WSTQ-LP
Encyclopedia
WSTQ-LP is the low-powered CW-affiliated television station
for Central
New York State licensed to Syracuse
. It broadcasts an analog signal on UHF channel 14 from a transmitter on West Kirkpatrick Street alongside WOLF-FM
's tower in the city's Lakefront
section. Due to the low-powered status, the station does not currently operate a digital signal of its own. However, WSTM's second digital subchannel
serves as that purpose. This broadcasts in standard definition on UHF channel 14.2 (PSIP virtual channel
3.2) from a transmitter in Onondaga
's Sentinel Heights section. WSTQ can also be seen on Time Warner Cable
channel 6 (hence the CW 6 branding) and in high definition
on digital channel 866.
Owned by Barrington Broadcasting
, the station is sister to NBC
affiliate WSTM-TV
and CBS
affiliate WTVH
. The latter, however, is owned by Granite Broadcasting and operated by Barrington through joint sales
and shared services
agreements. All three share studios on James Street (NY 290
) in the Lincoln Park
section of Syracuse. Syndicated
programming on WSTQ includes: Frasier
, How I Met Your Mother
, America's Funniest Home Videos
, and Tyra
. This station splits coverage of New York Yankees
games with WSTM that are produced for MyNetworkTV
affiliate WWOR-TV
in New York City
by the YES Network
.
The station signed-on June 19, 2000 as WAWA-LP owned by Venture Technologies Group, LLC. It was technically an Independent although very few syndicated programming was shown since the majority of the line up consisted of home shopping and other paid shows. On October 20, 2001 ten months after WNYS-TV
dropped its UPN
affiliation, WAWA picked it up.
For two years, it fought to get carriage on Time Warner
Cable. Due to the lack of programming on the station, the cable company refused to carry it. It could be argued Time Warner's partial ownership of the rival WB
network played some role. By federal law, it was not obligated to carry WAWA due to its status as a low-powered station which has no "must-carry
" protection.
Time Warner had already added WSBK-TV
from Boston
to its line-up on channel 6 in July 2001. This was done even though there was a cost of nearly $
1 million a year in out-of-market
licensing fees. At one point, WAWA even offered to pay Time Warner Cable to carry the station. Low-powered outlets buying channel space on cable is commonplace due to the lack of "must-carry" protection. WAWA took the case to the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) and asked them to adopt a rule that would require Time Warner to black out WSBK's prime time UPN line up whether it carried WAWA or not. In the end, the FCC ruled against the station.
In 2003, Raycom Media
(then-owner of WSTM) purchased WAWA from Venture Technologies for an undisclosed amount of money. The station had its call letters changed to WSTQ-LP (derived from WSTM) and was given the on-air branding of "UPN 6, The Q". Raycom used "6" to reflect its pending cable channel slot on Time Warner which was obtained July 1, 2003 following WSTQ's acquisition by the company. Ironically, the same "must-carry" laws that kept WAWA off Time Warner eventually got the station on the system.
The law gives full-powered stations the option of "retransmission consent" or requesting compensation from cable systems to carry them. In this case, full-powered WSTM can require cable systems like Time Warner to offer low-powered WSTQ on the system as part of the compensation for carrying the full-power station. As a result of the ownership change, this station moved into WSTM's facilities.
Until 2005, WSTQ carried the Bill Keeler Show (a daily and later weekly local comedy series). When the show did not register in the ratings and was losing money, Keeler yanked the show from the Syracuse market in 2005. Keeler also cited FCC requirements that would require his show to be captioned in Syracuse which was an additional infrastructural expense. On March 27, 2006, Raycom Media announced the sale of WSTQ and WSTM to Barrington Broadcasting. As a result of the January 2006 announcement of UPN and The WB networks merging to create The CW, WSTQ revealed in March that it would become Syracuse's affiliate with the new network.
The station became a CW affiliate on September 18 and became known on-air as "CW 6". Also in 2006, Ion Television affiliate WSPX-TV
filed an application with the FCC to broadcast its digital signal on channel 14 where WSTQ's analog signal is located now. This was abandoned in favor of channel 15 on December 3, 2008. Originally, this station had a separate section on WSTM's website located at "wstq.com" (it has since been abandoned). WSTQ was not affected by the consolidation of sister station WSTM with rival WTVH.
at 10 on UPN 6, The Q. Right from the start, the show competed with Fox 68 Eyewitness News
at 10 (produced by WTVH) seen every night on WSYT
. WSTQ's broadcast was expanded to a seven night operation on January 8, 2005. In April 2006, WTVH ceased newscast production on WSYT in order to focus on improving its own third place ranked operation. However, the 10 p.m. shows were WTVH's most successful and had been soundly beating WSTQ. When this station became a CW affiliate, the title changed to CW 6 News at 10. Eventually, this was modified to Action News
at 10 on CW 6. The weeknight show was expanded to an hour-long format August 30, 2010 and began to feature more coverage and additional segments.
Soon after on September 7, ABC
affiliate WSYR-TV
added a prime time newscast to its second digital subchannel
. Unlike traditional 10 o'clock shows, this only airs live for fifteen minutes and then repeated four times in the hour. In mid-December 2010, WSTM became the first station in Syracuse to upgrade local newscasts to 16:9
enhanced definition
widescreen
. Although the broadcast on WSTQ was included, it can only be seen in the updated resolution on Time Warner Cable digital channel 866. This is because WSTM-DT2 (serving as WSTQ's digital signal) only transmits in pillarboxed 4:3 standard definition. Corresponding with the upgrade, this station's news received an updated graphic and music package. It was also renamed CNY Central News at 10 on CW 6.
Anchors
Multimedia journalists
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 Central
Central New York
Central New York is a term used to broadly describe the central region of New York State, roughly including the following counties and cities:...
New York State licensed to Syracuse
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
. It broadcasts an analog signal on UHF channel 14 from a transmitter on West Kirkpatrick Street alongside WOLF-FM
WOLF-FM
WMVN is a Rhythmic Adult Contemporary radio station serving the Syracuse market. WMVN operates at 100.3 MHz on the FM dial. A separate translator, W243AB, serves the city of Syracuse, New York on the 96.5 frequency...
's tower in the city's Lakefront
Lakefront, Syracuse
-Geography:It borders five other Syracuse neighborhoods, with Washington Square and Near Northeast to the east, Downtown Syracuse to the southeast, and Westside and Far Westside to the south....
section. Due to the low-powered status, the station does not currently operate a digital signal of its own. However, WSTM's 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...
serves as that purpose. This broadcasts in standard definition on UHF channel 14.2 (PSIP 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....
3.2) from a transmitter in Onondaga
Onondaga, New York
Onondaga is a town located in Onondaga County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the town had a population of 21,063. The town is named after the native Onondaga tribe, part of the Iroquois Confederacy....
's Sentinel Heights section. WSTQ 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...
channel 6 (hence the CW 6 branding) and 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 digital channel 866.
Owned by Barrington Broadcasting
Barrington Broadcasting
Barrington Broadcasting Company, LLC , headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois is an entity wholly focused on broadcast television. The company's assets mainly consist of television stations in middle and small sized markets...
, the station is sister to 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 WSTM-TV
WSTM-TV
WSTM-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Central New York State licensed to Syracuse. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 24 from a transmitter on Sentinel Heights Road in LaFayette. The station can also be seen on Verizon FiOS channel 3 and Time Warner channel 4...
and CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliate WTVH
WTVH
WTVH is the CBS-affiliated television station for Central New York State licensed to Syracuse. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 47 from a transmitter in LaFayette. The station can also be seen on Time Warner and Verizon FiOS channel 5. There is a high definition feed...
. The latter, however, is owned by Granite Broadcasting and operated by Barrington through joint sales
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...
and shared services
Shared services
Shared services refers to the provision of a service by one part of an organization or group where that service had previously been found in more than one part of the organization or group. Thus the funding and resourcing of the service is shared and the providing department effectively becomes an...
agreements. All three share studios on James Street (NY 290
New York State Route 290
New York State Route 290 is a state highway located entirely within Onondaga County, New York, extending from downtown Syracuse to the east side of the county...
) in the Lincoln Park
Lincoln Park, Syracuse
Lincoln Park, or Lincoln Hill is a neighborhood in Syracuse, New York.-Borders:James Street is the northern border of Lincoln Park, where it borders the Sedgwick Neighborhood. The western border streets are Sedgwick Street and Elm Street, where the neighborhood borders the Near Northeast Neighborhood...
section of Syracuse. 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 WSTQ includes: Frasier
Frasier
Frasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...
, How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother is an American sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays.As a framing device, the main character, Ted Mosby with narration by Bob Saget, in the year 2030 recounts to his son and daughter the events that led to his meeting...
, America's Funniest Home Videos
America's Funniest Home Videos
America's Funniest Home Videos is an American reality television program on ABC in which viewers are able to send in humorous homemade videotapes. The most common videos usually feature slapstick physical comedy arising from incidents, accidents and mishaps...
, and Tyra
The Tyra Banks Show
The Tyra Banks Show, also known as and shortened to Tyra or The Tyra Show, is an American talk show hosted by Tyra Banks. The last new episode aired on Friday, May 28, 2010.-2005-2009: Syndication:...
. This station splits coverage of New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
games with WSTM that are produced for 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 WWOR-TV
WWOR-TV
WWOR-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the flagship station of the MyNetworkTV programming service, licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey and serving the Tri-State metropolitan area. WWOR is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network flagship...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
by the YES Network
YES Network
The Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network is a New York City-based, regional cable television channel; it broadcasts a variety of sports events, with an emphasis on New York Yankees baseball games, and New Jersey Nets basketball games. YES made its debut on March 19, 2002...
.
History
WNYS-TV
WNYS-TV is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for Central New York that is licensed to Syracuse. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 44 from a transmitter in LaFayette. The station can also be seen on Time Warner channel 7 and in high definition on digital...
dropped its UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
affiliation, WAWA picked it up.
For two years, it fought to get carriage on 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. Due to the lack of programming on the station, the cable company refused to carry it. It could be argued Time Warner's partial ownership of the rival 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...
network played some role. By federal law, it was not obligated to carry WAWA due to its status as a low-powered station which has no "must-carry
Must-carry
In cable television, governments apply a must-carry regulation stating that locally-licensed television stations must be carried on a cable provider's system.- Canada :...
" protection.
Time Warner had already added WSBK-TV
WSBK-TV
WSBK-TV is a MyNetworkTV television station for eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire that is licensed to Boston. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter along the Needham and Wellesley town line southwest of the MA 9 and I-95 / MA 128...
from Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
to its line-up on channel 6 in July 2001. This was done even though there was a cost of nearly $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
1 million a year in out-of-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...
licensing fees. At one point, WAWA even offered to pay Time Warner Cable to carry the station. Low-powered outlets buying channel space on cable is commonplace due to the lack of "must-carry" protection. WAWA took the case 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...
(FCC) and asked them to adopt a rule that would require Time Warner to black out WSBK's prime time UPN line up whether it carried WAWA or not. In the end, the FCC ruled against the station.
In 2003, Raycom Media
Raycom Media
- History :Although Raycom Media dates its birth to 1996, the core of the company was formed in 1992 when Atlanta native Bert Ellis formed Ellis Communications. He eventually controlled 13 television stations and two radio stations....
(then-owner of WSTM) purchased WAWA from Venture Technologies for an undisclosed amount of money. The station had its call letters changed to WSTQ-LP (derived from WSTM) and was given the on-air branding of "UPN 6, The Q". Raycom used "6" to reflect its pending cable channel slot on Time Warner which was obtained July 1, 2003 following WSTQ's acquisition by the company. Ironically, the same "must-carry" laws that kept WAWA off Time Warner eventually got the station on the system.
The law gives full-powered stations the option of "retransmission consent" or requesting compensation from cable systems to carry them. In this case, full-powered WSTM can require cable systems like Time Warner to offer low-powered WSTQ on the system as part of the compensation for carrying the full-power station. As a result of the ownership change, this station moved into WSTM's facilities.
Until 2005, WSTQ carried the Bill Keeler Show (a daily and later weekly local comedy series). When the show did not register in the ratings and was losing money, Keeler yanked the show from the Syracuse market in 2005. Keeler also cited FCC requirements that would require his show to be captioned in Syracuse which was an additional infrastructural expense. On March 27, 2006, Raycom Media announced the sale of WSTQ and WSTM to Barrington Broadcasting. As a result of the January 2006 announcement of UPN and The WB networks merging to create The CW, WSTQ revealed in March that it would become Syracuse's affiliate with the new network.
The station became a CW affiliate on September 18 and became known on-air as "CW 6". Also in 2006, Ion Television affiliate WSPX-TV
WSPX-TV
WSPX-TV, Ion Television in Syracuse, New York, is owned by ION Media Networks.WSPX broadcasts on digital channel 15. The channel 15 frequency is short-spaced to Belleville, Ontario's CBLFT and was approved on the condition that effective radiated power of the US station not exceed 100kW.According...
filed an application with the FCC to broadcast its digital signal on channel 14 where WSTQ's analog signal is located now. This was abandoned in favor of channel 15 on December 3, 2008. Originally, this station had a separate section on WSTM's website located at "wstq.com" (it has since been abandoned). WSTQ was not affected by the consolidation of sister station WSTM with rival WTVH.
Newscasts
After being acquired by Raycom, WSTQ began airing a thirty minute prime time newscast. Produced by WSTM, it was seen on weeknights and known as Action NewsAction News
Action News is a local television newscast format in the United States. It was conceived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at WFIL-TV by then-news director Mel Kampmann in 1970 as a response to the "Eyewitness News" format used on rival station KYW-TV...
at 10 on UPN 6, The Q. Right from the start, the show competed with Fox 68 Eyewitness News
Eyewitness News
Eyewitness News is a style of news broadcasting used by local television stations in different markets across the United States. It refers to a particular style of television newscast with an emphasis on visual elements and action video...
at 10 (produced by WTVH) seen every night on WSYT
WSYT
WSYT is the Fox-affiliated television station for Central New York State that is licensed to Syracuse. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 19 from a transmitter west of LaFayette. Owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, the station operates MyNetworkTV affiliate WNYS-TV ...
. WSTQ's broadcast was expanded to a seven night operation on January 8, 2005. In April 2006, WTVH ceased newscast production on WSYT in order to focus on improving its own third place ranked operation. However, the 10 p.m. shows were WTVH's most successful and had been soundly beating WSTQ. When this station became a CW affiliate, the title changed to CW 6 News at 10. Eventually, this was modified to Action News
Action News
Action News is a local television newscast format in the United States. It was conceived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at WFIL-TV by then-news director Mel Kampmann in 1970 as a response to the "Eyewitness News" format used on rival station KYW-TV...
at 10 on CW 6. The weeknight show was expanded to an hour-long format August 30, 2010 and began to feature more coverage and additional segments.
Soon after on September 7, 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 WSYR-TV
WSYR-TV
WSYR-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for Central New York State that is licensed to Syracuse. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 17 from a transmitter on Sevier Road in Pompey. The station can also be seen on Time Warner channel 9 and in high definition on...
added a prime time newscast to its 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...
. Unlike traditional 10 o'clock shows, this only airs live for fifteen minutes and then repeated four times in the hour. In mid-December 2010, WSTM became the first station in Syracuse to upgrade local newscasts to 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
Enhanced-definition television
Enhanced-definition television, or extended-definition television, is a United States Consumer Electronics Association marketing shorthand term for certain digital television formats and devices...
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 the broadcast on WSTQ was included, it can only be seen in the updated resolution on Time Warner Cable digital channel 866. This is because WSTM-DT2 (serving as WSTQ's digital signal) only transmits in pillarboxed 4:3 standard definition. Corresponding with the upgrade, this station's news received an updated graphic and music package. It was also renamed CNY Central News at 10 on CW 6.
Anchors
- Matt Mulcahy - Managing EditorManaging editorA managing editor is a senior member of a publication's management team.In the United States, a managing editor oversees and coordinates the publication's editorial activities...
and weeknight news (also "Talk at 10" segment producer) - Lisa Spitz - weekend news and reporter (also "Talk at 10" segment producer)
- Wayne Mahar (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...
Seal of Approval) - Chief Meteorologist seen Thursday and Friday nights - Mike Brookins (AMS Seal of Approval) - Saturday through Wednesday night meteorologist
- John Evenson - 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...
seen weeknights and OrangeSyracuse UniversitySyracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
VIP Pass host - Niko Tamurian - weekend sports and sports reporter
- Dave Cumes - Orange VIP Pass host and heard on W256AC-FM 99.1/WTKW 99.5/WTKV-FM 105.5WTKWWTKW, "TK99," is a Classic rock radio station in Syracuse, New York. The station broadcasts to the Syracuse, New York and the Utica-Rome area markets on a frequency of 99.5 FM....
Multimedia journalists
- Jim Kenyon - Chief Investigative and Environmental
- Michael Benny - "Talk at 10" segment producer
- Chris McGrath - producer
- Brian Mueller - sports
- Megan Coleman
- Brandon Roth
- Jessica Cain
- Caitlin Nuclo
- Alex Dunbar