WTVZ-TV
Encyclopedia
WTVZ-TV is the My Network TV affiliate serving the Norfolk
-Portsmouth
-Newport News, Virginia
(or Hampton Roads
) television market. The station broadcasts on channel 33 and owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group
. WTVZ's transmitter is located in Suffolk, Virginia
.
and WHRO-TV
). In late April 2009, WTVZ-TV left digital channel 38 and moved to channel 33 when the analog to digital conversion was completed.
(as the region around Norfolk is known) was unique in that it was one of the smallest markets to have four commercial television stations: NBC
affiliate WAVY-TV
, CBS
station WTAR-TV (now WTKR
), ABC
affiliate WVEC-TV
, and independent station WYAH-TV (now WGNT
). The latter station, however, was owned by the Virginia Beach
-based evangelist Pat Robertson
's Christian Broadcasting Network
, and ran a fairly conservative program schedule. At the same time, WYAH ran entertainment programs about 75 % of the time and Christian programming 25 % of the time. The entertainment shows were typical of most independents at the time and in fact WYAH had a stronger schedule than many secular independents. Still, Norfolk businessman Tim McDonald felt that there was a need for a second independent station in that market, though a few markets far larger than Hampton Roads still didn't have independent stations (San Antonio, Texas
and Birmingham, Alabama
for example). In 1976, McDonald formed TVX Broadcast Group
and secured a construction permit for Norfolk's vacant channel 33.
WTVZ began operations on September 24, 1979. The station ran a general entertainment format similar to WYAH but with a little less religious programming (for example it ran the PTL Club
between 10 AM and Noon). WTVZ experienced early success, mostly through airing a moderate amount of programming that had been considered too objectionable for WYAH. By 1981, WTVZ had passed WYAH in the ratings. Both stations had fairly similar shows (some of WTVZ's shows were ones that fell off WYAH shortly before), though WTVZ had stronger, better known, and more recent movies. Besides vintage movies, WTVZ aired a lot of cartoons, classic and recent off network sitcoms, and a few drama shows.
TVX began expanding outside of Norfolk and launched WRLH-TV
(channel 35) in nearby Richmond
in 1982. TVX also bought independent stations in Raleigh and Greensboro, North Carolina
, New Orleans
, and Little Rock, Arkansas
and launched new independents in Nashville
, Memphis
, San Antonio
and Buffalo, New York
throughout the mid-1980s. In 1986, TVX affiliated all of its stations, including WTVZ, with the Fox Broadcasting Company
.
In February 1987 TVX purchased Taft Broadcasting
's Fox affiliates and independent stations, all of which were located in larger markets such as Philadelphia
, Washington, D.C.
and Miami
. However, the company began to run into financial troubles due to debt incurred from the Taft purchase, and proceeded to sell its smaller-market stations one by one. In 1989, WTVZ was sold to Sullivan Broadcasting. The station was acquired by the Sinclair Broadcast Group in 1996. The Sinclair deal reunited channel 33 with several of its former TVX sister stations which had also been purchased by Sinclair.
WTVZ considered launching a local 10 p.m. newscast in 1991 and 1994, and in 2003 using Sinclair's News Central
format. The station's plans to start a newscast have never come to fruition.
WTVZ kept its Fox affiliation until August 1998, when it became a WB affiliate as a result of a corporate deal between Sinclair and WB. WVBT-TV (channel 43), the market's original WB affiliate, became the Fox affiliate. Throughout the 1990s, classic sitcoms, older movies, and older cartoons made way for more talk/reality shows, court shows, and more first run prime time shows from WB. Like virtually every independent station (including UPN (before 2006), Fox, My Network TV (after 2006), and WB/CW stations), the weekday cartoons also gradually disappeared from about 2000 to 2006, due to changes in the broadcast industry in general.
On January 24, 2006, the UPN
and WB networks announced they would merge into a new service, to be called The CW
, to take effect in September 2006. Former UPN affiliate WGNT became the CW's Hampton Roads affiliate. On March 2, 2006, Sinclair announced that WTVZ and sixteen of its sister stations would become MyNetworkTV
affiliates, that affect in September. MyNetworkTV is operated by Fox and its parent company, the News Corporation
. As a MyNetworkTV affiliate, the station changed its branding to "MyTVZ". This also made WTVZ one of the few stations to have been affiliated with both News Corporation-owned networks, Fox and My Network TV.
WTVZ added The Tube
music video channel on its digital signal in late July 2006. The Network was dropped in late December 2006.
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
-Portsmouth
Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the city had a total population of 95,535.The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard, is a historic and active U.S...
-Newport News, Virginia
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
(or Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
) television market. The station broadcasts on channel 33 and owned 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...
. WTVZ's transmitter is located in Suffolk, Virginia
Suffolk, Virginia
Suffolk is the largest city by area in Virginia, United States, and is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 84,585. Its median household income was $57,546.-History:...
.
Digital programming
The station's digital channel is multiplexed. On February 17, 2009, WTVZ turned off its analog signal, channel 33, and became a digital channel, one of the three in the Hampton Roads area to be all-digital (the others are WSKY-TVWSKY-TV
WSKY-TV, which was launched in October 2001, is a full-power/full market television independent station serving the Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News, VA television market and the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The station, which is part of the Hampton Roads market, broadcasts on digital channel 9...
and WHRO-TV
WHRO-TV
WHRO-TV digital channel 15 is the Public Broadcasting Service member Public television station for Hampton Roads, Virginia . The station is licensed to both Hampton and Norfolk with the studios at the Public Telecommunications Center for Hampton Roads next to the campus of Old Dominion University...
). In late April 2009, WTVZ-TV left digital channel 38 and moved to channel 33 when the analog to digital conversion was completed.
| Channel | Programming |
|---|---|
| 33.1 | Main WTVZ programming / MyNetworkTV |
| 33.2 | TheCoolTV TheCoolTV THECOOLTV is a United States over-the-air digital subchannel launched in March 2009. The network's current program schedule consists of an all-music video lineup that can be customized to meet an affiliate's preference, along with the three hours per week of E/I programming as required by the... |
| 33.3 | The Country Network |
History
In the late 1970s, the Hampton Roads areaHampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
(as the region around Norfolk is known) was unique in that it was one of the smallest markets to have four commercial television stations: 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 WAVY-TV
WAVY-TV
WAVY-TV, channel 10, is a television station licensed to Portsmouth, Virginia, serving as the NBC affiliate for the Hampton Roads area . WAVY is owned by LIN Television Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox affiliate WVBT...
, 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...
station WTAR-TV (now WTKR
WTKR
WTKR is the CBS affiliate television station serving the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, officially known as the Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News DMA. The station is licensed to Norfolk and broadcasts on channel 40 . Its transmitter is located in Suffolk, Virginia...
), 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 WVEC-TV
WVEC-TV
WVEC is the ABC affiliate television station for the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, which includes Norfolk, Portsmouth, Newport News, and the surrounding area. It is licensed to Hampton, with its main studio in downtown Norfolk. Its transmitter is located in Suffolk, Virginia...
, and independent station WYAH-TV (now WGNT
WGNT
WGNT, channel 27 , is a television station licensed to Portsmouth, Virginia, USA. WGNT is the CW Television Network affiliate for the Hampton Roads television market and is owned by Local TV, which also operates WTKR , Hampton Roads' CBS affiliate...
). The latter station, however, was owned by the Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...
-based evangelist Pat Robertson
Pat Robertson
Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson is a media mogul, television evangelist, ex-Baptist minister and businessman who is politically aligned with the Christian Right in the United States....
's Christian Broadcasting Network
Christian Broadcasting Network
The Christian Broadcasting Network, or CBN, is a fundamentalist Christian television broadcasting network in the United States. Its headquarters and main studios are in Virginia Beach, Virginia.-Background:...
, and ran a fairly conservative program schedule. At the same time, WYAH ran entertainment programs about 75 % of the time and Christian programming 25 % of the time. The entertainment shows were typical of most independents at the time and in fact WYAH had a stronger schedule than many secular independents. Still, Norfolk businessman Tim McDonald felt that there was a need for a second independent station in that market, though a few markets far larger than Hampton Roads still didn't have independent stations (San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
and Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
for example). In 1976, McDonald formed TVX Broadcast Group
TVX Broadcast Group
The TVX Broadcast Group was an American media company that owned a group of UHF television stations during the 1980s. Originally known as the Television Corporation, the company was headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, and was founded by a group of Norfolk-area businessmen led by Timothy McDonald...
and secured a construction permit for Norfolk's vacant channel 33.
WTVZ began operations on September 24, 1979. The station ran a general entertainment format similar to WYAH but with a little less religious programming (for example it ran the PTL Club
Jim Bakker
James Orsen "Jim" Bakker is an American televangelist, a former Assemblies of God minister, and a former host of The PTL Club, a popular evangelical Christian television program.A sex scandal led to his resignation from the ministry...
between 10 AM and Noon). WTVZ experienced early success, mostly through airing a moderate amount of programming that had been considered too objectionable for WYAH. By 1981, WTVZ had passed WYAH in the ratings. Both stations had fairly similar shows (some of WTVZ's shows were ones that fell off WYAH shortly before), though WTVZ had stronger, better known, and more recent movies. Besides vintage movies, WTVZ aired a lot of cartoons, classic and recent off network sitcoms, and a few drama shows.
TVX began expanding outside of Norfolk and launched WRLH-TV
WRLH-TV
WRLH-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for Richmond, Virginia. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 26 from a transmitter at the studios of PBS affiliates WCVE-TV/WCVW in Bon Air. The station can also be seen on Comcast and Verizon FiOS channel 11. There is a high...
(channel 35) in nearby Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
in 1982. TVX also bought independent stations in Raleigh and Greensboro, North Carolina
WXLV-TV
WXLV-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Piedmont Triad area of North Carolina that is licensed to Winston-Salem. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 29 from a transmitter in Randleman along I-73/U.S. 220...
, New Orleans
WNOL-TV
WNOL-TV, virtual channel 38, is the CW-affiliated television station in New Orleans, Louisiana. It broadcasts on UHF digital channel 15. It is owned by Tribune Broadcasting, in a duopoly with ABC affiliate WGNO.-Digital television:...
, and Little Rock, Arkansas
KASN
KASN, virtual channel 38, branded as "The CW Arkansas", is an affiliate of The CW Television Network in Little Rock, Arkansas. The station is owned by Newport Television, in a duopoly with Fox affiliate KLRT . The station shares studios with KLRT that are located east of I-430 on Colonel Glenn Rd...
and launched new independents in Nashville
WUXP-TV
WUXP, channel 30 is the MyNetworkTV affiliate in Nashville, Tennessee. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, and is a sister station to Fox affiliate WZTV channel 17 and the CW affiliate WNAB channel 58. It is currently branded as My 30. Its transmitter is located in Whites Creek, Tennessee...
, Memphis
WLMT
WLMT is the CW-affiliated television station for Western Tennessee licensed to Memphis. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 31 from a transmitter in Arlington's Brunswick section. The station can also be seen on Comcast channel 9 and in high definition on digital channel...
, San Antonio
KMYS
KMYS, channel 35, is the CW affiliate in San Antonio, Texas. The station is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group. It is licensed to the nearby city of Kerrville. Its transmitter is located near Lakehills, Texas.-Founding:...
and Buffalo, New York
WNYO-TV
WNYO-TV is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station in Buffalo, New York, serving the western region of New York state. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 49 from a transmitter at Ironwood Golf Course in Bennington's Cowlesville section. The station can also be seen...
throughout the mid-1980s. In 1986, TVX affiliated all of its stations, including WTVZ, with the Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
.
In February 1987 TVX purchased Taft Broadcasting
Taft Broadcasting
The Taft Broadcasting Company, also known as Taft Television and Radio Company, Incorporated, was an American media conglomerate based in Cincinnati, Ohio....
's Fox affiliates and independent stations, all of which were located in larger markets such as Philadelphia
WTXF-TV
WTXF-TV, virtual channel 29 , is an owned-and-operated station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
, Washington, D.C.
WDCA
WDCA, virtual channel 20, is a television station in Washington, D.C.. Owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, WDCA is a sister station to Fox network outlet WTTG , and is affiliated with the co-owned MyNetworkTV programming service...
and Miami
WFOR-TV
WFOR-TV, virtual channel 4.1 , is the CBS owned-and-operated station in Miami, Florida. WFOR shares its TV studio facilities with sister station WBFS-TV in Doral, near Miami International Airport, and its transmitter is located in Miramar.WFOR-TV also previously had two translator stations in the...
. However, the company began to run into financial troubles due to debt incurred from the Taft purchase, and proceeded to sell its smaller-market stations one by one. In 1989, WTVZ was sold to Sullivan Broadcasting. The station was acquired by the Sinclair Broadcast Group in 1996. The Sinclair deal reunited channel 33 with several of its former TVX sister stations which had also been purchased by Sinclair.
WTVZ considered launching a local 10 p.m. newscast in 1991 and 1994, and in 2003 using Sinclair's News Central
News Central
News Central was a primetime newscast on Sinclair television stations in the United States, mixing locally produced news with nationally produced news and an opinion segment from Sinclair's Hunt Valley, Maryland studios...
format. The station's plans to start a newscast have never come to fruition.
WTVZ kept its Fox affiliation until August 1998, when it became a WB affiliate as a result of a corporate deal between Sinclair and WB. WVBT-TV (channel 43), the market's original WB affiliate, became the Fox affiliate. Throughout the 1990s, classic sitcoms, older movies, and older cartoons made way for more talk/reality shows, court shows, and more first run prime time shows from WB. Like virtually every independent station (including UPN (before 2006), Fox, My Network TV (after 2006), and WB/CW stations), the weekday cartoons also gradually disappeared from about 2000 to 2006, due to changes in the broadcast industry in general.
On January 24, 2006, the 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...
and WB networks announced they would merge into a new service, to be called The CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
, to take effect in September 2006. Former UPN affiliate WGNT became the CW's Hampton Roads affiliate. On March 2, 2006, Sinclair announced that WTVZ and sixteen of its sister stations would become MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
affiliates, that affect in September. MyNetworkTV is operated by Fox and its parent company, the News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
. As a MyNetworkTV affiliate, the station changed its branding to "MyTVZ". This also made WTVZ one of the few stations to have been affiliated with both News Corporation-owned networks, Fox and My Network TV.
WTVZ added The Tube
The Tube (TV channel)
The Tube Music Network was a music video network carried on free-to-air satellite television, select digital television subchannels and digital cable systems. The network's president and founder was Les Garland, a veteran of MTV and VH1. The Tube was a wholly owned subsidiary of The Tube Media Corp...
music video channel on its digital signal in late July 2006. The Network was dropped in late December 2006.