WYMT-TV
Encyclopedia
WYMT-TV is the CBS
-affiliated television station
for Hazard, Kentucky
. It broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on VHF channel 12 from a transmitter south of the city in Perry County
. Owned by Gray Television
, the station is sister to Lexington
's CBS affiliate WKYT-TV
. Although it identifies as a station in its own right, WYMT is considered a semi-satellite of WKYT. It has its own studios on Black Gold Boulevard in Hazard but some internal operations are based at WKYT's studios on Winchester Road (U.S. 60
) near the Brighton section of Lexington.
WYMT airs its own identifications, commercials, and syndicated
programming such as The King of Queens
, The Andy Griffith Show
, and Family Feud
. This station clears all CBS programming except CBS News Sunday Morning
and Face the Nation
in order to air paid religious programming and college basketball games. However, WKYT clears both shows. One noticeable difference in the stations' schedules is that The Young and the Restless
airs on WYMT at the same time as most other affiliates in the Eastern Time Zone
at 12:30 pm. WKYT airs it at 1 p.m. because it has an hour-long noon newscast.
Beginning February 26, 2010 the station stretched non-HD programming from 4:3 aspect ratio to 16:9 aspect ratio, a process called "Stretch-o-Vision
".
Kentucky
were among the last remaining parts of the country unable to clearly receive a commercial television signal over the air. Kentucky Educational Television
had set up a transmitter there the year before. Although this area is considered part of the Lexington market, none of that city's television signals covered the area at the time. Lexington was an all-UHF market, and UHF stations don't get good reception in rugged terrain. This area has long been one of the poorest in the nation, and many people still couldn't afford to buy a television set. Such conditions made the Lexington stations unwilling to set up even low-powered satellites in this area. Instead, WKYH was founded by local businessman Bill Gorman, who served as mayor of Hazard from 1978 until his death in 2010.
In keeping with the region's strong musical traditions
, country
, bluegrass
, and Southern Gospel
music constituted a good part of WKYH's early local programs. These shows lasted well into the 1980s (in the case of the Goins Brothers
, as late as 1994) after country-music programs had fallen out of favor even on other Southern stations.
Throughout its entire run as WKYH, the station had a very primitive look. Much of its equipment had been bought as surplus from other stations, and was usually in a poor state of repair after years of use. This was especially true of the transmitter; at times the signal was barely acceptable due to transmitter problems. It didn't even have a character generator
for newscasts. The station was unable to get a network feed, forcing station engineers to rely on microwave links from WLEX-TV
in Lexington and WCYB-TV
in Bristol, Virginia
for network programming. WCYB was used as a backup in case WLEX preempted an NBC show to show local programming. Whenever the microwave system failed, WKYH was forced to switch to and from WLEX or WCYB's signal, usually with less-than-satisfactory results. When this happened, WKYH sometimes aired WLEX or WCYB's commercials or station IDs when it was unable to cover them up in time. As such, the station never thrived, even when cable arrived in the area in the early 1980s.
In 1985, Gorman sold the station to Kentucky Central Insurance Company
, then owner of WKYT. The new owner changed the calls to the current WYMT (meaning We're Your Mountain Television). Around the same time, Kentucky Central had its affiliation changed to CBS to match its new sister station. With wealthier ownership, WYMT was able to build a much more modern studio and a stronger transmitter. The station also got a significant on-air facelift, making it look much more modern. When Kentucky Central went bankrupt in 1993, WYMT and WKYT were bought by Gray Communications (now Gray Television). WYMT was assigned VHF channel 12 as its final transmission frequency as part of the Federal Communications Commission
-mandated transition to digital broadcasting. One benefit to viewers in the area is that VHF signals "bend" over mountainous terrain better than UHF making reception available over a larger area than was previously available. As of February 17, 2009, WYMT broadcasts are exclusively in digital.
Currently this station, two Christian television stations–WLJC-TV
in Beattyville
and WAGV in Harlan
(a satellite of WLFG
in Grundy, Virginia
)–along with KET satellites WKHA in Hazard and WKPI in Pikeville
are the only full-power stations that can be received over-the-air in much of this region. In addition, WOBZ-LP
(which is partially owned by former WKYH weatherman/sportscaster Joey Kesler) is a low-power station serving the London
area. There are also several Public-access television
cable TV channels that serve the region.
Virginia
and western West Virginia
. It also appears on cable television
in Claiborne County, Tennessee. Although its coverage area includes the far eastern part of the Lexington market
, its stated coverage area also includes portions of four different DMAs. The easternmost counties (Pike
, Floyd
, Martin
, Johnson
, and Lawrence
) are in the Huntington
/Charleston, West Virginia
market (home territory for sister station and NBC
affiliate WSAZ-TV
). Letcher
and Leslie
Counties in Kentucky, Wise County
including the Independent City of Norton
, Dickenson County
including Clintwood in Virginia are in the Tri-Cities
DMA. Bell
, Harlan
, and McCreary
Counties are part of the Knoxville
market (home territory for sister station and fellow CBS affiliate WVLT-TV
). All other counties in WYMT's viewing area are considered part of the Lexington DMA.
In the 1970s as WKYH, the newscasts were known as 57 NewsService. Currently during the week, WYMT produces separate morning, 4, 6, and 11 o'clock newscasts on weekdays. It simulcasts WKYT's weekday noon (though only the first half hour), 5, and 5:30 broadcasts. WYMT doesn't air any weekend newscasts, instead simulcasting WKYT's newscasts. Although that station has been airing newscasts in high definition since April 11, 2007, WYMT simulcasts them in standard definition. In addition to its main studios, it operates two news bureaus and shares one with WKYT. This includes the Cumberland Valley Bureau on North 12th Street in Middlesboro and the Big Sandy
Bureau on Church Road in Harold. The shared Southern Kentucky Bureau is in Somerset
. There are additional WKYT reporters seen on this station.
In WYMT weather segments, it uses regional National Weather Service
radar data presented on-screen in a system called "Live Pinpoint Doppler". WKYT operates its own weather radar
called "Live First Alert Defender". Sports Overtime is WYMT's weekly sports show that airs on Friday nights from August to April which covers high school athletics. A Saturday edition focusing on college sports was started in 2006 and ran until the station dropped weekend newscasts at the end of October 2008. To replace the loss of the Saturday show, WYMT now airs the Prep Zone Weekly Show on Thursday nights.
Anchors
WYMT Sky Alert/WKYT First Alert Meteorologists
Sports (all WYMT personnel are seen on the Thursday evening Prep Zone Weekly Show and the Friday late night Sports Overtime show)
Reporters
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...
-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 Hazard, Kentucky
Hazard, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,806 people, 1,946 households, and 1,266 families residing in the city. The population density was 684.6 people per square mile . There were 2,291 housing units at an average density of 326.4 per square mile...
. 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 12 from a transmitter south of the city in Perry County
Perry County, Kentucky
Perry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 29,390. Its county seat is Hazard. The county is named for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, a naval hero in the War of 1812.- Geography :...
. Owned by Gray Television
Gray Television
Gray Television, Inc. is a communications company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with administrative offices in Albany, Georgia.Established in 1946 by James H...
, the station is sister to Lexington
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
's CBS affiliate WKYT-TV
WKYT-TV
WKYT-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station in Lexington, Kentucky, serving the east-central part of Kentucky. Through cable, the station also reaches much of eastern, southern & northern Kentucky. Its transmitter is located in Lexington, east of the intersection of I-75 & US 60...
. Although it identifies as a station in its own right, WYMT is considered a semi-satellite of WKYT. It has its own studios on Black Gold Boulevard in Hazard but some internal operations are based at WKYT's studios on Winchester Road (U.S. 60
U.S. Route 60 in Kentucky
Upon entering Kentucky, U.S. 60 is concurrent with U.S. 51 and U.S. 62 from the Ohio River bridge to the town of Wickliffe. At Wickliffe, U.S. 60 separates from the other routes and heads generally northeast toward the city of Paducah. Between Wickliffe and Paducah, the towns of Barlow, La Center...
) near the Brighton section of Lexington.
WYMT airs its own identifications, commercials, and 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 such as The King of Queens
The King of Queens
The King of Queens is an American sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007.This show was produced by Hanley Productions and CBS Productions , CBS Paramount Television ,and CBS Television Studios in association with Columbia TriStar Television , and Sony Pictures...
, The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
, and Family Feud
Family Feud
Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Two families compete against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people...
. This station clears all CBS programming except CBS News Sunday Morning
CBS News Sunday Morning
CBS News Sunday Morning is an American television news magazine program created by Robert Northshield and original host Charles Kuralt. The program has aired continuously since January 28, 1979 on the CBS Television Network, airing in the Eastern US on Sunday from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m...
and Face the Nation
Face the Nation
Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer is an American Sunday-morning political interview show which premiered on the CBS television network on November 7, 1954. It is one of the longest-running news programs in the history of television...
in order to air paid religious programming and college basketball games. However, WKYT clears both shows. One noticeable difference in the stations' schedules is that The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
airs on WYMT at the same time as most other affiliates in the Eastern Time Zone
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
at 12:30 pm. WKYT airs it at 1 p.m. because it has an hour-long noon newscast.
Beginning February 26, 2010 the station stretched non-HD programming from 4:3 aspect ratio to 16:9 aspect ratio, a process called "Stretch-o-Vision
Stretch-o-Vision
Stretch-o-Vision is a neologism used to describe the practice of upconverting video from a standard aspect ratio to a widescreen aspect ratio. HDTV programming is broadcast in the 16:9 aspect ratio, a widescreen image. However, most SDTV programming is usually broadcast in the 4:3 aspect ratio....
".
History
It began broadcasting on analog UHF channel 57 as WKYH-TV (meaning KentuckY Hazard) on October 20, 1969 as an NBC affiliate. Prior to its inception, some counties in southeasternEastern Mountain Coal Fields
The Eastern Mountain Coal Fields is part of the Central Appalachian bituminous coal field, covering all or parts of 30 Kentucky counties and adjoining areas in Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia and Tennessee. It covers an area from the Allegheny Mountains in the east across the Cumberland Plateau and...
Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
were among the last remaining parts of the country unable to clearly receive a commercial television signal over the air. Kentucky Educational Television
Kentucky Educational Television
Kentucky Educational Television, also known as KET: The Kentucky Network, is Kentucky's non-commercial educational public television state network...
had set up a transmitter there the year before. Although this area is considered part of the Lexington market, none of that city's television signals covered the area at the time. Lexington was an all-UHF market, and UHF stations don't get good reception in rugged terrain. This area has long been one of the poorest in the nation, and many people still couldn't afford to buy a television set. Such conditions made the Lexington stations unwilling to set up even low-powered satellites in this area. Instead, WKYH was founded by local businessman Bill Gorman, who served as mayor of Hazard from 1978 until his death in 2010.
In keeping with the region's strong musical traditions
Appalachian music
Appalachian music is the traditional music of the region of Appalachia in the Eastern United States. It is derived from various European and African influences, including English ballads, Irish and Scottish traditional music , religious hymns, and African-American blues...
, country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
, and Southern Gospel
Southern Gospel
Southern Gospel music—at one time also known as "quartet music"—is music whose lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music...
music constituted a good part of WKYH's early local programs. These shows lasted well into the 1980s (in the case of the Goins Brothers
Ray Goins
Ray Goins was an American bluegrass banjoist.Born in Bramwell, West Virginia, he was – during a 50-year career – member of the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers and Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys, before finally forming the Goins Brothers with his older brother, Melvin.Ray Goins had a heart attack...
, as late as 1994) after country-music programs had fallen out of favor even on other Southern stations.
Throughout its entire run as WKYH, the station had a very primitive look. Much of its equipment had been bought as surplus from other stations, and was usually in a poor state of repair after years of use. This was especially true of the transmitter; at times the signal was barely acceptable due to transmitter problems. It didn't even have a character generator
Character generator
A character generator, often abbreviated as CG, is a device or software that produces static or animated text for keying into a video stream. Modern character generators are computer-based, and can generate graphics as well as text...
for newscasts. The station was unable to get a network feed, forcing station engineers to rely on microwave links from WLEX-TV
WLEX-TV
WLEX-TV, channel 18, is the NBC-affiliated television station for Lexington, Kentucky and the East-Central Kentucky region. Its transmitter is located in Southern Lexington near Hamburg Pavilion on WTVQ-DT's tower. WLEX-TV's studio is on Russell Cave Road in northern Fayette County.-Digital...
in Lexington and WCYB-TV
WCYB-TV
WCYB-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station serving the Tri-Cities area of Northeastern Tennessee and Southwestern Virginia. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 5 from a transmitter on Rye Patch Knob of Holston Mountain in the Cherokee National Forest...
in Bristol, Virginia
Bristol, Virginia
Bristol is an independent city in Virginia, United States, bounded by Washington County, Virginia, Bristol, Tennessee, and Sullivan County, Tennessee....
for network programming. WCYB was used as a backup in case WLEX preempted an NBC show to show local programming. Whenever the microwave system failed, WKYH was forced to switch to and from WLEX or WCYB's signal, usually with less-than-satisfactory results. When this happened, WKYH sometimes aired WLEX or WCYB's commercials or station IDs when it was unable to cover them up in time. As such, the station never thrived, even when cable arrived in the area in the early 1980s.
In 1985, Gorman sold the station to Kentucky Central Insurance Company
Kentucky Central Insurance Company
Kentucky Central Life Insurance Company was one of the largest Life Insurance companies in the United States, writing policies in 49 states and the District of Columbia until its collapse in 1993...
, then owner of WKYT. The new owner changed the calls to the current WYMT (meaning We're Your Mountain Television). Around the same time, Kentucky Central had its affiliation changed to CBS to match its new sister station. With wealthier ownership, WYMT was able to build a much more modern studio and a stronger transmitter. The station also got a significant on-air facelift, making it look much more modern. When Kentucky Central went bankrupt in 1993, WYMT and WKYT were bought by Gray Communications (now Gray Television). WYMT was assigned VHF channel 12 as its final transmission frequency as part of the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
-mandated transition to digital broadcasting. One benefit to viewers in the area is that VHF signals "bend" over mountainous terrain better than UHF making reception available over a larger area than was previously available. As of February 17, 2009, WYMT broadcasts are exclusively in digital.
Currently this station, two Christian television stations–WLJC-TV
WLJC-TV
WLJC-TV is a religious television station in Beattyville, Kentucky, broadcasting digital-only on channel 7 as an affiliate of TBN. Founded June 28, 1982, the station is owned by Hour of Harvest, Inc...
in Beattyville
Beattyville, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,193 people, 509 households, and 294 families residing in the city. The population density was 599.6 people per square mile . There were 561 housing units at an average density of 282.0 per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 98.99% White, 0.42%...
and WAGV in Harlan
Harlan, Kentucky
Harlan is a city in Harlan County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,081 at the 2000 census and was estimated at 1,880 in 2007. It is the county seat of Harlan County.-History:...
(a satellite of WLFG
WLFG
WLFG is a religious station in the mountains of southwestern Virginia, licensed in Grundy, Virginia and owned by Living Faith Ministries in Abingdon, Virginia...
in Grundy, Virginia
Grundy, Virginia
Grundy is a town in Buchanan County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,105 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Buchanan County. The town is noted for its educational institutions and their role in the town's economic rebirth. In the past, the town served as a stopover for Union...
)–along with KET satellites WKHA in Hazard and WKPI in Pikeville
Pikeville, Kentucky
Pikeville is a city in Pike County, Kentucky. The population was 6,903 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Pike County.-History:On March 25, 1822, the county's government officials decided to build a new county seat named Liberty, one and one-half mile below the mouth of the Russell Fork...
are the only full-power stations that can be received over-the-air in much of this region. In addition, WOBZ-LP
WOBZ-LP
WOBZ-LD is a digital low power television station in East Bernstadt, Kentucky, broadcasting on Channel 9. Licensed in 1991 as W09BZ, the station now goes by WOBZ-TV 9, a simple rearrangement of the original calls...
(which is partially owned by former WKYH weatherman/sportscaster Joey Kesler) is a low-power station serving the London
London, Kentucky
-Education:All of the following schools are administered by the Laurel County School District.-Primary schools:* * * * * * * * * * * * -High schools:* * -Colleges:* Laurel Technical College* * -Notable natives:...
area. There are also several Public-access television
Public-access television
Public-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...
cable TV channels that serve the region.
Out of Market Coverage
WYMT primarily serves 20 counties in the eastern part of Kentucky and several counties in southwestSouthwest Virginia
Southwest Virginia, often abbreviated as SWVA, is a mountainous region of Virginia in the westernmost part of the commonwealth. Southwest Virginia has been defined alternatively as all Virginia counties on the Appalachian Plateau, all Virginia counties west of the Eastern Continental Divide, or...
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...
and western West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
. It also appears on cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
in Claiborne County, Tennessee. Although its coverage area includes the far eastern part of the Lexington 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...
, its stated coverage area also includes portions of four different DMAs. The easternmost counties (Pike
Pike County, Kentucky
Pike County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2010, the population was 65,024. Its county seat is Pikeville. Pike is Kentucky's largest county in terms of land area. Pike County is the 11th largest county in Kentucky in terms of population preceded by Bullitt County and...
, Floyd
Floyd County, Kentucky
Floyd County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1800. As of 2000, the population was 42,441. Its county seat is Prestonsburg. The county is named for Colonel John Floyd .-History:...
, Martin
Martin County, Kentucky
Martin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2010, the population was 12,929. Its county seat is Inez. The county is named for Congressman John Preston Martin...
, Johnson
Johnson County, Kentucky
Johnson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1843. As of 2000, the population was 23,445. Its county seat is Paintsville...
, and Lawrence
Lawrence County, Kentucky
Lawrence County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 15,569. Its county seat is Louisa. The county is named for James Lawrence, and co-founded by Isaac Bolt, who served as a Lawrence County Commissioner and Justice of the Peace. It is the home of...
) are in the Huntington
Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia, along the Ohio River. Most of the city is in Cabell County, for which it is the county seat. A small portion of the city, mainly the neighborhood of Westmoreland, is in Wayne County. Its population was 49,138 at...
/Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers in Kanawha County. As of the 2010 census, it has a population of 51,400, and its metropolitan area 304,214. It is the county seat of Kanawha County.Early...
market (home territory for sister station 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 WSAZ-TV
WSAZ-TV
WSAZ-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Huntington and Charleston, West Virginia. This area is the second-largest market in terms of area east of the Mississippi River consisting of 61 counties in Central West Virginia, Eastern Kentucky, and Southeastern Ohio. It broadcasts a high...
). Letcher
Letcher County, Kentucky
Letcher County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 25,277. Its county seat is Whitesburg. The county is named for Robert P...
and Leslie
Leslie County, Kentucky
Leslie County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 12,401. Its county seat is Hyden. The county is named for Preston H. Leslie, Governor of Kentucky...
Counties in Kentucky, Wise County
Wise County, Virginia
Wise County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. In 1856, the county was formed from land taken from Lee, Scott, and Russell Counties. It was named after Henry A. Wise, who was the Governor of Virginia at the time. As of 2010, the population was 41,452, making it the largest...
including the Independent City of Norton
Norton, Virginia
Norton is an independent city within the confines of Wise County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2010 Census, the city population was 3,958, making it the smallest city in the state by population...
, Dickenson County
Dickenson County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 16,395 people, 6,732 households, and 4,887 families residing in the county. The population density was 49 people per square mile . There were 7,684 housing units at an average density of 23 per square mile...
including Clintwood in Virginia are in the Tri-Cities
Tri-Cities, Tennessee
In Tennessee and Virginia the name "Tri-Cities" refers to the region comprising the cities of Kingsport, Johnson City and Bristol and the surrounding smaller towns and communities in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia...
DMA. Bell
Bell County, Kentucky
Bell County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed August 1, 1867, from parts of Knox and Harlan Counties and augmented from Knox County in 1872. As of 2010 the population was 69,060. Its county seat is Pineville...
, Harlan
Harlan County, Kentucky
Harlan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1819. As of 2000, the population was 33,200. Its county seat is Harlan...
, and McCreary
McCreary County, Kentucky
McCreary County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 17,080. Its county seat is Whitley City. The county is named for James B. McCreary, a Confederate war hero and Governor of Kentucky from 1875 to 1879. It is the only Kentucky county to not have a...
Counties are part of the Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
market (home territory for sister station and fellow CBS affiliate WVLT-TV
WVLT-TV
WVLT-TV is the CBS television network affiliate station serving Knoxville, Tennessee, the 58th DMA in America according to Nielsen Media Research...
). All other counties in WYMT's viewing area are considered part of the Lexington DMA.
Newscasts
Big Sandy River (Ohio River)
The Big Sandy River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long, in western West Virginia and northeastern Kentucky in the United States. The river forms part of the boundary between the two states along its entire course...
Bureau on Church Road in Harold. The shared Southern Kentucky Bureau is in Somerset
Somerset, Kentucky
The major demographic differences between the city and the micropolitan area relate to income, housing composition and age. The micropolitan area, as compared to the incorporated city, is more suburban in flavor and has a significantly younger housing stock, a higher income, and contains most of...
. There are additional WKYT reporters seen on this station.
In WYMT weather segments, it uses regional 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 presented on-screen in a system called "Live Pinpoint Doppler". WKYT operates its own weather radar
Weather radar
Weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, estimate its type . Modern weather radars are mostly pulse-Doppler radars, capable of detecting the motion of rain droplets in addition to the...
called "Live First Alert Defender". Sports Overtime is WYMT's weekly sports show that airs on Friday nights from August to April which covers high school athletics. A Saturday edition focusing on college sports was started in 2006 and ran until the station dropped weekend newscasts at the end of October 2008. To replace the loss of the Saturday show, WYMT now airs the Prep Zone Weekly Show on Thursday nights.
Current on-air staff
+ denotes personnel based at WKYTAnchors
- + Bill Bryant - weekdays at noon
- + Barbara Bailey - weekdays at noon
- Neil Middleton - News Director and First at Four
- Katie Roach - weeknights at 6
- Steve Hensley - weeknights at 6 and Nightwatch (11pm)
- Greg Robinson - weekday mornings 5-7am
- + Sam Dick - weeknights at 5 and 5:30
- + Amber Philpott - weeknights at 5 and 5:30
- + Elizabeth Dorsett - weekends and reporter
WYMT Sky Alert/WKYT First Alert Meteorologists
- Brandon Robinson - seen weekday mornings
- Jim Caldwell - Chief seen weeknights at 4, 6, 11
- Josh Good - Fill-in
- + Todd Borek (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,...
) - weekdays at noon (previously worked at WSAZ, sister station of both WKYT and WYMT) - + T.G. Shuck (Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and NWANational Weather AssociationThe National Weather Association is an American professional association with a mission to support and promote excellence in operational meteorology and related activities...
Seal of Approval) - weeknights at 5 and 5:30 - + Kari Hall - weekends
Sports (all WYMT personnel are seen on the Thursday evening Prep Zone Weekly Show and the Friday late night Sports Overtime show)
- MacKenzie Bates - reporter and Monday morning sports anchor. Co-anchor on Sports Overtime.
- Derek Forrest - reporter and weekday afternoons/evenings sports anchor. Co-anchor on Sports Overtime.
- + Brian Milam - weekends
Reporters
- Angela Sparkman - Big Sandy Bureau
- Kendall Downing - Cumberland Valley Bureau
- Phil Pendleton - Southern Kentucky Bureau
- Paige Quiggins
- Jerrica Insko
- Maisie Insco
Notable former on-air staff
- Jay CrawfordJay CrawfordJason "Jay" Crawford is the co-host of ESPN2's morning TV show First Take.-Early life and career:Born in Sandusky, Ohio, Crawford graduated from Perkins High School in Sandusky, Ohio in 1983...
(Creator of "Sports Overtime" on WYMT) - currently the host of ESPN2's "First Take".
Newscast titles
- 57 News Service (1970s)
- 57 Mountain News (1985–2001)
- WYMT 57 Mountain News (2001–present)
Station slogans
- First in Hazard (late 1970s)
- WKYH-TV, Hazard's Very Own NBC Station (1980s)
- WYMT-TV, Hazard's New CBS Station (1985; used after the switch to CBS and call letter change)
- Sharing the News at Home (1991–2001)
- Eastern and Southern Kentucky's #1 Source for News (2006–present)