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{{short description|NBC affiliate in Syracuse, New York}}
{{Infobox_Broadcast |
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
call_letters = WSTM-TV|
{{Infobox television station
station_logo = ]|
station_slogan = Live, Local, Latebreaking| | callsign = WSTM-TV
station_branding = ''NBC 3/Action News 3''| | city =
analog = 3 (])| | atsc3 = yes
digital = 54 (])| | logo = LOGO WSTM NBC3 solid legal blk.png
affiliations = ]| | logo_size = 150px
founded = ], ]| | image = LOGO WSTQ CW6 solid legal grn.png
location = ]| | image_size = 180px
| branding = {{ubl|NBC 3; ''] Central''|CW 6 (on DT2)}}
callsign_meaning = '''W'''e're '''S'''yracuse '''T'''imes '''M'''irror<br>(after former owner)|
owner = ]<br>(awaiting new buyer)| | analog =
former_callsigns = WSYR-TV (1950-80) | | digital = 19 (])
| virtual = 3
former_affiliations = ] (secondary, 1950-62)|
| translators =
effective_radiated_power = 41.9 kW Analog<br>42 kW Digital STA<br>185 kW Digital CP|
| affiliations = {{ubl|'''3.1:''' ]|''']:''' ]|'''3.3:''' ]}}
homepage = |
| subchannels =
| country = United States
| founded =
| airdate = {{start date and age|1950|2|15|p=y}}
| last_airdate =
| location = ]
| callsign_meaning = Syracuse ] (former owner)
| former_callsigns = WSYR-TV (1950–1980)
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 5 (], 1950–1953), 3 (VHF, 1953–2009)|'''Digital:''' 54 (UHF, 2000–2009), 24 (UHF, 2009–2019)}}
| owner = ]
| licensee = WSTQ Licensee, ]
| sister_stations = ]
| former_affiliations =
| erp = 150 ]
| haat = {{convert|410|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| class =
| facility_id = 21252
| coordinates = {{nowrap|{{coord|42|56|41.8|N|76|7|6.2|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}}}
| licensing_authority = ]
| website = {{URL|https://cnycentral.com/}}
}} }}


'''WSTM-TV''' (channel 3) is a ] in ], United States, affiliated with ] and ]. It is owned by ], which provides certain services to ] affiliate ] (channel 5) through a ] with ]. The two stations share studios on James Street/] in the ] section of Syracuse; WSTM-TV's transmitter is located in the town of ].
'''WSTM-TV (NBC-3)''' is the ] affiliate for ]. Through cable coverage, it also serves as the NBC affiliate for ] and the ]/Eastern ] region. WSTM provides some news coverage of these areas. Interestingly, it also carries substantial news stories from Utica and Herkimer County, even though Utica's ] is also an NBC affiliate. The satellite signal reportedly reaches parts of Southeast Ontario. It is owned by ], part of a duopoly with ] affiliate ]. However, Raycom is searching for a buyer for both stations after acquiring ], which owned television stations primarily in the southeastern United States. Raycom is selling WSTM/WSTQ in order to focus on the southeast.


==History==
WSTM-TV began operations on ], ] as WSYR-TV, owned by ], the ] family's company, along with the '']'', '']'', ] and WSYR-FM 94.5 (now ]). It was Syracuse's second television station, signing on three months after WHEN-TV (now ]). Originally on channel 5, it moved to its current location a few years later. It originally broadcast from the Kemper Building in downtown Syracuse. In ], WSYR-AM-FM-TV moved to a new studio on James Street. It has always been an NBC station, though it shared ] programming with WHEN until WNYS-TV signed on in ].
The station began operations on February 15, 1950, on VHF channel 5 with the call sign WSYR-TV, moving to VHF channel 3 in 1953. It was owned by ] (the Newhouse family's company) along with the '']'', '']'', and WSYR radio (] and FM 94.5, now ]). It was Syracuse's second television station, signing on a year and three months after WHEN-TV (now WTVH). It originally had facilities at the Kemper Building in Downtown Syracuse. In 1958, WSYR-AM-FM-TV moved to new studios on James Street.


For many years, WSYR-TV doubled as the NBC affiliate for ]. It also operated a satelite station in ] for several years; first known as WSYE-TV and now ], it is now a stand-alone station (though still affiliated with NBC). Unlike most NBC affiliates in two station ], WSYR-TV did not take a secondary ] or ] affiliation. WSYR-TV doubled as the NBC affiliate for ] until WINR-TV (now ]) signed-on in 1957. The station also operated a ] in ] until 1980; that station, first known as WSYE-TV and now ], is now owned by ] and fed via ] facilities of a Syracuse cross-town rival, which ironically now holds the ] call letters. It remains affiliated with NBC.


The Newhouse family largely exited broadcasting in 1980. The WSYR cluster had been grandfathered after the ] (FCC) banned common ownership of newspaper and broadcasting outlets, but lost this protection when Advance dismantled its broadcasting division. Channel 3 was sold to the ], who—so as to comply with an FCC rule in effect at the time that prohibited TV and radio stations in the same market, but with different owners from sharing the same callsigns—changed the television station's calls to WSTM-TV (for "Syracuse Times Mirror") on March 28 and kept the James Street studios.
The Newhouse family largely exited broadcasting in ]. WSYR-TV was sold to Times Mirror. Since Times Mirror wasn't interested in the radio stations, it changed the TV station's calls to WSTM-TV (for '''S'''yracuse '''T'''imes '''M'''irror) and kept the James Street studio. In later years, Park Communications and Raycom bought the station, as Times Mirror also decided to exit broadcasting (the remainder of the company has since merged with ]).


The WSYR calls returned to Syracuse television in ] after ] changed the calls of WIXT (the former WNYS-TV) to ] (the ABC affiliate as mentioned above); it had owned WSYR-AM for several years and had acquired WIXT when it bought the Ackerley Group in ]. In 1986, Times Mirror sold WSTM-TV to ], a broadcast holding company controlled by George Lilly. SJL then sold WSTM-TV to Federal Broadcasting in 1992. That company was bought out by ] in 1997. The WSYR-TV calls returned to Syracuse in 2005 after ] purchased WIXT-TV (formerly WNYS-TV) as part of the ] acquisition three years earlier. The company changed WIXT-TV's calls to match WSYR radio, which it had owned for several years.


On March 5, 1996, WSTM-TV ] Charles Bivins died after collapsing at the Syracuse Track and Racquet Club. He was 48 and had previously suffered a mild ] two years earlier. Bivins was also a visiting professor at ]'s ] teaching television programming. In 2003, Raycom Media purchased Syracuse's low-powered ] affiliate WAWA-LP from Venture Technologies Group for an undisclosed amount of money. The station had its call letters changed to WSTQ-LP (derived from WSTM-TV) and given the on-air branding of "UPN 6, The Q". Raycom used "6" to reflect its cable slot as a result of the station becoming offered on the basic lineup of ] (now ]) on July 1.
Notable station alumni include ], ] and ].

Before the purchase, Time Warner Cable had refused to carry WAWA-LP. The same "]" rules that kept the station off the cable system eventually got WSTQ-LP on. The must-carry rules give full-powered stations the option of "retransmission consent" or requiring compensation from cable systems as a condition of carrying a station's signal. In this case, full-powered WSTM-TV can require cable systems like Time Warner Cable to offer WSTQ-LP on their systems as a condition of carrying WSTM-TV.

On March 27, 2006, Raycom Media announced the sale of WSTM-TV and WSTQ-LP to ]. The sale was finalized that August. On March 2, 2009, as a result of low ratings and slow advertising sales, it was announced that WTVH would enter into a local marketing agreement with WSTM-TV.<ref>Fybush, Scott. . NorthEast Radio Watch. March 2, 2009.</ref><ref> </ref><ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090306122922/http://www.wtvh.com/news/local/40540727.html |date=March 6, 2009 }}</ref> Initially, WTVH continued to operate out of its own James Street studios a block away but was eventually merged into WSTM-TV's facilities. WTVH was also integrated into WSTM-TV's website.<ref name="syracuse.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/03/the_staff_of_wtvh_laid.html |title = Syracuse's Channel 5 shuts down its newsroom - syracuse.com| date=March 3, 2009 }}</ref> On September 6, 2009, WTVH's transmitter was damaged after a power failure. While Granite Broadcasting worked to fix the signal, WSTM-TV's third digital subchannel carried that station.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cnycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=348612 |title=Archived copy |access-date=February 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222003008/http://www.cnycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=348612 |archive-date=February 22, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> On September 12, WTVH's signal was restored.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cnycentral.com/entertainment/story.aspx?id=349605 |title=WTVH's broadcast signal has been restored : Entertainment : CNYcentral.com |access-date=February 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222003055/http://www.cnycentral.com/entertainment/story.aspx?id=349605 |archive-date=February 22, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On February 28, 2013, Barrington Broadcasting announced the sale of its entire group, including WSTM-TV and the LMA for WTVH, to ] (which announced that it would not renew the LMA with WTVH when it expires in March 2017). To comply with FCC ownership regulations, Sinclair initially announced its intent to transfer the license of its existing Syracuse station, Fox affiliate ], along with WSYT's local marketing agreement with ] affiliate ], to ].<ref name=b&c-saletosinclair>{{cite news|last=Malone|first=Michael|title=Sinclair's Chesapeake TV Acquires Barrington Stations|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/492113-Sinclair_s_Chesapeake_TV_Acquires_Barrington_Stations.php|access-date=March 1, 2013|newspaper=]|date=February 28, 2013}}</ref> Had the transfer been approved, Sinclair would have continued to effectively own WSYT because nearly all of Cunningham's stock is controlled by trusts in the names of the children of Sinclair's principals. However, in an updated filing that August, Sinclair would instead sell WSYT and the LMA for WNYS-TV to Bristlecone Broadcasting, a company owned by ] owner Brian Brady. Following the completion of the sale, Sinclair continued to operate WSYT and WNYS-TV through a transitional services agreement for six months, until May 2014. Those transactions were finalized on November 25.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sbgi.net/site_mgr/temp/Barrington%20Closes.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=November 25, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203013631/http://www.sbgi.net/site_mgr/temp/Barrington%20Closes.pdf |archive-date=December 3, 2013 }}</ref>

Through cable coverage, WSTM-TV serves as the ''de facto'' NBC affiliate for the ]/] region of New York State, and provides some news coverage in that area. Previously, it served as the de facto NBC affiliate for ] until December 1, 2016, when ] signed on as that area's first full-time NBC affiliate.<ref>, '']'', November 4, 2016</ref> WSTM-TV also carries substantial news stories from ] and ] even though that area has its own NBC affiliate ] that produces local news. WSTM-TV's analog signal reached parts of Southeastern ] and was carried on ] systems in ] until February 2009 when it was replaced with ]'s ].<ref>, MIKE KOREEN, Kingston Whig-Standard, January 2009</ref> WSTM-TV is still (after customer protest) carried on Spectrum systems in ] and ] along with replacement ] out of ].

==News operation==
Local news offerings on this station originally consisted of ten-minute-long capsules; this effort would not be expanded to thirty-minute full newscasts until the 1960s. For the past two decades, WSTM-TV's newscasts have been second overall in the viewership ] behind longtime dominant WSYR-TV. As of July 2008, that station remains number one in Central New York for the whole day-part. However, it remains in a tight battle with WSTM-TV for weekday mornings and weeknights at 11. WSYR-TV makes up for this with huge leads during the week at noon, 5, 5:30, and 6. In two periods during its broadcasting history, WSTM-TV has used the popular '']'' branding.

From 1996 until 2000 through a news share agreement, WSTM-TV produced a prime time newscast for Fox affiliate WSYT. Known as ''Fox 68 News at 10'', the broadcast could be seen every night for thirty minutes. After WSTM-TV declined to renew the arrangement, WSYT then partnered with WTVH to keep the broadcasts continuing. Meanwhile, in 2003, WSTM-TV brought back a weeknight prime time news show for newly acquired sister station WSTQ-LP. Although WTVH would terminate its arrangement with WSYT in April 2006, the nightly 10 o'clock broadcasts were WTVH's most successful having soundly beat WSTM-TV's effort on WSTQ-LP.

After becoming operated by WSTM-TV, WTVH shut down its separate news department and merged it with that of WSTM-TV. This resulted in the elimination of 40 jobs at WTVH. Only Michael Benny was retained to anchor by himself the weeknight newscasts on WTVH from its separate studios (less than a block away on James Street from WSTM-TV's facility) using other personalities from WSTM-TV for all other content.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://syracusepressclub.org/joomla/index.php?view=article&catid=14%3Aindustry-news&id=194%3Awtvh-move-to-wstm-studios-final-on-monday&option=com_content&Itemid=45 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150412104602/http://syracusepressclub.org/joomla/index.php?view=article&catid=14%3Aindustry-news&id=194%3Awtvh-move-to-wstm-studios-final-on-monday&option=com_content&Itemid=45 |archive-date=April 12, 2015 |title=WTVH Move to WSTM Studios Final on Monday}}</ref> The system set up by WTVH to use videotaped footage (including interviews) shot by WSTM-TV presented problems for WSTM-TV staff, who had to walk to WTVH's old studios to deliver raw video for WTVH to edit for its weeknight news programs. Neither station attempted to offer newscasts outside traditional time slots to compete with WSYR-TV (such as weekdays at 11&nbsp;a.m., 12:30&nbsp;p.m., or weeknights at 4 and 7) despite a plan originally announced.<ref name="syracuse.com" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=267378 |title=Central New York television stations join forces : News |publisher=CNYcentral.com |date=March 2, 2009 |access-date=February 9, 2012}}</ref> However, WSTM-TV eventually expanded WSTQ-LP's weeknight prime time newscast to an hour on August 30, 2010.

In October 2009, Barrington Broadcasting began to produce separate weeknight newscasts on WTVH from a new secondary set at WSTM-TV's facility. Otherwise, at that time, the CBS and NBC stations would simulcast each other on weekday mornings (except the first hour at 4 a.m. on WSTM-TV), weekdays at noon, and weekend evenings. Although WTVH retained unique branding, music, and graphic aspects of the separately-produced news broadcasts on weeknights, coverage was essentially the same with re-purposed and packaged stories from the NBC affiliate airing on WTVH. WSTM-TV usually featured more live reports from the field during a breaking news event.<ref>http://radiodiscussions.com/smf/index.php?topic=171703.0;wap2 {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}</ref>

In mid-December 2010, WSTM-TV became the first television station in the market to produce local newscasts in ] ] ] with the shows on WTVH being included in the change. Although not truly high definition, the broadcasts match the ] of HD television screens. Rival WSYR-TV upgraded to full high definition on January 29, 2011. Initially, only the newscasts seen on the digital cable feed of WSTQ-LP aired in enhanced definition since its over-the-air low-power analog and digital (on WSTM-DT2) signals remained in ]ed ] ]. In January 2013, the CW subchannel (WSTM-DT2) was upgraded to high definition allowing the WSTQ-LP shows to be aired terrestrially in widescreen. On October 23, 2016, both WSTM and WTVH became the second and third stations in the Syracuse market to upgrade their newscasts to true HD.

On April 13, 2015, WTVH reintroduced separately-produced local newscasts airing weekday mornings (from 5 to 7 a.m.) and weekdays at noon (seen for a half-hour) with a dedicated anchor and ] that do not appear on WSTM-TV. At the same time, the CBS station also began to feature its own meteorologist for the weeknight newscasts rather than sharing an on-air personality with WSTM-TV. WTVH already has a separate news anchor seen weeknights exclusively on the station. The CBS station continues to simulcast local news with WSTM-TV on weekend evenings. These broadcasts use the two station's shared branding, ''CNY Central''. There can be a preemption or delay on one channel due to network obligations (most notably sports programming).<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.cnycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=1185612#.VSH54pOztOh | title=Syracuse News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News | date=August 14, 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.cnycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=1185625#.VSH7oJOztOg | title=Syracuse News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News | date=August 14, 2023 }}</ref>

WSTM-TV was the first in Syracuse to use ] ] in 1985 and launched its own system in 2000. This consisted of its own radar at the transmitter site in Onondaga as part of a network including ]/] in the ] area and ] in Buffalo. However, WIVB-TV and WSTM-TV have since shut down their individual radars. During current ] segments, WSTM-TV features three live ] ] radars in ], Binghamton and Buffalo. On-air, this is known as "Live Triple Doppler" and the radar beams are superimposed over the on-screen image.

On October 7, 2019, WSTM launched the market's first and only newscast airing at 7 p.m.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://cnycentral.com/news/local/michael-benny-to-anchor-central-new-yorks-first-and-only-7-pm-tv-newscast-on-nbc3 | title=Michael Benny to anchor Central New York's first and only 7 p.m. TV newscast on NBC3 | date=September 10, 2019 }}</ref>

On July 1, 2021, Buffalo sister station ] introduced a 10 p.m. newscast that was anchored and produced from WSTM's studios. The program also used resources from ] in Rochester.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pergament |first=Alan |title=WUTV's new newscast will rely on news, weather and sports anchors outside of Buffalo |url=https://buffalonews.com/entertainment/television/alan-pergament-wutvs-new-newscast-will-rely-on-news-weather-and-sports-anchors-outside-of/article_eab8dbce-d355-11eb-860c-efa3ef5a1292.html |access-date=September 19, 2021 |website=The Buffalo News |date=June 22, 2021 |language=en}}</ref> It was canceled on January 27, 2023.<ref name=nomorenews>{{cite news|first=Alan|last=Pergament|title=WUTV's 10 p.m. newscast ending Jan. 27, eliminating four jobs in Buffalo|work=]|date=January 11, 2023|access-date=March 28, 2024|url=https://buffalonews.com/entertainment/television/alan-pergament-wutvs-10-p-m-newscast-ending-jan-27-eliminating-four-jobs-in-buffalo/article_a07b7970-91ba-11ed-99e7-83f7b4c64ce2.html#tracking-source=home-the-latest}}</ref>

===Notable former on-air staff===
*] – reporter (1990–1993, now with ])<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/10/08/broadcasts/main524771.shtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030104171203/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/10/08/broadcasts/main524771.shtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 4, 2003|title=Jim Axelrod bio|publisher=]|access-date=March 13, 2013}}</ref>
*] – ] radio play-by-play
*] – formerly with ]; now with ]
*] – former anchor of '']''
*] – ]
*] – '']'' reporter; now retired
*] – ]

==Technical information==

===Subchannels===
The station's ATSC 1.0 channels are carried on the ] signals of other Syracuse television stations:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannels provided by WSTM-TV (ATSC 1.0)<ref>{{cite web|title=RabbitEars TV Query for WTVH|url=https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WTVH#station|website=]|access-date=December 22, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=RabbitEars TV Query for WSYR|url=https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WSYR#station|website=RabbitEars|access-date=December 22, 2020}}</ref>
! scope = "col" | ]
! scope = "col" | ]
! scope = "col" | ]
! scope = "col" | Short name
! scope = "col" | Programming
! scope = "col" | ATSC 1.0 host
|-
! scope = "row" | 3.1
| rowspan=2| ] || rowspan=3| ] || WSTM || ] || ]
|-
! scope = "row" | ]
| CW6 || ] || ]
|-
! scope = "row" | 3.3
| ] || Comet || ] || WTVH
|}

===Analog-to-digital conversion===
WSTM-TV shut down its analog signal, over ] channel 3, on June 12, 2009. Two days later, the station's digital signal moved from its pre-transition ] channel 54, which was among the high band UHF channels (52-69) that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition, to UHF channel 24,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds |access-date=March 24, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |archive-date=August 29, 2013 }}</ref> using ] 3.

===ATSC 3.0 lighthouse===
{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannels of WSTM-TV (ATSC 3.0)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WSTM|title=RabbitEars TV Query for WSTM|website=www.rabbitears.info}}</ref>
! style="background-color: #bdbdff" scope = "col" | ]
! style="background-color: #bdbdff" scope = "col" | ]
! style="background-color: #bdbdff" scope = "col" | ]
! style="background-color: #bdbdff" scope = "col" | Short name
! style="background-color: #bdbdff" scope = "col" | Programming
|-
! scope = "row" | 3.1
| rowspan=2|] || rowspan=3 | ] || WSTMNBC || ]
|-
! scope = "row" | ]
| WTVHCBS || ] (])
|-
! scope = "row" | ]
| ] || WSYR-HD || ] (])
|}

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}


==External links== ==External links==
* *
*{{TVQ|WSTM-TV}}


{{Syracuse TV}} {{Syracuse TV}}
{{RCOM-MED}} {{Binghamton TV}}
{{NBC New York}}
]
{{SBGI}}
]

{{US-tv-station-stub}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wstm-Tv}}
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]

Latest revision as of 20:42, 29 August 2024

NBC affiliate in Syracuse, New York

WSTM-TV
ATSC 3.0 station
Channels
Branding
  • NBC 3; CNY Central
  • CW 6 (on DT2)
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
Sister stationsWTVH
History
First air dateFebruary 15, 1950 (74 years ago) (1950-02-15)
Former call signsWSYR-TV (1950–1980)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 5 (VHF, 1950–1953), 3 (VHF, 1953–2009)
  • Digital: 54 (UHF, 2000–2009), 24 (UHF, 2009–2019)
Call sign meaningSyracuse Times Mirror (former owner)
Technical information
Licensing authorityFCC
Facility ID21252
ERP150 kW
HAAT410 m (1,345 ft)
Transmitter coordinates42°56′41.8″N 76°7′6.2″W / 42.944944°N 76.118389°W / 42.944944; -76.118389
Links
Public license information
Websitecnycentral.com

WSTM-TV (channel 3) is a television station in Syracuse, New York, United States, affiliated with NBC and The CW. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which provides certain services to CBS affiliate WTVH (channel 5) through a local marketing agreement with Granite Broadcasting. The two stations share studios on James Street/NY 290 in the Near Northeast section of Syracuse; WSTM-TV's transmitter is located in the town of Onondaga, New York.

History

The station began operations on February 15, 1950, on VHF channel 5 with the call sign WSYR-TV, moving to VHF channel 3 in 1953. It was owned by Advance Publications (the Newhouse family's company) along with the Syracuse Post-Standard, Syracuse Herald-Journal, and WSYR radio (AM 570 and FM 94.5, now WYYY). It was Syracuse's second television station, signing on a year and three months after WHEN-TV (now WTVH). It originally had facilities at the Kemper Building in Downtown Syracuse. In 1958, WSYR-AM-FM-TV moved to new studios on James Street.

Unlike most NBC affiliates in two station markets, WSYR-TV did not take a secondary ABC or DuMont affiliation. WSYR-TV doubled as the NBC affiliate for Binghamton until WINR-TV (now WICZ-TV) signed-on in 1957. The station also operated a satellite station in Elmira until 1980; that station, first known as WSYE-TV and now WETM-TV, is now owned by Nexstar Broadcasting Group and fed via centralcasting facilities of a Syracuse cross-town rival, which ironically now holds the WSYR-TV call letters. It remains affiliated with NBC.

The Newhouse family largely exited broadcasting in 1980. The WSYR cluster had been grandfathered after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) banned common ownership of newspaper and broadcasting outlets, but lost this protection when Advance dismantled its broadcasting division. Channel 3 was sold to the Times Mirror Company, who—so as to comply with an FCC rule in effect at the time that prohibited TV and radio stations in the same market, but with different owners from sharing the same callsigns—changed the television station's calls to WSTM-TV (for "Syracuse Times Mirror") on March 28 and kept the James Street studios.

In 1986, Times Mirror sold WSTM-TV to SJL Broadcast Management, a broadcast holding company controlled by George Lilly. SJL then sold WSTM-TV to Federal Broadcasting in 1992. That company was bought out by Raycom Media in 1997. The WSYR-TV calls returned to Syracuse in 2005 after Clear Channel Communications purchased WIXT-TV (formerly WNYS-TV) as part of the Ackerley Group acquisition three years earlier. The company changed WIXT-TV's calls to match WSYR radio, which it had owned for several years.

On March 5, 1996, WSTM-TV General Manager Charles Bivins died after collapsing at the Syracuse Track and Racquet Club. He was 48 and had previously suffered a mild heart attack two years earlier. Bivins was also a visiting professor at Syracuse University's S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications teaching television programming. In 2003, Raycom Media purchased Syracuse's low-powered UPN affiliate WAWA-LP from Venture Technologies Group for an undisclosed amount of money. The station had its call letters changed to WSTQ-LP (derived from WSTM-TV) and given the on-air branding of "UPN 6, The Q". Raycom used "6" to reflect its cable slot as a result of the station becoming offered on the basic lineup of Time Warner Cable (now Charter Spectrum) on July 1.

Before the purchase, Time Warner Cable had refused to carry WAWA-LP. The same "must-carry" rules that kept the station off the cable system eventually got WSTQ-LP on. The must-carry rules give full-powered stations the option of "retransmission consent" or requiring compensation from cable systems as a condition of carrying a station's signal. In this case, full-powered WSTM-TV can require cable systems like Time Warner Cable to offer WSTQ-LP on their systems as a condition of carrying WSTM-TV.

On March 27, 2006, Raycom Media announced the sale of WSTM-TV and WSTQ-LP to Barrington Broadcasting. The sale was finalized that August. On March 2, 2009, as a result of low ratings and slow advertising sales, it was announced that WTVH would enter into a local marketing agreement with WSTM-TV. Initially, WTVH continued to operate out of its own James Street studios a block away but was eventually merged into WSTM-TV's facilities. WTVH was also integrated into WSTM-TV's website. On September 6, 2009, WTVH's transmitter was damaged after a power failure. While Granite Broadcasting worked to fix the signal, WSTM-TV's third digital subchannel carried that station. On September 12, WTVH's signal was restored.

On February 28, 2013, Barrington Broadcasting announced the sale of its entire group, including WSTM-TV and the LMA for WTVH, to Sinclair Broadcast Group (which announced that it would not renew the LMA with WTVH when it expires in March 2017). To comply with FCC ownership regulations, Sinclair initially announced its intent to transfer the license of its existing Syracuse station, Fox affiliate WSYT, along with WSYT's local marketing agreement with MyNetworkTV affiliate WNYS-TV, to Cunningham Broadcasting. Had the transfer been approved, Sinclair would have continued to effectively own WSYT because nearly all of Cunningham's stock is controlled by trusts in the names of the children of Sinclair's principals. However, in an updated filing that August, Sinclair would instead sell WSYT and the LMA for WNYS-TV to Bristlecone Broadcasting, a company owned by Northwest Broadcasting owner Brian Brady. Following the completion of the sale, Sinclair continued to operate WSYT and WNYS-TV through a transitional services agreement for six months, until May 2014. Those transactions were finalized on November 25.

Through cable coverage, WSTM-TV serves as the de facto NBC affiliate for the Ithaca/Finger Lakes region of New York State, and provides some news coverage in that area. Previously, it served as the de facto NBC affiliate for Watertown until December 1, 2016, when WVNC-LD signed on as that area's first full-time NBC affiliate. WSTM-TV also carries substantial news stories from Utica and Herkimer County even though that area has its own NBC affiliate WKTV that produces local news. WSTM-TV's analog signal reached parts of Southeastern Ontario and was carried on Cogeco systems in Kingston until February 2009 when it was replaced with Buffalo's WGRZ-TV. WSTM-TV is still (after customer protest) carried on Spectrum systems in Ogdensburg and Gouverneur along with replacement WPTZ out of Plattsburgh.

News operation

Local news offerings on this station originally consisted of ten-minute-long capsules; this effort would not be expanded to thirty-minute full newscasts until the 1960s. For the past two decades, WSTM-TV's newscasts have been second overall in the viewership ratings behind longtime dominant WSYR-TV. As of July 2008, that station remains number one in Central New York for the whole day-part. However, it remains in a tight battle with WSTM-TV for weekday mornings and weeknights at 11. WSYR-TV makes up for this with huge leads during the week at noon, 5, 5:30, and 6. In two periods during its broadcasting history, WSTM-TV has used the popular Action News branding.

From 1996 until 2000 through a news share agreement, WSTM-TV produced a prime time newscast for Fox affiliate WSYT. Known as Fox 68 News at 10, the broadcast could be seen every night for thirty minutes. After WSTM-TV declined to renew the arrangement, WSYT then partnered with WTVH to keep the broadcasts continuing. Meanwhile, in 2003, WSTM-TV brought back a weeknight prime time news show for newly acquired sister station WSTQ-LP. Although WTVH would terminate its arrangement with WSYT in April 2006, the nightly 10 o'clock broadcasts were WTVH's most successful having soundly beat WSTM-TV's effort on WSTQ-LP.

After becoming operated by WSTM-TV, WTVH shut down its separate news department and merged it with that of WSTM-TV. This resulted in the elimination of 40 jobs at WTVH. Only Michael Benny was retained to anchor by himself the weeknight newscasts on WTVH from its separate studios (less than a block away on James Street from WSTM-TV's facility) using other personalities from WSTM-TV for all other content. The system set up by WTVH to use videotaped footage (including interviews) shot by WSTM-TV presented problems for WSTM-TV staff, who had to walk to WTVH's old studios to deliver raw video for WTVH to edit for its weeknight news programs. Neither station attempted to offer newscasts outside traditional time slots to compete with WSYR-TV (such as weekdays at 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m., or weeknights at 4 and 7) despite a plan originally announced. However, WSTM-TV eventually expanded WSTQ-LP's weeknight prime time newscast to an hour on August 30, 2010.

In October 2009, Barrington Broadcasting began to produce separate weeknight newscasts on WTVH from a new secondary set at WSTM-TV's facility. Otherwise, at that time, the CBS and NBC stations would simulcast each other on weekday mornings (except the first hour at 4 a.m. on WSTM-TV), weekdays at noon, and weekend evenings. Although WTVH retained unique branding, music, and graphic aspects of the separately-produced news broadcasts on weeknights, coverage was essentially the same with re-purposed and packaged stories from the NBC affiliate airing on WTVH. WSTM-TV usually featured more live reports from the field during a breaking news event.

In mid-December 2010, WSTM-TV became the first television station in the market to produce local newscasts in 16:9 enhanced definition widescreen with the shows on WTVH being included in the change. Although not truly high definition, the broadcasts match the aspect ratio of HD television screens. Rival WSYR-TV upgraded to full high definition on January 29, 2011. Initially, only the newscasts seen on the digital cable feed of WSTQ-LP aired in enhanced definition since its over-the-air low-power analog and digital (on WSTM-DT2) signals remained in pillarboxed 4:3 standard definition. In January 2013, the CW subchannel (WSTM-DT2) was upgraded to high definition allowing the WSTQ-LP shows to be aired terrestrially in widescreen. On October 23, 2016, both WSTM and WTVH became the second and third stations in the Syracuse market to upgrade their newscasts to true HD.

On April 13, 2015, WTVH reintroduced separately-produced local newscasts airing weekday mornings (from 5 to 7 a.m.) and weekdays at noon (seen for a half-hour) with a dedicated anchor and meteorologist that do not appear on WSTM-TV. At the same time, the CBS station also began to feature its own meteorologist for the weeknight newscasts rather than sharing an on-air personality with WSTM-TV. WTVH already has a separate news anchor seen weeknights exclusively on the station. The CBS station continues to simulcast local news with WSTM-TV on weekend evenings. These broadcasts use the two station's shared branding, CNY Central. There can be a preemption or delay on one channel due to network obligations (most notably sports programming).

WSTM-TV was the first in Syracuse to use Doppler weather radar in 1985 and launched its own system in 2000. This consisted of its own radar at the transmitter site in Onondaga as part of a network including WHEC-TV/SUNY Brockport in the Rochester area and WIVB-TV in Buffalo. However, WIVB-TV and WSTM-TV have since shut down their individual radars. During current weather segments, WSTM-TV features three live NOAA National Weather Service radars in Montague, Binghamton and Buffalo. On-air, this is known as "Live Triple Doppler" and the radar beams are superimposed over the on-screen image.

On October 7, 2019, WSTM launched the market's first and only newscast airing at 7 p.m.

On July 1, 2021, Buffalo sister station WUTV introduced a 10 p.m. newscast that was anchored and produced from WSTM's studios. The program also used resources from WHAM-TV in Rochester. It was canceled on January 27, 2023.

Notable former on-air staff

Technical information

Subchannels

The station's ATSC 1.0 channels are carried on the multiplexed signals of other Syracuse television stations:

Subchannels provided by WSTM-TV (ATSC 1.0)
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming ATSC 1.0 host
3.1 1080i 16:9 WSTM NBC WTVH
3.2 CW6 The CW WSYR-TV
3.3 480i Comet Comet WTVH

Analog-to-digital conversion

WSTM-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 3, on June 12, 2009. Two days later, the station's digital signal moved from its pre-transition UHF channel 54, which was among the high band UHF channels (52-69) that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition, to UHF channel 24, using virtual channel 3.

ATSC 3.0 lighthouse

Subchannels of WSTM-TV (ATSC 3.0)
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
3.1 1080i 16:9 WSTMNBC NBC
5.1 WTVHCBS CBS (WTVH)
9.1 720p WSYR-HD ABC (WSYR-TV)

References

  1. "Facility Technical Data for WSTM-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. Fybush, Scott. A Great Voice is Stilled. NorthEast Radio Watch. March 2, 2009.
  4. Archived March 6, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Syracuse's Channel 5 shuts down its newsroom - syracuse.com". March 3, 2009.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 22, 2012. Retrieved February 9, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "WTVH's broadcast signal has been restored : Entertainment : CNYcentral.com". Archived from the original on February 22, 2012. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  8. Malone, Michael (February 28, 2013). "Sinclair's Chesapeake TV Acquires Barrington Stations". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  9. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. NBC to launch affiliate in Watertown, Watertown Daily Times, November 4, 2016
  11. Cogeco to replace channels:Syracuse feeds to be lost, MIKE KOREEN, Kingston Whig-Standard, January 2009
  12. "WTVH Move to WSTM Studios Final on Monday". Archived from the original on April 12, 2015.
  13. "Central New York television stations join forces : News". CNYcentral.com. March 2, 2009. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  14. http://radiodiscussions.com/smf/index.php?topic=171703.0;wap2
  15. "Syracuse News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News". August 14, 2023.
  16. "Syracuse News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News". August 14, 2023.
  17. "Michael Benny to anchor Central New York's first and only 7 p.m. TV newscast on NBC3". September 10, 2019.
  18. Pergament, Alan (June 22, 2021). "WUTV's new newscast will rely on news, weather and sports anchors outside of Buffalo". The Buffalo News. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  19. Pergament, Alan (January 11, 2023). "WUTV's 10 p.m. newscast ending Jan. 27, eliminating four jobs in Buffalo". The Buffalo News. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  20. "Jim Axelrod bio". CBS News. Archived from the original on January 4, 2003. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  21. "RabbitEars TV Query for WTVH". RabbitEars. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  22. "RabbitEars TV Query for WSYR". RabbitEars. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  23. "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  24. "RabbitEars TV Query for WSTM". www.rabbitears.info.

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