WZMY-TV
Encyclopedia
WBIN-TV is an independent station licensed to Derry, New Hampshire
and serving the Boston
market. Its transmitter is located on Merrill Hill in Hudson, New Hampshire
. Owned by Carlisle One Media, the station has studios on A Street in Derry. Additional offices are located on the 51st floor of the John Hancock Tower
in downtown Boston.
Syndicated
programming on the station includes: Family Feud
, Better
, Maury
, Judge Karen's Court
, Judge Mathis
, The People's Court
, and Cheaters
. WBIN can generally be seen on Comcast
cable channel 18 (outside of downtown Boston) and Verizon FiOS
cable channel 6 (506 in HD). It is offered on cable systems throughout New Hampshire, southern Vermont
and southern Maine
, as well as on DirecTV
and Dish Network
within the Boston market.
, from two studios. Its offices and master production facilities were located on Dutton Street in downtown Lowell, Massachusetts
; however, its transmitter and "main" studio was on Governor Dinsmore Road in Windham, New Hampshire
to comply with Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) regulations requiring that a station's transmitter be located within 15 miles of the city of license.
However, the station's coverage in many parts of Greater Boston
was spotty at best. The station's Lowell studios were located less than 1,000 feet from the transmitter of WLLH
, making high-quality production impossible during the day due to RF interference
with the cameras. Advertisers were scared off when the Lowell Sun
blacklisted anyone who advertised on the station. Bills went unpaid for several months.
By early 1970, the vast majority (90%) of the staff was removed from the payroll, although many continued with the station, believing it could pull through. The Lowell studio was closed that spring; finally, in June the power company pulled the plug at the Windham studios during a Maverick
rerun, taking WXPO off the air.
On July 17, 1973, channel 50 returned to the air with a test transmission, with plans to return the station to the air later that year, possibly as New Hampshire's CBS
affiliate. Those plans were never realized, and the WXPO-TV license was deleted in 1975.
The current iteration of channel 50 began broadcasting on September 5, 1983 as WNDS, an independent station known on-air as "The Winds of New England." It was owned by CTV of Derry, a company not related to the CTV Television Network
in Canada
. The station acquired some of the assets of WNHT
(channel 21, now occupied by WPXG-TV) in 1989 after that station's closure on March 31; the deal did not include the channel 21 license or WNHT's CBS affiliation.
In 1997, CTV of Derry attempted to sell the station to the Global Shopping Network (GSN). That network operated channel 50 from April to June with a home shopping
format. However, GSN soon ran into financial problems; after it missed a payment for the station, CTV of Derry canceled the sale and reverted WNDS to its previous general entertainment programming.
In 2004, CTV sold channel 50 again, this time to Shooting Star Broadcasting.
On February 22, 2006, News Corporation
announced that it would start up a new network called MyNetworkTV
, in response to the merger of UPN
and The WB
to form The CW
. Since WZMY had already filed a trademark in mid-2005 for use of the MyTV name, it was speculated that WZMY would take legal action with News Corporation over its similar name. Ultimately on July 21, 2006, WZMY's My TV Club newsletter announced that the station would become the region's MyNetworkTV affiliate, later revealed on July 24 to the media and visitors to WZMY's website, and to the general public on July 26. Until the announcements were made, Boston and Southern New Hampshire had been the largest market without a stand-alone MyNetworkTV affiliate.
MyNetworkTV is the first television network that channel 50 has ever affiliated with in its history. With network affiliation beginning with the network's launch (which happened on September 5, 2006), the station continued to use its "My TV" branding, though the logo was changed to reflect the MyNetworkTV logo (a different logo had been in use in the year following the 2005 relaunch).
In December 2009, the station laid off seven employees as part of strategy change to streamline operations and change some of the programming options to be more hyper local. Operation of WZMY was taken over by New Age Media, LLC, making it a sister station to WPXT
and WPME
in Portland, Maine
. The station added a digital subchannel
affiliated with Universal Sports
in June 2010.
-based Carlisle One Media, Inc., a company controlled by Bill Binnie, announced that it had reached an agreement to purchase WZMY-TV. The sale was completed on May 17; ten days later, the call letters were changed to WBIN-TV. It also dropped the "My TV New England" branding (becoming one of a number of MyNetworkTV affiliates to not feature the programming service's branding), and now refers to itself using its call letters. Binnie had indicated that the station would retain its affiliations with MyNetworkTV and Universal Sports; however, the station announced on June 15 that it would leave MyNetworkTV and revert to being independent as part of an increased local emphasis, with the service's programming moving to WSBK-TV
on September 19, while Universal Sports will end its affiliations with its over-the-air affiliates (including WBIN) in January 2012 and become a cable and satellite channel. Nonetheless, the station added an additional subchannel, carrying TheCoolTV
, in October 2011. WBIN will be the flagship of a group that will also include WYCN-LP
(channel 13) in Nashua
and several New Hampshire radio stations.
Soon after going on the air in the fall of 1983, WNDS began nightly newscasts at both 6:00 PM and 10:00 PM. The news team included news anchor Larry Sparano, sportscaster Doug Brown
, and meteorologist Al Kaprielian
. The weekend newscasts were cut in 1985, and the nightly newscasts were off the air by 1986.
On September 28, 1998, WNDS began the News Now local newscasts weeknights at 7 and 10 p.m., as well as weekend afternoon newscasts (which were dropped by early 2002). By 2003, the 11:57 a.m. weekday news update was expanded into a full half-hour newscast at noon. Shortly after Shooting Star bought the station, the noon broadcast was discontinued, and the 10 p.m. edition was cut down to 10 minutes. In addition to the full newscasts, some news / weather updates as well as stand-alone weather updates from chief meteorologist Al Kaprielian were provided throughout the day.
When the station was relaunched as WZMY, the 10 p.m. newscast was dropped entirely; the early evening newscast was renamed MyTV Now and aired weeknights from 7:30 to 8 p.m. An additional 60-minute news and commentary program, MyTV Prime, aired from 9 to 10 p.m. On March 10, 2006, however, the two programs were consolidated into a new, 90-minute version of MyTV Prime that aired from 8 to 9:30 p.m. News was no longer provided outside of that program. By July 2006, channel 50 had discontinued MyTV Prime in favor of sitcom rerun
s. Weather updates from Al Kaprielian were still provided each hour from noon to midnight; for a time, these were accompanied by news updates that used the MyTV Now title.
WZMY dissolved its news department completely (with the exception of weather) in November 2007, after Nicole Papageorge and Mike DeBlasi (the longest-tenured on-air employee after Al Kaprielian) departed the station. As a result, WZMY eliminated all daily news cut-ins, political commentary, and locally-produced public affairs programming.
Channel 50, as WNDS and WZMY, was well known in New England
for Al Kaprielian. His quirky, offbeat style made him a minor celebrity in Southern New Hampshire. As a result of his popularity, he was a "Guest Meteorologist" on The Weather Channel's Abrams & Bettes: Beyond the Forecast
on November 10, 2006. He had worked for WNDS/WZMY for his whole career. However, as a result of the station's December 2009 cutbacks, Al was laid off from the station, with his final day on-air December 31; as a result, the station no longer broadcast weather updates. On October 11, 2011, WBIN-TV sponsored a Charlie Rose
-moderated Republican
presidential debate at Dartmouth College
in association with Bloomberg
and The Washington Post
.
Soon after the sale to Carlisle One, the station announced plans to re-establish a local news department, including a bureau at Carlisle One's headquarters in Portsmouth
. Rival ABC
affiliate WMUR-TV
also maintains a bureau in that city at Harbor Place. On September 29, 2011, WBIN debuted a new thirty minute weeknight broadcast. Known as The News at 10 on WBIN, the show is produced in partnership with the Independent News Network
(INN) of Davenport, Iowa
. The news anchor and meteorologist are provided by the centralized news operation and other personnel from INN can fill-in as necessary. WBIN maintains two local reporters who contribute relevant Southern New Hampshire content.
All of the broadcasts are recorded in advance (in high definition except for packaged reports and the weather forecast) and originate from INN's facility on Tremont Avenue in Davenport. There is no regularly-scheduled sports report. The station maintains additional partnerships with The Boston Globe
(provides headlines through an on screen ticker) and Bloomberg. According to published reports, WBIN plans on further expanding its newscast offering although specific details are unknown at this time. It remains to be seen how much a dent in the ratings
this station will make against longtime favorite and established outlet WMUR (owned by Hearst Television).
Anchors
Reporters
show each weekend at noon called Candlepin Stars and Strikes, which aired from 1984 until August 2005.
Prior to the switch to Global Shopping Network in April 1997, WNDS also ran three additional shows: High School Sports Review (which looked at high school sports news in the station's broadcast region), Sports Wrap (a Sports Talk
show discussing Boston sports), and WNDS News Up Front (a local newsmagazine
). When regular programming was restored in June, these three shows were not resurrected.
In addition, during the early 2000s, channel 50 ran a public affairs program titled Capitol Ideas hosted by Arnie Arnesen
.
Friday Night Chaos, a 30-minute weekly show from independent wrestling promotion Chaotic Wrestling
, aired on WNDS from 2001 to 2002. The station also aired a locally-produced talk show hosted by singer-comedian Bucky Lewis.
After the station became WZMY, much of its local programming consisted of visits to businesses around the region, in a format known as "My Shows". The original show for this format was My New England, but variants focusing on specific topics were subsequently added, such as My Premier Bride and My Good Health and My Home and Garden. Additionally, several local businesses (particularly car dealerships, but sometimes other businesses such as Dollar Bill's Discount World) produce programs that appear on weekend mornings; those programs had also appeared on WNDS. At the time of the relaunch, two other local programs also existed: a talk show entitled MyTV Prime (which originally aired from 9 to 10 p.m. and later from 8 to 9:30 p.m.), and Wild World (a review of action sports around the region, which was produced by Dan Egan). However, the station has subsequently discontinued these shows from its lineup (although Wild World is still produced for other outlets).
In its later years as "My TV", the station adopted a "Branded Entertainment" model, focusing on local product placement. Most of the station's local programming during this time, in addition to the remaining "My Shows"-formatted programs, have included 30-minute wrestling show from the Massachusetts-based "Big Time Wrestling" promotion (which aired on the station from May 1, 2009 until moving to WMFP
in December 2010), Scorch's PFG-TV (a talk show hosted by WGIR-FM
personality Scorch), The Chef's Plate (which showcases New Hampshire's top chefs creating their signature dishes), ''The Steve Katsos Show'
' (also aired on sister station WPME
in Portland), Debra Crosby's Talent Quest TV Show, Quiet Desperation (a reality comedy TV show based in Allston, Massachusetts), Inside the Revolution (a spotlight on the New England Revolution
. AFO Proving Grounds, Animation Nation, Boston Ruit, theGreenScreen.tv, and AsianBoston TV. Many of these programs were produced in collaboration with independent production companies through what the station referred to as "MyTV New England Studios." Some of these programs continue to be shown on WBIN-TV, though Quiet Desperation was dropped following the sale to Carlisle One due to concerns over the program's content. The station intends to offer increased coverage of high school, college, and professional sports; this includes telecasts of New Hampshire Wildcats
hockey and basketball (produced by the University of New Hampshire
in association with Pack Network) Merrimack Warriors hockey
, and the UMass Minutemen
.
, digital television receivers display WBIN's virtual channel
as 50.1.
In 2010, WZMY-TV began broadcasting prime time MyNetworkTV programming in high definition
.
Derry, New Hampshire
-Climate:-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 33,109 people, 12,537 households, and 8,767 families residing in the town. The population density was 924.8 people per square mile . There were 13,277 housing units at an average density of 143.2/km²...
and serving the Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
market. Its transmitter is located on Merrill Hill in Hudson, New Hampshire
Hudson, New Hampshire
Hudson is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 24,467 at the 2010 census.The primary settlement in town, where 7,336 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined as the Hudson census-designated place and is located at the junctions of New Hampshire...
. Owned by Carlisle One Media, the station has studios on A Street in Derry. Additional offices are located on the 51st floor of the John Hancock Tower
John Hancock Tower
The John Hancock Tower, officially named Hancock Place and colloquially known as The Hancock, is a 60-story, 790-foot skyscraper in Boston. The tower was designed by Henry N. Cobb of the firm I. M. Pei & Partners and was completed in 1976...
in downtown Boston.
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 the station includes: 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...
, Better
Better (TV series)
Better is a syndicated lifestyle television show. It airs weekdays on 80 stations across the United States. The program is produced and distributed by Meredith Corporation which was first founded as a publishing company back in 1902. Better gets its name from Meredith's flagship publication, Better...
, Maury
Maury (TV series)
Maury is a syndicated American tabloid talk show hosted by Maury Povich.When the series first aired in 1991, the show was called The Maury Povich Show and was produced by MoPo Productions in association with Paramount Domestic Television...
, Judge Karen's Court
Judge Karen
Judge Karen is a nationally-syndicated American courtroom television show that debuted on September 8, 2008 in 48 of the top 50 U.S. markets. As with other court shows, such as The People's Court and Judge Judy, a real-life judge presides over small claims court cases...
, Judge Mathis
Judge Mathis
Judge Mathis is a syndicated television legal reality show produced originally by Black Pearl Productions. In 2008, it entered its tenth season produced by AND Syndicated Productions and Telepictures. It is taped at NBC Tower in Chicago, but includes cases and litigants from other U.S....
, The People's Court
The People's Court
The People's Court is a US television court show in which small claims court cases are heard, though what is shown is actually a binding arbitration....
, and Cheaters
Cheaters
Cheaters is a weekly syndicated hidden camera reality television series that documents people who are suspected of committing adultery, or cheating, on their partners. Investigations are headed by the "Cheaters Detective Agency". The show is hosted by Joey Greco, the show airs on Saturday nights...
. WBIN can generally be seen on Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
cable channel 18 (outside of downtown Boston) and Verizon FiOS
Verizon FiOS
Verizon FiOS is a bundled Internet access, telephone, and television service which operates over a fiber-optic communications network. It is offered in some areas of the United States by Verizon Communications. Verizon was one of the first major U.S...
cable channel 6 (506 in HD). It is offered on cable systems throughout New Hampshire, southern 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...
and southern Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, as well as on DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
and Dish Network
Dish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
within the Boston market.
WXPO
Channel 50 first appeared early in October 1969 as WXPO-TVWXPO-TV
WXPO-TV was a short-lived television station that was licensed to Manchester, New Hampshire, but mainly targeted the Boston market. Owned by Merrimack Valley Communications, the station aired on channel 50.-History:...
, from two studios. Its offices and master production facilities were located on Dutton Street in downtown Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County...
; however, its transmitter and "main" studio was on Governor Dinsmore Road in Windham, New Hampshire
Windham, New Hampshire
Windham is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 13,592 at the 2010 census.- History :The area was initially home to the Pawtucket Native Americans. Scottish immigrants began to settle in the area in 1719. The region was known as “Nutfield” and included what...
to comply with 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...
(FCC) regulations requiring that a station's transmitter be located within 15 miles of the city of license.
However, the station's coverage in many parts of Greater Boston
Greater Boston
Greater Boston is the area of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts surrounding the city of Boston. Due to ambiguity in usage, the size of the area referred to can be anywhere between that of the metropolitan statistical area of Boston and that of the city's combined statistical area which includes...
was spotty at best. The station's Lowell studios were located less than 1,000 feet from the transmitter of WLLH
WLLH
WLLH is a radio station in the Merrimack Valley region of Massachusetts, licensed to Lowell, Massachusetts. The station is owned by Gois Broadcasting, LLC, and airs a tropical music format. In addition to a transmitter in Lowell, there is a synchronous transmitter in Lawrence, together forming...
, making high-quality production impossible during the day due to RF interference
Electromagnetic interference
Electromagnetic interference is disturbance that affects an electrical circuit due to either electromagnetic induction or electromagnetic radiation emitted from an external source. The disturbance may interrupt, obstruct, or otherwise degrade or limit the effective performance of the circuit...
with the cameras. Advertisers were scared off when the Lowell Sun
Lowell Sun
The Sun is a daily newspaper based in Lowell, Massachusetts, United States, serving towns in Massachusetts and New Hampshire in the Greater Lowell area and beyond. Its circulation is about 50,000...
blacklisted anyone who advertised on the station. Bills went unpaid for several months.
By early 1970, the vast majority (90%) of the staff was removed from the payroll, although many continued with the station, believing it could pull through. The Lowell studio was closed that spring; finally, in June the power company pulled the plug at the Windham studios during a Maverick
Maverick (TV series)
Maverick is a western television series with comedic overtones created by Roy Huggins. The show ran from September 22, 1957 to July 8, 1962 on ABC and stars James Garner as Bret Maverick, a cagey, articulate cardsharp. Eight episodes into the first season, he was joined by Jack Kelly as his brother...
rerun, taking WXPO off the air.
On July 17, 1973, channel 50 returned to the air with a test transmission, with plans to return the station to the air later that year, possibly as New Hampshire's 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. Those plans were never realized, and the WXPO-TV license was deleted in 1975.
WNDS
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
in 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...
. The station acquired some of the assets of WNHT
WNHT (TV)
WNHT was a television station in southern New Hampshire, licensed to the city of Concord. The station broadcast programming on channel 21 and briefly served as the area's CBS affiliate.- History :...
(channel 21, now occupied by WPXG-TV) in 1989 after that station's closure on March 31; the deal did not include the channel 21 license or WNHT's CBS affiliation.
In 1997, CTV of Derry attempted to sell the station to the Global Shopping Network (GSN). That network operated channel 50 from April to June with a home shopping
Home shopping
Home shopping commonly refers to the electronic retailing/home shopping channels industry, which includes such billion dollar television-based and e-commerce companies as HSN, QVC, eBay, ShopNBC, Buy.com, and Amazon.com, as well as traditional mail order and brick and mortar retailers as Hammacher...
format. However, GSN soon ran into financial problems; after it missed a payment for the station, CTV of Derry canceled the sale and reverted WNDS to its previous general entertainment programming.
In 2004, CTV sold channel 50 again, this time to Shooting Star Broadcasting.
WZMY
Soon after assuming control, in August 2005, Shooting Star Broadcasting announced that WNDS would change its call letters to WZMY-TV and its branding to "My TV". At that time, the station overhauled its schedule, based on viewer responses on the old WNDS website. The changes were implemented on-air on September 26, 2005.Network affiliation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
announced that it would start up a new network called MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
, in response to the merger of UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
and The WB
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
to form The CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
. Since WZMY had already filed a trademark in mid-2005 for use of the MyTV name, it was speculated that WZMY would take legal action with News Corporation over its similar name. Ultimately on July 21, 2006, WZMY's My TV Club newsletter announced that the station would become the region's MyNetworkTV affiliate, later revealed on July 24 to the media and visitors to WZMY's website, and to the general public on July 26. Until the announcements were made, Boston and Southern New Hampshire had been the largest market without a stand-alone MyNetworkTV affiliate.
MyNetworkTV is the first television network that channel 50 has ever affiliated with in its history. With network affiliation beginning with the network's launch (which happened on September 5, 2006), the station continued to use its "My TV" branding, though the logo was changed to reflect the MyNetworkTV logo (a different logo had been in use in the year following the 2005 relaunch).
In December 2009, the station laid off seven employees as part of strategy change to streamline operations and change some of the programming options to be more hyper local. Operation of WZMY was taken over by New Age Media, LLC, making it a sister station to WPXT
WPXT
WPXT is the CW-affiliated television station for Southern Maine and Northern New Hampshire licensed to Portland. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 43 from a transmitter in South Gray along I-95/Maine Turnpike/Gold Star Memorial Highway...
and WPME
WPME
WPME is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for Southern Maine and Northern New Hampshire licensed to Lewiston, Maine. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 35 from a transmitter in South Gray along I-95/Maine Turnpike/Gold Star Memorial Highway. The station can...
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...
. The station added a digital subchannel
Digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
affiliated with Universal Sports
Universal Sports
Universal Sports is an American television network that airs various sports, primarily those contested in the Olympic Games, including swimming, gymnastics, cycling, track and field, figure skating, skiing, bobsledding and triathlon.-Programming:...
in June 2010.
WBIN
On March 3, 2011, PortsmouthPortsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the United States. It is the largest city but only the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 21,233 at the 2010 census...
-based Carlisle One Media, Inc., a company controlled by Bill Binnie, announced that it had reached an agreement to purchase WZMY-TV. The sale was completed on May 17; ten days later, the call letters were changed to WBIN-TV. It also dropped the "My TV New England" branding (becoming one of a number of MyNetworkTV affiliates to not feature the programming service's branding), and now refers to itself using its call letters. Binnie had indicated that the station would retain its affiliations with MyNetworkTV and Universal Sports; however, the station announced on June 15 that it would leave MyNetworkTV and revert to being independent as part of an increased local emphasis, with the service's programming moving to WSBK-TV
WSBK-TV
WSBK-TV is a MyNetworkTV television station for eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire that is licensed to Boston. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter along the Needham and Wellesley town line southwest of the MA 9 and I-95 / MA 128...
on September 19, while Universal Sports will end its affiliations with its over-the-air affiliates (including WBIN) in January 2012 and become a cable and satellite channel. Nonetheless, the station added an additional subchannel, carrying TheCoolTV
TheCoolTV
THECOOLTV is a United States over-the-air digital subchannel launched in March 2009. The network's current program schedule consists of an all-music video lineup that can be customized to meet an affiliate's preference, along with the three hours per week of E/I programming as required by the...
, in October 2011. WBIN will be the flagship of a group that will also include WYCN-LP
WYCN-LP
WYCN-LP is a low power television station licensed to Nashua, New Hampshire with studios located at Rivier College in Nashua. The station carries local community programming, however most of its schedule is taken up by FamilyNet programming....
(channel 13) in Nashua
Nashua, New Hampshire
-Climate:-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 86,494 people, 35,044 households, and 21,876 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,719.9 people per square mile . There were 37,168 housing units at an average density of 1,202.8 per square mile...
and several New Hampshire radio stations.
Newscasts
Doug Brown (sportscaster)
Doug Brown is an American sportscaster who has worked for ESPN Radio since 1993. He is currently the host of SportsCenterNightly.Brown has previously worked for WSAR , WHLL , WNDS, WBZ Radio , WEEI , WSBK-TV , WABU...
, and meteorologist Al Kaprielian
Al Kaprielian
Alan "Al" Kaprielian is a meteorologist in New Hampshire, best known for 26 years with Channel 50, a broadcast television station in Derry, New Hampshire...
. The weekend newscasts were cut in 1985, and the nightly newscasts were off the air by 1986.
On September 28, 1998, WNDS began the News Now local newscasts weeknights at 7 and 10 p.m., as well as weekend afternoon newscasts (which were dropped by early 2002). By 2003, the 11:57 a.m. weekday news update was expanded into a full half-hour newscast at noon. Shortly after Shooting Star bought the station, the noon broadcast was discontinued, and the 10 p.m. edition was cut down to 10 minutes. In addition to the full newscasts, some news / weather updates as well as stand-alone weather updates from chief meteorologist Al Kaprielian were provided throughout the day.
When the station was relaunched as WZMY, the 10 p.m. newscast was dropped entirely; the early evening newscast was renamed MyTV Now and aired weeknights from 7:30 to 8 p.m. An additional 60-minute news and commentary program, MyTV Prime, aired from 9 to 10 p.m. On March 10, 2006, however, the two programs were consolidated into a new, 90-minute version of MyTV Prime that aired from 8 to 9:30 p.m. News was no longer provided outside of that program. By July 2006, channel 50 had discontinued MyTV Prime in favor of sitcom rerun
Rerun
A rerun or repeat is a re-airing of an episode of a radio or television broadcast. The invention of the rerun is generally credited to Desi Arnaz. There are two types of reruns—those that occur during a hiatus, and those that occur when a program is syndicated. Reruns can also be, as the...
s. Weather updates from Al Kaprielian were still provided each hour from noon to midnight; for a time, these were accompanied by news updates that used the MyTV Now title.
WZMY dissolved its news department completely (with the exception of weather) in November 2007, after Nicole Papageorge and Mike DeBlasi (the longest-tenured on-air employee after Al Kaprielian) departed the station. As a result, WZMY eliminated all daily news cut-ins, political commentary, and locally-produced public affairs programming.
Channel 50, as WNDS and WZMY, was well known in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
for Al Kaprielian. His quirky, offbeat style made him a minor celebrity in Southern New Hampshire. As a result of his popularity, he was a "Guest Meteorologist" on The Weather Channel's Abrams & Bettes: Beyond the Forecast
Abrams & Bettes: Beyond the Forecast
Abrams & Bettes Beyond the Forecast, commonly abbreviated Abrams & Bettes, Beyond the Forecast, or A&B, was a weather program produced by The Weather Channel.-Program history:...
on November 10, 2006. He had worked for WNDS/WZMY for his whole career. However, as a result of the station's December 2009 cutbacks, Al was laid off from the station, with his final day on-air December 31; as a result, the station no longer broadcast weather updates. On October 11, 2011, WBIN-TV sponsored a Charlie Rose
Charlie Rose
Charles Peete "Charlie" Rose, Jr. is an American television talk show host and journalist. Since 1991 he has hosted Charlie Rose, an interview show distributed nationally by PBS since 1993...
-moderated Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
presidential debate at Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
in association with Bloomberg
Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg L.P. is an American privately held financial software, media, and data company. Bloomberg makes up one third of the $16 billion global financial data market with estimated revenue of $6.9 billion. Bloomberg L.P...
and The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
.
Soon after the sale to Carlisle One, the station announced plans to re-establish a local news department, including a bureau at Carlisle One's headquarters in Portsmouth
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the United States. It is the largest city but only the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 21,233 at the 2010 census...
. Rival ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
affiliate WMUR-TV
WMUR-TV
WMUR-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for the state of New Hampshire that is licensed to Manchester. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 9 from a transmitter on the south peak of Mount Uncanoonuc in Goffstown. Owned by Hearst Television, the station has studios...
also maintains a bureau in that city at Harbor Place. On September 29, 2011, WBIN debuted a new thirty minute weeknight broadcast. Known as The News at 10 on WBIN, the show is produced in partnership with the Independent News Network
Independent News Network
For the consortium of non-profit investigative news organizations, see .The Independent News Network, also known as INN, is a television news service based in Davenport, Iowa. It syndicates "localized" news programs for television stations across the country with little budget for news...
(INN) of Davenport, Iowa
Davenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...
. The news anchor and meteorologist are provided by the centralized news operation and other personnel from INN can fill-in as necessary. WBIN maintains two local reporters who contribute relevant Southern New Hampshire content.
All of the broadcasts are recorded in advance (in high definition except for packaged reports and the weather forecast) and originate from INN's facility on Tremont Avenue in Davenport. There is no regularly-scheduled sports report. The station maintains additional partnerships with The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
(provides headlines through an on screen ticker) and Bloomberg. According to published reports, WBIN plans on further expanding its newscast offering although specific details are unknown at this time. It remains to be seen how much a dent in the ratings
Nielsen 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...
this station will make against longtime favorite and established outlet WMUR (owned by Hearst Television).
News team
+ denotes INN personnelAnchors
- + Amanda Decker - news and producer
- + Phil Doherty - producer and fill-in news
- + Ryan Bass - producer and fill-in news
- + Dan Bronis - meteorologist
- + Pat Walker - fill-in meteorologist
Reporters
- + Mike Mickle - News DirectorNews DirectorA news director is an individual at a broadcast station or network or a newspaper who is in charge of the news department. In local news, the news director is typically in charge of the entire news staff, including journalists, news presenters, photographers, copy writers, television producers,...
and "World at a Glance" segment producer - Deborah Kostroun - "Bloomberg After the Bell" segment producer
- Stan Case - "Business Brief" segment producer
- Carolyn Choate
- Martin Morenz
Other local programs
During its first year on the air, WNDS ran an impressive number of locally produced programs, including a cooking show (The Yankee Gourmet), a children's show (Just Kidding Around) and a weekly prime-time variety show (The Best of New Hampshire). All of these shows were cancelled by the end of 1985, which in the case of Just Kidding Around, was largely due to one child in the audience during a live broadcast misquoting the title in a lewd manner. The station also covered live local sports, including high school football, college hockey and minor league baseball. WNDS also ran a candlepin bowlingCandlepin bowling
Candlepin bowling is a variation of Bowling that is played primarily in the Canadian Maritime provinces, Ontario, Quebec, and the New England states of Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, where it is more common than ten-pin bowling....
show each weekend at noon called Candlepin Stars and Strikes, which aired from 1984 until August 2005.
Prior to the switch to Global Shopping Network in April 1997, WNDS also ran three additional shows: High School Sports Review (which looked at high school sports news in the station's broadcast region), Sports Wrap (a Sports Talk
Sports radio
Sports radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A popular format with an almost exclusively male demographic in most areas, sports radio is characterized by an often-boisterous on-air style and extensive debate and analysis by both hosts and...
show discussing Boston sports), and WNDS News Up Front (a local newsmagazine
Newsmagazine
A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published piece of paper, magazine or a radio or television program, usually weekly, featuring articles or segments on current events...
). When regular programming was restored in June, these three shows were not resurrected.
In addition, during the early 2000s, channel 50 ran a public affairs program titled Capitol Ideas hosted by Arnie Arnesen
Deborah Arnie Arnesen
Deborah Arnie Arnesen, known as Deborah L. Arnesen, D. Arnie Arnesen or simply Arnie Arnesen , is a liberal Democratic media personality, a former fellow of the Harvard Institute of Politics, and a former member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives...
.
Friday Night Chaos, a 30-minute weekly show from independent wrestling promotion Chaotic Wrestling
Chaotic Wrestling
Chaotic Wrestling is an American independent wrestling promotion based in North Andover, Massachusetts owned by Jamie Jamitowski and formerly Killer Kowalski prior to his death in August 2008. In addition to the promotion is the Chaotic Training Center, a professional wrestling school where...
, aired on WNDS from 2001 to 2002. The station also aired a locally-produced talk show hosted by singer-comedian Bucky Lewis.
After the station became WZMY, much of its local programming consisted of visits to businesses around the region, in a format known as "My Shows". The original show for this format was My New England, but variants focusing on specific topics were subsequently added, such as My Premier Bride and My Good Health and My Home and Garden. Additionally, several local businesses (particularly car dealerships, but sometimes other businesses such as Dollar Bill's Discount World) produce programs that appear on weekend mornings; those programs had also appeared on WNDS. At the time of the relaunch, two other local programs also existed: a talk show entitled MyTV Prime (which originally aired from 9 to 10 p.m. and later from 8 to 9:30 p.m.), and Wild World (a review of action sports around the region, which was produced by Dan Egan). However, the station has subsequently discontinued these shows from its lineup (although Wild World is still produced for other outlets).
In its later years as "My TV", the station adopted a "Branded Entertainment" model, focusing on local product placement. Most of the station's local programming during this time, in addition to the remaining "My Shows"-formatted programs, have included 30-minute wrestling show from the Massachusetts-based "Big Time Wrestling" promotion (which aired on the station from May 1, 2009 until moving to WMFP
WMFP
WMFP is a television station in the Boston market. The station is licensed to Lawrence, Massachusetts, and is owned by NRJ TV, LLC. The station's programming primarily consists of programming from the Retro Television Network...
in December 2010), Scorch's PFG-TV (a talk show hosted by WGIR-FM
WGIR-FM
WGIR-FM is a radio station in Manchester, New Hampshire, airing an active rock format, branded as Rock 101. The station is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications. According to Arbitron, ROCK 101 is currently the #2 rated radio station in the Manchester radio market...
personality Scorch), The Chef's Plate (which showcases New Hampshire's top chefs creating their signature dishes), ''The Steve Katsos Show'
Steve Katsos
Steve Katsos is the host of , a television show based out of Arlington, Ma for creative people to share their art, comedy, and music with the world....
' (also aired on sister station WPME
WPME
WPME is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for Southern Maine and Northern New Hampshire licensed to Lewiston, Maine. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 35 from a transmitter in South Gray along I-95/Maine Turnpike/Gold Star Memorial Highway. The station can...
in Portland), Debra Crosby's Talent Quest TV Show, Quiet Desperation (a reality comedy TV show based in Allston, Massachusetts), Inside the Revolution (a spotlight on the New England Revolution
New England Revolution
The New England Revolution is an American professional association football club based in Foxborough, Massachusetts which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada...
. AFO Proving Grounds, Animation Nation, Boston Ruit, theGreenScreen.tv, and AsianBoston TV. Many of these programs were produced in collaboration with independent production companies through what the station referred to as "MyTV New England Studios." Some of these programs continue to be shown on WBIN-TV, though Quiet Desperation was dropped following the sale to Carlisle One due to concerns over the program's content. The station intends to offer increased coverage of high school, college, and professional sports; this includes telecasts of New Hampshire Wildcats
New Hampshire Wildcats
The New Hampshire Wildcats, or Cats, are the athletic teams of the University of New Hampshire. The wildcat is the school's official mascot, the colors are UNH Blue and white...
hockey and basketball (produced by the University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...
in association with Pack Network) Merrimack Warriors hockey
Merrimack Warriors men's ice hockey
The Merrimack Warriors men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college ice hockey program that represents Merrimack College. Merrimack has the smallest enrollment of any Division I college hockey program. The Warriors are a member of Hockey East. They play at...
, and the UMass Minutemen
UMass Minutemen
The UMass Minutemen are the athletic teams that represent the University of Massachusetts Amherst in NCAA Division I sports competition. The nickname is also applied to club teams that do not participate within the NCAA structure. Strictly speaking, the Minutemen nickname applies to men's teams and...
.
Digital television
WZMY-TV discontinued analog transmission on December 1, 2008, which was within the permissible 90-day window prior to the since-delayed February 17, 2009 deadline. The station's digital broadcasts operate on WZMY's pre-transition channel, 35. However, through the use of PSIPProgram and System Information Protocol
The Program and System Information Protocol is the protocol used in the ATSC digital television system for carrying metadata about each channel in the broadcast MPEG transport stream of a TV station and for publishing information about television programs so that viewers can select what to watch...
, digital television receivers display WBIN's 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....
as 50.1.
In 2010, WZMY-TV began broadcasting prime time MyNetworkTV programming 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...
.