WBOC-TV

Not to be confused with low-powered sister stationWBOC-LD.

WBOC-TV(channel 16) is atelevision stationinSalisbury, Maryland,United States, affiliated withCBSandFox.It is theflagshiptelevision property of theMilton, Delaware–basedDraper Holdings Business Trust,and is co-owned withlow-powerNBCaffiliateWRDE-LD(channel 26) andTelemundoaffiliateWBOC-LD(channel 22), as well as eight radio stations. The station's studios are located on North Salisbury Boulevard in Salisbury; WBOC-TV maintains secondary studios/office facilities inDover, Delaware,and transmitter facilities inLaurel, Delaware.

WBOC-TV

Salisbury, Maryland Dover, Delaware United States
City	Salisbury, Maryland
Channels	Digital:32 (UHF) Virtual:16
Branding	WBOC Delmarva Sports Network(on 16.2) Fox 21 Delmarva(on 21.2)
Programming
Affiliations	16.1:CBS 16.2:DSN 21.2:Fox
Ownership
Owner	Draper Holdings Business Trust (WBOC, Inc.)
Sister stations	TV:WRDE-LD,WBOC-LD,WSJZ-LD,WRUE-LD Radio:WBOC-FM,WCEM-FM,WTDK,WCEM,WAAI,WZBH,WGBG-FM,WRDE-FM
History
First air date	July 15, 1954(1954-07-15)
Former channel number(s)	Analog:16 (UHF, 1954–2009) Digital:21 (UHF, 1999–2019)
Former affiliations	DuMont(primary 1954–1955, secondary 1955–1956) ABCandNBC(secondary,c. 1955–1980) UPN(21.2, 2003–2006)
Call signmeaning	We're Between theOceanand theChesapeake
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	71218
ERP	1,000 kW
HAAT	284.1 m (932 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	38°30′17″N75°38′36″W
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Website	www.wboc.com www.fox21delmarva.com(DT2)

History

Former WBOC-TV logo from 2004 to 2020.

WBOC-TV began operations on July 15, 1954, owned originally by Peninsula Broadcasting, which started WBOC radio (960 AM, nowWTGM;and 104.7 FM, nowWQHQ), the first successful radio station on theEastern Shore,in 1940.It is the fourth-oldest television station in Maryland, the first outsideBaltimore,and the oldest in Maryland on the UHF band.

It was originally an affiliate of theDuMont Television Network.However, around 1955, it picked up a primary affiliation with CBS, relegating DuMont to secondary status until that network shut down in 1956. It also picked up secondary affiliations withNBCandABC.The station also featured local programming consisting of variety shows, talent contests, andchildren's programs.

In 1961, Peninsula Broadcasting was acquired by the A. S. Abell Company, which published theBaltimore Sunand owned Baltimore's then-CBS affiliate,WMAR-TV.WBOC-TV gradually increased the CBS programming on its schedule, though it continued to "cherry-pick" the highest-rated ABC and NBC shows either in pattern (on schedule with the rest of the network) or on atape-delayedbasis.

For example, channel 16 regularly carried theToday ShowandThe Tonight Showfrom NBC, and weekend sports coverage fromallthreenetworks.Prime time programming consisted of at least one night of all CBS; other evenings with programs from both CBS and ABC; and others with shows from CBS and NBC. Select CBS programs displaced by the scheduling method would air in times outside of prime time. Despite carryingToday(which preempted CBS's numerous attempts at morning news programming andCaptain Kangaroo), WBOC-TV aired all of CBS's other newscasts, as well as most of CBS's daytime programming andSaturday morning cartoons.The cherry-picking arrangement also affected prime time network sports coverage. However, Delmarva viewers did not have to worry about missing their favorite shows once cable came to the area. Local cable systems on the Maryland side of the market supplemented the area with the Baltimore stations, while cable systems inSussex County, Delaware,supplemented it with thePhiladelphiastations.

WBOC primarily serves the four southernmost counties of the Eastern Shore, as well as Sussex County. This relatively small market has roughly 209,000 people. However, channel 16's claimed primary coverage area includes portions of three neighboring markets.Kent County, Delaware,home to thecapital cityof Dover, is part of the Philadelphia market. However, WBOC-TV has been available for decades on cable in Dover, though presently only in digital. Not only does WBOC-TV operate a bureau there, but for many years it identified as "Salisbury–Dover".Accomack County, Virginia,is part of theHampton Roadsmarket, and is primarily served by county-owned translators of the Hampton Roads stations. WBOC-TV has long been available on cable in Accomack County, alongside the Hampton Roads stations. The station also covers the five Eastern Shore counties that are part of the Baltimore market.

In April 1980, WBOC-TV received competition for the first time whenWMDT(channel 47) signed on as a dual ABC/NBC affiliate, allowing channel 16 to become a full-time CBS station. In November of that same year, local ownership of channel 16 returned when entrepreneur Thomas H. Draper purchased the station. Since Draper took over, local news coverage increased, as well as local advertising revenue which allowed for technical upgrades, such as a new four-million-watt tower located near Laurel. WBOC-TV regained a sister radio station in 2015, when Draper acquired WOLC (102.5 FM) inPrincess Anneand relaunched it asWBOC-FM(the original WBOC radio stations had been sold to separate interests in 1980).

DT2 subchannel

On March 3, 2003, WBOC launched a subchannel to be the area'sUPNaffiliate, known on-air as "UPN21 Total TV". Before then, either the network's Baltimore affiliates (firstWNUV,and laterWUTB) orWDCAin Washington, D.C., had been provided on cable systems on the Maryland side of the market, whileWPSGin Philadelphia had served the Delaware side, andWGNTinPortsmouthon the Virginia side.

On May 9, 2006, WBOC announced that the subchannel would become a Fox affiliate beginning August 21; UPN was in the process of shutting downas part of a merger withThe WBto formThe CW,but the Delmarva rights to the new network went to a subchannel of WMDT. For Fox's first 20 years of existence, eitherWBFFin Baltimore or network-ownedWTTGin Washington, D.C. had served as the network's default affiliates for the Maryland side of the market, while affiliate-turned-O&OWTXF-TVin Philadelphia served the Delaware side, and the network's Hampton Roads affiliates were carried on the Virginia side (WTVZ-TVuntil August 1998, thenWVBT).

Newscasts

WBOC operates a bureau inMilton, Delaware,in addition to its main studios in Salisbury. All news broadcasts can be seen via live streaming video on WBOC's Facebook page and mobile app.

When WBOC-DT2 became a Fox affiliate, the main channel began producing local news weeknights at 5 for a half-hour (known asWBOC News at 5 on Fox 21) and every night at 10 also for thirty minutes (calledWBOC News at 10 on Fox 21). Both shows air from a secondary set and feature a separate graphics package. Weekday mornings at 6, this station simulcasts the second hour of the main channel's weekday morning show.

On August 26, 2008, WBOC began airing its local newscasts in high definition from a newly constructed addition to its studios known as the "NewsPlex".In addition to the main facilities in Salisbury, the station operates Delaware bureaus in Dover (in theRodney Villagesection on US 13/South Dupont Highway) and Milton (at The Square in a facility that also houses sister station WRDE-LD's news studio).

Non-news programming

WBOC produces a daily talk show calledDelmarvaLifeand an outdoors programOutdoors Delmarva,which broadcasts on Saturdays.

Notable former on-air staff

• Hallie Jackson,nowNBC NewsSenior Washington Correspondent
• Weijia Jiang,nowCBS NewsSeniorWhite HouseCorrespondent
• Oren Liebermann,nowCNNPentagonCorrespondent
• Mike Seidel,now atFox Weather
• Amber Theoharis,now a reporter forNFL Network
• Gary Tuchman,nowCNNCorrespondent forAnderson Cooper 360

Technical information

Subchannels

The station's signal ismultiplexed:

Subchannels of WBOC-TV

Channel	Res.	Aspect	Short name	Programming
16.1	1080i	16:9	WBOC-HD	CBS
16.2	480i		DSN	Delmarva Sports Network
21.2	720p		FOX21	Fox

A standard definition simulcast of WBOC'sTelemundo Delmarvareplaced the over the air broadcast of WBOC Classics in November 2017.On August 13, 2018, WBOC Classics returned over the air on WBOC.On July 26, 2021, WBOC Classics moved to WBOC-LD after WBOC-DT2 was upgraded to720phigh definition.On February 7, 2022, Delmarva Sports Network launched on 16.2, broadcasting games of local high school and college teams.

Analog-to-digital conversion

WBOC-TV discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, overUHFchannel 16, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United Statestransitioned from analog to digital broadcastsunder federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 21,usingPSIPto display the station'svirtual channelas its former UHF analog channel 16.

Unlike most digital subchannels, WBOC-DT2 is one of the few that identifies with its physical digital channel number (21) rather than a virtual channel (16.2) through PSIP. The subchannel is known on-air as "Fox 21 Delmarva".

On August 1, 2019, WBOC-TV moved from digital UHF channel 21 to UHF channel 32 as part of the FCC repack. Despite the move, the Fox subchannel continues to use 21 in its branding and virtual channel number.

Cable and satellite availability

Since November 2010, WBOC and Fox 21 have been available on DirecTV andDish Networkin their primary five-county coverage area.For WBOC viewers outside this area, satellite subscribers may request a waiver to receive New York City stations if they can not pick up the Delmarva stations over the air.Before 2010, Delmarva was one of the few markets where local stations weren't available on satellite.

From the 1970s to the 1980s, WBOC was carried on cable as far north asCape May County, New Jersey,andNew Castle County, Delaware,and as far south asNorthampton County, Virginia.

Carriage disputes

On July 23, 2014, DirecTV announced it was in a carriage dispute Draper Holdings, owner of WBOC-TV. It was announced that if Draper and DirecTV could not reach a fair deal before July 31, 2014, DirecTV would no longer be permitted to carry Draper Holdings' stations.WBOC and Fox 21 said they were asking for far less money than what DirecTV pays for national networks likeESPN—even though they claim their combined ratings are much higher than ESPN's ratings. DirecTV stated Draper wants seven times more in their new contract.On August 1, DirecTV and Draper Holdings reached a settlement, and the channels remain on the air with no blackouts.

On October 1, 2017,Verizon FiOSdropped WBOC from its lineup. Verizon claimed WBOC was demanding a 175% rate increase.WBOC was restored to the Verizon lineup on November 20, 2017.

External links

• Official website
• Fox 21 website