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WAVY-TV

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Not to be confused withWAYV.
WAVY-TV
CityPortsmouth, Virginia
Channels
BrandingWAVY-TV 10;WAVY News 10
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
WVBT
History
First air date
September 1, 1957(67 years ago)(1957-09-01)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog:10 (VHF,1957–2009)
  • Digital:31 (UHF, 2001–2020)
ABC(1957–1959)
Call signmeaning
"Wavy" and logo are references toAtlantic OceanorChesapeake Bay[1]
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID71127
ERP1,000 kW
HAAT280.4 m (920 ft)
Transmitter coordinates36°49′15″N76°30′40″W/ 36.82083°N 76.51111°W/36.82083; -76.51111
Translator(s)see§ Translators
Links
Public license information
Websitewww.wavy

WAVY-TV(channel 10) is atelevision stationlicensed toPortsmouth, Virginia,United States, serving theHampton Roadsarea as an affiliate ofNBC.It is owned byNexstar Media GroupalongsideVirginia Beach–licensed dualFoxaffiliate/CWowned-and-operated stationWVBT(channel 43). The two stations share studios on Wavy Street in downtown Portsmouth; WAVY-TV's transmitter is located inSuffolk, Virginia.

History

[edit]

WAVY-TV, the Hampton Roads area's third-oldest television station, began operations on September 1, 1957. It was originally owned by Tidewater Teleradio along with WAVY radio (1350 AM, nowWGPL). It originally signed on as anABCaffiliate, but traded network affiliations with NBC affiliateWVEC-TV(channel 13) in 1959 due to its radio sister's long affiliation withNBC radio.In 1968, it became the second television station owned by what was then known asLIN Broadcasting.

In April 1989, WAVY-TV moved into its current studio, located on Wavy Street in downtown Portsmouth. The station previously broadcast from a former farmers market on Middle Street, also in downtown Portsmouth. The Wavy Street studio is located across the street from theAtlantic Union Bank Pavilionand near or across the street from theElizabeth River.

Shortly after WVBT became the area'sWBaffiliate in 1995, WAVY began operating that station though alocal marketing agreement(LMA). LIN TV came to an affiliation agreement with Fox in November 1995, and WVBT took the affiliation from original Fox affiliateWTVZ(channel 33) in 1998. LIN TV purchased that station outright in February 2002. WAVY was the first in themarketto broadcast a digital signal in 2001.

On March 21, 2014,Richmond-basedMedia Generalannounced that it would buy LIN Media in a $1.6 billion deal, described as a "merger."[3]The merger was completed on December 19, at which point WAVY and WVBT came under common ownership with ABC affiliateWRIC-TVinPetersburg(serving the Richmond market).[4]

On September 8, 2015, Media General announced that it would acquire theDes Moines, Iowa–basedMeredith Corporationfor $2.4 billion with the intention to name the combined group Meredith Media General if the sale were finalized.[5][6][7][8][9]However, on September 28,Irving, Texas–basedNexstar Broadcasting Groupmade an unsolicited cash-and-stock merger offer for Media General, originally valued at $14.50 per share.[10]On November 16, following opposition to the merger with Meredith by minority shareholdersOppenheimer Holdingsand Starboard Capital (primarily because Meredith's magazine properties were included in the deal, which would have re-entered Media General into publishing after it sold its newspapers toBH Mediain 2012 to reduce debt) and the rejection of Nexstar's initial offer by company management, Media General agreed to enter into negotiations with Nexstar on a suitable counter deal, while the Meredith merger proposal remained active; the two eventually concluded negotiations on January 6, 2016, reaching a merger agreement for valued at $17.14 per share (an evaluation of $4.6 billion, plus the assumption of $2.3 billion debt).[11]

On January 27, 2016, Meredith formally broke off the proposed merger with Media General and accepted the termination fee of $60 million previously negotiated under the original merger proposal; Media General subsequently signed an agreement to be acquired by Nexstar, in exchange for giving Meredithright of first refusalto acquire any broadcast or digital properties that may be divested (a clause that Meredith did not exercise).[12][13][14][15]The transaction was approved by the FCC on January 11, 2017; the sale was completed on January 17, at which point the existing Nexstar stations and the former Media General outlets that neither group had to sell in order to rectify ownership conflicts in certain markets became part of the renamed Nexstar Media Group; this brought WAVY-TV and WVBT under common ownership with theRoanokeduopoly of Fox affiliateWFXRand CW affiliateWWCW(which necessitated Media General to sell its NBC-affiliated station in that market,WSLS-TV,toGraham Media Groupin order to alleviate said ownership conflict with the two existing Nexstar-owned stations).[16][17][18]

On December 3, 2018, Nexstar announced it would acquire the assets of Chicago-basedTribune Media—which has operatedCBSaffiliateWTKR(channel 3) andCWaffiliateWGNT(channel 27) through ashared servicesagreement with partner company Dreamcatcher Broadcasting since December 2013—for $6.4 billion in cash and debt. Nexstar was precluded from acquiring WTKR/WGNT directly or indirectly while owning WAVY/WVBT, as FCC regulations prohibit common ownership of more than two stations in the same media market, or two or more of the four highest-rated stations in the market. (WAVY and WTKR consistently rank among the top four in terms of total-day viewership in the Norfolk–Virginia Beach–Hampton Roads market, while WVBT and WGNT have occasionally rotated between fourth and fifth place, a situation that allowed for Media General and, later, Nexstar to acquire WVBT directly in their respective group acquisitions involving the WAVY/WVBT duopoly. Furthermore, any attempt by Nexstar to assume the operations of WTKR/WGNT through local marketing or shared services agreements would have been subject to regulatory hurdles that could have delayed completion of the FCC and Justice Department's review and approval process for the acquisition.) As such, on January 31, 2019, Nexstar announced it would retain the WAVY/WVBT duopoly and sell WTKR and WGNT to a different buyer; it was announced on March 20, 2019, that the WTKR/WGNT duopoly, along with sister stationWTVR-TVin Richmond, would be sold to theE. W. Scripps Company.[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][excessive citations]

News operation

[edit]

WAVY airs thirty hours of local news a week. It operates its ownweather radar,called "Super Doppler 10", at its studios. It was the first in the area to air a local morning broadcast at 5:30 a.m., beginning in 1992, and added weeknight newscasts at 5 p.m. in 1989 and 5:30 p.m. in 1994.[32]It is known for being the first Hampton Roads station to use ahelicopterto cover local news after introducing "Chopper 10" in 1982. The currentBell 206 Longrangerhelicopter has been used since 2000.[33]On November 20, 2015; WAVY became the first station in the area to usedrone aircraftin their newscasts, known as "Drone 10".[34]

When WVBT made the switch to Fox in 1998, WAVY started producing a nightly 10 p.m. newscast on that station. It was not the market's first prime time show as CBS affiliate WTKR produced a short-lived newscast on WGNT from 1995 until 1997.[35]ABC affiliate WVEC also produced a prime time show onWPEN-LPfrom 1995 until it startedLNC 4(later LNC 5; now defunct) in 1997.[36]WVEC continued to produce a 10 o'clock news on that station until January 30, 2009. The 45-minute broadcast on WVBT is followed by theFox 43 Sports Wrapwith sports news and highlights.

On July 21, 2008, at noon, WAVY and WVBT became the first stations in the market and their station group company to produce local newscasts in high definition. This is in contrast to rival WVEC's news being produced in16:9digital widescreenwhich is not true high definition but matches the ratio of HD television screens (WVEC would ultimately upgrade their own newscasts to true high definition in August 2013).[37]WVBT added an hour-long extension of WAVY's weekday morning news on February 2, 2009. The show airs in an entertainment-and-lifestyle program format.

Until January 2007, WVBT operated a 24-hour local weather channel on its second digital subchannel 43-2. Known on-air as the "WAVY Weather Station",it was made cable-only in 2007 for unknown reasons. It was seen onMediacomchannel 9,Charterchannel 22, andCoxdigital channel 227 before going dark in 2011.[38]There were live current conditions, updated forecasts, and a sweep of "Super Doppler 10".

On September 12, 2011,The Hampton Roads Show,an hour-long local lifestyle and entertainment program, moved from WVBT at 8 a.m. to WAVY at 11 a.m. With the move, weekend sports anchor Chris Reckling became co-host.[39]

WAVY Weather Station

[edit]

The WAVY Weather Station was a local cable channel, formerly seen as adigital subchannelof WAVY-TV and laterWVBT-TV 43.2.The WAVY Weather Station broadcasts taped weather segments by WAVY-TV's meteorologists. It also shows live Super Doppler 10 imagery and Super Doppler 10 WeatherNet data.

The WAVY Weather Station was developed in late 1993 and launched in late 1996 asLocal Weather Station,or LWS.[40] It was one of the first 24-hour cable weather channels forLIN TV,the name was also used on other LIN-owned stations such asWISH-TVandWANE-TV.The Local Weather Station was available on Cox Cable channel 66 before moving to channel 327 in the Greater Hampton Roads area.[41]The Local Weather Station or LWS was moved to Cox Cable channel 227 in January 2003.[42]The name was changed to WAVY Weather Station in 2003.

The WAVY Weather Station was availableover-the-airas a digital subchannel, but was pulled at the start of 2007 for unknown reasons.

The WAVY Weather Station was seen on Cox Cable digital channel 227 in the GreaterHampton Roadsarea until late 2011.[43]The WAVY Weather Station was also carried on other cable systems and channels across Hampton Roads,Northeastern North Carolina,NorthernOuter Banksof North Carolina and theEastern Shore of Virginia.[43]

Notable former on-air staff

[edit]

Technical information

[edit]

Subchannels

[edit]

The station's signal ismultiplexed:

Subchannels of WAVY-TV[46]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
10.1 1080i 16:9 WAVY Main WAVY-TV programming /NBC
10.2 480i Nest The Nest
10.3 GET-TV Get
10.4 SHOP-LC Shop LC

WAVY-TV added Bounce TV upon its launch on September 26, 2011.[47]

On October 1, 2018, WAVY launched a digital subchannel on virtual channel 10.4 to serve as a charter affiliate of the CBN News Channel, a Christian-oriented news channel owned by theChristian Broadcasting Network.(Incidentally, CBN – which is based in Virginia Beach – previously owned WGNT [channel 27, now a CW affiliate] from 1961 to 1989.)[48]

Analog-to-digital conversion

[edit]

WAVY-TV began broadcasting a digital signal on March 22, 2001.[49]The station discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, overVHFchannel 10, at 9 a.m. on June 12, 2009, as part of thefederally mandated transition from analog to digital television.[50]The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transitionUHFchannel 31, usingvirtual channel10.[51]

On August 7, 2009, WAVY began offeringMobile TVusingBlackBerry.[52]

Translators

[edit]

In addition to its main signal, WAVY-TV is rebroadcast on three translators. W18EG-D is located in the Eastern Shore of Virginia and is municipally owned byAccomack Countyrather than Nexstar. WKTD-CD and WITD-CD are owned and operated by Nexstar.

References

[edit]
  1. ^WTKR Stationsdailypress May 15, 1999[dead link]
  2. ^"Facility Technical Data for WAVY-TV".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ^Ramakrishnan, Sruthi (March 21, 2014)."Media General to buy LIN Media for $1.6 billion".Reuters.RetrievedMarch 21,2014.
  4. ^"Media General Completes Merger With LIN Media".Media General(Press release). December 19, 2014. Archived fromthe originalon December 19, 2014.
  5. ^"Media General Acquiring Meredith For 2.4 Billion".TVNewsCheck.NewsCheck Media. September 8, 2015.
  6. ^Littleton, Cynthia (September 8, 2015)."TV Station Mega Merger: Media General Sets $2.4 Billion Acquisition of Meredith Corp".Variety.Penske Media Corporation.RetrievedSeptember 9,2015.
  7. ^"Media General, Meredith To Combine To Create Meredith Media General: A New Powerful Multiplatform And Diversified Media Company"(Press release).Meredith Corporation.PR Newswire.September 8, 2015.
  8. ^"Meredith will be acquired by Media General in a television merger".Kansas City Star.The McClatchy Company.September 8, 2015.RetrievedSeptember 9,2015.
  9. ^"KCTV, KSMO will get new owner".Kansas City Business Journal.American City Business Journals.September 9, 2015.
  10. ^"Meredith, Media General stand by deal despite report".The Des Moines Register.Gannett Company.October 8, 2015.RetrievedOctober 8,2015.
  11. ^"Media General Rejects Nexstar's $1.9B Offer, But Agrees To Talk".Deadline Hollywood.Penske Media Corporation. November 16, 2015.
  12. ^"Nexstar-Media General: It's A Done Deal".TVNewsCheck.NewsCheck Media. January 27, 2016.RetrievedMarch 4,2016.
  13. ^Picker, Leslie (January 27, 2016)."Nexstar Clinches Deal to Acquire Media General".The New York Times.RetrievedJanuary 27,2016.
  14. ^"NEXSTAR BROADCASTING GROUP ENTERS INTO DEFINITIVE AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE MEDIA GENERAL FOR $4.6 BILLION IN ACCRETIVE CASH AND STOCK TRANSACTION".Media General(Press release). January 27, 2016. Archived fromthe originalon January 30, 2016.
  15. ^"Prather Buys 5 TVs From Nexstar-Media Gen".TVNewsCheck.NewsCheck Media. June 13, 2016.RetrievedMarch 14,2017.
  16. ^"Nexstar Broadcasting Group Completes Acquisition of Media General Creating Nexstar Media Group, The Nation's Second Largest Television Broadcaster".Nexstar Media Group(Press release). January 17, 2017.RetrievedMarch 14,2017.
  17. ^Jessell, Harry A. (January 11, 2017)."FCC OKs $4.6B Nexstar-Media General Merger".TVNewsCheck.NewsCheck Media.RetrievedMarch 14,2017.
  18. ^Jessell, Harry A. (January 17, 2017)."Nexstar Closes On Media General Purchase".TVNewsCheck.NewsCheck Media.RetrievedMarch 14,2017.
  19. ^Allabaugh, Denise (January 31, 2019)."Nexstar plans to sell WNEP-TV".citizensvoice.RetrievedFebruary 1,2019.
  20. ^"Acquisition of Tribune Media Company"(PDF).Nexstar Media Group.December 3, 2018.
  21. ^Miller, Mark K. (December 3, 2018)."Nexstar Buying Tribune Media For $6.4 Billion".TVNewsCheck.NewsCheck Media.
  22. ^White, Peter; Hayes, Dade (December 3, 2018)."Nexstar Confirms $4.1B Tribune Media Acquisition To Become Leading Local TV Station Owner".Deadline Hollywood.Penske Media Corporation.
  23. ^Smith, Gerry; Ahmed, Nabila; Newcomer, Eric (December 3, 2018)."Nexstar to buy WGN owner Tribune Media for $4.1 billion".Chicago Tribune.Tribune Publishing.Bloomberg News.
  24. ^Panchadar, Arjun; Rai, Sonam (December 3, 2018)."Nexstar to buy Tribune Media for $4.1 billion".Reuters.
  25. ^Lafayette, Jon (December 3, 2018)."Nexstar Announces Deal to Buy Tribune for $6.4B".Broadcasting & Cable.NewBay Media.
  26. ^Jacobson, Adam (December 3, 2018)."It's Official: Nexstar Takes Tribune In Billion-Dollar Stock Deal".Radio-Television Business Report.Streamline-RBR, Inc.
  27. ^Jessell, Harry A.; Miller, Mark K. (December 3, 2018)."Nexstar To Spin Off $1B In Stations".TVNewsCheck.NewsCheck Media.
  28. ^"Nexstar Media Group Enters into Definitive Agreement to Acquire Tribune Media Company for $6.4 Billion in Accretive Transaction Creating the Nation's Largest Local Television Broadcaster and Local Media Company".Nexstar Media Group.December 3, 2018.RetrievedDecember 3,2018.
  29. ^"Nexstar Media Group Enters Into Definitive Agreement To Acquire Tribune Media Company".Tribune Media.December 3, 2018.RetrievedDecember 3,2018.
  30. ^"Nexstar Selling 19 TVs In 15 Markets For $1.32B".TVNewsCheck.NewsCheckMedia. March 20, 2019.RetrievedMarch 20,2019.
  31. ^Ahmed, Nabila; Sakoui, Anousha (March 20, 2019)."Nexstar to Sell Stations to Tegna, Scripps for $1.32 Billion".Bloomberg News.Bloomberg, L.P.
  32. ^"WAVY TV 10 - News, Weather, Traffic, Sports for Hampton Roads, Virginia - North Eastern North Carolina - Our Apologies".RetrievedOctober 5,2023.
  33. ^"WAVY TV 10 - News, Weather, Traffic, Sports for Hampton Roads, Virginia - North Eastern North Carolina - Chopper 10".RetrievedOctober 5,2023.
  34. ^WAYV News introduces Drone 10wavy November 20, 2015[dead link]
  35. ^"SAME STUFF ON WTKR NEWS AND WGNT".scholar.lib.vt.edu.
  36. ^"WVEC, WPEN TEAM UP ON PRIME-TIME PROGRAMMING".scholar.lib.vt.edu.
  37. ^"13News takes a wider look at life | TOP STORIES".WVEC - News for Hampton Roads, Virginia.Archived fromthe originalon June 10, 2007.RetrievedJuly 18,2008.
  38. ^"Archived copy".Archived fromthe originalon October 6, 2014.RetrievedSeptember 4,2014.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  39. ^"Arts & Entertainment News - The Virginian-Pilot".September 30, 2023.
  40. ^"Local Weather Now 24 Hours a Day".September 9, 1996. Archived fromthe originalon February 20, 2021.
  41. ^"LWS - Your Local Weather Station".Archived fromthe originalon June 14, 2002.
  42. ^"LWS - Your Local Weather Station".Archived fromthe originalon January 30, 2003.
  43. ^ab"WAVY TV 10: Virginia and North Carolina News -The WAVY Weather Station - Your Local Weather on Cable".wavy.Archived fromthe originalon October 26, 2008.RetrievedJanuary 15,2022.
  44. ^"Lloyd Dobyns Jr. Dead: Former NBC News Anchor Dead at 85".The Hollywood Reporter.Associated Press. August 25, 2021.RetrievedAugust 25,2021.
  45. ^Crawford, Nathan (February 25, 2022)."After 45 years, Bruce Rader gives on-air farewell".WAVY-TV.RetrievedFebruary 25,2022.
  46. ^"RabbitEars.Info".rabbitears.info.
  47. ^"Bounce TV, launches September 26"(PDF).vartv.September 23, 2011.RetrievedOctober 5,2023.
  48. ^"The Christian Broadcasting Network Launches CBN News Channel: The First 24-Hour News Channel from a Christian Perspective".CBN News(Press release).Christian Broadcasting Network.October 1, 2018.RetrievedOctober 2,2018.
  49. ^Sinha, Vandana (March 24, 2001). "Digital TV demo shows 'crystal clear' image".The Virginian-Pilot.p. D3.
  50. ^List of Digital Full-Power Stations
  51. ^"WAVY/FOX 43 to continue analog signal".Archived fromthe originalon October 4, 2010.RetrievedFebruary 10,2009.
  52. ^Eggerton, John (August 7, 2009)."LIN TV Develops Blackberry App For Mobile TV Service".Broadcasting & Cable.RetrievedAugust 11,2009.
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