WTGS
Encyclopedia
WTGS is the Fox-affiliated television station
for South Carolina
's Lowcountry
and Southeastern Georgia
's Coastal Empire. Licensed to Hardeeville, South Carolina
, it broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on UHF channel 27 (or virtual channel
28.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter in unincorporated
Western Chatham County, Georgia
. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable
and Charter
channel 10 as well as Comcast
channel 12. There is a high definition feed offered on Comcast digital channel 434, Charter digital channel 710 and Time Warner
Cable digital channel 1125.
Owned by PBC Broadcasting, the station is operated by New Vision Television
through a shared services
agreement as sister to ABC
affiliate WJCL
. The two outlets share studios on Abercorn Extension/GA 204
in Savannah, Georgia
's Hunters Chase section. Syndicated
programming on WTGS includes How I Met Your Mother
, Two and a Half Men
, Family Guy
and Everybody Hates Chris
among others.
as the market
's first general entertainment Independent outlet. It became a charter affiliate with Fox on October 9, 1986. Bluenose Broadcasting sold WTGS to California
-based Parkin Broadcasting in May 2007 for $
17.5 million. The station was previously owned by L.P. Media Inc., an affiliated company of Lewis Broadcasting
which owned WJCL. Since Lewis' sale of WTGS and WJCL in 1999, the two outlets has been bought, sold, and refinanced twice. In fact in the most recent sale in 2007, WTGS was sold for $2 million less than its sale price in 1999 with WJCL.
Since the station's sale to L.P. Media in the early-1990s, WTGS has been a sister outlet to WJCL. That station was most recently sold to New Vision Television. Its broadcasts have been digital-only since February 17, 2009. On that date, WTGS shut down its analog signal and remained on its pre-transitional digital allotment. While owned-and-operated as a separate entity from WJCL, the station maintained facilities on Independence Boulevard/US 278
/SC 141 in Hardeeville.
On October 28, 2010, it was announced the two outlets would combine operations with the Savannah Morning News
and be relocated to the newspaper's facility on Chatham Parkway in Savannah. The actual date of consolidation has yet to be determined. It is the only Savannah-based television outlet to maintain a physical presence in South Carolina's Lowcountry with a bureau on Fording Island Road in Hilton Head.
News team
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 South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
's Lowcountry
South Carolina Lowcountry
The Lowcountry is a geographic and cultural region located along South Carolina's coast. The region includes the South Carolina Sea Islands...
and Southeastern Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
's Coastal Empire. Licensed to Hardeeville, South Carolina
Hardeeville, South Carolina
Hardeeville is a city in Jasper County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 2,952 at the 2010 census, a 64 percent increase from its recorded population of 1,793 from the 2000 Census...
, 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 27 (or virtual channel
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
28.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter in unincorporated
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
Western Chatham County, Georgia
Chatham County, Georgia
Chatham County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. The county seat and largest city is Savannah. In the official US Census of 2010, Chatham County had a total population of 265,128 . Chatham is the most populous Georgia county outside the Atlanta metropolitan area...
. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
and 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...
channel 10 as well as 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 12. There is a high definition feed offered on Comcast digital channel 434, Charter digital channel 710 and Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
Cable digital channel 1125.
Owned by PBC Broadcasting, the station is operated by New Vision Television
New Vision Television
New Vision Television is a broadcast company based in Los Angeles, California. The company owns or manages 18 television stations in medium sized markets.-New Vision I:...
through a shared services
Shared services
Shared services refers to the provision of a service by one part of an organization or group where that service had previously been found in more than one part of the organization or group. Thus the funding and resourcing of the service is shared and the providing department effectively becomes an...
agreement as sister to 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...
affiliate WJCL
WJCL (TV)
WJCL is the ABC-affiliated television station for Georgia's Coastal Empire and South Carolina's Lowcountry. Licensed to Savannah, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 22 from a transmitter in unincorporated Western Chatham County, Georgia. The station can also be seen on...
. The two outlets share studios on Abercorn Extension/GA 204
Georgia State Route 204
State Route 204 begins just east of Pembroke at U.S. 280/S.R. 30 and ends in Savannah at I-16 exit 165 .In Savannah, this is a very major and heavily traveled surface arterial and is known as Abercorn Expressway, Abercorn Street and 37th Street...
in Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
's Hunters Chase section. 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 WTGS includes How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother is an American sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays.As a framing device, the main character, Ted Mosby with narration by Bob Saget, in the year 2030 recounts to his son and daughter the events that led to his meeting...
, 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...
, 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...
and Everybody Hates Chris
Everybody Hates Chris
Everybody Hates Chris is an African American television period sitcom inspired by the teenage experiences of comedian Chris Rock , while growing up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York . The show is set from 1982 to 1987; however, Rock himself was a teenager during years...
among others.
History
The station signed-on March 22, 19821982 in television
The year 1982 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1982.For the American TV schedule, see: 1982-83 American network television schedule.-Events:...
as 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...
's first general entertainment Independent outlet. It became a charter affiliate with Fox on October 9, 1986. Bluenose Broadcasting sold WTGS to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
-based Parkin Broadcasting in May 2007 for $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
17.5 million. The station was previously owned by L.P. Media Inc., an affiliated company of Lewis Broadcasting
Julius Curtis Lewis, Jr.
Julius Curtis Lewis, Jr. was an American businessman, philanthropist and Chairman of J.C. Lewis Enterprises, Lewis Broadcasting Corporation, J.C. Lewis Investment Company, and Island Investments...
which owned WJCL. Since Lewis' sale of WTGS and WJCL in 1999, the two outlets has been bought, sold, and refinanced twice. In fact in the most recent sale in 2007, WTGS was sold for $2 million less than its sale price in 1999 with WJCL.
Since the station's sale to L.P. Media in the early-1990s, WTGS has been a sister outlet to WJCL. That station was most recently sold to New Vision Television. Its broadcasts have been digital-only since February 17, 2009. On that date, WTGS shut down its analog signal and remained on its pre-transitional digital allotment. While owned-and-operated as a separate entity from WJCL, the station maintained facilities on Independence Boulevard/US 278
U.S. Route 278
U.S. Route 278 is a parallel route of U.S. Route 78. It currently runs for 1,074 miles from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina to Wickes, Arkansas at U.S. Highway 71/U.S. Highway 59. It might be notable that it is longer than its parent highway, US Hwy-78. US Hwy-278 passes through the states of...
/SC 141 in Hardeeville.
Newscasts
Through a news share agreement in place since the late-1990s, WJCL produces an hour-long nightly prime time newscast on this station. Currently known as WTGS News at Ten, the production maintains separate news anchors on weeknights. For awhile, WTGS also simulcasted WJCL's Good Morning Show on weekdays from 5 until 7 but that broadcast dropped at some point in time. On March 16, 2009, WJCL became the first outlet in Savannah to upgrade local newscasts to high definition and the nightly news on WTGS was included.On October 28, 2010, it was announced the two outlets would combine operations with the Savannah Morning News
Savannah Morning News
The Savannah Morning News is a daily newspaper in Savannah, Georgia. It is published by Morris Communications, Inc. The motto of the paper is "Light of the Coastal Empire and Lowcountry"...
and be relocated to the newspaper's facility on Chatham Parkway in Savannah. The actual date of consolidation has yet to be determined. It is the only Savannah-based television outlet to maintain a physical presence in South Carolina's Lowcountry with a bureau on Fording Island Road in Hilton Head.
News team
- Jesse Blanco - weeknight news anchor
- Lindsay Housaman - weeknight news anchor
- Nick Paradise - weekend news anchor and consumer reporter
- TBD - weeknight meteorologist
- James Hopkins - weekend meteorologist and news reporter
- Frank "The Big Guy" Sulkowski - 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 - Allen Kinzly - weekend sports anchor and sports reporter
- Judy Helmey - "The Fishin' Report with Captain Judy" segment producer
- Maura Kennedy - news reporter and fill-in news anchor
- Deidre Johnson - education reporter