WZVN-TV
Encyclopedia
WZVN-TV is the ABC
-affiliated television station
for Southwest Florida
licensed to Naples
. It broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on UHF channel 41 from a transmitter in Southeastern Punta Gorda
along SR 31
. The station can also be seen on Comcast
channel 7 (hence the ABC 7 branding) and in high definition on digital channel 231. Owned by Montclaire Communications, WZVN is operated through a local marketing agreement
(LMA) by the Waterman Broadcasting Corporation
. This makes the station sister to NBC
affiliate WBBH-TV
and the two share studios on Central Avenue in Fort Myers
. Syndicated
programming on WZVN includes: Entertainment Tonight
, Dr. Phil
, The Doctors
, and Family Feud
. It is one of two Fort Myers-based stations licensed to Naples (the other is CW affiliate WXCW).
The station brands itself as ABC 7, referring to its cable slot on most area cable systems. However, its signal remaps to its old analog
channel 26 via PSIP.
It began broadcasting on August 31, 1974 as WEVU (a phonetic translation of "we view"), the third television station in Fort Myers with the call letters. It immediately took over the ABC affiliation. Before channel 26's sign-on, ABC was relegated to off-hours clearances on WBBH and WINK-TV
. However, viewers with a good antenna could watch the full ABC schedule on WPLG
in Miami, WPEC
in West Palm Beach or WLCY-TV (now WTSP
) in St. Petersburg
. It aired an analog signal on UHF channel 26 from a transmitter northeast of Bonita Springs
near the Collier
and Lee County
line. This location put a stronger signal into Naples and Southern Collier County.
The station was owned by Caloosa Television. In 1976, the Home News Company purchased the channel. In 1992, the station was sold to FCVS Communications (the owner of WKCH-TV (now WTNZ
) in Knoxville, Tennessee
and WACH
in Columbia, South Carolina
), who turned around and sold all three of its stations to Ellis Communications in 1993. In 1994, WEVU entered into a local marketing agreement with WBBH and moved into that station's facilities. At the time, both began identifying by the cable channel slots. It started using a variant of the common circle 7 logo. This station's version has the ABC logo attached to the bottom left corner boxed in by a black rectangle. Unlike the more common varieties, as used by WABC-TV
in New York City
, the "seven" numeral is curved differently. The station's call letters became WZVN-TV on October 16, 1995. The previous calls later resided on a now-defunct Class A
station. Ellis Communications was folded into Raycom Media
in 1996; however, due to Federal Communications Commission
ownership limits in effect at the time, WZVN's license was spun off to current owner Montclair Communications, who continued the LMA with WBBH (it should be noted that WBBH's owner Waterman Broadcasting holds an investment interest in Montclair Communications; however, the two companies file separate financial reports).
WZVN and WBBH began offering high definition signals on October 31, 2002 becoming the first stations in the market
to air network programming in HD (WZVN upgraded four hours after WBBH). On February 17, 2009, the station shut down its analog signal and became digital exclusive. As of August 2009, its website is now completely operated by WBBH as a hybrid of that station's web address with a different color scheme.
In 1994, WZVN and WBBH began a partnership where news reporters would appear on both stations. Resources such as video footage and coverage was also shared. Each station maintained separate unique sets at the Central Avenue facilities and featured a distinct on-air style. There were primary personalities such as anchors that would only appear on one channel. The combined forces of the two stations was billed as the Eyewitness News
Network. It should be known that if WZVN chose not become a junior partner in the local marketing agreement, the station would have been required to shut down its news department.
The same arrangement continues today except WZVN has fewer personalities that only appear on this station. Otherwise, all on-air personnel is shared. Traditionally, WBBH tends to cover more from Charlotte County
while WZVN has a slight Collier County
focus since it is licensed to Naples. Compared with WBBH, this station's newscasts air in a flashier fast-paced format with on-air promotions referring to more coverage in thirty minutes especially on weeknights.
On weekends, there are separate news and sports anchors but meteorologists are seen on both WZVN and WBBH. This is possible because the two still maintain separate sets and do not always air local news at the same time. Since it was the first station in Southwest Florida and the only outlet on VHF, WINK-TV has long been the most watched channel according to Neilson ratings. Between the two, WZVN and WBBH air twelve hours of news on weekdays and four and a half on weekends.
Its best known former personality is Harry Horn who was also a veteran of WBBH and WINK-TV. He lost his battle with ALS
in August 2005. During major hurricanes, recently Charley
and Wilma
, the news team of WBBH and WZVN put on 24-hour continuous coverage. Commercial breaks are dropped for several hours preceding and following landfall. There is a simulcast on both stations and a common live video stream on both websites. During previous years, WBBH's news set was used along with both channel's weather sets. As of the 2007 season, WZVN's high definition news set will be used in the event of a hurricane as its centralized location at the facilities provides the best protection against damaging winds.
On August 14, 2006, the station re-branded its nightly newscasts as ABC 7 Gulfshore News. It also added a prime time show every night on cable-only MyNetworkTV
affiliate "WNFM". Known as ABC 7 Gulfshore News at 10 on My TV 8, the broadcasts were a first attempt to take on Fox affiliate WFTX-TV in the ratings. However, this only ran for nine months as a result of Comcast
's frequent technical difficulties (the cable company operates the station). This hindered the show's ratings, and as a result, WZVN canceled the production on May 25, 2007. The move was also in response to the popularity of WINK-TV's nightly prime time newscasts on WXCW. That production began March 26, 2007 and emerged as a strong second place in the time slot building on WINK-TV's longtime status as the most watched station.
On November 8, 2006, re-branding of WZVN's newscasts continued with Good Morning Southwest Florida becoming Good Morning Gulfshore. On April 9, 2007, it pulled the Gulfshore News label from its newscasts and simply referred to them as ABC 7 News. As of 2010, the daily morning show has reverted back to the previous title and became the overall title for this channel's news broadcasts. On July 12, 2007, WZVN began offering local news in 16x9 enhanced definition widescreen
. Although not truly high definition, broadcasts matched the aspect ratio
of HD television screens. On October 20, rival WINK-TV became the first station in Southwest Florida to broadcast news in full high definition. In early-February 2008 following the lead of WZVN, WBBH upgraded to 16:9 enhanced definition widescreen. On July 19, the two channels started airing newscasts in full high definition becoming the second and third stations respectively in Fort Myers to do so (WZVN upgraded five hours after WBBH).
On October 26, 2008, several changes occurred on WZVN and WBBH in order to better compete with dominant WINK-TV. WZVN dropped the first hour of its weekday morning show (this has since been restored) and mid-morning newscast at 10. WBBH debuted a new hour-long midday show at 11 while keeping its hour-long noon broadcast. Meanwhile, WZVN added an hour-long newscast weekday mornings at 9 to piggyback off Good Morning America
. This is currently the only local newscast in the time slot. On September 8, 2009, WZVN starting broadcasting a prime time newscast on weeknights known as The 7 O'Clock News to go up against WINK-TV's show airing at the same time. In addition to the main studios, WZVN and WBBH operate a Collier County Bureau on Tamiami Trail
North (US 41/SR 45) in Naples
. The two stations operate a Baron weather radar
at the main facilities that is known on WZVN as "Storm Warn 7 Live Doppler Radar". The radar has a range of 300 miles and can survey approaching storms in three dimensions.
Storm Warn 7 Weather Team
Sports team
Reporters
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
-affiliated television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
for Southwest Florida
Southwest Florida
Southwest Florida is a region of Florida , United States located along its gulf coast, south of the Tampa Bay area, west of Lake Okeechobee and mostly north of the Everglades...
licensed to Naples
Naples, Florida
Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of July 1, 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 21,653. Naples is a principal city of the Naples–Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated total population of 315,839 on July 1, 2007...
. It broadcasts a high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
digital signal on UHF channel 41 from a transmitter in Southeastern Punta Gorda
Punta Gorda, Florida
Punta Gorda is a city in Charlotte County, Florida, United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau estimates of 2007, the city had a population of 16,762. It is the county seat of Charlotte County and the only incorporated municipality in the county...
along SR 31
Florida State Road 31
State Road 31 is a state road in Southwest Florida in Lee, Charlotte, and DeSoto counties. It is about 36 miles long. The entire roadway is two lanes wide, even near Fort Myers. The highway crosses the Caloosahatchee River via the Wilson Pigott Bridge, a small drawbridge, a mile north of the...
. The station can also 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...
channel 7 (hence the ABC 7 branding) and in high definition on digital channel 231. Owned by Montclaire Communications, WZVN is operated through a local marketing agreement
Local marketing agreement
In U.S. and Canadian broadcasting, a local marketing agreement is an agreement in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another licensee...
(LMA) by the Waterman Broadcasting Corporation
Waterman Broadcasting Corporation
Waterman Broadcasting Corporation is a company based in Fort Myers, Florida,it was founded in 1978 in Ft. Myers FL when it purchased WBBH.It is owned by Bernard Waterman.-Stations owned by Waterman:...
. This makes the station sister to NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate WBBH-TV
WBBH-TV
WBBH-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Southwest Florida licensed to Fort Myers. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 15 from a transmitter in Southeastern Punta Gorda along SR 31. Owned by the Waterman Broadcasting Corporation, WBBH operates ABC affiliate...
and the two share studios on Central Avenue in Fort Myers
Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers is the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. Its population was 62,298 in the 2010 census, a 29.23 percent increase over the 2000 figure....
. 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 WZVN includes: Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
, Dr. Phil
Dr. Phil (TV series)
Dr. Phil is a reality/talk television show hosted by Phil McGraw. After McGraw's success with his segments on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Phil debuted on September 16, 2002...
, The Doctors
The Doctors (2008 TV series)
The Doctors is an American syndicated talk show airing daily in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Ireland, Sweden and Finland. It debuted on September 8, 2008. The hour-long daytime program is produced by Phil McGraw and his son Jay McGraw and is distributed domestically and globally by CBS Television...
, 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...
. It is one of two Fort Myers-based stations licensed to Naples (the other is CW affiliate WXCW).
The station brands itself as ABC 7, referring to its cable slot on most area cable systems. However, its signal remaps to its old analog
Analog television
Analog television is the analog transmission that involves the broadcasting of encoded analog audio and analog video signal: one in which the message conveyed by the broadcast signal is a function of deliberate variations in the amplitude and/or frequency of the signal...
channel 26 via PSIP.
Digital programming
On June 6, 2011, WZVN began airing programming from Me-TV, a digital multicast network that airs classic television sitcoms and dramas from the 1950s through the 1980s, on WZVN digital subchannel 26.2.| Channel | Video | Aspect 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,... |
Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26.1 | 720p 720p 720p is the shorthand name for 1280x720, a category of High-definition television video modes having a resolution of 1080 or 720p and a progressive scan... |
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 ... |
main WZVN programming / ABC (HD) |
| 26.2 | 480i 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... |
4:3 | WZVN-DT2 "Me-TV" (SD) |
History
WINK-TV
WINK-TV, virtual channel 11, is the CBS-affiliated television station for Southwest Florida that is licensed to Fort Myers. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 50 from a transmitter north of Fort Myers Shores near the Lee and Charlotte County line in Punta Gorda. The...
. However, viewers with a good antenna could watch the full ABC schedule on WPLG
WPLG
WPLG, channel 10, is an ABC network affiliated television station located in Miami, Florida. WPLG is owned and operated by Post-Newsweek Stations, a subsidiary of the Washington Post Company. The station's studios are located in Pembroke Park, and its transmitter is located at the massive broadcast...
in Miami, WPEC
WPEC
WPEC is the CBS-affiliated television station for the Gold and Treasure Coasts of South Florida. Licensed to West Palm Beach, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 13 from a transmitter in Lake Worth along U.S. 441/SR 7. The station is the flagship of Freedom Communications...
in West Palm Beach or WLCY-TV (now WTSP
WTSP
WTSP is a CBS-affiliated television station in St. Petersburg, Florida . It broadcasts its digital signal on VHF channel 10....
) in St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
. It aired an analog signal on UHF channel 26 from a transmitter northeast of Bonita Springs
Bonita Springs, Florida
Bonita Springs is a city in Lee County, Florida, United States. The population was 43,914 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Cape Coral–Fort Myers Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is located on the southwest coast of the state....
near the Collier
Collier County, Florida
Collier County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 251,377. The U.S. Census Bureau 2007 estimate for the county is 315,839...
and Lee County
Lee County, Florida
Lee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. Located in southwest Florida, the principal cities in the county are Fort Myers and Cape Coral...
line. This location put a stronger signal into Naples and Southern Collier County.
The station was owned by Caloosa Television. In 1976, the Home News Company purchased the channel. In 1992, the station was sold to FCVS Communications (the owner of WKCH-TV (now WTNZ
WTNZ
WTNZ is the Fox-affiliated television station for Eastern Tennessee licensed to Knoxville. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 34 from a transmitter on Sharp's Ridge in the city's Arlington section. The station can also be seen on Comcast channel 11 and in high definition...
) in Knoxville, Tennessee
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...
and WACH
WACH
WACH is the Fox-affiliated television station for the Midlands of South Carolina. It is licensed to Columbia. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 48 from a transmitter along SC 12 in Southwestern Kershaw County. Owned by Barrington Broadcasting, the station has studios on...
in Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
), who turned around and sold all three of its stations to Ellis Communications in 1993. In 1994, WEVU entered into a local marketing agreement with WBBH and moved into that station's facilities. At the time, both began identifying by the cable channel slots. It started using a variant of the common circle 7 logo. This station's version has the ABC logo attached to the bottom left corner boxed in by a black rectangle. Unlike the more common varieties, as used by WABC-TV
WABC-TV
WABC-TV, channel 7, is the flagship station of the Disney-owned American Broadcasting Company located in New York City. The station's studios and offices are located on the Upper West Side section of Manhattan, adjacent to ABC's corporate headquarters, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the "seven" numeral is curved differently. The station's call letters became WZVN-TV on October 16, 1995. The previous calls later resided on a now-defunct Class A
WEVU-CA
WEVU-LP was a low-power television station in Fort Myers, Florida, broadcasting locally on channel 4. The station was last owned by Silver Point Capital; it was most recently a rebroadcaster of Univision affiliate WUVF-LP.-History:...
station. Ellis Communications was folded into Raycom Media
Raycom Media
- History :Although Raycom Media dates its birth to 1996, the core of the company was formed in 1992 when Atlanta native Bert Ellis formed Ellis Communications. He eventually controlled 13 television stations and two radio stations....
in 1996; however, due to 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...
ownership limits in effect at the time, WZVN's license was spun off to current owner Montclair Communications, who continued the LMA with WBBH (it should be noted that WBBH's owner Waterman Broadcasting holds an investment interest in Montclair Communications; however, the two companies file separate financial reports).
WZVN and WBBH began offering high definition signals on October 31, 2002 becoming the first stations in the market
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
to air network programming in HD (WZVN upgraded four hours after WBBH). On February 17, 2009, the station shut down its analog signal and became digital exclusive. As of August 2009, its website is now completely operated by WBBH as a hybrid of that station's web address with a different color scheme.
News operation
Eyewitness News
Eyewitness News is a style of news broadcasting used by local television stations in different markets across the United States. It refers to a particular style of television newscast with an emphasis on visual elements and action video...
Network. It should be known that if WZVN chose not become a junior partner in the local marketing agreement, the station would have been required to shut down its news department.
The same arrangement continues today except WZVN has fewer personalities that only appear on this station. Otherwise, all on-air personnel is shared. Traditionally, WBBH tends to cover more from Charlotte County
Charlotte County, Florida
Charlotte County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 141,627. In 2005, the population of the MSA was 154,030.The U.S. Census Bureau 2007 estimate for the county was 152,814...
while WZVN has a slight Collier County
Collier County, Florida
Collier County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 251,377. The U.S. Census Bureau 2007 estimate for the county is 315,839...
focus since it is licensed to Naples. Compared with WBBH, this station's newscasts air in a flashier fast-paced format with on-air promotions referring to more coverage in thirty minutes especially on weeknights.
On weekends, there are separate news and sports anchors but meteorologists are seen on both WZVN and WBBH. This is possible because the two still maintain separate sets and do not always air local news at the same time. Since it was the first station in Southwest Florida and the only outlet on VHF, WINK-TV has long been the most watched channel according to Neilson ratings. Between the two, WZVN and WBBH air twelve hours of news on weekdays and four and a half on weekends.
Its best known former personality is Harry Horn who was also a veteran of WBBH and WINK-TV. He lost his battle with ALS
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a form of motor neuron disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input...
in August 2005. During major hurricanes, recently Charley
Hurricane Charley
Hurricane Charley was the third named storm, the second hurricane, and the second major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. Charley lasted from August 9 to August 15, and at its peak intensity it attained 150 mph winds, making it a strong Category 4 hurricane on the...
and Wilma
Hurricane Wilma
Hurricane Wilma was the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Atlantic basin. Wilma was the twenty-second storm , thirteenth hurricane, sixth major hurricane, and fourth Category 5 hurricane of the record-breaking 2005 season...
, the news team of WBBH and WZVN put on 24-hour continuous coverage. Commercial breaks are dropped for several hours preceding and following landfall. There is a simulcast on both stations and a common live video stream on both websites. During previous years, WBBH's news set was used along with both channel's weather sets. As of the 2007 season, WZVN's high definition news set will be used in the event of a hurricane as its centralized location at the facilities provides the best protection against damaging winds.
On August 14, 2006, the station re-branded its nightly newscasts as ABC 7 Gulfshore News. It also added a prime time show every night on cable-only MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
affiliate "WNFM". Known as ABC 7 Gulfshore News at 10 on My TV 8, the broadcasts were a first attempt to take on Fox affiliate WFTX-TV in the ratings. However, this only ran for nine months as a result of 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...
's frequent technical difficulties (the cable company operates the station). This hindered the show's ratings, and as a result, WZVN canceled the production on May 25, 2007. The move was also in response to the popularity of WINK-TV's nightly prime time newscasts on WXCW. That production began March 26, 2007 and emerged as a strong second place in the time slot building on WINK-TV's longtime status as the most watched station.
On November 8, 2006, re-branding of WZVN's newscasts continued with Good Morning Southwest Florida becoming Good Morning Gulfshore. On April 9, 2007, it pulled the Gulfshore News label from its newscasts and simply referred to them as ABC 7 News. As of 2010, the daily morning show has reverted back to the previous title and became the overall title for this channel's news broadcasts. On July 12, 2007, WZVN began offering local news in 16x9 enhanced definition 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....
. Although not truly high definition, broadcasts matched the aspect ratio
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,...
of HD television screens. On October 20, rival WINK-TV became the first station in Southwest Florida to broadcast news in full high definition. In early-February 2008 following the lead of WZVN, WBBH upgraded to 16:9 enhanced definition widescreen. On July 19, the two channels started airing newscasts in full high definition becoming the second and third stations respectively in Fort Myers to do so (WZVN upgraded five hours after WBBH).
On October 26, 2008, several changes occurred on WZVN and WBBH in order to better compete with dominant WINK-TV. WZVN dropped the first hour of its weekday morning show (this has since been restored) and mid-morning newscast at 10. WBBH debuted a new hour-long midday show at 11 while keeping its hour-long noon broadcast. Meanwhile, WZVN added an hour-long newscast weekday mornings at 9 to piggyback off Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
. This is currently the only local newscast in the time slot. On September 8, 2009, WZVN starting broadcasting a prime time newscast on weeknights known as The 7 O'Clock News to go up against WINK-TV's show airing at the same time. In addition to the main studios, WZVN and WBBH operate a Collier County Bureau on Tamiami Trail
Tamiami Trail
The Tamiami Trail is the southernmost of U.S. Highway 41 from State Road 60 in Tampa to U.S. Route 1 in Miami. The road also has the hidden designation of State Road 90....
North (US 41/SR 45) in Naples
Naples, Florida
Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of July 1, 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 21,653. Naples is a principal city of the Naples–Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated total population of 315,839 on July 1, 2007...
. The two stations operate a Baron 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...
at the main facilities that is known on WZVN as "Storm Warn 7 Live Doppler Radar". The radar has a range of 300 miles and can survey approaching storms in three dimensions.
Newscast titles
- WEVU Newswatch (early 1980s–1987)
- WEVU NewsCenter (1987–1995)
- ABC 7 News (1995–2006 and 2007–present)
- ABC 7 Gulfshore News (2006–2007)
Station slogans
- "If It's 26/Cable 7, It Must Be ABC" (1992–1993; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- "7 On Your Side" (1994–1996)
- "News For Your Life" (1997–1998)
- "ABC-7 Works For You" (2004–2006)
- "The News Team That Works For You" (2006–2007)
- "The News That Works For You" (2007–present; news slogan)
- "Start Here" (2007–2010; general slogan)
- "Get More. Know More. Start Here." (2010–present; general slogan)
News team
Anchors- Linh Bui - weekday mornings (5-7 and 9-10 a.m.)
- Patrick Comer - weekend mornings
- Kelly Creswell - weekend mornings; also weeknight reporter
- Chad Oliver - weekday mornings (5-7 and 9-10 a.m.)
- Courtney Robinson - weeknights at 6, 7 and 11 p.m.
- Chance Seales - weeknights at 6, 7 and 11 p.m.
- Jennifer Trammel - weekends at 6:30 and 11 p.m.
Storm Warn 7 Weather Team
- John Patrick (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,...
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) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 6, 7 and 11 p.m. - Jason Dunning - meteorologist; weekend mornings, also fill-In
- Jeremy Eisenzopf (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weekends at 6:30 and 11 p.m., also fill-In
- Allyson Rae - meteorologist; weekday mornings (5-7 and 9-10 a.m.)
- Jim Reif (AMS Seal of Approval) - hurricane expert; seen during tropical storm/hurricane coverage
Sports team
- Brian Colleran - sports directorSports DirectorA sports director is an individual at a television or radio station who is in charge of the sports department. In local news, the sports director is typically the station's primary sportscaster, and often anchors the primetime newscasts on weekdays. They are in charge of sports programming and...
; weeknights at 6, 7 and 11 p.m. - Brad Shellgren - sports anchor; weekends at 6:30 and 11 p.m., also sports reporter
- Rishi Barran - sports reporter
Reporters
- Elizabeth Billingsley
- Alex Boyer - Cape CoralCape Coral, FloridaCape Coral is a municipality located in Lee County, Florida, United States, on the Gulf of Mexico. Founded in 1957 and developed as a master-planned, pre-platted community, the city grew to a population of 154,305 by the year 2010. With an area of , Cape Coral is the largest city between Tampa and...
reporter - Stacey Deffenbaugh - justice correspondent
- Derek Dellinger
- Travell Eiland - investigative reporter
- Paul Gessler
- Sarah Hollenbeck
- Katie Johnson
- Stephanie Kolp
- Sara Miles
- Andy Pierrotti - investigative reporter
- Joe Roetz
- Karla Rae - Collier County Bureau reporter
- Meaghan Smith
- Saundra Weathers - Charlotte County reporter