WOTV
Encyclopedia
WOTV is the ABC
-affiliated television station
for Southwestern Michigan that is licensed to Battle Creek
. It broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on UHF channel 20 from a transmitter in Orangeville Township
. The station can also be seen on Charter
and Comcast
channel 4. There is a high definition feed offered on Comcast digital channel 237 and Charter digital channel 780. Owned by the LIN TV Corporation, WOTV is sister to NBC
affiliate WOOD-TV
and Class A
MyNetworkTV
affiliate WXSP-CD.
All three share studios on College Avenue Southeast in the Heritage Hill
section of Grand Rapids
. Syndicated
programming on WOTV includes: The Dr. Oz Show
, Swift Justice with Nancy Grace
, The Real Housewives, The Wendy Williams Show
, and Grace Under Fire
. On early Saturday and Sunday mornings, the station simulcasts WOOD-DT3 which is a live feed of the "Storm Team 8 Live Doppler Network".
and Battle Creek) while the area's other ABC affiliate, WZZM-TV
, serves the northern portion. That station has a transmitter northwest of Grand Rapids in Grant
. Recently, WOTV has begun billing itself as a full market ABC station including Grand Rapids. It provides at least secondary coverage to nearly all of the Southwestern Michigan
area.
The station currently identifies on-air as WOTV 4 in reference to its channel position on area cable systems. Its current logo displays both digits for channel 41, its defunct analog signal, but highlights the numeral four in positive space and displays the numeral one immediately adjacent in negative space
(similar to the hidden numeral 11 in the former Big Ten Conference
logo).
.
in Cadillac
and moved to channel 13 just before signing-on in 1962. As a result, its transmitter is farther north than the other Southwestern Michigan stations in order to protect WTVG
in Toledo, Ohio
. Before WUHQ signed-on, viewers in Kalamazoo and Battle Creek watched ABC from either WSJV
in Elkhart, Indiana
, WXYZ-TV
in Detroit, or WLS-TV
in Chicago
.
In the early days, the station could not get ABC to provide a direct network feed. This forced channel 41 to switch to and from WZZM's signal during the times when ABC network programming was being shown. This practice, however, was less than satisfactory as WZZM often pre-empted network shows in favor of locally originated or other programming (such as Billy Graham
crusades). In cases where WUHQ had advance notice of such changes, the station was able to procure filmed copies of the pre-empted network programming for broadcast. However, WZZM sometimes pre-empted a program with no advance notice such as for breaking local news or severe weather reports. When this happened, WUHQ simulcasted WSJV, usually with less than satisfactory results. At times, atmospheric conditions were not suitable enough to simulcast WSJV, forcing WUHQ to substitute a film or other non-network programming.
WZZM's owners, Northstar Television, planned to buy WUHQ in 1991 and turn it into a satellite. This would have created a strong combined signal with about 40% overlap. Northstar received Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) approval to do this but the deal fell through when the company was unable to come up with the funds necessary to close the transaction. Instead, WUHQ's owner entered into a local marketing agreement
(LMA) with LIN Broadcasting, owner of WOTV in Grand Rapids. The deal closed on November 11, 1991. Shortly after, channel 8 regained its heritage WOOD-TV calls and moved WOTV calls to channel 41. The previous
calls are currently used on a low-powered Daystar
affiliate in Grand Rapids.
In 1996, WOTV boosted its transmitter power to five million watt
s, making it the most powerful station in West Michigan. It now had at least Grade B coverage throughout the entire market. AT&T
bought WOOD-TV and the LMA with WOTV in 1994, when LIN spun off its television division as LIN TV. However, LIN TV continued to operate both stations. LIN TV reacquired WOOD-TV from AT&T in 1999 and bought WOTV outright in 2002. As of December 2006, all operations of the station have been consolidated into WOOD-TV's facilities in Grand Rapids. Reporter Gerry Barnaby, who joined WOTV in 1993, left the station at end of the year. WOTV's studios on West Dickman Road (M-96
) in Battle Creek were donated to a city entity, Battle Creek Unlimited, and the equipment went to the Calhoun County
Vocational Educational Center.
Both WOTV and WZZM have had a unique history of having one ABC affiliate pre-empt network programming during Labor Day
weekend for the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon
while another airs the pre-empted ABC programming. In recent years, WOTV has aired the MDA Telethon while WZZM has aired ABC programming preempted by the telethon. It was the other way around in previous years however. Also, Bill Steffen is the only current news personality to appear on the telethon on both stations having been employed by WZZM and WOOD-TV. On May 18, 2007, LIN TV announced that it was exploring strategic alternatives that could have resulted in the sale of the company.
On June 12, 2009
, WOTV's digital signal remained on channel 20 when the analog to digital conversion was completed. In late-October 2010 with LIN TV beginning to launch digital translators of WOOD-TV in the southwestern portion of the market and near universal availability of WXSP on cable and satellite, WOTV discontinued its simulcast of WXSP on a second digital subchannel
. This was replaced with TheCoolTV, a 24-hour music video
network.
Early in the station's history, it established a news operation that was the breeding ground for some of the area's most famous television personalities. However, the channel had no luck whatsoever competing against WOOD-TV and WWMT
due to the limited viewer base. Even with Kalamazoo (the market's second largest city) there was simply not enough viewership in the southern parts of the market for WOTV to make any headway in the ratings.
In addition, WWMT has traditionally had a focus in the southern areas of the market including the operation of a news bureau in Battle Creek. As a result, this station's original news department was shut down in 1990. WOOD-TV then began simulcasting some of its newscasts on WOTV as well as airing specially produced newscasts covering Battle Creek and Kalamazoo. Essentially, the station was functioning as a news bureau for WOOD-TV.
On February 9, 1991, news anchor Diane Newton King was murdered in her home near Marshall
. Her husband, Bradford King, was convicted of first-degree murder and is currently serving a life sentence. The case received national attention in 2004 when it was aired on Court TV
's Forensic Files
. The case was also profiled on A&E
's City Confidential
in an episode titled "Bad News in Battle Creek". In 1992, WOTV brought back a full news department for a second time branded as 41 News. However, like the previous attempt, the channel could not gain enough viewers or make a dent in the ratings. LIN TV finally decided to shut down WOTV's news operation for good in August 2003. Since then, the station has simulcast
ed some of WOOD-TV's newscasts but this time without any separate opens or segments. There are also weeknight prime time weather updates featuring Chief Meteorologist Bill Steffen.
Currently, only the second hour of WOOD-TV's weekday morning show and nightly newscast at 6 (first half-hour only) can be seen on WOTV. After the news department was shut down, its current on-air slogan was adopted to promote ABC programming paired with WOOD-TV's market leading newscasts. There is also encouragement for people to watch ABC on WOTV instead of WZZM. The "Phrase That Pays" is a regularly scheduled contest built around the slogan. On October 5, 2009, WOOD-TV became the second station in Southwestern Michigan to begin offering local newscasts in 16:9
enhanced definition widescreen
. Although not truly high definition, the broadcast match the ratio of HD television screens. The simulcasts on WOTV were included in the upgrade. Then on October 22, 2011, WOOD-TV became the third television station in southwestern Michigan to broadcast local newscasts in high definition. The simulcasts on WOTV were included in the upgrade as well.
Storm Team 8 Meteorologists
Sports
Reporters
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
-affiliated television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
for Southwestern Michigan that is licensed to Battle Creek
Battle Creek, Michigan
Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek Rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area , which encompasses all of Calhoun county...
. 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 20 from a transmitter in Orangeville Township
Orangeville Township, Michigan
Orangeville Township is a civil township of Barry County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,321 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
. The station can also be seen on Charter
Charter Communications
Charter Communications is an American company providing cable television, high-speed Internet, and telephone services to more than 4.7 million customers in 25 states. By revenues, it is the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States, behind Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cox Communications...
and 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...
channel 4. There is a high definition feed offered on Comcast digital channel 237 and Charter digital channel 780. Owned by the LIN TV Corporation, WOTV is sister to 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 WOOD-TV
WOOD-TV
WOOD-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Southwestern Michigan licensed to Grand Rapids. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 7 from a transmitter in Middleville near the Barry and Allegan County line. The station can also be seen on Comcast and Charter channel...
and 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...
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 WXSP-CD.
All three share studios on College Avenue Southeast in the Heritage Hill
Heritage Hill
Heritage Hill is a neighborhood in Grand Rapids, Michigan and is one of the largest urban historic districts in the United States. It is bound by Crescent Street , Union Avenue , Pleasant Street , and Lafayette Avenue . Its 1,300 homes date from 1848 and represent over 60 architectural styles...
section of Grand Rapids
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...
. 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 WOTV includes: The Dr. Oz Show
The Dr. Oz Show
The Dr. Oz Show is an American syndicated television talk show, hosted by Dr. Mehmet Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon and teaching professor at Columbia University who became famous for his appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show from 2004 until 2009....
, Swift Justice with Nancy Grace
Swift Justice With Nancy Grace
Swift Justice with Jackie Glass is a syndicated court program hosted by Judge Jackie Glass....
, The Real Housewives, The Wendy Williams Show
The Wendy Williams Show
The Wendy Williams Show is a syndicated talk show hosted by Wendy Williams that premiered on July 14, 2008, as six-week sneak peek, in Detroit, Dallas, Los Angeles, and New York City. The test run was picked up for a full season that began its run on July 13, 2009 in over 70% of the country in...
, and Grace Under Fire
Grace Under Fire
Grace Under Fire is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 1993 to February 1998. The show starred Brett Butler, and was the highest rated new comedy of the 1993–1994 season.- Premise of show :...
. On early Saturday and Sunday mornings, the station simulcasts WOOD-DT3 which is a live feed of the "Storm Team 8 Live Doppler Network".
Overview
WOTV primarily serves the southern portion of the market (KalamazooKalamazoo, Michigan
The area on which the modern city stands was once home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, who migrated into the area sometime before the first millennium. Evidence of their early residency remains in the form of a small mound in downtown's Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to...
and Battle Creek) while the area's other ABC affiliate, 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...
, serves the northern portion. That station has a transmitter northwest of Grand Rapids in Grant
Grant, Michigan
Grant is a city in Newaygo County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 894 at the 2010 census. The city is on the boundary between Grant Township and Ashland Township, but is politically independent of both...
. Recently, WOTV has begun billing itself as a full market ABC station including Grand Rapids. It provides at least secondary coverage to nearly all of the Southwestern Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
area.
The station currently identifies on-air as WOTV 4 in reference to its channel position on area cable systems. Its current logo displays both digits for channel 41, its defunct analog signal, but highlights the numeral four in positive space and displays the numeral one immediately adjacent in negative space
Negative space
Negative space, in art, is the space around and between the subject of an image. Negative space may be most evident when the space around a subject, and not the subject itself, forms an interesting or artistically relevant shape, and such space is occasionally used to artistic effect as the "real"...
(similar to the hidden numeral 11 in the former Big Ten Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
logo).
Digital programming
On WOTV-DT2, Charter digital channel 240, and Comcast digital channel 296 is TheCoolTVTheCoolTV
THECOOLTV is a United States over-the-air digital subchannel launched in March 2009. The network's current program schedule consists of an all-music video lineup that can be customized to meet an affiliate's preference, along with the three hours per week of E/I programming as required by the...
.
| Virtual 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 41.1 | 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 WOTV programming/ABC HD |
| 41.2 | 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 | WOTV-DT2 TheCoolTV |
History
The station signed on July 24, 1971 as WUHQ-TV (UHF HeadQuarters). It was owned by Channel 41, Inc. a group of nineteen investors from Battle Creek and Kalamazoo. WUHQ signed-on because the southern portion of the market did not receive an adequate signal from WZZM. Originally licensed on VHF channel 9, that station swapped channels with WWTVWWTV
WWTV is the CBS-affiliated television station for the northern Lower and eastern Upper Peninsulas of Michigan. Licensed to Cadillac, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 9 from a transmitter at its studios on 130th Avenue, northeast of Tustin, in Osceola County. At 1,631...
in Cadillac
Cadillac, Michigan
Cadillac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is the county seat of Wexford County. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 10,000. The city is situated at the junction of US 131, M-55 and M-115...
and moved to channel 13 just before signing-on in 1962. As a result, its transmitter is farther north than the other Southwestern Michigan stations in order to protect WTVG
WTVG
This is about the TV station in Toledo, Ohio for the former WTVG-TV in Newark, New Jersey see WFUT-DT.WTVG, channel 13, is the ABC-affiliated television station for Northwest Ohio and licensed in Toledo, Ohio. WTVG's studios and offices are located in Toledo and its transmitter is located in...
in Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
. Before WUHQ signed-on, viewers in Kalamazoo and Battle Creek watched ABC from either WSJV
WSJV
WSJV is the Fox-affiliated television station for the Michiana area of Northern Indiana and Southwestern Michigan that is licensed to Elkhart. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 28 from a transmitter in Mishawaka, Indiana. Owned by Quincy Newspapers, the station has...
in Elkhart, Indiana
Elkhart, Indiana
Elkhart is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The city is located east of South Bend, northwest of Fort Wayne, east of Chicago, and north of Indianapolis...
, WXYZ-TV
WXYZ-TV
WXYZ-TV, channel 7, is an ABC-affiliated television station in Detroit, Michigan, USA. WXYZ-TV is owned by the E.W. Scripps Company, and is the media company's largest-market TV station property...
in Detroit, or WLS-TV
WLS-TV
WLS-TV, virtual channel 7, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The station operates their full power digital operations on UHF channel 44, with their digital fill-in translator on VHF channel...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.
In the early days, the station could not get ABC to provide a direct network feed. This forced channel 41 to switch to and from WZZM's signal during the times when ABC network programming was being shown. This practice, however, was less than satisfactory as WZZM often pre-empted network shows in favor of locally originated or other programming (such as Billy Graham
Billy Graham
William Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian evangelist. As of April 25, 2010, when he met with Barack Obama, Graham has spent personal time with twelve United States Presidents dating back to Harry S. Truman, and is number seven on Gallup's list of admired people for...
crusades). In cases where WUHQ had advance notice of such changes, the station was able to procure filmed copies of the pre-empted network programming for broadcast. However, WZZM sometimes pre-empted a program with no advance notice such as for breaking local news or severe weather reports. When this happened, WUHQ simulcasted WSJV, usually with less than satisfactory results. At times, atmospheric conditions were not suitable enough to simulcast WSJV, forcing WUHQ to substitute a film or other non-network programming.
WZZM's owners, Northstar Television, planned to buy WUHQ in 1991 and turn it into a satellite. This would have created a strong combined signal with about 40% overlap. Northstar received 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) approval to do this but the deal fell through when the company was unable to come up with the funds necessary to close the transaction. Instead, WUHQ's owner entered into 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 LIN Broadcasting, owner of WOTV in Grand Rapids. The deal closed on November 11, 1991. Shortly after, channel 8 regained its heritage WOOD-TV calls and moved WOTV calls to channel 41. The previous
WUHQ-LP
WUHQ-LP is a television station in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is owned and operated by Daystar, as an affiliate of the Daystar Television Network.The station signed on in May 2003 airing America's Store programming...
calls are currently used on a low-powered Daystar
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...
affiliate in Grand Rapids.
In 1996, WOTV boosted its transmitter power to five million watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s, making it the most powerful station in West Michigan. It now had at least Grade B coverage throughout the entire market. AT&T
American Telephone & Telegraph
AT&T Corp., originally American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American telecommunications company that provides voice, video, data, and Internet telecommunications and professional services to businesses, consumers, and government agencies. AT&T is the oldest telecommunications company...
bought WOOD-TV and the LMA with WOTV in 1994, when LIN spun off its television division as LIN TV. However, LIN TV continued to operate both stations. LIN TV reacquired WOOD-TV from AT&T in 1999 and bought WOTV outright in 2002. As of December 2006, all operations of the station have been consolidated into WOOD-TV's facilities in Grand Rapids. Reporter Gerry Barnaby, who joined WOTV in 1993, left the station at end of the year. WOTV's studios on West Dickman Road (M-96
M-96 (Michigan highway)
M-96 is a state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan that runs between Kalamazoo and Marshall. Its termini are both on business loops of Interstate 94 ; the eastern one coincides with an intersection with I-69...
) in Battle Creek were donated to a city entity, Battle Creek Unlimited, and the equipment went to the Calhoun County
Calhoun County, Michigan
-Interstates:* I-69* I-94* I-194* I-94 Business Loop serves the city of Albion.* I-94 Business Loop serves the city of Battle Creek.* I-94 Business Loop serves the city of Marshall.-Michigan State Trunklines:* M-37* M-60* M-66* M-78* M-89* M-96* M-99...
Vocational Educational Center.
Both WOTV and WZZM have had a unique history of having one ABC affiliate pre-empt network programming during Labor Day
Labor Day
Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.-History:...
weekend for the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon
Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon
The MDA Labor Day Telethon is an annual telethon in the United States to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association . The first MDA telethon was during the Thanksgiving Day weekend of 1952 and titled Party for MDA. It has been held annually since 1966...
while another airs the pre-empted ABC programming. In recent years, WOTV has aired the MDA Telethon while WZZM has aired ABC programming preempted by the telethon. It was the other way around in previous years however. Also, Bill Steffen is the only current news personality to appear on the telethon on both stations having been employed by WZZM and WOOD-TV. On May 18, 2007, LIN TV announced that it was exploring strategic alternatives that could have resulted in the sale of the company.
On June 12, 2009
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...
, WOTV's digital signal remained on channel 20 when the analog to digital conversion was completed. In late-October 2010 with LIN TV beginning to launch digital translators of WOOD-TV in the southwestern portion of the market and near universal availability of WXSP on cable and satellite, WOTV discontinued its simulcast of WXSP on a 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 replaced with TheCoolTV, a 24-hour music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
network.
News operation
WWMT
WWMT is the CBS-affiliated television station for West Michigan licensed to Kalamazoo. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 8 from a transmitter on Chief Noonday Road/M-179, northwest of Yankee Springs Township, along the Barry and Allegan County line. The station can also...
due to the limited viewer base. Even with Kalamazoo (the market's second largest city) there was simply not enough viewership in the southern parts of the market for WOTV to make any headway in the ratings.
In addition, WWMT has traditionally had a focus in the southern areas of the market including the operation of a news bureau in Battle Creek. As a result, this station's original news department was shut down in 1990. WOOD-TV then began simulcasting some of its newscasts on WOTV as well as airing specially produced newscasts covering Battle Creek and Kalamazoo. Essentially, the station was functioning as a news bureau for WOOD-TV.
On February 9, 1991, news anchor Diane Newton King was murdered in her home near Marshall
Marshall, Michigan
Marshall is a city located in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 7,459. It is the county seat of Calhoun County...
. Her husband, Bradford King, was convicted of first-degree murder and is currently serving a life sentence. The case received national attention in 2004 when it was aired on Court TV
Court TV
truTV is an American cable television network owned by Turner Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Time Warner. The network launched as Court TV in 1991, changing to truTV in 2008...
's Forensic Files
Forensic Files
Forensic Files is an American documentary-style series which reveals how forensic science is used to solve violent crimes, mysterious accidents, and even outbreaks of illness. The show is broadcast on truTV, narrated by Peter Thomas, and produced by Medstar Television, in association with truTV...
. The case was also profiled on A&E
A&E Network
The A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...
's City Confidential
City Confidential
City Confidential is an American documentary television show, transmitted on the A&E Network, which singled out a community during each episode and investigated a crime that had occurred there. Rather than being a straighforward procedural, the installments began by focusing on the history and...
in an episode titled "Bad News in Battle Creek". In 1992, WOTV brought back a full news department for a second time branded as 41 News. However, like the previous attempt, the channel could not gain enough viewers or make a dent in the ratings. LIN TV finally decided to shut down WOTV's news operation for good in August 2003. Since then, the station has simulcast
Simulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
ed some of WOOD-TV's newscasts but this time without any separate opens or segments. There are also weeknight prime time weather updates featuring Chief Meteorologist Bill Steffen.
Currently, only the second hour of WOOD-TV's weekday morning show and nightly newscast at 6 (first half-hour only) can be seen on WOTV. After the news department was shut down, its current on-air slogan was adopted to promote ABC programming paired with WOOD-TV's market leading newscasts. There is also encouragement for people to watch ABC on WOTV instead of WZZM. The "Phrase That Pays" is a regularly scheduled contest built around the slogan. On October 5, 2009, WOOD-TV became the second station in Southwestern Michigan to begin offering local newscasts in 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 ...
enhanced definition widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
. Although not truly high definition, the broadcast match the ratio of HD television screens. The simulcasts on WOTV were included in the upgrade. Then on October 22, 2011, WOOD-TV became the third television station in southwestern Michigan to broadcast local newscasts in high definition. The simulcasts on WOTV were included in the upgrade as well.
Newscast titles
- TV-41 News (1970s-1980s)
- News Check 41 (1980s-1990)
- News 8 on TV-41 (1990-1992, used during simulcasts from WOOD-TV)
- 41 News (1992-2003)
- 24 Hour News 8 (2003-present, used during simulcasts from WOOD-TV)
Station slogans
- "Let The One Shine In" (1977, localized version of ABC ad campaign, used by WUHQ instead of ABC's "Still The One" slogan while using the same music)
- "The 41 And Only" (early-1980s)
- "West Michigan's 24-Hour News Source" (early 1990s)
- "News That's Close to Home" (mid-1990s)
- "News From Where You Live" (1990s-August 2003)
- "My ABC is WOTV 4" (2003-present)
News team
Anchors- Brett Thomas - weekday mornings and Executive Producer
- Emily Linnert - weekday mornings and reporter
- Brian Sterling - weeknights
- Marc Thompson - weekends and reporter
- Lori Cook "Maranda" - Children and Family Services Manager as well as Where You Live host
- heard on WSRW-FMWSRW-FMWQLX is a radio station broadcasting a hot adult contemporary format. Licensed to Chillicothe, Ohio, USA, it formerly broadcast country music from Hillsboro, Ohio at 106.7 FM. The station is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications and features programing from Premiere Radio Networks...
105.7
- heard on WSRW-FM
Storm Team 8 Meteorologists
- Bill Steffen (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 - Terri DeBoer (AMS Seal of Approval) - weekday mornings
- Kyle Underwood (AMS/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) - weekends
Sports
- Jack Doles - Director seen weeknights and Football Frenzy host
- Jason Terzis - Saturdays and Sports Overtime host
- sports reporter and producer
- Larry Figurski - Sundays and Football Frenzy host
- sports reporter
Reporters
- Eva Aguirre Cooper - Communications Director
- Anne Schieber - "Your Money" investigative
- Dee Morrison - weekday mornings
- Henry Erb - Senior investigative
- Rick Albin - political
- Crystal Hilliard
- Tony Tagliavia
- Dani Carlson
- Leon Hendrix
- Joe LaFurgey
- Ken Kolker