View source for WSAZ-TV

{{short description|TV station in Huntington, West Virginia}}
{{distinguish|KSAZ-TV}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign = WSAZ-TV
| atsc3 = yes
| city = Huntington, West Virginia
| logo = WSAZ 3 (2024).svg
| logo_size = 200px
| branding = {{ubl|WSAZ, ''WSAZ News''|MeTV Charleston–Huntington (DT2)}}
| analog =
| digital = 22 ([[UHF]])
| virtual = 3
| subchannels =
| translators = W27EF-D 27 (UHF) Charleston
| affiliations = {{ubl|'''3.1:''' [[NBC]]|'''3.2:''' [[MeTV]]/[[MyNetworkTV]]|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| network =
| owner = [[Gray Television]]
| licensee = Gray Television Licensee, [[LLC]]
| location = [[Huntington, West Virginia|Huntington]]–[[Charleston, West Virginia]]
| country = United States
| founded =
| airdate = {{start date and age|1949|11|15|p=y}}
| last_airdate =
| callsign_meaning = derived from former radio sister, now [[WRVC (AM)|WRVC]]
| sister_stations = [[WQCW]]
| former_callsigns =
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 5 ([[VHF]], 1949–1952), 3 (VHF, 1952–2009)|'''Digital:''' 23 (UHF, 2002–2020)}}
| former_affiliations = {{ubl|'''All secondary:'''|[[CBS]] (1949–1954)|[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] (1949–1955)|[[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]] (1949–1956)}}
| erp = 800 [[kW]]
| haat = {{convert|385.7|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| class =
| facility_id = 36912
| coordinates = {{coord|38|30|36.3|N|82|13|9.5|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|display=inline, title}}
| licensing_authority = [[FCC]]
| website = {{URL|https://www.wsaz.com/}}
}}
'''WSAZ-TV''' (channel 3) is a [[television station]] licensed to [[Huntington, West Virginia]], United States, affiliated with [[NBC]]. It serves the [[Charleston, West Virginia|Charleston]]–Huntington [[media market|market]], the second-largest television market (in terms of geographical area) east of the [[Mississippi River]]; the station's coverage area includes 31 counties in central [[West Virginia]], eastern [[Kentucky]] and southeastern [[Ohio]]. WSAZ-TV is owned by [[Gray Television]] alongside [[Portsmouth, Ohio]]–licensed [[The CW|CW]] affiliate [[WQCW]] (channel 30). The two stations share studios on 5th Avenue in Huntington, with an additional studio and newsroom on Columbia Avenue in Charleston. WSAZ-TV's transmitter is located on Barker Ridge near [[Milton, West Virginia]].
==History==
===Early years===
The oldest television station in West Virginia, WSAZ-TV, began broadcasting November 15, 1949, on VHF channel 5.<ref>"[https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1949/1949-11-21-BC.pdf WSAZ-TV; Folsom, McConnell attend opening event]". ''[[Broadcasting - Telecasting]]'', November 21, 1949, pg. 57. Retrieved August 8, 2018.</ref>  The station was originally owned by the Huntington Publishing Company along with the Huntington ''[[Herald-Dispatch]]'' and WSAZ radio (930 AM, now [[WRVC (AM)|WRVC]]), and carried programming from all four networks at the time (NBC, [[CBS]], [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], and [[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]]). However, it was a primary NBC affiliate due to WSAZ radio's long affiliation with [[NBC Radio]]. When [[WCHS-TV]] (channel 8) signed on from Charleston in 1954, it took over the CBS affiliation and the two television stations shared ABC programming until WHTN-TV (channel 13, now [[WOWK-TV]]) signed on from Huntington a year later. In 1955, WSAZ-TV dropped DuMont after the network shut down. It is the only commercial station in the market that has never changed its primary affiliation.
One story of how the station's call letters originated dates from WSAZ radio's origins in 1923, when radio engineer Glenn Chase began airing semi-regular broadcasts from [[Pomeroy, Ohio]]. It moved across and down the Ohio River to Huntington in 1926, in part because Chase had his hands full keeping the station going. Chase later claimed that the station proved such a headache to him that he asked for the call letters WSAZ to signify that it was the "Worst Station from A to Z." A more likely explanation is that the call letters were sequentially assigned by the [[United States Department of Commerce]] after WSAX in [[Chicago]] (now defunct) and [[WXXI (AM)|WSAY]] in [[Port Chester, New York]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wvculture.org/goldenseal/Winter01/wsaz.html|title=WSAZ Radio: "The Worst Station from A to Z"|publisher=West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History|work=[[Goldenseal (magazine)|Goldenseal]]|date=2001}}</ref><ref name=HeraldDispatch>{{cite news|url=https://www.herald-dispatch.com/special/lost_huntington/lost-huntington-wsaz-radio/article_25908e78-c81b-5a96-8ae6-273e1e0c9fed.html|title=Lost Huntington: WSAZ Radio|first1=James E.|last1=Casto|publisher=[[Herald-Dispatch]]|date=November 19, 2018}}</ref> However, the myth persists that the calls stand for "Worst Station from A to Z", which WSAZ radio itself helped spread by using it as a slogan for many years.
In 1950, WSAZ-TV received [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) permission to build a private microwave link to [[Cincinnati]] allowing viewers to get NBC programming live. As one of the nation's first privately owned microwave systems, it was a remarkable feat for one of the smallest cities in the country to have a television station (at that time). The first live broadcast was scheduled for a [[Labor Day]] [[baseball]] game, but the system broke down for four hours and forced WSAZ to broadcast a fire at a nearby hotel. The Cincinnati link was replaced in favor of one from [[Columbus, Ohio]], in 1952.
Also in 1952, the FCC released its ''Sixth Report and Order'', which ended the four-year-long freeze in awarding station licenses and included a realignment of VHF channel assignments. As a result, WSAZ-TV moved to channel 3 to alleviate interference with fellow NBC affiliate [[WLWT]] in Cincinnati.<ref>"TV coverage; RTMA predicts expansion." ''Broadcasting - Telecasting'', May 19, 1952, pg. 78. [http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-IDX/52-OCR/1952-05-19-BC-0078.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://www.webcitation.org/6Ez7cgzPV?url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-IDX/52-OCR/1952-05-19-BC-0078.pdf|date=March 9, 2013}}</ref>  The channel move also created an opening for a new channel 5 station in [[Weston, West Virginia|Weston]], which signed on as WJPB-TV (now sister station [[WDTV]]) in March 1954. As part of the frequency switch, the FCC granted WSAZ a boost in broadcast power, which at the time, was the highest ever authorized for a television station. This allowed the station to penetrate more of its huge viewing area, most of which is a very rugged [[dissected plateau]]. However, as the regulation of domestic television stations was normalized, WSAZ's signal strength was reduced to the same levels as others in 1956. The station's transmission tower was the tallest in [[North America]] until (now sister station) [[WIS-TV]] in [[Columbia, South Carolina]], activated a taller tower in 1959.
===Later years===
Huntington Publishing sold WSAZ-AM-TV to Goodwill Stations, owner of [[WJR (AM)|WJR radio]] in [[Detroit]] and [[WJRT-TV]] in [[Flint, Michigan]], in 1961 for $6 million–<ref>"[https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1961/1961-02-06-BC.pdf WJR officials sign to purchase WSAZ-AM-TV]". ''Broadcasting'', February 6, 1961, pg. 51. Retrieved August 9, 2018.</ref><ref>"[https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1961/1961-04-03-BC.pdf The dam breaks in station sales]." ''Broadcasting'', April 3, 1961, pp. 33-35. Retrieved August 9, 2018.</ref> a handsome return on its purchase of a stake in WSAZ radio in 1927<ref name=HeraldDispatch/> (it bought full control in 1929).
Goodwill was merged into [[Capital Cities Communications]] in 1964.<ref>"[https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1964/1964-03-02-BC.pdf Another group gets bigger]." ''Broadcasting'', March 2, 1964, pg. 64. Retrieved August 9, 2018.</ref> Capital Cities spun off the WSAZ stations in 1971 as a result of its purchase of several stations from [[Triangle Publications]], with WSAZ radio going to Stoner Broadcasting,<ref>"[https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1970/1970-05-25-BC.pdf Capcities sells its AM in Huntington, W.Va]." ''Broadcasting'', May 25, 1970, pg. 50. Retrieved August 9, 2018.</ref> and channel 3 being acquired by [[Lee Enterprises]].<ref>"[https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1970/1970-04-13-BC.pdf Another spin-off by Capcities: WSAZ-TV goes next, to Lee Enterprises for $18 million]." ''Broadcasting'', April 13, 1970, pg. 46. Retrieved August 9, 2018.</ref> [[Emmis Communications]] bought the station in 2000 after Lee decided to bow out of broadcasting. Emmis then sold WSAZ to [[Gray Television]] in 2005. The Gray purchase made WSAZ-TV a sister station to fellow NBC affiliate [[WTAP-TV]] (channel 15) in [[Parkersburg]].
Being based in Huntington, WSAZ-TV is located {{convert|50|mi|km|0}} away from West Virginia's state capital, Charleston. As such, the station opened a branch studio there in 1956. It also launched a [[low-power broadcasting#Television|low-powered]] repeater on UHF channel 23 to serve the Kanawha Valley in 1995. While Charleston and its close-in suburbs receive the main WSAZ signal very well, it was marginal at best in much of the Kanawha Valley due to the area's rugged terrain. The translator was moved to channel 16 in 2003.
==News operation==
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[[File:WSAZ-TV.png|thumb|Former "WSAZ NewsChannel 3" logo, used from 2000 to 2024. This HD variant was used from 2011 onward.]]
Largely because of its pioneering status in the state, WSAZ is one of the country's most dominant television stations. It has been the far-and-away market leader for most of the time since records have been kept, usually boasting some of the highest-rated newscasts in the country. WCHS and WOWK have rarely come close. The station came in a close second to WCHS for a short period in late 2009–early 2010 due to lower lead-in numbers originated by ''[[The Jay Leno Show]]''. It is one of the few times in memory that WSAZ has lost ''any'' timeslot. WSAZ has since regained first place in all timeslots. In May 2012, WSAZ had the highest rated nightly news at 6&nbsp;p.m. of any station in the top 100 television markets in the United States, with its 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. newscasts ranking number-two among the Top 100. The station has always devoted significant resources to its news department, resulting in a higher-quality product than conventional wisdom would suggest for what has always been a small-to-medium market.
Since 1956, WSAZ's newscasts have featured two anchors, one based at the main studios in Huntington and the other in Charleston. NBC studied the format and used it as the basis for ''[[The Huntley-Brinkley Report]]'' anchored by [[Chet Huntley]] in [[New York City]] and [[David Brinkley]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] All of the [[Big Three television networks|big three networks]] have used this approach at one time or another since then.
[[File:Wsaz charleston.png|thumb|right|Former "WSAZ Charleston" logo, used until 2017.]]
From 1995 to 2017, WSAZ used W16CE to provide viewers with a "split" newscast. Weeknights at 5:30, 6 and 11, the two anchors appeared together on screen until a certain point (usually 10–15 minutes into the newscast) when the show "split". For the remainder of the newscast, W16CE viewers and [[Suddenlink]] subscribers in the [[Charleston metropolitan area, West Virginia|Kanawha Valley]] saw a newscast targeted specifically to them. The main station's viewers, cable subscribers in the Huntington area, and satellite viewers across the market, saw a newscast featuring coverage from Kentucky and Ohio as well as West Virginia. WSAZ called this concept "two-city news".<ref name="WSAZsplit">{{cite web|url=http://www.wsaz.com/home/misc/Charleston_Split_18322959.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130922071120/http://www.wsaz.com/home/misc/Charleston_Split_18322959.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 22, 2013|title=The Charleston Split|publisher=WSAZ-TV|access-date=July 27, 2013}}</ref> This ended in 2017 when W16CE was shut down, but the newscasts still feature one anchor based in Huntington and one anchor based in Charleston. Outside of the aforementioned newscasts, all shows originate from the Huntington facilities. The weather and sports departments are also based there. In July 1993, WSAZ's weeknight ''First at Five'' broadcast was launched.
Since the station has traditionally been one of NBC's strongest affiliates, the network has been rumored on several occasions to buying WSAZ. However, [[NBCUniversal]] has recently sold off many of its stations outside the top 15 markets. Huntington–Charleston is currently the 70th market (the only market in the state in the top 100). Also, NBC has owned only one television station located outside the top 50 markets.
Rumors abounded soon after the Gray Television purchase of WSAZ that WTAP would scrap its news department and simulcast WSAZ's newscasts instead. WSAZ has always covered Parkersburg events anyway and has long been available on cable on the West Virginia side of that market. However, WTAP's broadcasts bring in as much revenue as WSAZ in part because WTAP is the only full-power station in Parkersburg.
WSAZ-DT2 formerly produced a prime time newscast every night for a half-hour, originally known as ''MyZTV Ten O'Clock News''; however, when Gray Television bought full-power [[WQCW]], it moved WSAZ's 10 p.m. news to that station and expanded that newscast to a full hour. WSAZ-DT2 currently only repeats the second hour of ''WSAZ NewsChannel 3 Today'' weekdays at 7 a.m.
WSAZ remodeled the Huntington and Charleston newsrooms in late 2010 to prepare for [[high-definition television|high definition]] broadcasts. On June 26, 2011, at 6 p.m., WSAZ launched the first high-definition newscast in the Charleston–Huntington market. This was the second station in the state of West Virginia, following sister station WTAP in Parkersburg. Before the transition, the Charleston–Huntington market was the largest without a newscast in either high definition or 16:9 [[enhanced definition]] widescreen.
==Technical information==
===Subchannels===
The station's ATSC 1.0 channels are carried on the [[multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]] signals of other Charleston–Huntington TV stations:
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Subchannels provided by WSAZ-TV (ATSC 1.0)<ref>[http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WQCW#station RabbitEars TV Query for WQCW]</ref><ref>[http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WVAH#station RabbitEars TV Query for WVAH]</ref><ref>[http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WOWK#station RabbitEars TV Query for WOWK]</ref><ref>[http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WCHS#station RabbitEars TV Query for WCHS]</ref>
! scope = "col" | [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! scope = "col" | [[Display resolution|Res.]]
! scope = "col" | [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! scope = "col" | Short name
! scope = "col" | Programming
! scope = "col" | ATSC 1.0 host
|-
! scope = "row" | 3.1
| [[1080i]] || rowspan=5|[[16:9]] || WSAZHD || [[NBC]] || [[WQCW]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 3.2
| rowspan=4|[[480i]] || MyZTV || [[MyNetworkTV]] / [[MeTV]] || rowspan="2"|[[WVAH-TV]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 3.3
| Outlaw || [[Outlaw (TV network)|Outlaw]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 3.4
| DABL || [[Dabl]] || [[WOWK-TV]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 3.5
| Justice || [[True Crime Network]] || [[WCHS-TV]]
|}
On September 5, 2006, WSAZ launched a new second [[digital subchannel]] to be the area's [[MyNetworkTV]] affiliate, under the branding "MY Z". Although it is a digital subchannel, many local cable companies, as well as satellite provider [[DirecTV]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/global/contentPageIFnorail.jsp?assetId=P4880022#h:617.806|title = Local/Network Channel Availability}}</ref> air WSAZ-DT2 as a separate channel on their systems. At first, it carried [[infomercial]]s other than during the prime time MNT programming, but on August 29, 2009, it began a secondary affiliation with [[This TV]] carrying programming from that network during the daytime, late nights, and on weekends. MY Z also aired second showings of some of WSAZ's syndicated programs. MY Z also produced a 10 p.m. newscast, but this was moved to the full-power WQCW when WSAZ's owners acquired that station. On August 26, 2015, WSAZ announced it was dropping This TV and affiliating with the [[MeTV]] network, carrying MeTV programming from 2:30&nbsp;a.m. to 6 p.m., except for a one-hour repeat of the WSAZ morning news at 7 a.m.; syndicated programs from 6 to 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. to 2:30&nbsp;a.m.; and MyNetworkTV programming from 8 to 10 p.m. with MeTV all day on weekends. As contracts for syndicated programming expired, MeTV programming was added to those slots. As of 2021, MyNetworkTV programming airs from 2 to 4 a.m. on Tuesday through Saturday mornings, an increasingly common fate for the service.
===Analog-to-digital conversion===
WSAZ-TV ended regular programming on its analog signal, over [[VHF]] channel 3, on February 17, 2009, the original target date on which full-power television stations in the United States were to [[Digital television transition in the United States|transition from analog to digital broadcasts]] under federal mandate (which was later pushed back to June 12, 2009). The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition [[UHF]] channel 23, using [[virtual channel]] 3.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20081208092154/http://www.wsaz.com/station/misc/2441702.html Digital Television Information]</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds |access-date=March 24, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |archive-date=August 29, 2013 }}</ref>
===ATSC 3.0 lighthouse===
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Subchannels of WSAZ-TV (ATSC 3.0)<ref name=rei>{{cite web|title=Digital TV Market Listing for WSAZ|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WSAZ#station|website=[[RabbitEars.info]]|access-date=June 2, 2020}}</ref>
! style="background-color: #bdbdff" scope = "col" | [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! style="background-color: #bdbdff" scope = "col" | [[Display resolution|Res.]]
! style="background-color: #bdbdff" scope = "col" | [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! style="background-color: #bdbdff" scope = "col" | Short name
! style="background-color: #bdbdff" scope = "col" | Programming
|-
! scope = "row" | 3.1
| [[1080p]] || rowspan=6|[[16:9]] || style="background-color:#ffe8d0|WSAZ || style="background-color:#ffe8d0|[[NBC]] [[File:Action lock 2 - orange.svg|14px|alt=DRM|link=]]
|-
! scope = "row" | [[WCHS-TV|8.1]]
| [[720p]] || WCHS8 || [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] ([[WCHS-TV]])
|-
! scope = "row" | 8.10
| 1080p || style="background-color:#ffffd0|T2 || style="background-color:#ffffd0|[[Tennis Channel#Streaming channels|T2]]
|-
! scope = "row" | [[WVAH-TV|11.1]]
| [[480p]] || WVAH-TV || [[Catchy Comedy]] ([[WVAH-TV]])
|-
! scope = "row" | [[WOWK-TV|13.1]]
| rowspan=2|1080p || WOWKCBS || [[CBS]] ([[WOWK-TV]])
|-
! scope = "row" | [[WQCW|30.1]]
| style="background-color:#ffe8d0|WQCW || style="background-color:#ffe8d0|[[The CW]] ([[WQCW]]) [[File:Action lock 2 - orange.svg|14px|alt=DRM|link=]]
|}
{{legend|#ffe8d0|Subchannel broadcast with [[digital rights management]]}}
{{legend|#ffffd0|Subchannel streamed via the Internet<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rabbitears.info/static.php?name=atsc3_streaming|title=ATSC 3.0 Streams Delivered Via Internet|website=[[RabbitEars.info]]|accessdate=March 24, 2024}}</ref>}}
===Translator===
*'''{{FCC-LMS-Facility|36921|3=W27EF-D}}''' [[Charleston, West Virginia|Charleston]]
Charleston translator W16CE was awarded a [[construction permit]] for a new digital signal on channel 27 on August 16, 2018. This signal was signed on November 25, 2020, with the new callsign '''W27EF-D'''.<ref>{{cite web |title=W16CE Facility Data - LMS #54050 |url=https://fccdata.org/?appid=25076f91633cf92d016359758ec32710&facid=36921 |website=FCCData}}</ref> An earlier permit for digital channel 15 expired unbuilt in August 2015.<ref>{{cite web |title=W16CE Facility Data - CDBS App #BDISDTL-20120605ABM |url=https://fccdata.org/?appid=1497315&facid=36921 |website=FCCData}}</ref>
==See also==
*[[Channel 3 virtual TV stations in the United States]]
*[[Channel 22 digital TV stations in the United States]]
*''[[Mr. Cartoon]]'', a local children's program produced and aired on WSAZ that aired for over 30 years
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*{{Official website|https://www.wsaz.com/}}
*[https://www.wsaz.com/station/myztv WSAZ-DT2]
*{{FCC-LMS-Facility|36921|W27EF-D}}
*[http://jeff560.tripod.com/wsaz2.html WSAZ-TV history]
{{HuntingtonCharlestonTV}}
{{West Virginia TV}}
{{NBC Kentucky}}
{{NBC Ohio}}
{{Gray TV}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wsaz-Tv}}
[[Category:1949 establishments in West Virginia]]
[[Category:ATSC 3.0 television stations]]
[[Category:Dabl affiliates]]
[[Category:Gray Television]]
[[Category:MeTV affiliates]]
[[Category:NBC affiliates]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1949]]
[[Category:Television stations in the Charleston–Huntington market|SAZ-TV]]