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WVIR-TV
Channels
Branding
  • 29 News
  • CW 29 (DT3)
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
March 11, 1973
(51 years ago) (1973-03-11)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 29 (UHF, 1973–2009)
  • Digital: 32 (UHF, 2002–2019); 19 (UHF, 2019–2020)
Call sign meaning
Virginia
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID70309
ERP
  • 10 kW (licensed)
  • 34 kW (STA)[2]
HAAT367.9 m (1,207 ft)
Transmitter coordinates37°59′1″N 78°28′53″W / 37.98361°N 78.48139°W / 37.98361; -78.48139
Translator(s)
Links
Public license information
Websitewww.29news.com

WVIR-TV (channel 29) is a television station in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, affiliated with NBC and The CW Plus. Owned by Gray Television, the station has studios on East Market Street (US 250 Business) in downtown Charlottesville, and its primary transmitter is located on Carters Mountain south of the city.

WVIR-TV began broadcasting as the first television station in Charlottesville on March 11, 1973. It took Charlottesville considerable time to develop a local TV station in part because half the city sits in the United States National Radio Quiet Zone, which constricted acceptable broadcast facilities in the region. In part as a result, it remained the only full-service commercial television station in Charlottesville for 31 years after being built and came to dominate the market. Waterman Broadcasting acquired the station in 1986 and would later lead the station through digitalization, the addition of the CW subchannel, and the introduction of high-definition local news in 2008, early for a market of Charlottesville's size.

In 2019, Waterman sold WVIR-TV to Gray Television, which then sold the station's direct competition—WCAV and WVAW-LD—to make the purchase. WVIR-TV switched to the VHF band in 2020, causing technical issues. WVIR-CD operates in the Charlottesville area as a rebroadcaster on the UHF band.

Television in Charlottesville: A quiet zone

[edit]

It took Charlottesville until 1973 to have a television station of its own. One factor was the assignment of exclusively ultra high frequency (UHF) television channels to the area at a time when the viability of UHF was questioned. Early UHF stations were largely futile undertakings against VHF competition, as most televisions could not receive them yet and those that did produced a poor quality picture; the Daily Progress compared the difference between VHF and UHF reception to that between local AM radio and shortwave.[3] Another factor was the location of part of Charlottesville and the surrounding area in the United States National Radio Quiet Zone. The Quiet Zone boundary runs through the grounds of the University of Virginia, dividing the area in half; all pending television allocations in the Quiet Zone had been abolished by 1965.[4]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s 1952 Sixth Report and Order, its first nationwide channel allocation table, gave Charlottesville only one channel: UHF channel 45, reserved for non-commercial use. The nearest commercial allocation was on channel 42 in Waynesboro. In the ensuing public comment period, the city of Charlottesville and Charles Barham, the owner of WCHV radio, jointly petitioned to have very high frequency (VHF) channel 8 reassigned from Petersburg to a planned mountaintop tower near Crozet. They argued the VHF allocation would give a large part of central and northern Virginia its first-ever television service. This was denied by the FCC, which reasoned that removing VHF service from the larger city of Petersburg was unwarranted, though it conceded that a UHF station in Waynesboro would be unviewable in Charlottesville and added channel 64 to compensate.[5] Barham settled for channel 64 and received a construction permit on January 29, 1953.[6] One week later, CBS affiliate WLVA-TV signed on from Lynchburg on VHF channel 13, and Charlottesville residents reported good reception.[3] WCHV radio saw no economic path forward and returned the channel 64 construction permit in January 1954.[7]

In 1961, the Charlottesville Broadcasting Corporation, owner of radio station WINA, applied to have VHF channel 11 assigned to the Waynesboro–Staunton area.[8] However, even as the FCC took applications for channel 11, the plan faced stiff opposition from the United States Navy, which planned to build a radio telescope at Sugar Grove, West Virginia.[9] In the meantime, Virginia Broadcasting Corporation, a company owned by stockbroker and bluegrass music artist William Marburg—better known as Bill Clifton—filed for Charlottesville's channel 64 allocation.[10] The channel 64 station received a construction permit in June 1964;[11] six months later, the WINA proposal for channel 11 was denied after the Navy insisted on continued protection for the Sugar Grove site.[12] The channel 64 permit was never built, though it was transferred to another group in 1966.[13]

Two parties then filed for new UHF stations, both originally specifying channel 25, in January 1965. Shenandoah Valley Broadcasting proposed a semi-satellite of WSVA-TV in Harrisonburg with local news and public affairs programming,[14] while WINA soon filed a competing proposal, believing Charlottesville needed a station of its own.[15] WINA won the construction permit, amended to specify channel 29. However, it was unable to secure a network affiliation despite general manager Donald Heyne telling the networks that nearby affiliates only provided "fair, at best" reception to Charlottesville.[16] In 1969, WINA radio was sold, but neither the buyer nor the seller wanted to retain the channel 29 construction permit, which was returned to the FCC.[17]

History

[edit]

Early years

[edit]

Another company known as the Virginia Broadcasting Corporation, a consortium of more than 30 local stockholders, filed with the FCC on October 19, 1971, for permission to build channel 29.[18] The consortium was headed by Harold Wright and Robert Stroh, owners of WELK radio.[19] The FCC granted the construction permit on March 1, 1972, and the company announced it would be operating within a year from a transmitter on Carters Mountain and studios on Main Street.[20] In June, the station secured affiliation with NBC and announced plans for daily 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts;[21] the company bought the equipment of a bankrupt TV station in Greensboro, North Carolina, which was dismantled, loaded into three rental trucks, and reassembled on Carters Mountain.[19]

WVIR-TV began broadcasting on March 11, 1973.[22] The station was three and a half hours late to its own sign-on due to a technical mishap.[19] It took four years for channel 29 to turn a profit.[23]

WVIR-TV was the first television station in Charlottesville and the only full-service outlet for more than 30 years; WHSV-TV opened a translator in Charlottesville in 1980,[24] and Richmond public television station WCVE-TV built full-power repeater WHTJ in 1989.[25] It also expanded its coverage area to include Staunton and the Harrisonburg–Rockingham County areas by way of two translators of its own.[26]

The station originally operated from studios on Main Street, in a former shoe store,[19] and later added more offices on East Market Street. In 1983, it bought a building on Market Street which was being used as a parking garage to renovate for its studios and offices.[27]

Waterman ownership

[edit]

In 1986, Waterman Broadcasting Corporation, led by Winchester native Bernie Waterman, presented an offer to the Virginia Broadcasting Corporation to buy WVIR-TV. The 41 stockholders unanimously agreed to sell the station for $8.694 million.[23][28] The station continued to dominate its local market with no competition. In one 1998 ad, the station touted its news programs as the highest-rated in Virginia; the 6 p.m. news attracted 71 percent of the audience at that hour.[29]

In 2003, WVIR was the object of a major libel case in Virginia stemming from a 2001 news report that incorrectly stated a man's property had been searched and cocaine had been seized. The station had refused to retract the incorrect report. Jurors returned a $10 million verdict against the station, but a judge reduced the amount, calling it "undue".[30][31][32]

Channel 29 gained its first full-power commercial competition when WCAV (channel 19) launched as a CBS affiliate on August 13, 2004. The station was built by Gray Television, owner of WHSV-TV, and was followed by the conversion of the former WHSV translator into WVAW-LP, a separately programmed ABC affiliate for the Charlottesville area, as well as the 2005 launch of WAHU-CA "Fox 27".[33][34][35]

WVIR-TV started a subchannel to air The CW when the network began in September 2006. This included a 10 p.m. local newscast.[36] The station began producing high-definition newscasts in April 2008, making Charlottesville the second-smallest market at the time with HD local news.[37] By this time, WVIR continued to hold a commanding lead over its competition.[38]

WVIR-TV ceased regular programming on its analog signal at 12:30 p.m. on February 17, 2009, the original date for the digital television transition under federal mandate (which was later pushed back to June 12, 2009). The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 32, using virtual channel 29; the decision to continue the February switchover saved the station $40,000.[39][40][41] As part of the analog nightlight service, the station was required by the FCC to leave its analog signal on-air for two months after the end of digital transition at an estimated cost to the station of $20,000 to broadcast an endless loop of instructional video on digital converter box installation. This was interrupted daily to carry local newscasts.[42]

The station entered the 2016–17 spectrum reallocation auction, electing to take $46,399,285 for its channel 32 allocation and move to the low-VHF band (channels 2 through 6).[43] Chief engineer Bob Jenkins noted that the station was not particularly happy with moving to channel 2 but chose it over entering a channel-sharing agreement with another station.[44]

Gray Television ownership

[edit]

Waterman announced a deal to sell WVIR-TV to Gray Television on March 4, 2019. To acquire WVIR-TV, Gray concurrently announced it would sell WCAV and WVAW-LD, as well as WAHU-CD's programming, to Lockwood Broadcast Group. Gray, however, retained the WAHU-CD license.[45][46] The sale was approved on April 15.[47] The transaction was completed on October 1.[48] On December 1, Gray split off the NBC and CW services for the Harrisonburg and Staunton area as a separate station run from WHSV-TV, WSVW-LD "NBC 3 in the Valley".[49]

Gray implemented the station's repack. The station was to move its signal from channel 32 to channel 2 by January 17, 2020. Equipment shipping and construction delays forced WVIR-TV to use WCAV's channel 19 facility temporarily before it completed the relocation to channel 2 on March 18.[50] Despite the UHF relay, WVIR-TV received hundreds of reception complaints in the following month and applied to increase its effective radiated power on channel 2 from 10 kW to 34 kW.[2] In addition to WVIR-CD, the former WAHU-CD which now broadcasts the same subchannels on the UHF band in the Charlottesville area, the station received a construction permit in 2022 to build a digital replacement translator on channel 30 at Madison, Virginia.[51] This facility began operating in July 2023.[52]

Notable alumni

[edit]

Subchannels

[edit]

The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of WVIR-TV[56]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
29.1 1080i 16:9 NBC NBC
29.2 480i Outlaw Outlaw
29.3 720p CW The CW Plus
29.4 480i Crime True Crime Network
29.5 Grit Grit
29.6 The365 The365

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WVIR-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ a b "DTV Engineering STA Application". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. May 1, 2020. Archived from the original on December 1, 2020. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Television Station Here Tentatively Planned For Fall". Charlottesville Daily Progress. February 3, 1953. p. 5.
  4. ^ "Boundary Is Outlined For Television Towers". The Daily Progress. June 10, 1965. p. 21. Archived from the original on July 3, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. and the clarification Archived July 3, 2023, at the Wayback Machine published June 11, 1965, p. 13
  5. ^ "Television Assignments: Richmond, Charlottesville, and Petersburg, Virginia (41 FCC 446–448)". Federal Communications Commission. April 14, 1952. pp. 446–448.
  6. ^ "New Grantees' Commencement Target Dates" (PDF). Broadcasting. September 7, 1953. p. 102. ProQuest 1401203622.
  7. ^ "3 Granted, 5 Dropped; Court Favors Zenith" (PDF). Television Digest with Electronics Reports. Radio News Bureau. January 23, 1954. p. 2.
  8. ^ "TV Tower Is Planned In Augusta". The Daily Progress. June 10, 1961. p. 9. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Action May Take Two Years: FCC Will Rule on TV Channel for This Area". The Daily Progress. July 27, 1963. p. 11. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "TV Station On UHF Band Planned Here". The Daily Progress. February 4, 1963. p. 13. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "FCC Grants Permit for TV Station". The Daily Progress. June 20, 1964. p. 9. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "FCC Denies TV Channel In This Area". The Daily Progress. December 24, 1964. p. 21. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Construction Permit Issued for Channel 64". The Daily Progress. November 5, 1966. p. 9. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "New Request For TV Outlet In City Made". The Daily Progress. January 19, 1965. p. 11. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "WINA Also Seeks Channel 25". The Daily Progress. February 8, 1965. p. 17. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Station to Boost Its Power Output". The Daily Progress. June 22, 1966. p. 20. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Sale of WINA stations is approved by the FCC". Broadcasting. December 15, 1969. p. 50. ProQuest 1014526209.
  18. ^ "FCC History Cards for WVIR-TV". Federal Communications Commission.
  19. ^ a b c d Maurer, David A. (June 28, 1998). "25 years after scraping together second-hand equipment, WVIR is Virginia's...Most powerful station". The Daily Progress. pp. E1, E5. Retrieved August 15, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Timetable Set for Television". The Daily Progress. March 3, 1972. p. B1. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "NBC Okays Agreement To Serve Channel 29". The Daily Progress. June 12, 1972. p. 1. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "WVIR-TV Channel 29, NBC In Charlottesville, Va., Will Sign On The Air Sunday March 11 2:45 p.m." The Daily Progress. March 11, 1973. p. A7. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ a b Riley Powell, Lee (September 20, 1986). "Channel 29 To Be Sold For $10 Million". The Daily Progress. pp. C1, C2. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Harrisonburg TV Station Improves Local Signal". The Daily Progress. November 8, 1980. p. Piedmont 8. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "New Station To Sign On". The Daily Progress. May 17, 1989. p. B1. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Area Served By Active Print And Broadcast Media". The Daily Progress. August 24, 1984. p. Welcome to Charlottesville 8, 9. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ "WVIR-TV will buy building Downtown". The Observer. May 5, 1983. p. 6. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ "Changing Hands". Broadcasting. September 29, 1986. pp. 78–79. ProQuest 1016907629.
  29. ^ "Dateline 29 News: All Day, Every Day The Most Popular Newscasts in Virginia (advertisement)". The Daily News Leader. May 5, 1998. p. A7. Archived from the original on July 3, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ^ Gramaldi, James V. (June 16, 2003). "Blair Analogy Reaches Courtroom Far From N.Y." The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  31. ^ Mooney, Jake (September–October 2003). "From simple story to major mess". Columbia Journalism Review. pp. 46–49. ProQuest 230369591.
  32. ^ "Judge says $10 million jury award is excessive". The Roanoke Times. Associated Press. November 12, 2003. p. 4. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  33. ^ Nelson, Elizabeth (August 6, 2004). "TV stations on schedule: ABC, CBS affiliates nearly ready". The Daily Progress. pp. A1, A8. Archived from the original on July 3, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  34. ^ Jones, Jonathan D. (August 13, 2004). "New CBS station hits airwaves today". The Daily News Leader. pp. A1, A10. Archived from the original on July 3, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  35. ^ "Charlottesville gets another TV station". Richmond Times-Dispatch. July 4, 2005. p. B2. Archived from the original on July 3, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  36. ^ Royer, David (April 13, 2006). "Bye-bye WB and UPN; hello CW". The News Leader. p. A2. Archived from the original on June 30, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  37. ^ "Local Adoption Surges". Television Broadcast. May 2008. pp. 22–23. ProQuest 203708156.
  38. ^ McCance, McGregor (April 27, 2008). "NBC29 broadcasts now clearly defined". The Daily Progress. pp. B1, B6. Archived from the original on August 14, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  39. ^ Mora, Christina. "Still Switching to Digital in Central Virginia". WVIR. Archived from the original on February 13, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
  40. ^ "List of TV stations ending analog broadcasts". NBC News. Associated Press. February 17, 2009. Archived from the original on January 6, 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  41. ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. May 23, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  42. ^ McNeill, Brian (February 14, 2009). "Area stations to switch to digital on Tuesday". The Daily Progress. Archived from the original on February 16, 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
  43. ^ "FCC Broadcast Television Spectrum Incentive Auction 1001 Winning Bids" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. April 4, 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 15, 2017. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  44. ^ O'Neal, James (June 23, 2017). "Broadcasters Face Complex Repack". TVTechnology. Archived from the original on May 23, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  45. ^ "Gray Television to acquire NBC 29 from Waterman Broadcasting". The Daily Progress. March 4, 2019. Archived from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  46. ^ "Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. March 4, 2019. Archived from the original on March 7, 2019. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  47. ^ "Notice of Consent to Assignment" (PDF). Consolidated Database System. Federal Communications Commission. April 15, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  48. ^ "Consummation Notice". Consolidated Database System. Federal Communications Commission. October 2, 2019. Archived from the original on July 3, 2023. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  49. ^ "WHSV announces launch of NBC and CW Plus affiliations 'NBC 3 in the Valley'". WHSV. October 2, 2019. Archived from the original on July 18, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  50. ^ "Request to Extend a DTV Engineering STA Application". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. Archived from the original on July 18, 2023. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  51. ^ "New Digital Replacement Translator Construction Permit Application". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. December 31, 2020. Archived from the original on July 3, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  52. ^ "License To Cover for Digital Replacement Translator Application". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. Archived from the original on August 14, 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  53. ^ Thompson, Matthew (August 9, 2006). "WOWK news anchor leaving station". Charleston Daily Mail. p. 2A.
  54. ^ "Steve Berthiaume". ESPN Media Zone. Archived from the original on February 27, 2010.
  55. ^ Amarante, Joe (November 16, 2008). "The re-invention of Lonnie Quinn continues in NYC?". The New Haven Register. p. 111. ProQuest 242878829.
  56. ^ "TV Query for WVIR". RabbitEars. Archived from the original on October 29, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
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