WBNS-TV

WBNS-TV, channel 10, is a television station in Columbus, Ohio. The station is an affiliate of the CBS Television Network and is owned by the Dispatch Broadcast Group, a subsidiary of the Columbus Dispatch, along with WBNS radio (1460 AM and 97.1 FM). WBNS-TV's studios and offices are located in Columbus.

WBNS-TV currently broadcasts in stereo and uses its SAP channel for a variety of purposes, including simulcasts of its radio sister and simulcasts of NOAA weather radio. Its transmitter and studios are located just west of downtown Columbus. The Dispatch Broadcast Group broadcasting operations also include WTHR, the NBC affiliate in Indianapolis, Indiana.

History
WBNS-TV began operations on October 5, 1949. The call letters stand for Wolfe's Banks, News and Shoes, identifying to the owning Wolfe family's separate businesses in Columbus. WBNS radio had been a CBS affiliate for almost 30 years, so channel 10 immediately joined CBS television. It is currently the fourth longest-tenured CBS affiliate, behind WUSA in Washington, D.C., WBTV in Charlotte and WFMY-TV in Greensboro, North Carolina. Channel 10 has used the on-air branding of 10TV since 1977. It is also one of only a few stations in the country to have had the same owner, call letters and primary network affiliation throughout its history, as well as the only major station in town still owned by Ohio interests.

WBNS-TV was known to produce such children's programming as Flippo the Clown, Romper Room, Luci's Toyshop and programs hosted by popular Columbus Zoo personality Jack Hanna. The station also featured "Fritz the Nite Owl," who hosted midnight movies during the 1970s and Sunday state government talk called Capital Square in the 1990s. Throughout much of the 1990s and early years of the millennium WBNS-TV was home to the 10TV Kids News Network (KNN); a local show, "Produced by kids, for kids." The half-hour show aired Saturday mornings. Several KNN kids have gone on to pursue careers in television news or public relations in central Ohio.

WBNS-TV was the first television station in the Columbus market to debut a news helicopter, "10TV SkyCam" (now "Chopper 10") in 1979, satellite news truck "10TV Skybeam" in 1986 and launch the Ohio News Network in 1997, which shares studio and office space with WBNS. It has been the TV home of Wheel of Fortune since 1983 and Jeopardy! since 1984.

Appropriately for a station with roots in a newspaper, WBNS-TV has been a consistent ratings leader in programming and news for most of the time since records have been kept. In fact, for many years a popular saying in Columbus was "4 and 6 don't equal 10", referring to WBNS-TV and its rivals, WLWC/WCMH-TV (channel 4) and WTVN-TV/WSYX (channel 6).

The first major challenge to channel 10's dominance occurred in 1985, when WCMH began featuring the popular anchor team (and then-married couple) of Doug Adair and Mona Scott. From then until the to the mid 2000s, WBNS-TV and WCMH bounced back and forth for first place at 11 PM (and were virtually tied for ratings leads). However, since 2002, WBNS-TV has returned to a dominant position due to stronger CBS programming and CBS' reacquisition of Sunday-afternoon NFL telecasts. WBNS-TV usually rotates games among the three teams with followings in the Columbus market--the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals (all of whom are part of the CBS package for the American Football Conference).

In 1995, WBNS-TV replaced Cleveland's WJW-TV as the default affiliate in the Mansfield area (part of the Cleveland-Akron DMA) after WJW went to Fox. The new Cleveland CBS affiliate, WOIO, unlike WBNS-TV, did not reach Mansfield with a Grade B signal. WBNS also replaced Toledo CBS affiliate WTOL on cable television in the Lima DMA.

The first live high-definition broadcast on the station's digital signal, WBNS-DT, took place in September 1998 in which the broadcast was a football game between Ohio State and West Virginia, making the station a pioneer in American digital television. The station claims this to have been the first locally produced HD broadcast in the US, however as several other stations throughout the country also lay claim to this distinction, the veracity cannot be verified.

The station has strong ties to the athletic department of Ohio State University. For many years, it has produced the coaches shows for both the football and men's basketball teams, along with a general program about Ohio State athletics in general. Additionally, its radio sister has been the flagship station of Ohio State football and basketball for decades. Formerly the station aired Ohio State games offered by ESPN Plus in both sports, including prime-time pre-emptions of CBS network programming for games. With the launch of the Big Ten Network in September 2007 and that network's exclusivity over live Ohio State sports, this was discontinued beyond selected CBS Big Ten basketball broadcasts on the weekends and latter portions of the conference tourney, although the programming outside of live sports remains produced by WBNS-TV.

During the Super Bowl XLI, channel 10 debuted a large marketing campaign to promote the launch of 10TV News in high definition. The song "Carousels (Dreaming of Tomorrow)" by Columbus rock band Alamoth Lane was used throughout the course of the campaign. Some of the band members were shot playing on the roof of WBNS with the Columbus skyline behind them. The song was also used to promote sister station WTHR's 50th Anniversary in 2007.[2]

The station began making preparations for the transition to HD in late March 2007, and debuted its 5:00 p.m. newscast in high definition on April 2, becoming the first television station in Central Ohio to produce newscasts in HD. The station's newscasts are now known as "10TV News HD", after having been known as "10TV Eyewitness News" for many years.

On November 7, 2008, WBNS-TV's morning-noon anchor Heather Pick died of breast cancer. Heather learned in 2004 that the disease she had beaten once in 1999 had returned. In her last public appearance, Heather hosted the "Spirit Celebration with Heather Pick", raising almost $500,000 for the Columbus Cancer Clinic.[3]

On 12 June 2009, WBNS-TV launched Doppler 10 Now, a weather subchannel based on the Local AccuWeather platform.[1]

Digital programming
WBNS-TV shut down its analog signal, on June 12, 2009 as part of the DTV transition [4]. The station remained on channel 21. [5] As of June 12, 2009, WBNS-TV's digital signal is multiplexed on a full-time basis (it was previously only multiplexed for special events, such as CBS network coverage of the March Madness basketball tournament): The high-definition feed for WBNS-TV is not available on Dish Network due to a contractual dispute between the two sides. In contrast, WCMH-TV, WSYX, and WTTE have been available in HD on Dish Network since April 1, 2009.

Newscast titles

 * Your Esso Reporter (1949–1961)
 * News Check 10 (1961–1966)
 * Color News (1966–1969)
 * 10-TV Eyewitness News (1969–2007)[7]
 * 10-TV News HD (2007–present)[8]

Station slogans

 * There's a Forrest in Your Future (1975; promoting the arrival of anchorman Lou Forrest to the station)
 * 10-TV, We're Something to See! (circa 1980)
 * People You Can Count On! (1980s)
 * Your 24-Hour News Source (1991–2001)
 * Central Ohio's Most Watched News Station (2001–2003)
 * Central Ohio's News Leader (2003–present)

10TV News HD - weekdays

 * Kristyn Hartman: 10TV News HD at 5, 6 & 11 p.m. (2012-present)
 * Jerry Revish: 10TV News HD at 5, 6 & 11 p.m. (1980-present)
 * Kurt Ludlow: 10TV News HD at 5:30 p.m. (1986-1999, 2004-present)
 * Tracy Townsend: 10TV News HD at Noon & 5:30 p.m. (2006-present)
 * Jeff Hogan:10TV News HD at 4:25-7:00 a.m. (1998–present; formerly sports director)
 * Angela An:10TV News HD at 4:25-7:00 a.m. (2000-present)

10TV News HD - weekends

 * Jessa Goddard - weekend mornings (5:00-7:00 Saturdays and 6:30-8:30 a.m. Sundays; 2011–present; formerly of ONN)
 * Chuck Strickler - Saturdays at 6:00, Sundays at 6:30 and weekends at 11:00 p.m. (1994–present; formerly morning and noon anchor)

Weather

 * Chris Bradley, chief meteorologist seen at 5, 6 and 11 p.m. (2006-present)
 * Mike Davis, morning/noon meteorologist 4:25-9:00 a.m & Noon (1987-present)
 * Josh Poland, weekend morning meteorologist 5:00-7:00 Saturdays and 6:30-8:30 a.m. Sundays (2010-present)
 * Eric Elwell, weekend evening meteorologist  Saturdays at 6:00, Sundays at 6:30 and weekends at 11:00 p.m. (2012–present; former chief meteorologist at ONN)

Sports

 * Dom Tiberi: Sports Director, Weeknights (1981-present)
 * Beau Bishop: sports anchor/reporter (2007-present)
 * Greg Miller: sports anchor/reporter (2010-present)
 * David Wilkinson: sports anchor/reporter (2011-present)

Reporters
 Investigative   Other reporters 
 * Paul Aker
 * Ashleigh Barry (2010-present)
 * Laura Borchers (2013-present)
 * Shelby Croft (2013-present)
 * Danielle Elias (2010-present)
 * Jim Heath (2012-present) chief political reporter and co-host and moderater of "Capitol Square"
 * Jennifer Jarrell (2012-present)
 * Maureen Kocot (1995-present) former weekend morning anchor
 * Kevin Landers (1999-present)
 * Tanisha Mallett (2006-present)
 * Glenn McEntire (2007-present)
 * Karina Nova (2006-present) also does morning traffic updates
 * Tino Ramos (1994-present) former weekend morning anchor

Chopper 10

 * Terry Ault: Chopper 10 chief pilot/reporter (1979-present)
 * Greg Casagrande: Chopper 10 line pilot (2001-present)

Management

 * John Cardenas: President and General Manager
 * Elbert Tucker: News Director
 * Karen Salajko: Assistant News Director
 * Paul Ballinger: Local Sales Manager
 * Pat Wise: National Sales Manager
 * Butch Moore: Sports Marketing Manager
 * Angela Pace: Director of Community Affairs
 * Pat Ingram: Director of Engineering
 * Patty Williams: Director of Finance
 * Carol Triplett: Commercial Traffic Manager
 * Kristi Hayes: Art Director
 * Doug Jones: Promotions Manager

Notable former staff
Notable entertainment personalities who have worked for WBNS over the years include
 * Kim Adams, meteorologist (1993-1996 was at WDIV-TV in Detroit,MI)
 * Jeffrey Babcock: reporter (1988-1990); formerly of WABC-TV, Good Morning New York, consumer and finance reporter
 * Cornell Barnard: Reporter, Now at KXTV 10 in Sacramento, CA
 * James Black: reporter (2005 - ?)
 * Derrick Blakely: reporter (1978-1980) Now at WBBM-TV Chicago, IL
 * Michelle Bradley (Hopkins) Weekend anchor/Family Unit reporter was most recently at WLWT-TV Cincinnati; "On the beach."
 * Barry Brickman: sports anchor (1985-1987)
 * Roy Briscoe: 5:00 anchor, later Noon anchor (1960-1989) (deceased)
 * Kevyn Burger: reporter
 * Keith Cate: weekend anchor (1988-1993) now weeknight news anchor at WFLA-TV in Tampa, FL
 * Laura Cole: reporter (2004-2007) now at KOVR in Sacramento, CA
 * Cara Connelly: reporter (2007-2010)
 * Carol Costello: 6/11pm anchor (1990-1992) Now at CNN
 * Jay Crawford: sports anchor (1993-1998) now at ESPN
 * Faith Daniels: daytime anchor, late 1970s - early 1980s.
 * Christine Dobbyn: reporter (1999-2003) now at KTRK-TV in Houston, TX
 * Jim Donovan: consumer reporter (2000-2003) Now at KYW-TV Philadelphia, PA
 * Charles Ely: anchor reporter (1974-1978) (now with KTUL)
 * Lou Forrest: 6/11pm anchor (1975-1988)
 * Mike Gleason: sports director (1987-1997) now at ESPN
 * Tom Gleba: anchor (1950-1970)
 * Bob Grossi: chief meteorologist (1989-1991)
 * Chuck Gurney: meteorologist (2000-2006)
 * John Fortney: weekend evening anchor, (2005-2009) now weeknight news anchor at KOLN KGIN Lincoln/Grand Island, NE
 * Marcey Goulder: reporter (1972-1987),special projects producer 1999-present
 * Joe Holbrook: first chief meteorologist (1949-1989 retired)
 * Kelly Hudson: reporter.
 * Dan Imel: announcer/host 1970s thru early 80s
 * Dave Kaylor: evening anchor (1980-2005 retired)
 * Barry Katz: sports director (1985-1994)
 * Officer Mike Kilburn: traffic (1991-2004) Now co-host of "The Deal Detectives" on WSYX in Columbus, OH
 * Lisa Kick: former wknd anchor/reporter, morning anchor, Connecting with Kids (host), traffic reporter (1992-2006 and moved to Charlotte, NC)
 * Stu Klitenic: sports (1981-1989)
 * Dave Layman: anchor (1978-1980)
 * Chet Long: evening anchor (1949 to upon his death in 1972)
 * Theresa Lukenas: evening anchor (1986-1988)
 * Carol Luper: reporter (1978-1989) Now reporter with WSYX-TV
 * Caroline Lyders: reporter
 * Laura Main: anchor (1998-2005, was at KWGN-TV in Denver until Jan of 2009. Current whereabouts unknown.)
 * Dave Malkoff: Overnight Update Anchor / Associate Producer (now reporter at KTLA-TV Los Angeles)
 * Jennifer Mandulay: morning anchor (1992-1996)
 * Melissa Marsh: meteorologist (2001-2006)
 * Roger McCoy: anchor (1998-2006) Now an associate professor of Journalism (Bernard Rogers McCoy)at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
 * Bob McMaster: weather (1949-1979)
 * Ryan Miller: sports (1994-2006)
 * Eve Mueller: reporter (1993-2007) Now at Ohio News Network
 * Ted Mullins: sports director (1961-1975)
 * Ron Olsen, reporter (1974-1976, now with KTLA-TV, Los Angeles)
 * Bob Orr: anchor (1978-1985, 1988-1993) now a CBS News correspondent.
 * Penny Moore: lead reporter (1981-1987 & 1992-2007)
 * Al Owens: reporter (1976-1978)
 * Angela Pace: 6/11pm anchor (1992-2006 moved up to management with the station as Public Affairs Director)
 * Bill Pepper: anchor 1950s and 60's (deceased)
 * Christy Perry: morning/noon anchor (1983-1986)
 * Heather Pick: morning/noon anchor (2002-2008 died on November 7, 2008 due to breast cancer)
 * Patrick Preston: reporter, now at WCMH
 * Gary Radnich: sports director (1982-1985) now main sports anchor at KRON in San Francisco since 1985
 * Chuck and Jane Rogers: 5:30 co-anchors (1987-1992)
 * Brandon Roux: weekend morning meteorologist/anchor, (2007-2010) now at WDIV-TV in Detroit,MI
 * Tom Ryan: evening anchor. (1960-1979)
 * Brandi Sauers: anchor
 * Mona Scott: morning anchor/reporter (1995-1998 lives in Ocala, FL and runs newsblues.com)
 * Lindsay Seavert: reporter (2006-2010)
 * Chris Shumway: meteorologist (1996-2000)
 * Tom Sorrells: meteorologist (1991-1996) now main weather forecaster on WKMG-TV in Orlando
 * Terri Sullivan: reporter/weekend anchor (1990-1993) now reporter/weekend evening anchor at WSYX-TV
 * Paula Toti: reporter/weekend anchor, now business reporter weekend anchor at WKRC-TV in Cincinnati
 * Dana Tyler: evening anchor (1981-1990), currently 6 pm co-anchor and reporter at WCBS-TV in New York City
 * Kim Vaughan: reporter
 * Lee Vlisides: sports director (1975-1982)
 * Tom Walker: reporter
 * Janet Watkins: weekend morning weathercaster (1981-2007 retired)
 * Brittany Westbrook (2007-2010)'
 * Frederick "Fritz the Nite Owl" Peerenboom
 * Jack Hanna
 * Bob Marvin (played Flippo the Clown)
 * Rod Serling
 * Jonathan Winters