WTVJ

WTVJ, virtual channel 6 (physical 31), is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBCtelevision network, located in Miami, Florida. WTVJ shares its TV studio and office facility withco-owned Telemundo station WSCV (channel 51.1) in Miramar, Florida, and its transmitter is located near Sun Life Stadium in north Miami-Dade County.

WTVJ

Miami / Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Branding	NBC 6 South Florida (general) NBC 6 South Florida News(newscasts)
Slogan	NBC 6 (or Team 6) is EverywhereNBC 6 (or Team 6) is Everywhere
Channels	Digital: 31 (UHF)Virtual: 6 (PSIP)
Subchannels	6.1 NBC6.2 NBC Plus 6.3 Universal Sports
Translators	W44AC 44 Key WestW58BU 58 Hallandale
Owner	NBCUniversal (NBC Telemundo License, LLC)
First air date	March 21, 1949
Call letters' meaning	TeleVision Journalism
Sister station(s)	WSCV
Former channel number(s)	Analog:4 (VHF, 1949-1995) 6 (VHF, 1995-2009)
Transmitter power	1000 kW
Height	311 m
Facility ID	63154
Transmitter coordinates	25°58′7″N 80°13′20″W
Website	nbcmiami.com

Formerly the audio signal of analog TV channel 6 was located at 87.75 MHz, and the audio signal could be heard on 87.7 MHz on the FM dial in most parts of South Florida. This frequency assignment applies to all channel 6 television stations in countries using the NTSC-M standard. During the year, WTVJ promoted the use of 87.7 MHz for those listening in their automobiles, and during hurricanes as an emergency conduit of information for viewers unable to view on a television. With the June 12, 2009 digital mandate, the analog signal is no longer available, and it is likely that WTVJ will instead air their newscast audio over a traditional radio station in emergency situations.

Repeaters

In addition to its main signals, WTVJ is also carried on two repeaters.

Callsign	Channel	City of license	Transmitterlocation	Licensee
W44AC	44	Key West	center of town	Miranda Broadcasting Company of Key West, LLC
W58BU	58	Hallandale	Pembroke Park	NBC Universal

Prior to the analog shutdown and digital conversion, W58BU (originally W61AA until late 1992) was necessary because of WTVJ's former analog transmitter location in Redland, which is 20 miles (32 kilometers) southwest of downtown Miami. This location is farther south than other Miami television stations. As a result, Fort Lauderdale and the rest of Broward County received agrade-B signal from the analog tower. WTVJ shut off the analog transmitter for the last time on June 26, 2009, though both translators are still operational from their existing towers. With WTVJ's digital transmitter now located in the same area as other major Miami television stations, W58BU is still necessary because WTVJ's digital signal, although it reaches further into the Fort Lauderdale area with a "city-grade" signal, still does not cover the entire city. W58BU has applied to move its signal from channel 58 to channel 51 due to the auctioning of the UHF frequencies above channel 51.

At one point, WTVJ was carried by a third translator, W52BB channel 52, in Big Pine Key. However, there are no longer any Federal Communications Commission (FCC) records of this station.

History

Florida's first television station

Archived WTVJ news tape as seen from the Florida Moving Image Archive. The logo shown was adopted shortly before the switch to NBC in 1989.

WTVJ was the only commercial station in Miami until December 24, 1954, when WFTL-TV signed on from Fort Lauderdale as an NBC affiliate. However, WFTL had no success whatsoever against WTVJ, in part because television sets were not required to have UHF tuning until 1964. NBC continued to allow WTVJ to cherry-pick NBC programming until WCKT (now WSVN) signed on in 1956 and WFTL went dark. (By this time, WFTL had been purchased by Storer Broadcasting and changed its call letters to WGBS-TV in honor of George B. Storer, the company's president. Storer owned the station as an independent until it went dark sometime in 1956. The frequency which was used by WFTL-TV/WGBS-TV is now occupied by WLTV, whose only common tie to the earlier station is the fact that it was launched by the same company that took the earlier station off the air years before.) It continued to share ABC with WCKT until 1957 when WPST (now WPLG) signed on. It also doubled as the CBS affiliate for West Palm Beach until WTVX (now a CW affiliate) signed on in 1966.WTVJ went on the air at noon on March 21, 1949. It was Florida's first television station and the 16th in the country. Originally broadcasting on channel 4, WTVJ was owned by Wometco Enterprises, a national movie theater chain headquartered in Miami. The original studios were located in the former Capitol Theater in Downtown Miami, which was Wometco's first theater when the company was founded in 1926.

Soon after WTVJ signed on, it hired Ralph Renick, who had just graduated from the University of Miami, as its first anchorman and News Director. Renick would be the face of WTVJ for nearly 36 years best known for his catchphrase at the end of every newscast, "Good night, and may the good news be yours". At the same time, the station also hired Bernie Rosen and Bob Weaver. One of the nation's first ever television news meteorologists, Weaver reported weather for the station for more than five decades. Rosen, who went on to run the station's award winning sports department for more than three decades, is the only remaining original employee still working at the station, and is currently in his 60th consecutive year at WTVJ. On February 6, 2008, Rosen was presented with the prestigious Golden Circle Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The Academy honored Rosen for his more than 50 years of service to the South Florida television community. While many of South Florida's veteran television personalities have received the Silver Circle Award for marking 25 years in the business, the Golden Circle Award has been given only once before in South Florida, in 2004 when it went to Bob Weaver, also a lifelong WTVJ employee.

Acquisition by KKR

Wometco founder and president Mitchell Wolfson died in 1983 and a long-rumored secret plan to run the company after his death was never found. Remaining Wolfson heirs had no desire to keep the company in the family, and it quickly unraveled, making it a ripe takeover target. Investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. took over Wometco in 1984 in a deal worth $1 billion, the largest corporate buyout ever to that date. In 1985, the FCC raised the television station ownership limit from seven stations with no more than five on VHF to twelve stations regardless of frequency. KKR sold most of Wometco's entertainment assets to Wometco chief operating officer Arthur Hertz in 1985. With the cash from this sale, KKR bought Storer Broadcasting. It bought the stations because values were rising rapidly and the goal was to sell the stations in a few years.

In 1986, KKR opted to put WTVJ and the Storer stations on the market. It had plans to sell WTVJ for a record price of close to half a billion dollars (as part of a $1.85 billion group deal with six of the Storer stations), although the station was actually worth far less. CBS saw a chance to get an owned and operated television station in the fast-growing Miami market. However, it lost a bidding war to television syndication firm Telepictures (now part of Warner Bros. Television). CBS then suggested that it intended to purchase WCIX, South Florida'sFox affiliate owned by Taft Broadcasting of Cincinnati. Such a deal would have made WTVJ the area's Fox affiliate. Although CBS only made a half-hearted bid for WCIX, Telepictures realized that the value of its purchase would be significantly depreciated with the loss of CBS. Also, while it was a major force in television syndication in its own right, Telepictures did not anticipate having to buy an additional 15 hours per day of programming (Fox had just debuted and would not air a full week's worth of programming for seven years). It walked away from the group deal in May 1986, and sold off its only other television station, WPGH-TV in Pittsburgh, to Renaissance Broadcasting.

Joining the Peacock

Over the next few months, the only offers for WTVJ came from companies that owned large groups of independent stations, such as Tribune Broadcasting, Pappas Telecasting Companies, and Chris-Craft Industries/United Television. These and other companies wanted to make WTVJ an independent station, or a Fox affiliate, for a price far lower than KKR's asking price. The only way that KKR could make such a large profit was to sell WTVJ to another network, as the only potential buyers who had no interest in keeping CBS while paying the asking price were ABC and NBC. A major network had never bought a VHF station affiliated with another network.

WTVJ's newsroom

CBS did not believe that KKR would sell WTVJ to another network, so it returned with a very low offer. KKR turned the CBS offer down almost out of hand and then approached the other networks. ABC was not interested, since it was more than satisfied with its longtime affiliate, WPLG. However, NBC was very interested because its longtime affiliate, WSVN, pre-empted whatever shows NBC aired weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon, as well as an occasional primetime show. NBC was far less tolerant of preemptions than CBS and ABC at the time, and was particularly annoyed at losing valuable advertising in such a fast-growing market. This was not a problem at first since NBC was able to find alternate stations in the area to carry any programs that WSVN didn't air, plus, any programs pre-empted by WSVN aired on NBC's affiliate in West Palm Beach, WPTV, and WPTV's signal covered most of the Miami area, and was available on every cable system in the area. However, by 1985, WPTV had disappeared from most Miami cable systems to make way for new cable channels, resulting in some NBC programming preempted by WSVN being unavailable to some viewers. NBC realized that buying its own station with less restrictive ownership laws would guarantee that all of its shows would air. Hence, it made an offer almost as high as Telepictures did a few months before, and in 1987, KKR agreed to sell WTVJ to NBC.

NBC assumed control of WTVJ in mid-September 1987. However, both WTVJ's and WSVN's existing affiliation contracts lasted until December 31, 1988. As a result, NBC faced the prospect of having to run WTVJ as a CBS affiliate for over a year. This did not sit well with either NBC or CBS, and both approached WSVN's owner, Ed Ansin (Sunbeam Television), about ending his station's NBC affiliation early. However, Ansin refused because he wanted to air NBC's strong lineup that year, which included the Summer Olympics, the MLB World Series, along with the many hit shows airing on NBC at that time. He also wanted to take the CBS affiliation at the beginning of 1989. NBC did strip nearly all CBS branding from the station, and began airing all NBC programming preempted by WSVN. In turn, this resulted in some CBS shows being preempted on WTVJ, with those shows airing on WCIX.

CBS then formally approached WCIX, despite the fact that it would have provided a much weaker signal to Fort Lauderdale than that provided by WTVJ or WSVN. WCIX's transmitter was located near Homestead, 20 miles southwest of Downtown Miami. This gave Fort Lauderdale only a Grade B signal, which was weaker than all of the other television stations in the market. Accordingly, CBS persuaded West Palm Beach's longtime ABC affiliate, WPEC, in West Palm Beach to change its affiliation to CBS, so that it could continue to get a city-grade signal in Broward County. In the spring of 1988, CBS announced that it was purchasing WCIX from the TVX Broadcast Group (which would become ironic more than 10 years later when Viacom, the parent company of TVX's successor Paramount Stations Group, purchased CBS), who had purchased the station in 1987 as Taft was restructuring to become Great American Broadcasting. The changeover occurred on January 1, 1989, when WTVJ ended its 40-year affiliation with CBS and became the third station in Miami to carry NBC, as well as the first of two network-owned stations in Florida, the other being WCIX. CBS moved the rest of its programming over to WCIX, while WSVN became the new Fox affiliate for South Florida, and most of WCIX's syndicated programming—with the exception of Star Trek: The Next Generation--went to WDZL (channel 39, now WSFL-TV).

Changing channels

WTVJ's news set behind the cameras

In 1992, when Hurricane Andrew struck South Florida, WTVJ was the only station to give complete coverage of the story non-stop with meteorologist Bryan Norcross. WTVJ won local Emmys for its coverage of Hurricane Andrew.

In 1994, Westinghouse and its broadcasting division Group W signed a long-term deal with CBS, in which the three Group W stations not already affiliated with CBS would become CBS affiliates; the other two stations had already been CBS affiliates. Westinghouse and CBS would merge later that year, making all the Group W stations CBS O&Os. One of the stations was Philadelphia's longtime NBC affiliate, KYW-TV. CBS decided to sell off its longtime owned and operated television station in that same market, WCAU-TV. This led to a deal in 1995 between CBS and NBC, where CBS sold the channel 6 facility to NBC as compensation for the loss of KYW-TV and Westinghouse's other NBC affiliate, WBZ-TV in Boston. In return, CBS received the stronger channel 4 facility and cash as compensation for the loss of WCAU. (KCNC-TV in Denver and KUTV in Salt Lake City ended up switching to CBS in this deal, causing NBC to find new homes in both markets on KUSA-TV and KSL-TV respectively.)

On September 10, 1995, WTVJ and WCIX swapped dial positions. WTVJ's entire intellectual unit (calls, shows, NBC network, and staff) moved from channel 4 to channel 6, while the WCIX intellectual unit moved to channel 4 as WFOR-TV. However, both stations' studios remained the same. Due to the way the transfer was structured, the two stations were required to swap licenses in addition to the transmitting facilities. As a result, the FCC considers WTVJ to be legally the same station as the old WCIX. This move led to WPTV picking up NBC market share in Broward County from WTVJ, as WTVJ moved its transmitter from its longtime home on the Broward-Dade line to WCIX's old transmitter in Homestead. WPTV's signal in Fort Lauderale is actually closer to city-grade than WTVJ's (though still Grade B).

Former WTVJ anchor Ralph Renick

Most of WTVJ's archive from 1949 through 2004 (as well as other Florida television stations) are stored at the Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives in downtown Miami.

On March 19, 2008, NBC Universal announced that it was putting WTVJ on the market for an estimated $350 million. On March 21, 2008, WTVJ celebrated its 59th anniversary and began its 60th year of continuous broadcasting. On July 18, long-time WTVJ anchor Bob Mayer made the official announcement live on the station's mid-day talk show (South Florida Today) that the station was being sold to Post-Newsweek Stations. The purchase would have created a duopoly between WTVJ and WPLG (currently owned by Post-Newsweek). An FCC rule allows the purchase of a station in the same market if "at least 1 of the stations in the combination is not ranked among the top 4 stations in terms of audience share". As of May 2008 ratings period, WTVJ ranked 6th overall in total-day Nielsen ratings and WPLG rated number one which allowed the possibility of a purchase. A TV Newsday published report indicates that in a July 25 FCC filing, Post-Newsweek bought WTVJ for $205 million. Industry experts had estimated the station would bring in up to $350 million. However, the sale did not include real estate. In this deal, the two stations would have merged their operations at WPLG's new studios on Hallandale Beach Boulevard in Pembroke Park. As part of this purchase, Post-Newsweek would have acquired all of WTVJ's new high definition production equipment that was installed in its Miramar sudios (including WSCV). Despite a formal petition having been filed with the FCC against the proposed sale, the sale was cleared by the Federal Trade Commission October 6.

Eventually, the sale of WTVJ was canceled on December 23, 2008, with NBC and Post-Newsweek parent The Washington Post Companyciting poor economic conditions and the lack of FCC approval as the reasons for the cancellation.

Due to the sale attempt, WTVJ was the final NBC-owned station (other than its Telemundo stations) to continue to use the old format (powered by Internet Broadcasting) for its Web site. With NBC retaining ownership of WTVJ, this changed on March 16, 2009, when nbcmiami.com was launched.

On March 21, 2009, WTVJ celebrated its 60th anniversary and aired a half-hour special "WTVJ: The First 60 Years", which highlighted the station's history from its beginning on March 21, 1949 to the present [1].

Digital programming

WTVJ's digital signal, which has been operating at a maximum legal power of 1,000 kW since its sign-on in July 2003, is multiplexed:

Virtual channel	Label	Video	Aspect	Programming
6.1		1080i	16:9	main WTVJ programming / NBC HD
6.2		480i	4:3	NBC Weather Plus*
6.3		480i	4:3	Universal Sports

On Wednesday February 25, 2009, WTVJ became the last O&O station to have Universal Sports on its digital subchannel. WTVJ currently has Universal Sports on 6.3.

* NBC announced on October 7, 2008 that NBC Weather Plus would be phased out by the end of the year, after NBC affiliates expressed a desire to shut the service down. The network began its phase-out late November, with its shutdown date set for December 31, 2008. It now operates as NBC Plus. NBC is expected to rollout a South Florida version of New York Nonstop.

At noon on June 12, 2009, WTVJ terminated its normal programming on analog channel 6, and began transmitting "Nightlight" an educational videoloop explaining the Digital Transition and the installation and use of the digital to analog converter boxes. The Nightlight ceased to play on June 26 at which time, the channel 6 analog transmitter was shut down by the spirit of Ralph Renick who ends the analog by saying, "Good night... and may the good news be yours!". From that point, WTVJ continues broadcasting in digital format on channel 31 to complete its analog to digital transition. However, through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers displayed WTVJ's virtual channel as "6".

After the digital transition, the station moved its transmitters from WCIX's old transmitter in Homestead to the Broward-Dade line, bringing WTVJ's transmission on par with the other Miami TV stations for the first time in fourteen years.

Gallery

WTVJ Channel 4 - First In Florida station id in 1949

WTVJ Channel 4 station id from 1949

WTVJ News open from 1949

WTVJ Channel 4 - Test Pattern id from 1956

WTVJ Channel 4 station id from 1957

WTVJ Channel 4 - A CBS Station id from 1964

WTVJ Channel 4 logo from 1969

WTVJ Channel 4 News: The Ralph Renick Report 6PM Weeknight open from November 1970

WTVJ Channel 4 - Lilypads In Pond station id from the early 1970's

WTVJ Channel 4 - A Wometco Enterprises Inc. station id from the mid 1970's

WTVJ Channel 4 - Still #1 In Miami promo from late Spring 1977

WTVJ Channel 4 News - Broward Is Our Beat promo from late May 1978

WTVJ Channel 4 News: News Weekend 11PM open from May 18, 1980

WTVJ Channel 4 - "Five Easy Pieces" - Tonight id for May 18, 1980

WTVJ Channel 4 News: The World Tonight - Special Report: Viva Miami promo for the week of May 19, 1980

WTVJ Channel 4 station id from late 1980

WTVJ Channel 4 News: The Ralph Renick Report 6PM Weeknight open from September 28, 1981

WTVJ Channel 4 News: News Weekend 6:30PM Sunday open from May 30, 1982

WTVJ Channel 4 News: The World Tonight Weeknight open from April 4, 1983

CBS - We've Got The Touch id w/WTVJ-TV Miami/Fort Lauderdale byline from late Summer 1983

WTVJ News 4 With Ralph Renick 6PM Weeknight open from late 1983

WTVJ News 4 11PM open from late 1983

WTVJ News 4 - Coming Up bumper from late 1983

WTVJ Channel 4 - Montage close from Christmas 1983

WTVJ Channel 4 - M*A*S*H - Weekdays promo from early 1984

CBS - We've Got The Touch id w/WTVJ-TV Miami/Fort Lauderdale byline from late Summer 1984

WTVJ Channel 4 - Game Show Line-Up - Weeknights promo from late 1984

WTVJ News 4 With Ralph Renick 6PM Weeknight - Next promo for November 23, 1984

WTVJ News 4 w/Ralph Renick 6PM Weeknight open from November 23, 1984

WTVJ News 4 With Ralph Renick 6PM Weeknight close from November 23, 1984

WTVJ News 4 11PM Weeknight on-air screen bug from April 11, 1986

WTVJ News 4 11PM Weeknight - Coming Up bumper from April 11, 1986

WTVJ News 4 6PM Weeknight close from April 15, 1986

CBS - Share The Spirit id w/WTVJ-TV Miami/Fort Lauderdale byline from late Summer 1986

WTVJ Channel 4 Night-Version station id from late 1986 - Which opens a newscast

WTVJ Channel 4 - Magnum, P.I. - Today promo from late 1986

WTVJ News 4 5:30PM Weeknight - Tonight promo from late 1986

WTVJ Channel 4 - We're On Your Side promo from late 1986

WTVJ News 4 5:30PM Weeknight - Tonight promo for December 24, 1986

WTVJ News 4 5:30PM Weeknight open from December 29, 1987

WTVJ Channel 4 station id from 1988

WTVJ News 4 Today open from 1988

WTVJ News 4 12PM open from 1988

WTVJ News 4 5:30PM open from 1988

WTVJ News 4 6PM open from 1988

WTVJ News 4 Nightcast open from 1988

WTVJ News 4 Update bumper from 1988

WTVJ News 4 Special Report bumper from 1988

WTVJ Channel 4 Movie Special open from 1988

WTVJ News 4 Nightcast Weekend open from December 31, 1988

WTVJ Channel 4 - Don't Worry, Be Happy - NBC Is Moving... - Starts promo for January 1, 1989

WTVJ Channel 4 station id from January 1989

WTVJ Channel 4 station id #2 from January 1989

WTVJ Channel 4 - The Cosby Show - Tonight promo from January 1989

WTVJ Channel 4 - Win, Lose Or Draw - Tonight promo from January 1989

WTVJ Channel 4 - Family Feud Syndicated-Version - Tonight promo from January 1989

WTVJ News 4 5:30PM Weeknight open from February 7, 1989

WTVJ News 4 6PM Weeknight open from February 7, 1989

WTVJ Channel 4 - The Cosby Show - Tonight promo from mid 1989

WTVJ Channel 4 - A Current Affair - Weeknights promo from mid 1989

WTVJ Channel 4 News Today In South Florida Weekday open from late 1989

WTVJ Channel 4 - Happy Holidays station id from December 1989

WTVJ Channel 4 News open from late 1990

WTVJ Channel 4 News - Watch Our Team Work promo from late 1990

WTVJ Channel 4 News 6PM Weeknight open from July 12, 1991

WTVJ Channel 4 News Olympic Nightcast open from Summer 1992

WTVJ Channel 4 News logo from late 1992

WTVJ Channel 4 News Now open from late 1992

WTVJ Channel 4 News 6PM open from late 1992

WTVJ Channel 4 News Update bumper from late 1992

WTVJ Channel 4 News - Team Coverage open from Mid-January 1993

WTVJ Channel 4 News - Haiti open from Mid-January 1993

WTVJ Channel 4 - "Another World" & "Days Of Our Lives" Weekdays promo from late December 1993

WTVJ NBC6 logo from September 1995

WTVJ NBC6 station id from September 1995

WTVJ Channel 6 News 10PM open from Mid-September 1995

WTVJ NBC6 logo from 2007

WTVJ NBC6 logo from 2009

WTVJ NBC6 News Today In South Florida open from late March 2009

WTVJ NBC6 News South Florida Today open from late March 2009

WTVJ NBC6 News open from late May 2009

WTVJ NBC6 News - South Florida Nightly News open from late March 2009

WTVJ NBC6 News South Florida Tonight open from late March 2009

WTVJ NBC6 News - Top Story oprn from late March 2009

WTVJ NBC6 News - Developing Story open from late March 2009

WTVJ NBC6 News - Traffic Alert open from late March 2009

WTVJ NBC6 News - Right Now open from late March 2009

WTVJ NBC6 News - Live open from late March 2009

WTVJ NBC6 News - Your Local Weather Channel open from late March 2009

WTVJ NBC6 News - Coming Up bumper from late March 2009

WTVJ NBC6 News 6PM Weeknight open from March 17, 2009

WTVJ NBC6 News 6PM Weeknight - Coming Up bumper from March 17, 2009

WTVJ NBC6 News 6PM Weeknight close from March 17, 2009

WTVJ NBC6 News - South Florida Nightly News Weeknight open from March 17, 2009

WTVJ NBC6 News - South Florida Nightly News Weeknight close from March 17, 2009

WTVJ NBC6 News South Florida Tonight Weeknight open from March 17, 2009

WTVJ NBC6 News Today In South Florida 630AM Weekday open from March 18, 2009

WTVJ NBC6 News Today In South Florida Today close from March 18, 2009

WTVJ NBC6 News South Florida Today 11AM Weekday open from March 19, 2009

WTVJ NBC6 News South Florida Today 11AM Weekday close from March 19, 2009

WTVJ NBC6 - TD Bank Time (11:57 AM) & Temperature (74") id from March 19, 2009

WTVJ NBC6 News Today In South Florida Weekday - Tomorrow promo for March 20, 2009

WTVJ NBC6 News - New Year's Eve open from late December 2010

WTVJ NBC Miami News Today open from May 2011

WTVJ NBC Miami News - Live Weather & Traffic @ 5AM open from May 2011

WTVJ NBC Miami News - Live Frugal open from May 2011

WTVJ NBC Miami News Today Weekday - We Are Miami - Weekdays promo from May 2011

WTVJ NBC Miami News 5PM Weeknight - Now At...Live Miami promo from May 2011

WTVJ NBC Miami News 11PM Weeknight - Tuesday promo from May 2011

WTVJ NBC Miami News Today Weekday open from May 10, 2011

WTVJ NBC6 South Florida logo from late July 2012

WTVJ NBC6 logo from late July 2012

WTVJ NBC6 South Florida News logo from late July 2012

WTVJ NBC6 South Florida News Today open from late July 2012

WTVJ NBC6 South Florida News 11PM open from late July 2012

WTVJ NBC6 South Florida News - Breaking News open from late July 2012

WTVJ NBC6 South Florida News Today - Right Now open from late July 2012

WTVJ NBC6 South Florida News Today - Traffic open from late July 2012

WTVJ NBC6 South Florida News Today - Coming Up bumper from late July 2012

WTVJ NBC6 South Florida News Today Weekday close from July 19, 2012

WTVJ NBC6 South Florida News 6PM Weeknight close from May 15, 2013

WTVJ NBC6 South Florida News 5:30PM Weeknight open from March 7, 2014

WTVJ NBC6 South Florida - Happy 4th Of July id from July 4, 2015

WTVJ NBC6 South Florida News 6PM Weeknight - S.W.A.G.: Students Working At Greatness - Today promo for February 19, 2016

WTVJ NBC6 News 5PM open from Mid-June 2016 - Breaking News Variation

WTVJ NBC6 News 6PM open from Mid-June 2016

WTVJ NBC6 News 11PM open from Mid-June 2016

WTVJ NBC6 News - Terror & Hate Attack open from Mid-June 2016

WTVJ NBC6 News - Breaking News open from Mid-June 2016

WTVJ NBC 6 News - Decision 2016 open from Mid-June 2016

WTVJ NBC6 News - First Alert Weather open from Mid-June 2016

WTVJ NBC6 News - First Alert Traffic open from Mid-June 2016

WTVJ NBC6 News Night-Version - Coming Up bumper from Mid-June 2016

WTVJ NBC6 News - Everywhere video promo from Mid-June 2016

WTVJ NBC6 News 4PM Weekday - Weekdays promo from Mid-June 2016

WTVJ NBC6 News 11PM Weeknight close from June 14, 2016

WTVJ NBC6 News - New Advisory open from Summer 2016

WTVJ NBC6 News - Breaking News open from late Summer 2016 - This open that interrupted regulary scheduled program

WTVJ NBC6 News - Hurricane Matthew open from early October 2016

WTVJ NBC6 News 11PM Weeknight open from October 5, 2016

WTVJ NBC6 News 4PM Weekday open from November 8, 2016

WTVJ NBC6 News 5PM Weeknight close from December 22, 2016

WTVJ NBC6 News 6PM Weeknight open from December 22, 2016

WTVJ NBC6 News - Tracking Hurricane Irma open from early September 2017

WTVJ NBC6 News 11PM Weeknight open from September 4, 2017

WTVJ NBC6 News 5PM Weeknight open from September 8, 2017

WTVJ NBC6 News - Tracking Hurricane Maria open from late September 2017

News operation

NBC 6 South Florida News current weeknight 5:00 and 5:30 news open.

On September 10, 2007, in hopes of catching a new audience, WTVJ launched the market's first weeknight 7 o'clock news, a format NBC liked, and used with several other NBC owned stations including WNBC and KNSD. At the same time, WTVJ dropped its 5 p.m. newscast, opting to show The Ellen DeGeneres Show instead.In 1997, WTVJ and the Sun-Sentinel began co-producing a nightly 10 o'clock newscast on WBaffiliate WDZL known as WB 39 News at 10. After the station (by then renamed WBZL) became aCW affiliate on September 18, 2006 and became WSFL-TV, the newscast title changed to CW News at 10. The newscast was broadcast from a secondary set at WTVJ's studios and was a similar operation to other Tribune-outsourced newscasts that were (and still are) seen on KRCW-TV and WPHL-TV. The final WSFL newscast aired on August 31, 2008, as Tribune did not renew the partnership because of the then-pending sale of WTVJ to Post-Newsweek, a newspaper competitor to Tribune.

On March 5, 2008, WTVJ began broadcasting its local news in high definition. It was the first television station in the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale market and the fourth station in South Florida to have made the upgrade. Unlike most NBC stations, WTVJ does not air a midday newscast on weekdays; instead, it airs a local talk show at 11 a.m.

During weather segments, WTVJ uses two weather radar systems, "Weather Plus TITAN Radar" and "Weather Plus VIPIR Radar". The station offers NBC Weather Plus on its second digital subchannel and on Comcast and Atlantic Broadband digital cable.

News/station presentation

Newscast titles

• Televiews of the News (6:15 p.m. newscast; 1949–1951)
• The Ralph Renick Report (6 p.m. newscast; 1953–1984)
• Newsnight with Dick Bate (11 p.m. newscast; 1965–1967)
• News at Noon with Del Frank (1965–1985)
• Twenty-Four Hours (11 p.m. newscast; 1967–1969)
• The Prescott Robinson Report (11 p.m. newscast; 1969–1973)
• The World Tonight With Jim Brosemer (11 p.m. newscast; 1973–1983)
• Channel 4 News (mid 1970s-early 1980s and 1989–1995)
• News Weekend With Bob Mayer (6 and 11 p.m. newscasts; 1974–1982)
• News 4 (1983–1989)
• News 4 With Ralph Renick (6 p.m. newscast; 1984–1985)
• Today in South Florida (morning newscast; 1989–2011; WSVN uses similar title, Today in Florida, for its morning newscast)
• Live at Eleven (11 a.m. news, talk and interview show; 1992)
• Channel 6 News (1995–1997; used when the station moved to channel 6)
• NBC 6 News (1997–2011 & 2012-present)
• NBC Miami News (2009–2012)
• South Florida Today (11 a.m. news/talk program; 2004–2011 now morning/11a.m. newscast 2012-present)
• South Florida Nightly News (7 p.m. newscast; 2007–2011)
• South Florida Tonight (11 p.m. newscast; 2006–2011)
• NBC Miami Today/at 5/6/11 (2011-2012)

Station slogans

• On the Spot Coverage of Florida (1949-mid 1960s)
• South Florida's Largest Daily Circulation (mid 1960s-early 1970s)
• Friends You Can Turn To (early 1970s-1984)
• The Best is Right Here on Channel 4/Channel 4 is Easy on the Eyes (1973-1974; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
• See The Best...Channel 4 (1974-1975; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
• Catch The Brightest Stars on Channel 4 (1975-1976; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
• Channel 4 We're The Hot Ones (1976-1977; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
• There's Something in the Air on Channel 4 (1977-1978; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
• Channel 4, Turn Us On, We'll Turn You On (1978-1979; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
• You're Looking Good on Channel 4 (1979-1980; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
• Looking Good Together on Channel 4 (1980-1981; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
• Reach for the Stars on Channel 4 (1981-1982; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
• Great Moments on Channel 4 (1982-1983; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
• We've Got the Touch, You and Channel 4 (1983–1984; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
• You and Channel 4, We've Got the Touch (1984-1985; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
• We're 4 for You/ Friends You Can Turn To (1984–1986; used in image campaign using Tuesday Productions' "Tuesday16")
• South Florida's News Leader (1984–1986; 2005–2012)
• We've Got the Touch on Channel 4 (1985-1986; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
• Share the Spirit on Channel 4 (1986-1987; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
• We're on Your Side, Turn to 4! (1986–1988)
• Miami Spirit, oh yes (1987-1988; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
• You Can Feel It on Channel 4 (1988-1989; last localized version of CBS ad campaign)
• The Heart of South Florida (1988–1990)
• Come Home To The Best, Only on Channel 4 (1989-1990; first localized version of NBC ad campaign)
• WTVJ, is The Place To Be! (1990-1992; localized version of NBC ad campaign)
• Watch Our Team Work (1990-1992; used in image campaign using news theme of the same name)
• Your 24-Hour News Source (1990–1992; news slogan)
• It's A Whole New Channel 4 (1992-1993; localized version of NBC ad campaign)
• The Stars Are Back on Channel 4 (1993-1994; localized version of NBC ad campaign)
• Stay with Us (1992–1995)
• This is the Year to Be on NBC6 (September 1995; produced by NBC, to promote the affiliation switch)
• Where The News Comes First (1995–2005)
• We are Miami' (2010–2012)
• NBC (Team) 6 is Everywhere (2012-present)

News team

Anchors

• Sharon Lawson- weekend mornings and weekends at 6 & 11pm; also weeknight reporter and fill-in anchor
• Pam Giganti - weekday mornings South Florida Today (5:00-7:00 a.m.) & 11 a.m.
• Jackie Nespral - weeknights at 5, 6 and 11 p.m.; also heard on WQAM-AM 560
• Keith Jones- weekday mornings South Florida Today (5:00-7:00 a.m.) & 11 a.m.
• Adam Kuperstein- weeknights at 5, 6 & 11 p.m.
• Roxanne Vargas - host of 6 in the mix; also weekday morning features reporter/fill-in anchor
• Trina Robinson - weeknights at 5:30pm .; also fill-in meteorologist and weather reporter

Weather Team 6

• John Morales (AMS and NWA Seals of Approval) - Chief Meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 6 and 11 p.m.
• Shiri Spear (AMS and NWA Seals of Approval) - Meteorologist; weekends at 6 & 11pm
• Jennifer Reeves- meteorologist; weekend mornings South Florida Today
• Ryan Phillips (AMS and NWA Seals of Approval) - Meteorologist; weekday mornings South Florida Today (5-7 a.m.) and 11 a.m.

Sports Team

• Joe Rose - Sporets Director; weeknights at 5, 6 and 11 p.m.; also heard on WQAM-AM 560
• Kristina Pink - Sports Anchor; weekends at 6 and 11 p.m.

Reporters

• Jeff Burnside - special projects reporter
• Claudia Decampo - freelance reporter
• Stephanie Dolinsky - general assignment reporter
• Diana Gonzalez - health reporter
• Victoria Langley - freelance journalist based in Tallahassee
• Sharon Lawson - general assignment reporter
• Steve Litz - general assignment reporter
• Ari Odzer - general assignment reporter
• Willard Shepard - investigative reporter and fill-in anchor
• Hank Tester - general assignment reporter

Notable former staff

• Bob Mayer - (1969-2010; retired)
• Jim Brosemer -(1973–1988; now a professor of journalism at Lynn University in Boca Raton, FL)
• Jill Beach - weekend morning anchor (1993-1996; now running a video production company in Miami)
• David Bloom (died on April 6, 2003 of deep vein thrombosis, while covering start of Iraq war; former journalist for NBC News)
• Nick Bogert - political and judicial reporter (1980-2009; now living in Chicago)
• Jane Chastain - First Women Sportscaster in U.S history (now living in California)
• Joe Brennan - Traffic Reporter 1988-1997 (Now at Metro Networks Miami Hub doing traffic for News 13 in Orlando, Fl)
• Robin Cole (now Robin Swoboda, and host of talk show That's Life at WJW-TV in Cleveland)
• Joel Connable (2005-2009; now president of Travel TV News Inc.)
• Katie Couric (later co-anchor of NBC's Today, now anchor of the CBS Evening News)
• Kelly Craig - 11 a.m. anchor (1990–2009)
• Karen Curtis - traffic reporter
• Paul Deanno - chief meteorologist (2003–2009; now morning and midday meteorologist at KOMO-TV in Seattle)
• Jim Dyer (later went to WCIX)
• Pablo Ferreira
• Roy Firestone - anchor/sports reporter (now at HDNet)
• Fred Francis (retired from NBC News Nov 2004)
• Hetal Gandhi
• Michelle Gillen (now investigative reporter at WFOR-TV)
• John Guaraldi (now at WPLG-TV)
• Gray Hall - reporter (2007-2009)
• John Hambrick - Retired to Texas - doing commercials and movies (1985–1990)
• Gerri Helfman
• Karen Kelly
• Larry King (now at CNN as host of Larry King Live)
• Danielle Knox (moved to WFOR-TV, now runs her own body care company and anchors at WGCL-TV in Atlanta)
• Michelle Kosinski - reporter (now at NBC News)
• Alycia Lane - weekend anchor and reporter (later 6 and 11 p.m. anchor at KYW-TV in Philadelphia; now reporter for KNBC-TV in Los Angeles)
• Tisha Lewis - reporter/anchor (2006-2009; now anchor/reporter at WXIN in Indianapolis)
• Tom Llamas (now reporter at WNBC in New York City)
• Michelle Lopez
• DeMarco Morgan (now weekend anchor at WNBC in New York City)
• Chris Myers (now a Fox Sports sportscaster)
• Bryan Norcross - meteorologist (1990–1996; moved to WFOR-TV and CBS News, now retired)
• Nancy Humphries (O'Dell) (later at Access Hollywood)
• Micah Ohlman (later to KABC-TV in LAngeles; now at KTLA in Los Angeles)
• Alicia Ortega
• Jerry Penacoli (now coreespondent for the syndicated newsmagazine Extra)
• Lonnie Quinn (now weekday meteorologist at WCBS-TV in New York City and weather anchor for CBS' Saturday Early Show)
• Tom Randles (1990–1992; now at WSMV-TV in Nashville)
• Guy Rawlings (now sports director at WESH-TV in Orlando)
• Martha Reilly
• Ralph Renick (1949–1985; died July 11, 1991)
• Teresa Rodriguez (now at Univision)
• Rick Sanchez (2003-2006; now at CNN)
• Kerry Sanders (now at NBC News)
• Pam Saulsby (1981-1991; now lead anchor at WRAL-TV in Raleigh, NC)
• Ike Seamans (retired from WTVJ in 2007)
• Tony Segreto (1968-2009; retired as main anchor in January 2009)
• Deborah Sherman - investigative reporter (now at KUSA-TV in Denver)
• Marti Skold (now at KTVX in Salt Lake City)
• Gordon Stevens - anchor
• Roland Steadham - meteorologist (now chief meteorologist at KTVX in Salt Lake City)
• Martha Sugalski (now at WESH-TV in Orlando)
• Susan Lichtman Taylor (1986–1991; now at KNSD-TV in San Diego)
• Charlie Van Dyke (now a radio and television announcer)
• Jennifer Valoppi
• Ileana Varela (moved to WFOR-TV as weekend anchor and reporter from 1989–2008)
• Carlos Vegara (now at KSBW in Salinas, CA)
• Bob Weaver (1949–2003; died of cancer in June 2006)
• Beverly White (now at KNBC-TV in Los Angeles)
• Michael Williams (now at WFOR-TV)
• Julia Yarbough (retired in October 2009)
• Scott Zamost (now senior investigative producer at CNN, based in Atlanta)
• Chuck Zink (a.k.a. "Skipper Chuck")

References

1. ^ "Require Prime Evening Time for NTA Films". Boxoffice: 13. November 10, 1956.
2. ^ TVNEWSDAY - NBC Nets $205 Million for WTVJ Miami
3. ^ Washington Post Company Announces Plans To Buy WTVJ - Local News Story - WTVJ | Miami
4. ^ "Sale Of WTVJ To The Washington Post Company Terminated". NBC6.net. December 23, 2008. Retrieved December 24, 2008.
5. ^ http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf
6. ^ http://www.nbcmiami.com/station/about-us/
7. ^ http://www.linkedin.com/pub/alycia-lane/a/488/ab6
8. ^ http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jennifer-valoppi/6/284/1b9

External links

• WTVJ "NBC 6"
• WTVJ wireless
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WTVJ
• Query the FCC's TV station database for W44AC
• Query the FCC's TV station database for W58BU