WTVO
Encyclopedia
WTVO is the ABC
-affiliated television station
for Northern Illinois
licensed to Rockford
. It broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on UHF channel 16 (or virtual channel
17.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter at its studios on North Meridian Road/IL 24 in Rockford. The station can also be seen on Comcast
channel 4 and in high definition on digital channel 908. Owned by Mission Broadcasting
, WTVO is operated through joint sales
and shared services
agreements by the Nexstar Broadcasting Group
. This makes it a sister outlet to Fox affiliate WQRF-TV
and the two stations share studios. Syndicated
programming on WTVO includes Entertainment Tonight
, Judge Judy
, The People's Court
and The Rachael Ray Show among others.
affiliate. Known on-air as Rockford's MyNetworkTV, syndicated programming on this station includes Excused
, The Insider
, Extra
and America's Funniest Home Videos
among others. During overnights, WTVO-DT2 airs paid programming
from Jewelry Television
.
as the market
's first television outlet and is the oldest continuously operating UHF station in the northern portion of Illinois
. Originally airing an analog signal on UHF channel 39 but moved to channel 17 in 1967. Interestingly, WQRF has operated from channel 39 since first signed-on in November 1978. WTVO was originally a primary NBC
affiliate and shared secondary ABC status with WREX-TV
.
When WCEE-TV (now WIFR
) signed-on in 1965, it took the CBS affiliation sending ABC to WREX and leaving WTVO with just NBC. The station was locally owned by Winnebago
Television (incoporated into the call sign, Winnebago TeleVision Organization) until 1986 when Young Broadcasting
of New York State purchased it. After a 42-year run as the local NBC station, it swapped network affiliation with WREX taking the ABC affiliation in August 1995.
Another ownership change came on November 22, 2004 when Mission Broadcasting (a subsidiary of Texas
-based Nexstar Broadcasting) bought WTVO from Young for $
21 million. WTVO shares studios with Nexstar-owned WQRF although this station essentially functions as the senior partner of the agreement. WQRF originates from the WTVO facility and this station produces programming for the former. For a number of years, WTVO carried selected Chicago Cubs
telecasts originating from WGN-TV
. However, in 1988, those telecasts moved to WIFR. During its days as an NBC affiliate, WTVO preempted a good number of network shows particularly in weekday and Saturday daytime as well as the Saturday edition of the NBC Nightly News
in the 1980s.
A significant figure in its history was news anchor Bruce Richardson. He spent over 35 years at the station from 1956 until his retirement
in June 1992. Richardson had the longest reign as a local news anchor in the history of Rockford television. Harold Froelich, one of WTVO's founders, served as General Manager
for 37 years from sign-on until his retirement in 1990. In 1953, Froelich was one of the youngest General Managers in television. WTVO's secondary programming service launched on September 22, 2003 with offerings from UPN
. Known on-air as "Rockford UPN 16", WTVO-DT2 replaced WHPN (now WBUW
) in Madison, Wisconsin
on Rockford area cable
systems.
Access to UPN was actually lost a year earlier in 2002 after a change in WHPN’s ownership prompted an affiliation switch to The WB. That station's new owner, Acme Communications
, was a major station group involved in The WB. Since UPN moved to a similar secondary programming service in Madison (known "UPN 14
"), Rockford cable systems imported Chicago
's WPWR-TV
into the market as the de-facto UPN affiliate for Rockford until WTVO added "Rockford UPN 16". In September 2006 with the merge of UPN and The WB, WTVO-DT2 joined the other new network debuting at the time (MyNetworkTV) which is actually a sister operation to Fox that is seen on WQRF.
WB affiliate "WBR" (produced by WREX). This distinction made WQRF's news Rockford's first over-the-air newscast at 9. Competition between "WBR" and WQRF was short lived because in late-2007, the former had its news canceled by WREX for an unknown reason. The time slot is currently used to replay that station's weeknight 6 o'clock show. Another addition to local newscasts on WQRF occurred on January 14, 2008 when WTVO launched Fox 39 Evening News at 6:30. That aired weeknights on its sister station up against the national broadcasts on the area's big three affiliates
.
At some point in time after this, WQRF expanded Fox 39 News at 9 to a seven night operation and lengthened the weeknight version to a full hour. The station would eventually drop the 6:30 show on weeknights for an unknown reason. WIFR was the first outlet in Rockford to upgrade newscasts to high definition followed by WREX on December 12, 2010. Local news seen on WTVO and WQRF remain in pillarboxed 4:3 standard definition and there are currently no plans made public to upgrade the two stations to either 16:9 enhanced definition widescreen or full HD level. Unlike most ABC affiliates, this station does not air a midday newscast during the week. WTVO-DT2 offers repeates of local news from the main channel.
Anchors
WTVO First Warn Meteorologists
Sports (both seen on The Sports Connection)
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 Northern Illinois
Northern Illinois
Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois.-Economics:Northern Illinois is dominated by the metropolitan areas of Chicago, Rockford, and the Quad Cities, which contain a majority of Illinois' population and economic activity, including...
licensed to Rockford
Rockford, Illinois
Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...
. 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 16 (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....
17.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter at its studios on North Meridian Road/IL 24 in Rockford. The station can also be seen on 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 and in high definition on digital channel 908. Owned by Mission Broadcasting
Mission Broadcasting
Mission Broadcasting, Inc. is a television station group that owns 15 television stations operated by Nexstar Broadcasting. The group's president is David S. Smith, who founded the company in 1998. In most areas where Mission owns a station, its arrangements allow Nexstar to control two of the top...
, WTVO is operated through joint sales
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...
and 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...
agreements 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...
. This makes it a sister outlet to Fox affiliate WQRF-TV
WQRF-TV
WQRF-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for Northern Illinois licensed to Rockford. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 42 from a transmitter at its studios on North Meridian Road/IL 24 in Rockford...
and the two stations share studios. 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 WTVO includes 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...
, Judge Judy
Judge Judy
Judge Judy is an American court show featuring former family court judge Judith Sheindlin arbitrating over small claims cases in small claims court...
, The People's Court
The People's Court
The People's Court is a US television court show in which small claims court cases are heard, though what is shown is actually a binding arbitration....
and The Rachael Ray Show among others.
Digital programming
On WTVO-DT2 and Comcast channel 16 is 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. Known on-air as Rockford's MyNetworkTV, syndicated programming on this station includes Excused
Excused
Excused is a American dating reality-based competition series that debuted in first-run syndication in the United States and Canada on September 12, 2011...
, The Insider
The Insider (TV series)
The Insider is an American tabloid television news program covering events and celebrities. It debuted on September 13, 2004 as a spinoff of Entertainment Tonight and started as a popular segment that took viewers "behind closed doors" and gave them "inside" information...
, Extra
Extra (TV series)
Extra is an American entertainment television news program covering events and celebrities which debuted on September 5, 1994 in syndication. It is produced at Victory Studios in Glendale, California by Telepictures Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television Distribution...
and America's Funniest Home Videos
America's Funniest Home Videos
America's Funniest Home Videos is an American reality television program on ABC in which viewers are able to send in humorous homemade videotapes. The most common videos usually feature slapstick physical comedy arising from incidents, accidents and mishaps...
among others. During overnights, WTVO-DT2 airs paid programming
Infomercial
Infomercials are direct response television commercials which generally include a phone number or website. There are long-form infomercials, which are typically between 15 and 30 minutes in length, and short-form infomercials, which are typically 30 seconds to 120 seconds in length. Infomercials...
from Jewelry Television
Jewelry Television
Jewelry Television is an American television network, similar to the Home Shopping Network. It was formerly called "America's Collectibles Network" . The privately-held company was founded in 1993 and broadcasts high definition programming 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to over 80 million unique...
.
| Channels (physical/virtual) | Name | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16.1/17.1 | WTVO-HD | 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 WTVO programming/ABC (HD) |
| 16.2/17.2 | WTVO-DT2 | 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 | Rockford's MyNetworkTV (SD) |
History
The station signed-on May 3, 19531953 in television
The year 1953 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1953.-Events:*January 19 – 68% of all US television sets were tuned in to I Love Lucy to watch Lucy give birth to little Ricky....
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 television outlet and is the oldest continuously operating UHF station in the northern portion of Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. Originally airing an analog signal on UHF channel 39 but moved to channel 17 in 1967. Interestingly, WQRF has operated from channel 39 since first signed-on in November 1978. WTVO was originally a primary 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 and shared secondary ABC status with WREX-TV
WREX-TV
WREX, channel 13, is the NBC television affiliate serving the Rockford, Illinois area. It is the market's only full-powered VHF station and is Rockford's second oldest television station. Its studios and transmitter are located at Auburn and Winnebago Roads, west of Rockford and north of...
.
When WCEE-TV (now WIFR
WIFR
WIFR, virtual channel 23, is the CBS television affiliate based in Rockford, Illinois and licensed to nearby Freeport. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 41, though it formerly broadcast its analog signal on channel 23, which it continues to use as its virtual digital channel via PSIP....
) signed-on in 1965, it took the CBS affiliation sending ABC to WREX and leaving WTVO with just NBC. The station was locally owned by Winnebago
Winnebago County, Illinois
Winnebago County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 295,266, which is an increase of 6.1% from 278,418 in 2000...
Television (incoporated into the call sign, Winnebago TeleVision Organization) until 1986 when Young Broadcasting
Young Broadcasting
New Young Broadcasting Holding Co, Inc. is an owner of 14 television stations in 11 United States media markets. The company was formerly known as Young Broadcasting Inc. and was the outgrowth of the ad representation/invest firm Adam Young, Inc. which was founded in 1944 by Adam Young and is...
of New York State purchased it. After a 42-year run as the local NBC station, it swapped network affiliation with WREX taking the ABC affiliation in August 1995.
Another ownership change came on November 22, 2004 when Mission Broadcasting (a subsidiary of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
-based Nexstar Broadcasting) bought WTVO from Young 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....
21 million. WTVO shares studios with Nexstar-owned WQRF although this station essentially functions as the senior partner of the agreement. WQRF originates from the WTVO facility and this station produces programming for the former. For a number of years, WTVO carried selected Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
telecasts originating from WGN-TV
WGN-TV
WGN-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the CW-affiliated television station in Chicago, Illinois built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WGN-TV's studios and offices are located at 2501 W...
. However, in 1988, those telecasts moved to WIFR. During its days as an NBC affiliate, WTVO preempted a good number of network shows particularly in weekday and Saturday daytime as well as the Saturday edition of the NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News is the flagship daily evening television news program for NBC News and broadcasts. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is located in the center...
in the 1980s.
A significant figure in its history was news anchor Bruce Richardson. He spent over 35 years at the station from 1956 until his retirement
Retirement
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...
in June 1992. Richardson had the longest reign as a local news anchor in the history of Rockford television. Harold Froelich, one of WTVO's founders, served as General Manager
General manager
General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
for 37 years from sign-on until his retirement in 1990. In 1953, Froelich was one of the youngest General Managers in television. WTVO's secondary programming service launched on September 22, 2003 with offerings from 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...
. Known on-air as "Rockford UPN 16", WTVO-DT2 replaced WHPN (now WBUW
WBUW
WBUW is a television station affiliated with The CW. Though licensed to Janesville, Wisconsin, the station is branded as Madison's CW, and serves all of Madison, south-central Wisconsin, and portions of Northern Illinois...
) in Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
on Rockford area cable
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
systems.
Access to UPN was actually lost a year earlier in 2002 after a change in WHPN’s ownership prompted an affiliation switch to The WB. That station's new owner, Acme Communications
ACME Communications
ACME Communications is a United States-based television broadcasting company. The company was co-founded by current Chairman and former CEO Jamie Kellner, who previously served as a Fox Television Network executive and was founding CEO of The WB Television Network. Kellner used the name Acme as a...
, was a major station group involved in The WB. Since UPN moved to a similar secondary programming service in Madison (known "UPN 14
My Madison TV
TVW is the digital television subchannel of Madison, Wisconsin station WISC-TV and is affiliated with MyNetworkTV. The station is owned and operated by Morgan Murphy Media, WISC-TV's owners, and is available over-the-air on digital subchannel 50.2 , as well as on channel 14 on DirecTV and cable...
"), Rockford cable systems imported 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...
's WPWR-TV
WPWR-TV
WPWR-TV, channel 50, is a MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station licensed to Gary, Indiana, and serving the Chicago, Illinois area. WPWR-TV is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network outlet WFLD-TV...
into the market as the de-facto UPN affiliate for Rockford until WTVO added "Rockford UPN 16". In September 2006 with the merge of UPN and The WB, WTVO-DT2 joined the other new network debuting at the time (MyNetworkTV) which is actually a sister operation to Fox that is seen on WQRF.
Newscasts
In March 2006, WTVO began producing the market's second prime time newscast on WQRF known as Fox 39 News at 9. The broadcast only aired on weeknights unlike the area's original prime time show that was seen every night on cable-onlyThe WB 100+ Station Group
The WB 100+ Station Group was a group of primarily non-broadcast local cable television outlets for The WB Television Network, for markets below the top 100 television media markets in the United States. Dayparts with no WB programming were programmed by the network...
WB affiliate "WBR" (produced by WREX). This distinction made WQRF's news Rockford's first over-the-air newscast at 9. Competition between "WBR" and WQRF was short lived because in late-2007, the former had its news canceled by WREX for an unknown reason. The time slot is currently used to replay that station's weeknight 6 o'clock show. Another addition to local newscasts on WQRF occurred on January 14, 2008 when WTVO launched Fox 39 Evening News at 6:30. That aired weeknights on its sister station up against the national broadcasts on the area's big three affiliates
Big Three Television Networks
The Big Three Television Networks are the three traditional commercial broadcast television networks in the United States: ABC, CBS and NBC...
.
At some point in time after this, WQRF expanded Fox 39 News at 9 to a seven night operation and lengthened the weeknight version to a full hour. The station would eventually drop the 6:30 show on weeknights for an unknown reason. WIFR was the first outlet in Rockford to upgrade newscasts to high definition followed by WREX on December 12, 2010. Local news seen on WTVO and WQRF remain in pillarboxed 4:3 standard definition and there are currently no plans made public to upgrade the two stations to either 16:9 enhanced definition widescreen or full HD level. Unlike most ABC affiliates, this station does not air a midday newscast during the week. WTVO-DT2 offers repeates of local news from the main channel.
Anchors
- Steve Stadelman - weekday mornings and weeknights at 5
- Mimi Murphy - weeknights at 6 and 10
- Kimberly Nelson - weeknights at 9
- Sachelle Saunders - weekends and reporter
WTVO First Warn Meteorologists
- Ty Shesky (CBMCertified Broadcast MeteorologistCertified Broadcast Meteorologist is a rating for meteorologists given by the American Meteorological Society.The Certified Broadcast Meteorologist program was established to raise the professional standard in broadcast meteorology and encourage a broader range of scientific understanding,...
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 seen weeknights - Candice King - weekday mornings
- Eric Nefstead (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) - weekends
Sports (both seen on The Sports Connection)
- Scott Leber - 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 - Ben Hutchison - weekends and sports reporter
Reporters
- Bob Ryder - Senior also fill-in news anchor on weekday mornings and weekends
- Marty Kasper - one man band
- Mark Stevens - one man band
- Alex Shabad
- Vi Nguyen