- For the former Newark, New Jersey television station that used the WTVG calls, see WFUT-TV.
| WTVG | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Toledo, Ohio | |
| Branding | 13 ABC (general) 13 ABC Action News (newscasts) |
| Slogan | Get Connected |
| Channel | Digital: 13 (VHF) |
| Subchannels | 13.1 ABC 13.2 Live Well HD Network 13.3 13 ABC WeatherNow/AccuWX |
| Owner | Disney/ABC (WTVG, Inc.) |
| Founded | July 21, 1948 |
| Former callsigns | WSPD-TV (1948–1979) |
| Former channels | Analog: 13 (1948-2009) Digital: 19 (1996-2009) |
| Former affiliations | Primary: NBC (1948-1955, 1970-1995) CBS (1955-1958) ABC (1958-1970) Secondary: NBC (1955-1970) CBS (1948-1955) ABC (1948-1958) DuMont (1948-1956) |
| Effective power | 14.6 kW (digital) |
| Height | 305.4 m (digital) |
| Facility ID | 74150 |
| Antenna coordinates | 41°41′0″N 83°24′49″W / 41.683333°N 83.41361°W |
| Website | www.13abc.com/ |
WTVG-DT channel 13 is the owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned ABC Television Network, licensed in Toledo, Ohio. WTVG's studios and offices are located in Toledo and its transmitter is located in Oregon, Ohio.
Contents |
History
The station signed on the air on July 21, 1948 as WSPD-TV, owned by Storer Broadcasting along with WSPD radio (AM 1370 and FM 101.5, now WRVF). The studios were originally located at 136 Huron St. in downtown Toledo. WSPD-TV was the first television station in the Storer Broadcasting chain. Originally, the station carried programming from all four television networks: NBC, ABC, CBS and DuMont. With DuMont shutting down in 1956, the CBS affiliation moving to WTOL in 1958 (was a primary affiliate of CBS from 1955-58) and the ABC affiliation moving to WDHO (now WNWO-TV) in 1970, WSPD-TV became an exclusive NBC affiliate.
Storer also owned WJBK-AM-FM-TV in Detroit and WJW-AM-FM-TV in Cleveland. WSPD-TV's city-grade signal could be seen in the Detroit suburbs, while its grade B signal could be seen in Detroit and Cleveland. The FCC grandfathered this situation under its "one-to-a-market" rule in the 1970s. Storer sold off WSPD-FM in the early 70s and WSPD-AM in 1979, and channel 13 became WTVG.
The Storer stations were taken over by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) in 1985. As a result, WTVG lost its grandfathered protection and was not sold to Gillett Communications along with the other Storer stations in 1987. Instead, it was sold to a local employee/investor group called "Toledo Television, Inc." Toledo Television, in turn was bought out by SJL Broadcast Management in 1991.
In 1994, New World Communications, the owner of most of WTVG's former sister stations, signed an affiliation deal with Fox Broadcasting Company, resulting in most of New World's stations switching affiliation to Fox. Among the stations due to switch was WJBK, Detroit's longtime CBS affiliate. To avoid being consigned to UHF in what was then the ninth-largest market, CBS heavily wooed Detroit's longtime ABC affiliate, WXYZ-TV.
WXYZ's owner, E.W. Scripps Company, then told ABC that unless it agreed to affiliate with Scripps-owned stations in four smaller markets, it would switch WXYZ to CBS. As a contingency, ABC approached SJL about buying WTVG and WJRT-TV in Flint, Michigan. Both stations' city-grade signals reached portions of the Detroit area, which would come in handy if ABC lost WXYZ to CBS. The deal closed on August 29, 1995. However, WTVG's affiliation contract didn't run out until October, so ABC had to run WTVG as an NBC affiliate for two months while NBC looked for a new affiliate in the area. On October 28, 1995, WTVG began airing ABC programming, sending the NBC affiliation to WNWO-TV.
In 1996, Capital Cities/ABC was acquired by Disney. As it turned out, ABC had agreed to the affiliation deal with Scripps as well, and WXYZ retained its ABC affiliation. With the sales of Fox-O&O WJW to Local TV LLC and NBC-O&O WCMH in Columbus to Media General, WTVG is now the only English language network-owned and operated station in the state of Ohio and, with Univision affiliate WQHS in Cleveland, one of only two O&O's in Ohio.
WTVG is one of three ABC-Disney owned-and-operated stations (along with KTRK-TV in Houston, Texas and WJRT-TV in Flint, Michigan) which never aired The Oprah Winfrey Show since its debut on September 8, 1986. Oprah has always aired on WTOL and continues to do so to the present day (as do fellow CBS affiliates KHOU in Houston and WNEM-TV in Bay City, Michigan).
Digital Television
The station's digital signal, now VHF channel 13, is multiplexed:
Digital channels
| Virtual Channel |
Video | Aspect | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13.1 | 720p | 16:9 | WTVG / ABC HD |
| 13.2 | 480i | 4:3 | Live Well HD Network |
| 13.3 | 480i | 4:3 | 13 ABC WeatherNow/The AccuWeather Channel |
On June 12, 2009, at 12:32 AM, WTVG signed off its analog channel 13 and digital channel 19 transmitters, and resumed digital TV transmission on permanent channel 13.[1] Channel 13 DTV transmits at a lower power than it did on Channel 19 DTV, so in some locations, there has been a reduction in coverage. Many VHF stations are applying to the FCC for power increases to restore their coverage area after moving from UHF back to VHF.
News Operation
WTVG utilizes the Sony PDW510 XDCAM Camcorder. All Toledo stations (WTVG, WTOL, WNWO, and WUPW) use the Jeep Liberty as an ENG vehicle, due to the fact that they are made locally by Chrysler. WTVG also uses another Jeep-brand vehicle, the Jeep Commander.
The "I-Team" is WTVG's investigative reporting unit. The I-Team also produces the "Restaurant Report Card" segment, which has been one of Action News's most popular segments. During the noon newscast, local experts in different fields answer questions sent in by viewers on WTVG's website, in a segment called "Ask the Expert". One of five different experts is featured every day. WTVG owns and operates a 350,000 Watt Doppler Radar named Live Doppler 13000.
WTVG also airs two special Friday night sports programs, Football Friday showcasing High School football games across Northwest Ohio, during the High School football season and Basketball Friday showcasing girls and boys Basketball across Northwest Ohio during the High School basketball.
The 13th Frame
Every year, WTVG holds a 35-week long bowling series called "The 13th Frame", hosted by Rob Powers, aired on Thursdays during the 11PM newscast. Players are given two balls, and win $1 for each pin knocked down. If the player gets 2 strikes, the player can go for a Turkey to win a $250 jackpot. During times when there have been losing streaks, the jackpot has been known to become progressive.
Personalities
Current On-Air Talent
(as of November 2009)
Current Anchors
- Sashem Brey - weekday mornings and 5:30 p.m.
- Kristian Brown - weekend evenings
- Lee Conklin - weeknights at 5, 6 and 11 p.m.
- Dave Holmes - weekend mornings
- Bill Hormann - weekend evenings
- Diane Larson - weeknights at 5, 6 and 11 p.m.
- Susan Ross-Wells - weekdays at noon and 5:30 p.m.
- Jeff Smith - weekday mornings and noon
- Christina Williams - weekend mornings
First Warning Weather Team
- Stan Stachak - (AMS Seal of Approval) - Chief Meteorologist; weeknights
- Jay Berschback (AMS/NWA Seals of Approval) - Meteorologist; weekday mornings "13ABC Action News This Morning" and noon
- Kristin Emery (AMS/NWA Seals of Approval) - Meteorologist; weekend mornings "13ABC Action News This Morning"
- Bill Spencer (AMS/NWA Seals of Approval) - Meteorologist; weekend evenings
- Susan Ware - Meteorologist; fill-in
Sports Team
- Joe Nugent - Sports Anchor; weekend evenings
- Chad Sokol - Sports Anchor: weeknights
Reporters
- Greg Bilazarian
- Tony Geftos
- Lissa Guyton
- Jennifer Jarrell
- Christine Long
- Andi McKay - morning traffic reporter
- Sanaa Orra
- Zack Ottenstein
- Rebecca Regnier - "People, Places and Things" feature reporter
Past Personalities
- Elisa Amigo (now at WJW-TV in Cleveland)
- Jala Anderson (now at Elon School of Communications)
- Jerry Anderson (now at WTOL-TV)
- Gordon Boyd (now at WVLT-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee)
- Jeff Blanzy (later at WLS-TV in Chicago)
- Sarah Bloomquist (now at WPVI-TV in Philadelphia)
- Ryan Burr (now at ESPN)
- Anthony Cabrera (now at KVOA-TV in Tucson, Arizona)
- Jim Carey
- Dave Chudowsky (now at WKYC-TV in Cleveland)
- Chase Clemmons
- Ronnie Dahl (now at WJBK in Detroit)
- Hakem Dermish (now at WRC-TV in Washington, D.C.)
- Tim Gerber (later at KSAT-TV in San Antonio)
- Frank Gilhooley (retired)
- John Gillespie
- Efram Graham (now at CBN News)
- Katrina Hancock (now at WDIV-TV in Detroit)
- Brenda Hines
- Steve Rudin (now at WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C.)
- Jim Hill
- Erica Hurtt (now at Financial Services Forum)
- Jera Jackson
- Greg Jones (now an auto parts salesman)
- Jason Knowles (now at WLS-TV in Chicago)
- Jeannine Lauber (now a documentary producer in Maine)
- Sam Louie
- Paul Lynde (guest weatherman in 1978)
- Jason Martinez (now at KTLA in Los Angeles)
- Jim Madaus (now CH.20 Detroit)
- Michael Mota
- Sarah Oehler
- Theresa Pollick (now at the Ohio Department of Transportation)
- Randy Price (now at WCVB-TV in Boston)
- Rob Powers (weekend sports at WABC-TV)
- Christa Quinn
- Michael Reghi (now at WKNR-AM; former Cleveland Cavaliers play-by-play announcer)
- Rebecca Regnier ("People, Places, and Things" segment only)
- Jim Rudes (retired)
- Adora Udoji (later at Court TV)
- Frank Venner (retired - also MC of "High School Quiz)
- Tom Waniewski (current district Toledo City Council member)
- Gordon Ward (retired - "Music Under the Stars MC")
- Jeanne Washko
- Kelli Wiese (now at KYTX-TV in Tyler, Texas)
- Diane Wilson (now at WTVD-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina)
- Kareen Wynter (now at CNN)
News/Station Presentation
Newscast Titles
- 13 News (1989-1993)
- 13 Action News (1993-2001)
- 13ABC Action News (2001-present)
Station Slogans
- Come Home to the Best, Only on TV-13 (1989-1990; localized version of NBC ad campaign)
- Where the Action Is (2001-2006)
- Get Connected (2006-present)
This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it with reliably sourced additions.Trivia
 |
Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (March 2009) |
- Alexis Means won an Ohio Associated Press award for best spot news coverage for "Gunmen in the School," a breaking news story in which a gunman was allegedly seen walking into a Toledo Public School.
See also
- Circle 7 logo - WTVG's Circle 13 logo is a derivative of the Circle 7 logo
References
External links
- WTVG homepage
- Michiguide.com's listing for WTVG
- Query the FCC's TV station database for WTVG
- BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WTVG-TV
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