WMTW-TV
Encyclopedia
WMTW is the ABC
-affiliated television station
for Southern Maine
and Northern New Hampshire
licensed to Poland Spring, Maine. It broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on VHF channel 8 from a transmitter in West Baldwin, Maine. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable
and Comcast
channel 8. There is a high definition feed provided on Comcast digital channel 501 and Time Warner
Cable digital channel 508. Owned by Hearst Television, WMTW has studios on Danville Corner Road along I-95/Maine Turnpike
/Gold Star Memorial Highway
in Auburn
. It operates secondary facilities in the Time and Temperature Building
on Congress Street
in Downtown Portland
's Monument Square
. Syndicated
programming on the station includes Wheel of Fortune
, Jeopardy!
, Dr. Phil
, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show
among others.
. Known as "News 8 NOW", programming consists of a loop of local weather forecast segments as well as regional and national coverage from AccuWeather
. There is a live feed of the National Weather Service
's Doppler
weather radar
(based at the Local Forecast Office in Gray
) as well as local news and sports headlines. In addition, several public service announcements and station promotions are seen. WMTW-DT2 can be seen on Time Warner Cable and Comcast digital channel 165.
as the third television station in the Portland market
. It aired an analog signal on VHF channel 8 under the ownership of Mount Washington
Television, a group that included former Maine Governor Horace Hildreth. It has always been an ABC affiliate although it aired some DuMont
programming for a year. The station's sign-on made Portland one of the smallest markets in the United States
with three network affiliates on the analog VHF band. WMTW is also the longest-tenured primary ABC affiliate in New England
.
It originally aired from a transmitter on Mount Washington, the highest peak in the Northeast
. This gave WMTW one of the largest coverage areas of any station east of the Mississippi River
. In addition to its main coverage area of Southern Maine and Northern New Hampshire, it could also be seen in parts of New York State, Massachusetts
, and Vermont
. The station also had significant viewership across the Canadian border in Montreal
, a city with almost five times as large as the population of WMTW's American coverage area. It was considered to be the ABC affiliate of record for Northern Vermont and Montreal until WVNY
in Burlington, Vermont
signed-on in 1968.
However, for some time afterward, WMTW continued to have a large audience in that area and stayed on most Montreal cable systems until the early 1990s. Its transmitter tower had been originally designed in 1940 by Edwin Armstrong
for one of the first FM radio stations in the country. WMTW built a new tower there in the 1960s but Armstrong's tower remained as a standby. Mount Washington Television sold the station to Jack Paar
of Tonight Show fame in 1963. Initially, barred from appearing on WMTW due to contractual obligations from NBC
, he later hosted several programs on the station including a Thursday night movie. In 1967, Paar sold WMTW to Mid New York Broadcasting, which changed its name to Harron Communications a decade later.
WMTW had to leave Mount Washington in 2002 due to the Federal Communications Commission
's digital television
mandate. The FCC requires analog stations to broadcast alongside the digital counterparts until 80% of the viewing audience can watch the digital signal. Had WMTW-DT been built on the mountain, it would have had to operate at low-power due to the lack of commercial electric power
(in fact, Harron was legally the power company on the mountain). A low-powered signal would have resulted in an inadequate signal for Portland and the more populated areas of the market. As a result, WMTW built a new tower in West Baldwin and signed-off from Mount Washington for the last time on February 5, 2002.
Obviously, the new transmitter site does not serve as large an area as the Mount Washington tower did but it provides a better signal to the highly populated areas of the market. Despite WMTW's departure, two FM stations continue to occupy separate broadcast facilities on the top of the mountain. Harron announced in December 2003 that it was exiting broadcasting, and the station was sold to Hearst-Argyle Television a few months later. In 2007, WMTW dropped its longtime use of the -TV suffix which had been used since 1958. On June 12, 2009, it remained on VHF channel 8 when the analog to digital conversion was completed.
s have been co-owned with WMTW. The first, on 94.9 FM
, was co-owned with the television station from the radio station's launch in 1958 until 1971. This is now WHOM
and continues to transmit from Mount Washington. The other two, on 870
AM in Gorham
and 106.7 FM in North Windham
, served first as news-talk
stations and later as all-news stations
and were also simulcast on WLAM
-AM 1470 in Lewiston
. The three stations, branded as "Newsradio WMTW", aired and produced local news and talk programs as well as simulcasts of WMTW-TV's newscasts and the now-defunct news radio service of the Associated Press
. The "Newsradio WMTW" stations were sold by Harron Communications to Nassau Broadcasting Partners
in 2003. Soon after taking over, Nassau discontinued the format. The 870 frequency is now WLVP
and simulcasts an oldies
format with WLAM while 106.7 FM is now WXTP. An earlier WMTW-FM was not connected to WMTW-TV (having predated the station by several years) apart from also transmitting from Mount Washington.
(with a transmitter northeast of the town in Coleman State Park) and W27CP channel 27 in White River Junction, Vermont
(with a transmitter in Lebanon, New Hampshire
's Mascoma section) to make up for lost coverage when it signed-off from Mount Washington. Under normal conditions, these translators should have been built before WMTW moved off the mountain in order to comply with FCC regulations. However, Canadian
communications authorities had to agree to the proposed locations for the translators and this delayed construction until after WMTW activated its new transmitter in Maine.
Colebrook is part of the Portland market but White River Junction is considered to be part of the Burlington, Vermont
/Plattsburgh, New York market. The latter location is within the coverage area of NBC
affiliate WNNE
, another Hearst-owned station, which serves as a semi-satellite of sister station WPTZ
. Although WNNE's transmitter is located on Mount Ascutney
(well south of White River Junction) it operates a repeater licensed to Lebanon with a transmitter west of the town on Crafts Hill. FCC regulations do not usually allow two or more stations from two or more different markets have coverage of the same location (in this case, White River Junction). This rule, however, does not apply to repeaters. Incidentally, White River Junction is within the fringe area of another Hearst sister station, WMUR-TV
.
Both WMTW repeaters were sold to New Hampshire Public Television
in 2009. W27CP went silent
on July 15 after losing the lease on its tower while W26CQ was shut down by Hearst on September 2 in preparation for the sale. The latter transmitter returned as an NHPTV relay on November 4. W27CP never returned to the air, and its license was canceled by the FCC on September 14, 2011. More recently, WMTW had a construction permit
for a digital fill-in translator on UHF channel 26 to serve viewers that have difficulty receiving the main signal on VHF channel 8. The translator serves the immediate part of Portland and some surrounding areas from a transmitter on top of the Time and Temperature Building. On April 26, 2010, the station filed a License to Cover for the new translator which was granted by the FCC on June 1. This essentially allowed it to officially sign-on.
. For a long time, WGME was originally the most watched station until it was dethroned by WCSH in the late-1980s. It would not be until November 2007 that the former finally mounted a new challenge to the latter. This was due in part from recent investments in the latest technology by the Sinclair Broadcast Group
to improve WGME's viewership. That station's weeknight newscasts saw the most improvement in ratings as a result.
According to current Nielsen ratings
, WCSH usually beats out WGME for overall first place in most time periods. WCSH's continual dominance is due to the continuity of its key on-air staff most of which have been with the outlet for over ten years. In addition, its resources include semi-satellite WLBZ
in Bangor
allowing statewide coverage to be provided unlike any other station in the state. Although WCSH and WLBZ are based in different locations and technically serve separate markets, the two essentially operate as one unit.
Compared with the area's two other main stations, newscasts on WMTW tend to air in a more fast-paced format. The station promotes each of its shows as having the top stories of the day and a complete weather forecast in the first eight minutes before a commercial break. Despite not making much of a dent in the ratings, WMTW does operate an award winning news department. In summer 2008, it received a "New England Emmy Award
for Outstanding Newscast", the "Edward R. Murrow Award for Continuing News Coverage", and the "Associated Press
Station of the Year Honor". WMTW added The Local AccuWeather Channel on August 30, 2007 after launching a new second digital subchannel
. This competed with a similar national service, NBC Weather Plus
, provided locally by WCSH until December 31, 2008. That station continues offering a continuous loop of local news headlines and weather forecast segments on its second digital subchannel.
In the past through an exclusive partnership with Time Warner Cable, WMTW operated a 24-hour
cable news
station throughout the Portland market. Known on-air as "WMTW All News Channel", this service repeated local newscasts as seen on the main channel. It did not simulcast live broadcasts that aired on the main station. Instead, the cable channel put up a slide directing viewers to the main station. "WMTW All News Channel" was originally on analog channel 9 but relocated to digital channel 156 on May 5, 2009. Eventually, this service was dropped due to the presence of "News 8 NOW" on WMTW-DT2.
In a more recent attempt to take on WCSH and WGME in order to become more competitive, WMTW has been adapting its news operation to appeal to change in viewer habits. It added a weekend morning show on January 2, 2010 offering an alternative to WCSH. Prior to this addition, the station only aired local weather cut-ins during the weekend edition of Good Morning America
. Declining viewership of its weekday midday show resulted in its cancellation and replacement by infomercials a few days later.
The station subsequently reduced its sports department and now only airs a regular sports report during its weeknight newscast at 6. During the high school football season, a second report is added at 11. As of September 12, 2011, WMTW remains one of two Hearst Television-owned properties that has not upgraded its broadcasts to 16:9 enhanced definition widescreen
or full high definition level. WCSH was the first in Portland to upgrade local news to widescreen enhanced definition in April 2011 and then to full high definition that October. WGME will add full high definition shows sometime later this fall.
News 8 WMTW First Warning Meteorologists
Reporters
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...
-affiliated television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
for Southern Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
and Northern New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
licensed to Poland Spring, Maine. It broadcasts a 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...
digital signal on VHF channel 8 from a transmitter in West Baldwin, Maine. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
and Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
channel 8. There is a high definition feed provided on Comcast digital channel 501 and Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
Cable digital channel 508. Owned by Hearst Television, WMTW has studios on Danville Corner Road along I-95/Maine Turnpike
Interstate 95 in Maine
In the U.S. state of Maine, Interstate 95 is a long highway running from the New Hampshire border near Kittery, to the Canadian border near Houlton. It is the only two-digit Interstate Highway in Maine...
/Gold Star Memorial Highway
Service flag
A service flag or service banner in the United States is an official banner that family members of service members in harm's way can display. The flag or banner is defined as a white field with a red border, with a blue star for each family member on active duty. A gold star represents a family...
in Auburn
Auburn, Maine
Auburn is a city in and the county seat of Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population was 23,055 at the 2010 census. It is one of two principal cities of and included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area and the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan...
. It operates secondary facilities in the Time and Temperature Building
Time and Temperature Building
The Time & Temperature Building is a fourteen story office building located on Congress Street in downtown Portland, Maine. The building is named after the large display screen on the roof that flashes the local time and temperature.Originally known as the Chapman Building, it was erected in 1924...
on Congress Street
Congress Street (Portland, Maine)
Congress Street is the main street in Portland, Maine. Congress stretches from Portland's southwestern border with South Portland through a number of neighborhoods before ending overlooking the Eastern Promenade on Munjoy Hill...
in Downtown Portland
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
's Monument Square
Monument Square (Portland, Maine)
Monument Square is a town square in Portland, Maine. The Time and Temperature Building and the Portland Public Library are on Congress Street across from the square, while One Monument Square and One City Center are located on the square....
. Syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
programming on the station includes Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)
Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin, which premiered in 1975. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a large wheel. The title refers to the show's giant carnival wheel that...
, Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
, Dr. Phil
Dr. Phil (TV series)
Dr. Phil is a reality/talk television show hosted by Phil McGraw. After McGraw's success with his segments on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Phil debuted on September 16, 2002...
, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
among others.
Digital programming
On WMTW-DT2 and live streaming video on its website is The Local AccuWeather ChannelThe Local AccuWeather Channel
The Local AccuWeather Channel is a 24-hour, weather-oriented, commercially sponsored broadcast and cable television network in the United States owned and operated by AccuWeather, Inc., which is headquartered in State College, Pennsylvania....
. Known as "News 8 NOW", programming consists of a loop of local weather forecast segments as well as regional and national coverage from AccuWeather
AccuWeather
AccuWeather is an American media company that provides for-profit weather forecasting services worldwide.AccuWeather was founded in 1962 by Joel N. Myers, then a Penn State graduate student working on degrees in meteorology. His first customer was a gas company in Pennsylvania. While running the...
. There is a live feed of the 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...
's Doppler
Pulse-doppler radar
Pulse-Doppler is a 4D radar system capable of detecting both target 3D location as well as measuring radial velocity . It uses the Doppler effect to avoid overloading computers and operators as well as to reduce power consumption...
weather radar
Weather radar
Weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, estimate its type . Modern weather radars are mostly pulse-Doppler radars, capable of detecting the motion of rain droplets in addition to the...
(based at the Local Forecast Office in Gray
Gray, Maine
Gray is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 6,820 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area. Gray is home to regional headquarters for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and...
) as well as local news and sports headlines. In addition, several public service announcements and station promotions are seen. WMTW-DT2 can be seen on Time Warner Cable and Comcast digital channel 165.
| Channel | Name | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.1 | WMTW-HD | 720p 720p 720p is the shorthand name for 1280x720, a category of High-definition television video modes having a resolution of 1080 or 720p and a progressive scan... |
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 WMTW programming/ABC (HD) |
| 8.2 | WMTW-DT2 | 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 | "News 8 NOW" (SD) |
History
The station signed-on September 25, 19541954 in television
The year 1954 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1954.-Events:*January 1 – NBC broadcasts the Rose Parade in NTSC color on 21 stations.*January 3 – RAI launched in Italy....
as the third television station in the Portland market
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...
. It aired an analog signal on VHF channel 8 under the ownership of Mount Washington
Mount Washington (New Hampshire)
Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at , famous for dangerously erratic weather. For 76 years, a weather observatory on the summit held the record for the highest wind gust directly measured at the Earth's surface, , on the afternoon of April 12, 1934...
Television, a group that included former Maine Governor Horace Hildreth. It has always been an ABC affiliate although it aired some DuMont
DuMont Television Network
The DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or Dumont was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946. It was owned by DuMont...
programming for a year. The station's sign-on made Portland one of the smallest markets in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with three network affiliates on the analog VHF band. WMTW is also the longest-tenured primary ABC affiliate in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
.
It originally aired from a transmitter on Mount Washington, the highest peak in the Northeast
Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
. This gave WMTW one of the largest coverage areas of any station east of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. In addition to its main coverage area of Southern Maine and Northern New Hampshire, it could also be seen in parts of New York State, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
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 Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
. The station also had significant viewership across the Canadian border in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, a city with almost five times as large as the population of WMTW's American coverage area. It was considered to be the ABC affiliate of record for Northern Vermont and Montreal until WVNY
WVNY
WVNY is the ABC-affiliated television station for Vermont's Champlain Valley and Upstate New York's North Country. Licensed to Burlington, Vermont, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 13 from a transmitter on Vermont's highest peak Mount Mansfield. The station can also be...
in Burlington, Vermont
Burlington, Vermont
Burlington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the shire town of Chittenden County. Burlington lies south of the U.S.-Canadian border and some south of Montreal....
signed-on in 1968.
However, for some time afterward, WMTW continued to have a large audience in that area and stayed on most Montreal cable systems until the early 1990s. Its transmitter tower had been originally designed in 1940 by Edwin Armstrong
Edwin Armstrong
Edwin Howard Armstrong was an American electrical engineer and inventor. Armstrong was the inventor of modern frequency modulation radio....
for one of the first FM radio stations in the country. WMTW built a new tower there in the 1960s but Armstrong's tower remained as a standby. Mount Washington Television sold the station to Jack Paar
Jack Paar
Jack Harold Paar was an author, American radio and television comedian and talk show host, best known for his stint as host of The Tonight Show from 1957 to 1962...
of Tonight Show fame in 1963. Initially, barred from appearing on WMTW due to contractual obligations from 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...
, he later hosted several programs on the station including a Thursday night movie. In 1967, Paar sold WMTW to Mid New York Broadcasting, which changed its name to Harron Communications a decade later.
WMTW had to leave Mount Washington in 2002 due to 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...
's digital television
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
mandate. The FCC requires analog stations to broadcast alongside the digital counterparts until 80% of the viewing audience can watch the digital signal. Had WMTW-DT been built on the mountain, it would have had to operate at low-power due to the lack of commercial electric power
Electric power
Electric power is the rate at which electric energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt.-Circuits:Electric power, like mechanical power, is represented by the letter P in electrical equations...
(in fact, Harron was legally the power company on the mountain). A low-powered signal would have resulted in an inadequate signal for Portland and the more populated areas of the market. As a result, WMTW built a new tower in West Baldwin and signed-off from Mount Washington for the last time on February 5, 2002.
Obviously, the new transmitter site does not serve as large an area as the Mount Washington tower did but it provides a better signal to the highly populated areas of the market. Despite WMTW's departure, two FM stations continue to occupy separate broadcast facilities on the top of the mountain. Harron announced in December 2003 that it was exiting broadcasting, and the station was sold to Hearst-Argyle Television a few months later. In 2007, WMTW dropped its longtime use of the -TV suffix which had been used since 1958. On June 12, 2009, it remained on VHF channel 8 when the analog to digital conversion was completed.
Sister radio stations
Several radio stationRadio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
s have been co-owned with WMTW. The first, on 94.9 FM
WHOM
WHOM is an American radio station which airs an adult contemporary format. It transmits from atop Mount Washington in New Hampshire and has a broadcast area of five states and Quebec. While the signal can be heard all over northern New England, the station broadcasts from and considers itself part...
, was co-owned with the television station from the radio station's launch in 1958 until 1971. This is now WHOM
WHOM
WHOM is an American radio station which airs an adult contemporary format. It transmits from atop Mount Washington in New Hampshire and has a broadcast area of five states and Quebec. While the signal can be heard all over northern New England, the station broadcasts from and considers itself part...
and continues to transmit from Mount Washington. The other two, on 870
870
Year 870 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Prague Castle is founded....
AM in Gorham
Gorham, Maine
Gorham is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 16,381 at the 2010 census. In addition to an urban village center known as Gorham Village or simply "the Village," the town also encompasses a number of smaller, unincorporated villages and hamlets with distinct...
and 106.7 FM in North Windham
North Windham, Maine
North Windham is a census-designated place within the town of Windham in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,568 at the 2000 census...
, served first as news-talk
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
stations and later as all-news stations
All-news radio
All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcast of news.All-news radio is available in both local and syndicated forms, and is carried in some form on both major US satellite radio networks...
and were also simulcast on WLAM
WLAM
WLAM is a radio station broadcasting an oldies, news and sports format. Licensed to Lewiston, Maine, USA, the station serves the Lewiston-Auburn area. The station is currently owned by Nassau Broadcasting and simulcasts with WLVP .-History:...
-AM 1470 in Lewiston
Lewiston, Maine
Lewiston is a city in Androscoggin County in Maine, and the second-largest city in the state. The population was 41,592 at the 2010 census. It is one of two principal cities of and included within the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area and the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine...
. The three stations, branded as "Newsradio WMTW", aired and produced local news and talk programs as well as simulcasts of WMTW-TV's newscasts and the now-defunct news radio service of the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
. The "Newsradio WMTW" stations were sold by Harron Communications to Nassau Broadcasting Partners
Nassau Broadcasting Partners
Nassau Broadcasting Partners LP is a company based in Princeton, New Jersey that owns radio stations in New England and the Mid-Atlantic United States. Nassau's stations, which include both AM and FM frequencies, are located in Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey,...
in 2003. Soon after taking over, Nassau discontinued the format. The 870 frequency is now WLVP
WLVP
WLVP is a radio station broadcasting an Oldies format. Licensed to Gorham, Maine, USA, it serves southern Maine, including Portland. The station is currently owned by Nassau Broadcasting and is simulcasted with WLAM .-History:...
and simulcasts an oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
format with WLAM while 106.7 FM is now WXTP. An earlier WMTW-FM was not connected to WMTW-TV (having predated the station by several years) apart from also transmitting from Mount Washington.
Repeaters
In 2005, WMTW activated two analog repeaters. This included W26CQ channel 26 in Colebrook, New HampshireColebrook, New Hampshire
Colebrook is a town in Coos County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,301 at the 2010 census. Situated in the Great North Woods Region, it is bounded on the west by the Connecticut River and home to Beaver Brook Falls Natural Area....
(with a transmitter northeast of the town in Coleman State Park) and W27CP channel 27 in White River Junction, Vermont
White River Junction, Vermont
White River Junction is an unincorporated village and census-designated place in the town of Hartford in Windsor County, Vermont, United States...
(with a transmitter in Lebanon, New Hampshire
Lebanon, New Hampshire
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,568 people, 5,500 households, and 3,178 families residing in the city. The population density was 311.4 people per square mile . There were 5,707 housing units at an average density of 141.4 per square mile...
's Mascoma section) to make up for lost coverage when it signed-off from Mount Washington. Under normal conditions, these translators should have been built before WMTW moved off the mountain in order to comply with FCC regulations. However, Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
communications authorities had to agree to the proposed locations for the translators and this delayed construction until after WMTW activated its new transmitter in Maine.
Colebrook is part of the Portland market but White River Junction is considered to be part of the Burlington, Vermont
Burlington, Vermont
Burlington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the shire town of Chittenden County. Burlington lies south of the U.S.-Canadian border and some south of Montreal....
/Plattsburgh, New York market. The latter location is within the coverage area of 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...
affiliate WNNE
WNNE
WNNE is the NBC-affiliated television station for the Connecticut River Valley area of eastern Vermont and western New Hampshire that is licensed to Hartford, Vermont. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 25 from a transmitter on Mount Ascutney in Windsor County, Vermont...
, another Hearst-owned station, which serves as a semi-satellite of sister station WPTZ
WPTZ
WPTZ, virtual channel 5, is an NBC-affiliated television station located in Plattsburgh, New York, USA. WPTZ is owned by Hearst Television, and has its studios in Plattsburgh and transmitter located on Mount Mansfield in Vermont....
. Although WNNE's transmitter is located on Mount Ascutney
Mount Ascutney
Mount Ascutney, is a 3144 foot monadnock located in southern Vermont. It is not the highest peak in Windsor County, Vermont, however, that honor falling to Gillespie Peak to the west. Particularly noteworthy about Ascutney are its granite outcrops, one of which, near its peak, serves as a...
(well south of White River Junction) it operates a repeater licensed to Lebanon with a transmitter west of the town on Crafts Hill. FCC regulations do not usually allow two or more stations from two or more different markets have coverage of the same location (in this case, White River Junction). This rule, however, does not apply to repeaters. Incidentally, White River Junction is within the fringe area of another Hearst sister station, WMUR-TV
WMUR-TV
WMUR-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for the state of New Hampshire that is licensed to Manchester. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 9 from a transmitter on the south peak of Mount Uncanoonuc in Goffstown. Owned by Hearst Television, the station has studios...
.
Both WMTW repeaters were sold to New Hampshire Public Television
New Hampshire Public Television
New Hampshire Public Television is a television company and public broadcasting state network in New Hampshire, licensed to the University System of New Hampshire and is part of the Public Broadcasting Service...
in 2009. W27CP went silent
Dark (broadcasting)
In the broadcasting industry, dark is a term used to describe a radio station or television station that has gone off-the-air for an indefinite period of time, or as defined by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission , a "silent" station...
on July 15 after losing the lease on its tower while W26CQ was shut down by Hearst on September 2 in preparation for the sale. The latter transmitter returned as an NHPTV relay on November 4. W27CP never returned to the air, and its license was canceled by the FCC on September 14, 2011. More recently, WMTW had a construction permit
Construction permit
A construction permit or building permit is a permit required in most jurisdictions for new construction, or adding on to pre-existing structures, and in some cases for major renovations. Generally, the new construction must be inspected during construction and after completion to ensure compliance...
for a digital fill-in translator on UHF channel 26 to serve viewers that have difficulty receiving the main signal on VHF channel 8. The translator serves the immediate part of Portland and some surrounding areas from a transmitter on top of the Time and Temperature Building. On April 26, 2010, the station filed a License to Cover for the new translator which was granted by the FCC on June 1. This essentially allowed it to officially sign-on.
News operation
WMTW has traditionally been the lowest ranked of Portland's big three outletsBig Three Television Networks
The Big Three Television Networks are the three traditional commercial broadcast television networks in the United States: ABC, CBS and NBC...
. For a long time, WGME was originally the most watched station until it was dethroned by WCSH in the late-1980s. It would not be until November 2007 that the former finally mounted a new challenge to the latter. This was due in part from recent investments in the latest technology by the Sinclair Broadcast Group
Sinclair Broadcast Group
The Sinclair Broadcast Group is an American telecommunications company that operates the largest number of local television stations in the United States. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, it owns a total of 57 stations across the country in 35 primarily small and medium markets, many of...
to improve WGME's viewership. That station's weeknight newscasts saw the most improvement in ratings as a result.
According to current Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, WCSH usually beats out WGME for overall first place in most time periods. WCSH's continual dominance is due to the continuity of its key on-air staff most of which have been with the outlet for over ten years. In addition, its resources include semi-satellite WLBZ
WLBZ
WLBZ is the NBC-affiliated television station for Central and Eastern Maine licensed to Bangor. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 2 from a transmitter on Rider Bluff in Holden. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 3 and in high definition on digital...
in Bangor
Bangor, Maine
Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...
allowing statewide coverage to be provided unlike any other station in the state. Although WCSH and WLBZ are based in different locations and technically serve separate markets, the two essentially operate as one unit.
Compared with the area's two other main stations, newscasts on WMTW tend to air in a more fast-paced format. The station promotes each of its shows as having the top stories of the day and a complete weather forecast in the first eight minutes before a commercial break. Despite not making much of a dent in the ratings, WMTW does operate an award winning news department. In summer 2008, it received a "New England Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for Outstanding Newscast", the "Edward R. Murrow Award for Continuing News Coverage", and the "Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
Station of the Year Honor". WMTW added The Local AccuWeather Channel on August 30, 2007 after launching a new second 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...
. This competed with a similar national service, NBC Weather Plus
NBC 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...
, provided locally by WCSH until December 31, 2008. That station continues offering a continuous loop of local news headlines and weather forecast segments on its second digital subchannel.
In the past through an exclusive partnership with Time Warner Cable, WMTW operated a 24-hour
24-hour news cycle
The 24-hour news cycle arrived with the advent of television channels dedicated to news, and brought about a much faster pace of news production with increased demand for stories that can be presented as news, as opposed to the day-by-day pace of the news cycle of printed daily newspapers...
cable news
United States cable news
Cable news refers to television channels devoted to television news broadcasts, with the name deriving from the proliferation of such networks during the 1980s with the advent of cable television. In the United States, early networks included CNN in 1980, Financial News Network in 1981, and CNN2 ...
station throughout the Portland market. Known on-air as "WMTW All News Channel", this service repeated local newscasts as seen on the main channel. It did not simulcast live broadcasts that aired on the main station. Instead, the cable channel put up a slide directing viewers to the main station. "WMTW All News Channel" was originally on analog channel 9 but relocated to digital channel 156 on May 5, 2009. Eventually, this service was dropped due to the presence of "News 8 NOW" on WMTW-DT2.
In a more recent attempt to take on WCSH and WGME in order to become more competitive, WMTW has been adapting its news operation to appeal to change in viewer habits. It added a weekend morning show on January 2, 2010 offering an alternative to WCSH. Prior to this addition, the station only aired local weather cut-ins during the weekend edition of Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
. Declining viewership of its weekday midday show resulted in its cancellation and replacement by infomercials a few days later.
The station subsequently reduced its sports department and now only airs a regular sports report during its weeknight newscast at 6. During the high school football season, a second report is added at 11. As of September 12, 2011, WMTW remains one of two Hearst Television-owned properties that has not upgraded its broadcasts to 16:9 enhanced definition widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
or full high definition level. WCSH was the first in Portland to upgrade local news to widescreen enhanced definition in April 2011 and then to full high definition that October. WGME will add full high definition shows sometime later this fall.
News team
Anchors- Shannon Moss - weekday mornings
- Erin Ovalle - weekday mornings
- Tracy Sabol - weeknights
- Thema Ponton - weekend mornings and reporter
- Dave Guthro - weekend mornings and weekday morning reporter three days a week
- Meghan Torjussen - weekend evenings and reporter three days a week
- Travis Lee - sports weeknights at 6 also sports reporter and producer
News 8 WMTW First Warning Meteorologists
- Roger Griswold - weeknights
- Matt Zidle - weekday mornings
- Paul Janus - weekend evenings / vacation / fill-in
- Mallory Brooke - weekend mornings and Wednesday through Friday morning weather field reporter
- Russ Murley - freelance fill-in
- Dan Solari - freelance fill-in
Reporters
- Kate Amara - weekday morning Washington D.C. Bureau
- Nikole Killion - Washington D.C. Bureau
- Sally Kidd - Washington D.C. Bureau
- Norm Karkos
- Steve Minich
- Jim Keithley
- Cam Tran