WVNY
Encyclopedia
WVNY is the ABC
-affiliated television station
for Vermont
's Champlain Valley
and Upstate
New York's North Country
. Licensed to Burlington, Vermont
, it broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on VHF channel 13 (virtual channel
22.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter on Vermont's highest peak Mount Mansfield
. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable
, Charter
, and Comcast
channel 4. There is a high definition feed offered on Charter digital channel 704, Comcast digital channel 722, and Time Warner
Cable digital channel 889.
Owned by Lambert Broadcasting, WVNY is operated by Smith Media, LLC
through a local marketing agreement
(LMA). This makes it sister to Fox
affiliate WFFF-TV
and the two share studios on Mountain View Drive in Colchester, Vermont
. Syndicated
programming on this station includes The Office, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
, The Dr. Oz Show
, and The People's Court
among others. WVNY can be seen on analog repeater W09BB channel 9 in Schroon Lake, New York. This has a transmitter southeast of the town's Severance section and does not currently have an application to air a digital signal.
Like other network stations serving Burlington and Plattsburgh, it has a large audience in Southern Quebec
, Canada
. This includes Montreal
, a city that is ten times more populous than all of WVNY's entire American
viewing area combined. On Vidéotron
systems in the city, it can be seen on channel 22. It can also be seen on Illico channel 51 and in high definition on digital channel 651.
radio station. In 1982, the calls were switched back to WVNY. The station maintained studios on Farrell Street off of Shelburne Road/US 7
in South Burlington
. WVNY was the host station for the 1980 Winter Olympics
and the famous Miracle on Ice
ice hockey game between the United States
and Soviet Union
.
For many years it, had to compete against fellow ABC affiliate WMTW-TV
in Portland, Maine
whose transmitter on Mount Washington
covered most of Vermont. That station had been the ABC affiliate of record for the market
until this station signed-on and continued to be offered on many of the area's cable systems well into the 1980s. From the 1980s until 1995
, WVNY dropped ABC's General Hospital
in favor of cartoon
s and aired Boston Red Sox
baseball
games on Friday nights. Viewers could still see General Hospital on CFCF-TV
in Montreal
.
For a time, the station aired Canadian Football League
football games. During the 1990s, it frequently dropped network programming in favor of infomercial
s. As a result, several ABC shows were never seen in Montreal. However, in the late 1990s, WVNY began airing the entire ABC schedule, of which it continues as of this day, but the only exception was from 2003-2005, when WVNY was purchased by Lambert Broadcasting as it would pre-empt Jimmy Kimmel Live
for the same purpose (at first only the last half hour of the show but later the whole hour). In 2005, WVNY became sister station to WFFF after Lambert Broadcasting acquired this station and entered into a local marketing agreement with Smith Media (owner of WFFF). The company then moved WVNY into that station's Colchester facilities.
WVNY-DT on channel 13 became the first VHF high definition station in the market when it signed-on in 2006
. The station became digital-only effective February 17, 2009. On the date, WVNY-DT remained on its current pre-transition channel assignment, VHF channel 13, identifying as channel 22.1 via PSIP. It has had difficulty achieving equivalent coverage with its digital signal compared to analog channel 22 raising concerns some parts of Vermont would be left without a full-power ABC affiliate. This turned out to be the case for Enosburg, Vermont
in Franklin County
. The channel 22 position was given to CBS
affiliate WCAX-TV
for its digital operation.
During the analog era and for a time after the digital transition, WVNY operated a total of five additional repeater signals. Originally, WSYR-TV
in Syracuse, New York
served Massena
and Malone
. On September 23, 1987, this was replaced by new sign-on WWTI
in Watertown. However, both stations were available in Massena and Malone for a short time. Eventually, WVNY added repeater station W60AF on channel 60 in Malone. W09BB channel 9 in Schroon Lake is the only repeater remaining of the translator network to this day. Due to its low-powered status, this was exempt from switching to digital on June 12, 2009.
A retransmission dispute forced Time Warner Cable systems to replace WVNY with WUTR
from Utica, New York
on December 16, 2010. The station returned to the lineup on January 8, 2011.
against WCAX and NBC
affiliate WPTZ
. Besides the difficulties of being the youngest network affiliate in the market, it was a UHF station in an area that is very mountainous. These stations usually do not get good reception in rugged terrain. WVNY's last and best attempt at a news department was begun in August 1999 with nightly newscasts at 6 and 11 branded as ABC 22 News.
There were also weekday morning local news and weather cut-ins at :25 and :55 past the hour during Good Morning America
from 7 until 9. However, due to financial troubles and low ratings, production was shut down on September 12, 2003. This resulted in the termination of 25 news related personnel. From that point, WCAX and WPTZ operated well established news departments. WCAX has traditionally had a Vermont focus in coverage while WPTZ tends to cover more from New York State.
After WVNY moved into WFFF's studios in 2005, Smith Media made an announcement the company was planning to establish a news department for the two stations. On March 3, 2008, WFFF added a weeknight and Saturday broadcast at 7 on WVNY known as Fox 44 Local News on ABC. As a result, this station became first in the area to offer local news in the time slot. The move to launch the show was due in part to tough competition of newscasts at 6 seen on WCAX and WPTZ. As is the case on WFFF, the WVNY broadcasts are produced in high definition. The Saturday edition eventually moved to 6:30 which has been the case on Sundays from the start in order to accommodate ABC programming. The WVNY broadcasts mark the return of local news on this station since it shut down its own news department.
On August 18, 2008, WFFF began airing a two-hour weekday morning show called Fox 44 Local News This Morning. Included in the launch were local news and weather cut-ins on WVNY during its airing of Good Morning America. This occurs at :25 and :55 past the hour from 7 until 9 at which time the two stations simulcast each other. Eventually, an additional hour of the broadcast starting at 6 was added to WVNY and is known as ABC 22 This Morning. This station has since expanded the show to a traditional two hour newscast starting at 5. At some point in time, WVNY added a nightly broadcast at 11 becoming more of a big three affiliate
offering local news (taking on WCAX and WPTZ) even though WFFF produces the broadcasts.
Due to the relatively new status of the news department, there is a Vermont focus in coverage. During weather forecast segments, WFFF uses live NOAA National Weather Service
radar data from three regional sites. It is presented on-screen in a system known as "Sky Tracker HD Triple Doppler". Weather forecasts from WFFF can be heard on WSNO
-AM 1450, WMOO
-FM 92.1/W257AU-FM 99.3, WDOT-FM 95.7, WWFY
-FM 100.9, WCPV
-FM 101.3, WEXP-FM 101.5/WTHK
-FM 100.7/W264AB-FM 104.7, and WORK-FM
107.1.
SkyTracker HD Meteorologists
Sports
Reporters
Photographers
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 Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
's Champlain Valley
Champlain Valley
The Champlain Valley is a region of the United States around Lake Champlain in Vermont and New York extending slightly into Quebec, Canada as part of the St. Lawrence River drainage basin drained northward by the Richelieu River into the St...
and Upstate
Upstate New York
Upstate New York is the region of the U.S. state of New York that is located north of the core of the New York metropolitan area.-Definition:There is no clear or official boundary between Upstate New York and Downstate New York...
New York's North Country
North Country, New York
The North Country is a region of the U.S. state of New York that encompasses the state's extreme northern frontier, bordering Lake Ontario on the west, the Saint Lawrence River and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec on the north and northwest, and Lake Champlain and Vermont on the east...
. Licensed to Burlington, Vermont
Burlington, Vermont
Burlington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the shire town of Chittenden County. Burlington lies south of the U.S.-Canadian border and some south of Montreal....
, 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 VHF channel 13 (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....
22.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter on Vermont's highest peak Mount Mansfield
Mount Mansfield
Mount Mansfield is the highest mountain in Vermont with a summit that peaks at above sea level. The summit is in Underhill; the ridgeline, including some secondary peaks, extends into the town of Stowe, and the mountain's flanks also reach into the town of Cambridge.When viewed from the east or...
. 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...
, 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 Charter digital channel 704, Comcast digital channel 722, 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 889.
Owned by Lambert Broadcasting, WVNY is operated by Smith Media, LLC
Smith Media, LLC
Smith Media, LLC, successor to Smith Television, is a broadcasting group co-based in Los Angeles, California and St. Petersburg, Florida, that owns and operates seven television stations across the United States....
through 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). This makes it sister to Fox
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...
affiliate WFFF-TV
WFFF-TV
WFFF-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for Vermont's Champlain Valley and Upstate New York's North Country. Licensed to Burlington, Vermont, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 43 from a transmitter on Vermont's highest peak, Mount Mansfield...
and the two share studios on Mountain View Drive in Colchester, Vermont
Colchester, Vermont
Colchester is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. The population was 17,067 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth-largest municipality and second-largest town in Vermont by population.-Geography:...
. 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 this station includes The Office, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (U.S. syndicated game show)
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? is a daily syndicated version of the former primetime American quiz game show of the same name that aired on Fox. It ran from September 21, 2009 to March 24, 2011 and was produced by Mark Burnett, and, like the primetime version, was hosted by Jeff Foxworthy...
, 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....
, and 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....
among others. WVNY can be seen on analog repeater W09BB channel 9 in Schroon Lake, New York. This has a transmitter southeast of the town's Severance section and does not currently have an application to air a digital signal.
Like other network stations serving Burlington and Plattsburgh, it has a large audience in Southern Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. This includes Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, a city that is ten times more populous than all of WVNY's entire American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
viewing area combined. On Vidéotron
Vidéotron
Vidéotron GP is a Canadian integrated telecommunications company active in cable television, interactive multimedia development, video on demand, cable telephony, wireless communication and Internet access services. Currently, the company primarily serves Quebec, as well as the francophone...
systems in the city, it can be seen on channel 22. It can also be seen on Illico channel 51 and in high definition on digital channel 651.
History
WVNY signed-on August 19, 1968 and aired an analog on UHF channel 22. It was the first station in the area to air live broadcasts in color. In 1971, it switched its call letters to WEZF-TV to match its sister FMWEZF
WEZF is an English-language American radio station located in Burlington, Vermont. The station, while primarily adult contemporary, plays mostly hot adult contemporary/adult top 40 music from the late 1970s through now....
radio station. In 1982, the calls were switched back to WVNY. The station maintained studios on Farrell Street off of Shelburne Road/US 7
U.S. Route 7
U.S. Route 7 is a north–south United States highway in western New England that runs for from Norwalk, Connecticut, to Highgate, Vermont. The highway's southern terminus is at Interstate 95 in Norwalk, Connecticut...
in South Burlington
South Burlington, Vermont
-Economy:CommutAir, a regional airline, is headquartered in the city, by the airport. The Magic Hat Brewing Company, one of the United States's larger craft breweries, is located here.One measure of economic activity is retail sales...
. WVNY was the host station for the 1980 Winter Olympics
1980 Winter Olympics
The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIII Olympic Winter Games, was a multi-sport event which was celebrated from 13 February through 24 February 1980 in Lake Placid, New York, United States of America. This was the second time the Upstate New York village hosted the Games, after 1932...
and the famous Miracle on Ice
Miracle on Ice
The "Miracle on Ice" is the name in American popular culture for a medal-round men's ice hockey game during the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York, on Friday, February 22...
ice hockey game between the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
For many years it, had to compete against fellow ABC affiliate WMTW-TV
WMTW-TV
WMTW is the ABC-affiliated television station for Southern Maine and Northern New Hampshire licensed to Poland Spring, Maine. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 8 from a transmitter in West Baldwin, Maine. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable and Comcast...
in Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
whose transmitter on Mount Washington
Mount Washington (New Hampshire)
Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at , famous for dangerously erratic weather. For 76 years, a weather observatory on the summit held the record for the highest wind gust directly measured at the Earth's surface, , on the afternoon of April 12, 1934...
covered most of Vermont. That station had been the ABC affiliate of record for 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...
until this station signed-on and continued to be offered on many of the area's cable systems well into the 1980s. From the 1980s until 1995
1995 in television
The year 1995 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1995.For the American TV schedule, see: 1995-96 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-1950s:...
, WVNY dropped ABC's General Hospital
General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
in favor of cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
s and aired Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
games on Friday nights. Viewers could still see General Hospital on CFCF-TV
CFCF-TV
CFCF-DT is a CTV-owned and operated station located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada...
in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
.
For a time, the station aired Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
football games. During the 1990s, it frequently dropped network programming in favor of infomercial
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...
s. As a result, several ABC shows were never seen in Montreal. However, in the late 1990s, WVNY began airing the entire ABC schedule, of which it continues as of this day, but the only exception was from 2003-2005, when WVNY was purchased by Lambert Broadcasting as it would pre-empt Jimmy Kimmel Live
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Jimmy Kimmel Live! is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and broadcast on ABC.The nightly hour-long show made its debut on January 26, 2003, following Super Bowl XXXVII. Jimmy Kimmel Live! is produced by Jackhole Productions in association with ABC Studios...
for the same purpose (at first only the last half hour of the show but later the whole hour). In 2005, WVNY became sister station to WFFF after Lambert Broadcasting acquired this station and entered into a local marketing agreement with Smith Media (owner of WFFF). The company then moved WVNY into that station's Colchester facilities.
WVNY-DT on channel 13 became the first VHF high definition station in the market when it signed-on in 2006
2006 in American television
-Events:-Debuts :-Television shows:-1950s:*Hallmark Hall of Fame .*PGA Tour on CBS .*American Religious Townhall .*Guiding Light .*The Today Show ....
. The station became digital-only effective February 17, 2009. On the date, WVNY-DT remained on its current pre-transition channel assignment, VHF channel 13, identifying as channel 22.1 via PSIP. It has had difficulty achieving equivalent coverage with its digital signal compared to analog channel 22 raising concerns some parts of Vermont would be left without a full-power ABC affiliate. This turned out to be the case for Enosburg, Vermont
Enosburg, Vermont
Enosburgh is a town in Franklin County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,788 at the 2000 census. Enosburgh includes the village Enosburg Falls and the locations Bordoville, East Enosburgh, North Enosburgh, Samsonville, West Enosburgh, and Enosburgh Center. Enosburgh was named for Roger...
in Franklin County
Franklin County, Vermont
Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. It is part of the Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 47,746. Its shire town is the City of St. Albans.-Geography:...
. The channel 22 position was given to CBS
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 WCAX-TV
WCAX-TV
WCAX-TV, virtual channel 3, is a television station in Burlington, Vermont, USA. WCAX is affiliated with the CBS Television Network and has been locally owned by the Hasbrook/Martin family and their company, Mount Mansfield Television, since the station's inception...
for its digital operation.
During the analog era and for a time after the digital transition, WVNY operated a total of five additional repeater signals. Originally, WSYR-TV
WSYR-TV
WSYR-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for Central New York State that is licensed to Syracuse. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 17 from a transmitter on Sevier Road in Pompey. The station can also be seen on Time Warner channel 9 and in high definition on...
in Syracuse, New York
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
served Massena
Massena (village), New York
Massena is a village in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 13,589 at the 2000 census. The village is named after Andre Massena, one of Napoleon's generals....
and Malone
Malone (village), New York
-Notable natives:Notable natives include:*William Almon Wheeler served as Vice President of the United States under Rutherford Hayes. Is buried at Morningside Cemetery in Malone....
. On September 23, 1987, this was replaced by new sign-on WWTI
WWTI
WWTI is the ABC-affiliated television station for Upstate New York's North Country. Licensed to Watertown, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 21 from a transmitter on Hayes Road in Copenhagen. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 5 and in high...
in Watertown. However, both stations were available in Massena and Malone for a short time. Eventually, WVNY added repeater station W60AF on channel 60 in Malone. W09BB channel 9 in Schroon Lake is the only repeater remaining of the translator network to this day. Due to its low-powered status, this was exempt from switching to digital on June 12, 2009.
A retransmission dispute forced Time Warner Cable systems to replace WVNY with WUTR
WUTR
WUTR is the ABC-affiliated television station for Central Upstate New York's Mohawk Valley. Licensed to Utica, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 30 from a transmitter at its studios on Smith Hill Road in Deerfield...
from Utica, New York
Utica, New York
Utica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....
on December 16, 2010. The station returned to the lineup on January 8, 2011.
News operation
Since the 1980s, WVNY has made a few attempts operating a local news department and airing newscasts but none of them ever made any headway in Nielsen ratingsNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
against WCAX and NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate WPTZ
WPTZ
WPTZ, virtual channel 5, is an NBC-affiliated television station located in Plattsburgh, New York, USA. WPTZ is owned by Hearst Television, and has its studios in Plattsburgh and transmitter located on Mount Mansfield in Vermont....
. Besides the difficulties of being the youngest network affiliate in the market, it was a UHF station in an area that is very mountainous. These stations usually do not get good reception in rugged terrain. WVNY's last and best attempt at a news department was begun in August 1999 with nightly newscasts at 6 and 11 branded as ABC 22 News.
There were also weekday morning local news and weather cut-ins at :25 and :55 past the hour during Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
from 7 until 9. However, due to financial troubles and low ratings, production was shut down on September 12, 2003. This resulted in the termination of 25 news related personnel. From that point, WCAX and WPTZ operated well established news departments. WCAX has traditionally had a Vermont focus in coverage while WPTZ tends to cover more from New York State.
After WVNY moved into WFFF's studios in 2005, Smith Media made an announcement the company was planning to establish a news department for the two stations. On March 3, 2008, WFFF added a weeknight and Saturday broadcast at 7 on WVNY known as Fox 44 Local News on ABC. As a result, this station became first in the area to offer local news in the time slot. The move to launch the show was due in part to tough competition of newscasts at 6 seen on WCAX and WPTZ. As is the case on WFFF, the WVNY broadcasts are produced in high definition. The Saturday edition eventually moved to 6:30 which has been the case on Sundays from the start in order to accommodate ABC programming. The WVNY broadcasts mark the return of local news on this station since it shut down its own news department.
On August 18, 2008, WFFF began airing a two-hour weekday morning show called Fox 44 Local News This Morning. Included in the launch were local news and weather cut-ins on WVNY during its airing of Good Morning America. This occurs at :25 and :55 past the hour from 7 until 9 at which time the two stations simulcast each other. Eventually, an additional hour of the broadcast starting at 6 was added to WVNY and is known as ABC 22 This Morning. This station has since expanded the show to a traditional two hour newscast starting at 5. At some point in time, WVNY added a nightly broadcast at 11 becoming more of a big three affiliate
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...
offering local news (taking on WCAX and WPTZ) even though WFFF produces the broadcasts.
Due to the relatively new status of the news department, there is a Vermont focus in coverage. During weather forecast segments, WFFF uses live NOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service
The National Weather Service , once known as the Weather Bureau, is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States government...
radar data from three regional sites. It is presented on-screen in a system known as "Sky Tracker HD Triple Doppler". Weather forecasts from WFFF can be heard on WSNO
WSNO
WSNO is a radio station licensed to serve Barre, Vermont. The station is owned by Nassau Broadcasting III, LLC. It airs a Talk radio format featuring Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Doug Stephan.The station also features local news and weather, high school sports, NFL Football and...
-AM 1450, WMOO
WMOO
WMOO is a hot adult contemporary formatted radio station broadcasting from Derby Center, Vermont, USA. It is owned by Nassau Broadcasting Partners. It is rebroadcast on W257AU 99.3 in St. Johnsbury....
-FM 92.1/W257AU-FM 99.3, WDOT-FM 95.7, WWFY
WWFY
WWFY is a radio station licensed to serve Berlin, Vermont. The station is owned by Nassau Broadcasting III, LLC. It airs a Country format....
-FM 100.9, WCPV
WCPV
WCPV is an English-language American radio station broadcasting a sports radio format. Licensed to Essex, New York, USA, the station serves the Champlain Valley of New York and Vermont...
-FM 101.3, WEXP-FM 101.5/WTHK
WTHK
WTHK, known on-air as "The Hawk" was a radio station located at 97.5 FM which had a classic rock format. Although the station was originally licensed to Trenton, New Jersey, changing to Burlington, New Jersey in early 2006, The Hawk targeted the Philadelphia broadcasting area in addition to its own...
-FM 100.7/W264AB-FM 104.7, and WORK-FM
WORK (FM)
WORK is a radio station licensed to serve Barre, Vermont. The station is owned by Nassau Broadcasting III, LLC. It airs a Classic Hits format....
107.1.
Newscast titles
- NewsCenter 22 (1980s-1999)
- 22 News Now (1990s)
- ABC 22 News (1999-2003)
- Fox 44 Local News (2008-present)
Station slogans
- "Vermont & New York's ABC Station" (2004-2007)
- "Start Here" (2007-present, localized version of ABC ad campaign)
News team
Anchors- Jackie Morlock - weekday mornings and reporter
- Lauren Maloney - weeknights at 7 and reporter
- Greg Navarro - weeknights at 11 and reporter
- Brittney Hibbs - weekends and reporter
SkyTracker HD Meteorologists
- Nick Johnston - weeknights
- Kerrin Jeromin (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,...
Seal of Approval) - weekday mornings - Steven Glazier - weekends and news reporter
Sports
- Kristian Read - 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 and "Read My Lips" segment producer - Sam Lazur - weekends and sports reporter
Reporters
- Louisa Moller - videojournalist
- Natalie Paterson
- Rachael Kent
- Matt Austin
- Nick Natario
Photographers
- Tyson Foster - weekday mornings
- Steve Longchamp
- Kyle DuBreuil
- Bob Conley
External links
- WVNY "ABC 22" (can be entered into web-enabled mobile device for wireless access)
- WFFF-TV "Fox 44"