Sunbeam Television
Encyclopedia
Sunbeam Television Corporation is a broadcasting
company based in Miami, Florida
, and owns three television stations in the United States
.
and later purchased South Florida real estate in the years after World War II
, eventually settling in Miami Beach
. Sydney's son, Edmund ("Ed") Ansin, joined his father when the elder Ansin prevailed in a lengthy quest to acquire Miami television station WCKT from the Cox
and Knight publishing families. The Cox/Knight cooperative, Biscayne Television Corporation, had its license to operate the station revoked by the Federal Communications Commission
due to improper contact with an FCC commissioner.
Ed Ansin was installed as WCKT's executive vice president upon Sunbeam's takeover of the station. He became the company's president and chief operating officer after Sydney's death in 1971. WCKT would change its call letters to WSVN
in 1983, and would remain Sunbeam's lone property until 1993, when they acquired WHDH-TV
in Boston from New England Television.
On September 14, 2006, it was announced that Boston's WLVI-TV
would be acquired by Sunbeam from Tribune Broadcasting
. The sale was approved in late November 2006, and Sunbeam took control of the station on December 18, 2006.
affiliate from the day it began operations in 1956. However, it suffered from poor viewership for its local news, and frequently pre-empted lower-rated network programming, much to NBC's chagrin. As NBC rose to ratings prominence during the middle 1980s, the network sought to upgrade its visibility in the growing Miami-Fort Lauderdale market.
In 1987, NBC parent company General Electric
purchased CBS
affiliate WTVJ
, the area's number one news station at the time from investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. Sunbeam immediately sought to block the purchase, and spent over a year fighting NBC in court. As a result of the litigation NBC was forced to run WTVJ as a CBS affiliate for over a year, something neither network was too happy about. Sunbeam's efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, and on December 31, 1988, NBC ended its 32-year relationship with WCKT/WSVN and moved all its programming to WTVJ.
Not long after giving up on NBC, Sunbeam tried to acquire an affiliation with CBS, which was losing WTVJ to NBC after 40 years. However, CBS declined the offer. WSVN was slated to become an independent station. However, as a sidebar to the NBC purchase of WTVJ, CBS acquired independent/Fox affiliate WCIX (now WFOR-TV
) in the spring of 1988, despite its very weak signal. This ended up leaving the young Fox network without a Miami outlet. WSVN and Fox soon agreed to an affiliation deal, initiating a partnership which began on January 1, 1989.
, WSVN came to be known both in and out of South Florida as the station where "if it bleeds, it leads", with the slogan espousing a tabloid
-like philosophy. This sensational approach, along with a flash-heavy visual look, vaulted WSVN from perennial third-place finisher to the market's number-one news operation. It also served as a template for other stations in the Fox affiliate chain for their own newscasts.
The tabloid approach also garnered heavy criticism, both positive and negative, from within the television industry. WSVN continues with this format today, and WHDH-TV adopted it (to a lesser extent) after Sunbeam bought that station in 1993.
fronted by outgoing Tonight Show
host Jay Leno
. Instead, the station said it would simulcast an hour of local news at 10:00 P.M. with its sister station WLVI-TV. In its statement, Sunbeam CEO Ed Ansin cited concerns with both ratings and advertising revenue for its existing 11:00 P.M. newscast as the main impetus for the decision. NBC answered Sunbeam with a threat to strip WHDH of its affiliation. WHDH had offered to air the new program at 11:00 as a compromise, but the network rejected that offer.
With the threats of lawsuits and the strong possibility of NBC making good on its threat, Sunbeam/WHDH-TV reconsidered its decision two weeks later. However Ansin's foresight would later prove to be correct. Viewership for WHDH-TV's 11:00 news dropped 20 percent in the November 2009 sweeps period, and a wave of affiliate complaints about similar decreases would force NBC to end the primetime run of the program on February 11, 2010.
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
company based in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, and owns three television stations in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
History
Sunbeam Television was founded in 1962 by Sydney Ansin, who inherited his family's shoemaking business in MassachusettsMassachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and later purchased South Florida real estate in the years after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, eventually settling in Miami Beach
Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter which separates the Beach from Miami city proper...
. Sydney's son, Edmund ("Ed") Ansin, joined his father when the elder Ansin prevailed in a lengthy quest to acquire Miami television station WCKT from the Cox
Cox Enterprises
Cox Enterprises is the successor to the publishing company founded in Dayton, Ohio, United States, by James Middleton Cox, who began with the Dayton Daily News. He was the Democratic candidate for the President of the United States in the election of 1920...
and Knight publishing families. The Cox/Knight cooperative, Biscayne Television Corporation, had its license to operate the station revoked by the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
due to improper contact with an FCC commissioner.
Ed Ansin was installed as WCKT's executive vice president upon Sunbeam's takeover of the station. He became the company's president and chief operating officer after Sydney's death in 1971. WCKT would change its call letters to WSVN
WSVN
WSVN, channel 7, is a television station located in Miami, Florida, USA. WSVN is owned by Sunbeam Television, and is an affiliate of the Fox Broadcasting Company. The station has its studio facilities located in North Bay Village and transmitter based in north Miami-Dade County.WSVN operates a Key...
in 1983, and would remain Sunbeam's lone property until 1993, when they acquired WHDH-TV
WHDH-TV
WHDH, digital channel 42 , is an NBC-affiliated television station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest NBC station not owned by the network. Owned by Sunbeam Television, WHDH is a sister station to CW affiliate WLVI...
in Boston from New England Television.
On September 14, 2006, it was announced that Boston's WLVI-TV
WLVI-TV
WLVI, digital channel 41, is a television station licensed to Cambridge, Massachusetts which serves as the CW affiliate for the Boston, Massachusetts television market. WLVI is owned by Sunbeam Television, and is a sister station to WHDH, Boston's NBC affiliate. The two stations share studios at...
would be acquired by Sunbeam from Tribune Broadcasting
Tribune Broadcasting
The Tribune Broadcasting Company is a group of radio and television stations located throughout the United States which are owned and operated by the Tribune Company, a media conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois and named for the flagship Chicago Tribune newspaper.- History :Tribune Broadcasting...
. The sale was approved in late November 2006, and Sunbeam took control of the station on December 18, 2006.
Miami loses NBC, gains Fox
Sunbeam's flagship station, WCKT/WSVN in Miami, had been an NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate from the day it began operations in 1956. However, it suffered from poor viewership for its local news, and frequently pre-empted lower-rated network programming, much to NBC's chagrin. As NBC rose to ratings prominence during the middle 1980s, the network sought to upgrade its visibility in the growing Miami-Fort Lauderdale market.
In 1987, NBC parent company General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
purchased CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliate WTVJ
WTVJ
WTVJ, virtual channel 6 , is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC television network, located in Broward County. WTVJ shares its TV studio and office facility with co-owned Telemundo station WSCV in Miramar, Florida, and its transmitter is located near Sun Life Stadium in north...
, the area's number one news station at the time from investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. Sunbeam immediately sought to block the purchase, and spent over a year fighting NBC in court. As a result of the litigation NBC was forced to run WTVJ as a CBS affiliate for over a year, something neither network was too happy about. Sunbeam's efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, and on December 31, 1988, NBC ended its 32-year relationship with WCKT/WSVN and moved all its programming to WTVJ.
Not long after giving up on NBC, Sunbeam tried to acquire an affiliation with CBS, which was losing WTVJ to NBC after 40 years. However, CBS declined the offer. WSVN was slated to become an independent station. However, as a sidebar to the NBC purchase of WTVJ, CBS acquired independent/Fox affiliate WCIX (now WFOR-TV
WFOR-TV
WFOR-TV, virtual channel 4.1 , is the CBS owned-and-operated station in Miami, Florida. WFOR shares its TV studio facilities with sister station WBFS-TV in Doral, near Miami International Airport, and its transmitter is located in Miramar.WFOR-TV also previously had two translator stations in the...
) in the spring of 1988, despite its very weak signal. This ended up leaving the young Fox network without a Miami outlet. WSVN and Fox soon agreed to an affiliation deal, initiating a partnership which began on January 1, 1989.
Sensational news
Not long after becoming a Fox station, WSVN increased its news output (the station currently has more hours of local news than any network-affiliated station in the U.S.). The station also revamped its coverage to place an emphasis on crime stories. Under the direction of news director Joel CheatwoodJoel Cheatwood
Joel Cheatwood is an American television executive best known for creating modern news formats which combine flashy presentation to make news more attractive for younger audiences....
, WSVN came to be known both in and out of South Florida as the station where "if it bleeds, it leads", with the slogan espousing a tabloid
Tabloid television
Tabloid television, also known as Teletabloid, is a form of tabloid journalism. Tabloid television newscasts usually incorporate flashy graphics and sensationalized stories.Often, there is a heavy emphasis on crime, stories with good video, and celebrity news...
-like philosophy. This sensational approach, along with a flash-heavy visual look, vaulted WSVN from perennial third-place finisher to the market's number-one news operation. It also served as a template for other stations in the Fox affiliate chain for their own newscasts.
The tabloid approach also garnered heavy criticism, both positive and negative, from within the television industry. WSVN continues with this format today, and WHDH-TV adopted it (to a lesser extent) after Sunbeam bought that station in 1993.
Boston says no (then yes) to Jay Leno
On April 2, 2009, WHDH-TV in Boston announced that it would not join other NBC affiliates in airing a new hour-long programThe Jay Leno Show
The Jay Leno Show is an American comedy show created by and starring Jay Leno, that aired from September 14, 2009 to February 9, 2010 on NBC following the May 29, 2009 conclusion of Leno's first tenure as host of The Tonight Show...
fronted by outgoing Tonight Show
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
host Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
. Instead, the station said it would simulcast an hour of local news at 10:00 P.M. with its sister station WLVI-TV. In its statement, Sunbeam CEO Ed Ansin cited concerns with both ratings and advertising revenue for its existing 11:00 P.M. newscast as the main impetus for the decision. NBC answered Sunbeam with a threat to strip WHDH of its affiliation. WHDH had offered to air the new program at 11:00 as a compromise, but the network rejected that offer.
With the threats of lawsuits and the strong possibility of NBC making good on its threat, Sunbeam/WHDH-TV reconsidered its decision two weeks later. However Ansin's foresight would later prove to be correct. Viewership for WHDH-TV's 11:00 news dropped 20 percent in the November 2009 sweeps period, and a wave of affiliate complaints about similar decreases would force NBC to end the primetime run of the program on February 11, 2010.
Stations
| DMA# Media market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content... |
City of license City of license A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator.... /Market |
Station | Channel TV Virtual channel In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels.... (RF Digital terrestrial television Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals... ) |
Owned since | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7. | Boston | WHDH-TV WHDH-TV WHDH, digital channel 42 , is an NBC-affiliated television station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest NBC station not owned by the network. Owned by Sunbeam Television, WHDH is a sister station to CW affiliate WLVI... |
7 / 42 | 1993 | NBC NBC The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago... (on 7.1) This TV This TV This TV is a United States general entertainment television network, with a large emphasis in its programming on movies.... (on 7.2) |
| Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent... |
WLVI-TV WLVI-TV WLVI, digital channel 41, is a television station licensed to Cambridge, Massachusetts which serves as the CW affiliate for the Boston, Massachusetts television market. WLVI is owned by Sunbeam Television, and is a sister station to WHDH, Boston's NBC affiliate. The two stations share studios at... |
56 / 41 | 2006 | The CW The CW Television Network The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB... |
|
| 17. | Miami Miami, Florida Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625... - Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010... |
WSVN WSVN WSVN, channel 7, is a television station located in Miami, Florida, USA. WSVN is owned by Sunbeam Television, and is an affiliate of the Fox Broadcasting Company. The station has its studio facilities located in North Bay Village and transmitter based in north Miami-Dade County.WSVN operates a Key... |
7 / 7 | 1962 | Fox Fox Broadcasting Company Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the... |