WPVI-TV (channel 6), branded on-air as 6 ABC, is a
television station
A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth ...
in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, United States, airing programming from the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
network.
Owned and operated
In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an affiliate ...
by the network's
ABC Owned Television Stations
ABC Owned Television Stations is a division of Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution operated by Disney Networks Group that oversees the owned-and-operated stations of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), a division of The Walt Disney C ...
division, the station maintains studios on City Line Avenue in the Wynnefield Heights section of Philadelphia, and a transmitter in the city's
Roxborough Roxborough may refer to:
Places
* Roxborough, Manchester, Jamaica
* Roxborough, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, a neighborhood
* Roxborough, Trinidad and Tobago, Tobago Island, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
* Roxborough Castle, Ireland
* Roxborou ...
neighborhood.
History
WFIL-TV
The station first signed on the air on September 13, 1947, as WFIL-TV. It is Philadelphia's second-oldest television station, signing on six years after WPTZ (now
KYW-TV
KYW-TV (channel 3) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside CW affiliate WPSG (channel 57 ...
). The first program broadcast on channel 6 was a live remote of a
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
exhibition
An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibition ...
game against the
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
from
Franklin Field
Franklin Field is a sports stadium in Philadelphia, United States, at the eastern edge of the University of Pennsylvania's campus. It is the home stadium for the Penn Relays, and the University of Pennsylvania's stadium for football, track and fi ...
, followed by an official inaugural program later that evening.
WFIL-TV was originally owned by
Walter Annenberg
Walter Hubert Annenberg (March 13, 1908 – October 1, 2002) was an American businessman, investor, philanthropist, and diplomat. Annenberg owned and operated Triangle Publications, which included ownership of ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' ...
's
Triangle Publications
Triangle Publications Inc. was an American media group based first in Philadelphia, and later in Radnor, Pennsylvania. It was a privately held corporation, with the majority of its stock owned by Walter Annenberg and his sisters. Its holding ...
, publishers of ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...
'' and owners of WFIL radio (
560 AM
The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 560 kHz: The Federal Communications Commission categorizes 560 AM as a regional frequency; the maximum power for any station on this frequency (in the United States) is 5,000 watts.
Arg ...
, and 102.1 FM). The WFIL stations were the flagship of the growing communications empire of Triangle Publications, which owned two Philadelphia newspapers (the morning ''Inquirer'' and, later, the evening '' Daily News''), periodicals including ''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
'', ''
Seventeen
Seventeen or 17 may refer to:
*17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18
* one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017
Literature
Magazines
* ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine
* ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...
'' and the ''
Daily Racing Form
The ''Daily Racing Form'' (DRF) (referred to as the ''Racing Form'' or "Form" and sometimes "telegraph" or "telly") is a tabloid newspaper founded in 1894 in Chicago, Illinois, by Frank Brunell. The paper publishes the past performances of race ...
'', and a broadcasting group that would grow to ten radio and six television stations. WFIL radio had been an ABC radio affiliate dating back to the network's existence as the
NBC Blue Network
The Blue Network (previously known as the NBC Blue Network) was the on-air name of a now defunct American Commercial broadcasting, radio network, which broadcast from 1927 through 1945.
Beginning as one of the two radio networks owned by the N ...
. However, WFIL-TV started out carrying programming from the
DuMont Television Network
The DuMont Television Network (also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, simply DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being ...
, as ABC had not yet ventured into broadcast television. When the ABC television network debuted on April 19, 1948, WFIL-TV became its first affiliate. Channel 6 joined ABC before the network's first
owned-and-operated station
In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an affiliate ...
, WJZ-TV in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
(now
WABC-TV
WABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios in the Lincoln Square neighbor ...
), signed on in August of that year. However, it retained a secondary affiliation with DuMont until that network shut down in 1956.
The WFIL radio stations originally broadcast from the Widener Building in downtown Philadelphia. With the anticipated arrival of WFIL-TV, Triangle secured a new facility for the stations, located at Market and 46th streets, which opened in 1947. In 1963, Triangle built one of the most advanced broadcast centers in the nation on City (or City Line) Avenue in the Wynnefield Heights community, in a circular building across from rival
WCAU-TV
WCAU (channel 10) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Mount Laurel, New Jerse ...
(channel 10). The station still broadcasts from the facility today, even as a new digital media building was constructed that now houses production of the station's newscasts and other local programs, while the original studio was turned over to public broadcaster
WHYY-FM
WHYY-FM (90.9 MHz, "91 FM") is a public radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its broadcast tower is located in the city's Roxborough neighborhood at () while its studios and offices are located on Independence Mall in Cen ...
- TV.
Channel 6 was the first station to sign on from the Roxborough neighborhood. It originally transmitted from a tower, but in 1957, it moved to a new tower, which it co-owned with
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
-owned WRCV-TV (channel 3, now
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
owned-and-operated station KYW-TV). The new tower added much of
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
and the
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...
to the station's city-grade coverage. WFIL-TV was also one of the first TV stations in Philadelphia to broadcast local
color
Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...
.
WPVI-TV
In 1968, the
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
grandfathered
A grandfather clause, also known as grandfather policy, grandfathering, or grandfathered in, is a provision in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations while a new rule will apply to all future cases. Those exempt from t ...
" several existing newspaper and broadcasting cross-combinations in several markets. Triangle asked the FCC to grandfather its cluster of the ''Inquirer'', the ''Daily News'' and WFIL-AM-FM-TV, but was turned down. As a result, in 1969, one year after the new regulation was made official, Triangle sold the ''Inquirer'' and the ''Daily News'' to Knight Newspapers (later renamed
Knight Ridder
Knight Ridder was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. Until it was bought by McClatchy on June 27, 2006, it was the second largest newspaper publisher in the United States, with 32 daily newspaper brand ...
).
In 1970, the FCC forced Triangle to sell off its broadcasting properties due to protests from then-
Pennsylvania Governor
The governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the head of state and head of government of the U.S. state, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as well as commander-in-chief of the Commonwealth's military forces.
The governor has a duty to enforc ...
Milton Shapp
Milton Jerrold Shapp (born Milton Jerrold Shapiro; June 25, 1912 – November 24, 1994) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 40th governor of Pennsylvania from 1971 to 1979 and the first Jewish governor of Pennsylvania. H ...
. Shapp complained that Triangle had used its three Pennsylvania television stations—WFIL-TV, WLYH-TV (now
WXBU
WXBU (channel 15) is a television station licensed to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States, serving the Susquehanna Valley region as an affiliate of the digital multicast network TBD. The station is owned by Howard Stirk Holdings, a partner c ...
) in
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
and WFBG-TV (now
WTAJ-TV
WTAJ-TV (channel 10) is a television station licensed to Altoona, Pennsylvania, United States, serving the Johnstown–Altoona– State College market as an affiliate of CBS. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, the station maintains studios on 6th Ave ...
) in Altoona—in a smear campaign against him. The WFIL stations, along with radio-television combinations in
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...
and
Fresno, California
Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...
, were sold to
Capital Cities Communications
Capital Cities/ABC Inc. was an American media company. It was founded in 1985 when Capital Cities Communications purchased the much larger American Broadcasting Company. It eventually proposed a merger of equals with The Walt Disney Company and ...
. As a condition of the sale, Capital Cities had to spin off the radio stations to other entities – in Philadelphia, WFIL-FM (now WIOQ) was sold to its general manager John Richer, and WFIL radio went to
LIN Broadcasting
LIN Media was an American holding company founded in 1994 that operated 43 television stations. All except one were affiliates of the six major U.S. television networks. One of the remaining stations was a low powered weather station in Ind ...
. On May 1, 1971, shortly after the sale was approved and Capital Cities took control of channel 6, WFIL-TV changed its call letters to the current WPVI-TV.
In March 1985, Capital Cities Communications announced it was purchasing ABC, a move that stunned the broadcast industry since ABC was some four times larger than Capital Cities at the time. Some have said that Capital Cities was only able to pull off the deal because WPVI-TV, the company's
flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
property, had become very profitable in its own right. However, before the merger could be completed, Capital Cities was required to sell channel 6 and its sister station,
WTNH
WTNH (channel 8) is a television station licensed to New Haven, Connecticut, United States, serving the Hartford–New Haven market as an affiliate of ABC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside MyNetworkTV affiliate WCTX (channel 59), al ...
in New Haven, Connecticut, as both stations had a large signal overlap with network flagship WABC-TV. Owning two stations with a significant signal overlap was prohibited by the FCC regulations of the time, similar to the same "one-to-a-market" rule that forced Triangle to split its newspaper/broadcast combination in Philadelphia many years earlier. Capital Cities sought a waiver of the rules to keep WPVI, citing CBS' then-ownership of WCAU-TV locally in Philadelphia and
WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV (channel 2) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside Riverhead, New York–licensed independent station WL ...
in New York. The FCC granted the waiver, and when the transaction was finalized in early 1986, WPVI-TV became an ABC owned-and-operated station. Prior to that, WPVI has been ABC's largest affiliate not owned by the network (a distinction now held by
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
–
Fort Worth
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
's
WFAA
WFAA (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex as an affiliate of ABC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Decatur-licensed Estrella TV affiliate KMPX (channel 29), ...
, owned by
Tegna Inc.
Tegna Inc. (stylized in all caps as TEGNA) is an American publicly traded broadcast, digital media and marketing services company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia. It was created on June 29, 2015, when the Gannett Company split into tw ...
). A decade later, in 1996,
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
purchased Capital Cities/ABC.
On January 22, 1987, the station partially rebroadcast the
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
of Pennsylvania state treasurer R. Budd Dwyer—which had occurred at a press conference earlier that morning—during its noon newscast.
On September 12, 2009, WPVI moved to a new broadcasting complex at their same location at 4100 City Avenue near
Bala Cynwyd
Bala Cynwyd ( ) is a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania. It is located on the Philadelphia Main Line in Southeastern Pennsylvania, bordering the western edge of Philadelphia at U.S. Route 1 (City Avenue). It was originally two separa ...
next door to the
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) is a private medical school with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and additional locations in Suwanee, Georgia (PCOM Georgia) and Moultrie, Georgia (PCOM South Georgia).
Founded ...
. The facilities are wired for high definition newscasts and is the third studio in the station's 72-year history since the station has moved to a circular building in 1964.
Programming
Syndicated programming
Syndicated programming on WPVI-TV includes ''
Rachael Ray
Rachael Domenica Ray (born August 25, 1968) is an American cook, television personality, businesswoman, and author. She hosts the syndicated daily talk and lifestyle program ''Rachael Ray'', and the Food Network series '' 30 Minute Meals''. ...
'', ''
Live with Kelly and Ryan
''Live with Kelly and Ryan'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American syndicated morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show formula has aired under various hosts since ...
'' (produced by WABC-TV and hosted by South Jersey native
Kelly Ripa
Kelly Ripa (; born October 2, 1970) is an American actress and talk show host. Since 2001, she has been the co-host of the syndicated morning talk show '' Live! with Kelly and Ryan'' in various formats.
As an actress, Ripa's best known roles ...
), ''
Jeopardy!
''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...
'', ''
Wheel of Fortune The Wheel of Fortune or ''Rota Fortunae'' has been a concept and metaphor since ancient times referring to the capricious nature of Fate. Wheel of Fortune may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Art
* ''The Wheel of Fortune'' (Burne-Jo ...
'', and ''
Tamron Hall
Tamron Hall (born September 16, 1970) is an American broadcast journalist and television talk show host. In September 2019, Hall debuted her self-titled syndicated daytime talk show, which earned her a Daytime Emmy Award. Hall was formerly a n ...
''. WPVI's syndicated offerings are identical to WABC-TV's.
Pennsylvania Lottery drawings
From 1977 until 2015, WPVI aired the
Pennsylvania Lottery
The Pennsylvania Lottery is operated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Lottery was created by the Pennsylvania General Assembly on August 26, 1971; two months later, Henry Kaplan was appointed as its first executive director. The Pennsylv ...
live nighttime television drawings, which occur nightly at 6:59 p.m. ET; the
Powerball
Powerball is an American lottery game offered by 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is coordinated by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL). From its inaugural drawing on April 19, 1992, unti ...
drawings on Wednesdays and Saturdays and the Tuesday and Friday
Mega Millions
Mega Millions (originally known as ''The Big Game'' in 1996 and renamed, temporarily, to ''The Big Game Mega Millions'' six years later) is an American multi-jurisdictional lottery game; as of January 30, 2020, it is offered in 45 states, the Di ...
drawings air during the 11 p.m. newscasts on those nights (those television drawing rights moved to WTXF-TV).
Past program preemptions and deferrals
Under Capital Cities ownership, channel 6 frequently preempted ABC programming in favor of locally produced and syndicated shows. In January 1975, when ABC entered the morning news field with ''
AM America
''AM America'' was a morning news program produced by ABC in an attempt to compete with the highly rated ''Today'' on NBC. Premiering on January 6, 1975, the show never found an audience against ''Today'' or the CBS combo of the ''CBS Morning Ne ...
'', WPVI chose not to carry the second hour of the program in favor of continuing ''Captain Noah and His Magical Ark'' at 8:00 am; in response to viewer complaints, the station later moved ''Captain Noah'' to 7:00 am, with the one hour of ''AM America'' shifting to a tape-delay at 8:30. When ''AM America''s successor, ''
Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...
'' premiered in November 1975, WPVI-TV aired only one hour at 9:00 am on tape. With the arrival of ''
Donahue Donahue is the Americanized version of Irish surname Donohoe, which, in turn, is an Anglicized version of the ancient Irish name "Donnchadh" (sometimes "Donncha").
Donncha was a common “first name” in 9th Century Ireland, and when the use of ...
'' in January 1976, the station began clearing the first hour live at 7:00, with ''Captain Noah'' following at 8:00. Channel 6 began carrying both hours of ''GMA'' live in September 1978; ''Captain Noah'' was moved to weekends and remained there for the remainder of its run. Even in the years after WPVI became an ABC-owned station, it continued to preempt an hour of ABC daytime programs in favor of other programs. Wildwood,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
-based NBC affiliate
WMGM-TV
WMGM-TV (channel 40) is a television station licensed to Wildwood, New Jersey, United States, affiliated with the True Crime Network. It is owned by TelevisaUnivision alongside Vineland, New Jersey–licensed Univision owned-and-operated statio ...
(channel 40) picked up the pre-empted ABC shows until 1987, when those programs returned to channel 29, which was now
WTXF-TV
WTXF-TV (channel 29) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the Fox network. Owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division, the station maintains studios on Market ...
. The preempted programs were usually magazine shows,
game show
A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...
s or reruns of ABC primetime
sitcom
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
s. By the early 1990s, WPVI preempted only the first half-hour of '' The Home Show''. WPVI-TV also did not run other ABC daytime programs, notably ''
The Edge of Night
''The Edge of Night'' is an American television mystery crime drama series and soap opera, created by Irving Vendig and produced by Procter & Gamble Productions.
It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that networ ...
'' and numerous sitcom
rerun
A rerun or repeat is a rebroadcast of an episode of a radio or television program. There are two types of reruns – those that occur during a hiatus, and those that occur when a program is syndicated.
Variations
In the United Kingdom, the word ...
s. ABC was able to get most of its daytime schedule on the air in Philadelphia anyway through contracts with independent stations
WKBS-TV
WKBS-TV (channel 47) is a religious broadcasting, religious television station in Altoona, Pennsylvania, United States, owned-and-operated station, owned and operated by Cornerstone Television. The station's transmitter is located in Logan Towns ...
(channel 48) and WTAF-TV (channel 29). In 1997, per a directive from the new Disney ownership, WPVI-TV began carrying the entire ABC network schedule for the first time in the station's history with the network. It came at the expense of its highly rated local talk show, ''AM/Live'' (formerly ''AM/Philadelphia''), which was shifted to an overnight timeslot to make room for ABC's then-new talk show '' The View''. ''AM/Live'' was moved to 12:35 a.m. following ''
Politically Incorrect
''Political correctness'' (adjectivally: ''politically correct''; commonly abbreviated ''PC'') is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in socie ...
'' and was renamed ''Philly After Midnight'', where it lasted until 2001.
Local programming
Channel 6 has a long history of producing local programs. On March 26, 1948, it aired a production of "Parsifal" from the John Wanamaker Store that featured
Bruno Walter
Bruno Walter (born Bruno Schlesinger, September 15, 1876February 17, 1962) was a German-born conductor, pianist and composer. Born in Berlin, he escaped Nazi Germany in 1933, was naturalised as a French citizen in 1938, and settled in the Un ...
conducting 50 players from the
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...
, a chorus of 300, and the
Wanamaker Organ
The Wanamaker Grand Court Organ, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (United States of America) is the largest fully-functioning pipe organ in the world, based on the number of playing pipes, the number of ranks and its weight. (The Boardwalk H ...
. Perhaps its most notable local production was ''Bandstand'', which began in 1952 and originated from WFIL-TV's newly constructed Studio B (located in the 1952 addition to the 46th and Market studio). In 1957, ABC added the program as part of its weekday afternoon network lineup and renamed it ''
American Bandstand
''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pro ...
'' to reflect its more widespread broadcast scope.
Other well known locally produced shows included the children's programs ''
Captain Noah and His Magical Ark
''Captain Noah and His Magical Ark'' was a television program for children and was generally broadcast around the Philadelphia area. The series aired from 1967 to 1994. It was filmed and produced at the WPVI-TV, Channel 6 (then called WFIL when ...
Traynor Ora Halftown
Traynor Ora Halftown (February 24, 1917 – July 5, 2003), better known as Chief Halftown, was a Native American entertainer who hosted a children's show that aired on WFIL-TV (which became WPVI-TV in 1972) in Philadelphia from 1950 to 1999.Broadc ...
, was a full-blooded member of the
Seneca Nation
The Seneca Nation of Indians is a federally recognized Seneca tribe based in western New York. They are one of three federally recognized Seneca entities in the United States, the others being the Tonawanda Band of Seneca (also in western New Y ...
), and two variety programs: ''The
Al Alberts
Al Alberts (born Al Albertini, August 10, 1922 – November 27, 2009) was an American popular singer and composer.
Biography
Born Al Albertini in Chester, Pennsylvania, United States, he went to South Philadelphia High School. As a teenager, h ...
Showcase'', a talent show emceed by the lead singer of
The Four Aces
The Four Aces are an American male traditional pop quartet popular since the 1950s. Over the last half-century, the group amassed many gold records. Its million-selling songs include " Love is a Many-Splendored Thing", " Three Coins in the Fou ...
; and ''The
Larry Ferrari
Larry Ferrari (March 4, 1932 – November 20, 1997), born Lazarus Louis Ferrari, was an American organist who hosted ''The Larry Ferrari Show'' from 1954 to 1997 on WPVI-TV in Philadelphia, a weekly Sunday morning half-hour program of organ m ...
Show'', on which the host played organ versions of both popular and religious music. WFIL-TV also produced an early, yet long-running, program on adult literacy, ''
Operation Alphabet
Operation Alphabet was an evacuation, authorised on 24 May 1940, of Allied (British, French and Polish) troops from the harbour of Narvik in northern Norway marking the success of Operation Weserübung (the German invasion of 9 April) and the ...
.'' One of its earliest local series was '' Let's Pop the Question'', from 1947 to 1948.
Sports programming
As a result of ABC losing ''
Monday Night Football
''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, AB ...
'' to now-sister network
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
in the 2000s, WPVI has aired the Philadelphia Eagles' preseason and Monday night games, as well as the team's coaches' show (those programs moved to
WCAU-TV
WCAU (channel 10) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Mount Laurel, New Jerse ...
in 2015). However, in recent years, the Monday games have aired on news partner WPHL, while WPVI has opted to air the regularly-scheduled ABC programming, which includes the popular ''
Dancing with the Stars
''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...
''. The Eagles' remaining games are split between KYW-TV (
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
), WCAU-TV (
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
) and WTXF-TV (
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
) through their respectively owned networks' NFL broadcast rights and
NFL Network
NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and NFL ...
through its ''
Thursday Night Football
''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to 20 ...
'' package. On January 28, 2010, WPVI entered into a multi-year agreement with
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
expansion team
Philadelphia Union
The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 201 ...
to broadcast selected games.
Since 2021, WPVI serves as the free-to-air broadcaster of nationally aired ''
NHL on ESPN
The broadcasts of National Hockey League (NHL) games produced by ESPN have been shown on its various platforms in the United States, including ESPN itself, ABC, ESPN+, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, and Hulu. Since 2021, games have been broadcast under ...
'' games featuring the
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...
; formerly, these were aired from 1997 to 2004 in conjunction with the ''
NHL on ABC
The ''NHL on ABC'' is an American presentation of National Hockey League (NHL) games produced by ESPN on ABC (formerly known as ABC Sports), and televised on ABC in the United States.
The network first broadcast NHL games during the 1993 Stan ...
''.
WPVI also airs select
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...
WPVI-TV presently airs 48 hours, 25 minutes of locally produced newscasts each week (with 7 hours, 5 minutes each weekday and 6½ hours each on Saturdays and Sundays). ''Action News Sports Sunday'' airs Sunday nights at 11:30 after the 11 p.m. newscast. In addition, the station produces a public affairs program on Sunday mornings called ''Inside Story'', which discusses local and national issues; as it does not have a regular host, members of WPVI's anchor staff rotate hosting duties for the program. Since New Jersey is split between the Philadelphia and New York City markets, WPVI cooperates with its New York City sister station, WABC-TV, in covering New Jersey events. The two stations share reporters, live trucks and helicopters in areas where their markets overlap. The two stations also cooperate in the production and broadcast of statewide New Jersey political debates. Whenever the two stations broadcast a statewide office debate, such as those involving
gubernatorial
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...
or
U.S. Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
races, WPVI and WABC will pool resources and have anchors or reporters from both stations participate in the debate.
Pioneer of ''Action News''
The station is famous for pioneering the ''
Action News
''Action News'' is a local television newscast format originating in the United States. First conceived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it is characterized by a tight format with strict time limits on set packages, a focus on surrounding suburbs, ...
'' format, which was used by many stations throughout the United States. When WFIL-TV premiered it on April 6, 1970, the format allowed the news program to feature more stories than KYW-TV's ''
Eyewitness News
''Eyewitness News'' is a style of television news presentation that emphasizes visual elements and action video, replacing the older "man-on-camera" newscast.
History Pioneered by Westinghouse
The earliest known use of the ''Eyewitness New ...
'' due to strict time limits on story packages. Within a few months, the station stole first place in the Philadelphia news ratings for the first time ever. It had previously been an also-ran behind KYW-TV and WCAU-TV, as was the case with most ABC affiliates. Despite the station's newspaper roots, it was hampered by the fact that ABC was not on par with CBS and NBC until the early 1970s.
WFIL-TV/WPVI-TV waged a spirited battle for first place with KYW-TV for most of the 1970s. However, in 1977, it won a sweeps period by a wide margin, and has been in first place more or less ever since. It is one of the most dominant major-market stations in the country, winning virtually every time slot. Its dominance has only been seriously challenged twice—in the 1980s, when WCAU briefly took the lead at 5 p.m.; and in 2001, when WCAU took first place at 11 p.m. for a few months for the first time in decades. Many top executives in ABC's television station group previously worked at WPVI. WPVI's longtime anchor
Jim Gardner James or Jim Gardner may refer to:
* James Gardner (surveyor), British engineer
* James Gardner (designer) (1907–1995), British industrial designer
* James Gardner (musician) (born 1962), British musician and composer
* James A. Gardner (1943–1 ...
and weatherman Dave Roberts respectively joined the station in 1976 and 1978, after each had spent time at WPVI's then-sister station in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
,
WKBW-TV
WKBW-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Buffalo, New York, United States, affiliated with American Broadcasting Company, ABC. Owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, the station maintains studios at 7 Broadcast Plaza in downtown Buffalo and ...
.
Gary Papa
Gary Papa (September 2, 1954 – June 19, 2009) was a sportscaster with WPVI-TV in Philadelphia from April 1981 to June 2009 and was the 5:30 p.m., 6 p.m., and 11:00 p.m. sportcaster. He joined the station as a weekend sportscaster in ...
joined in 1981 from another Buffalo station, WGR-TV (now
WGRZ
WGRZ (channel 2) is a television station in Buffalo, New York, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Tegna Inc. The station's studios are located on Delaware Avenue in downtown Buffalo, and its transmitter is located on Warner Hill Ro ...
), and stayed with the station until his death in 2009.
One factor in WPVI's long dominance is talent continuity. Most of WPVI's on-air staff has been at the station for over ten years, and several for 20 years or more. Gardner was the station's main weeknight anchor from May 1977 until his retirement in December 2022, the longest tenure for any main anchor in Philadelphia history, and the second-longest anchor tenure of any United States local television anchor after Dave Ward at Houston sister station
KTRK-TV
KTRK-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Houston, Texas, United States, airing programming from the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios on Bissonnet Street ...
. Rob Jennings served as longtime weekend anchor beginning in that same year and held that post until his retirement on July 21, 2013.
Action News of Philly
The station's newscasts have used the same theme music, "
Move Closer to Your World
Move Closer to Your World (MCTYW) is a television news music package composed in 1970 by Walt LissSanders, Nancy (May 22, 2022)Walt Liss Co-Author of Famous News Theme and WKBW Exec Has passed ''Buffalo Broadcasters Association. Retrieved September ...
", composed by
Al Ham
Albert W. Ham (February 6, 1925 in Malden, Massachusetts — October 4, 2001 in Spring Hill, Florida) was an American composer and jingle writer. He was notable as the composer of the ''Move Closer to Your World'' music package used since the 19 ...
, since October 1, 1972. The theme had become such an iconic aspect of ''Action News'' that
news director
A news director is an individual at a broadcast station or network or a newspaper who is in charge of the news department. In local news, the news director is typically in charge of the entire news staff, including journalists, news presenters, ph ...
Dave Davis considered it to be the station's "
national anthem
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...
". The theme has remained relatively unchanged (aside from remasters) since it was first introduced; when WPVI attempted to introduce a slower, modernized version of the theme performed by the
London Philharmonic Orchestra
The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...
on September 20, 1996, the station immediately received complaints from viewers and reverted to the old theme only three days later. The intro has traditionally been accompanied by seasonal footage of various Philadelphia/
Delaware Valley
The Delaware Valley is a metropolitan region on the East Coast of the United States that comprises and surrounds Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation and 68th largest city in the world as of 2020. The toponym Delaware Val ...
residents and landmarks (usually starting with a picture or zoom in of
Center City Philadelphia
Center City includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of Philadelphia. It comprises the area that made up the City of Philadelphia prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854, which extended the city borders to be coterminous wi ...
, focused on
City Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
, or on the
Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...
). Later the intro format was adopted by sister stations
KGO-TV
KGO-TV (channel 7) is a television station licensed to San Francisco, California, United States, serving as the San Francisco Bay Area's ABC network outlet. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, KGO-TV maint ...
and
WLS-TV
WLS-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, airing programming from the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios on North State S ...
with the News Series 2000 Plus theme music. For over 30 years starting in the late 1970s, Jefferson "Jeff" Kaye (also a WKBW alumnus, and one who would later become known nationally for his work on
NFL Films
NFL Productions, LLC, doing business as NFL Films, is the film and television production company of the National Football League. It produces commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentaries for and about the NFL, as well as ot ...
) announced the familiar open: "Action News,
Delaware Valley
The Delaware Valley is a metropolitan region on the East Coast of the United States that comprises and surrounds Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation and 68th largest city in the world as of 2020. The toponym Delaware Val ...
's leading news program", as well as rejoins and closings. Even through staff announcing changes for the station in general, Kaye remained the constant voice of ''Action News''. His voice started to show signs of decaying in the mid-2000s, reaching a point to where Kaye's newly recorded opens in late January 2010 were pulled in less than a week. On June 21, 2010, Kaye was replaced with veteran announcer
Charlie Van Dyke
Charlie Van Dyke (born Charles Leo Steinle; July 26, 1947) is a former radio disc jockey who is best known for his voice work on radio and television stations. He is recognized by his deep, booming voice.
Originally from Dallas, Van Dyke was wor ...
, who had become WPVI's station announcer in 2006. Kaye died on November 16, 2012.
For many years, WPVI's dominance fostered an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality. Its logo, a simple stylized "6", has been used with only minor changes since 1967 when it was still WFIL-TV. In June 1995, the "6" was placed in a blue box, the station was later re-branded as 6ABC in September 1996 with the red ABC logo augmented on the bottom right of the 6. The red ABC logo was later replaced with a 2007-era glossy logo on December 4, 2010, and the ABC logo was updated (as recent as 2021). Well into the 1990s, it still used
chromakey
Chroma key compositing, or chroma keying, is a Visual effects, visual-effects and post-production technique for compositing (layering) two images or video streams together based on colour hues (colorfulness, chroma range). The technique has b ...
graphics, and weather forecasts utilized a magnet board. In recent years, attempts have been made to modernize the newscasts. In 1998, it began downplaying its use of chromakey. The magnet board gave way to a video screen in 2000 and a chromakey wall in 2005. On February 13, 2006, a revamped and fully modernized set debuted which included a glass etching background of several historical landmarks in Philadelphia positioned behind the anchor desk, shiftable lighting effects and a computerized
AccuWeather
AccuWeather Inc. is an American media company that provides commercial weather forecasting services worldwide.
AccuWeather was founded in 1962 by Joel N. Myers, then a Pennsylvania State University graduate student working on a master's degree i ...
center. WPVI introduced a new HD-capable helicopter in February 2006. Live shots from the helicopter, officially named "Chopper6 HD", were shown in high definition. Furthermore, on July 23, 2006, starting with the 6:00 p.m. newscast (the official announcement was made on July 24), ''Action News'' began broadcasting in full
720p
720p (1280×720 px; also called HD ready, standard HD or just HD) is a progressive HDTV signal format with 720 horizontal lines/1280 columns and an aspect ratio (AR) of 16:9, normally known as widescreen HDTV (1.78:1). All major HDTV broadcast ...
high-definition; all field video shown during WPVI's newscasts is shot in high-definition. On September 12, 2009, WPVI debuted another new revamped and fully modernized set, wider than the last set at the original round building, with a bigger news desk, AccuWeather center and a revised glass-etched background which added the
Comcast Center
Comcast Center, also known as the Comcast Tower, is a skyscraper in Center City, Philadelphia. The 58-story, tower is the second-tallest building in Philadelphia and in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania (after the Comcast Technology Center), a ...
to the featured landmarks. It also added a touch-screen video wall, the first for any station in the country, which the station dubs the "Action News Big Board." The set was updated once again on March 31, 2014, with the addition of a large, 12-screen HD video wall behind the main anchor desk. On June 26, 2017, ''Action News'' debuted a new set for its newscasts, which now features 3 large HD video walls, including one used for the weather segments and special modifications to allow the use of computer-generated graphics on set, which the station mistakenly referred to as
augmented reality
Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be de ...
(AR) graphics.
After the 2009 death of Gary Papa, Channel 6 took eighteen months to name a replacement for the position of Sports Director. In January 2011, Keith Russell was named as the 6 and 11 p.m. sports anchor, while Jamie Apody was named sports anchor for the 5 p.m. newscast, a position vacant since the departure of longtime 5 p.m. sports anchor Scott Palmer. Russell left in 2012, and was replaced by Ducis Rodgers who was officially named Sports Director.
Extended newscast
On May 26, 2011, WPVI debuted an hour-long 4 p.m. newscast to replace ''
The Oprah Winfrey Show
''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime broadcast syndication, syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicag ...
'', which ended its 25-year syndication run one day prior; this edition was broadcast from a smaller news desk located next to the main anchor desk that only housed the anchors of that newscast and allowed the team to utilize the Big Board more frequently. This changed on June 26, 2017, when the entire news set was redone in a more modernized style and the smaller desk was removed, moving the anchors to the new main desk. The station also introduced "Mobile 6", a news vehicle used for reports during the station's early evening newscasts. In the spring of 2012, the station expanded its weekend 11 p.m. newscasts to one hour. On September 8, 2014, the station's noon newscast also expanded to one full hour as a new daytime schedule was implemented.
On September 15, 2012, WPVI-TV took over production of
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...
affiliate
WPHL-TV
WPHL-TV (channel 17) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with MyNetworkTV. The station is owned by Nexstar Media Group and has studios in the Wynnefield section of West Philadelphia; it maintains a ...
(channel 17)'s 10 p.m. newscast from NBC-owned WCAU (which began producing the 10 p.m. newscast in December 2005, after WPHL shut down its own in-house news department). The newscast, ''Action News at 10pm on PHL 17'', respectively utilizes most of the same personalities as WPVI's weekday 5 p.m. and weekend evening newscasts with a few notable differences. Features anchor Alicia Vitarelli does not appear on the weeknight edition of the broadcast. Meteorologist Adam Joseph joins the weeknight broadcast and Brittany Boyer covers the weekend edition, while Sports Director Ducis Rogers and Jamie Apody join their respective teams. Additionally, weeknight anchors Sharrie Williams and Gray Hall and weekend anchors Walter Perez and Jillian Mele (who only anchors the Sunday edition with Perez) operate from the main anchor desk.
On January 12, 2022, Sharrie Williams became the sole anchor of the weeknight edition when her 5 p.m. co-anchor Rick Williams (no relation) was promoted to anchor of the 11 p.m. newscast the previous day, replacing longtime anchor
Jim Gardner James or Jim Gardner may refer to:
* James Gardner (surveyor), British engineer
* James Gardner (designer) (1907–1995), British industrial designer
* James Gardner (musician) (born 1962), British musician and composer
* James A. Gardner (1943–1 ...
who stepped down after 45 years as he began a semi-retirement in which he would only anchor the 6 p.m. newscast until he fully retired from the station on December 21 after his final 6 p.m. newscast. On March 9, weekend morning anchor Gray Hall was officially promoted to become Sharrie Williams' new permanent co-anchor on the weeknight edition effective on March 14. Perez and Mele remain at the desk at the end of the 10 p.m. newscast to anchor the 11 p.m. show on WPVI. With this, WPVI became the third ABC owned-and-operated station to be involved in a news share agreement, after KGO-TV in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
(which produces a 9 p.m. newscast for independent station
KOFY-TV
KOFY-TV (channel 20) is a television station licensed to San Francisco, California, United States, serving the San Francisco Bay Area as an affiliate of the Grit network. It is owned by CNZ Communications, LLC, alongside Class A station KCNZ ...
) and
WTVD
WTVD (channel 11) is a television station licensed to Durham, North Carolina, United States, broadcasting the ABC network to the Research Triangle area. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, it maintains pr ...
in
Raleigh
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...
(which produced a 10 p.m. newscast for CW affiliate
WLFL
WLFL (channel 22) is a television station licensed to Raleigh, North Carolina, United States, serving the Research Triangle area as an affiliate of The CW. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside Durham-licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate ...
until June 2022), and was later joined in 2014 by
KABC-TV
KABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains stud ...
in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
(which produced a 7 p.m. newscast for independent station
KDOC-TV
KDOC-TV (channel 56) is a religious television station licensed to Anaheim, California, United States, serving the Los Angeles area as an owned-and-operated station of Tri-State Christian Television (TCT). The station maintains studios on East F ...
). On September 15, 2014, the newscast was expanded to a full hour-long broadcast, making WPHL the second station in the Philadelphia area (along with competitor WTXF) to carry an hour-long newscast at 10 p.m. Competitor station
WPSG
WPSG (channel 57) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with The CW. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations group alongside CBS owned-and-operated station KYW-TV (channel 3). Both stations share stud ...
was the only station in the area to a half-hour newscast in the time slot, ''Eyewitness News at 10 on The CW Philly'', produced by sister station KYW. This would change on July 18, 2022, when the newscast was officially modified to became a hybrid local and national news-based hour-long broadcast, ''CBS News Philadelphia NOW on The CW Philly'', to coincide with the launching of the broadcast's format across several CBS O&Os and affiliated stations and KYW itself beginning the use of a brand new modern set for all ''Eyewitness News'' broadcasts earlier that day.
In December 2013, WPVI entered into a news share agreement with
Univision
Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...
-owned
WUVP-DT
WUVP-DT (channel 65) is a television station licensed to Vineland, New Jersey, United States, broadcasting the Spanish-language Univision network to the Philadelphia area. It is owned and operated by TelevisaUnivision alongside Wildwood, Ne ...
, Channel 65; the agreement allows WPVI to expand its coverage of stories involving the Hispanic community, while permitting WUVP to utilize such of WPVI's resources as helicopter video. The arrangement follows other partnerships between ABC and Univision (including the
Fusion
Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole.
Fusion may also refer to:
Science and technology Physics
*Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nucl ...
cable channel, as well as similar agreements in other markets), as well as a similar agreement in Philadelphia between WCAU and
Telemundo
Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...
station
WWSI
WWSI (channel 62) is a television station licensed to Mount Laurel, New Jersey, United States, broadcasting the Spanish-language Telemundo network to the Philadelphia area. It is owned and operated by NBCUniversal's Telemundo Station Group along ...
(Channel 62) established after
NBCUniversal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States.
NBCUniversal is primari ...
acquired the latter station.
In 2016, WPVI lost the rights to televise the ''Wawa Welcome America'' festivities to WCAU. The station had televised the
4th of July
Fourth or the fourth may refer to:
* the ordinal form of the number 4
* ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971
* Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision
* Fourth (music)
In music a fourth is an interval spanning four staff po ...
event since at least 1983.
In September 2018, WPVI became the third station in the Philadelphia area to start its weekday morning newscast at 4 a.m., following WTXF and WCAU. Only KYW-TV currently starts its morning newscast at 4:30 a.m. while WPHL-TV starts its newscast at 5 a.m.; however, WPHL's program, ''PHL 17 Morning News'', is not produced by WPVI but rather in-house.
Notable current on-air staff
*
Tamala Edwards
Tamala Monique Edwards (born April 7, 1971) is an American television news anchor and reporter.
She began her journalism career as a correspondent for ''Time'' magazine in 1993, eventually working in the Washington, D.C. bureau. In August 2001, ...
– anchor
*
Jillian Mele
Jillian Mele (born September 17, 1982) is an American news anchor and reporter who is best known for serving as co-host on ''Fox & Friends First'' from March 2017 to October 2021. Starting in January 2022, she began reporting with WPVI-TV in Phi ...
Cecily Tynan
Cecily Joan Tynan (born March 19, 1969) is an American television meteorologist who has been with WPVI-TV since 1995. , she is the 5, 6, and 11 pm weathercaster and chief meteorologist at WPVI. She formerly hosted the Saturday evening public affa ...
(AMS Seal of Approval) – meteorologist
*
Alicia Vitarelli Alicia Vitarelli (born November 13, 1978) is a news anchor for WPVI-TV, 6 ABC Action News in Philadelphia. She joined the Action News team in October 2010. Alicia co anchored Action News at 4 until October 2019 with Brian Taff and Sharrie Williams. ...
– anchor; also co-host of ''FYI Philly''
''Inside Story'' staff
*
Tamala Edwards
Tamala Monique Edwards (born April 7, 1971) is an American television news anchor and reporter.
She began her journalism career as a correspondent for ''Time'' magazine in 1993, eventually working in the Washington, D.C. bureau. In August 2001, ...
G. Terry Madonna
G. Terry Madonna is a Senior Fellow in Residence at Millersville University of Pennsylvania. He was Professor of Public Affairs and Director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin and Marshall College. He is also the Director o ...
(professor/pollster at
Franklin and Marshall College
Franklin & Marshall College (F&M) is a private liberal arts college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It employs 175 full-time faculty members and has a student body of approximately 2,400 full-time students. It was founded upon the merger of Frankli ...
)
*
Marjorie Margolies
Marjorie Margolies (; formerly Margolies-Mezvinsky; born June 21, 1942) is a fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Fels Institute of Government, an adjunct faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania, and a women's rights activist. She ...
(former congresswoman)
Notable former on-air staff
*
Al Alberts
Al Alberts (born Al Albertini, August 10, 1922 – November 27, 2009) was an American popular singer and composer.
Biography
Born Al Albertini in Chester, Pennsylvania, United States, he went to South Philadelphia High School. As a teenager, h ...
WUSA-TV
WUSA (channel 9) is a television station in Washington, D.C., affiliated with CBS. It is the flagship property of Tegna Inc. (based in the nearby Virginia suburb of McLean). WUSA's studios and transmitter are located at Broadcast House on Wisc ...
in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
)
*
Dick Clark
Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 198 ...
(died in 2012)
*
Larry Ferrari
Larry Ferrari (March 4, 1932 – November 20, 1997), born Lazarus Louis Ferrari, was an American organist who hosted ''The Larry Ferrari Show'' from 1954 to 1997 on WPVI-TV in Philadelphia, a weekly Sunday morning half-hour program of organ m ...
(died in 1997)
* Dave Frankel (1984–1997) (later at
KYW-TV
KYW-TV (channel 3) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside CW affiliate WPSG (channel 57 ...
; now an attorney)
*
Jim Gardner James or Jim Gardner may refer to:
* James Gardner (surveyor), British engineer
* James Gardner (designer) (1907–1995), British industrial designer
* James Gardner (musician) (born 1962), British musician and composer
* James A. Gardner (1943–1 ...
KYW-TV
KYW-TV (channel 3) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside CW affiliate WPSG (channel 57 ...
; now retired from journalism)
* Rob Jennings (retired in 2013)
*
Larry Kane
Larry Kane (born October 21, 1942) is an American journalist, news anchor and author. Kane spent 36 years as a news anchor in Philadelphia, and is the only person to have anchored at all three Philadelphia owned and operated television stations ...
Nasdaq
The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...
)
*
Tug McGraw
Frank Edwin "Tug" McGraw Jr. (August 30, 1944 – January 5, 2004) was an American professional baseball relief pitcher and long-time Major League Baseball (MLB) player, often remembered for coining the phrase "Ya Gotta Believe", which became th ...
SallyAnn Mosey SallyAnn Mosey is a reporter, fill in anchor, and weekend meteorologist for News 12 New Jersey. She was a meteorologist for the FOX owned-and-operated television station WTXF-TV in Philadelphia. Mosey served as meteorologist on the station's popular ...
(now at News 12 Westchester/Hudson Valley/New Jersey)
*
Jim O'Brien Jim O'Brien may refer to:
Sports Basketball
*Jim O'Brien (basketball, born 1950), American coach for Emerson College, Ohio State and Boston College
*Jim O'Brien (basketball, born 1951), American player for the New York Nets and Memphis Sounds
*Jim ...
(died in a
skydiving
Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes.
For ...
accident in 1983)
*
Charlie O'Donnell
Charles John O'Donnell (August 12, 1932 – November 1, 2010) was an American radio and television announcer, primarily known for his work on game shows. Among them, he was best known for ''Wheel of Fortune'', where he worked from 1975 to 1980, a ...
(announcer for ''
American Bandstand
''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pro ...
'' and later ''Wheel of Fortune'', died in 2010)
* Vernon Odom – reporter; also hosted ''Visions'' (retired in 2018)
*
Gary Papa
Gary Papa (September 2, 1954 – June 19, 2009) was a sportscaster with WPVI-TV in Philadelphia from April 1981 to June 2009 and was the 5:30 p.m., 6 p.m., and 11:00 p.m. sportcaster. He joined the station as a weekend sportscaster in ...
Eliott Rodriguez
Eliott Rodriguez (born June 6, 1956, in New York City) is a Cuban-American television journalist who has received two Emmy Awards and four Edward R. Murrow Awards.
Early life and education
Rodriguez was born in 1956 to Cuban immigrant parents i ...
(now with
WFOR-TV
WFOR-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside independent station WBFS-TV (channel 3 ...
in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
Kristen Sze
Kristen Sze is an American television news journalist.
Biography
Kristen Sze was born in Taiwan. After she and her family moved to the United States and settled in the San Francisco Bay Area, she enrolled at Aragon High School and began writin ...
(now at
KGO-TV
KGO-TV (channel 7) is a television station licensed to San Francisco, California, United States, serving as the San Francisco Bay Area's ABC network outlet. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, KGO-TV maint ...
in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
)
*
Lisa Thomas-Laury
Lisa Thomas-Laury is a retired news presenter in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. From 1983 to 2003, she co-anchored the 5 p.m. newscast aired by WPVI-TV.
Career
Thomas-Laury started at WPVI-TV in Philadelphia on February 20, 1978, as n ...
WTXF-TV
WTXF-TV (channel 29) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the Fox network. Owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division, the station maintains studios on Market ...
,
incarcerated
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correcti ...
WABC-TV
WABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios in the Lincoln Square neighbor ...
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
announcer and president of the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
, now retired)
In popular culture
The 2011–13 ABC series ''
Body of Proof
''Body of Proof'' is an American medical/crime comedy-drama television series that ran on ABC from March 29, 2011, to May 28, 2013, and starred Dana Delany as medical examiner Dr. Megan Hunt. The series was created by Christopher Murphey and p ...
,'' which was set around the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office and produced by ABC's television production division, used WPVI live trucks and microphones with the station's mic flags in a fictional sense, along with fictional press conference news graphics from the station, though none of WPVI's actual staff appeared during the course of the series, and retained the graphics and live truck look used before the introduction of the "Circle 6" logo. The 2014 Philadelphia-set ''
How to Get Away with Murder
''How to Get Away with Murder'' is an American legal thriller television series that premiered on ABC on September 25, 2014, and concluded on May 14, 2020. The series was created by Peter Nowalk, and produced by Shonda Rhimes and ABC Studios. Th ...
'' also uses a fictional WPVI representation within the universe of that series.
In the second episode of the ABC sitcom ''
Abbott Elementary
''Abbott Elementary'' is an American mockumentary sitcom television series created by Quinta Brunson for ABC. It stars Brunson as a second-grade teacher at Abbott Elementary, a fictional predominantly Black school in Philadelphia. The ensemble ...
'', Jacob, Melissa and Barbara are seen watching a WPVI newscast.
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's digital signal is
multiplexed
In telecommunications and computer networking, multiplexing (sometimes contracted to muxing) is a method by which multiple analog or digital signals are combined into one signal over a shared medium. The aim is to share a scarce resource - a ...
:
Analog-to-digital conversion
WPVI-TV signed on its digital signal on November 1, 1998. The station shut down its analog signal, over
VHF
Very high frequency (VHF) is the ITU designation for the range of radio frequency electromagnetic waves (radio waves) from 30 to 300 megahertz (MHz), with corresponding wavelengths of ten meters to one meter.
Frequencies immediately below VHF ...
channel 6, 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 relocated from its pre-transition
UHF
Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter (on ...
channel 64, which was among the high band UHF channels (52-69) that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition, to its analog-era VHF channel 6.
Reception issues
In an analog world, operations on VHF channels (those between 2 and 13) could operate at power levels significantly lower than UHF stations (saving electricity costs), and still cover greater areas. The
All-Channel Receiver Act
The All-Channel Receiver Act of 1962 (ACRA) (), commonly known as the All-Channels Act, was passed by the United States Congress in 1961, to allow the Federal Communications Commission to require that all television set manufacturers must include ...
of 1964 guaranteed that all new TVs must be designed to receive UHF channels, but the major networks were already well established. For digital transmissions VHF channels are very noisy in particular Low-VHF (channels 2–6). It is difficult to receive the signals without the standardized 30' outdoor antenna. Fewer than 40 full power stations in the USA are using Low-VHF channels since the mandatory digital conversion in 2009, and major network affiliates are mostly in large sparsely populated direct marketing areas where outdoor antennas are common.
WPVI-TV had been broadcasting digital signals on UHF channel 64 from 1998 until 2009, but that channel was recovered by the FCC for resale in March 2008. WPVI-TV was by far the largest urban station to broadcast in the Low-VHF band after the mandatory digital transition in 2009. Next to Philadelphia, the next largest market area served by a major network affiliate with a Low-VHF channel was
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, served by NBC affiliate
KSNV-DT
KSNV (channel 3) is a television station in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside dual CW/MyNetworkTV affiliate KVCW (channel 33). Both stations share studios on Foremaster Lan ...
(which shifted their intellectual unit to a new sister UHF station in 2014 when it came under new ownership to address major reception issues). WPVI-DT went back to channel 6, where they had been broadcasting analog signals since 1948. The WPVI-TV signal was difficult to receive with an indoor antenna, even within Philadelphia proper.
The FCC granted the station a temporary power increase to 30 kilowatts, following consent given from
WEDY
The manga series ''Death Note'' features an extensive cast of fictional characters designed by Takeshi Obata with their storylines created by Tsugumi Ohba."How to Think." ''Death Note: How to Read 13''. VIZ Media. 59. The story follows the nov ...
in New Haven, Connecticut and
WRGB
WRGB (channel 6) is a television station licensed to Schenectady, New York, United States, serving the Capital District as an affiliate of CBS. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside CW affiliate WCWN (channel 45, also licensed to Sch ...
in
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...
. Because of potential interference with other stations and with
FM radio
FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting using frequency modulation (FM). Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to provide high fidelity sound over broadcast radio. FM broadcasting is cap ...
, there was doubt as to whether this increase could be granted. Some viewers did notice an improvement in their signal; however, WPVI continued to receive complaints regarding the viewability of its digital signal. The problems have continued to this day. WPVI, along with
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...
–licensed stations WHYY-TV (channel 12) and
WDPN-TV
WDPN-TV (channel 2) is a television station licensed to Wilmington, Delaware, United States, serving the Philadelphia area as an affiliate of the classic television network MeTV. It is owned by Maranatha Broadcasting Company alongside Allentown, ...
(channel 2, a 2013 move-in from
Jackson, Wyoming
Jackson is a town in Teton County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 10,760 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 9,577 in 2010. It is the largest town in Teton County and its county seat. Jackson is the principal town of ...
), and
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.
–licensed
WACP
WACP (channel 4) is a religious television station licensed to Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States, serving southern New Jersey and the Philadelphia television market as an owned-and-operated station of Tri-State Christian Television (TCT). ...
(channel 4, a station that went on the air in 2012), are the only Philadelphia area stations whose digital signals operate on the VHF band, as all others physically broadcast on UHF. The FCC advises that a single antenna position will likely not pull both low- and high-band VHF signals (unlike the analog era).
Cable and satellite carriage
Outside of the Philadelphia market in central New Jersey, WPVI is carried on Channel 6 on
Comcast
Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...
Helmetta
Helmetta is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The borough is nestled within the heart of the Raritan Valley region, with Manalapan Brook (a Raritan River tributary) flowing through the center of the community. As of the ...
East Brunswick, New Jersey
East Brunswick is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The suburban bedroom community is part of the New York City metropolitan area and is located on the southern shore of the Raritan River, directly adjacent to the city ...
Roosevelt
Roosevelt may refer to:
*Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), 26th U.S. president
* Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945), 32nd U.S. president
Businesses and organisations
* Roosevelt Hotel (disambiguation)
* Roosevelt & Son, a merchant bank
* Rooseve ...
. WPVI moved to channel 38 in the late 1980s (by what was then Storer Cable) and later moved back to channel 6 by Comcast in the late 1990s. WPVI is also available on channel 6 on all Comcast systems in
Ocean County
Ocean County is a county located along the Jersey Shore in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Its county seat is Toms River.Lambertville. Comcast added WPVI's HD feed to its lineups in Ocean and southern Middlesex counties, Roosevelt and Lambertville on August 22, 2012 on digital channel 906.
WPVI's Live Well Network subchannel (both in high definition and
standard definition
Standard-definition television (SDTV, SD, often shortened to standard definition) is a television system which uses a resolution that is not considered to be either high or enhanced definition. "Standard" refers to it being the prevailing sp ...
) were added to the Comcast's southern Middlesex County system on November 27, 2012 (Live Well had previously been carried on that system through feeds from WPVI's New York City sister station WABC-TV), but have not been mapped into the Comcast digital boxes or DTAs.
In Plumsted Township, Ocean County, WPVI is carried in lieu of WABC-TV as Plumsted is served by Comcast's Garden State system (based out of Mount Holly,
Burlington County
Burlington County is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The county is the largest by area in New Jersey. Its county seat is Mount Holly.
) which does not carry any New York City stations.
Cablevision
Cablevision Systems Corporation was an American cable television company with systems serving areas surrounding New York City. It was the fifth-largest cable provider and ninth-largest television provider in the United States. Throughout its ex ...
also carries WPVI on channel 6 on its southern Monmouth County system. Both Comcast and Cablevision carry WPVI throughout Ocean County. Due to a contract dispute with ABC, WPVI was pulled from Cablevision systems in Monmouth, Ocean and
Mercer
Mercer may refer to:
Business
* Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925)
* Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City
* Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader ...
counties on March 8, 2010. Verizon FiOS carries WPVI on channel 16 in Ocean County and extreme southern Monmouth County. WPVI is also carried by Comcast in
New Castle County
New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex). As of the 2020 census, the population was 570,719, making it the most populous county in Delaware, with nearly 60% of the ...
and portions of Kent County in Delaware. As such, WPVI is classified as a
significantly viewed
Significantly viewed signals permitted to be carried or Significantly Viewed list (SV) is a federal law permitting television stations as determined by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), to be carried by cable and other MVPD providers o ...
station in
Warren
A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...
, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties.
In the Lehigh Valley (most of which is in the Philadelphia market), WPVI is carried by
Service Electric
Service Electric is a group of affiliated cable television companies serving eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey. Service Electric also offers broadband Internet and telephone services through two partner companies, PenTeleData and Alianza ...
Blue Ridge Communications
Blue Ridge Communications is a regional cable television, Internet and voice over IP provider that serves much of the Poconos area and central Pennsylvania in the United States. Products available include analog and digital cable television, HD t ...
Hazleton Hazleton may refer to:
Places
* Hazleton, British Columbia, Canada
* Hazleton, Gloucestershire, a village in Gloucestershire, England
** Hazleton long barrows, Neolithic burial mounds at Hazleton, Gloucestershire, England
** Hazleton Abbey, a me ...
, and
Honesdale
Honesdale is a borough in and the county seat of Wayne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough's population was 4,458 at the time of the 2020 census.
Honesdale is located northeast of Scranton in a rural area that provides many recrea ...
(in the
Scranton
Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...
–
Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the secon ...
market).
WPVI is also carried on cable systems in Elkton and North East in
Cecil County
Cecil County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland at the northeastern corner of the state, bordering both Pennsylvania and Delaware. As of the 2020 census, the population was 103,725. The county seat is Elkton. The county was ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
. Atlantic Broadband carries WPVI in
Middletown, Delaware
Middletown is a town in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the town is 18,871.
Geography and climate
Middletown is located at (39.4495560, –75.7163207) with an elevation of .
According t ...
,
Delaware City, Delaware
Delaware City is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 1,695 at the 2010 census. It is a small port town on the eastern terminus of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and is the location of the Forts Ferry Cross ...
, and
Chesapeake City, Maryland
Chesapeake City is a town in Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 736 at the 2020 census.
The town was originally named by Bohemian colonist Augustine Herman
the Village of Bohemia — or Bohemia Manor — but the name was ...
areas as well as the surrounding portions of southern New Castle County and southern Cecil County. Atlantic Broadband carries the major network affiliates from Philadelphia and Baltimore on both sides of the state line.
See also
*
6abc Dunkin' Donuts Thanksgiving Day Parade
The 6abc Dunkin' Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual Thanksgiving Day parade held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is presently sponsored and aired by ABC owned-and-operated television station WPVI-TV, through a co-sponsorship agreement wit ...