WVBT
Encyclopedia
WVBT is the Fox
-affiliated television station
for the Hampton Roads
area of Southeastern Virginia
that is licensed
to Virginia Beach
. It broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on UHF channel 29 from a transmitter in the Driver
section of Suffolk
. Owned by the LIN TV Corporation, the station is sister to NBC
affiliate WAVY-TV
and the two share studios with Ion Television owned-and-operated WPXV-TV on Wavy Street in Downtown Portsmouth
.
Syndicated
programming on WVBT includes: Maury
, Family Guy
, TMZ on TV
, and The Wendy Williams Show
. It can also be seen on two Class A
repeaters: analog WPMC-CA channel 36 in Mappsville
from a transmitter along US 13
/Lankford Highway in Bloxom
and digital WNLO-CD channel 45 in Norfolk
with a transmitter co-located with the main signal.
programming along with infomercials and religious shows. It became a charter affiliate of The WB starting on January 11, 1995. Shortly thereafter, the station came under a local marketing agreement
(LMA) with LIN TV and began to be operated by WAVY. In May 1996, WVBT began broadcasting from a new transmitter, giving it a coverage area comparable to the other major Hampton Roads stations.
WVBT found out in the fall of 1995 that it was going to lose its WB affiliation to the market's original Fox affiliate, WTVZ, due to an affiliation deal between The WB and WTVZ's owner, Sinclair Broadcast Group
. LIN TV reached an affiliation agreement with Fox in November 1995, and WVBT swapped affiliations with WTVZ in August 1998.
LIN TV purchased WVBT-TV in February 2002 from the original broadcast company and owner that had a Local Marketing Agreement (LMA) with LIN TV.
Until January 2007, WAVY operated a 24-hour local weather channel on WVBT's second digital subchannel
taking advantage of its 720p
signal to present the service without interfering with video quality on either WAVY or WVBT. Known on-air as the "WAVY Weather Station", it is now cable-exclusive to address E/I
requirement concerns and can be seen on Mediacom
channel 9, Charter
channel 22, and Cox
digital channel 227. There are live current conditions, updated forecasts, and a live feed of "Super Doppler 10 HD". However, some listing services continue to show a second digital subchannel for WVBT erroneously.
On June 12, 2009 at 9 in the morning, WVBT's digital signal remained on channel 29 when the analog to digital conversion was completed. What is now WNLO-CD began as W45BG (call sign assigned November 1993) becoming WNLO-LP in November 2000 and WNLO-CA in January 2002. It went all-digital in January 2005 making it one of the first low-power stations in the country to begin digital broadcasting. Its calls became the current WNLO-CD ("CD" for "Class A Digital") in July 2009. This should not be confused with a CW-affiliated sister station
in Buffalo, New York
that uses the same call letters in full-power form. The channel could have used the calls WVBT-CA (as most of these situations in other markets
do) but likely chose not to due to the mere two-channel separation between channels 43 and 45 to avert confusion.
with its digital transmitter located in Driver, Virginia
the other one (WPMC-CA) is licensed in Mappsville, Virginia
with its transmitter located in Bloxom, Virginia
in Accomack County
of which is in the Eastern Shore of Virginia
. Both class A translators are owned and operated by WAVY Broadcasting, LLC and LIN TV. Unlike WNLO-CD of which is a digital Class A translator in Driver, Virginia
, WPMC-CA in Bloxom, Virginia
is not a digital Class A translator because, it seems like WAVY Broadcasting and parent company LIN TV have not yet upgraded WPMC-CA into a digital class A translator.
When WVBT made the switch to Fox in 1998, WAVY started producing a nightly prime time newscast on this station known as Fox 43 News at 10. It was not the market's first prime time broadcast as CBS
affiliate WTKR
produced a short-lived show on WGNT
from 1995 until 1997. ABC
affiliate WVEC-TV
also produced a prime time newscast on low-powered WPEN-LP
from 1995 until it started cable-only LNC 4
(now LNC 5) in 1997. WVEC continued to produce a 10 o'clock show on the cable channel until January 30, 2009. The 45 minute broadcast on WVBT is followed by the Fox 43 Sports Wrap with sports news and highlights.
On July 21, 2008, the newscast and sports show started to be produced in high definition after WAVY made the upgrade. On February 2, 2009, WVBT added Fox 43 News at 7 on weekday mornings featuring news, weather and traffic updates along with various entertainment/lifestyle features. This morning show ended on January 8, 2010 and was replaced by The Hampton Roads Show which launched January 18, 2010 from a secondary set that is also streamed live on its website. The Hampton Roads Show moved to WAVY at 11 a.m. on September 12, 2011.
Anchors
Super Doppler 10 HD Meteorologists
Sports
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 the Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
area of Southeastern Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
that is licensed
City of license
A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator....
to Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...
. 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 29 from a transmitter in the Driver
Driver, Virginia
Driver is a neighborhood in the independent city of Suffolk, Virginia, United States. It is located at the junction of State Route 337, State Route 125, and State Route 627....
section of Suffolk
Suffolk, Virginia
Suffolk is the largest city by area in Virginia, United States, and is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 84,585. Its median household income was $57,546.-History:...
. Owned by the LIN TV Corporation, the station 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 WAVY-TV
WAVY-TV
WAVY-TV, channel 10, is a television station licensed to Portsmouth, Virginia, serving as the NBC affiliate for the Hampton Roads area . WAVY is owned by LIN Television Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox affiliate WVBT...
and the two share studios with Ion Television owned-and-operated WPXV-TV on Wavy Street in Downtown Portsmouth
Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the city had a total population of 95,535.The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard, is a historic and active U.S...
.
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 WVBT includes: Maury
Maury (TV series)
Maury is a syndicated American tabloid talk show hosted by Maury Povich.When the series first aired in 1991, the show was called The Maury Povich Show and was produced by MoPo Productions in association with Paramount Domestic Television...
, Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
, TMZ on TV
TMZ on TV
TMZ on TV, or simply TMZ and TMZTV, is an American syndicated entertainment and gossip news television show that premiered on September 10, 2007. The program is generally aired on Fox, The CW and MyNetworkTV affiliates, though a majority of the stations that carry the series are Fox affiliates...
, and 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...
. It can also be seen on two 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...
repeaters: analog WPMC-CA channel 36 in Mappsville
Mappsville, Virginia
Mappsville is a census-designated place in Accomack County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2010 Census was 440.-References:*...
from a transmitter along US 13
U.S. Route 13 in Virginia
U.S. Route 13 is a north–south U.S. highway established in 1926 that runs for from Interstate 95 just north of Fayetteville, North Carolina to the northeastern suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Morrisville. In the U.S...
/Lankford Highway in Bloxom
Bloxom, Virginia
Bloxom is a town in Accomack County, Virginia, United States. The population was 395 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Bloxom is located at ....
and digital WNLO-CD channel 45 in Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
with a transmitter co-located with the main signal.
History
WVBT began operation on March 22, 1993 with Home Shopping NetworkHome Shopping Network
Home Shopping Network or HSN began in 1977 as a 24-hour/7 day a week home shopping television network televised via cable, satellite, and some terrestrial channels in the Philippines. HSN can also be shopped online at hsn.com...
programming along with infomercials and religious shows. It became a charter affiliate of The WB starting on January 11, 1995. Shortly thereafter, the station came under 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 TV and began to be operated by WAVY. In May 1996, WVBT began broadcasting from a new transmitter, giving it a coverage area comparable to the other major Hampton Roads stations.
WVBT found out in the fall of 1995 that it was going to lose its WB affiliation to the market's original Fox affiliate, WTVZ, due to an affiliation deal between The WB and WTVZ's owner, Sinclair Broadcast Group
Sinclair Broadcast Group
The Sinclair Broadcast Group is an American telecommunications company that operates the largest number of local television stations in the United States. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, it owns a total of 57 stations across the country in 35 primarily small and medium markets, many of...
. LIN TV reached an affiliation agreement with Fox in November 1995, and WVBT swapped affiliations with WTVZ in August 1998.
LIN TV purchased WVBT-TV in February 2002 from the original broadcast company and owner that had a Local Marketing Agreement (LMA) with LIN TV.
Until January 2007, WAVY operated a 24-hour local weather channel on WVBT's 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...
taking advantage of its 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...
signal to present the service without interfering with video quality on either WAVY or WVBT. Known on-air as the "WAVY Weather Station", it is now cable-exclusive to address E/I
E/I
E/I, which stands for "educational and informative," refers to a type of children's television programming shown in the United States. The Federal Communications Commission requires that every full-service Terrestrial television station in the U.S. show at least three hours of these television...
requirement concerns and can be seen on Mediacom
Mediacom
Mediacom is a cable television and communications provider in the United States. Founded in July 1995, it serves primarily smaller markets in the Midwest and Southern United States. Formerly a publicly traded firm, it went private in a $600.0 million transaction in March 2011 and is, as of 2011,...
channel 9, 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 22, and Cox
Cox Communications
Cox Communications is a privately owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises providing digital cable television, telecommunications and wireless services in the United States...
digital channel 227. There are live current conditions, updated forecasts, and a live feed of "Super Doppler 10 HD". However, some listing services continue to show a second digital subchannel for WVBT erroneously.
On June 12, 2009 at 9 in the morning, WVBT's digital signal remained on channel 29 when the analog to digital conversion was completed. What is now WNLO-CD began as W45BG (call sign assigned November 1993) becoming WNLO-LP in November 2000 and WNLO-CA in January 2002. It went all-digital in January 2005 making it one of the first low-power stations in the country to begin digital broadcasting. Its calls became the current WNLO-CD ("CD" for "Class A Digital") in July 2009. This should not be confused with a CW-affiliated sister station
WNLO
WNLO is the CW-affiliated television station for Western New York licensed to Buffalo. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 32 from a transmitter on the eastern side of Grand Island. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 11 and Verizon FiOS channel 23...
in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
that uses the same call letters in full-power form. The channel could have used the calls WVBT-CA (as most of these situations in other markets
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...
do) but likely chose not to due to the mere two-channel separation between channels 43 and 45 to avert confusion.
Translators
WVBT is rebroacasted on two low-powered class A translators. While one translator (WNLO-CD) is licensed in Norfolk, VirginiaNorfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
with its digital transmitter located in Driver, Virginia
Driver, Virginia
Driver is a neighborhood in the independent city of Suffolk, Virginia, United States. It is located at the junction of State Route 337, State Route 125, and State Route 627....
the other one (WPMC-CA) is licensed in Mappsville, Virginia
Mappsville, Virginia
Mappsville is a census-designated place in Accomack County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2010 Census was 440.-References:*...
with its transmitter located in Bloxom, Virginia
Bloxom, Virginia
Bloxom is a town in Accomack County, Virginia, United States. The population was 395 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Bloxom is located at ....
in Accomack County
Accomack County, Virginia
As of the census of 2010, there were 33,164 people, 15,299 households, and 10,388 families residing in the county. The population density was 84 people per square mile . There were 19,550 housing units at an average density of 43 per square mile...
of which is in the Eastern Shore of Virginia
Eastern Shore of Virginia
The Eastern Shore of Virginia consists of two counties on the Atlantic coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The region is part of the Delmarva Peninsula and is separated from the rest of Virginia by the Chesapeake Bay. Its population was 45,553 as of 2010...
. Both class A translators are owned and operated by WAVY Broadcasting, LLC and LIN TV. Unlike WNLO-CD of which is a digital Class A translator in Driver, Virginia
Driver, Virginia
Driver is a neighborhood in the independent city of Suffolk, Virginia, United States. It is located at the junction of State Route 337, State Route 125, and State Route 627....
, WPMC-CA in Bloxom, Virginia
Bloxom, Virginia
Bloxom is a town in Accomack County, Virginia, United States. The population was 395 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Bloxom is located at ....
is not a digital Class A translator because, it seems like WAVY Broadcasting and parent company LIN TV have not yet upgraded WPMC-CA into a digital class A translator.
- WPMC-CA Channel 36 MappsvilleMappsville, VirginiaMappsville is a census-designated place in Accomack County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2010 Census was 440.-References:*...
- WNLO-CD Channel 45 NorfolkNorfolk, VirginiaNorfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
Newscasts
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliate WTKR
WTKR
WTKR is the CBS affiliate television station serving the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, officially known as the Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News DMA. The station is licensed to Norfolk and broadcasts on channel 40 . Its transmitter is located in Suffolk, Virginia...
produced a short-lived show on WGNT
WGNT
WGNT, channel 27 , is a television station licensed to Portsmouth, Virginia, USA. WGNT is the CW Television Network affiliate for the Hampton Roads television market and is owned by Local TV, which also operates WTKR , Hampton Roads' CBS affiliate...
from 1995 until 1997. 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 WVEC-TV
WVEC-TV
WVEC is the ABC affiliate television station for the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, which includes Norfolk, Portsmouth, Newport News, and the surrounding area. It is licensed to Hampton, with its main studio in downtown Norfolk. Its transmitter is located in Suffolk, Virginia...
also produced a prime time newscast on low-powered WPEN-LP
WPEN-LP
WPEN-LP was a low-powered television station serving the Hampton Roads television market broadcasting on Channel 68, later moved to channel 47 as W47CE.The station also had two repeaters:* W51BH, Gloucester, Virginia...
from 1995 until it started cable-only LNC 4
Local News on Cable
Local News on Cable, or LNC5, was a joint venture between WVEC-TV , Cox Communications Hampton Roads, and The Virginian-Pilot. LNC5 was owned by the Belo Corporation. Launched on February 24, 1997 as LNC4 on Cox Cable channel 4. It later moved to channel 5 after the launch of independent station...
(now LNC 5) in 1997. WVEC continued to produce a 10 o'clock show on the cable channel until January 30, 2009. The 45 minute broadcast on WVBT is followed by the Fox 43 Sports Wrap with sports news and highlights.
On July 21, 2008, the newscast and sports show started to be produced in high definition after WAVY made the upgrade. On February 2, 2009, WVBT added Fox 43 News at 7 on weekday mornings featuring news, weather and traffic updates along with various entertainment/lifestyle features. This morning show ended on January 8, 2010 and was replaced by The Hampton Roads Show which launched January 18, 2010 from a secondary set that is also streamed live on its website. The Hampton Roads Show moved to WAVY at 11 a.m. on September 12, 2011.
Anchors
- Nicole Livas - weeknights
Super Doppler 10 HD Meteorologists
- Don Slater - Chief seen weeknights
- Sagay Galindo - weekends
Sports
- Bruce Rader - Director seen weeknights and Old Dominion Football ShowOld Dominion Monarchs footballThe Old Dominion Monarchs football team is the college football program for Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. The Monarchs compete at the NCAA Division I-FCS level. The university did not compete between 1941 and 2009. The team was reborn beginning in 2009, competing for two years as an...
host - Ali Lucia - weekends and reporter
Reporters
- Tracie Page - "Face of Fox 43"
- Melanie Woodrow - military and political
- John Massey - helicopter
- Ava Hurdle - Senior
- Katie Collett
- Jason Marks
- Andy Fox