WNEM-TV

WNEM-TV


Bay City / Saginaw / Flint, Michigan
United States
Branding .1: TV 5
.2: My 5[1]
Slogan Coverage you can count on
Channels Digital: 22 (UHF)
Virtual: 5 (PSIP)
Affiliations
Owner Meredith Corporation
First air date February 16, 1954 (1954-02-16)
Call letters' meaning NorthEastern Michigan Corporation[2]
Former channel number(s) Analog:
5 (VHF, 1954–2009)
Former affiliations
Transmitter power 1,000 kW
Height 275.3 metres (903 ft)
Facility ID 41221
Transmitter coordinates 43°28′14.6″N 83°50′35.6″W / 43.470722°N 83.843222°W / 43.470722; -83.843222
Licensing authority FCC
Public license information: Profile
CDBS
Website wnem.com

WNEM-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for the Flint/Tri-Cities market in Michigan. It is licensed to Bay City, and broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 22 (PSIP virtual channel 5). Owned by the Meredith Corporation, the station has studios on North Franklin Street in downtown Saginaw,[5] as well as a second newsroom in downtown Flint. Its 1,000-kilowatt, 275.3-metre-high (903 ft) transmitter is located on Becker Road in Robin Glen-Indiantown, in Buena Vista Township, east of Saginaw.

The station also operates the area's MyNetworkTV affiliate, "My5", on a second digital subchannel.[1] WNEM-TV is the only station in the Flint/Tri-Cities market headquartered in the city of Saginaw, and in turn focuses its local news stories on Saginaw, Bay City, and Midland, with a secondary focus on Flint.

History

Saginaw skyline as seen from the Bearinger Building with WNEM-TV's studios in the foreground.

NBC affiliate

WNEM-TV was founded by the NorthEastern Michigan Corporation, hence the call letters, on February 16, 1954 as a NBC affiliate.[2] Originally, its main studios were located on rented space at Bishop International Airport in Flint with auxiliary studios in its city of license, Bay City. In the 1960s, it moved its main studios to the transmitter site in Indiantown, after flirting with the idea of co-locating the television station on the WSAM tower in Saginaw. During its first four years, WNEM-TV had a secondary affiliation with ABC[2] sharing programming from that network with WKNX-TV (channel 57, now WEYI-TV channel 25) until 1958 when WJRT-TV signed-on and took that affiliation.[2] WNEM-TV also aired programming from DuMont until that network dissolved.

James Gerity's, a professional violinist, Gerity Broadcasting bought the station in 1961 and sold it to the Meredith Corporation[6] in 1969.[2] In the mid-1980s, the station moved its primary studios to their current location in downtown Saginaw. The Becker Road studios would later be used for the Buena Vista campus of Delta College, though the complex still houses WNEM-TV's transmitter. By the late 1980s, mirroring a trend in many other television markets, WNEM-TV was the dominant station in Mid-Michigan, helped by NBC's then-dominant prime time lineup.

CBS affiliate

On January 16, 1995, WNEM-TV and WEYI swapped networks, and WNEM-TV became a CBS affiliate (announced June 30, 1994).[2][7] The move came because Detroit's longtime CBS affiliate, WJBK, had switched to the Fox network,[7] and CBS was unable to get WXYZ-TV or WDIV to switch networks.

Also on January 16, 1995, WEYI took on secondary affiliations with both UPN [3][4] and The WB and aired programming from the two networks late at night.[2] The station relinquished the secondary WB affiliation in October 1999 to WEYI.[8] It dropped CBS's daytime soap opera Guiding Light in 1996 due to low ratings, which made it one of two CBS stations in the nation that did not carry the program for what would turn out to be its final 13 years (the other was KOVR in Sacramento, California). However, by 2007 the show was aired instead on My5 at 10 am, and stayed there for the rest of its run. WNEM now clears the entire CBS daytime lineup on their primary channel, having moved Guiding Light’s replacement Let's Make A Deal over from My5 in 2012. It currently airs at 10am.

In 2006, WNEM-TV entered into a news share agreement with WSMH.[5] On September 10, 2007, the station dropped its 9 AM show, "Tyra Banks", for "Better Mid Michigan".[9]

By May 2008, WNEM used its MyNetworkTV affiliation to launch "My5 TV" cable channel along with some Detroit Piston games.[5] My5 TV was launched later on an over the air subchannel.[1]

WNEM-TV discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over VHF channel 5, on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 22,[10][11] using PSIP to display the station's virtual channel as its former VHF analog channel 5. However, channel 5 analog did remain on-the-air for a short period afterward with a nightlight slide with phone numbers and information about the switch.

As of April 1, 2011, Comcast Cablevision subscribers in Holly, MI and surrounding areas recently had WNEM-TV replaced with WWJ-TV as the main CBS network affiliate. My5 was also replaced with WMYD as the main MyNetworkTV affiliate. In August, WNEM-TV began airing its syndicated programming in high definition. While Fenton, Holly and areas are much closer to Flint than Detroit (15 miles compared to 45), they are in the far northern portions of Oakland County, which is technically part of the Detroit television market.

On November 21, 2011 WNEM-TV aired allegations of sexual abuse against US Representative Dale Kildee that were criticized as politically motivated and a breach of journalistic ethics. An attorney for the station said that the broadcast was protected as it involved a public official and that no actual malice was intended.[12]

On April 27, 2015, WSMH dropped WNEM's 10 PM news from their primary subchannel, while WNEM moved that program to its My5 subchannel.[13] Also in spring 2015, WNEM added subchannel with an affiliation with Cozi TV.[14]

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Physical Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Nickname Programming[1]
5.1 22.4 1080i 16:9 WNEM-HD TV 5 Main WNEM-TV programming / CBS
5.2 22.3 480i 4:3 WNEM-D2 MY 5 MyNetworkTV, sports, syndicated programs[5]
5.3 22.5 WNEM-D3 N/A Cozi TV

Programming

The channel aired a local lifestyle magazine show called Better Mid-Michigan, locally hosted since September 2013 by Katie O'Mara, weekday mornings at 9[15] with a replay on My5 weeknights at 6. On September 10, 2007, the station dropped its 9 AM show, "Tyra Banks", for "Better Mid Michigan", then local hosts were by "TV Wake Up" co-anchor Jocelyn Connell and meteorologist Mike Cameron.[9] They were replaced by Wake Up & noon anchor Amy Andrews until 2011 when she left.[16] Better Mid-Michigan is expected to end in Spring 2015.[15]

For the fall 2012 season, the station pick up Dish Nation, a half-hour syndicated entertainment news program for its main channel.[17]

Early original

Little to no records are held regarding the station's early programming. The few that were remembered are Chester the Clown, Hoss 'n' Stuff, Mr. Hot Dog, "Captain Muddy" hosted Popeye cartoons, Adventure Patrol and the "Jumping Cowboy".[18]

At launch, the station hired Chet Rogoza as an announcer and drafted as the Chester the Clown host. Chester only being a puppet controlled by Rogoza. Harold Stone joined the show as the puppet master for Mr. Shaakestail, Bard disciple dog late in the shows run, which ended in the early 1960s.[18]

Hoss 'n' Stuff featured a puppet horse played by Jim Adams and the mailman Stuff played by Chuck Waters. Stuff would visit Hoss at the fence for a comedic interchange with Stuff being the straight man.[18]

Mr. Hot Dog originated as an ad featuring Jim Payton as the logo character of the restaurant chain of the same name. Quickly, the character had its own Saturday morning program with the added puppet character of Daddy Cool with a long wiener-shaped nose.[18]

From 1958 to 1968, Chuck Waters as "Captain Muddy" of the S.S. Mudhole hosted the Popeye cartoons. Adventure Patrol was hosted by station manager Tom Mathews with little else know about the show. A transfer from the Cadillac-Traverse City market, the station had a Western show featuring Kenny Roberts, the "Jumping cowboy".[18]

Sports

WNEM-TV televises regional and national sports from CBS Sports. Local sports include games of the Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans men's basketball teams (via the College Basketball on CBS contract), and Detroit Lions home games vs AFC opponents (via the NFL on CBS contract). The station is also an affiliate of the Detroit Lions Television Network which airs preseason games. Since WNEM-TV's normal coverage area reaches within 75 miles of the Lions' home Ford Field, it is part of the Lions' blackout area; this applies to both preseason and regular season games.[19] Channel 5 has also televised three home games of the local Ontario Hockey League hockey team the Saginaw Spirit. By 2007, WNEM pickup Detroit Piston games outside of the network agreements[5] for My5 TV. In February 2007, WNEM picked up 17 Detroit Tigers games through the Fox Sports Detroit's Tigers regional TV network primarily for My5 TV.[20]

News operation

In addition to its main facilities, the station operates a Genesee County Bureau at the Wade Trim Building on Saginaw Street in Downtown Flint. This had been located in Mundy Township's Gateway Center[5] until October 2008.[21] WNEM-TV operates their own weather radar, known as "First Warn 5 Pinpoint Doppler Radar", on the eastern side of MBS International Airport which is also streamed live on its website.

WNEM broadcasts news at 5 a.m., noon, 5 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m.[15] While on My 5, its news department has an hour long show at 10 p.m.[13] plus a 7 p.m. half hour and an early morning show.

WNEM-TV produced news segments for then-sister radio station WNEM 1250 AM ; this ended after that station adopted a Catholic-based format under new owners. WSGW 790 AM in Saginaw now rebroadcasts the 6pm news. My5 previously rebroadcast the main channel's weeknight 6 o'clock newscast at 7, but this has since been replaced by a LIVE newscast at 7.

In 2006, WNEM-TV entered into a news share agreement with Fox affiliate WSMH for their existing nightly prime time broadcast at 10 on that station.[5] This came about after that station's owner, the Sinclair Broadcast Group, shut down its News Central operation as well as WSMH's news department. Originally entitled TV 5 News at 10 on Fox 66, the WNEM-TV-produced program recently added new graphics and was renamed Fox 66 News at 10. On Monday nights during the newscast, the "Fugitive Files" segment aired. On April 27, 2015, WSMH dropped WNEM's hour long 10 p.m. news from their primary channel in favor of a new 10 p.m. show produced by the now Sinclair Broadcast Group owned WEYI, while WNEM moved that program to its My5 subchannel.[13]

In August 2009, the station began carrying obituaries following its weekday morning, Noon and 6 o'clock shows. This service began after local major newspapers in the region including The Bay City Times, The Saginaw News, and The Flint Journal reduced publication to three times a week in June 2009. At first a free service when it was launched, WNEM-TV began charging $100 per obituary in September 2009. As of October 19, 2009, over 700 obituaries appeared on the channel and its website, obitmichigan.com.[22] WNEM-TV became the second television in both Michigan and the United States, after WJBK, to air obituaries on a daily basis.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Digital TV Market Listing for WNEM-TV". RabbitEars.info. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "WNEM-TV Channel 5 Bay City". Station Listings. Michiguide.com. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  3. 1 2 "UPN Network Affiliates". parentstv.org. Parents Television Council. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  4. 1 2 "Michigan". Affiliate listings. UPN. Archived from the original on May 16, 2006. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hale, Jane (May 5, 2009). "Flint area watchers can find major networks, cable on tube". The Flint Journal. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  6. ↑ White, Sue (March 6, 2011). "Memories of Saginaw's 'Beautiful Music' spark WGER 102.5 FM Historical Society". The Saginaw News. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  7. 1 2 "Meredith Shifts Stations to CBS". New York Times. June 30, 1994. p. 6. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  8. ↑ "WEYI-TV Channel 25 Saginaw". Station Listings. michiguide.com. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  9. 1 2 Pullen, Doug (August 3, 2007). "On Media: Asher exits WJRT, WNEM adds news mag". The Flint Journal. Mlive Media Group. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  10. ↑ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-03-24.
  11. ↑ FCC.gov - Appendix B: All Full Power Television Stations by DMA, Indicating Those Terminating Analog Service on or before February 17, 2009
  12. ↑ Lessenberry, Jack (November 25, 2011). "Decades-old claims against Kildee don't hold up". Toledo Blade.
  13. 1 2 3 Dodson, Andrew (March 26, 2015). "WNEM TV 5 newscast on Fox 66 being replaced by WEYI 25 starting battle for 10 p.m.". Bay City Times. Mlive Media Group. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Cozi TV Diginet Adds Eight Stations". TV News Check. NewsCheckMedia. March 23, 2015. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  15. 1 2 3 Dodson, Andrew (February 13, 2015). "WNEM TV5 anchor Katie O'Mara takes leave of absence due to blood disease". Bay City Times. Mlive Media Group. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  16. ↑ Engel, Justin (July 31, 2011). "Channel 5, WNEM anchor bids adieu". Flint Journal. Mlive Media Group. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  17. ↑ "'Dish Nation' Sold In Over 70% Of U.S.". TVNews Check. January 25, 2012. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 Hollis, Tim (2001). Hi There, Boys and Girls!: America's Local Children's TV Shows. University Press of Mississippi. p. 152. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  19. ↑ Preseason TV Detroit Lions official site
  20. ↑ Pullen, Doug (February 20, 2007). "Some Tiger games to air on My 5 TV". The Flint Journal. Mlive Media Group. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  21. ↑ Burden, Melissa (October 7, 2008). "Wade Trim Building open to public; more news on downtown expected next week". Flint Journal. Mlive Media Group. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  22. ↑ Steinberg, Brian (October 19, 2009). "Local TV Garners Revenue From Obituaries". adage.com. Retrieved 22 August 2012.

External links

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