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==History== |
==History== |
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| − | Channel 25 is one of the nation's oldest UHF stations. It debuted on April 5, 1953 as |
+ | <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.4px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-weight:normal;">Channel 25 is one of the nation's oldest UHF stations. It debuted on April 5, 1953 as '''WKNX-TV''' on channel 57.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mig_1-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WEYI-TV#cite_note-mig-1 [1]]</sup> It was owned by Lake Huron Broadcasting along with WKNX radio (AM 1210, now [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WHHQ WHHQ] at AM 1250), and was a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBS CBS] affiliate. It also shared [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Broadcasting_Company ABC] with [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DuMont_Television_Network DuMont] affiliate [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WTAC-TV WTAC-TV] and then-NBC affiliate [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WNEM-TV WNEM-TV] (which later became sister to the former WKNX radio). The station first operated from studios located on South Washington Avenue in Downtown Saginaw. When WTAC-TV shut down in 1954, WKNX-TV and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WNEM-TV WNEM-TV] shared ABC until [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WJRT-TV WJRT-TV] signed on in 1958. It moved to the stronger channel 25 on September 14, 1965.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mig_1-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WEYI-TV#cite_note-mig-1 [1]]</sup> The station later relocated its studios to a new facility located on State Street in Flint.</p> |
| − | + | <p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.4px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-weight:normal;">On March 23, 1972, Lake Huron Broadcasting sold the station to Rust Craft, who changed the call letters to the current '''WEYI-TV'''. Soon afterward, the station moved to its current tower and studios on West Willard Road in Vienna Township. The new tower significantly improved its coverage in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flint,_Michigan Flint] while still being within 15 miles of Saginaw as required by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Communications_Commission Federal Communications Commission] (FCC) regulations. Prior to 1972, the southern side of the Flint/Saginaw/[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_City,_Michigan Bay City] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_market market], including Flint itself, got a better signal from [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lansing Lansing]'s WJIM-TV (now [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WLNS-TV WLNS-TV]). Rust Craft merged with magazine publisher [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziff-Davis Ziff-Davis] in 1979.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mig_1-3" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WEYI-TV#cite_note-mig-1 [1]]</sup></p> |
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| − | + | <p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.4px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-weight:normal;">Ziff-Davis sold WEYI along with sister stations [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WRDW-TV WRDW-TV] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augusta,_Georgia Augusta, Georgia], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WROC-TV WROC-TV] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochester,_New_York Rochester, New York] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WTOV-TV WTOV-TV] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steubenville,_Ohio Steubenville, Ohio] to Television Station Partners in 1983.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mig_1-4" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WEYI-TV#cite_note-mig-1 [1]]</sup> As a CBS affiliate, WEYI, dropped the CBS soap [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guiding_Light Guiding Light] in the early 1980s instead showing cartoons during the 3:00-4:00pm hour. On January 16, 1995, WEYI and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WNEM-TV WNEM-TV] traded network affiliations, resulting in WEYI becoming an NBC station.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mig_1-5" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WEYI-TV#cite_note-mig-1 [1]]</sup> This came as part of the larger [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._television_network_affiliate_switches_of_1994 U.S. television network affiliate switches of 1994] that saw CBS' longtime affiliate in adjacent [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit Detroit], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WJBK WJBK], switch to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_Broadcasting_Company Fox]. CBS was having trouble getting a replacement affiliate in Detroit; it ultimately landed on WGPR-TV (channel 62, now [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWJ-TV WWJ-TV]), which at the time broadcast at very low power and was practically unviewable outside Detroit's inner ring. Since WNEM provides city-grade coverage to much of the northern portion of the Detroit market<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="line-height:1;font-size:11.2px;white-space:nowrap;">[''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed citation needed]'']</sup>, CBS persuaded WNEM's owner, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meredith_Corporation Meredith Corporation], to switch to CBS. Mid-Michigan is the only known market where the CBS affiliation moved from a relatively weak UHF station to a higher-rated [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VHF VHF] station during this period.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="line-height:1;font-size:11.2px;white-space:nowrap;">[''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed citation needed]'']</sup></p> |
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| + | <p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.4px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-weight:normal;">Television Station Partners sold WEYI along with two of its stations [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WROC-TV WROC-TV] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochester,_New_York Rochester, New York] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WTOV-TV WTOV-TV] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steubenville,_Ohio Steubenville, Ohio] to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_Media Smith Broadcasting] in 1996.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mig_1-6" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WEYI-TV#cite_note-mig-1 [1]]</sup> On January 16, 1997, the WEYI license was transferred to Smith Broadcasting subsidiary Sunrise Television.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mig_1-7" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WEYI-TV#cite_note-mig-1 [1]]</sup> From October 4, 1999 to September 2001, the station added the WB Network as a secondary affiliation, airing its programming overnight.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mig_1-8" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WEYI-TV#cite_note-mig-1 [1]]</sup></p> |
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| − | In early-January 1996, Television Station Partners sold WEYI, WROC, and WTOV to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_Media,_LLC Smith Broadcasting] (WRDW went to what is today [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_Television Gray Television]). In 1997, the WEYI license was transferred to Smith Broadcasting subsidiary Sunrise Television which later merged with the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LIN_TV_Corporation LIN TV Corporation] in 2002. The Sunrise-LIN merger briefly made WEYI a sister station to fellow NBC affiliate [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WOOD-TV WOOD-TV] in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Rapids,_Michigan Grand Rapids] and ABC affiliate [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WOTV WOTV] in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Creek,_Michigan Battle Creek]. In May 2004, WEYI became one of the founding stations of its current owner, Barrington Broadcasting. In March 2006, it was joined by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Michigan Northern Michigan]'s [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WPBN-TV WPBN/WTOM], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquette,_Michigan Marquette]'s [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WLUC-TV WLUC-TV], and (to a degree) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toledo,_Ohio Toledo, Ohio]'s [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WNWO-TV WNWO-TV] as part of Barrington's family of stations in and around Michigan following Barrington's purchase of those stations from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raycom_Media Raycom Media]. |
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| − | + | <p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.4px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-weight:normal;">In January 2002, Sunrise and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LIN_TV LIN TV] agreed that LIN would take over the station under Local Marketing Agreement.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mig_1-9" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WEYI-TV#cite_note-mig-1 [1]]</sup> By March, Sunrise sells the station to LIN with FCC approval granted in April 2002.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mig_1-10" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WEYI-TV#cite_note-mig-1 [1]]</sup> LIN agreed to sell WEYI to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrington_Broadcasting Barrington Broadcasting] in January 2004 and approved by the FCC in March 2004.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mig_1-11" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WEYI-TV#cite_note-mig-1 [1]]</sup></p> |
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| + | <p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.4px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-weight:normal;">In 2004, Barrington Broadcasting launched [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_WB WB] affiliate [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WBSF WBSF] in the same market which was offered over-the-air on WEYI-DT2 and cable.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WEYI-TV#cite_note-2 [2]]</sup> The deal was made primarily because [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WKBD WKBD] declined to carry [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_Pistons Detroit Pistons] basketball after the games switched to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WMYD WMYD] which is not available on most Mid-Michigan cable systems.</p> |
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| ⚫ | WEYI was blamed for forcing competing NBC affiliate |
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| ⚫ | <p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.4px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-weight:normal;">WEYI was blamed for forcing competing NBC affiliate [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WDIV WDIV] from Detroit off of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comcast Comcast]'s Flint system (which serves most of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genesee_County,_Michigan Genesee County]) as well as starting the[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syndex syndication exclusivity] controversy on Comcast Flint. For several years, WDIV was available on Comcast's Flint system. However in 2004, WEYI filed a complaint with the FCC claiming it was losing NBC viewers to WDIV, most likely due to that station's new digital, all-[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_definition_television high definition] picture. According to WEYI's website, the station used[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betacam Betacam] equipment (an analog videotape technology introduced in 1982) and none of its local or syndicated programming was shot in HD until 2014.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-3" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WEYI-TV#cite_note-3 [3]]</sup> This is because WEYI lacked an HD-capable [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_control master control] to receive such programming in even 16:9 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_definition standard definition] widescreen, let alone HD. The FCC ruled in favor of WEYI <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-4" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WEYI-TV#cite_note-4 [4]]</sup>and for a brief period, NBC programs on WDIV were [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackout_(broadcasting) blacked out] on Comcast Flint. Eventually in August 2006, Comcast Flint removed WDIV from the system completely, replacing it with the new local [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV] affiliate via [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WNEM-TV WNEM-TV]'s second digital subchannel.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-comcast_5-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WEYI-TV#cite_note-comcast-5 [5]]</sup></p> |
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| − | Since then, several Flint affiliates filed similar complaints with their Detroit-affiliated counterpart stations ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WJRT-TV WJRT-TV] against [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WXYZ-TV WXYZ-TV], WBSF against WKBD, and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WSMH WSMH] against [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WJBK WJBK]). However, the Detroit affiliates remain on Comcast Flint with blackouts continuing. The blackouts also affected Comcast subscribers in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holly,_Michigan Holly] which is located in Northwestern [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland_County,_Michigan Oakland County] that is part of the Detroit market. Comcast viewers in that area receive programming from the Flint headend instead of one in Oakland County or elsewhere in Detroit. |
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| + | <p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.4px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-weight:normal;">WEYI-TV discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_high_frequency UHF] channel 25, on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_television_transition_in_the_United_States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts] under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 30,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-6" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WEYI-TV#cite_note-6 [6]]</sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-7" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WEYI-TV#cite_note-7 [7]]</sup> using[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Program_and_System_Information_Protocol PSIP] to display the station's [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_channel virtual channel] as its former UHF analog channel 25. Also, WBSF became available on a separate digital signal on channel 46.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WEYI-TV#cite_note-8 [8]]</sup> However, it is still available on WEYI's digital subchannel 25.2.</p> |
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| + | <p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.4px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-weight:normal;">Afterwards, several Flint affiliates filed similar complaints with their Detroit-affiliated counterpart stations ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WJRT-TV WJRT-TV] against [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WXYZ-TV WXYZ-TV], WBSF against WKBD, and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WSMH WSMH]against [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WJBK WJBK]). However, the Detroit affiliates remain on Comcast Flint with blackouts continuing.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-comcast_5-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WEYI-TV#cite_note-comcast-5 [5]]</sup></p> |
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| + | |||
| + | <p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.4px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-weight:normal;">On February 28, 2013, Barrington announced that it would sell its entire group, including WEYI and WBSF, to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_Broadcast_Group Sinclair Broadcast Group]. However, due to FCC [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duopoly_(broadcasting) duopoly]regulations, since Sinclair already owns [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_Broadcasting_Company Fox] affiliate [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WSMH WSMH], Sinclair will transfer the license assets of WEYI to Howard Stirk Holdings (owned by founder and CEO of communications firm The Graham Williams Group, political commentator [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armstrong_Williams Armstrong Williams], whose [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunday_morning_talk_show Sunday morning talk show] ''The Right Side'' is carried by WEYI) and of WBSF to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cunningham_Broadcasting Cunningham Broadcasting] (WSMH will take over the operations of both WEYI and WBSF through [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_marketing_agreement local marketing agreements] when the deal is completed).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-b.26c-saletosinclair_9-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WEYI-TV#cite_note-b.26c-saletosinclair-9 [9]]</sup>The sale was completed on November 25.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-10" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WEYI-TV#cite_note-10 [10]]</sup></p> |
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| + | <p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.4px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-weight:normal;">Effective April 27, 2015, WEYI took over duties of producing the news for sister Sinclair station WSMH.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ml_11-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WEYI-TV#cite_note-ml-11 [11]]</sup></p> |
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==Newscasts== |
==Newscasts== |
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Revision as of 23:24, 18 November 2015
WEYI-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for the Flint/Tri-Cities market that is licensed to Saginaw. The station broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 30 from a transmitter at its studios on West Willard Road in Vienna Township along the Genesee and Saginaw County line. Owned by Barrington Broadcasting, the station is sister to CW affiliate WBSF and the two share s
| [1] | |
| Saginaw/Flint/Bay City, Michigan | |
|---|---|
| Branding | NBC 25 (general)
NBC 25 News CW 46 Mid-Michigan (on DT2) |
| Slogan | Moving Mid-Michigan
Forward |
| Channels | Digital: 30 (UHF) |
| Subchannels | 25.1 NBC
25.2 The CW |
| Owner | Barrington Broadcasting
(Barrington Flint License, LLC) |
| First air date | April 5, 1953 |
| Call letters' meaning | resembles "EYE" referring to previous CBS affiliation and may also refer to its initial "WI25" moniker in the early-1970s |
| Sister station(s) | WBSF |
| Former callsigns | WKNX-TV (1953-1972) |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog:
57 (UNF, 1953-1965) 25 (UHF, 1965-2009) |
| Former affiliations | CBS (1953-1995) |
| Transmitter power | 193 kW |
| Height | 356 m |
| Facility ID | 72052 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 43°13′1″N 83°43′17″W / 43.21694°N 83.72139°W / 43.21694; -83.72139 |
| Website | connectmidmichigan.com |
tudios. Syndicated programming on WEYI includes: Inside Edition, Entertainment Tonight, The Dr. Oz Show, and Ellen. The station can also be seen on WBSF's second digital subchannel (virtual channel 46.2).
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Digital programming
| Channel | Name | Programming |
|---|---|---|
| 25.1 | WEYI-DT | main WEYI programming/NBC HD |
| 25.2 | WEYI-DT2 | WBSF "CW 46 Mid-Michigan" |
History
Channel 25 is one of the nation's oldest UHF stations. It debuted on April 5, 1953 as WKNX-TV on channel 57.[1] It was owned by Lake Huron Broadcasting along with WKNX radio (AM 1210, now WHHQ at AM 1250), and was a CBS affiliate. It also shared ABC with DuMont affiliate WTAC-TV and then-NBC affiliate WNEM-TV (which later became sister to the former WKNX radio). The station first operated from studios located on South Washington Avenue in Downtown Saginaw. When WTAC-TV shut down in 1954, WKNX-TV and WNEM-TV shared ABC until WJRT-TV signed on in 1958. It moved to the stronger channel 25 on September 14, 1965.[1] The station later relocated its studios to a new facility located on State Street in Flint.
On March 23, 1972, Lake Huron Broadcasting sold the station to Rust Craft, who changed the call letters to the current WEYI-TV. Soon afterward, the station moved to its current tower and studios on West Willard Road in Vienna Township. The new tower significantly improved its coverage in Flint while still being within 15 miles of Saginaw as required by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations. Prior to 1972, the southern side of the Flint/Saginaw/Bay City market, including Flint itself, got a better signal from Lansing's WJIM-TV (now WLNS-TV). Rust Craft merged with magazine publisher Ziff-Davis in 1979.[1]
Ziff-Davis sold WEYI along with sister stations WRDW-TV in Augusta, Georgia, WROC-TV in Rochester, New York and WTOV-TV in Steubenville, Ohio to Television Station Partners in 1983.[1] As a CBS affiliate, WEYI, dropped the CBS soap Guiding Light in the early 1980s instead showing cartoons during the 3:00-4:00pm hour. On January 16, 1995, WEYI and WNEM-TV traded network affiliations, resulting in WEYI becoming an NBC station.[1] This came as part of the larger U.S. television network affiliate switches of 1994 that saw CBS' longtime affiliate in adjacent Detroit, WJBK, switch to Fox. CBS was having trouble getting a replacement affiliate in Detroit; it ultimately landed on WGPR-TV (channel 62, now WWJ-TV), which at the time broadcast at very low power and was practically unviewable outside Detroit's inner ring. Since WNEM provides city-grade coverage to much of the northern portion of the Detroit market[citation needed], CBS persuaded WNEM's owner, Meredith Corporation, to switch to CBS. Mid-Michigan is the only known market where the CBS affiliation moved from a relatively weak UHF station to a higher-rated VHF station during this period.[citation needed]
Television Station Partners sold WEYI along with two of its stations WROC-TV in Rochester, New York and WTOV-TV in Steubenville, Ohio to Smith Broadcasting in 1996.[1] On January 16, 1997, the WEYI license was transferred to Smith Broadcasting subsidiary Sunrise Television.[1] From October 4, 1999 to September 2001, the station added the WB Network as a secondary affiliation, airing its programming overnight.[1]
In January 2002, Sunrise and LIN TV agreed that LIN would take over the station under Local Marketing Agreement.[1] By March, Sunrise sells the station to LIN with FCC approval granted in April 2002.[1] LIN agreed to sell WEYI to Barrington Broadcasting in January 2004 and approved by the FCC in March 2004.[1]
In 2004, Barrington Broadcasting launched WB affiliate WBSF in the same market which was offered over-the-air on WEYI-DT2 and cable.[2] The deal was made primarily because WKBD declined to carry Detroit Pistons basketball after the games switched to WMYD which is not available on most Mid-Michigan cable systems.
WEYI was blamed for forcing competing NBC affiliate WDIV from Detroit off of Comcast's Flint system (which serves most of Genesee County) as well as starting thesyndication exclusivity controversy on Comcast Flint. For several years, WDIV was available on Comcast's Flint system. However in 2004, WEYI filed a complaint with the FCC claiming it was losing NBC viewers to WDIV, most likely due to that station's new digital, all-high definition picture. According to WEYI's website, the station usedBetacam equipment (an analog videotape technology introduced in 1982) and none of its local or syndicated programming was shot in HD until 2014.[3] This is because WEYI lacked an HD-capable master control to receive such programming in even 16:9 standard definition widescreen, let alone HD. The FCC ruled in favor of WEYI [4]and for a brief period, NBC programs on WDIV were blacked out on Comcast Flint. Eventually in August 2006, Comcast Flint removed WDIV from the system completely, replacing it with the new local MyNetworkTV affiliate via WNEM-TV's second digital subchannel.[5]
WEYI-TV discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over UHF channel 25, on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 30,[6][7] usingPSIP to display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 25. Also, WBSF became available on a separate digital signal on channel 46.[8] However, it is still available on WEYI's digital subchannel 25.2.
Afterwards, several Flint affiliates filed similar complaints with their Detroit-affiliated counterpart stations (WJRT-TV against WXYZ-TV, WBSF against WKBD, and WSMHagainst WJBK). However, the Detroit affiliates remain on Comcast Flint with blackouts continuing.[5]
On February 28, 2013, Barrington announced that it would sell its entire group, including WEYI and WBSF, to Sinclair Broadcast Group. However, due to FCC duopolyregulations, since Sinclair already owns Fox affiliate WSMH, Sinclair will transfer the license assets of WEYI to Howard Stirk Holdings (owned by founder and CEO of communications firm The Graham Williams Group, political commentator Armstrong Williams, whose Sunday morning talk show The Right Side is carried by WEYI) and of WBSF to Cunningham Broadcasting (WSMH will take over the operations of both WEYI and WBSF through local marketing agreements when the deal is completed).[9]The sale was completed on November 25.[10]
Effective April 27, 2015, WEYI took over duties of producing the news for sister Sinclair station WSMH.[11]
Newscasts
WBSF once aired a weeknight newscast known as The 7 O'Clock News on CW 46 which was produced by WEYI. This production was canceled in April 2008. Unlike most NBC affiliates in the Eastern Time Zone, this station does not air local news during the weekday midday hours or weeknight 5 o'clock hour.
Newscast titles
- TV-25 News (1960s-1980s)
- 25 News (1980s-early 1990s)
- WEYI-witness News (early-mid 1990s)
- NBC 25 News (late 1990s-2002 and 2006–present)
- NewsCenter 25 (2002–2006)
Station slogans
- "Get Ready for 25" (1990–1991, localized version of CBS ad campaign)
- "Moving Mid-Michigan Forward" (2006–2008)
- "Get Connected" (2008-2012)
- "NBC 25 News is Your News (2012-present)
News team
Anchors
- Elizabeth MacFarland - weekday mornings and producer
- Jane Park - weeknights at 11 and reporter
- Bill Harris - weeknights at 6 and reporter
- Joel Feick- weekday mornings and reporter
Meteorologists
- Mark Torregrossa - Chief seen weeknights
- Janet Van De Wrinkle- weekday mornings and "Travel Mid-Michigan" segment anchor
- Kevin Usealman - weekends
Sports
- Jamie Edmonds - Sports Anchor
- Earl Arms- Sports Anchor
Reporters
- Bobby Mukkamala - "Ask Dr. Bobby" segment producer
- David Boike - "Money Matters" segment producer
- Dave Kinchen - weeknight politics and business
- fill-in news and weather anchor
- "Healthy Home" segment producer
- Jessica Harthorn - fill-in news anchor
Notable former staff
- Mickey York - sports anchor (now host on Fox Sports Detroit) [6]
- Doug Karsch - sports reporter (now WXYT-FM host and Michigan Wolverines sports reporter) [7]
- Jim Brandstatter - sports reporter (now Michigan Wolverines football and Detroit Lions radio analyst) [8]
- Eric Greene - Executive Producer and weeknight anchor
- Roop Raj - reporter/anchor/weather (now at WJBK) [9]
- Leigh Moody - now at Bay News 9
- Colleen (Hammond) Wine - reporter/anchor/weather (went to The Weather Channel and is now a Texas-based author and motivational speaker) [10]
References
- ^ Digital TV Channel Assignments from the FCC website
- ^ FCC.gov - Appendix B: All Full Power Television Stations by DMA, Indicating Those Terminating Analog Service on or before February 17, 2009
- ^ FCC info - WBSF
- ^ WEYI Official Site - Staff Listing
- ^ FCC order CSR-6342-N
- ^ Fox Sports Detroit on air talent
- ^ "Detroit's 97.1 The Ticket - Ticket Karsch & Anderson Bios". CBS Radio. http://www.971theticket.com/pages/1180039.php. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
- ^ "DSBA Member Roster Jim Brandstatter". detroitsportsbroadcasters.com. http://www.detroitsportsbroadcasters.com/member.php?memberid=16. Retrieved 2009-04-17.
- ^ WJBK - Roop Raj Bio
- ^ Colleen Hammond Official Site