WESH
Encyclopedia
WESH is the NBC
affiliate in Orlando, Florida
. It is licensed to Daytona Beach, with studio facilities in Winter Park
. It transmits its digital signal on VHF channel 11, which redirects to virtual channel 2.1, reflecting its former analog channel assignment, through PSIP. It is currently owned by Hearst Television along with the area's CW
affiliate, WKCF
. WESH's transmitter is located in Christmas
and digital translators in Orange City
(at the former analog tower) and Ocala
. At the time the tower was built, it was the tallest man-made structure in Florida, at 1,740 feet (530 m). WESH-TV can be seen on Bright House Networks
channel 4, channel 2 in outlying areas and Comcast channel 3.
Since the Gainesville market didn't carry a local NBC service, the station also served as the default NBC affiliate for the Gainesville
market; this changed on January 1, 2009, when WNBW
channel 9, the NBC affiliate for Gainesville, signed on the air (though Cox
plan to keep WESH on its lineup). WESH can also be seen on the fringes of the Tampa Bay
and Jacksonville
markets.
WESH was the first station in Orlando to carry an on-site radar
facility, "SuperDoppler 2", as opposed to relying on National Weather Service
radars. It is installed on top of the tower located at the Winter Park broadcast studio. Today it also promotes a VIPIR
3D radar system, taking advantage of the fact that the radars at Melbourne
, Tampa
, Jacksonville and Miami
can all reach Orlando, in addition to "SuperDoppler 2."
as a digital subchannel
2.2; national WX+ operations have since been terminated by the originating network, effective December 1, 2008.
In addition to Weather Plus programming, WESH's 2.2 subchannel was previously used to carry NBC Daytime
and syndicated programming from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., to accommodate Casey Anthony trial coverage on WESH's primary channel. The arrangement did not include NBC Sports
' weekday coverage of the U.S. Open
and Wimbledon
, which were instead seen on WKCF. On July 11, 2011, WESH replaced the weather programming on subchannel 2.2 with Me-TV.
As part of the analog television shutdown and digital conversion
, WESH shut down its analog transmitter on June 12, 2009, and continued to broadcast on its pre-transition digital channel 11. However, through the use of PSIP
, digital television receivers display WESH's virtual channel
as 2. WESH is the only VHF station in Orlando after the DTV transition, since WFTV
and WKMG-TV
opted for the UHF dial instead.
just before the station went on the air. The original studio was located in Holly Hill
, near Daytona Beach.
WESH has always been an NBC affiliate. However, WESH's original tower was only 300 feet (91.4 m) high, which was tiny even by 1950s standards. This limited its coverage to Volusia County. As such, it shared the NBC affiliation in Central Florida with WDBO-TV (now WKMG-TV
). It finally became the sole NBC affiliate for the Central Florida market on November 5, 1957. On that day, the station activated a new 1000 feet (304.8 m) tower in Orange City. WESH's analog tower was located farther north than the other major Orlando stations because of Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) rules at the time requiring a station's tower to be within 15 miles (24.1 km) of its city of license
. Also, WESH analog was short-spaced to WTHS-TV (channel 2, now WPBT
), the PBS
member station in Miami.
Perry sold WESH to Cowles Communications
of Des Moines, Iowa
in 1965. Cowles later moved its headquarters to Daytona Beach, and built a satellite studio in Winter Park. WESH was the only NBC affiliate under Cowles Communications ownership; during various points in the company's history Cowles also owned at least three CBS
-affiliated stations and two ABC
affiliates (one of the two ABC affiliates, WHTN-TV (now WOWK-TV
) in Huntington, West Virginia
, was affiliated with CBS and ABC on separate occasions during Cowles ownership; that station has since switched back to CBS). Cowles exited broadcasting in 1984 and sold two of its stations, WESH and Des Moines' KCCI
, to H&C Communications
of Houston. Under H&C, WESH closed its original Holly Hill studio in 1989, replacing it with a new studio on Ridgewood Avenue (U.S. 1
), near International Speedway Boulevard (US 92) in Daytona Beach. The station's primary operations also moved to a brand new studio in Winter Park in 1991, located on Wymore Road, alongside Interstate 4
.
In 1980, while still owned by Cowles, the station built its current tower on the same site as the 1000 feet (304.8 m) tower. The new tower allowed for WESH to expand its coverage into areas like Lakeland
, Gainesville, and St. Augustine
. The channel 2 signal traveled a very long distance under normal conditions. The 1000 feet (304.8 m) tower was dismantled in the late 80's.
The Hobby family, owners of H&C, exited broadcasting in 1995, selling off its stations to various owners. WESH and KCCI were sold to Pulitzer
. Pulitzer sold its entire broadcasting division, including WESH and KCCI, to Hearst-Argyle in 1999. This gave WESH its third owner in 15 years.
On May 8, 2006, Hearst-Argyle announced its purchase of then-WB
(now CW
) affiliate WKCF
from Emmis Communications
. Emmis is also exiting broadcast television so it could concentrate on radio. This acquisition was completed on August 31, 2006; resulting in Orlando's third commercial duopoly operation. Orlando's other two duoplies are Cox
-owned WFTV
/WRDQ
and Fox
-owned WOFL
/WRBW
. WESH began producing a morning newscast for WKCF in January 2007. WESH also produces a nightly weathercast for its independent
sister station serving the Tampa Bay market, WMOR-TV
who brands it as Bikini Cast.
WESH began broadcasting newscasts in high definition
on November 1, 2007, making WESH the second station in Orlando to broadcast its local newscasts in HD behind WFTV
, and the fourth Hearst-Argyle station to broadcast its local newscasts in HD. http://www.wesh.com/hd/index.html Their graphics are similar in ways to sister stations WCVB and KMBC. As part of the HD revamp, music from the NBC Collection (which they used for openings, teases and bumpers since 2005) officially replaced the mandated Hearst TV News Music package while the chimes of "Where the News Comes First" were retained during the weekly forecast. However, as of November 2008, the Hearst TV News Music Package (with the de facto "Where the News Comes First" signature) has been fully reinstated.
As of May 2009, WESH is the only station in Central Florida which airs a newscast at 4 p.m. since WKMG cancelled its late afternoon newscasts. On November 30, 2009, WESH debuted new opens, updated graphics and a new station slogan ("Local. Live. Late Breaking.") on their 4 p.m. newscast.
In April 2010, WESH unveiled new technology for its news helicopter "Chopper 2"; it became the first and, until June 2010, only news station in Central Florida to bring high-definition pictures (WFTV upgraded the camera for their news chopper ("Skywitness 9") to HD a few months later). The primary news anchors
at WESH are Martha Sugalski and Jim Payne. The position of "Chief Meteorologist" was formerly held by Dave Marsh, who retired on July 31, 2006, after 37 years at WESH. Tony Mainolfi was named the new "Chief Meteorologist" on May 3, 2007.
(which concluded its original run in May 2011) on WFTV by a wide margin. This coincided with NBC's recent ratings struggles.
Throughout much of the first half of 2009, WESH's ratings became much more competitive with once-dominant WFTV, especially in the key Adults 25-54 demographic. This was attributed not to an increase in WESH's ratings but to the decrease in the viewership ratings of its major rivals (in other words, WESH remained flat while the others plummeted). That mini-resurgence was short-lived, however, as WFTV regained its dominance as of the November 2009 sweeps period while WESH retreated back to third behind WKMG except on weekday evenings. WESH was one of many NBC affiliates across the country that benefitted from the network coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics
during the February sweeps ratings period: Its late-night newscast beat WFTV's by a small margin. Since then WESH has maintained a solid #2 ranking in most of its newscasts.
WESH 2 Weather
Sports team
Reporters
Hearst Television Washington Bureau
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...
affiliate in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
. It is licensed to Daytona Beach, with studio facilities in Winter Park
Winter Park, Florida
Winter Park is a suburban city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 24,090 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2006 estimates, the city had a population of 28,083. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. It transmits its digital signal on VHF channel 11, which redirects to virtual channel 2.1, reflecting its former analog channel assignment, through PSIP. It is currently owned by Hearst Television along with the area's 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...
affiliate, WKCF
WKCF
WKCF is the CW-affiliated television station for Central Florida licensed to Clermont. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 17 from a transmitter in unincorporated Bithlo. The station can also be seen on Bright House Networks channel 8 and Comcast channel 13...
. WESH's transmitter is located in Christmas
Christmas, Florida
Christmas is a census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,162 at the 2000 census. Christmas is home to the world's largest alligator shaped building,...
and digital translators in Orange City
Orange City, Florida
Orange City is a city located in Volusia County, Florida. In the 2000 census the city had a total population of 6,604. In 2004 the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 7,172.-Geography:Orange City is located at ....
(at the former analog tower) and Ocala
Ocala, Florida
Ocala is a city in Marion County, Florida. As of 2007, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 53,491. It is the county seat of Marion County, and the principal city of the Ocala, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated 2007 population of 324,857.-History:Ocala...
. At the time the tower was built, it was the tallest man-made structure in Florida, at 1,740 feet (530 m). WESH-TV can be seen on Bright House Networks
Bright House Networks
Bright House Networks is a cable television company, the seventh largest cable operator and the sixth largest traditional multiple system operator in the United States owned by Advance/Newhouse, headquartered in Syracuse, New York...
channel 4, channel 2 in outlying areas and Comcast channel 3.
Since the Gainesville market didn't carry a local NBC service, the station also served as the default NBC affiliate for the Gainesville
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
market; this changed on January 1, 2009, when WNBW
WNBW (TV)
WNBW-DT is the NBC-affiliated television station for North Central Florida licensed to Gainesville. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 9 from a transmitter in Newberry. The station can also be seen on Cox and CommuniComm Services channel 9. There is a high definition feed...
channel 9, the NBC affiliate for Gainesville, signed on the air (though Cox
Cox Communications
Cox Communications is a privately owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises providing digital cable television, telecommunications and wireless services in the United States...
plan to keep WESH on its lineup). WESH can also be seen on the fringes of the Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay Area
The Tampa Bay Area is the region of west central Florida adjacent to Tampa Bay. Definitions of the region vary. It is often considered equivalent to the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area defined by the United States Census Bureau. The Census Bureau currently...
and Jacksonville
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
markets.
WESH was the first station in Orlando to carry an on-site radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
facility, "SuperDoppler 2", as opposed to relying on National Weather Service
National Weather Service
The National Weather Service , once known as the Weather Bureau, is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States government...
radars. It is installed on top of the tower located at the Winter Park broadcast studio. Today it also promotes a VIPIR
VIPIR
Volumetric Imaging and Processing of Integrated Radar, known by the acronym VIPIR, is a type of post-processing program applied to traditional radar systems and is distributed by Baron Weather Solutions...
3D radar system, taking advantage of the fact that the radars at Melbourne
Melbourne, Florida
Melbourne is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. As of 2009, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 78,323. The municipal area is the second largest by size and by population in the county. Melbourne is a principal city of the Palm Bay – Melbourne – Titusville, Florida...
, Tampa
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
, Jacksonville and 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...
can all reach Orlando, in addition to "SuperDoppler 2."
Digital programming
WESH had carried NBC Weather PlusNBC Weather Plus
NBC Weather Plus was a 24-hour, commercially sponsored, weather-oriented broadcast/cable television network jointly owned by NBC Universal and the local affiliates of the NBC network. It debuted on November 15, 2004 and shut down on December 31, 2008...
as a digital subchannel
Digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
2.2; national WX+ operations have since been terminated by the originating network, effective December 1, 2008.
| Channel | Video | Aspect Aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,... |
Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1 | 1080i 1080i 1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels... |
16:9 16:9 16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ... |
Main WESH programming / NBC |
| 2.2 | 480i 480i 480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC... |
4:3 | Me-TV |
In addition to Weather Plus programming, WESH's 2.2 subchannel was previously used to carry NBC Daytime
NBC Daytime
NBC Daytime is the schedule for the NBC television network's daytime television programming which consists of morning news program Today and soap opera Days of our Lives...
and syndicated programming from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., to accommodate Casey Anthony trial coverage on WESH's primary channel. The arrangement did not include NBC Sports
NBC Sports
NBC Sports is the sports division of the NBC television network. Formerly "a service of NBC News," it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, the NHL, MLS, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the Triple Crown, and the French Open, among others...
' weekday coverage of the U.S. Open
U.S. Open (golf)
The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...
and Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
, which were instead seen on WKCF. On July 11, 2011, WESH replaced the weather programming on subchannel 2.2 with Me-TV.
As part of the analog television shutdown and digital conversion
DTV transition in the United States
The DTV transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...
, WESH shut down its analog transmitter on June 12, 2009, and continued to broadcast on its pre-transition digital channel 11. However, through the use of PSIP
Program and System Information Protocol
The Program and System Information Protocol is the protocol used in the ATSC digital television system for carrying metadata about each channel in the broadcast MPEG transport stream of a TV station and for publishing information about television programs so that viewers can select what to watch...
, digital television receivers display WESH's virtual channel
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....
as 2. WESH is the only VHF station in Orlando after the DTV transition, since WFTV
WFTV
WFTV, channel 9, is the ABC-affiliated television station for Central Florida that is licensed to Orlando. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter between Bithlo and Christmas. Owned by Cox Enterprises, WFTV is sister to Independent WRDQ. The two stations...
and WKMG-TV
WKMG-TV
WKMG-TV channel 6 is the CBS network affiliate for Central Florida . WKMG is licensed to Orlando and is owned and operated by Post-Newsweek Stations, Inc., a subsidiary of the Washington Post Company. The station refers to itself as "Local6". WKMG's transmitter is located in Bithlo, Florida...
opted for the UHF dial instead.
History
WESH first went on the air on June 11, 1956. Businessman W. Wright Esch (for whom the station is named) won the license, but sold it to Perry Publications of Palm BeachPalm Beach, Florida
The Town of Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The Intracoastal Waterway separates it from the neighboring cities of West Palm Beach and Lake Worth...
just before the station went on the air. The original studio was located in Holly Hill
Holly Hill, Florida
Holly Hill is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. The population was 12,119 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 12,586...
, near Daytona Beach.
WESH has always been an NBC affiliate. However, WESH's original tower was only 300 feet (91.4 m) high, which was tiny even by 1950s standards. This limited its coverage to Volusia County. As such, it shared the NBC affiliation in Central Florida with WDBO-TV (now WKMG-TV
WKMG-TV
WKMG-TV channel 6 is the CBS network affiliate for Central Florida . WKMG is licensed to Orlando and is owned and operated by Post-Newsweek Stations, Inc., a subsidiary of the Washington Post Company. The station refers to itself as "Local6". WKMG's transmitter is located in Bithlo, Florida...
). It finally became the sole NBC affiliate for the Central Florida market on November 5, 1957. On that day, the station activated a new 1000 feet (304.8 m) tower in Orange City. WESH's analog tower was located farther north than the other major Orlando stations because of 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...
(FCC) rules at the time requiring a station's tower to be within 15 miles (24.1 km) of its 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....
. Also, WESH analog was short-spaced to WTHS-TV (channel 2, now WPBT
WPBT
WPBT is a PBS member public television station that serves the entire South Florida region, and even including portions of the Treasure Coast, the only television station to serve the entire metropolis...
), the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
member station in Miami.
Perry sold WESH to Cowles Communications
Cowles Media Company
Cowles Media Company was a newspaper, magazine and information publishing company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the United States. The company operated Cowles Business Media, Cowles Creative Publishing and Cowles Enthusiast Media units. The McClatchy Company purchased Cowles Media in 1998...
of Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
in 1965. Cowles later moved its headquarters to Daytona Beach, and built a satellite studio in Winter Park. WESH was the only NBC affiliate under Cowles Communications ownership; during various points in the company's history Cowles also owned at least three 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...
-affiliated stations and two ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
affiliates (one of the two ABC affiliates, WHTN-TV (now WOWK-TV
WOWK-TV
WOWK-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for the Tri-States and Kanawha Valley area of West Virginia that is licensed to Huntington which is the second largest market east of the Mississippi River. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 13 from a transmitter...
) in Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia, along the Ohio River. Most of the city is in Cabell County, for which it is the county seat. A small portion of the city, mainly the neighborhood of Westmoreland, is in Wayne County. Its population was 49,138 at...
, was affiliated with CBS and ABC on separate occasions during Cowles ownership; that station has since switched back to CBS). Cowles exited broadcasting in 1984 and sold two of its stations, WESH and Des Moines' KCCI
KCCI
KCCI is a television station that broadcasts on channel 8 in Des Moines, Iowa. It is affiliated with the CBS television network and serves most of central Iowa. Owned by Hearst Television, KCCI has studios in downtown Des Moines. The station's transmitter is located in Alleman, Iowa, about midway...
, to H&C Communications
H&C Communications
H&C Communications is a now defunct corporation that owned a number of media outlets throughout the United States.Originally known as Channel 2 Television Company, it was created in 1983 to unite the Hobby family's television & radio interests under one umbrella after the Houston Post, their...
of Houston. Under H&C, WESH closed its original Holly Hill studio in 1989, replacing it with a new studio on Ridgewood Avenue (U.S. 1
U.S. Route 1 in Florida
U.S. Route 1 in Florida runs along the state's east coast from Key West to its crossing of the St. Marys River into Georgia north of Boulogne, and south of Folkston. US 1 was designated through Florida when the U.S. Highway System was established in 1926.US 1 runs in the state of Florida, and...
), near International Speedway Boulevard (US 92) in Daytona Beach. The station's primary operations also moved to a brand new studio in Winter Park in 1991, located on Wymore Road, alongside Interstate 4
Interstate 4
Interstate 4 is a intrastate Highway located entirely within the state of Florida, United States. It goes from Interstate 275 in Tampa, Florida to Interstate 95 at Daytona Beach, Florida . It also has the Florida Department of Transportation designation of State Road 400, but only a small...
.
In 1980, while still owned by Cowles, the station built its current tower on the same site as the 1000 feet (304.8 m) tower. The new tower allowed for WESH to expand its coverage into areas like Lakeland
Lakeland, Florida
Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States, located approximately midway between Tampa and Orlando along Interstate 4. According to the 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, the city had a population of 94,406...
, Gainesville, and St. Augustine
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
. The channel 2 signal traveled a very long distance under normal conditions. The 1000 feet (304.8 m) tower was dismantled in the late 80's.
The Hobby family, owners of H&C, exited broadcasting in 1995, selling off its stations to various owners. WESH and KCCI were sold to Pulitzer
Pulitzer, Inc.
Founded by Joseph Pulitzer , Pulitzer Inc., owned 14 daily newspapers across the United States, and one weekly chain. Its papers included the St...
. Pulitzer sold its entire broadcasting division, including WESH and KCCI, to Hearst-Argyle in 1999. This gave WESH its third owner in 15 years.
On May 8, 2006, Hearst-Argyle announced its purchase of then-WB
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
(now 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...
) affiliate WKCF
WKCF
WKCF is the CW-affiliated television station for Central Florida licensed to Clermont. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 17 from a transmitter in unincorporated Bithlo. The station can also be seen on Bright House Networks channel 8 and Comcast channel 13...
from Emmis Communications
Emmis Communications
Emmis Communications is a media conglomerate based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company owns radio stations and magazines in the United States, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria.-History:...
. Emmis is also exiting broadcast television so it could concentrate on radio. This acquisition was completed on August 31, 2006; resulting in Orlando's third commercial duopoly operation. Orlando's other two duoplies are 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...
-owned WFTV
WFTV
WFTV, channel 9, is the ABC-affiliated television station for Central Florida that is licensed to Orlando. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter between Bithlo and Christmas. Owned by Cox Enterprises, WFTV is sister to Independent WRDQ. The two stations...
/WRDQ
WRDQ
WRDQ is an Independent television station in Orlando, Florida. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 27 from a transmitter in Christmas. Owned by Cox Enterprises, the station is sister to ABC affiliate WFTV. The two share studios on East South Street in downtown Orlando....
and Fox
Fox Television Stations Group
Fox Television Stations, Inc. is a group of television stations located within the United States which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Entertainment Group, part of News Corporation...
-owned WOFL
WOFL
WOFL, channel 35, is the Fox owned-and-operated television station serving the Orlando, Florida metropolitan area. It is licensed to Orlando, with studios located in Lake Mary. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 22. On cable, WOFL-TV is currently seen on channel 3 for subscribers of...
/WRBW
WRBW
WRBW is the MyNetworkTV owned and operated station serving the Orlando/Daytona Beach/Melbourne, Florida television market. It is owned by the Fox Television Stations Group, along with Fox station WOFL Channel 35. Known on-air as "My65", the station offers sitcoms, cartoons, court shows, and...
. WESH began producing a morning newscast for WKCF in January 2007. WESH also produces a nightly weathercast for its independent
Independent station
An independent station is in the category of television terminology used to describe a television station broadcasting in the United States or Canada that is not affiliated with any television network....
sister station serving the Tampa Bay market, WMOR-TV
WMOR-TV
WMOR-TV is an independent television station in the Tampa Bay television market . It is licensed to Lakeland, with studios in Tampa. The station is owned by the Hearst Corporation.-History:...
who brands it as Bikini Cast.
News operation
WESH called its news department "NewsCenter 2" for most of the 1980s, and it's eleven o'clock newscast was called the NewsCenter 2 Nightcast. The station then switched to "Newschannel 2" in 1992 before adopting the current "WESH 2 News" in 2005. Also in 2005, it began pronouncing the call letters as a word for the first time since the late 1980s-early 1990s (although it should be noted that in the grammatical sense, the station's callsign does not spell an actual word).WESH began broadcasting newscasts in high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
on November 1, 2007, making WESH the second station in Orlando to broadcast its local newscasts in HD behind WFTV
WFTV
WFTV, channel 9, is the ABC-affiliated television station for Central Florida that is licensed to Orlando. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter between Bithlo and Christmas. Owned by Cox Enterprises, WFTV is sister to Independent WRDQ. The two stations...
, and the fourth Hearst-Argyle station to broadcast its local newscasts in HD. http://www.wesh.com/hd/index.html Their graphics are similar in ways to sister stations WCVB and KMBC. As part of the HD revamp, music from the NBC Collection (which they used for openings, teases and bumpers since 2005) officially replaced the mandated Hearst TV News Music package while the chimes of "Where the News Comes First" were retained during the weekly forecast. However, as of November 2008, the Hearst TV News Music Package (with the de facto "Where the News Comes First" signature) has been fully reinstated.
As of May 2009, WESH is the only station in Central Florida which airs a newscast at 4 p.m. since WKMG cancelled its late afternoon newscasts. On November 30, 2009, WESH debuted new opens, updated graphics and a new station slogan ("Local. Live. Late Breaking.") on their 4 p.m. newscast.
In April 2010, WESH unveiled new technology for its news helicopter "Chopper 2"; it became the first and, until June 2010, only news station in Central Florida to bring high-definition pictures (WFTV upgraded the camera for their news chopper ("Skywitness 9") to HD a few months later). The primary news anchors
News presenter
A news presenter is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet.News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather...
at WESH are Martha Sugalski and Jim Payne. The position of "Chief Meteorologist" was formerly held by Dave Marsh, who retired on July 31, 2006, after 37 years at WESH. Tony Mainolfi was named the new "Chief Meteorologist" on May 3, 2007.
Ratings
For over two decades, WESH's newscasts have usually been in second place in the Central Florida television market to WFTV. However, for most of the time since 2004, WESH's newscasts have traded second and third place with WKMG, while its 4 p.m. newscast, which was launched in 2007, continued to trail The Oprah Winfrey ShowThe Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
(which concluded its original run in May 2011) on WFTV by a wide margin. This coincided with NBC's recent ratings struggles.
Throughout much of the first half of 2009, WESH's ratings became much more competitive with once-dominant WFTV, especially in the key Adults 25-54 demographic. This was attributed not to an increase in WESH's ratings but to the decrease in the viewership ratings of its major rivals (in other words, WESH remained flat while the others plummeted). That mini-resurgence was short-lived, however, as WFTV regained its dominance as of the November 2009 sweeps period while WESH retreated back to third behind WKMG except on weekday evenings. WESH was one of many NBC affiliates across the country that benefitted from the network coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
during the February sweeps ratings period: Its late-night newscast beat WFTV's by a small margin. Since then WESH has maintained a solid #2 ranking in most of its newscasts.
Newscast titles
- The Big News (1956–1962)
- Newscope (1962–1970s)
- Channel 2 News (1970s)
- NewsCenter 2 (1970s–1990)
- NewsCenter 2 Nightcast (11 p.m. newscast; 1987–1990)
- 2 News (1990–1996)
- NewsChannel 2 (1996–1999)
- WESH NewsChannel 2 (1999–2005)
- WESH 2 News (2005–present)
Station slogans
- The Best to View is on Channel 2 (1950s)
- Florida's Channel 2 (1960s)
- Florida's Watching 2 (1960–1970)
- Experience You Can Trust (1970–1987)
- Go Where The News Is (mid-late 1980s)
- (Florida's/Channel) 2's The One For All (1987–1992; used during period station used Frank GariFrank GariFrank Gari is a popular singer and songwriter from the late 1950s and early 1960s. His best known songs as a performer are "Utopia" , "Lullaby of Love" and "Princess" , all of which hit the U.S. Top 40 in 1961. He co-wrote with Roger McGuinn the song Beach Ball for Bobby Darin...
's "The One 4/For All") - Working For You (1996–1997)
- Where The News Comes First (1997–2005)
- Big Coverage of the Big Story (2005–2009)
- Local. Live. Latebreaking. (2009–present)
News team
Anchors- Aixa Diaz – weekday mornings (7-9 a.m.; on WKCF); also morning reporter
- Jason Guy – weekday mornings WESH 2 News Sunrise (4:30-7 a.m.) and noon
- Meredith McDonough – weekends at 6 and 11 p.m.; also reporter
- Stewart Moore – weekend mornings; also weekday morning Monday-Wednesday reporter;
- Jim Payne – weekdays at 4, weeknights at 5, 6, 10 (on WKCF) and 11 p.m.
- Syan Rhodes – weekday mornings WESH 2 News Sunrise (4:30-7 a.m.) and noon; also WKCF 7-9 a.m. reporter
- Martha Sugalski – weekdays at 4, weeknights at 5, 6, 10 (on WKCF) and 11 p.m.
WESH 2 Weather
- Tony Mainolfi (AMSAmerican Meteorological SocietyThe American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...
Certified Broadcast MeteorologistCertified Broadcast MeteorologistCertified Broadcast Meteorologist is a rating for meteorologists given by the American Meteorological Society.The Certified Broadcast Meteorologist program was established to raise the professional standard in broadcast meteorology and encourage a broader range of scientific understanding,...
and NWANational Weather AssociationThe National Weather Association is an American professional association with a mission to support and promote excellence in operational meteorology and related activities...
Seals of Approval) – chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 6, 10 (on WKCF) and 11 p.m. - Jason Brewer (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval) – meteorologist; weekdays at noon and 4 p.m.
- Malachi Rodgers (AMS Seal of Approval) – meteorologist; weekend mornings, weekends at 6, 10 (on WKCF) and 11 p.m.
- Amy Sweezey (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and NWA Seals of Approval) – meteorologist; weekday mornings and (7-9 a.m.; on WKCF)
- Dan Billow (AMS Seal of Approval) – meteorologist; fill-in, also space reporter
Sports team
- Guy Rawlings – sports directorSports DirectorA sports director is an individual at a television or radio station who is in charge of the sports department. In local news, the sports director is typically the station's primary sportscaster, and often anchors the primetime newscasts on weekdays. They are in charge of sports programming and...
; weeknights at 6, 10 (on WKCF) and 11 p.m. - Pat Clarke – sports anchor; weekends 6 and 11 p.m., also host of "UCF Sports Sunday" (during football season) and sports reporter
Reporters
- Greg Fox – political reporter
- Bob Kealing – investigative reporter
- Dan McCarthy – "Chopper 2 HD" pilot
- Dave McDaniel – Seminole CountySeminole County, FloridaSeminole County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. Located between Orlando to the south and Deland and Daytona Beach to the north, it is part of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. Its county seat and largest city is Sanford...
reporter - Michelle Meredith – investigative reporter
- Claire Metz – VolusiaVolusia County, FloridaVolusia County is a county located in the state of Florida. The U.S. Census Bureau 2010 official county's population was 494,593 . Its county seat is DeLand, and its most populous city is currently Deltona....
and Flagler CountyFlagler County, FloridaFlagler County was created in 1917 from portions of Saint Johns and Volusia counties. It was named for Henry Morrison Flagler, a famous railroad builder who built the Florida East Coast Railway. Bunnell is the county seat of Flagler County....
reporter - Cara Moore - general assignment reporter; also fill-in anchor
- Amanda Ober - general assignment reporter; also fill-in anchor
- Kendra Oestreich – 11 p.m. reporter
- Gail Paschall-Brown – weekday early evening reporter
- Kimberly Williams – weekday morning traffic reporter
- Todd Wilson – Monday-Thursday morning and Thursday evening reporter
- Talitha Vickers - General Assignment Reporter
Hearst Television Washington Bureau
- Sally Kidd – Washington bureau reporter
- Nikole Killion – Washington bureau reporter
Notable alumni
- Andrea Jackson - Thursday-Sunday morning reporter (currently at The Daily BuzzThe Daily BuzzThe Daily Buzz is a nationally syndicated breakfast television news and infotainment program. The show is produced by Fisher Communications and is owned and distributed by ACME Communications; it is broadcast every weekday morning from studios at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida...
) - Dan Satterfield (now at WHNT-TVWHNT-TVWHNT-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for the Tennessee Valley area of North Alabama that is licensed to Huntsville. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 19 from a transmitter on Monte Sano. Owned by Local TV, the station has studios on Holmes Avenue Northwest in...
in Huntsville, Alabama) - Stuart ScottStuart ScottStuart Scott is a sportscaster and anchor on ESPN's SportsCenter.-Early life and career:Scott attended Richard J. Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and went to college at the University of North Carolina. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity...
(now at ESPN)
External links
- WESH Brings NBC to Central Florida - WESH History