October 2011; WKBW's 11:00 newscast has jumped to second place, behind WIVB but ahead of WGRZ.http://stilltalkintv.com/2011/10/many-questions-in-november-sweeps/comment-page-1/#comment-83070
Buffalo Business First produces the station's business reports and traffic updates are handled by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority
Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority
The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority is a public authority responsible for the public transportation oversight of Erie and Niagara counties in the State of New York...
. WKBW's weather staff provides forecasts to Townsquare Media stations WJYE
WJYE
WJYE is located in the Buffalo, New York area and broadcasts at 96.1 FM. Its transmitter is located in Buffalo.WJYE signed on in 1966 . It currently is owned by Townsquare Media. The station runs a soft rock/adult contemporary format and has had this format since 1988, having previously been a...
and WYRK
WYRK
WYRK is a country music formatted radio station located in Buffalo, New York. It broadcasts from the top of the Rand Building in Buffalo, where its studios are located on the 12th floor....
.
Upgrade to high definition
On August 13, 2011 beginning with its 6 p.m. newscast, WKBW began broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition, the first station in the Buffalo market to do so. With the upgrade, the FlintFlint, Michigan
Flint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the 2010 population to be placed at 102,434, making Flint the seventh largest city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Genesee County which lies in the...
–Saginaw
Saginaw, Michigan
Saginaw is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw was once a thriving lumber town and manufacturing center. Saginaw and Saginaw County lie in the Flint/Tri-Cities region of Michigan...
market is now the largest Nielsen media market without a station broadcasting local newscasts in true high definition. The move coincides with WKBW's decision to outsource
Outsourcing
Outsourcing is the process of contracting a business function to someone else.-Overview:The term outsourcing is used inconsistently but usually involves the contracting out of a business function - commonly one previously performed in-house - to an external provider...
their master control
Master control
Master control is the technical hub of a broadcast operation common among most over-the-air television stations and television networks. It is distinct from a production control room in television studios where the activities such as switching from camera to camera are coordinated...
operations to a company in Atlanta, which, although it resulted in the loss of several Buffalo jobs, was far less expensive than attempting to upgrade the existing master control room from standard-definition (SD) to HD. Rival WGRZ, which had been using a mix of HD graphics and upconverted SD video, announced its intentions to upgrade to true HD in response to this, which debuted on October 29, 2011. Market leader WIVB-TV
WIVB-TV
WIVB-TV, virtual channel 4, is the CBS-affiliated television station for Western New York that is licensed to Buffalo. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter on Center Street in Colden. Owned by the LIN TV Corporation, the station is sister to CW...
has no intentions to upgrade from its current pillarboxed 4:3 SD newscast.
Newscast titles
- Eyewitness NewsEyewitness NewsEyewitness 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...
(1970–2003; referred to on-air as News Channel 7's Eyewitness News from 1991–1995) - 7 News (2003–2008)
- Channel 7 Eyewitness NewsEyewitness NewsEyewitness 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...
(2008–present)
Station slogans
- Do You Know Where Your Children Are? (1960s–2003 and 2008–present; was reintroduced September 19, 2008 and is used before the start of the 11 p.m. news)
- We're The One You Can Turn To, Channel 7 (1978–1979; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- You and Me and Channel 7 (1980–1981; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- Now is the Time, Channel 7 is The Place (1981–1982; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- Come on Home to Your Family (1982)
- That Special Feeling on Channel 7 (1983–1984; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- Hello Buffalo/Say Hello (1980s; used during period station used Frank Gari's "Hello News")
- Expect The Best (1980s)
- Your Hometown Team (1991–1995)
- Your Hometown Advantage (1997–2002)
- The Power of Information (2002–2003)
- Live, Local, Latebreaking (2003–2008)
- Celebrating 50 Years of Your Life (2008)
- The Hardest Working Team In Local News (2009)
- Be an Eyewitness to News (2010–present)
News music packages
- The Fuzz (Frank De VolFrank De VolFrank Denny De Vol, also known simply as De Vol was an American arranger, composer and actor.-Early life and career:...
), 1968–1970 - Cool Hand LukeCool Hand LukeCool Hand Luke is a 1967 American prison drama film directed by Stuart Rosenberg and starring Paul Newman. The screenplay was adapted by Donn Pearce and Frank Pierson from Pearce's 1965 novel of the same name. The film features George Kennedy, Strother Martin, J.D...
: The Tar Sequence (Lalo SchifrinLalo SchifrinLalo Schifrin is an Argentine composer, pianist and conductor. He is best known for his film and TV scores, such as the "Theme from Mission: Impossible". He has received four Grammy Awards and six Oscar nominations...
), 1970–1972 - Move Closer to Your WorldMove Closer to Your WorldMove Closer to Your World is a television news music package composed by jingle writer Al Ham under his Mayoham Music label. In the 1970s it was considered an anthem for local television news, and is considered the anthem of WPVI-TV in Philadelphia for its Action News programs to the current day...
(Al HamAl HamAlbert W. Ham was an American composer and jingle writer. He was notable as the composer of the Move Closer to Your World music package used since the 1970s on WPVI-TV's Action News broadcasts in Philadelphia, as well as many on many other newscasts in the United States throughout the 1970s and...
)- Original version, 1972-c. 1986
- "Cut One," 1986–1989, 1995–2003, 2008–present
- New Age reorchestration, 1989–1995
- Right Here, Right Now (2003–2008)
- Good Morning Western New York Theme (Nick Randall), 2009–2010, for the morning show
Current on-air staff
Current anchors- Kendra Eaglin - weekend evenings at 6 and 11 p.m. (2010)
- Ginger Geoffery - weekday mornings Eyewitness News This Morning and noon (2004)
- Joanna Pasceri - weeknights at 5, 6 and 11 p.m.; also health reporter (1993)
- Keith Radford - weeknights at 5, 5:30, 6 and 11 p.m. (1987)
- Patrick Taney - weekday mornings Eyewitness News This Morning (2007)
Weather team
- Mike RandallMike Randall (entertainer)Michael E. "Mike" Randall is an American actor, meteorologist and reporter from Buffalo, New York. He is best known for his long run on WKBW-TV, where he has been since 1983 and has been the chief meteorologist since 1999.-Television career:...
(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...
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) - chief meteorologist; weekday mornings Eyewitness News This Morning" (5-7 a.m.) and noon (1983) - Aaron Mentkowski (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) - meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 5:30, 6 and 11 p.m., also Saturday evening fill-in (2000) - Mike Spong- weather anchor (weekends)
Sports team
- Jeff Russo - sports director; weeknights at 6 and 11 p.m. (2004)
- Shawn Stepner - sports anchor; weekends at 6 and 11 p.m., also host of Sunday Sports Final (2007)
Traffic
- Dave Cash - weekday mornings Eyewitness News This Morning; also fill-in weather anchor
- Leia Militello - weeknights at 5 p.m.
- Steve Schnepf - fill-in weeknights and weekday mornings
Reporters
- Jaclyn Asztalos - general assignment reporter (2010)
- John Borsa - general assignment reporter; also fill-in anchor (2003)
- Elizabeth Carey - business reporter (business, by agreement with Business First; 1999)
- Lou Chilelli - general assignment reporter; also photojournalist
- Adam Francis - general assignment reporter; also photojournalist
- Jason Gruenauer - general assignment reporter; also fill-in sports anchor (2010)
- Kyla Igoe - general assignment reporter (2007)
- Allen Leight - WKBW.com reporter
- Ed Reilly - general assignment reporter; also photojournalist
- Mike Spong - general assignment reporter, weekend weather anchor (2010)
AM Buffalo
- Linda Pellegrino - co-host (c.1990; also previously a weather anchor)
- Jon Summers - co-host (prior to 1983; previously the station's announcer)
- John DiSciullo - substitute co-host; also program director
Pellegrino and Summers were forced to quit their other news positions after AM Buffalo became a production of the station's sales department, though Summers has since resumed announcing certain news elements.
Announcers
- Jon Summers – commercials (1983–present; also newscasts from 1983 to 2003)
- John Young – newscasts (2003–present)
Notable former staff
- Rick AzarRick AzarRick Azar is an American broadcaster who spent 31 years at WKBW-TV in Buffalo, New York.- WKBW-TV career :Rick Azar was the first voice heard on WKBW-TV on November 30, 1958...
– sports director (1958–1989; first voice ever heard on WKBW as he signed on the station in 1958, was the station's sports director for 28 years; now at WLHCWLHCWLHC is a radio station broadcasting an Adult Standards/MOR format. Licensed to Robbins, North Carolina, USA. The station is currently owned by Woolstone Corporation....
) - Liz DribbenLiz DribbenElizabeth "Liz" Dribben was a radio and television host from Buffalo, New York. She is best known for her time as a producer for CBS News from 1972 to 1993. Her previous work included at WKBW-TV in Buffalo and radio stations WEVD and WNYC in New York City.-References:...
– co-host of Dialing for Dollars (1964–1968; later appeared on WNYCWNYCWNYC is a set of call letters shared by a pair of co-owned, non-profit, public radio stations located in New York City.WNYC broadcasts on the AM band at 820 kHz, and WNYC-FM is at 93.9 MHz. Both stations are members of National Public Radio and carry distinct, but similar news/talk programs...
and WEVDWEVDThe call letters WEVD are associated with the following:* WWRV AM 1330 in New York City, which held the WEVD call sign until 1981* WSKQ-FM 97.9 in New York City, which held the WEVD-FM call sign from 1952 to 1989...
in New York City; died 2011) - Jim GardnerJim Gardner (broadcaster)Jim Gardner is the stage name of James Goldman , an American news anchor for WPVI-TV in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.A native New Yorker, Jim has lived most of his adult life in the Delaware Valley. In 1970, Jim received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University...
– anchor (1974–1976; left for WPVI in Philadelphia) - Maria Genero – morning/noon/5 p.m. co-anchor (2001–2004; most recently host of WNY Living! and now the weekend morning/fill-in weather anchor at rival WGRZ-TVWGRZ-TVWGRZ, virtual channel 2 , is the NBC-affiliated television station in Buffalo, New York. Its studio is located at 259 Delaware Avenue in downtown Buffalo. Its transmitter is located at 11530 Warner Hill Road in South Wales, New York...
) http://www.buffalonews.com/entertainment/story/746758.html - Tracy HumphreyTracy HumphreyTracy Humphrey was a weather anchor for KPIX in San Francisco. She reported the weather for the weekday edition of CBS 5 Eyewitness News from 5-7 and Noon. Tracy joined the station in December, 2007. Prior to KPIX, Humphrey worked for 4 years at WNYW Fox 5 in New York City as the weekend weather...
– weather anchor (1998–2000; later weekend weather at WNYWWNYWWNYW, virtual channel 5 , is the flagship television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, located in New York City. The station's transmitter is atop the Empire State Building and its studio facilities are located in the Yorkville section of Manhattan...
in New York City from 2003–2007, former morning/noon weather anchor at KPIX-TVKPIX-TVKPIX-TV is the CBS owned and operated television station in San Francisco, California. Through its parent company CBS Corporation, KPIX is co-owned with The CW affiliate KBCW-TV ....
in San Francisco) - Tom JollsTom JollsTom Jolls is a retired television weatherman at WKBW-TV in Buffalo, New York, where he worked for 34 years. He was also the star of the Commander Tom Show which had a 26-year run on WKBW....
– weather forecaster/Commander Tom Show host (as Commander Tom 1965–1991), announcer (1965–1999; retired) - Bob KoshinskiBob KoshinskiBob Koshinski is an American broadcaster and multi-media communications specialist from Niagara Falls, New York, best known for his involvement with the Empire Sports Network, having a prominent role in the network through its entire time of existence...
– sports director (1983–1991; named station's second sports director in 1989, moved on to the Empire Sports NetworkEmpire Sports NetworkEmpire Sports Network was a regional sports network on cable television which served upstate New York from Buffalo to Albany, parts of northern Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio...
where he served as general manager and then created all-sports radio station WNSA-FM in 2000) - John MurphyJohn Murphy (announcer)John Murphy is an American sportscaster from Buffalo, New York.Murphy is best known for his association with the Buffalo Bills, where he currently serves as the play-by-play announcer for the team's radio network...
– sports director (1989 – September 16, 2007); now at WIVB-TVWIVB-TVWIVB-TV, virtual channel 4, is the CBS-affiliated television station for Western New York that is licensed to Buffalo. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter on Center Street in Colden. Owned by the LIN TV Corporation, the station is sister to CW...
and the Buffalo Bills Radio NetworkBuffalo Bills Radio NetworkThe Buffalo Bills Radio Network is a broadcast radio network based in Buffalo, New York, the official radio broadcaster of the Buffalo Bills. The network's radio broadcasts are currently flagshipped at WGRF in Buffalo, New York, a station owned by Cumulus Media... - Danny NeaverthDanny NeaverthDan "Danny" Neaverth is an American disc jockey and television personality from Buffalo, New York. He is best known for a run of over 25 years as the morning disc jockey at heritage top-40 and oldies station WKBW-AM/WWKB in Buffalo....
– weather (1970s; better known as a disc jockey; now retired) - Dave Thomas (Dave Thomas Boreanaz)Dave Roberts (David Thomas Boreanaz)David Thomas Boreanaz is a retired American television broadcaster who broadcast under the stage names Dave Thomas in Buffalo, New York, and Dave Roberts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the main weatherman for WPVI-TV in Philadelphia from 1983 until his retirement in 2009...
– host of Dialing for Dollars/Rocketship 7 (1960s–1978; promoted to WPVI-TVWPVI-TVWPVI-TV, channel 6, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. WPVI has its studios located on the border between Philadelphia and Bala Cynwyd, and its transmitter is located in the...
under the alias "Dave Roberts"; father of actor David BoreanazDavid BoreanazDavid Boreanaz is an American actor, television producer, and director, known for his role as Angel on the supernatural drama series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, and as Special Agent Seeley Booth on the television crime drama Bones....
) - Clip SmithClip SmithWarren P. "Clip" Smith was a Buffalo, New York media personality and newsman. Smith was a sports reporter at WKBW-TV from 1971 until being fired in December 1988, and later returned to radio in Buffalo at WGR and WBEN as a conservative talk show host and commentator...
– sports/weather anchor (1971–1989; died in a car crash in August 2004) - Mark ThompsonMark Thompson (TV)Mark Thompson is a two-time Emmy award winner for writing, hosting and producing specials for the Fox Television stations.-Career as television host:...
– (now chief meteorologist at KTTVKTTVKTTV, channel 11, is an owned-and-operated television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, located in Los Angeles, California. Serving the vast Los Angeles metropolitan area, KTTV is a sister station to KCOP , Los Angeles' MyNetworkTV station...
in Los Angeles, and a FoxFox Broadcasting CompanyFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
announcer) - Mary Travers – "Action 7" consumer reporter (now known as "Mary Travers-Murphy" and is the town supervisor of Orchard ParkOrchard Park (town), New YorkOrchard Park is a town in Erie County, New York, a suburb southeast of Buffalo, New York. According to the 2010 census, the population is 29,054. This represents an increase of 5.13% from the 2000 census figure. The town contains a village also named Orchard Park. Orchard Park is one of the...
) - Irv WeinsteinIrv WeinsteinIrwin "Irv" Weinstein is a retired local television news anchor. He hosted WKBW-TV's Eyewitness News in Buffalo, New York, for 34 years, from 1964 to 1998, becoming an iconic broadcaster well known in both the Buffalo area and in Southern Ontario, which was within WKBW's broadcast area. Weinstein...
– reporter/anchor (1964–1998; retired)