WTVA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| WTVA | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Tupelo-Columbus-West Point, Mississippi | |
| Branding | Channel 9 |
| Slogan | Live, Local, Late-Breaking. |
| Channels | 9 (VHF) analog, 8 (VHF) digital |
| Affiliations | NBC (unofficial until mid-1960s) |
| Owner | WTVA, Inc. (Spain family) |
| Founded | March 18, 1957 |
| Call letters meaning | Tennessee Valley Authority, of which Tupelo was the first city |
| Former callsigns | WTWV (1957-79) |
| Former affiliations | ABC (secondary, 1957-83) |
| Transmitter Power | 316 kW (analog) |
| Website | www.wtva.com |
WTVA is the NBC television affiliate for the Tupelo-Columbus-West Point, Mississippi television market. The station is owned by the Spain family. Its transmitter is located 2.1 miles northwest of Woodland, Mississippi.
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[edit] History
Channel 9 was the brainchild of Frank K. Spain, who graduated from Mississippi State University at the age of 19 with a degree in engineering and had helped build WRC-TV in Washington, DC. While serving as technical director at WHEN-TV in Syracuse, New York (now WTVH); he dreamed of bringing a television station to Tupelo, where he'd spent most of his childhood.
Spain applied for a license in 1953, which was granted in 1956. The station first signed on the air on March 18, 1957, with the call letters WTWV. The station's equipment (antenna, transmitter, cameras, etc.) were all hand-built in Spain's garage, backyard and basement in Syracuse.
Spain hoped to parlay his good relations with NBC officials into getting his new station an NBC affiliation. However, several NBC executives believed that Tupelo was not a desirable place for a local station because of its rural location, dozens of miles away from cities such as Memphis and Birmingham. Nonetheless, they told Spain that if he could figure out a way to obtain a network signal, he could carry it. Spain allegedly negotiated under-the-table deals with WMC-TV in Memphis, and set up a network of microwave relays and repeater systems to carry the WMC-TV signal to Tupelo. Station engineers then switched to and from the WMC-TV signal when network programming aired. This setup, necessary in the days before satellites, enabled WTWV to bring NBC programming to northeast Mississippi. The station also carried a secondary affiliation with ABC.
In the mid-1960s, WTWV was approached about becoming a full ABC affiliate. Spain, who was still receiving "bootleg" NBC programming, told NBC executives that ABC was willing to pay him. This prompted NBC to negotiate a formal deal with Spain, and WTWV officially became an NBC affiliate. Still, the station did carry some ABC programming in off hours until WVSB (now WLOV) in nearby West Point began operating on channel 27 in 1983. Ironically, WTVA now has an LMA with that station (see below).
WTWV built a brand-new tower in 1979 that not only brought a city-grade signal to Columbus for the first time, but gave the station one of the largest coverage areas in the country. Also in 1979, it changed its call letters to WTVA, in honor of Tupelo's recognition as the first Tennessee Valley Authority city in the Southeast. The WTWV callsign was later used on a radio station in Mashpee, Massachusetts, a station unrelated to the current WTVA.
The station is still owned by the Spain family today. Frank Spain died on April 25, 2006, at the age of 78. Frank was the former CEO of WTVA, Inc.; his wife Jane has now assumed the CEO position, continuing the Spain family ownership.
[edit] Innovations
WTWV was the first commercial television station in Mississippi to devote the entire morning broadcast schedule to educational, or children's, programming. The station also made history as the first television station in Mississippi to broadcast a live basketball game.
[edit] Newscast titles
[edit] Weekday programs
- The Morning Show (5:30 - 7:00 a.m.) - Variety show comprised of news, special guests on various topics, and the Morning Show Band, led by Kay Bain. The show is hosted by Terry Smith, with Kelli Cook providing news updates and John Dolusic giving periodic weather updates.
- WTVA News Live at Noon (12:00 p.m. - 12:30 p.m.) - Anchored by Kelli Cook. John Dolusic provides TrueView weather forecasts.
- WTVA News Live at Five (5:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.) - Anchored and produced by Guy Hornbuckle. Dick Rice provides TrueView weather forecasts and Jim Holder gives a look at the day's sports.
- WTVA News Live at Six (6:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.) - Anchored by Kathy Powell and Craig Ford. Dick Rice provides TrueView weather forecasts and Marlin Williams gives a look at the day's sports.
- WTVA News Live at Ten (10:00 p.m. - 10:35 p.m.) - Anchored by Kathy Powell and Craig Ford. Dick Rice provides TrueView weather forecasts and Jim Holder gives a look at the day's sports.
[edit] Weekend programs
- Focus (5:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.) - Airs Saturday evenings. Community events program hosted by Terry Smith.
- WTVA News Live at Six (6:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.) - Anchored by Robert Byers and Julie Brown. Scott Agner provides TrueView weather forecasts and either Jim Holder or Marlin Williams gives a look at the weekend's sports. The 6:00 p.m. newscast only airs on Saturdays.
- WTVA News Live at Ten (10:00 p.m. - 10:35 p.m.) - Same format as 6:00 p.m. newscast on Saturday. Airs Saturday and Sunday evenings.
[edit] High-Definition, Digital Television, and the FCC
Though WTVA has been assigned a digital channel, the station currently only broadcasts in analog. All NBC HD network programming is shown as 4:3 letterbox, such as Late Night With Conan O'Brien. At this time, the station does not have the ability to transmit digitally or in high-definition (its audio signal is mono as well). By comparison, WTVA's sister station, FOX affiliate WLOV-TV, broadcasts network programming in high-definition over a low-power digital transmitter. The transmitter's maximum range is unknown.
[edit] Current Personalities
- Terry Smith, co-host of the Morning Show
- Kelli Cook, co-host of the Morning Show and Live at Noon Anchor
- John Dolusic, meteorologist for the morning news shift and host of the Web Watch segment
- Kay Bain, co-host of the Morning Show and leader of the Morning Show Band.
- Guy Hornbuckle, Live at Five anchor and producer
- Dick Rice, chief meteorologist; appears on Live at Five, Six, and Ten newscasts
- Jim Holder, sports director and Live at Five and Ten sports anchor
- Craig Ford, co-anchors the Live at Six and Ten newscasts.
- Kathy Powell, co-anchors the Live at Six and Ten newscasts.
- Marlin Williams, Live at Six sports anchor
- Robert Byers, weekend newscast anchor
- Scott Agner, meteorologist for weekend newscasts
- Julee Brown, weekend newscast co-anchor
- Wayne Hereford, reporter
- Susan Parker, reporter
- Anna Freeman, reporter and substitute anchor for Live at Five newscast.
- Danielle Rotolo, reporter
[edit] Past Personalities
- Mark Ledbetter, former nightly newscast anchor; became WTVA's general manager in 1976
- Will Kollmeyer, former sports anchor; now sports information director at Itawamba Community College
- Matthew East, former evening/weekend meteorologist, now weekend meteorologist at News 14 Carolina in Charlotte
- Jeffrey Rupp, former reporter; now government affairs director at Mississippi State University
- Nick Paranjape, former anchor, now weekend anchor for WMC-TV in Memphis
- Kristin Tallent, former sports anchor, now weekend sports anchor for WHBQ FOX13 in Memphis
- Buddy Bain, co-host of The Mornin' Show; deceased, 1997.
- Wendy Allen, former news anchor; became weekend anchor for Central Florida News 13 in 2004, dismissed/quit in December 2006.
- James Hull, former reporter and substitute anchor
- Matt Wyatt, former weekend sports anchor and Southern Sportsman reporter, now sports information director for Northeast Mississippi Community College
[edit] Affiliated stations
WTVA, Inc., the parent company that controls and manages WTVA, also controls and manages two other stations in the Tupelo-Columbus-West Point market. These stations are the FOX affiliate WLOV and ABC affiliate WKDH. WTVA, Inc. manages the other two stations through an LMA, or local marketing agreement. Each station has its own station manager and owner, in accordance with FCC policy.
WTVA, Inc. also previously owned and operated a station in Flagstaff, Arizona, KTFL. That station, however, has since went silent, with its license cancelled.
