WPSD-TV (channel 6) 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 ...

licensed to

Paducah, Kentucky Paducah ( ) is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky. The largest city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located at the confluence of the Tennessee and the Ohio rivers, halfway between St. Louis, Missour ...

, United States, serving as the

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 ...

affiliate for

Western Kentucky Western Kentucky is the western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It generally includes part or all of several more widely recognized regions of the state. ;Always included * The Jackson Purchase, the state's westernmost generally recogniz ...

Jackson Purchase The Jackson Purchase, also known as the Purchase Region or simply the Purchase, is a region in the U.S. state of Kentucky bounded by the Mississippi River to the west, the Ohio River to the north, and the Tennessee River to the east. Jackson's ...

region,

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern United States, Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of th ...

, the

Missouri Bootheel The Missouri Bootheel is a salient located in the southeasternmost part of the U.S. state of Missouri, extending south of 36°30′ north latitude, so called because its shape in relation to the rest of the state resembles the heel of a boot. ...

, and northwest Tennessee. Owned by locally based

Paxton Media Group Paxton Media Group of Paducah, Kentucky, is a privately held media company with holdings that include newspapers and a TV station, WPSD-TV in Paducah. David M. Paxton is president and CEO. The company owns 32 daily newspapers and numerous weekl ...

, the station maintains studios on Television Lane in Paducah, and its transmitter is located at

Monkey's Eyebrow, Kentucky Monkey's Eyebrow is a rural unincorporated community in Ballard County, Kentucky, United States. It is generally the northwesternmost community in the Jackson Purchase area of western Kentucky that is identified on the highway maps distributed by ...

History

The station signed on as WPSD on May 28, 1957, with an

analog Analog or analogue may refer to: Computing and electronics * Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable ** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals *** Analog electronics, circuits which use analog ...

signal on VHF channel 6. It has been an NBC affiliate and owned by the Paxton family for its entire existence alongside Western Kentucky's major newspaper, ''

The Paducah Sun ''The Paducah Sun'' is a daily newspaper in Paducah, Kentucky, owned by the family-run Paxton Media Group. The paper was formerly known as the ''Paducah Sun-Democrat''. The publisher is Bill Evans. Matt Jones is the general manager. ''The Sun'' ...

''. The "PSD" letters in the

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 assigne ...

stands for ''Paducah Sun-Democrat'' which was the paper's name at the time the station launched in 1957. It is one of the few television stations in the United States to have retained the same owners (

) since signing on.

Programming

Syndicated programming on the station includes ''

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 ...

'', ''

Inside Edition ''Inside Edition'' is an American news broadcasting newsmagazine program that is distributed in first-run syndication by CBS Media Ventures. Having premiered on January 9, 1989, it is the longest-running syndicated-newsmagazine program that is n ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', and '' Dr. Phil'' among others. WPSD initially declined to carry ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

''. WPSD made a compromise after receiving negative feedback for the preemption; for several years, they delayed the variety show for an hour. In the early 1990s, the station finally decided to air the program at its network-recommended time of 10:30 p.m. CT.

News operation

WPSD serves more than fifty counties in southeastern Missouri, southern Illinois, western Kentucky, and northwest Tennessee. Among the area's big three outlets, the station focuses more on Western Kentucky since it is based in Paducah. In addition to its main studios, WPSD operates a bureau on South Illinois Avenue in Downtown Carbondale. Beginning in 2006, WPSD produced a nightly prime time newscast on

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 ...

affiliate KBSI through a news share agreement, known as ''Local 6 at 9 on Fox 23'' and featured a regional summary of headlines because KBSI is based in Cape Girardeau. For nearly eight years, the broadcast competed with KFVS' own nightly prime time news at 9 seen on the area's low-powered CW affiliates WQTV-LP/WQWQ-LP, which was canceled on July 29, 2007. WPSD's partnership with KBSI expired on September 30, 2010. KBSI entered into a new partnership with KFVS presumably to refocus the prime time production to the Missouri Bootheel area and expand it to 60 minutes. On October 3, 2010, WPSD brought back its own newscast at 9 p.m. to its RTV and

Antenna TV Antenna TV is an American digital television network owned by Nexstar Media Group. The network's programming consists of classic television series, primarily sitcoms, from the 1950s to the 1990s. Antenna TV's programming and advertising operati ...

. Known as ''The Nine'' and seen every night for a half-hour, this was simulcast on those two services. WPSD's newscast at 9 p.m. has been canceled as of 2019.

Notable former on-air staff

Sam Champion Samuel James Champion (born August 13, 1961) is an American weather anchor who is best known for his combined 25-year career on the ABC flagship station WABC-TV and ''Good Morning America''. He formerly co-anchored '' AMHQ: America's Morning He ...

– now morning weathercaster at

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 New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

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

WPSD-TV shut down its analog signal, over 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 remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 32. Through the use of

PSIP The Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP) is the MPEG (a video and audio industry group) and privately defined program-specific information originally defined by General Instrument for the DigiCipher 2 system and later extended for the AT ...

, digital television receivers display the station's

virtual channel In most telecommunications organizations, a virtual channel is a method of remapping the ''program number'' as used in H.222 Program Association Tables and Program Mapping Tables to a channel number that can be entered via digits on a receiver's ...

as its former VHF analog channel 6.

Availability

Over-the-air signal

WPSD's over-the-air signal can also reach some of the Nashville media market's far western areas, like in Henry County, including

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Parts of

Trigg County, Kentucky Trigg County is a County (United States), county located on the far southwestern border of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 14,061. Its county seat is Cadiz, Kentucky, Cadiz. Formed ...

, near the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area can also pick up the station's signal. Residents of Dawson Springs ( Hopkins County, in the

Evansville Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in S ...

market), can also pick up the station's signal with an outdoor antenna as that area is just within range of the station's signal area. WPSD is the only station in the Paducah market that can reach that area. The signal has also been known to reach as far as areas in northeastern

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 Osage ...

, such as Blytheville, Trumann and

Osceola Osceola (1804 – January 30, 1838, Asi-yahola in Muscogee language, Creek), named Billy Powell at birth in Alabama, became an influential leader of the Seminole people in Florida. His mother was Muscogee, and his great-grandfather was a S ...

. Until the 2009 digital television transition, the signal also used to be able to reach the far northern areas of Dyer and

Gibson Gibson may refer to: People * Gibson (surname) Businesses * Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment * Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based * Gi ...

counties in northwest Tennessee, which are respectively in the

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

and

Jackson, Tennessee Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population was 68,205 as of the 2020 United States ...

markets.

Former translator

WPSD formerly operated a low-powered VHF analog

repeater In telecommunications, a repeater is an electronic device that receives a signal and retransmits it. Repeaters are used to extend transmissions so that the signal can cover longer distances or be received on the other side of an obstruction. Some ...

W10AH (channel 10) in

Carbondale, Illinois Carbondale is a city in Jackson and Williamson Counties, Illinois, United States, within the Southern Illinois region informally known as "Little Egypt". The city developed from 1853 because of the stimulation of railroad construction into the ...

from a transmitter (sharing the

WSIU-TV WSIU-TV (channel 8) is a PBS member television station in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. It is owned by Southern Illinois University alongside NPR member WSIU (91.9 FM). The two stations share studios on the university's campus in Carbond ...

- FM tower) on the

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of Tr ...

campus, but the station's license has since been cancelled 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 jurisdiction ...

(FCC).

Out-of-market coverage

Hopkinsville Hopkinsville is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Christian County, Kentucky, United States. The population at the 2010 census was 31,577. History Early years The area of present-day Hopkinsville was initially claimed in 1796 b ...

( Christian County (KY)), which is in the

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

media market, WPSD and WPSD-DT3 (its Antenna TV subchannel) is carried on that area's local

Charter Spectrum Spectrum is a trade name of Charter Communications, used to market consumer and commercial cable television, internet, telephone, and wireless services provided by the company. The brand was first introduced in 2014; prior to that, these serv ...

system. WPSD's main channel is also carried on Mediacom cable channel 15 on that provider's system in the Cadiz and Trigg County areas (including the Land Between the Lakes area), which are also in the Nashville market. In

Webster County, Kentucky Webster County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,017. Its county seat is Dixon. It is the southernmost county in the Evansville, IN–KY Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county ...

, including Dixon (within the Evansville DMA), WPSD-TV's main channel is carried on Spectrum channel 37.Time Warner Cable Channel Lineup for Dixon, Clay, and Wheatcraft, KY (Webster County, KY)
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References

External links

WPSD-TV "Local 6"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wpsd-Tv Television channels and stations established in 1957 Cozi TV affiliates Antenna TV affiliates Television stations in the Paducah–Cape Girardeau–Harrisburg market NBC network affiliates 1957 establishments in Kentucky