WBBZ-TV
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WBBZ-TV (channel 67) is an
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
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 eart ...
licensed to
Springville, New York Springville is a village in the southeastern section of the town of Concord in Erie County, New York, United States. Springville is the principal community in the town and a major business location in southern Erie County. The population was 4,2 ...
, United States, serving the Buffalo area. It is owned by ITV of Buffalo, a company controlled by former news photographer Philip A. Arno. WBBZ-TV's studios are located at the
Eastern Hills Mall Eastern Hills Mall is a shopping mall located 11 miles northeast of Buffalo, New York on the western border of the Town of Clarence in Erie County, New York, United States. It lies on Transit Road (New York State Route 78). The mall is north o ...
in the
town of Clarence Clarence is a town located in the northeastern part of Erie County, New York, United States, northeast of Buffalo. The population was 32,950 according to the 2020 census estimate. This represents an increase of 7.4% from the 2010 census figure. ...
(in a
census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...
called Harris Hill), and its transmitter is located near Springville in the hills of southern Erie County.


History


Early years

The station was founded as WJTQ on March 12, 1993. Bill Smith, an amateur radio enthusiast, and his wife, Caroline Powley, daughter of late
LPTV Low-power broadcasting is broadcasting by a broadcast station at a low transmitter power output to a smaller service area than "full power" stations within the same region. It is often distinguished from "micropower broadcasting" (more commonly ...
innovator John R. Powley, who built several full-service UHF television stations using economical "ham" radio equipment and surplus educational television "translator" transmitters, changed its call letters to WNGS (for the Buffalo WiNGS) in May 1993. WNGS initially broadcast on analog UHF channel 67. Although licensed as a full-power station, it transmitted its analog signal at low power with a northward directional pattern covering much of the Southtowns, but not reaching the city of Buffalo proper. Radiated power in the direction of Buffalo was limited due to a treaty with Canada that protected the coverage area of CHCH-TV-3, a
Midland, Ontario Midland is a town located on Georgian Bay in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Huronia/Wendat region of Central Ontario. Located at the southern end of Georgian Bay's 30,000 Islands, Midland is the economic centre of the region, ...
-based rebroadcaster of
Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...
-based independent station
CHCH-TV CHCH-DT (channel 11) is an Independent station (North America), independent television station in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Channel Zero (company), Channel Zero, the station maintains studios on Innovation Drive in the west end of Ham ...
(channel 11) that also operated on UHF channel 67. As a result, from the city of Buffalo northward, it was only available on
cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
or by
satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...
, and in certain places in the Southern Tier, it was not available at all. The station began with an infomercial/
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format, but added general-entertainment barter
talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Sh ...
s,
cartoons A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...
and low-budget
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 ...
s in 1997. WNGS became a
UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which pr ...
affiliate in April 1998, but lost the affiliation to WNLO (channel 23) in January 2003. Shortly afterward, WNGS dropped most of its entertainment programming in favor of infomercials. For most of its time as an independent station and UPN affiliate, WNGS operated from studios in West Valley, New York. Olean, New York, low-powered station WONS-LP shared the UPN affiliation under a mutual agreement with WNGS until the network was picked up by WNLO, at which time, the station began carrying programming from
The Sportsman Channel Sportsman Channel is an American sports-oriented digital cable and satellite television network owned by the Outdoor Sportsman Group subsidiary of Kroenke Sports & Entertainment. The channel is dedicated to programming about outdoor sports, inc ...
. At least one television listings provider (Decisionmark Corporation, then-owner of TitanTV which is now owned by Broadcast Interactive Media) had erroneously listed WONS-LP as a
translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transl ...
of WNGS. (As of 2018, that station is now a
This TV This TV (also known as This TV Network and alternately stylized as thisTV) is an American free-to-air television network owned by Allen Media Broadcast Networks, LLC, part of the Allen Media Group division of Entertainment Studios. Originally f ...
affiliate under the call sign
WVTT-CD WVTT-CD, virtual channel 34 ( VHF digital channel 11), is a low-powered, Class A television station serving the Twin Tiers that is licensed to Olean, New York. The station is owned by HC2 Holdings. The station's transmitter is located on Warne ...
.)


Equity and WKBW era

After Equity Broadcasting took ownership of the station, WNGS became an affiliate of Equity's
Retro Television Network Retro TV (stylized as retrotv), formerly known as Retro Television Network, is an American broadcast television network owned by Get After It Media. The network mainly airs classic television sitcoms and drama series from the 1950s through t ...
(RTN). During Equity's ownership, the station was operated by
Granite Broadcasting Granite Broadcasting LLC is a broadcasting holding company in New York City which owns one television station in the United States, in Syracuse, New York. Granite was founded by W. Don Cornwell and Stuart Beck in 1988,
, owner of
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 ...
affiliate
WKBW-TV WKBW-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Buffalo, New York, United States, affiliated with ABC. Owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, the station maintains studios at 7 Broadcast Plaza in downtown Buffalo and a transmitter on Center Stree ...
(channel 7), under a local marketing agreement (LMA). As part of the agreement, WNGS was carried on WKBW's digital subchannel. Along with RTN programming, WNGS aired sports programming from WKBW-TV and various sports broadcasts. Equity sold RTN to Luken Communications in 2008. Following a dispute between Equity and Luken, all of Equity's RTN affiliates, including WNGS, disaffiliated from the network on January 4, 2009. WNGS continued to carry other programs, such as sports and locally produced B-movie film showcase ''
Off Beat Cinema ''Off Beat Cinema'' is a two-hour hosted movie show that airs on television stations throughout the United States in late-night time slots. It originated from WKBW-TV in Buffalo, New York from its launch on Sunday October 31, 1993 until July 2 ...
''. Later that month, WNGS switched its affiliation to This TV. The RTN affiliation later moved to a digital subchannel of
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 ...
, then to the pairing of low-power stations W30BW in Olean and WBXZ-LP, assuming they get their transmitter installed, in Buffalo.


Temporary shutdown and return

On April 16, 2009, as a result of its bankruptcy, Equity Media Holdings auctioned off 60 of its television stations. WNGS was sold to
Daystar Television Network The Daystar Television Network (commonly referred to as Daystar Television, often shortened to Daystar) is an American evangelical Christian-based religious television network owned by the Word of God Fellowship, founded by Marcus Lamb in 1993. ...
for a total of US$7.4 million. They already owned WDTB-LP in nearby Hamburg, along with six other full-service stations and nine LPTV and Class A stations . Also around this time, WNGS's agreement with WKBW-TV ended. The sale was approved by 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 jurisdicti ...
in August 2009. WNGS went off the air on June 12, 2009, after not being able to complete its transition to digital-only broadcasts on time, and remained silent for almost a year. Meanwhile, on May 14, 2010, Daystar filed to sell the station to ITV of Buffalo, LLC, a partnership owned by local TV personalities Philip Arno and Donald Angelo, for $2.75 million, with plans to program the station from
Clarence, New York Clarence is a town located in the northeastern part of Erie County, New York, United States, northeast of Buffalo. The population was 32,950 according to the 2020 census estimate. This represents an increase of 7.4% from the 2010 census figure. T ...
. Angelo later dropped his involvement in the station. WNGS finally completed its digital transmitter and returned to the air in late May 2010, carrying programming from Daystar. The sale was completed on September 16, 2010; at that time, the station rejoined This TV. However, as part of the deal, Daystar had to remain on WNGS in the form of a digital subchannel for 10 years, a deal which was previously made with
KOCE-TV KOCE-TV (channel 50) is a PBS member television station licensed to Huntington Beach, California, United States, serving the Los Angeles area. It is owned by the Public Media Group of Southern California alongside the market's secondary PBS membe ...
in the Los Angeles area as a compromise after Daystar was unable to purchase that station. WNGS, formerly on a digital subchannel of WKBW-TV, had planned to launch its own digital signal on WKBW-TV's former analog channel allocation, channel 7, at the end of the 2009 digital transition. By December 2008, both the ability of WNGS to transition to its own digital facilities and its ability to continue broadcasting were directly jeopardized as (according to a DTV status report by the station), "On December 8, 2008, the licensee's parent corporation filed a petition for bankruptcy relief under
Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...
of the
federal bankruptcy code Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
, case #4:08-BK-17646-M, U.S. district court for the district of
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...
. This station must obtain post-petition financing and court approval before digital facilities may be constructed. The station will cease analogue broadcasting on June 12, 2009, regardless of whether digital facilities are operational by that date. The station will file authority to remain silent if so required by the FCC. While the station had applied for an extension for a construction permit for its digital transmitter, it was unable to continue analog operations as it was not only a full-service station, but it also operated on a frequency which was to be reallocated for non-broadcast use at the end of the digital television transition. Further complicating matters was that
Kitchener, Ontario ) , image_flag = Flag of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , image_seal = Seal of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_shield=Coat of arms of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_blank_emblem = Logo of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , blank_emblem_type = ...
's, CTV owned-and-operated station
CKCO-TV CKCO-DT (channel 13) is a television station in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Part of the CTV Television Network, it is owned-and-operated station, owned and operated by network parent Bell Media alongside London, Ontario, London-based CTV 2 statio ...
, a station serving portions of
southern Ontario Southern Ontario is a primary region of the province of Ontario, Canada, the other primary region being Northern Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada. The exact northern boundary of Southern Ontario is disp ...
with a signal that penetrates Western New York, was assigned the same channel 7 allocation by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) for its own digital signal. It should have applied to simulcast digitally before its analog channel 13 broadcasts end in August 2011, when that station would move digital broadcasts to channel 13. Daystar's last-minute proposal to transmit from a broadcast tower used by
WNYO-TV WNYO-TV (channel 49) is a television station in Buffalo, New York, United States, affiliated with MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside Fox affiliate WUTV (channel 29). Both stations share studios on Hertel Avenue near ...
(channel 49) in Folsomdale, New York instead of using WKBW-TV's Colden tower was rejected due to WNYO-TV owner
Sinclair Broadcast Group Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (SBG) is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb of Cockeysville, Maryland, ...
's last-minute decision to broadcast WNYO-TV on its lower power digital channel 34 from Grand Island, and receiving FCC approval to transfer its digital signal to a full-power channel 49 transmission from Folsomdale on June 12. Because WNGS failed to begin digital broadcasts on channel 7 after June 12, 2009, local cable providers had an option to no longer carry the station despite WNGS' direct fiber connection to the providers from West Valley. As the Buffalo market stretches west to near
Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...
, east towards
Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in W ...
, north towards
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
, Canada, and several counties in northern Pennsylvania in an area with several varieties of terrain, pay television service is almost a requirement for optimum viewing in outlying areas. This resulted in the Buffalo–Hamilton–Toronto area having one of the highest pay-television penetration rates in the Northeast. Very few households watched the over-the-signals of many of the stations, resulting in serious trouble for WNGS if it were unable to continue maintaining its must-carry status. While Daystar's existing analog translator stations could maintain the station's service in the area, WDTB-LP only covered small portions of the city of Buffalo, far from providing market-wide coverage by any means. On June 12, 2009, WNGS switched to a "
nightlight A nightlight is a small light fixture, usually electrical, placed for comfort or convenience in dark areas or areas that may become dark at certain times, such as at night or during an emergency. Small long-burning candles serving a similar fun ...
" service, broadcasting only a still screen reading "WNGS has ceased operations as of June 12, 2009". Though it technically extended the broadcast life of the station, this was not allowed to continue any later than July 12, far too soon for a digital over-the-air signal to be ready.
DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. I ...
customers in the Buffalo market stopped receiving WNGS on June 22, 2009, and on July 12 the analog transmitter was turned off, starting the clock on the station's requirement to build digital facilities by July 12, 2010, when the FCC could consider the license abandoned and delete it. By March 2010, the station still had not returned to the air in any form.
Time Warner Cable Time Warner Cable, Inc. (TWC) was an American cable television company. Before it was acquired by Charter Communications on May 18, 2016, it was ranked the second largest cable company in the United States by revenue behind only Comcast, operat ...
ended its hold on WNGS' channel 11 cable slot; WNLO was moved into that position and TWC's regional cable news channel YNN Buffalo was placed on channel 9, the former location of WNLO. In late May 2010, WNGS began transmitting its digital signal on channel 7, a month before license deletion. It invoked
must carry In cable television, governments apply a must-carry regulation stating that locally licensed television stations must be carried on a cable provider's system. North America Canada Under current CRTC regulations, the lowest tier of service on ...
and returned to Time Warner Cable on channel 5 (a prime cable position that WNGS specifically lobbied to obtain) in November 2010. The station's website returned sometime in December 2010. After an appeal to the Federal Communications Commission, WBBZ-TV also invoked must-carry in Time Warner Cable's other Western New York service areas in November 2012; TWC had initially refused to carry WBBZ-TV in those markets, ostensibly because of signal quality issues. As of 2014, WBBZ-TV is still not available on the region's other cable provider,
Atlantic Broadband Breezeline (previously Atlantic Broadband) is the trade name for the United States operations of Cogeco Communications, constituting the 8th largest cable operator in the United States, based on the number of television service customers served ...
/ Cogeco, which covers portions of Cattaraugus County;
McKean County, Pennsylvania McKean County is a rural county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,432. Its county seat is Smethport. The county was created in 1804 and organized in 1826. It was named in honor of former Pennsyl ...
; and southern Ontario (the last of which, being outside the United States, is not subject to must-carry rules).


Relaunch as WBBZ

WNGS changed its
call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assign ...
to WBBZ-TV at 5:00 a.m. on August 1, 2011, as part of a planned drastic increase in the station's local programming. The This TV affiliation moved to a digital subchannel, while it began carrying
MeTV MeTV, an acronym for Memorable Entertainment Television, is an American broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Marketed as "The Definitive Destination for Classic TV", the network airs a variety of classic television program ...
on its main channel. WBBZ-TV struggled to find a studio location to house its operations. Arno had preferred to use the former Studio Arena Theater, but had been unable to secure a deal; he also passed on the
Buffalo Central Terminal Buffalo Central Terminal is an historic former railroad station in Buffalo, New York. An active station from 1929 to 1979, the 17-story Art Deco style station was designed by architects Fellheimer & Wagner for the New York Central Railroad. Th ...
due to the building's state of disrepair.Kwiatkowski, Jane (July 31, 2011)
Shift of WNGS-TV to start Monday
''The Buffalo News''. Retrieved July 31, 2011.
The Eastern Hills Mall, which holds the station's offices, originally rejected the plan to build a studio at the mall but later relented and allowed it to be constructed. By early 2012, the studio at the Eastern Hills Mall began construction; the first program was taped from there in June.


Personnel

WBBZ-TV hired former WKBW-TV sports director and general manager of the
Empire Sports Network Empire Sports Network was an American regional sports network that was owned by the Adelphia Communications Corporation. The network was available on cable providers in much of upstate New York (stretching from Buffalo to Albany), as well as p ...
, Bob Koshinski as its executive in charge of production in 2012. He was promoted to vice president and general manager and served in those posts until resigning in January 2015; he continued to serve as a sports host through summer of that year. John DiSciullo, WKBW-TV's program director of three decades, was hired as executive in charge of production; he also serves as on-air host for local programs. Chris Musial, former general manager at
WIVB-TV WIVB-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Buffalo, New York, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside CW owned-and-operated station WNLO (channel 23). WIVB-TV and WNLO share studios on Elmwood Aven ...
, was hired as a consultant (and was later promoted as Koshinski's replacement) in 2015. As of May 2013, the station employs fifteen people, not counting Arno.


Notable current staff

*
Andrew Dan-Jumbo Andrew Dan-Jumbo (born 25 June 1965) is a builder and co-host on the home improvement reality television series Operation Build. He previously co-starred as a carpenter on the TV home makeover show '' While You Were Out'', and is the current ho ...
— host of ''Talk with Your Mouth Full'' *
Danny Neaverth Daniel J. "Danny" Neaverth, Sr. (born May 11, 1938) is an American disc jockey and television personality from Buffalo, New York. He is best known for a run of over 40 years as a morning disc jockey in Buffalo, including 25 years at heritage top-40 ...
— contributor (''I've Been Thinking'' short-form segments) *
Lauren Fix Lauren Fix is an automotive expert and analyst based in Buffalo, New York and New York, New York. She has written three books on automobiles. She has appeared on CNN, Fox News, Newsmax TV, CNBC, and USA Radio's ''Daybreak USA'' show. Racing c ...
— automotive contributor


Notable former staff

* John Murphy — co-host of ''Sportsnite'' on RTN11 * Luke Tasker — sports reporter * Fred Jackson — co-host of ''The Fred Jackson Show'' (seasons 1–3) *
Tom Torbjornsen Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...
— host of ''America's Car Show'' * Robert Woods — co-host of ''In the Zone'' (seasons 4–5)


Programming


Originally proposed local programming

Philip Arno is highly critical of the local news programming seen on WGRZ (channel 2), WIVB-TV (channel 4) and WKBW-TV and has no intention to develop a full news department as those stations have. He is nonetheless considering a daily
newsmagazine A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published magazine, radio or television program, usually published weekly, consisting of articles about current events. News magazines generally discuss stories, in greater depth than do newspapers or n ...
, in the vein of ''
AM Buffalo WKBW-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Buffalo, New York, United States, affiliated with ABC. Owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, the station maintains studios at 7 Broadcast Plaza in downtown Buffalo and a transmitter on Center Stree ...
'' (which DiSciullo worked on for many years and occasionally hosted), with news, features and a meteorologist.Pergament, Alan (May 11, 2013)
Plan for WBBZ just may be crazy enough to work
. ''The Buffalo News''. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
Local programming that Arno had announced in 2011 that he was seeking to add to the station included a morning show (which would have included local segments inside ''The Daily Buzz''), a game show (what eventually became ''Bragging Rights!''), a local late-night talk show with a local comedian as host, a local talk show in the mold of ABC's '' The View'' (Arno had mentioned = former Buffalo television personalities Susan Hunt and Susan Banks as potential hosts for the series, which eventually came to fruition as ''Daily Buzz 716''), a show geared to the military, a local Battle of the Bands and a video game review show that is aimed at younger viewers. Also slated for the future were a sports talk show hosted by
Sabres Hockey Network The Sabres Hockey Network is the official radio network and production company of the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). The network is currently operated jointly by the Sabres ( Pegula Sports and Entertainment) and Audacy, Inc. ...
personalities
Rob Ray Robert John Ray (born June 8, 1968) is a Canadian sports broadcaster and former professional ice hockey player for the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators. He was awarded the King Clancy Memorial Trophy by the National Hockey League in 1999 for ...
and
Danny Gare Daniel Mirl Gare (born May 14, 1954) is a Canadian broadcaster, ice hockey coach and former National Hockey League (NHL) player, most notably of the Buffalo Sabres. During a 13-year professional career, Gare also played for the Detroit Red Wings ...
, "a weekly made-for-TV play produced in conjunction with a local theater company drawing on its actors and production crew," and a weekly Buffalo Bills postgame show (what eventually became ''The Fred Jackson Show'' and ''In the Zone'').Kwiatkowski, Jane (June 13, 2012)
Murphy leaving channel 4 for Bills
''The Buffalo News'' Retrieved June 13, 2012.
The ultimate goal is to produce four to six hours per day of local programming, although Arno acknowledges this may be too expensive and ambitious to achieve; he has suggested he would need to sell a stake in the station, at a significant premium, to fund such a project.


Regularly scheduled local programming

Local programming seen on WBBZ-TV includes the following regularly scheduled series: *''The Karyn Reece Show'', a paranormal program hosted by psychic Karyn Reece, has aired since July 7, 2017. Reece previously hosted ''Secrets from Beyond'' with hypnotist Robert Saviola, which aired from February through August 2013 (replacing ''The Fred Jackson Show'' in the off-season). The series was one of WBBZ-TV's most popular programs and was funded by charging admission to be in the audience and/or participate. On January 17, 2014, Arno announced the show had been canceled and would not return for a second season due to financial losses. Reece later moved to WGRZ and hosted ''2 the Unknown'' on that channel for the rest of that year, then after two years off television returned to WBBZ with her current series; initially known as ''Psychic Encounters'', by 2019 it had become an eponymous program. Since 2020, Reece has co-hosted the show with Alexa Zappia. *'' Polka Buzz'', billed as "Buffalo's only dance show", debuted in fall 2015. It airs on Sundays and is hosted by Ron Dombrowski, longtime host of a daily polka radio show that is heard on
WXRL WXRL (1300 AM) is a commercial radio station in Lancaster, New York, serving the Buffalo metropolitan area. It broadcasts a classic country radio format. WXRL is owned and operated by the family of Ramblin' Lou Schriver, a well known local coun ...
and
WECK WECK (1230 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Cheektowaga, New York and serving the Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metropolitan Area. The station airs a locally-produced and locally hosted oldies music format. The studios, offices an ...
. Created by Chris Musial and station Vice President of Sales Angelo Cicatello, both of whom are of partial Polish descent, the show attracts a regular entourage which appears at each taping, usually at Potts Banquet Hall in
Cheektowaga Cheektowaga () is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town has grown to a population of 89,877. The town is in the north-central part of the county, and is an inner ring suburb of Buffalo. The town is the ...
; In 2021, following over a year of hiatus, it moved to an outdoor venue at Buffalo RiverWorks. *''Good Deeds Buffalo'' debuted May 29, 2021 and is hosted by Jordan James. *''Passionate Living'' debuted February 4, 2020 and is hosted by Catherine Miller. *''Beat the Champ'', a revival of the former WBEN-TV
Van Miller Van Miller (November 22, 1927 – July 17, 2015) was an American radio and television sports announcer from Dunkirk, New York, where he began his career at Dunkirk radio station WFCB calling play-by-play for high school football games. In the 1 ...
-hosted
ten-pin bowling Ten-pin bowling is a type of bowling in which a bowler rolls a bowling ball down a wood or synthetic lane toward ten pins positioned evenly in four rows in an equilateral triangle. The objective is to knock down all ten pins on the first rol ...
series of the same name, debuted January 9, 2016. The revival is hosted by Paul Peck and local pro bowler Sue Nawojski. *''
Off Beat Cinema ''Off Beat Cinema'' is a two-hour hosted movie show that airs on television stations throughout the United States in late-night time slots. It originated from WKBW-TV in Buffalo, New York from its launch on Sunday October 31, 1993 until July 2 ...
'', the long-running hosted movie series formerly aired on WKBW-TV (and carried by WNGS as a secondary station since 2006), moved to WBBZ-TV on August 4, 2012. New programs are being produced before a live audience for the first time. WBBZ-TV airs ''Off Beat Cinema'' in a double feature with ''
Svengoolie ''Svengoolie'' is an American hosted horror movie television program. The show features horror and science fiction films and is hosted by the eponymous character Svengoolie, who was originally played by Jerry G. Bishop from 1970 to 1973, before ...
'', the hosted movie series that MeTV carries each Saturday night. Its hosts are Tony "Bird" Billoni, Constance "Zelda" Caldwell, and Jeffrey "Theodore" Roberts. *''The Big Picture'' is the current incarnation of WBBZ's public affairs/ weekend talk show. It traces its roots to ''Political Buzz'', the first local program to originate from the WBBZ-TV studios, which debuted on June 21, 2012. It was hosted for most of its run by former WIVB news anchor Mylous Hairston. It ended in late 2014 and was replaced in January 2015 with ''Talk of the Town'', a more generally oriented talk show hosted by Kim Piazza and WBBZ owner Phil Arno. ''Talk of the Town'' ended when ''Daily Buzz 716'' launched. ''The Big Picture'', hosted by Arno, debuted in June 2018. As of 2021, two episodes air weekly, one on Monday nights hosted by Arno, and another hosted by Penny Wolfgang, a local judge and media personality. All of these programs can be seen by an audience; reservations are suggested on the station's website. Additional airings with the exception of ''Off Beat Cinema'' take place, usually twice, shortly after the original airing.


Previous local programming

*'' America's Car Show'' was a television version of the then-syndicated radio series hosted by Chautauqua County, New York native Tom Torbjornsen. It debuted on September 12, 2012, and, for its first few months on air, aired in conjunction with
Entertainment Studios Entertainment Studios, Inc., also known as Allen Media Group, is an American media and entertainment company based in Los Angeles. Owned and founded in 1993 by businessman Byron Allen, the company was initially involved in the production and ...
' ''cars.tv''. After a move to Saturday mornings, the show quietly ended its run after several months of reruns in early 2014. Torbjornsen died in 2016. A potential revival of the concept, ''Drive with Me TV'', with Dave Jickster and Lauren Fix as hosts, will air a pilot episode February 20, 2019. *''
Dyngus Day Easter Monday refers to the day after Easter Sunday in either the Eastern or Western Christian traditions. It is a public holiday in some countries. It is the second day of Eastertide. In Western Christianity, it marks the second day of the Octa ...
Diary'' aired on April 1, 2013, and summarized the Buffalo Dyngus Day parade that had been held earlier in the day. Subsequent episodes moved to
WKBW-TV WKBW-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Buffalo, New York, United States, affiliated with ABC. Owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, the station maintains studios at 7 Broadcast Plaza in downtown Buffalo and a transmitter on Center Stree ...
. *''Buffalo Night in America'' – This live three-hour broadcast was made available worldwide on
Ustream IBM Watson Media (formerly Ustream and IBM Cloud Video) is an American virtual events platform company which is a division of IBM. Prior to IBM acquisition, it had more than 180 employees across San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Budapest offices. ...
, on July 21, 2012. The broadcast included live streaming video from various parties around the United States and various forms of variety entertainment centered around Western New York culture. Although the special was a critical, technical and ratings failure, management of the station attributed its failure to being too ambitious, too soon, and considered the making of the special a learning experience. *''The Healthy Zone Game Show'', the station's second game show offering, was produced in conjunction with
Blue Cross Blue Shield Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBS, BCBSA) is a federation, or supraorganization, of, in 2022, 34 independent and locally operated BCBSA companies that provide health insurance in the United States to more than 106 million people. It was ...
of Western New York. The contestants were elementary school students chosen from
Buffalo Public Schools Buffalo Public Schools serves approximately 34,000 students in Buffalo, New York, the second largest city in the state of New York. It is located in Erie County of western New York and operates nearly 70 facilities. History The Buffalo Public Sc ...
. This series ran from November 30, 2015, through June 19, 2016, and was recorded at
Kleinhans Music Hall Kleinhans Music Hall is a concert venue located on Symphony Circle in Buffalo, New York. The hall "is renowned for its acoustical excellence and graceful architecture." Kleinhans is currently the home of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, a regu ...
; according to WBBZ's Web site, no further seasons are planned. *''Daily Buzz
716 __NOTOC__ Year 716 ( DCCXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 716 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar er ...
'' was a female-oriented daily panel talk show in the mold of ''The View'' and '' The Talk''. The show's rotating panelist included Penny Wolfgang, Kim Piazza, Adriana Viverette-Gamble, Constance Caldwell, Mercedes Wilson,
Lauren Fix Lauren Fix is an automotive expert and analyst based in Buffalo, New York and New York, New York. She has written three books on automobiles. She has appeared on CNN, Fox News, Newsmax TV, CNBC, and USA Radio's ''Daybreak USA'' show. Racing c ...
, Mary Kate O'Connell (sister of Kevin O'Connell) and Mary Arno. The program debuted March 1, 2017, and was quietly canceled some time before May 2018. *''Bragging Rights!'', a
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 demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...
which (as the title implies) has no cash prize, debuted June 9, 2014. The show pits two teams of three people with some common bond, ranging from local celebrities to common families, against each other in an interactive trivia contest loosely based on
tic-tac-toe Tic-tac-toe (American English), noughts and crosses (Commonwealth English), or Xs and Os (Canadian or Irish English) is a paper-and-pencil game for two players who take turns marking the spaces in a three-by-three grid with ''X'' or ''O''. ...
. The show was created by Arno and is hosted by John DiSciullo. The first season, which aired new episodes five days a week, ended in September 2014; production resumed as a weekly show in February 2015 and eventually returned to daily episodes. ''Bragging Rights!'' was pulled from the schedule in March 2020.


Sports

From 2011 to 2015, WBBZ-TV carried a number of sports broadcasts and sports-related programs, a genre the station has since abandoned. WBBZ-TV held rights to the package of
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
games produced for broadcast syndication by
WWOR-TV WWOR-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area as the flagship of MyNetworkTV. It is owned and operated by Fox Television Stations alongside Fox flagship WNYW ...
from 2011 until 2013; a bulk syndication agreement with Sinclair Broadcast Group, coupled with increased rights fees and declining ratings, led to WBBZ-TV dropping the Yankees broadcasts for the 2014 season. As RTN11, WNGS carried Yankees,
New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
and
Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...
games. WBBZ-TV announced the acquisition of the rights to a ''
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 ...
'' broadcast featuring the Buffalo Bills during the 2012 season, following an "aggressive" bidding process; those rights had previously resided with WKBW-TV. WBBZ-TV had made the bid in part because as it stood, the station would be the only place on Time Warner Cable that viewers could see the game (
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 NF ...
was not available on Time Warner Cable at the time of the bid), but Time Warner Cable and NFL Network signed a carriage agreement during the course of the 2012 season, rendering the advantage moot. WBBZ-TV again won the rights to the NFL Network Bills game in
2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
, with a lower bid than the year before but one that was still much higher than the other stations had offered. Due to ''Thursday Night Football'' broadcast rights moving exclusively to
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 Entertainm ...
affiliates in 2014, and the fact that the Bills were not selected for any ''
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, A ...
'' games that year, no games were made available to any local stations. WBBZ lost the rights to the Bills' lone cable game for 2015 to WKBW-TV. (During WNGS's time under WKBW management, the station carried replays of Bills preseason games.) During a prolonged contract dispute between
MSG Network The MSG Network (MSG) is an American regional cable and satellite television network, and radio service owned by MSG Entertainment, Inc.—a spin-off of the main Madison Square Garden Company operation (itself a spin-off of local cable provider ...
and Time Warner Cable, WBBZ-TV proposed buying the rights to
Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...
games from MSG in order for Time Warner Cable subscribers to see the game. The two sides came to an agreement before any action could be taken on Arno's proposal. In August 2013, WBBZ-TV announced it had affiliated with Raycom Sports's ACC Network to carry the syndicated Atlantic Coast Conference Saturday package of college football and
college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
games starting with the 2013 season, when Syracuse University joined the conference; WBBZ-TV emphasizes games involving Syracuse and the
University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...
. WBBZ lost the ACC package to WNLO in 2015, leaving the station without any live sports play-by-play. WBBZ aired an ''
NBA on ABC The ''NBA on ABC'' is an American presentation of National Basketball Association (NBA) games produced by ESPN, and televised on ABC. After the ABC Sports division was integrated with its cable sister network in September 2006, broadcasts have s ...
'' game on March 5, 2016; the usual ABC affiliate, WKBW, broadcast its annual telethon for
Variety, the Children's Charity Variety, the Children's Charity is a charitable organization founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1927. History On October 10, 1927, a group of eleven men involved in show business set up a social club which they named the "Variety Club". On ...
that day. The station also served as an overflow for a
Little League World Series The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children—typically boys—aged 10 to 12 years old, held in the Eastern United States. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for the Wor ...
broadcast that was preempted on WKBW for a Bills preseason game on August 20. The station also carried a number of sports-related half-hour shows. *As RTN11, WNGS aired ''Sportsnite'', a production of WKBW-TV's sports department, from 2006 to 2007. Niagara University later took a stake in the program and it became known as ''Sportsnite Niagara'', airing only during the winter months, until WNGS shut down in 2009. *''The Bucky and Sully Show'' debuted on WBBZ on September 6, 2013. Produced in partnership with ''
The Buffalo News ''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It recently sold its headquarters to Uniland Development Corp. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by W ...
'' featuring the ''News'' sports columnists, Jerry Sullivan and Bucky Gleason; it aired new episodes twice weekly on Monday and Friday from September through May, with its last WBBZ episode airing in May 2015. The show had previously aired exclusively on ''The Buffalo News's'' Web site; Sullivan and Gleason would later go on to co-host ''Sports Talk Sunday'' for
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 ...
in fall 2015 and would reunite with Bob Koshinski for a show on radio station
WHLD WHLD (1270 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Niagara Falls, New York, and serving the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area. It is owned by Cumulus Media and carries a conservative talk radio format, much of it from co-owned ...
in January 2016. *''All Sports WNY'' (originally known as ''Sports Rap-Up'' until May 21, 2013), a weekly sports summary and talk/interview show, was hosted by Bob Koshinski and aired on Tuesday evenings from September 11, 2012 until an unknown point in summer 2015. Luke Tasker, wide receiver for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and son of former Buffalo Bills wide receiver Steve Tasker, was a correspondent for the program. *For five seasons, WBBZ aired a weekly Buffalo Bills recap and audience-participation talk show during football season. The first three seasons. spanning 2012 to 2014, were hosted by Bob Koshinski and Fred Jackson and were thus known as ''The Fred Jackson Show''. Seasons four and five were hosted by Robert Woods and WGRF disc jockey Dave Jickster; season four aired as ''In the Zone'' and season five aired as ''The Robert Woods Show''. The series was quietly dropped after Woods left for the Los Angeles Rams prior to the 2017 season.


Specials

*WBBZ-TV will take over airing the
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
Kids Telethon, previously a staple of WKBW's lineup since 1962, in 2020. WBBZ-TV will share the broadcast with
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 ...
. *WBBZ-TV airs an annual presentation of the
Yule Log The Yule log, Yule clog, or Christmas block is a specially selected log burnt on a hearth as a winter tradition in regions of Europe, and subsequently North America. The origin of the folk custom is unclear. Like other traditions associated wit ...
each
Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...
. Bob Koshinski had brought this feature over from Empire Sports Network, where he had used the presentation each Christmas; it has continued on WBBZ under Chris Musial. *''Giants of Buffalo'' – A recurring series of documentary/interview specials documenting Buffalo history. The first one, ''Radio'', was taped in March 2013 and debuted on May 26 of that year at 10:00 p.m. ''Television'' and ''Journalism'' were taped in March and April 2014, respectively; ''Television'' debuts in two parts, May 19, and May 20, 2014. ''Women of Buffalo Television'' debuts May 22, 2014. ''Journalism'' debuted January 1, 2015. "Food" will be recorded April 17, 2015. *The Buffalo Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame induction ceremonies aired on WBBZ-TV December 28, 2016. *''Gifts from the Heart'', a
Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...
special, aired November 23, 2017 at 8:00 p.m. *WBBZ-TV's first
made-for-TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
, the Greg Robbins-directed holiday comedy ''Hope for Christmas'', debuted December 2, 2018. *WBBZ-TV re-aired the 2018 film '' WKBW Radio's
War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appearance in hardcover was i ...
: 50 Years Later'', produced by former general manager Bob Koshinski and originally broadcast on
WNED-TV WNED-TV (channel 17) is a PBS member television station in Buffalo, New York, United States. It is owned by the Western New York Public Broadcasting Association (doing business as Buffalo Toronto Public Media) alongside NPR member WBFO (88.7 ...
, in October 2019. It was retitled ''WKBW Radio's War of the Worlds: The Legacy Continues'' for television airings. This does not include special episodes of ''The Big Picture'' and ''What's the Buzz in WNY?'' that break from their respective formats. Other specials are in the works.


Other programming

As of September 2017, WBBZ-TV no longer carries any syndicated programming, except for the
Entertainment Studios Entertainment Studios, Inc., also known as Allen Media Group, is an American media and entertainment company based in Los Angeles. Owned and founded in 1993 by businessman Byron Allen, the company was initially involved in the production and ...
productions ''cars.tv'' and ''Career Day'', both of which air once a week on Saturday mornings. (Most of Entertainment Studios' other programs air on WKBW.) '' The Daily Buzz'' was carried during the 2011–12 season, but was removed after the producers of that show cut back and revamped the format; other shows WBBZ-TV previously carried include ''
Cash Cab Cash Cab may refer to: * ''Cash Cab'' (British game show) * ''Cash Cab'' (American game show) * ''Cash Cab'' (Canadian game show) * ''Cash Cab'' (Japanese game show) * ''Cash Cab'' (Australian game show) {{disambiguation ...
'' (2011–14), ''
The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show ''The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends'' (commonly referred to as simply ''Rocky and Bullwinkle'') is an American animated television series that originally aired from November 19, 1959, to June 27, 1964, on the ABC and NBC te ...
'' (summer 2013), ''
The Addams Family ''The Addams Family'' is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 unrelated single-panel cartoons, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' over ...
'' (August 2013), ''Beer Geeks'' and ''
That '70s Show ''That '70s Show'' is an American television period teen sitcom that aired on Fox from August 23, 1998, to May 18, 2006. The series focuses on the lives of a group of six teenage friends living in the fictional town of Point Place, Wisconsin, ...
'' (both during the 2013–14 season), ''
King of the Hill ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired its original non-syndicated run from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, and centers on the Hills, an Am ...
'' (2013–15), and ''
The King of Queens ''The King of Queens'' is an American television sitcom that ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007, a total of nine seasons and 207 episodes. The series was created by Michael J. Weithorn and David Litt, who also served as the show ...
'' (2014–17). '' Supreme Justice with Judge Karen'' and '' Justice with Judge Mablean'' both moved to WNLO in 2017 after airing on WBBZ for several years. The remaining programming on the station comes from MeTV and infomercials. In contrast to the station's competitors, who broadcast a liberal number of infomercials during the overnight hours, WBBZ-TV airs its infomercials on weekday mornings instead, which varies from one to three hours and pre-empts MeTV's non- E/I children's programs. WBBZ-TV also preempts large portions of MeTV's weekend lineup for infomercials. The station added a locally originated home shopping block in July 2019.


Ratings

WBBZ-TV's programming to date has proven competitive with other stations in the market, having finished in a near statistical tie with WNLO and WNYO-TV in the Nielsen ratings for the November 2011 sweeps; this is despite the fact that both of those stations had local newscasts at the time (a particular ratings boost to WNLO; WNYO-TV lost its local newscast to sister station
WUTV WUTV (channel 29) is a television station in Buffalo, New York, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside MyNetworkTV affiliate WNYO-TV (channel 49). Both stations share studios on Hertel ...
(channel 29) in April 2013), whereas WBBZ-TV does not. However, by summer 2012, ratings had fallen to a third of their 2011 highs. The ratings later rebounded in November 2012. As of the May 2014 sweeps, WBBZ-TV is earning approximately a 2.0
Nielsen rating Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...
for its prime-time MeTV offerings and a 1.0 rating for its original productions. Arno hopes to move into fourth place in the all-day Nielsen ratings (to which he does not subscribe, instead opting to use the services of
Rentrak Rentrak Corporation is a global media measurement and research company serving the entertainment industry. Rentrak is headquartered in Portland, Oregon, United States, with additional offices in the United States and around the world. In February ...
, a competing service but realistically expects to eventually reach fifth, ahead of WNYO-TV and WNLO. Financially speaking, WBBZ's local programs have been profitable enough for Arno to invest more money into the station's studios. Arno had hoped to sell the station's spectrum in the FCC's spectrum incentive auction in 2017 (which would have presumably resulted in WBBZ entering a channel-sharing agreement with another Buffalo market station if successful). Because the station was already in the high-VHF band and most interested parties sought UHF channels, WBBZ-TV's spectrum went unsold.


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 ...
: On March 1, 2017,
Heroes & Icons Heroes & Icons (H&I) is an American digital broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Usually carried on the digital subchannels of its affiliated television station in most markets, the network airs classic television series fr ...
replaced This TV on the 67.2 subchannel.
Dabl Dabl () is an American lifestyle-oriented digital multicast television network owned by the CBS Media Ventures subsidiary of Paramount Global. The company's formerly-owned other subchannel network, Decades, through CBS News and Stations was l ...
was added on the 67.5 subchannel in September 2019.
Start TV Start TV is an American free-to-air television network owned as a joint venture between Weigel Broadcasting and the CBS News and Stations subsidiary of Paramount Global. Predominantly carried on the digital subchannels of its affiliated televisi ...
,
Decades A decade () is a period of ten years. Decades may describe any ten-year period, such as those of a person's life, or refer to specific groupings of calendar years. Usage Any period of ten years is a "decade". For example, the statement that "du ...
and
Movies! Movies! (also known as simply M!) is an American free-to-air television network, owned by Popcorn Entertainment, LLC, a joint venture between Weigel Broadcasting and the Fox Television Stations subsidiary of Fox Corporation. The network's prog ...
, three other digital subchannel networks owned (like MeTV) by
Weigel Broadcasting Weigel Broadcasting Co. is an American television broadcasting company based in Chicago, Illinois, alongside its flagship station WCIU-TV (Channel 26), at 26 North Halsted Street in the Greektown neighborhood. It currently owns 25 television s ...
, were added July 1, 2020. Decades and Movies! had previously been on WVTT-CD until that channel left the air.New Channels on WBBZ-TV on July 1, 2020
. WBBZ-TV official Youtube channel. Retrieved June 26, 2020.


References


External links

*
WBBZ-TV Program schedule
from Locate TV
Official Facebook pageWNGS-TV at fccinfo.comWBBZ-TV at fccinfo.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wbbz-tv 1997 establishments in New York (state) Equity Media Holdings Heroes & Icons affiliates MeTV affiliates Daystar (TV network) affiliates Dabl affiliates Start TV affiliates Decades (TV network) affiliates Movies! affiliates Television channels and stations established in 1997 BBZ-TV