WVUE
Encyclopedia
WVUE-DT, broadcasting on virtual channel
8, is a TV station in New Orleans, Louisiana
, affiliated with the Fox Broadcasting Company
. WVUE is owned by Louisiana Media Company, with studios in the Gert Town
section of New Orleans and transmitter in Chalmette, Louisiana
.
Digital channels
This station's digital signal is multiplexed:>
Channel
Video
Aspect
Callsign
Programming
8.1
720p
16:9
FOX8 HD
Main WVUE programming / FOX
8.2
480i
4:3
FOX8 SD
Bounce Television Network
On December 15, 2008, WVUE became the first New Orleans television station to cease its analog broadcast. On December 22, 2008, WVUE moved its digital broadcasts to its former analog channel number, 8. This made WVUE the second station in the market after Telemundo
affiliate KGLA-DT
(which was launched without an analog signal) to become a digital-only station prior to the analog television shutdown
that occurred on June 12, 2009.
After New Orleans Saints
owner Tom Benson's
Louisiana Media Company took over WVUE from Emmis, WVUE-DT was finally added to Cox Communications in New Orleans and to Charter Communications on the Northshore and Tri-Parish area in August (Cox) and September (Charter) 2008. Both Charter and Cox carry WVUE-DT on channel 708. WVUE-DT can also be found on other cable systems in Southeast Louisiana and South and Coastal Mississippi, plus on AT&T U-verse in the New Orleans area on channels 8 (SD) and 1008 (HD).
Digital subchannel 8.2 is available over the air and can also be found on Cox Communications in the New Orleans viewing area on channel 115 and Charter Communications in the surrounding parishes on channel 108 (Northshore), and on channel 137 (Southshore). AT&T has yet to offer this on their U-verse service for the area. WVUE announced the addition of a subchannel carrying the Retro Television Network
on August 23, 2010. WVUE dropped the Fox 8 Newschannel branding in favor of RTV
weekdays, as well as similar general entertainment programming on weekends. On November 11, 2011, WVUE signed an affiliation agreement with Bounce TV
, a general entertainment network aimed at African-Americans between the ages of 25-54; the network is available on digital subchannel 8.2 and Cox digital channel 115, replacing RTV.
station. On November 30, 2010, WVUE's digital signal was moved back to UHF channel 29.
in Baton Rouge). Originally broadcasting on channel 61, it then moved to channel 20 in 1956 http://www.davidgleason.com/Archive%20BC/BC%201956/Broadcasting%201956%209%203.pdf. It was originally a CBS
affiliate with a secondary ABC
affiliation. During 1957 and 1958 WJMR-TV simulcasted its signal on Channel 12 using the call sign KK2XFW-TV http://www.mcsittel.com/html/tvg-gc.htm. When WWL-TV
(channel 4) signed on in 1957, WWL took over the CBS affiliation because of WWL radio's longtime affiliation with CBS radio. WJMR was left with ABC.
The station moved to channel 13 on January 13, 1959 and changed call letters to WVUE. The station moved to channel 12 on September 10, 1962 due to interference with WLOX
in Biloxi, Mississippi
, which also broadcasts on channel 13. Screen Gems
, the television arm of Columbia Pictures
, bought the station in 1965. On June 8, 1970 at 8 p.m., it made a highly-publicized switch of dial positions with the city's PBS
station, WYES-TV
, and moved to its current location on channel 8. This was done to give WVUE a larger broadcast range it could not have on channel 12, as WJTV
of Jackson, MS broadcast on that channel. The channel 61 allocation was assigned to the now defunct WLPN-LP
and the channel 20 allocation was assigned to station WHNO
.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the station would consistently rank as a distant third place in the ratings behind WWL-TV and WDSU-TV, even as ABC topped the national ratings for a time in the mid-1970s. One of the primary reasons for WVUE's third-place position was the station's heavy preemptions of network programs. For example, during much of the 1970s, WVUE preempted portions of ABC's daytime soap opera
schedule and aired westerns, cartoons and off-network sitcoms in their place. Additionally, WVUE preempted many of the network's Saturday morning cartoons as well as American Bandstand
. WVUE also preempted ABC's late night programming, which prior to the debut of Nightline consisted of movies and reruns of prime-time shows. Viewers in the New Orleans area who wanted to see most of ABC's programming in full could turn their sets to the network's other affiliates in surrounding markets: WRBT (now WVLA
, channel 33) and later WBRZ (Channel 2) from Baton Rouge
, west of New Orleans, or to WLOX from Biloxi, to the east. WVUE started broadcasting 24 hours a day in June 1986, being the last commercial station in New Orleans to cease signing off.
Columbia Pictures sold WVUE to Oklahoma City
-based Gaylord Broadcasting Company
in 1977. Under the new ownership, WVUE reinstated ABC's full daytime drama lineup to its schedule in the fall of 1978. In spite of ownership changes and programming modifications, WVUE was still unable to improve its place in the ratings. When Gaylord Broadcasting began a gradual paring-down its station group in 1987, WVUE was sold to Burnham Broadcasting. The station continued to under-perform in the ratings into the 1990s.
In early 1994, after the Fox Broadcasting Company
won television rights to the National Football Conference
of the National Football League
, it arranged to have Savoy Pictures
purchase WVUE and Burnham's three other stations; WALA-TV
(channel 10) in Mobile, Alabama
; WLUK-TV
(channel 11) in Green Bay, Wisconsin
and KHON-TV
(channel 2) in Honolulu, Hawaii
. As part of the deal, the stations would all convert to Fox affiliates. Fox would own a minority voting stock in these stations and the company would be called "Savoy Fox" (however, in 1995, Fox opted not to have voting stock in the company, although it would still hold an interest).
The transaction was completed in the summer of 1995. On January 1, 1996, WVUE became the area's new Fox affiliate. The ABC affiliation in New Orleans went to WGNO
(channel 26), which had been an affiliate of the WB Television Network. WNOL-TV
(channel 38), which had been the market's original Fox affiliate, took the WB affiliation. Unlike the New World Communications
-owned stations which joined the network at around the same time, the Savoy stations, including WVUE, carried Fox's children's programming
during weekdays. Fox's ratings increased slightly from when it was on WNOL, but WVUE's news ratings still stayed well behind WWL-TV and WDSU. Savoy sold the station (along with the other three former Burnham stations) in 1997 to Silver King/USA Broadcasting
. Emmis Communications
became the owner of these stations in 1999.
In recent years, WVUE acquired stronger shows on its lineup, including acquiring the New Orleans rights to Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!
as part of a group deal with Emmis' Fox stations group—a rarity for a Fox station (prior to airing on channel 8, they aired for about two decades on WWL-TV).
On May 5, 2008, Emmis Communications announced an agreement to sell the station to Louisiana Media Company, a new media group founded by New Orleans Saints
owner Tom Benson
(Saints games had already been airing on WVUE since the affiliation switch). Benson stated that he planned for the new company to acquire several radio and television stations nationwide and to be involved in movie production. The FCC approved the sale on July 14, 2008. Louisiana Media Company took possession of the station on July 18, 2008.http://www.fox8live.com/www/NewsItem.aspx?NewsID=4536http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/media/emmis-completes-sale-wvue-tv-new-orleans-louisiana-media-company/ Ownership of WVUE became evident when a fleur-de-lis
emblem was superimposed in the "O" of the "Fox 8" logo after modifications were made.
Hurricane Katrina
struck Greater New Orleans at the end of August 2005. WVUE's operations were temporarily moved to then-sister station WALA's studios in Mobile, Alabama. WVUE's studio on Jefferson Davis Parkway is located in a low-lying part of the city that was badly flooded due to the Katrina levee failures
. It was so badly damaged that Emmis has told some of the on-air staff that they were free to seek work elsewhere without penalty or assertion of non-compete clause
s outside of the market.
Soon, meteorologist Crystal Wicker left for Indianapolis
' WRTV
, where she began work October 3.http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050919/COLUMNISTS04/509190430/1006/NEWS01 Weekend meteorologist Jeff Baskin went to Portland, Oregon
's KOIN-TV. Reporter Summer Jackson went to Chicago to work at CLTV
while reporter Kerry Cavanaugh took a job at WBAL-TV
in Baltimore, Maryland.
Following the storm, WVUE presented a rotating 15-minute newscast streaming on its website coming from WALA, slowly restoring the regular station schedule as developments faded and reconstruction on news operations continued.
In mid-June 2006, construction of the station's permanent news set and weather center was completed. Before then, a temporary news set and newsroom were set up in the station's production room. Station manager Vanessa Oubre said remodeling/reconstruction of the rest of the building should be completed by November 2006. The sale of the station was also affected and was delayed for two years because of the rebuilding; Emmis had intended to divest all its television assets by the start of 2007, but kept ownership until WVUE was sold to LMC.
On May 31, 1982, WVUE launched a 5 p.m. newscast, with Live At Five. After the Fox affiliation switch, WVUE initially kept its 6 p.m. newscast, along with the 5 p.m. newscast. The 10 p.m. newscast it had as an ABC affiliate was dropped in favor of an hour-long 9 p.m. newscast then was split ten months later into separate half-hour newscasts at 9 and 10 p.m. with syndicated sitcoms airing at 9:30 p.m.; it continued in this format until 2001, when the weeknight 9 p.m. newscast was reverted back to an hour and the 10 p.m. newscast was cancelled once more due to the lack of a strong program lead-in.
Even after becoming a Fox affiliate, WVUE still did not have a weekday morning newscast throughout the 1990s; in 2002, WVUE debuted what was originally a two-hour weekday morning newscast, airing from 6-8 a.m. In 2005, the station dropped the weeknight 6 p.m. newscast and created an hour-long block of news that competes against the local and national evening newscasts on WWL-TV, WDSU and WGNO, with the addition of a weeknight 5:30 p.m. newscast that joined the existing 5 p.m. newscast.
On April 29, 2007, WVUE became the first TV station in New Orleans to broadcast a newscast in high definition
. In January 2010, WVUE underwent a major production upgrade by going nearly all HD for their entire operation, plus introducing the first HD-based weather system in New Orleans. Currently as of October 2010, WVUE remains the first station in the New Orleans market to broadcast its local newscasts in high definition; this is in contrast to WWL-TV, WDSU, and WGNO who broadcast their newscasts in 16:9
widescreen
standard definition.
On February 1, 2010, WVUE expanded their morning newscasts from three to four hours by adding a new weather-heavy based newscast from 5-6 a.m. called "Fox 8 Morning Call" with morning meteorologists Chris Franklin and Dawn Brown, who had worked at WWL-TV, but was not renewed on her contract. Both Franklin and Brown now rotate on the FOX 8 Morning News every weekday morning from 6-9 a.m. A weeknight-only 10 p.m. newscast (the third newscast in that time-slot in the station's history) was also given a slot on the station's schedule on that date; initially only a test run, the 10 p.m. newscast became permanent again on May 5, 2010 when former WWL-TV anchor Lee Zurik joined the on-air staff.
In July 2010, the station expanded the 10 p.m. newscast to weekend evenings, making WVUE one of the few Fox stations nationwide with a newscast in the traditional late news time-slot that airs seven nights a week (some Fox stations that carry a local newscast in the traditional late news time-slot air them on weeknights only). On May 23, 2011, WVUE-TV debuted an hour-long midday newscast at noon, that is anchored by WVUE reporter and former WGNO anchor Liz Reyes and meteorologist Dawn Brown. On September 12, 2011 WVUE debuted an hour-long 4 p.m. newscast; this will increase the station's weekdaily news output to 8½ hours.
. At 10 p.m., WVUE has held second position in the market.
Weather team
Sports team
Reporters
Contributing writers
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....
8, is a TV station in New Orleans, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, affiliated with the Fox Broadcasting Company
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...
. WVUE is owned by Louisiana Media Company, with studios in the Gert Town
Gert Town, New Orleans
Gert Town is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. Local traditional definitions of the boundaries vary; this article discusses those designated by the New Orleans City Planning Commission, which includes the right across the Zion City area, which many locals consider a separate neighborhood...
section of New Orleans and transmitter in Chalmette, Louisiana
Chalmette, Louisiana
Chalmette is a census-designated place in and the parish seat of St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 32,069 at the 2000 census. It is part of the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area...
.
Digital television
WVUE-DT broadcasts on digital channel 29.Digital channels
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,...
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 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 ...
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...
Bounce TV
Bounce TV is a United States television network airing on digital terrestrial television stations. Promoted as "the first 24/7 digital multicast broadcast network created exclusively for African Americans," Bounce TV launched on September 26, 2011 and features programming geared toward blacks in...
On December 15, 2008, WVUE became the first New Orleans television station to cease its analog broadcast. On December 22, 2008, WVUE moved its digital broadcasts to its former analog channel number, 8. This made WVUE the second station in the market after Telemundo
Telemundo
Telemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision....
affiliate KGLA-DT
KGLA-DT
KGLA-DT is a digital-only television station that began broadcasting on June 5, 2007 under the callsign WHMM-DT. The station broadcasts SD 480i on UHF channel 42 and serves as the Telemundo affiliate for the New Orleans DMA. The city of license is Hammond, Louisiana...
(which was launched without an analog signal) to become a digital-only station prior to the analog television shutdown
DTV transition in the United States
The DTV transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...
that occurred on June 12, 2009.
After New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
owner Tom Benson's
Tom Benson
See also Tom Benson and Tom Benson for the Northern Ireland Unionist.Tom Benson is the owner of the New Orleans Saints. He is currently the owner of several automobile dealerships in the Greater New Orleans and San Antonio areas...
Louisiana Media Company took over WVUE from Emmis, WVUE-DT was finally added to Cox Communications in New Orleans and to Charter Communications on the Northshore and Tri-Parish area in August (Cox) and September (Charter) 2008. Both Charter and Cox carry WVUE-DT on channel 708. WVUE-DT can also be found on other cable systems in Southeast Louisiana and South and Coastal Mississippi, plus on AT&T U-verse in the New Orleans area on channels 8 (SD) and 1008 (HD).
Digital subchannel 8.2 is available over the air and can also be found on Cox Communications in the New Orleans viewing area on channel 115 and Charter Communications in the surrounding parishes on channel 108 (Northshore), and on channel 137 (Southshore). AT&T has yet to offer this on their U-verse service for the area. WVUE announced the addition of a subchannel carrying the Retro Television Network
Retro Television Network
The Retro Television Network is a system of television stations that airs classic television shows as well as more recently produced programs...
on August 23, 2010. WVUE dropped the Fox 8 Newschannel branding in favor of RTV
Retro Television Network
The Retro Television Network is a system of television stations that airs classic television shows as well as more recently produced programs...
weekdays, as well as similar general entertainment programming on weekends. On November 11, 2011, WVUE signed an affiliation agreement with Bounce TV
Bounce TV
Bounce TV is a United States television network airing on digital terrestrial television stations. Promoted as "the first 24/7 digital multicast broadcast network created exclusively for African Americans," Bounce TV launched on September 26, 2011 and features programming geared toward blacks in...
, a general entertainment network aimed at African-Americans between the ages of 25-54; the network is available on digital subchannel 8.2 and Cox digital channel 115, replacing RTV.
VHF digital transmission troubles
When WVUE made its digital transition, it originally broadcast on VHF channel 8. Due to post transition reception problems reported by viewers, WVUE petitioned the FCC to return to UHF channel 29. Increased power would cause interference to a Baton RougeBaton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
station. On November 30, 2010, WVUE's digital signal was moved back to UHF channel 29.
History
WVUE began broadcasting on November 1, 1953 as WJMR-TV, the second TV station in New Orleans (behind WDSU-TV, channel 6) and the third in Louisiana (behind WDSU and WAFBWAFB
WAFB is the CBS-affiliated television station for Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 9 from a transmitter southwest of Arlington. Owned by Raycom Media, WAFB is sister to Class A MyNetworkTV affiliate WBXH-CA. The two share studios on Government...
in Baton Rouge). Originally broadcasting on channel 61, it then moved to channel 20 in 1956 http://www.davidgleason.com/Archive%20BC/BC%201956/Broadcasting%201956%209%203.pdf. It was originally a 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 with a secondary 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...
affiliation. During 1957 and 1958 WJMR-TV simulcasted its signal on Channel 12 using the call sign KK2XFW-TV http://www.mcsittel.com/html/tvg-gc.htm. When WWL-TV
WWL-TV
WWL-TV, virtual channel 4, is the CBS-affiliated television station serving New Orleans, Louisiana, southeast Louisiana and parts of southern and coastal Mississippi, and is the primary CBS station for South and Coastal Mississippi. It broadcasts on UHF digital channel 36...
(channel 4) signed on in 1957, WWL took over the CBS affiliation because of WWL radio's longtime affiliation with CBS radio. WJMR was left with ABC.
The station moved to channel 13 on January 13, 1959 and changed call letters to WVUE. The station moved to channel 12 on September 10, 1962 due to interference with WLOX
WLOX
WLOX, virtual channel 13 , is the ABC affiliate for Biloxi and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Its transmitter is located near the unincorporated town of McHenry, Mississippi...
in Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the population as 44,054. Along with Gulfport, Biloxi is a county seat of Harrison County....
, which also broadcasts on channel 13. Screen Gems
Screen Gems
Screen Gems is an American movie production company and subsidiary company of Sony Pictures Entertainment's Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group that has served several different purposes for its parent companies over the decades since its incorporation....
, the television arm of Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
, bought the station in 1965. On June 8, 1970 at 8 p.m., it made a highly-publicized switch of dial positions with the city's PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
station, WYES-TV
WYES-TV
WYES-TV is the primary Public Broadcasting Service member public television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, owned by the Greater New Orleans Educational Television Foundation. It broadcasts on virtual channel 12.-History:...
, and moved to its current location on channel 8. This was done to give WVUE a larger broadcast range it could not have on channel 12, as WJTV
WJTV
WJTV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Jackson, Mississippi. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 12 from a transmitter in Raymond. The station can also be seen on Comcast channel 13 and in high definition on digital channel 433. Owned by Media General, WJTV has...
of Jackson, MS broadcast on that channel. The channel 61 allocation was assigned to the now defunct WLPN-LP
WLPN-LP
WLPN-LP was a low-power television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, broadcasting locally on UHF channel 61. In 1989, the station affiliated with Channel America. The station's license was cancelled on August 17, 2010....
and the channel 20 allocation was assigned to station WHNO
WHNO
WHNO is a television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, broadcasting locally on virtual channel 20 as a LeSEA owned-and-operated station. As an affiliate of LeSEA, the station airs mostly Christian programming along with a small amount of secular family programming.-Digital television:WHNO-DT...
.
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
schedule and aired westerns, cartoons and off-network sitcoms in their place. Additionally, WVUE preempted many of the network's Saturday morning cartoons as well as American Bandstand
American Bandstand
American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...
. WVUE also preempted ABC's late night programming, which prior to the debut of Nightline consisted of movies and reruns of prime-time shows. Viewers in the New Orleans area who wanted to see most of ABC's programming in full could turn their sets to the network's other affiliates in surrounding markets: WRBT (now WVLA
WVLA
WVLA-TV, virtual channel 33, is the NBC-affiliated television station for Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It transmits its digital signal on UHF channel 34. It is owned by White Knight Broadcasting, but it is controlled by ComCorp. and is sister station to the area's Retro Television Network affiliate,...
, channel 33) and later WBRZ (Channel 2) from Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
, west of New Orleans, or to WLOX from Biloxi, to the east. WVUE started broadcasting 24 hours a day in June 1986, being the last commercial station in New Orleans to cease signing off.
Columbia Pictures sold WVUE to Oklahoma City
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
-based Gaylord Broadcasting Company
Gaylord Entertainment Company
The Gaylord Entertainment Company operates a number of hotel, resort, and media companies that were built by Edward Gaylord. It was previously a subsidiary of the Oklahoma City-based Oklahoma Publishing Company, which is owned by the Gaylord family and publishes the Daily Oklahoman newspaper...
in 1977. Under the new ownership, WVUE reinstated ABC's full daytime drama lineup to its schedule in the fall of 1978. In spite of ownership changes and programming modifications, WVUE was still unable to improve its place in the ratings. When Gaylord Broadcasting began a gradual paring-down its station group in 1987, WVUE was sold to Burnham Broadcasting. The station continued to under-perform in the ratings into the 1990s.
In early 1994, after the Fox Broadcasting Company
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...
won television rights to the National Football Conference
National Football Conference
The National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
, it arranged to have Savoy Pictures
Savoy Pictures
Savoy Pictures Inc. was an independent motion picture company in operation from 1992 to 1997.-History:Victor A. Kaufman became chairman and chief executive officer of Savoy Pictures in 1992 along with vice chairman executive, Lewis J. Korman...
purchase WVUE and Burnham's three other stations; WALA-TV
WALA-TV
WALA-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for Southern Alabama, Southeastern Mississippi, and the Western Florida Panhandle that is licensed to Mobile. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 9 from a transmitter in Spanish Fort, Alabama...
(channel 10) in Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
; WLUK-TV
WLUK-TV
WLUK-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for the Fox River Valley area and Northeastern Wisconsin. Licensed to Green Bay, Wisconsin, the station broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 11 from a transmitter on Scray's Hill in Ledgeview; the station also broadcasts in...
(channel 11) in Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
and KHON-TV
KHON-TV
KHON-TV is a Fox-affiliated television station in Honolulu, Hawaii. The station broadcasts on virtual channel 2.In addition to its Honolulu broadcast facilities, KHON has relays on all the major Hawaiian Islands to rebroadcast programs outside of metropolitan Honolulu: KHAW-TV in Hilo; KAII-TV in...
(channel 2) in Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
. As part of the deal, the stations would all convert to Fox affiliates. Fox would own a minority voting stock in these stations and the company would be called "Savoy Fox" (however, in 1995, Fox opted not to have voting stock in the company, although it would still hold an interest).
The transaction was completed in the summer of 1995. On January 1, 1996, WVUE became the area's new Fox affiliate. The ABC affiliation in New Orleans went to WGNO
WGNO
WGNO, channel 26, is the ABC-affiliated television station for the greater New Orleans, Louisiana metropolitan area, as well parts of southern and coastal Mississippi. It is owned by Tribune Broadcasting, and is the only Big Three network affiliate owned by the company.The station offers ABC...
(channel 26), which had been an affiliate of the WB Television Network. WNOL-TV
WNOL-TV
WNOL-TV, virtual channel 38, is the CW-affiliated television station in New Orleans, Louisiana. It broadcasts on UHF digital channel 15. It is owned by Tribune Broadcasting, in a duopoly with ABC affiliate WGNO.-Digital television:...
(channel 38), which had been the market's original Fox affiliate, took the WB affiliation. Unlike the New World Communications
New World Communications
New World Pictures was an independent motion picture and television production company, and later television station owner in the United States from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s...
-owned stations which joined the network at around the same time, the Savoy stations, including WVUE, carried Fox's children's programming
Fox Kids
Fox Kids was the Fox Broadcasting Company's American children's programming division and brand name from September 8, 1990 until September 7, 2002. It was owned by Fox Television Entertainment airing programming on Monday–Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings.Depending on the show, the...
during weekdays. Fox's ratings increased slightly from when it was on WNOL, but WVUE's news ratings still stayed well behind WWL-TV and WDSU. Savoy sold the station (along with the other three former Burnham stations) in 1997 to Silver King/USA Broadcasting
USA Broadcasting
USA Broadcasting was an American media company owned by veteran entertainment industry executive Barry Diller. This network was the over-the-air broadcasting arm of USA Network....
. Emmis Communications
Emmis Communications
Emmis Communications is a media conglomerate based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company owns radio stations and magazines in the United States, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria.-History:...
became the owner of these stations in 1999.
In recent years, WVUE acquired stronger shows on its lineup, including acquiring the New Orleans rights to Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
as part of a group deal with Emmis' Fox stations group—a rarity for a Fox station (prior to airing on channel 8, they aired for about two decades on WWL-TV).
On May 5, 2008, Emmis Communications announced an agreement to sell the station to Louisiana Media Company, a new media group founded by New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
owner Tom Benson
Tom Benson
See also Tom Benson and Tom Benson for the Northern Ireland Unionist.Tom Benson is the owner of the New Orleans Saints. He is currently the owner of several automobile dealerships in the Greater New Orleans and San Antonio areas...
(Saints games had already been airing on WVUE since the affiliation switch). Benson stated that he planned for the new company to acquire several radio and television stations nationwide and to be involved in movie production. The FCC approved the sale on July 14, 2008. Louisiana Media Company took possession of the station on July 18, 2008.http://www.fox8live.com/www/NewsItem.aspx?NewsID=4536http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/media/emmis-completes-sale-wvue-tv-new-orleans-louisiana-media-company/ Ownership of WVUE became evident when a fleur-de-lis
Fleur-de-lis
The fleur-de-lis or fleur-de-lys is a stylized lily or iris that is used as a decorative design or symbol. It may be "at one and the same time, political, dynastic, artistic, emblematic, and symbolic", especially in heraldry...
emblem was superimposed in the "O" of the "Fox 8" logo after modifications were made.
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
struck Greater New Orleans at the end of August 2005. WVUE's operations were temporarily moved to then-sister station WALA's studios in Mobile, Alabama. WVUE's studio on Jefferson Davis Parkway is located in a low-lying part of the city that was badly flooded due to the Katrina levee failures
Levee failures in Greater New Orleans, 2005
In 29 August 2005 there were over 50 failures of the levees and flood walls protecting New Orleans, Louisiana, and its suburbs following passage of Hurricane Katrina and landfall in Mississippi. The levee and flood wall failures caused flooding in 80% of New Orleans and all of St. Bernard Parish...
. It was so badly damaged that Emmis has told some of the on-air staff that they were free to seek work elsewhere without penalty or assertion of non-compete clause
Non-compete clause
A non-compete clause , or covenant not to compete , is a term used in contract law under which one party agrees not to pursue a similar profession or trade in competition against another party . As a contract provision, a CNC is bound by traditional contract requirements including the...
s outside of the market.
Soon, meteorologist Crystal Wicker left for Indianapolis
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
' WRTV
WRTV
WRTV, channel 6, is the ABC television affiliate in Indianapolis, Indiana; it is owned by McGraw-Hill. Its transmitter is located on the northwest side of Indianapolis at 8001 Township Line Road. Its studios are found at 1330 N...
, where she began work October 3.http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050919/COLUMNISTS04/509190430/1006/NEWS01 Weekend meteorologist Jeff Baskin went to Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
's KOIN-TV. Reporter Summer Jackson went to Chicago to work at CLTV
CLTV
CLTV can mean:* In Finance, the combined loan to value ratio* In Marketing, the Customer lifetime value of a customer.* An acronym for Chicagoland Television, a Chicago-area local news channel...
while reporter Kerry Cavanaugh took a job at WBAL-TV
WBAL-TV
WBAL-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station in Baltimore, Maryland. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 11. It is one of the flagship stations of Hearst Television, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Hearst Corporation, which also owns sister radio stations WBAL and...
in Baltimore, Maryland.
Following the storm, WVUE presented a rotating 15-minute newscast streaming on its website coming from WALA, slowly restoring the regular station schedule as developments faded and reconstruction on news operations continued.
In mid-June 2006, construction of the station's permanent news set and weather center was completed. Before then, a temporary news set and newsroom were set up in the station's production room. Station manager Vanessa Oubre said remodeling/reconstruction of the rest of the building should be completed by November 2006. The sale of the station was also affected and was delayed for two years because of the rebuilding; Emmis had intended to divest all its television assets by the start of 2007, but kept ownership until WVUE was sold to LMC.
News operation
WVUE broadcasts a total of 39.5 hours of local news a week (7.5 hours on weekdays, and one hour each on Saturdays and Sundays), more than CBS affiliate WWL-TV (channel 4) and NBC affiliate WDSU-TV (channel 6, which both carry 27.5 hours a week) for the most hours of local news in the New Orleans market. WVUE is the only station that airs a local newscast at 5:30 p.m. but it does not broadcast local newscasts at 6 p.m. Unlike most other Fox stations that produce their newscasts in-house, WVUE's 9 p.m. newscast does not air for an hour seven nights a week as the weekend edition airs for a half-hour; WVUE is among the largest Fox affiliates (in terms of market size) to air its prime-time newscast in such a fashion.On May 31, 1982, WVUE launched a 5 p.m. newscast, with Live At Five. After the Fox affiliation switch, WVUE initially kept its 6 p.m. newscast, along with the 5 p.m. newscast. The 10 p.m. newscast it had as an ABC affiliate was dropped in favor of an hour-long 9 p.m. newscast then was split ten months later into separate half-hour newscasts at 9 and 10 p.m. with syndicated sitcoms airing at 9:30 p.m.; it continued in this format until 2001, when the weeknight 9 p.m. newscast was reverted back to an hour and the 10 p.m. newscast was cancelled once more due to the lack of a strong program lead-in.
Even after becoming a Fox affiliate, WVUE still did not have a weekday morning newscast throughout the 1990s; in 2002, WVUE debuted what was originally a two-hour weekday morning newscast, airing from 6-8 a.m. In 2005, the station dropped the weeknight 6 p.m. newscast and created an hour-long block of news that competes against the local and national evening newscasts on WWL-TV, WDSU and WGNO, with the addition of a weeknight 5:30 p.m. newscast that joined the existing 5 p.m. newscast.
On April 29, 2007, WVUE became the first TV station in New Orleans to broadcast a newscast in 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...
. In January 2010, WVUE underwent a major production upgrade by going nearly all HD for their entire operation, plus introducing the first HD-based weather system in New Orleans. Currently as of October 2010, WVUE remains the first station in the New Orleans market to broadcast its local newscasts in high definition; this is in contrast to WWL-TV, WDSU, and WGNO who broadcast their newscasts in 16:9
16:9
16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ...
widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
standard definition.
On February 1, 2010, WVUE expanded their morning newscasts from three to four hours by adding a new weather-heavy based newscast from 5-6 a.m. called "Fox 8 Morning Call" with morning meteorologists Chris Franklin and Dawn Brown, who had worked at WWL-TV, but was not renewed on her contract. Both Franklin and Brown now rotate on the FOX 8 Morning News every weekday morning from 6-9 a.m. A weeknight-only 10 p.m. newscast (the third newscast in that time-slot in the station's history) was also given a slot on the station's schedule on that date; initially only a test run, the 10 p.m. newscast became permanent again on May 5, 2010 when former WWL-TV anchor Lee Zurik joined the on-air staff.
In July 2010, the station expanded the 10 p.m. newscast to weekend evenings, making WVUE one of the few Fox stations nationwide with a newscast in the traditional late news time-slot that airs seven nights a week (some Fox stations that carry a local newscast in the traditional late news time-slot air them on weeknights only). On May 23, 2011, WVUE-TV debuted an hour-long midday newscast at noon, that is anchored by WVUE reporter and former WGNO anchor Liz Reyes and meteorologist Dawn Brown. On September 12, 2011 WVUE debuted an hour-long 4 p.m. newscast; this will increase the station's weekdaily news output to 8½ hours.
Ratings
Throughout the 2000s, WVUE's news ratings have slowly increased, and by the middle part of the decade, the station overtook WDSU for the number two position in the local news ratings behind WWL-TV in the 5 p.m. time-slot. The station had retained the number two ranking through 2008 and a see-saw period followed. In May of 2011, the station ranked third in the time period. The station is ranked third, but often takes the second place position in morning news and first over WWL's 9 p.m. newscast on WUPLWUPL
WUPL, virtual channel 54, is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for the Greater New Orleans, Louisiana area. It is licensed to the Northshore community of Slidell. It is currently owned by the Belo Corporation, in a duopoly with CBS affiliate WWL-TV. It broadcasts on UHF digital channel...
. At 10 p.m., WVUE has held second position in the market.
Newscast titles
- Your Esso Reporter (1956–1958)
- WJMR-TV News (1958–1962)
- The New Orleans Report (1962–1965)
- The Evening News (6 p.m. newscast; 1965–1970)
- NewsVue (6:05 and 10 p.m. newscasts; 1966)
- Alec Gifford News (6 and 10 p.m. newscasts; 1967–1974)
- 24 Hours (10 p.m. newscast; 1965–1976)
- NewsScene 8 (1974–1984)
- Live at Five (5 p.m. newscast; 1982–1984?)
- Channel 8 News (1984–1986)
- News 8 New Orleans (1986–1988)
- News 8 (general) / News 8 Tonight (10 p.m. newscast; 1988–1995)
- Fox News Eight (1996–1998)
- Fox 8 News (1998–present)
Station slogans
- Make the switch to WVUE 8 (1970, when the station was changing its channel to 8 from 12)
- This is the Place to Be! (early 1970s)
- There's More on NewsScene 8 (late 1970s)
- On Your Side (?)
- Your Neighborhood Station (mid 1980s-1987)
- The Station That's Making Good Things Happen (1987–1992)
- The One to Watch (1992–1995)
- Your Weather Authority (weather slogan, 2002–present; used as news slogan from 2002 to 2008)
- Your Local News Channel (2008–present; news slogan)
- Louisiana's Home Team (2008–present; general slogan)
- Your First Choice For News (2011-present)
Current on-air staff
Anchors- Shelley Brown - weekends at 9 and 10 p.m.
- Kim Holden - weeknights at 4 and 10 p.m.
- Rob Masson - weekday mornings "FOX 8 Morning News" (6-9 a.m.); also reporter
- Nancy Parker - weeknights at 4 and 5 p.m.
- Liz Reyes - weekday mornings "FOX 8 Morning News" (6-9 a.m.), and weekdays at noon; also reporter
- John Snell - weeknights at 5 and 9 p.m.
- Lee Zurik - weeknights at 9 and 10 p.m.; also chief investigative reporter
Weather team
- Bob Breck (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...
Certified Broadcast MeteorologistCertified 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) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 4, 5, 9 and 10 p.m. - Dawn Brown - weathercaster; weekday mornings "Fox 8 Morning Call" (5-6 a.m.), "Fox 8 Morning News" (6-9 a.m.; rotating with Chris Franklin), and weekdays at noon; married to WWL-TVWWL-TVWWL-TV, virtual channel 4, is the CBS-affiliated television station serving New Orleans, Louisiana, southeast Louisiana and parts of southern and coastal Mississippi, and is the primary CBS station for South and Coastal Mississippi. It broadcasts on UHF digital channel 36...
meteorologist Jonathan Myers - Chris Franklin (AMS Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weekday mornings "Fox 8 Morning Call" (5-6 a.m.), and "Fox 8 Morning News" (6-9 a.m.; rotating with Dawn Brown)
- Nicondra Norwood - meteorologist; weekends at 9 and 10 p.m.
- Kim Vaughn (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; fill-in as needed on-air, mainly works behind the scenes presenting on-air graphics
Sports team
- Sean Fazende - sports anchor; weekends at 9 and 10 p.m., also sports reporter
- Fred HickmanFred HickmanFred Hickman is an American sports broadcaster who has had stints with CNN, TBS, YES Network, and ESPN. Born and raised in Springfield, Illinois, he graduated Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1978, joining as an original co-host of the CNN show Sports Tonight in 1980...
- sports director; weeknights at 5:30, 9 and 10 p.m. - Jennifer Hale - sports anchor; weekdays 4 p.m., sports reporter and fill-in sports anchor
- Gerry Vaillancourt - sports analyst
Reporters
- Evan Anderson - weekday morning reporter
- Allison Braxton - weekend evening reporter
- Meg Gatto - general assignment reporter
- Susan Isacs - general assignment reporter
- Natasha Robin - general assignment reporter
- Carolyn Scofield - general assignment reporter
- Sabrina Wilson - general assignment reporter
Contributing writers
- Angus Lind - Fox8Live.com writer and columnist; appears weekly on "FOX 8 Morning News"
- Dave McNamara - "The Heart of Louisiana" feature reporter, airing weekly on the 9 p.m. newscast; also runs his own production company which contributes to these reports http://www.bayoudigital.com/
- Chris Rose - former long-time contributor to The Times-Picayune, provides an editorial weekly on-air and online.
Notable former on-air staff
- Ken Aucoin
- Mike Bush
- Bernard "Buddy" Diliberto - sports director/anchor (1966–1981); later worked for WDSU and WWL AM/FM; died in 2005
- Arthel NevilleArthel NevilleArthel Neville , is an American journalist and television personality.Arthel is the daughter of Art Neville, founder of the New Orleans music groups The Meters and The Neville Brothers.-Biography:...
- anchor/reporter; now with Fox News - Nash RobertsNash RobertsNash Charles Roberts Jr. was a New Orleans, Louisiana-based meteorologist widely known for the accuracy of his hurricane forecasts....
- meteorologist (1973–1978); succeeded by Bob Breck, later at WWL-TV; deceased - Ron SwobodaRon SwobodaRonald Alan Swoboda is a former Major League Baseball outfielder best remembered as a member of the Amazin' Mets.-MLB debut:...
- sports anchor; now at Cox Sports Television - Leslie SykesLeslie SykesLeslie Ann Sykes is a television news anchor and reporter.-Biography:Leslie Sykes is the morning and midday co-anchor of the "Eyewitness News" at KABC-TV, ABC's owned and operated television station in Los Angeles.Leslie Ann Sykes was born in San Diego, California as the youngest of three children...
- anchor/reporter; now at KABC-TVKABC-TVKABC-TV, channel 7, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, licensed to Los Angeles, California. KABC-TV's studios are located in Glendale, California...
in Los Angeles - Bigad Shaban now with CBS News
External links
- WVUE Website
- Mod Squad Pictures (includes ident slide for WVUE)
- Bob Breck.com - official website of the WVUE meteorologist.
- WVUE Alumni