WOOD-TV
Encyclopedia
WOOD-TV is the NBC
-affiliated television station
for Southwestern Michigan licensed to Grand Rapids
. It broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on VHF channel 7 from a transmitter in Middleville
near the Barry
and Allegan
County line. The station can also be seen on Comcast
and Charter
channel 8 with high definition on Comcast digital channel 232 and Charter digital channel 788. Owned by the LIN TV Corporation, WOOD-TV is sister to ABC
affiliate WOTV
and Class A
MyNetworkTV
affiliate WXSP-CD. All three share studios on College Avenue Southeast in the Heritage Hill section of Grand Rapids.
Syndicated
programming on this channel includes: Inside Edition
, Access Hollywood
, Ellen
, and The Doctors
. In addition to its main signal, WOOD-TV operates Class A analog translator WOGC-CA on UHF channel 25 licensed to Holland
with a transmitter in Zeeland
along I-196
on the tower of WJQK
-FM. There is also a digital repeater on channel 46 licensed to Muskegon
with a transmitter in the Wolf Lake
section of Egelston Township
.
, plus a local feed of NOAA weather radio. This is simulcasted early Saturday and Sunday mornings on WOTV as well as overnight on WXSP.
and the first outside of Detroit. The original owner was Grand Rapids businessman Leonard Adrian Verslius, who had signed-on Grand Rapids' second radio station, WLAV (AM 1340, now WJRW) in 1940.
In 1951, Verslius sold the television station to Grandwood Broadcasting (a subsidiary of the Bitner Group) for $1.37 million. That company was owner of Grand Rapids' first radio station, WOOD
. Grandwood had applied for a television license back in 1948 but it came just after the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) imposed a freeze on new television construction permit
s. In fact, WLAV-TV had been one of the last construction permits issued before the freeze. Grandwood eventually grew tired of waiting and cut a deal with Verslius to buy the station. On October 19, WLAV changed its calls to WOOD-TV to match its radio sister and began airing from a new transmitter in Northeastern Grand Rapids. On December 8, 1953
, the station moved from channel 7 to VHF channel 8 and increased its power from 28,000 to 100,000 watt
s. The channel change was promoted as "Mark the date: We move to Channel Eight on December Eight". The move was to alleviate interference with WBKB-TV (now WLS-TV
) in Chicago
. In 1955, it moved to the current facilities in the Heritage Hill area of Grand Rapids. Its studios replaced the Bissell
mansion (of Bissell vacuum
fame) and are across the street from the Voigt House Victorian Museum. Time-Life, Inc.
bought WOOD-AM-TV in 1957.
WOOD-TV has been an NBC affiliate from the very beginning, although it had a secondary CBS
affiliation until WKZO-TV (now WWMT
) in Kalamazoo
expanded its signal to cover Grand Rapids. It also had secondary affiliations with ABC
and DuMont
. The ABC affiliation lasted until 1962 when WZZM-TV
signed-on. The DuMont affiliation ended in 1956 when that network ceased operations. Its call letters became WOTV in 1972 when WOOD-AM was sold. Time-Life also sold most of its television stations to McGraw-Hill
that year, but held on to WOTV until 1983 when it was sold to LIN Broadcasting. In 1992, the station reclaimed its old call letters with WOOD-AM's permission. The station then donated the WOTV calls to WUHQ, the ABC affiliate for the southern portion of the Southwestern Michigan market
with whom it had a local marketing agreement
(LMA) with.
In 1994, LIN Broadcasting spun-off its television division into a separate company known as LIN TV but WOOD-TV was not included. Instead, the station became wholly owned by AT&T
(which also owned 45 percent of LIN TV at the time) when that company absorbed the remainder of LIN Broadcasting in 1995. However, LIN TV continued to manage both WOOD-TV and WOTV. LIN TV reacquired WOOD-TV and its LMA with WOTV in 1999 when AT&T sold-off its stake in the company to Hicks, Muse, Furst, and Tate (now HM Capital
). On August 14, WOOD-TV became the first station in the area to air a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 7. LIN TV eventually purchased WOTV outright in 2001. On June 12, 2009 at 10 in the morning, its digital signal remained on channel 7 when the analog to digital conversion
was completed.
Originally, WWMT (then WKZO) was Southwestern Michigan's top rated television station. In the late-1970s, WZZM took over the lead but was dethroned by WOOD-TV in the mid-1980s. For the most part, this station has maintained the number one spot since then. For a time in the mid-1990s even though most of its fellow CBS affiliates were in third place or worse, WWMT was very competitive with WZZM and WOOD-TV often resulting in close Nielsen ratings
during sweeps periods.
Since its city of license is Kalamazoo, WWMT has traditionally focused in the southern areas of the market much like WOTV did while it operated a news department. WZZM focused on the northern parts of the market, due to it's transmitter location near Grant, Michigan. Besides being a stronghold in the ratings, WOOD-TV has also been the leader in operating a news department. The station was the first to use electronic news gathering equipment in 1975. Five years later, it aired live news from outside its studios. In 1983, it introduced the area's first television helicopter
to assist in coverage.
WOOD-TV's weekday morning show premiered in 1984 and aired for a half-hour at 6:30. This was expanded to a two-hour format in 1995 along with the weekday noon and weekend 6 p.m. show adding a half-hour. As a result, NBC Nightly News
is preempted on weekends. As a result of being unable to compete in the southern areas of the market, WOTV's original news department was shut down in 1990. WOOD-TV then began simulcasting some of its newscasts on that channel as well as airing specially produced newscasts covering Battle Creek and Kalamazoo. Essentially, WOTV was functioning as a news bureau for WOOD-TV.
In 1992, WOTV brought back a full news department for a second time. However, like the previous attempt, the channel could not gain enough viewers or make a dent in the ratings. LIN TV finally decided to shut down WOTV's news operation for good in August 2003. Since then, the station has simulcast
some of WOOD-TV's newscasts, but this time without any separate opens or segments. There are weeknight prime time weather updates featuring Chief Meteorologist Bill Steffen.
Currently, only the second hour of WOOD-TV's weekday morning show and nightly newscast at 6 (first half-hour only) is simulcast on WOTV. On October 21, 2007, WOOD-TV began offering a nightly prime time broadcast at 10 on WXSP joining productions on Fox affiliate WXMI
and CW affiliate WWMT-DT2
. The entertainment and lifestyle magazine show eightWest premiered on October 5, 2009 and airs weekday mornings at 11 for an hour as well as being streamed live on the channel's website. Also on that date, WOOD-TV became the second station in southwestern Michigan to begin offering local newscasts in 16:9
enhanced definition widescreen
. Although not truly high definition, the broadcast match the ratio of HD television screens. The simulcasts on WOTV were included in the upgrade. On October 22, 2011, WOOD-TV became the third television station in southwestern Michigan (behind Fox affiliate WXMI and CBS affiliate WWMT) to broadcast local newscasts in high definition.
Sports Overtime is a weekly half-hour sports highlight show that airs Sunday nights after the 11 o'clock news. Football Frenzy is WOOD-TV's weekly highlight program covering the Friday night high school football games as well as other sports news of the day. The 11 p.m. newscast is shortened to allow Football Frenzy to air during the regular time slot. To The Point is a weekly political talk show hosted by Rick Albin that airs Sunday mornings at 10.
WOOD-TV has the distinction of being one of the last remaining broadcast television stations in the United States
currently utilizing the 24 Hour News Source
format which it began using in 1990. The other stations still using the format are sister station CBS affiliate WISH-TV
in Indianapolis
, ABC affiliate KCRG-TV
in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
, and NBC affiliate KFDX-TV
in Wichita Falls, Texas
. In addition to featuring live regional National Weather Service
radar data, this station operates its own weather radar on top of the Oakwood Manor Apartments next to its studios.
Storm Team 8 meteorologists
Sports
Reporters
Other On Air Personalities
Notable former staff
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...
-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 Southwestern Michigan licensed to Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
. 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 7 from a transmitter in Middleville
Middleville, Michigan
Middleville is a village in Thornapple Township, Barry County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,721 at the 2000 census.- History :...
near the Barry
Barry County, Michigan
-Highways:* M-37* M-43* M-50* M-66* M-78* M-79* M-89* M-179-Demographics:As of the 2000 census, there were 56,755 people, 21,035 households, and 15,986 families residing in the county. The population density was 102 people per square mile . There were 23,876 housing units at an average density of...
and Allegan
Allegan County, Michigan
-Interstates:* I-196* I-196 Business Loop serves the city of Holland.-US highways:* US-31* US-131-Michigan State Trunklines:* M-40* M-89* M-179* M-222-Allegan County Intercounty Highways:* A-2* A-37* A-42* A-45-Demographics:...
County line. The station can also be seen on 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...
and Charter
Charter Communications
Charter Communications is an American company providing cable television, high-speed Internet, and telephone services to more than 4.7 million customers in 25 states. By revenues, it is the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States, behind Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cox Communications...
channel 8 with high definition on Comcast digital channel 232 and Charter digital channel 788. Owned by the LIN TV Corporation, WOOD-TV is sister to 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...
affiliate WOTV
WOTV
WOTV is the ABC-affiliated television station for Southwestern Michigan that is licensed to Battle Creek. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 20 from a transmitter in Orangeville Township. The station can also be seen on Charter and Comcast channel 4. There is a high...
and Class A
Class A television service
The class A television service is a system for regulating some low-power television stations in the United States. Class A stations are denoted by the broadcast callsign suffix "-CA" or "-CD" , although very many analog -CA stations have a digital companion channel that was assigned the -LD...
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
affiliate WXSP-CD. All three share studios on College Avenue Southeast in the Heritage Hill section of Grand Rapids.
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 this channel includes: Inside Edition
Inside Edition
Inside Edition is a thirty-minute American television syndicated news program, first aired on CBS on October 9, 1988. It was originally similar to the programs Hard Copy and A Current Affair, but now more closely resembles a condensed version of breakfast television, exclusively with pre-recorded...
, Access Hollywood
Access Hollywood
Access Hollywood is a weekday television entertainment news program covering events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was created by former Entertainment Tonight executive producer Jim Van Messel, and is currently directed by Robert Silverstein. In previous years, Doug Dougherty and...
, Ellen
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...
, and The Doctors
The Doctors (2008 TV series)
The Doctors is an American syndicated talk show airing daily in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Ireland, Sweden and Finland. It debuted on September 8, 2008. The hour-long daytime program is produced by Phil McGraw and his son Jay McGraw and is distributed domestically and globally by CBS Television...
. In addition to its main signal, WOOD-TV operates Class A analog translator WOGC-CA on UHF channel 25 licensed to Holland
Holland, Michigan
Holland is a city in the western region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on Lake Macatawa, which is fed by the Macatawa River ....
with a transmitter in Zeeland
Zeeland, Michigan
Zeeland is a city in Ottawa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,805 at the 2000 census. The city is located at the western edge of Zeeland Charter Township which is politically independent. Its name is derived from the Dutch province of Zeeland...
along I-196
Interstate 196
Interstate 196 is a long freeway spur route in the US state of Michigan linking Grand Rapids, Holland, South Haven, and Benton Harbor. I-196 is known as the Gerald R. Ford Freeway, or simply the Ford Freeway, in Kent, Ottawa, and Allegan Counties, after the 38th President of the United States,...
on the tower of WJQK
WJQK
WJQK is a contemporary Christian music radio station in Zeeland, Michigan on a frequency of 99.3 MHz.Originally a country music station, its original call letters were WZND , until Lanser Broadcasting purchased the station and changed them to WJQK in January 1987...
-FM. There is also a digital repeater on channel 46 licensed to Muskegon
Muskegon, Michigan
Muskegon is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 38,401. The city is the county seat of Muskegon County...
with a transmitter in the Wolf Lake
Wolf Lake, Michigan
Wolf Lake is an unincorporated community in Egelston Township of Muskegon County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a census-designated place for statistical purposes, but has no official status as an incorporated municipality. The population was 4,455 at the 2000 census...
section of Egelston Township
Egelston Township, Michigan
Egelston Township is a general law township of Muskegon County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the township population was 9,537.-Geography:...
.
Digital programming
On WOOD-DT2 is a standard definition simulcast of sister station WXSP. On WOOD-DT3 is a 24-hour live feed of its regional weather radarWeather 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...
, plus a local feed of NOAA weather radio. This is simulcasted early Saturday and Sunday mornings on WOTV as well as overnight on WXSP.
| Virtual 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8.1 | 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 WOOD-TV programming/NBC HD |
| 8.2 | 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 | WXSP-CD (MyNetworkTV) |
| 8.3 | 480p 480p 480p is the shorthand name for a video display resolution. The p stands for progressive scan, i.e. non-interlaced. The 480 denotes a vertical resolution of 480 pixel high vertically scanning lines, usually with a horizontal resolution of 640 pixels and 4:3 aspect ratio or a horizontal resolution of... |
4:3 | WOOD-DT3 "Storm Team 8 Live Doppler Network" |
History
The station signed-on August 15, 1949. It had the call sign WLAV-TV and aired an analog signal on VHF channel 7. It was the fourth television station in MichiganMichigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
and the first outside of Detroit. The original owner was Grand Rapids businessman Leonard Adrian Verslius, who had signed-on Grand Rapids' second radio station, WLAV (AM 1340, now WJRW) in 1940.
In 1951, Verslius sold the television station to Grandwood Broadcasting (a subsidiary of the Bitner Group) for $1.37 million. That company was owner of Grand Rapids' first radio station, WOOD
WOOD (AM)
WOOD is a news/talk radio station broadcasting at 1300 kHz and 106.9 FM in Michigan, United States. WOOD-AM is licensed to Grand Rapids, Michigan and WOOD-FM to Muskegon, Michigan.-Full-service station:...
. Grandwood had applied for a television license back in 1948 but it came just after 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...
(FCC) imposed a freeze on new television 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...
s. In fact, WLAV-TV had been one of the last construction permits issued before the freeze. Grandwood eventually grew tired of waiting and cut a deal with Verslius to buy the station. On October 19, WLAV changed its calls to WOOD-TV to match its radio sister and began airing from a new transmitter in Northeastern Grand Rapids. On December 8, 1953
1953 in television
The year 1953 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1953.-Events:*January 19 – 68% of all US television sets were tuned in to I Love Lucy to watch Lucy give birth to little Ricky....
, the station moved from channel 7 to VHF channel 8 and increased its power from 28,000 to 100,000 watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s. The channel change was promoted as "Mark the date: We move to Channel Eight on December Eight". The move was to alleviate interference with WBKB-TV (now WLS-TV
WLS-TV
WLS-TV, virtual channel 7, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The station operates their full power digital operations on UHF channel 44, with their digital fill-in translator on VHF channel...
) in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. In 1955, it moved to the current facilities in the Heritage Hill area of Grand Rapids. Its studios replaced the Bissell
Anna Sutherland Bissell
Anna Sutherland Bissell was president and later chair of the board of the Bissell Corporation.- Early years :She was born in River John, Nova Scotia, the daughter of a sea captain. At an early age her family moved to Michigan were they settled.Years later at 19 she married Melville R. Bissell and...
mansion (of Bissell vacuum
Bissell Inc.
Bissell Inc., also known as Bissell Homecare, is a privately owned vacuum cleaner and floor care product manufacturing corporation headquartered in Walker, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids...
fame) and are across the street from the Voigt House Victorian Museum. Time-Life, Inc.
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...
bought WOOD-AM-TV in 1957.
WOOD-TV has been an NBC affiliate from the very beginning, although it had a secondary 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...
affiliation until WKZO-TV (now WWMT
WWMT
WWMT is the CBS-affiliated television station for West Michigan licensed to Kalamazoo. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 8 from a transmitter on Chief Noonday Road/M-179, northwest of Yankee Springs Township, along the Barry and Allegan County line. The station can also...
) in Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo, Michigan
The area on which the modern city stands was once home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, who migrated into the area sometime before the first millennium. Evidence of their early residency remains in the form of a small mound in downtown's Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to...
expanded its signal to cover Grand Rapids. It also had secondary affiliations with 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...
and 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...
. The ABC affiliation lasted until 1962 when WZZM-TV
WZZM-TV
WZZM channel 13 is the Western Michigan affiliate television station for the American Broadcasting Company. It's based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, broadcasting at 16.5 kilowatts of power from a tower located in Newaygo County, near Grant...
signed-on. The DuMont affiliation ended in 1956 when that network ceased operations. Its call letters became WOTV in 1972 when WOOD-AM was sold. Time-Life also sold most of its television stations to McGraw-Hill
McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., is a publicly traded corporation headquartered in Rockefeller Center in New York City. Its primary areas of business are financial, education, publishing, broadcasting, and business services...
that year, but held on to WOTV until 1983 when it was sold to LIN Broadcasting. In 1992, the station reclaimed its old call letters with WOOD-AM's permission. The station then donated the WOTV calls to WUHQ, the ABC affiliate for the southern portion of the Southwestern Michigan 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...
with whom it had a local marketing agreement
Local marketing agreement
In U.S. and Canadian broadcasting, a local marketing agreement is an agreement in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another licensee...
(LMA) with.
In 1994, LIN Broadcasting spun-off its television division into a separate company known as LIN TV but WOOD-TV was not included. Instead, the station became wholly owned by AT&T
American Telephone & Telegraph
AT&T Corp., originally American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American telecommunications company that provides voice, video, data, and Internet telecommunications and professional services to businesses, consumers, and government agencies. AT&T is the oldest telecommunications company...
(which also owned 45 percent of LIN TV at the time) when that company absorbed the remainder of LIN Broadcasting in 1995. However, LIN TV continued to manage both WOOD-TV and WOTV. LIN TV reacquired WOOD-TV and its LMA with WOTV in 1999 when AT&T sold-off its stake in the company to Hicks, Muse, Furst, and Tate (now HM Capital
HM Capital
HM Capital Partners is a private equity firm in the United States that specializes in leveraged buyouts. The firm, previously known as Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst, was one of the largest financial sponsors of the 1990s. The firm was founded in 1989 by Tom Hicks and John Muse as Hicks, Muse & Co...
). On August 14, WOOD-TV became the first station in the area to air a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 7. LIN TV eventually purchased WOTV outright in 2001. On June 12, 2009 at 10 in the morning, its digital signal remained on channel 7 when the analog to digital conversion
Digital television transition
The digital television transition is the process in which analog television broadcasting is converted to and replaced by digital television. This primarily involves both TV stations and over-the-air viewers; however it also involves content providers like TV networks, and cable television...
was completed.
News operation
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...
during sweeps periods.
Since its city of license is Kalamazoo, WWMT has traditionally focused in the southern areas of the market much like WOTV did while it operated a news department. WZZM focused on the northern parts of the market, due to it's transmitter location near Grant, Michigan. Besides being a stronghold in the ratings, WOOD-TV has also been the leader in operating a news department. The station was the first to use electronic news gathering equipment in 1975. Five years later, it aired live news from outside its studios. In 1983, it introduced the area's first television helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
to assist in coverage.
WOOD-TV's weekday morning show premiered in 1984 and aired for a half-hour at 6:30. This was expanded to a two-hour format in 1995 along with the weekday noon and weekend 6 p.m. show adding a half-hour. As a result, NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News is the flagship daily evening television news program for NBC News and broadcasts. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is located in the center...
is preempted on weekends. As a result of being unable to compete in the southern areas of the market, WOTV's original news department was shut down in 1990. WOOD-TV then began simulcasting some of its newscasts on that channel as well as airing specially produced newscasts covering Battle Creek and Kalamazoo. Essentially, WOTV was functioning as a news bureau for WOOD-TV.
In 1992, WOTV brought back a full news department for a second time. However, like the previous attempt, the channel could not gain enough viewers or make a dent in the ratings. LIN TV finally decided to shut down WOTV's news operation for good in August 2003. Since then, the station has simulcast
Simulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
some of WOOD-TV's newscasts, but this time without any separate opens or segments. There are weeknight prime time weather updates featuring Chief Meteorologist Bill Steffen.
Currently, only the second hour of WOOD-TV's weekday morning show and nightly newscast at 6 (first half-hour only) is simulcast on WOTV. On October 21, 2007, WOOD-TV began offering a nightly prime time broadcast at 10 on WXSP joining productions on Fox affiliate WXMI
WXMI
WXMI channel 17 is a Fox-affiliated television station in Grand Rapids, Michigan, owned by the Tribune Company. WXMI's studio and office facility is located in Grand Rapids and its transmitter is based southwest of Middleville, Michigan...
and CW affiliate WWMT-DT2
WWMT-DT2
WWMT-DT2 is the CW-affiliated television station for West Michigan. It is a second digital subchannel of CBS affiliate WWMT, owned by Freedom Communications...
. The entertainment and lifestyle magazine show eightWest premiered on October 5, 2009 and airs weekday mornings at 11 for an hour as well as being streamed live on the channel's website. Also on that date, WOOD-TV became the second station in southwestern Michigan to begin offering local newscasts in 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 ...
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....
. Although not truly high definition, the broadcast match the ratio of HD television screens. The simulcasts on WOTV were included in the upgrade. On October 22, 2011, WOOD-TV became the third television station in southwestern Michigan (behind Fox affiliate WXMI and CBS affiliate WWMT) to broadcast local newscasts in high definition.
Sports Overtime is a weekly half-hour sports highlight show that airs Sunday nights after the 11 o'clock news. Football Frenzy is WOOD-TV's weekly highlight program covering the Friday night high school football games as well as other sports news of the day. The 11 p.m. newscast is shortened to allow Football Frenzy to air during the regular time slot. To The Point is a weekly political talk show hosted by Rick Albin that airs Sunday mornings at 10.
WOOD-TV has the distinction of being one of the last remaining broadcast television stations in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
currently utilizing the 24 Hour News Source
24 Hour News Source
The 24 Hour News Source brand was a common name used by American television stations starting in the early 1990s for brief hourly news updates, usually running 30 seconds to a minute in length. At its peak, dozens of stations across the U.S. were producing these brief news updates...
format which it began using in 1990. The other stations still using the format are sister station CBS affiliate WISH-TV
WISH-TV
WISH-TV, virtual channel 8, is the CBS-affiliated television station for Central Indiana licensed to Indianapolis. Owned by the LIN TV Corporation, WISH-TV is part of a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate WNDY-TV and the two share studios on North Meridian Street at the north end of Indianapolis'...
in Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, ABC affiliate KCRG-TV
KCRG-TV
KCRG-TV, channel 9, is a television station, operating as the ABC affiliate for the Cedar Rapids, Iowa metropolitan area, and the nearby cities of Waterloo, Iowa City and Dubuque....
in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and east of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city...
, and NBC affiliate KFDX-TV
KFDX-TV
KFDX, virtual channel 3, is the NBC affiliated television station located in Wichita Falls, Texas. It also serves Lawton, Oklahoma. Its transmitter is located at the studio in Wichita Falls...
in Wichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States, United States. Wichita Falls is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay and Wichita counties. According to the U.S. Census estimate of 2010,...
. In addition to featuring live regional 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...
radar data, this station operates its own weather radar on top of the Oakwood Manor Apartments next to its studios.
Newscast Titles
- News and Events (1949-1959)
- The Marlboro News (1959-1962)
- The Big News (1962-1972)
- 6pm Report/11 Report (1970s)
- News in Action (1972-1976)
- NewsCenter 8 (1976-1984)
- News 8 (1984-1995)
- 24-Hour News 8 (1995-present)
Station Slogans
- We're The Best on TV-8 (1977-1981)
- The Team To Watch (1981-1984)
- Come on Home to TV-8 (1987-1988, localized version of NBC ad campaign)
- Come Home to the Best, Only on TV-8 (1988-1989, localized version of NBC ad campaign)
- The First Team for News in West Michigan (early-mid 1990s)
- First. Best. Live. (mid 1990s-1999)
- West Michigan's News Leader (1999-2011)
- On Air. Online. On The Go. (2009-present; used in news opens)
- Watching Out For You (2011-present)
News Team
Anchors- Brett Thomas - weekday mornings, noon and Executive Producer
- Emily Linnert - weekday mornings and noon
- Brian Sterling - weeknights at 5, 5:30, 6, 10, and 11
- Susan Shaw - weeknights at 5, 5:30, 6 and 11
- Marlee Ginter - weeknights at 10; also weeknight reporter
- Marc Thompson - weekend mornings/reporter
- Larry Figurski - weekend evenings
- Rachael Ruiz - eightWest host
Storm Team 8 meteorologists
- Bill Steffen, Chief Meteorologist (AMSAMS-Companies:*AMS *Auxiliary Medical Services* Austria Mikro Systeme, the old name of austriamicrosystems*American Management Systems*AMS Pictures*Arbiter Modeling Systems Pty Ltd, Melbourne, Australia*Association of Muslim Schools...
Seal of Approval) - weeknights 5, 5:30, 6, 10 and 11 - Terri DeBoer (AMS Seal of Approval) - weekday mornings and eightWest host
- Matt Kirkwood (AMS Seal of Approval) - weekdays at noon
- Laura Velasquez (AMS 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,...
) - weekend mornings - Kyle Underwood (AMS/NWANWA-Nwa:*Nwa, Kale, a village in Burma*Nwa, Cameroon, a commune in the Nord-Ouest region of Cameroon-Groups or organizations:* Northwest Airlines, a defunct U.S...
Seals of Approval) - weekend evenings at 6, 10 and 11
Sports
- Jack Doles - Director seen weeknights at 6, 10 and 11
- Football Frenzy host
- Jason Terzis - weekends at 6, 10 and 11
- Sports Overtime host and producer
- reporter
- Larry Figurski - Reporter/News
- Hondo Carpenter - SpartanMichigan State SpartansThe Michigan State Spartans are the athletic team that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 25 varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the school colors are green and white...
Nation host
Reporters
- Rick Albin - political reporter / To The Point host
- Dani Carlson
- Henry Erb - Senior investigative reporter
- Leon Hendrix
- Tom Hillen
- Crystal Hilliard
- Steve Kelso
- Joe LaFurgey
- Ken Kolker
- Lindsay Ropp - reporter/producer
- Anne Schieber - "Your Money" reporter
- Tony Tagliavia - education reporter
- Ryan Takeo
Other On Air Personalities
- Eva Aguirre Cooper - Communications Director
- Lori Cook "Maranda" - Children and Family Services Manager as well as Where You Live host
- heard on WSRW-FMWSRW-FMWQLX is a radio station broadcasting a hot adult contemporary format. Licensed to Chillicothe, Ohio, USA, it formerly broadcast country music from Hillsboro, Ohio at 106.7 FM. The station is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications and features programing from Premiere Radio Networks...
105.7
- heard on WSRW-FM
Notable former staff
- Steve KmetkoSteve KmetkoSteven Kmetko is an American entertainment television host and reporter.Kmetko was born in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. His most prominent job was on the E! cable network. He had previously worked as an entertainment reporter for CBS's Los Angeles affiliate . The television station replaced him with...
- former E!E!E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...
host - Janet ShamlianJanet ShamlianJanet Shamlian is a national correspondent for NBC News and appears on The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, and MSNBC. She is a contributor to the prime time news magazine Dateline NBC and to CNBC, the business news channel owned and operated by NBC Universal....
- now at NBC NewsNBC NewsNBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is... - John StehrJohn StehrJohn Stehr , is an American television journalist. He currently anchors at NBC affiliate WTHR in Indianapolis, Indiana weekdays at 5 pm, 6 pm and 11 pm...
- now at WTHRWTHRWTHR, channel 13, is a full-service television station serving the Indianapolis, Indiana metropolitan area. An affiliate of the NBC television network, its studios at 1000 N. Meridian Street anchor the south end of Indy's Television Row...