WOLF-TV
Encyclopedia
WOLF-TV is the Fox
-affiliated television station
for Northeastern Pennsylvania
that is licensed to Hazleton
. It broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on UHF channel 45 from a transmitter at the Penobscot Knob
antenna farm near Mountain Top. Owned by New Age Media, the station is sister to CW affiliate WSWB
and MyNetworkTV
affiliate WQMY
. All three share studios on PA 315
in the Fox Hill section of Plains Township
. Syndicated
programming on WOLF-TV includes: The Big Bang Theory
, Two and a Half Men
, The Office, and Everybody Loves Raymond
. The station airs a few original programs such as The Fox 56 High School Sports Show, The Great Outdoors, and The Pulse.
area so it is also offered on WOLF-DT2. WQMY cannot be received over-the-air in the Scranton
and Wilkes-Barre areas due to its transmitter being in Williamsport
so it can be seen on WOLF-DT3.
in the country. This area is very mountainous making UHF reception difficult. However, the station is in a unique situation since Scranton and Wilkes-Barre is a "UHF Island". As a result, it operates an analog Class A
translator to repeat its signal. W24DB on UHF channel 24 has a transmitter northwest of Scranton and I-476
in Lackawanna County
. NextEra Energy Resources
operates a digital replacement translator on UHF channel 47 in Waymart, PA. This channel exists because windmills run by NextEra Energy Resources
at the Waymart Wind Farm
interfere with the transmission of full-power television signals.
(FCC) granted an original construction permit for Hazleton's first full-service television station on September 30, 1982. The new station, given the call letters WERF, was owned by James Oyster and was to broadcast from a tower south of the city. At that location, the station could serve its city of license
but not the main cities in the market, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. In April 1983, WERF applied to move its transmitter to the Penobscot Knob antenna farm near Mountaintop where WNEP-TV
, WDAU-TV (now WYOU
), WBRE-TV
, and WVIA-TV
also had their transmitters. The application was denied, however.
Oyster changed the station's call letters to WWLF-TV on July 25, 1984 then sold the construction permit to Hazleton TV Associates on December 13. Two months later on February 20, 1985, the station was sold again this time to Scranton TV Partners who completed construction of the station and brought it on-air on June 6. WWLF was a satellite of co-owned WOLF-TV in Scranton which was then on UHF channel 38 and was an independent station. That station had just began broadcasting itself on June 3. WWLF, as a satellite of WOLF-TV, was independent for a little more than a year. On October 9, 1986, it became a charter affiliate of Fox. In 1988, WWLF moved to a new transmitter on Nescopeck Mountain near the junction of I-80
and PA 93
but remained a satellite of WOLF-TV.
On April 27, 1993, WWLF was sold to Pegasus Television and the new owners were able to accomplish something that the station's original owner could not: get permission to move the transmitter to the antenna farm at Penobscot Knob. The completion of the new transmitter ushered in a new era for WWLF. On November 1, 1998, Pegasus moved the WOLF-TV call letters and the Fox affiliation to channel 56. It changed the call letters of channel 38 to WSWB and made that station an affiliate of The WB
. That station's owners had sought for many years to move either the channel 38 or channel 56 transmitters to Penobscot Knob. On January 4, 2007, WOLF-TV along with most of the Pegasus stations, was sold to investment group CP Media, LLC with the sale consummated on March 31.
For the first time in its history, the station was no longer co-owned with WSWB. However, the new owners of that station signed a local marketing agreement
(LMA) with CP Media meaning that the stations continue to be commonly operated. Eventually, CP Media formed a new broadcasting group, New Age Media. More recently, WOLF-TV launched a new website using the Fox Owned-and-operated station
platform licensed from Fox Television Stations' interactive division; this lasted until some time in 2010 or 2011 when WorldNow took over the operation of the WOLF-TV web site. On January 19, 2009, it ceased analog operation on channel 56.
affiliate WNEP-TV
(then owned by The New York Times Company
) in 1991. This resulted in one of the nation's first prime time newscast to debut known as Newswatch 16 at 10 on Fox 38. The show originated from WNEP's facility on Montage Mountain Road in Moosic
. When the Fox affiliation moved to this station in 1998, the newscasts did as well. The broadcasts became known as Fox 56 News at 10 with a secondary title of Newswatch 16 at 10 on Fox 56.
In November 2009, it was announced WNEP would move its production of the news at 10 to a second digital subchannel called "WNEP 2" which had recently gained Retro Television Network
(RTV) affiliation. That happened December 31 of that year after which WOLF-TV and NBC
affiliate WBRE-TV
(owned by the Nexstar Broadcasting Group
) entered into a new outsourcing agreement. After taking over production of nightly prime time newscasts on WOLF-TV starting New Year's Day
2010, WBRE expanded the show to an hour each night and changed the title to Fox 56 News First at 10.
It now originates from a secondary set at WBRE's studios on South Franklin Street in Downtown Wilkes-Barre (which was previously used to produce separate newscasts on CBS affiliate WYOU
). As was the case with the WNEP-produced broadcasts, if there are network obligations or overruns of Fox programming that prevent WOLF-TV from showing the current program it is aired on WSWB instead. Its website posts video of the first segment of Fox 56 News First at 10 and the weather forecast segment.
Anchors
Reporters
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox 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...
-affiliated television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
for Northeastern Pennsylvania
Northeastern Pennsylvania
Northeastern Pennsylvania is a geographic region of Pennsylvania that includes the Pocono Mountains, the Endless Mountains and the industrial cities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, Hazleton and Carbondale....
that is licensed to Hazleton
Hazleton, Pennsylvania
Hazleton is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 25,340 at the 2010 census, an increase of 8.6% from the 2000 census count .-Greater Hazleton:...
. It broadcasts a high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
digital signal on UHF channel 45 from a transmitter at the Penobscot Knob
Penobscot Knob
Penobscot Knob, also Penobscot Mountain, is a hill located near Mountain Top, Pennsylvania and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, that is best known as the site of many local television and radio station transmitters...
antenna farm near Mountain Top. Owned by New Age Media, the station is sister to CW affiliate WSWB
WSWB
WSWB is the CW-affiliated television station for Northeastern Pennsylvania licensed to Scranton. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 31 from a transmitter northwest of Scranton and I-476. The station can also be seen on Comcast channel 7 and Service Electric channel 11...
and MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
affiliate WQMY
WQMY
WQMY is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for Northeastern Pennsylvania that is licensed to Williamsport. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 29 from a transmitter on top of Bald Eagle Mountain south of the city. The station can also be seen on Service Electric...
. All three share studios on PA 315
Pennsylvania Route 315
Pennsylvania Route 315 is an long state highway located in Luzerne County in Pennsylvania. The southern terminus is at PA 309 in Wilkes-Barre...
in the Fox Hill section of Plains Township
Plains Township, Pennsylvania
Plains Township is a township in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania in the greater metropolitan area of the city of Wilkes-Barre. The population was 10,906 at the 2000 census. Plains Township is the location of Pennsylvania's first casino, Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs...
. 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 WOLF-TV includes: The Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang Theory is an American sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom serve as executive producers on the show, along with Steven Molaro. All three also serve as head writers...
, Two and a Half Men
Two and a Half Men
Two and a Half Men is an American television sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2003. Starring Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones, the show was originally about a hedonistic jingle writer, Charlie Harper; his uptight brother, Alan; and Alan's growing son, Jake...
, The Office, and Everybody Loves Raymond
Everybody Loves Raymond
Everybody Loves Raymond is an American television sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005. Many of the situations from the show are based on the real-life experiences of lead actor Ray Romano, creator/producer Phil Rosenthal and the show's writing staff...
. The station airs a few original programs such as The Fox 56 High School Sports Show, The Great Outdoors, and The Pulse.
Digital programming
Its signal is multiplexed. Although WSWB operates its own signal, it cannot be received in the Wilkes-BarreWilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the county seat of Luzerne County. It is at the center of the Wyoming Valley area and is one of the principal cities in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, which had a population of 563,631 as of the 2010 Census...
area so it is also offered on WOLF-DT2. WQMY cannot be received over-the-air in the Scranton
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
and Wilkes-Barre areas due to its transmitter being in Williamsport
Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Williamsport is a city in and the county seat of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania in the United States. In 2009, the population was estimated at 29,304...
so it can be seen on WOLF-DT3.
| Virtual Channel | Digital Channel | Video | Aspect Aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,... |
Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 56.1 | 45.1 | 720p 720p 720p is the shorthand name for 1280x720, a category of High-definition television video modes having a resolution of 1080 or 720p and a progressive scan... |
16:9 16:9 16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ... |
main WOLF-TV programming / Fox HD |
| 56.2 | 45.2 | 480i 480i 480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC... |
4:3 | WSWB (The CW) |
| 56.3 | 45.3 | 480i | 4:3 | WQMY (MyNetworkTV) |
Translators
WOLF-TV serves one of the largest geographic marketsMedia 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...
in the country. This area is very mountainous making UHF reception difficult. However, the station is in a unique situation since Scranton and Wilkes-Barre is a "UHF Island". As a result, it operates an analog Class A
Class A television service
The class A television service is a system for regulating some low-power television stations in the United States. Class A stations are denoted by the broadcast callsign suffix "-CA" or "-CD" , although very many analog -CA stations have a digital companion channel that was assigned the -LD...
translator to repeat its signal. W24DB on UHF channel 24 has a transmitter northwest of Scranton and I-476
Interstate 476
Interstate 476 is a auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania designated between Interstate 95 near Chester and Interstate 81 near Scranton, serving as the primary north–south Interstate corridor through eastern Pennsylvania....
in Lackawanna County
Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania
As of the census of 2000, there were 213,295 people, 86,218 households, and 55,783 families residing in the county. The population density was 465 people per square mile . There were 95,362 housing units at an average density of 208 per square mile...
. NextEra Energy Resources
NextEra Energy Resources
NextEra Energy Resources is an wholesale electricity supplier based in Juno Beach, Florida. It is a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, Inc. , a Fortune 200 company. Prior to 2009, NextEra Energy Resources was known as FPL Energy....
operates a digital replacement translator on UHF channel 47 in Waymart, PA. This channel exists because windmills run by NextEra Energy Resources
NextEra Energy Resources
NextEra Energy Resources is an wholesale electricity supplier based in Juno Beach, Florida. It is a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, Inc. , a Fortune 200 company. Prior to 2009, NextEra Energy Resources was known as FPL Energy....
at the Waymart Wind Farm
Waymart Wind Farm
Waymart Wind Farm is the second largest wind farm in Pennsylvania, United States. It consists of 43 GE 1.5 MW wind turbines, with a total net capacity of 64.5 MW. The project is located in Wayne County, Pennsylvania. The wind farm was developed by Atlantic Renewable Energy and constructed by...
interfere with the transmission of full-power television signals.
| Call letters | Channel | City of license |
|---|---|---|
| W24DB | 24 | Clarks Summit Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania Clarks Summit is a borough in Lackawanna County northwest of Scranton in northeastern Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,116 at the 2010 census. It is also the northern terminus of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension, I-476.-History:... |
| WOLF-TV | 47 | Waymart Waymart, Pennsylvania Waymart is a borough in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,341 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Waymart is located at .... |
History
The Federal Communications CommissionFederal 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) granted an original construction permit for Hazleton's first full-service television station on September 30, 1982. The new station, given the call letters WERF, was owned by James Oyster and was to broadcast from a tower south of the city. At that location, the station could serve its city of license
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....
but not the main cities in the market, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. In April 1983, WERF applied to move its transmitter to the Penobscot Knob antenna farm near Mountaintop where WNEP-TV
WNEP-TV
WNEP-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for northeastern Pennsylvania licensed to Scranton. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 50 from a transmitter on Penobscot Knob in Mountain Top...
, WDAU-TV (now WYOU
WYOU
WYOU is the CBS-affiliated television station for Northeastern Pennsylvania that is licensed to Scranton. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 13 from a transmitter at the Penobscot Knob tower farm near Mountain Top...
), WBRE-TV
WBRE-TV
WBRE-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Northeastern Pennsylvania that is licensed to Wilkes-Barre. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 11 from a transmitter at the Penobscot Knob antenna farm near Mountain Top. It can also be seen on Comcast and Service...
, and WVIA-TV
WVIA-TV
WVIA-TV is the Public Broadcasting Service member Public television station broadcasting on channel 41 to most of northeastern and central Pennsylvania...
also had their transmitters. The application was denied, however.
Oyster changed the station's call letters to WWLF-TV on July 25, 1984 then sold the construction permit to Hazleton TV Associates on December 13. Two months later on February 20, 1985, the station was sold again this time to Scranton TV Partners who completed construction of the station and brought it on-air on June 6. WWLF was a satellite of co-owned WOLF-TV in Scranton which was then on UHF channel 38 and was an independent station. That station had just began broadcasting itself on June 3. WWLF, as a satellite of WOLF-TV, was independent for a little more than a year. On October 9, 1986, it became a charter affiliate of Fox. In 1988, WWLF moved to a new transmitter on Nescopeck Mountain near the junction of I-80
Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania
The transcontinental Interstate 80 is designated across northern Pennsylvania as the Keystone Shortway, officially the Z.H. Confair Memorial Highway. This route was built mainly along a completely new alignment, not paralleling any earlier U.S. Routes, as a shortcut to the tolled Pennsylvania...
and PA 93
Pennsylvania Route 93
Pennsylvania Route 93 is a long state route located in northern Pennsylvania. The northern terminus of the route is at Pennsylvania Route 487 in Orangeville. The southern terminus is at U.S. Route 209 east of Nesquehoning...
but remained a satellite of WOLF-TV.
On April 27, 1993, WWLF was sold to Pegasus Television and the new owners were able to accomplish something that the station's original owner could not: get permission to move the transmitter to the antenna farm at Penobscot Knob. The completion of the new transmitter ushered in a new era for WWLF. On November 1, 1998, Pegasus moved the WOLF-TV call letters and the Fox affiliation to channel 56. It changed the call letters of channel 38 to WSWB and made that station an affiliate of The WB
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
. That station's owners had sought for many years to move either the channel 38 or channel 56 transmitters to Penobscot Knob. On January 4, 2007, WOLF-TV along with most of the Pegasus stations, was sold to investment group CP Media, LLC with the sale consummated on March 31.
For the first time in its history, the station was no longer co-owned with WSWB. However, the new owners of that station signed 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) with CP Media meaning that the stations continue to be commonly operated. Eventually, CP Media formed a new broadcasting group, New Age Media. More recently, WOLF-TV launched a new website using the Fox Owned-and-operated station
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...
platform licensed from Fox Television Stations' interactive division; this lasted until some time in 2010 or 2011 when WorldNow took over the operation of the WOLF-TV web site. On January 19, 2009, it ceased analog operation on channel 56.
Newscasts
Fox required most of its affiliates to begin offering local news in 1990 in order to help the fledgling network. To satisfy this, what is now WSWB entered into a news share agreement with ABCAmerican 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 WNEP-TV
WNEP-TV
WNEP-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for northeastern Pennsylvania licensed to Scranton. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 50 from a transmitter on Penobscot Knob in Mountain Top...
(then owned by The New York Times Company
The New York Times Company
The New York Times Company is an American media company best known as the publisher of its namesake, The New York Times. Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr. has served as Chairman of the Board since 1997. It is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City....
) in 1991. This resulted in one of the nation's first prime time newscast to debut known as Newswatch 16 at 10 on Fox 38. The show originated from WNEP's facility on Montage Mountain Road in Moosic
Moosic, Pennsylvania
Moosic is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania six miles south of Scranton and northeast of Wilkes-Barre on the Lackawanna River....
. When the Fox affiliation moved to this station in 1998, the newscasts did as well. The broadcasts became known as Fox 56 News at 10 with a secondary title of Newswatch 16 at 10 on Fox 56.
In November 2009, it was announced WNEP would move its production of the news at 10 to a second digital subchannel called "WNEP 2" which had recently gained 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) affiliation. That happened December 31 of that year after which WOLF-TV and 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 WBRE-TV
WBRE-TV
WBRE-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Northeastern Pennsylvania that is licensed to Wilkes-Barre. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 11 from a transmitter at the Penobscot Knob antenna farm near Mountain Top. It can also be seen on Comcast and Service...
(owned by the Nexstar Broadcasting Group
Nexstar Broadcasting Group
Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc., is an entity of broadcast television stations headquartered in Irving, Texas. The company consists of 50 television stations across the U.S., ranging from market sizes 9 to 201 . 43 of the stations are broadcasting at full power, with the other 4 broadcasting at...
) entered into a new outsourcing agreement. After taking over production of nightly prime time newscasts on WOLF-TV starting New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
2010, WBRE expanded the show to an hour each night and changed the title to Fox 56 News First at 10.
It now originates from a secondary set at WBRE's studios on South Franklin Street in Downtown Wilkes-Barre (which was previously used to produce separate newscasts on CBS affiliate WYOU
WYOU
WYOU is the CBS-affiliated television station for Northeastern Pennsylvania that is licensed to Scranton. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 13 from a transmitter at the Penobscot Knob tower farm near Mountain Top...
). As was the case with the WNEP-produced broadcasts, if there are network obligations or overruns of Fox programming that prevent WOLF-TV from showing the current program it is aired on WSWB instead. Its website posts video of the first segment of Fox 56 News First at 10 and the weather forecast segment.
Anchors
- Candice Kelly - weeknight news
- Mark Hiller - weekend news
- Josh Hodell (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 seen weeknights - Kyle Brandt - weekend meteorologist
- Phil Schoener - Sports DirectorSports DirectorA sports director is an individual at a television or radio station who is in charge of the sports department. In local news, the sports director is typically the station's primary sportscaster, and often anchors the primetime newscasts on weekdays. They are in charge of sports programming and...
seen weeknights - Colin Riccobon - weekend sports and sports reporter
Reporters
- Laurie Monteforte - StroudsburgStroudsburg, PennsylvaniaStroudsburg is a borough in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Poconos region of the state, approximately five miles from the Delaware Water Gap, at the confluence of the Brodhead and Pocono Creeks. It is the county seat of Monroe County. Stroudsburg is part of the...
Bureau - Andy Mehalshick - Lead Investigative
- Eric Deabill - Scranton Newsroom
- Stef Davis - Central PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
- Shannon Murphy
- Monica Madeja