WNAC-TV
Encyclopedia
WNAC-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station
for the state of Rhode Island
and Bristol County, Massachusetts
licensed
to Providence
. It broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on VHF channel 12 from a transmitter on Homestead Avenue in Rehoboth, Massachusetts
. Owned by Super Towers, the station is operated through a local marketing agreement
(LMA) by the LIN TV Corporation as sister to company flagship CBS
affiliate WPRI-TV
. Although the two share studios on Catamore Boulevard in East Providence
, master control and some traffic responsibilities are based in hub facilities at NBC
affiliate WWLP
in Chicopee, Massachusetts
. Syndicated
programming on WNAC includes: Seinfeld
, Family Guy
, TMZ on TV
, and Entertainment Tonight
.
affiliate on a second
digital subchannel known on-air as MyRITV. This can also be seen on Verizon FiOS
channel 14 (HD on digital channel 514), Full Channel digital channel 191, Comcast
digital channel 292 (HD on digital channel 820), and Cox
digital channel 811. Syndicated programming on WNAC-DT2 includes: My Name Is Earl
, Judge Hatchett
, and Family Feud
.
. It first signed-on August 29, 1953 with the calls WNET-TV as the second television station in Rhode Island. At that time, it was located on channel 16 and affiliated with ABC
. It also shared DuMont
programming with NBC
station WJAR-TV.
Conventional wisdom suggested that, as the second station in the area, WNET should have taken the CBS affiliation. However, WPRO-TV (now WPRI) had won a construction permit
just before WNET received its permit and had already been promised the CBS affiliation due to its radio sister
's long affiliation with CBS Radio
. WPRO-TV was originally supposed to sign-on in Spring 1953 from a transmitter in Rehoboth, Massachusetts
. However, town officials forced it to move its transmitter site to Johnston, Rhode Island
.
CBS refused to let WNET carry its programming in the meantime due to a weak signal, preferring to keep its secondary affiliation with WJAR. This did not change even after Hurricane Carol
destroyed WPRO-TV's transmitter just before it was due to sign-on. WNET struggled against dominant WJAR because television manufacturers were not required to include UHF tuning capability and viewers had to buy an expensive converter in order to receive WNET. Even then the picture quality was marginal at best. It did not help matters that Boston
's WBZ-TV
and WNAC-TV (now WHDH-TV
) both decently covered the Providence area.
When WPRO-TV finally signed-on in 1955 from a transmitter in Rehoboth, ABC allowed it to cherry-pick some of the network's most popular programming despite the fact that WNET was the ABC affiliate of record in the market
. This move by ABC proved fatal to WNET. Only months earlier, DuMont had announced it was all but getting out of network television. The station had been badly under-capitalized from the start, and required sustenance from the stronger network shows. With DuMont in its death throes and few choices for alternative programming available, WNET closed down almost unnoticed in 1956. The license remained active for 25 years largely because the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) was wary of deleting silent UHF stations.
In the 1960s, the FCC reassigned channels 14 through 20 for two-way radio
use and Providence's silent channel 16 license was moved to channel 64. However, it remained under the ownership "Channel 16 of Providence" for many years. The WNET
calls were picked up by a PBS
member station in Newark, New Jersey
in 1970. At some point between then and 1980, the dormant channel 64 changed its calls to WSTG-TV.
) and expanded to three and then four hours a day. Early in 1982, the station added more programming and expanded its operation to six hours a day. In Fall 1982, WSTG began signing-on at noon with religious shows, cartoons starting at 3, some low budget drama shows starting at 6, a prime time movie at 8, and more religious shows at 10 finally signing-off by 1 in the morning. Early in 1984, WSTG finally began full-time operations after "Channel 16 of Providence" finally sold the station.
It was the first general-entertainment Independent in Rhode Island. The station continued running older cartoons like Bugs Bunny
, Scooby Doo, The Flintstones
, and Tom and Jerry
among others during early mornings and late afternoons. Religious shows occupied late mornings. Older movies occupied prime time. Older sitcoms like Bewitched
, I Love Lucy
, The Andy Griffith Show
, Beverly Hillbillies, and I Dream of Jeannie
among others occupied midday hours and evenings. Although WSTG received modest ratings, financial problems led its owners to sell the station again two years later—this time to Sudbrink Broadcasting, who changed the calls to the current WNAC-TV. The WNAC calls had last been used in Boston on one of the stations that indirectly caused WNET's demise in 1956. That station is now NBC affiliate WHDH-TV.
On the last day before Sudbrink bought the station, it ran marathons of the shows not remaining on the station after closing. Under Sudbrink, WNAC dumped most of the older sitcoms and ran a number of cartoons as well as some more recent sitcoms, movies, and many drama shows. It became one of the charter affiliates of Fox on October 6, 1986 and was sold to Price Communications in 1987. It was then sold to Northstar Television in 1989. In the 1990s, WNAC began to add more talk and reality shows to its lineup. Northstar sold all three of its stations (WNAC, WZZM-TV
in Grand Rapids, Michigan
, and WAPT-TV in Jackson, Mississippi
) to Argyle Television in 1995.
In 1996, Argyle entered into a LMA with WPRI that was then owned by Clear Channel Communications
. Ironically, WPRI's sign-on had sealed WNET's fate forty years earlier. WNAC's facilities which were based at studios next to its transmitter in Rehoboth were merged into WPRI's studios in East Providence. The popular animated three dimensional "Fox 64" logo that was used from 1989-1995 was changed to a more generic "Fox 64" logo that was used from 1996-2002.
In 1998 after Argyle merged with Hearst Corporation
's broadcasting unit (creating Hearst-Argyle Television), it swapped WNAC along with WDTN
in Dayton, Ohio
to Sunrise Television in exchange for WPTZ
in Plattsburgh, New York, WNNE
in Hartford, Vermont
, and KSBW
in Salinas, California
. This was due to a significant signal overlap with WCVB-TV
, Boston's ABC affiliate. That station's city-grade signal reaches Providence, as is the case with most of Boston's major stations. At the time, the FCC normally did not allow common ownership of two stations with overlapping signals and would not even consider granting a waiver if the overlap was between city-grade signals. Sunrise bought WPRI from Clear Channel in 2000, then sold WNAC to LIN TV in early 2001 since FCC regulations do not allow common ownership of two of the four highest-rated stations in the same market.
However, LIN TV was forced to put WNAC back on the market almost as soon as it closed on the station's purchase due to the ownership structures of Sunrise and LIN TV. Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst (now HM Capital
), a private-equity firm co-founded by Texas Rangers
and Dallas Stars
owner Tom Hicks
, was and still is majority owner of LIN TV. At the same time, HMTF also controlled a large block of Sunrise stock. The FCC ruled that HMTF's stake in Sunrise was large enough that it could not own a station in markets where LIN TV owned a station as well.
It took LIN TV nearly a year to find a suitable buyer for WNAC. In April 2002, LIN TV sold this channel to Super Towers Inc., a broadcasting tower company, owned by Timothy Sheehan, a brother-in-law of former LIN TV Vice President Paul Karpowicz (now president of Meredith Corporation
's broadcasting unit). This sale allowed Sunrise and LIN TV to complete their merger the following month. WNAC's LMA with WPRI continues to this day with Super Towers doing business as
"WNAC, LLC".
On January 24, 2006, The WB and UPN
announced that the networks would cease broadcasting and merge into a new service called The CW. In response, News Corporation
announced on February 22 that it would start up another new network called MyNetworkTV
in order to give UPN and WB stations not joining The CW another option besides becoming Independent. It was a given that primary UPN and secondary WB affiliate WLWC
would become Rhode Island's CW station based on its ownership by CBS. The MyNetworkTV affiliation in Rhode Island then went to WNAC which initially carried the network as a secondary affiliation. The network began broadcasting on September 5 while WLWC joined The CW on September 18. Until October 1, 2009, WNAC delayed MyNetworkTV's prime time programming until 11:30 on weeknights and 12:30 in the morning on Sundays for Saturday programming.
On that date, the station moved the MyNetworkTV affiliation to its second digital subchannel WNAC-DT2 originally aired a 24-hour local weather channel known as the "Eyewitness News
Pinpoint Weather Station". This became offered exclusively on Cox
digital channel 125 in 2007 when new FCC regulations for educational programing and emergency broadcasts forced WNAC to make the weather channel cable-only. WNAC-DT2 then switched to a live feed of WPRI's weather radar
before being changed to MyNetworkTV. Overnight on weekends when the main channel of WNAC signs-off, it simulcasts the 24-hour weather channel.
On May 18, 2007, LIN TV announced that it was exploring strategic alternatives that could have resulted in the sale of the company. On October 12, WNAC invoked the FCC’s network non-duplication rule resulting in Comcast, blacking out Fox prime time and sports programming from Fox owned-and-operated
WFXT
in Boston on its cable systems in New Bedford
and Bristol County, Massachusetts
. This change did not affect the airing of that station's syndicated lineup or local newscasts. Although the analog television shutdown
originally scheduled for February 17, 2009 was postponed to June 12, WNAC received FCC consent to transition on February 17 as did WPRI. This allowed that station's former analog signal on VHF channel 12 to begin operation as WNAC's new digital facility.
During the transition period, WPRI had been operating at half power to allow half of its transmitter to be converted for WNAC's digital operation. On June 29, 2009, the station became the new home of CBS Television Distribution
's syndicated shows including: Dr. Phil
, Entertainment Tonight
, and Inside Edition
as a result of the distributor and ABC affiliate WLNE-TV
's dispute over non-payment and breach of contract. WNAC is also considered an alternate CBS affiliate airing that network's programs when WPRI is unable to because of breaking news or local special.
In 1996, WPRI began producing the market's first nightly prime time newscast at 10 on WNAC called Eyewitness News First on Fox Providence. This was joined in April 1997 by a WJAR-produced show seen weeknights on WLWC entitled TV 28 News at 10. However, that was dropped in September when the WJAR LMA with WLWC ended. In 2004, an hour-long extension of WPRI's weekday morning show was added to WNAC at 7 branded as Eyewitness News This Morning on Fox Providence. Although it was eventually canceled, the 10 o'clock broadcasts remained.
On October 1, 2007, WJAR began airing 10 at 10 on its NBC Weather Plus
second digital subchannel
. This was a live ten minute update consisting of the top stories of the day along with a current weather forecast. When WJAR-DT2 switched to the Retro Television Network
(RTV), the show expanded to a half-hour format and renamed 10 at 10 on RTV. A third prime time newscast at 10 aired on WLNE's Cox-exclusive News Channel 5 from October 22, 2008 until March 2011. However, it was only occasionally shown, primarily when Fox Sports
programming pre-empted the prime time broadcast on WNAC.
This channel and WPRI received an on-air overhaul introducing a new news set and updated graphics on March 17, 2008. On February 18, 2009, WNAC launched a lifestyle and entertainment magazine-type program called The Rhode Show that airs weekday mornings at 8 for an hour. A new secondary set for the show was built with a fully functional kitchen. The debut followed the addition of Eyewitness News This Morning on Fox Providence for a second time.
Personnel for The Rhode Show include the weekday morning news anchors and a third host found every year through open audition. In 2009, Boston-area radio deejay Shawn Tempesta won the open audition out of over 140 people. In 2010, Cranston
comedian Ben Hague beat out over 100 other hopefuls. Bridgewater State College
graduate Michaela Johnson of East Providence
won the honor in 2011. During the week, Eyewitness News This Morning and The Rhode Show are streamed live on WNAC's website. The main channel re-airs The Rhode Show weekday afternoons at 1 with WNAC-DT2
doing the same at 4.
On September 20, 2011, WPRI and WNAC became the last two stations in Rhode Island to begin broadcasting their newscasts in high definition
. Set reconfiguration began on July 22, 2011 and lasted nearly two months. Newscasts in the interim aired from The Rhode Show studio. WJAR was the first in Rhode Island to have made the upgrade, on May 16, 2011, followed by WLNE on September 13, 2011.
Live Pinpoint Doppler 12 Meteorologists
Sports
Reporters
Contributors
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 the state of Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
and Bristol County, Massachusetts
Bristol County, Massachusetts
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 534,678 people, 205,411 households, and 140,706 families residing in the county. The population density was 962 people per square mile . There were 216,918 housing units at an average density of 390 per square mile...
licensed
City of license
A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator....
to Providence
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
. 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 VHF channel 12 from a transmitter on Homestead Avenue in Rehoboth, Massachusetts
Rehoboth, Massachusetts
Rehoboth is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 10,172 at the 2000 census.-History:It was incorporated in 1643 making it one of the earliest Massachusetts towns to be incorporated. The Rehoboth Carpenter Family is among the founding families...
. Owned by Super Towers, the station is operated through 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) by the LIN TV Corporation as sister to company flagship 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 WPRI-TV
WPRI-TV
WPRI-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for the state of Rhode Island and Bristol County, Massachusetts that is licensed to Providence. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 13 from a transmitter on Homestead Avenue in Rehoboth, Massachusetts...
. Although the two share studios on Catamore Boulevard in East Providence
East Providence, Rhode Island
East Providence is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 47,037 at the 2010 census, making it the fifth largest city in the state.-Geography:East Providence is located at ....
, master control and some traffic responsibilities are based in hub facilities at 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...
affiliate WWLP
WWLP
WWLP is the NBC-affiliated television station for the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts that is licensed to Springfield. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 11 from a transmitter on Provin Mountain in the Feeding Hills section of Agawam. The station can also be seen...
in Chicopee, Massachusetts
Chicopee, Massachusetts
Chicopee is a city located on the Connecticut River in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States of America. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 55,298, making it the second largest city in...
. 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 WNAC includes: Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
, Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
, TMZ on TV
TMZ on TV
TMZ on TV, or simply TMZ and TMZTV, is an American syndicated entertainment and gossip news television show that premiered on September 10, 2007. The program is generally aired on Fox, The CW and MyNetworkTV affiliates, though a majority of the stations that carry the series are Fox affiliates...
, and Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
.
Digital programming
It operates the area's MyNetworkTVMyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
affiliate on a second
WNAC-DT2
WNAC-DT2 is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for the state of Rhode Island and Bristol County, Massachusetts. The station is a second digital subchannel of Fox affiliate WNAC-TV that is owned by Super Towers and operated through a local marketing agreement by the LIN TV Corporation...
digital subchannel known on-air as MyRITV. This can also be seen on Verizon FiOS
Verizon FiOS
Verizon FiOS is a bundled Internet access, telephone, and television service which operates over a fiber-optic communications network. It is offered in some areas of the United States by Verizon Communications. Verizon was one of the first major U.S...
channel 14 (HD on digital channel 514), Full Channel digital channel 191, Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
digital channel 292 (HD on digital channel 820), and 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...
digital channel 811. Syndicated programming on WNAC-DT2 includes: My Name Is Earl
My Name Is Earl
My Name Is Earl is an American television comedy series created by Greg Garcia that was originally broadcast on the NBC television network from September 20, 2005, to May 14, 2009, in the United States...
, Judge Hatchett
Judge Hatchett
Judge Hatchett is a nationally-syndicated American television program produced and distributed by Sony Pictures Television. It starred The Honorable Glenda Hatchett and was modeled after other "court shows" such as Judge Judy and the long running The People's Court, as well as containing elements...
, and Family Feud
Family Feud
Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Two families compete against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people...
.
| Channel | Name | Programming |
|---|---|---|
| 64.1 | WNAC-HD | Main WNAC Programming / FOX |
| 64.2 | MyRITV | Main WNAC-DT2 Programming / MyTV |
As WNET
Although WNAC's current incarnation dates to September 5, 1981, its analog license was one of the oldest active UHF licenses in New EnglandNew England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. It first signed-on August 29, 1953 with the calls WNET-TV as the second television station in Rhode Island. At that time, it was located on channel 16 and affiliated with 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...
. It also shared DuMont
DuMont Television Network
The DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or Dumont was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946. It was owned by DuMont...
programming with 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...
station WJAR-TV.
Conventional wisdom suggested that, as the second station in the area, WNET should have taken the CBS affiliation. However, WPRO-TV (now WPRI) had won a construction permit
Construction permit
A construction permit or building permit is a permit required in most jurisdictions for new construction, or adding on to pre-existing structures, and in some cases for major renovations. Generally, the new construction must be inspected during construction and after completion to ensure compliance...
just before WNET received its permit and had already been promised the CBS affiliation due to its radio sister
WPRO (AM)
WPRO is a radio station located in Providence, Rhode Island. The station is owned by Cumulus Media, and airs a talk format. WPRO's studio and transmitter are located in East Providence, at the Salty Brine Broadcast Center, named after WPRO's longtime morning host...
's long affiliation with CBS Radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
. WPRO-TV was originally supposed to sign-on in Spring 1953 from a transmitter in Rehoboth, Massachusetts
Rehoboth, Massachusetts
Rehoboth is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 10,172 at the 2000 census.-History:It was incorporated in 1643 making it one of the earliest Massachusetts towns to be incorporated. The Rehoboth Carpenter Family is among the founding families...
. However, town officials forced it to move its transmitter site to Johnston, Rhode Island
Johnston, Rhode Island
Johnston is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 28,769 at the 2010 census. Johnston is the site of the Clemence Irons House a stone-ender museum and the only landfill in Rhode Island...
.
CBS refused to let WNET carry its programming in the meantime due to a weak signal, preferring to keep its secondary affiliation with WJAR. This did not change even after Hurricane Carol
Hurricane Carol
Hurricane Carol was among the worst tropical cyclones to affect the New England region of the United States. It developed from a tropical wave near the Bahamas on August 25, 1954, and gradually strengthened as it moved northwestward. On August 27, Carol intensified to reach winds of , but weakened...
destroyed WPRO-TV's transmitter just before it was due to sign-on. WNET struggled against dominant WJAR because television manufacturers were not required to include UHF tuning capability and viewers had to buy an expensive converter in order to receive WNET. Even then the picture quality was marginal at best. It did not help matters that Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
's WBZ-TV
WBZ-TV
WBZ-TV, virtual channel 4, is a CBS owned-and-operated television station, located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WBZ-TV's studios and office facilities, shared with sister station WSBK-TV , are located in the Allston-Brighton section of Boston, and its transmitter is located in Needham,...
and WNAC-TV (now WHDH-TV
WHDH-TV
WHDH, digital channel 42 , is an NBC-affiliated television station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest NBC station not owned by the network. Owned by Sunbeam Television, WHDH is a sister station to CW affiliate WLVI...
) both decently covered the Providence area.
When WPRO-TV finally signed-on in 1955 from a transmitter in Rehoboth, ABC allowed it to cherry-pick some of the network's most popular programming despite the fact that WNET was the ABC affiliate of record in the 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...
. This move by ABC proved fatal to WNET. Only months earlier, DuMont had announced it was all but getting out of network television. The station had been badly under-capitalized from the start, and required sustenance from the stronger network shows. With DuMont in its death throes and few choices for alternative programming available, WNET closed down almost unnoticed in 1956. The license remained active for 25 years largely because 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) was wary of deleting silent UHF stations.
In the 1960s, the FCC reassigned channels 14 through 20 for two-way radio
Two-way radio
A two-way radio is a radio that can both transmit and receive , unlike a broadcast receiver which only receives content. The term refers to a personal radio transceiver that allows the operator to have a two-way conversation with other similar radios operating on the same radio frequency...
use and Providence's silent channel 16 license was moved to channel 64. However, it remained under the ownership "Channel 16 of Providence" for many years. The WNET
WNET
WNET, channel 13 is a non-commercial educational public television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey. With its signal covering the New York metropolitan area, WNET is a primary station of the Public Broadcasting Service and a primary provider of PBS programming...
calls were picked up by a PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
member station in Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
in 1970. At some point between then and 1980, the dormant channel 64 changed its calls to WSTG-TV.
As WSTG/WNAC
WSTG returned to the air on September 5, 1981. For a while, it ran old movies and cartoons to fill its limited broadcast time (about two hours a day, the minimum required to cover the license). Later that year, it added several other religious shows (like The 700 ClubThe 700 Club
The 700 Club is the flagship news talk show of the Christian Broadcasting Network, airing in syndication throughout the United States and Canada. In production since 1966, it is currently hosted by Pat Robertson, Terry Meeuwsen, Kristi Watts, and Gordon P. Robertson, two of whom will host on any...
) and expanded to three and then four hours a day. Early in 1982, the station added more programming and expanded its operation to six hours a day. In Fall 1982, WSTG began signing-on at noon with religious shows, cartoons starting at 3, some low budget drama shows starting at 6, a prime time movie at 8, and more religious shows at 10 finally signing-off by 1 in the morning. Early in 1984, WSTG finally began full-time operations after "Channel 16 of Providence" finally sold the station.
It was the first general-entertainment Independent in Rhode Island. The station continued running older cartoons like Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
, Scooby Doo, The Flintstones
The Flintstones
The Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American television sitcom that screened from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones was about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next-door neighbor and best friend. It...
, and Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...
among others during early mornings and late afternoons. Religious shows occupied late mornings. Older movies occupied prime time. Older sitcoms like Bewitched
Bewitched
Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
, I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
, The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
, Beverly Hillbillies, and I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie is a 1960s American sitcom with a fantasy premise. The show starred Barbara Eden as a 2,000-year-old genie, and Larry Hagman as an astronaut who becomes her master, with whom she falls in love and eventually marries...
among others occupied midday hours and evenings. Although WSTG received modest ratings, financial problems led its owners to sell the station again two years later—this time to Sudbrink Broadcasting, who changed the calls to the current WNAC-TV. The WNAC calls had last been used in Boston on one of the stations that indirectly caused WNET's demise in 1956. That station is now NBC affiliate WHDH-TV.
On the last day before Sudbrink bought the station, it ran marathons of the shows not remaining on the station after closing. Under Sudbrink, WNAC dumped most of the older sitcoms and ran a number of cartoons as well as some more recent sitcoms, movies, and many drama shows. It became one of the charter affiliates of Fox on October 6, 1986 and was sold to Price Communications in 1987. It was then sold to Northstar Television in 1989. In the 1990s, WNAC began to add more talk and reality shows to its lineup. Northstar sold all three of its stations (WNAC, WZZM-TV
WZZM-TV
WZZM channel 13 is the Western Michigan affiliate television station for the American Broadcasting Company. It's based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, broadcasting at 16.5 kilowatts of power from a tower located in Newaygo County, near Grant...
in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
, and WAPT-TV in Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
) to Argyle Television in 1995.
In 1996, Argyle entered into a LMA with WPRI that was then owned by Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
. Ironically, WPRI's sign-on had sealed WNET's fate forty years earlier. WNAC's facilities which were based at studios next to its transmitter in Rehoboth were merged into WPRI's studios in East Providence. The popular animated three dimensional "Fox 64" logo that was used from 1989-1995 was changed to a more generic "Fox 64" logo that was used from 1996-2002.
In 1998 after Argyle merged with Hearst Corporation
Hearst Corporation
The Hearst Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in the Hearst Tower, Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. Founded by William Randolph Hearst as an owner of newspapers, the company's holdings now include a wide variety of media...
's broadcasting unit (creating Hearst-Argyle Television), it swapped WNAC along with WDTN
WDTN
WDTN, virtual channel 2, is the NBC-affiliated television station for Ohio's Miami Valley. Licensed to Dayton, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 50 from a transmitter in the Frytown section of the city. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 2 and in...
in Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
to Sunrise Television in exchange for WPTZ
WPTZ
WPTZ, virtual channel 5, is an NBC-affiliated television station located in Plattsburgh, New York, USA. WPTZ is owned by Hearst Television, and has its studios in Plattsburgh and transmitter located on Mount Mansfield in Vermont....
in Plattsburgh, New York, WNNE
WNNE
WNNE is the NBC-affiliated television station for the Connecticut River Valley area of eastern Vermont and western New Hampshire that is licensed to Hartford, Vermont. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 25 from a transmitter on Mount Ascutney in Windsor County, Vermont...
in Hartford, Vermont
Hartford, Vermont
Hartford is a town in Windsor County in the U.S. state of Vermont. It is located on the New Hampshire border, at the intersection of Interstates 89 and 91. It is the site of the confluence of the White River and the Connecticut River; the Ottauquechee River also flows through the town...
, and KSBW
KSBW
KSBW is a television station in the United States and is the primary NBC affiliate for the Monterey-Salinas-Santa Cruz, California market. The station is owned by Hearst Television. KSBW has its studios on John Street in downtown Salinas, which is mentioned occasionally during commercial breaks...
in Salinas, California
Salinas, California
Salinas is the county seat and the largest municipality of Monterey County, California. Salinas is located east-southeast of the mouth of the Salinas River, at an elevation of about 52 feet above sea level. The population was 150,441 at the 2010 census...
. This was due to a significant signal overlap with WCVB-TV
WCVB-TV
WCVB-TV, channel 5, is a television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, owned by Hearst Television and affiliated with the ABC Television Network. WCVB-TV's studios and transmitter are co-located in Needham, Massachusetts. WCVB is also one of six Boston television stations seen in Canada by...
, Boston's ABC affiliate. That station's city-grade signal reaches Providence, as is the case with most of Boston's major stations. At the time, the FCC normally did not allow common ownership of two stations with overlapping signals and would not even consider granting a waiver if the overlap was between city-grade signals. Sunrise bought WPRI from Clear Channel in 2000, then sold WNAC to LIN TV in early 2001 since FCC regulations do not allow common ownership of two of the four highest-rated stations in the same market.
However, LIN TV was forced to put WNAC back on the market almost as soon as it closed on the station's purchase due to the ownership structures of Sunrise and LIN TV. Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst (now HM Capital
HM Capital
HM Capital Partners is a private equity firm in the United States that specializes in leveraged buyouts. The firm, previously known as Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst, was one of the largest financial sponsors of the 1990s. The firm was founded in 1989 by Tom Hicks and John Muse as Hicks, Muse & Co...
), a private-equity firm co-founded by Texas Rangers
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
and Dallas Stars
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The team was founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minnesota North Stars, based in Bloomington, Minnesota. The...
owner Tom Hicks
Tom Hicks
Thomas Ollis Hicks, Sr. , is an American 'leveraged buyout' businessman living in Dallas, Texas. Despite Forbes Magazine estimating Hicks' wealth at USD 1 billion in 2009, Hicks was unable to pay off joint loans of circa £200 million the following year...
, was and still is majority owner of LIN TV. At the same time, HMTF also controlled a large block of Sunrise stock. The FCC ruled that HMTF's stake in Sunrise was large enough that it could not own a station in markets where LIN TV owned a station as well.
It took LIN TV nearly a year to find a suitable buyer for WNAC. In April 2002, LIN TV sold this channel to Super Towers Inc., a broadcasting tower company, owned by Timothy Sheehan, a brother-in-law of former LIN TV Vice President Paul Karpowicz (now president of Meredith Corporation
Meredith Corporation
The Meredith Corporation is a media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The company has two divisions, National Media and Local Media.-History:...
's broadcasting unit). This sale allowed Sunrise and LIN TV to complete their merger the following month. WNAC's LMA with WPRI continues to this day with Super Towers doing business as
Doing business as
The phrase "doing business as" is a legal term used in the United States, meaning that the trade name, or fictitious business name, under which the business or operation is conducted and presented to the world is not the legal name of the legal person who actually own it and are responsible for it...
"WNAC, LLC".
On January 24, 2006, The WB and UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
announced that the networks would cease broadcasting and merge into a new service called The CW. In response, News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
announced on February 22 that it would start up another new network called MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
in order to give UPN and WB stations not joining The CW another option besides becoming Independent. It was a given that primary UPN and secondary WB affiliate WLWC
WLWC
WLWC is the CW-affiliated television station licensed to New Bedford but which operates out of Providence and acts largely as a Rhode Island station despite its licensing. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 22 from a transmitter in the Ashley Heights section of East...
would become Rhode Island's CW station based on its ownership by CBS. The MyNetworkTV affiliation in Rhode Island then went to WNAC which initially carried the network as a secondary affiliation. The network began broadcasting on September 5 while WLWC joined The CW on September 18. Until October 1, 2009, WNAC delayed MyNetworkTV's prime time programming until 11:30 on weeknights and 12:30 in the morning on Sundays for Saturday programming.
On that date, the station moved the MyNetworkTV affiliation to its second digital subchannel WNAC-DT2 originally aired a 24-hour local weather channel known as the "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...
Pinpoint Weather Station". This became offered exclusively on 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...
digital channel 125 in 2007 when new FCC regulations for educational programing and emergency broadcasts forced WNAC to make the weather channel cable-only. WNAC-DT2 then switched to a live feed of WPRI's 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...
before being changed to MyNetworkTV. Overnight on weekends when the main channel of WNAC signs-off, it simulcasts the 24-hour weather channel.
On May 18, 2007, LIN TV announced that it was exploring strategic alternatives that could have resulted in the sale of the company. On October 12, WNAC invoked the FCC’s network non-duplication rule resulting in Comcast, blacking out Fox prime time and sports programming from Fox owned-and-operated
Owned-and-operated station
In the broadcasting industry , an owned-and-operated station usually refers to a television station or radio station that is owned by the network with which it is associated...
WFXT
WFXT
WFXT is a television station owned and operated by the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, located in Boston, Massachusetts. The station's studio and office facility is in Dedham, Massachusetts, and its transmitter is located in Needham, Massachusetts...
in Boston on its cable systems in New Bedford
New Bedford
-Places:*New Bedford, Illinois*New Bedford, Massachusetts, the most populous New Bedford**New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park*New Bedford, New Jersey *New Bedford, Ohio*New Bedford, Pennsylvania...
and Bristol County, Massachusetts
Bristol County, Massachusetts
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 534,678 people, 205,411 households, and 140,706 families residing in the county. The population density was 962 people per square mile . There were 216,918 housing units at an average density of 390 per square mile...
. This change did not affect the airing of that station's syndicated lineup or local newscasts. Although the analog television shutdown
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...
originally scheduled for February 17, 2009 was postponed to June 12, WNAC received FCC consent to transition on February 17 as did WPRI. This allowed that station's former analog signal on VHF channel 12 to begin operation as WNAC's new digital facility.
During the transition period, WPRI had been operating at half power to allow half of its transmitter to be converted for WNAC's digital operation. On June 29, 2009, the station became the new home of CBS Television Distribution
CBS Television Distribution
CBS Television Distribution is a global television distribution company, formed from the merger of CBS Corporation's two domestic television distribution arms CBS Paramount Domestic Television and King World Productions, including its home entertainment arm CBS Home Entertainment...
's syndicated shows including: Dr. Phil
Dr. Phil (TV series)
Dr. Phil is a reality/talk television show hosted by Phil McGraw. After McGraw's success with his segments on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Phil debuted on September 16, 2002...
, Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
, and Inside Edition
Inside Edition
Inside Edition is a thirty-minute American television syndicated news program, first aired on CBS on October 9, 1988. It was originally similar to the programs Hard Copy and A Current Affair, but now more closely resembles a condensed version of breakfast television, exclusively with pre-recorded...
as a result of the distributor and ABC affiliate WLNE-TV
WLNE-TV
WLNE-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for Rhode Island and the South Coast of Massachusetts. It is licensed to New Bedford, Massachusetts, but is headquartered in and operates from studios at 10 Orms Street in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It is one of two major Rhode Island...
's dispute over non-payment and breach of contract. WNAC is also considered an alternate CBS affiliate airing that network's programs when WPRI is unable to because of breaking news or local special.
News operation
On October 1, 2007, WJAR began airing 10 at 10 on its NBC Weather Plus
NBC Weather Plus
NBC Weather Plus was a 24-hour, commercially sponsored, weather-oriented broadcast/cable television network jointly owned by NBC Universal and the local affiliates of the NBC network. It debuted on November 15, 2004 and shut down on December 31, 2008...
second digital subchannel
Digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
. This was a live ten minute update consisting of the top stories of the day along with a current weather forecast. When WJAR-DT2 switched to the 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...
(RTV), the show expanded to a half-hour format and renamed 10 at 10 on RTV. A third prime time newscast at 10 aired on WLNE's Cox-exclusive News Channel 5 from October 22, 2008 until March 2011. However, it was only occasionally shown, primarily when Fox Sports
Fox Sports (USA)
Fox Sports is a division of the Fox Broadcasting Company . It was formed in 1994 with Fox's acquisition of broadcast rights to National Football League games...
programming pre-empted the prime time broadcast on WNAC.
This channel and WPRI received an on-air overhaul introducing a new news set and updated graphics on March 17, 2008. On February 18, 2009, WNAC launched a lifestyle and entertainment magazine-type program called The Rhode Show that airs weekday mornings at 8 for an hour. A new secondary set for the show was built with a fully functional kitchen. The debut followed the addition of Eyewitness News This Morning on Fox Providence for a second time.
Personnel for The Rhode Show include the weekday morning news anchors and a third host found every year through open audition. In 2009, Boston-area radio deejay Shawn Tempesta won the open audition out of over 140 people. In 2010, Cranston
Cranston, Rhode Island
Cranston, once known as Pawtuxet, is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. With a population of 80,387 at the 2010 census, it is the third largest city in the state. The center of population of Rhode Island is located in Cranston...
comedian Ben Hague beat out over 100 other hopefuls. Bridgewater State College
Bridgewater State College
Bridgewater State University is a public liberal-arts college in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is the largest college in the Massachusetts state university system outside of the University of Massachusetts system. The school's mascot is the bear.-History:BSU was founded by...
graduate Michaela Johnson of East Providence
East Providence, Rhode Island
East Providence is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 47,037 at the 2010 census, making it the fifth largest city in the state.-Geography:East Providence is located at ....
won the honor in 2011. During the week, Eyewitness News This Morning and The Rhode Show are streamed live on WNAC's website. The main channel re-airs The Rhode Show weekday afternoons at 1 with WNAC-DT2
WNAC-DT2
WNAC-DT2 is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for the state of Rhode Island and Bristol County, Massachusetts. The station is a second digital subchannel of Fox affiliate WNAC-TV that is owned by Super Towers and operated through a local marketing agreement by the LIN TV Corporation...
doing the same at 4.
On September 20, 2011, WPRI and WNAC became the last two stations in Rhode Island to begin broadcasting their newscasts in 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...
. Set reconfiguration began on July 22, 2011 and lasted nearly two months. Newscasts in the interim aired from The Rhode Show studio. WJAR was the first in Rhode Island to have made the upgrade, on May 16, 2011, followed by WLNE on September 13, 2011.
News team
Anchors- Patrick Little - weekday mornings and The Rhode Show host
- Danielle North - weekday mornings and The Rhode Show host
- Mike Montecalvo - weeknights
- Erin Kennedy - weeknights
- Nneka Nwosu - weekends and video journalist
Live Pinpoint Doppler 12 Meteorologists
- Tony Petrarca (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...
Seal of Approval) - Chief seen weeknights - Michelle MuscatelloMichelle MuscatelloMichelle Muscatello is an American weather reporter, who joined WPRI-TV in September 2004. She appears each weekday morning for Eyewitness News This Morning and at noon on Eyewitness News at noon....
- weekday mornings and seen on The Rhode Show - T.J. Del Santo - weekends and "Green Team" segment producer
- Pete Mangione - fill-in (also weekend mornings on WPRI-TV)
Sports
- Eric Murphy - Director seen weeknights
- Sara Hogan - weekends and reporter
- J.P. Smollins - reporter and photographer
Reporters
- Tim White - investigative and Newsmakers host
- Sean Daly - investigative and general assignment
- Susan Hogan - "Call 12 for Action" reporter
- Walt Buteau - "Street Stories" segment producer and general assignment
- Marilyn Schairer - general assignment
- Stephen Schuler - general assignment
- Julie Ruditzky - general assignment
- Kathryn Sotnik - weekend morning anchor (on WPRI) and general assignment
- Alex DiPrato - general assignment
- Steve Neilsen - general assignment
- Nicole Estaphan -weekday morning general assignment
Contributors
- Courtney Caligiuri - website producer and seen on The Rhode Show
- Melissa Sardelli - website producer and seen on The Rhode Show
- Lt. Gen. Reginald Centracchio (Ret.) - political/military analyst
- Bob Hannah - weekday morning traffic
- Joe Fleming - political analyst
- Ted Nesi - website producer and "Newsmakers" fill-in