, channel 5, is an
ABC -affiliated
Television Station in
Boston, Massachusetts . WCVB-TV's studios and transmitter facilities are located in the Boston suburb of
Needham, Massachusetts .
WCVB's signal covers Eastern
Massachusetts , Southern
New Hampshire (home base of sister station
WMUR-TV ), Northern
Rhode Island and Northeastern
Connecticut . However, the station has little
Cable coverage outside the Boston market. WCVB is also one of six Boston stations seen in
Canada on the
Bell ExpressVu satellite provider and is carried on several cable systems in
Nova Scotia ,
Prince Edward Island , and
Newfoundland And Labrador .
Several parts of sister station WMUR's programming lineup are similar to that of WCVB. Both stations share some
Syndicated programs and WMUR airs a localized version of ''
Chronicle '', WCVB's longtime signature program.
The station first signed on
November 26 ,
1957 as , owned by the ''
Boston Herald-Traveler '' along with WHDH radio (AM 850, now occupied by
WEEI ; and FM 94.5, now
WJMN ). It was originally an ABC affiliate, but switched to
CBS in 1961.
[http://www.theprovidencechannel.com/whdh/history.htm
However, almost as soon as it signed on, the
FCC (according to some, at the behest of the
Boston Globe ) began investigating the media combination of the ''Herald-Traveler'' and WHDH-AM-FM-TV. The struggle lasted 15 years. As a result, WHDH-TV never had a license longer than six months. Most television licenses last for three years. In 1969, a local group, Boston Broadcasters, won a construction permit for a new channel 5 under the calls of after promising to air more local programming than any other station in America at the time. The ''Herald-Traveler'' fought the decision in court, but lost in
1972 .
On
March 18 ,
1972 , WHDH-TV signed off for the last time, replaced by the new WCVB-TV early the next morning. However, the Herald-Traveler refused to hand over its facilities to the new channel 5, forcing the station to rent tower space from
WBZ-TV . For its studios, WCVB used an old International Harvester dealership in Needham, which the station continues to use today. Although WCVB operates under a different license, it claims the former WHDH-TV's history as its own. It also inherited all of WHDH-TV's talent, including anchorman Jack Hynes.
CBS was not amused at the prospect of numerous preemptions in the nation's fifth-largest market and refused to have anything to do with WCVB. As a result, WCVB cut a deal with ABC. CBS then moved its programming back to WNAC-TV (channel 7, later WNEV-TV and now
WHDH-TV ), which had been Boston's original CBS affiliate from 1948 to 1961. Ironically, channel 7 brought the WHDH-TV calls back to Boston on
March 12 ,
1990 . Making good on its promise, WCVB aired more local programming than any other television station in the nation throughout the 1970s and the 1980s. One of its local programs was ''Good Day!''. This program, which first aired in 1973 (as ''Good Morning!''), broke ground by taking its entire production on the road and broadcasting from locations outside the Boston area. ''Good Day!'', along with ''
The Morning Exchange '' on
WEWS-TV in
Cleveland , served as a basis for the format of ABC's ''
Good Morning America ''. From 1974 until 1991 (the show's cancellation),
Eileen Prose hosted the show. Due to its commitment to local programming, the station was quick to preempt programs, including low-rated prime time ABC network programs. Most of the time these programs were picked up by an
Independent Station such as WQTV (now
WBPX ) or WHLL (now
WUNI-TV ). Since the mid-1990s WCVB has cleared the entire ABC television schedule, although it occasionally preempts network programming for local specials and movies, as well as the non E/I portions of ABC Kids. Notable examples are the annual
Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon and the
2004 preemption of ''
Saving Private Ryan '' for another movie, ''
Far And Away .''
The station is also known for exceptional news coverage and has been consistently at the top of the news ratings since the 1980s. This trend continued as the station was sold by Boston Broadcasters to
Metromedia in 1981 (for the biggest sale ever made for a local station at the time). In 1986, Metromedia sold their television stations to the
News Corporation , who wanted to begin their own network. WCVB was, instead, sold to the
Hearst Corporation , who had purchased
KMBC-TV in
Kansas City, Missouri from Metromedia in 1982. That station was sold to make room in Metromedia's group for WCVB (to comply with then-FCC limits on the number of commonly-owned VHF stations, which at the time was five per company), and it is believed that Metromedia gave Hearst a right-of-first-refusal offer if WCVB ever went up for sale again. Fox would get an O&O in Boston a year later when it bought WXNE-TV (channel 25) from
CBN and changed its calls to
WFXT .
Beginning in the early 1980s and through the next couple decades, the station boasted the most-watched news team of
Chet Curtis and
Natalie Jacobson , who married each other while co-anchors. However, by the late 1990s and early 2000s, the station was in a period of transition as it saw major competition from a resurgent
WHDH-TV . At the same time, the station, known for the longevity and stability of its on-air staff, saw the end of its longtime anchor team of Curtis and Jacobson, as well as their marriage, which ended in a bitter divorce at the same time. Natalie Jacobson continued to anchor the news at Channel 5, while Chet Curtis is at cable news channel
NECN . On July 10, 2007, Jacobson announced that she will leave her anchor position as of July 18, 2007.
In 2002, WCVB chief meteorologist
Dick Albert was joined by former rival
Harvey Leonard , who left
WHDH-TV to become co-chief meteorologist with Albert. Widely regarded as two of Boston's top meteorologists, Leonard and Albert were honored by the Associated Press in 2005 for Best Weathercast in New England
{Link without Title} .
In February of 2007, meteorologist Mike Wankum, from
WLVI-TV , was hired to work as the weekend morning meteorologist.
In the February 2007 ratings period, WCVB placed first in every newscast timeslot it competed in, and even displaced WHDH in total viewers and in the 25-54 demo at 11 p.m. It was the first time since 1998 that WCVB swept all of its newscast timeslots; only
WFXT 's 10 p.m. newscast drew more viewers than any of the "Big Three" affiliates' late evening newscasts.
{Link without Title} That victory was short-lived, however; in the May 2007 ratings period, WHDH regained the lead at 11 p.m. after another close battle.
On
May 14 ,
2007 , starting at 5 PM, WCVB began producing its local newscasts in high definition. WCVB is the first station in the Boston market, as well as in New England, however second in the Hearst-Argyle family to make the transition behind Hearst's cluster in
Sacramento ,
KCRA-TV and
KQCA . This change has resulted in the debut of a new studio set designed by
FX Group and on-air graphics. However, the station kept the same Hearst-Argyle theme music.
WCVB was the largest ABC station not owned by the network from 1986 until the
Dallas-Fort Worth market passed Boston in the market rankings in early 2007.
Along with its newscasts, WCVB currently produces two other major programs:
- ''Chronicle'' , a local nightly Newsmagazine started in 1982, is still broadcasting on weekdays As Of 2007 . It focuses on topics of special interest throughout New England, though at times the program focuses on subjects outside the region such as Ireland . ''The Main Streets and Back Roads'', one of the program's longest running series, looks at life in New England, primarily in the rural areas. A New Hampshire version of the program is produced by WCVB's sister station WMUR . The WCVB edition began broadcasting in HD on March 3 , 1999 . It was the first local program to broadcast in HD in New England.
- ''CityLine'', which airs Sundays at noon, looks at urban issues and interests within the Boston area. Its long-time host is Karen Holmes Ward .
While the station is no longer so involved in locally-produced programming as it once was, it has had some influential programs:
- ''Candlepin Bowling'', which ran Saturdays at 12 noon for nearly four decades, and was hosted for nearly all of that time by legendary WCVB sports anchor Don Gillis.
- ''Good Day!'', an inspiration for '' Good Morning America ''.
- ''Miller's Court'', a dramatized mock-trial program with a live audience.
- '' Park Street Under '', an influence for '' Cheers ''.
- '' The Baxters '', a sitcom on an American family, with a discussion component. Norman Lear would later bring the show to the national audience.
Until the late 1990s, WCVB broadcast an annual holiday season showing of the 1954 film ''
White Christmas '', preempting ABC's network programming.
From February 1994 to May 1998, WCVB was also the official station for ''Lottery Live'', the weeknight broadcasts of the Mass State Lottery drawings. Unlike predecessor host station pitcher
Dennis Eckersley .
During the original Channel 5 era, the Lottery also backed a Saturday night game show, ''Bonus Bonanza'', hosted by Dawn Hayes and Brian Tracey. The show had randomly drawn contestants play elimination games (a la ''Price is Right'') to win big cash prizes. At the shows end, the three players for the night would come back for a bonus round. Each would place a cylinder on a numbered space from 1 to 12. Then a motorized cube would be let go for 30 seconds, in order to knock the cylinders down. After 30 seconds, any person with a cylinder still standing won the Cash amount associated with their number choice. Prizes ranged from $25,000 to $200,000 in cash. The $200,000 was won several times in its 3 year run on WCVB. The program also served as the runoff program for the various contests associated with the Massachusetts lottery. One such contest featured contestants playing for a Cruise for 20, a Chevrolet Blazer truck, and $25,000 a year for life. ''Bonus Bonanza'' had a solid run from January 1995 to March 1998. After Channel 5's contract with the lottery commission was up, the drawings moved back to
WBZ-TV .
Currently, since August 2004, the drawings have returned to WCVB, albeit with a revamped format. The idea of a host and present lottery ball machine have been dropped, with only on-screen graphics displaying the already-drawn winning numbers for a minute or so. A rotating group of off-screen voiceovers announce the drawings. In the case of the daily Numbers Game however, a mid-screen shot of the traditional "number wheels" are featured, with the balls resting on the chosen digits.
Over the past several years, WCVB's sports department has produced
New England Patriots pre-season games. They are also seen on sister station
WMTW-TV in
Portland and WNAC-TV in Providence. In addition, WCVB use to pre-empt ABC programming to air some Patriots games aired during
ESPN Sunday Night Football . This now happens during some
ESPN Monday Night Football Patriots games.
When the Boston Red Sox are involved in post-season action, WCVB simulcasts those games from ESPN.
Since 1972, WCVB-TV, as a part of its commitment to serving the community through extensive local programming, has run a series of different public service campaigns to help to educate people on relevant issues and values of the day. Each campaign has had a different theme, ranging from racial unity to family values and achieving success through continued education. Here's a comprehensive list of the programs developed by Channel 5 over the last few decades:
- ''The New England Network'' (1970s)
- ''Great Expectations'' (1988-1990)
- ''A World of Tolerance'' (1990-1991)
- ''Family Works!'' (1991-1993)
- ''Success By 6'' (1993-1996)
- ''The HealthBeat Project'' (1996-2001)
- ''Keeping Kids On Track'' (2001-2003)
- ''CommonWealth 5'' (2001-present)
- ''Choosing to Participate'' (coming soon)
in a story from hinghamweather.com/bostontvnews Bianca de la Garza will join wcvb as a anchor or reporter
WCVB operates a
Aérospatiale AS350B helicopter entitled "Sky 5", which is live broadcast capable. It is also used by
NECN . In Mid-October of 2002, WCVB launched its
Weather Radar currently known as "Storm Team 5 HD Doppler". This made the station the first in the market to operate its own weather radar. It is located west of Boston in
Hopkinton .
WCVB's newscasts use the ''
NewsCenter '' title.
For statewide news coverage throughout Massachusetts, WCVB shares its resources with two other ABC affiliates in the state:
WLNE-TV and
WGGB-TV . WCVB also provides national news from
ABC News for half-sister station
NECN , a New England regional cable news network.
- David Brown - weekday mornings
- Heather Unruh - weekday mornings and 5 PM (also health reporter)
- Susan Wornick - weekdays at Noon (also investigative reporter)
- Liz Brunner - weeknights at 5:30, 6, and 11 PM
- Ed Harding - weeknights at 5, 5:30, 6, and 11 PM
- Steve Lacey - weekend mornings and Sundays at 10 AM (also reporter)
- Shiba Russell - weekend mornings and Sundays at 10 AM
- Pam Cross - weekend evenings (also weekday reporter)
''
- Dick Albert ( AMS certified) - Co Chief seen weeknights at 5 and 6 PM
- Harvey Leonard (AMS certified) - Co Chief seen weeknights at 5:30 and 11 PM
- J.C. Monahan ( NWA and AMS certified) - weekday mornings and Noon
- Mike Wankum ( CBM certified) - weekend mornings
- Dave Epstein (AMS certified) - weekend evenings
- Terry Casey (AMS certified) - Senior Weather Producer (also with Hearst Digital Weather)
- Joe Venuti (AMS certified) - weather producer (also fill in)
- Mike Lynch - Director seen Sunday through Thursday at 6 and 11 PM
- ---weekly host of "Patriots All Access"
- ---on field reporter during Patriots pre-season games
- ---weekly "High Five" segment reporter
- Bob Halloran - weekends
- Mike Dowling - sports reporter
'' (investigative unit)
- Janet Wu - also State House reporter
- Sean Kelly
- Rhondella Richardson
- Kelley Tuthill
''
- Karen Holmes Ward - host and Executive Producer of "City Line" (also Director of Public Affairs and Community Services)
- Gail Huff - weekday mornings
- Dr. Timothy Johnson - Health Editor seen during the "Health Beat" and weekly "On Call" segments (also works for ABC News )
- Jim Boyd - Special Correspondent
- Laurie Kinney - Hearst Argyle Washington D.C. Correspondent
- Traci Mitchell - weekday morning Hearst Argyle Washington D.C. Correspondent
- Sally Kidd - Hearst Argyle Washington D.C. Correspondent
- Amalia Barreda
- Jack Harper
- Todd Kazakiewich
- Jorge Quiroga
- Mary Saladna
- Susan Wornick
- Bianca De La Garza
- Ron Allen - reporter (1990-1995) Now at CBS NEWS
- Marjorie Arons-Barron - commentator/editorial director/host of ''Five on Five'' (1979-1998, now head of a consulting firm {Link without Title} )
- Steve Aveson - reporter for ''Good Day!'' (1978-1981, now at WPRI in Providence)
- Bob Bennett - First WCVB General Manager & VP (1972-1982)
- Jeanne Blake - ''Chronicle'' host/contributor (1981-1984)
- David Boeri - reporter (1991-2006, now at WBUR-FM )
- Clark Booth - reporter (1975-2001)
- Krista Bradford - reporter (1985-1987) now runs an a private internet firm.
- Susan Burke - morning anchor (1984-1994)
- Brian Christie - anchor/reporter (1981-1989, now at XETV in San Diego)
- Bob Clinkscale - anchor (1972-1983, now a professor at Emerson College )
- Bob Copeland (1972-1993) - weather
- S.James Coppersmith - Former General Manager & VP (1982-1992)
- Chet Curtis - longtime anchor (1968-2001, now at NECN )
- Jack Edwards - sports anchor/reporter (1985-1988, now at NESN )
- Tom Ellis - anchor (1978-1982, now at NECN )
- Ellen Ferrara - meteorologist (1993-1995) Now at WBZ-TV
- Judy Fortin - reporter (1989-1990, now at CNN )
- Dawn Fratangelo - weekend anchor/reporter (1986-1991, now at NBC News )
- Beth Germano - reporter (1994-1996, now at WBZ-TV )
- Gloria Gibson - reporter (1972-1979) now in Washington D.C.
- Don Gilis - legendary sports anchor and host of ''Candlepin Bowling'' (1958-1995)
- Ron Gollobin - reporter (1975-1999)
- Andria Hall - ''Chronicle'' contributor (1985-1993)
- Jane Hampden - weekend anchor/reporter (1991-1992, now at WUWM-FM in Milwaukee)
- John Henning - anchor (1968-1977) Now at WBZ-TV, Retired
- Jack Hynes - anchor (1958-1984) recently at WLVI-TV (1984-2006), Retired.
- Natalie Jacobson - retired after 35 years at WCVB. Left the station on Wednesday, July 18th to start her own multi-media business.
- Jim Jensen - reporter (1957-1964, deceased)
- Heather Kahn - anchor/medical reporter (1994-2001)
- Chuck Kraemer - reporter/''Chronicle'' contributor (1975-2001)
- Brian Leary - anchor/legal analyst (1980-2000)
- Roy Leonard - anchor (1955-1958)
- Dan Lothian - reporter (1990-1995)
- Paula Lyons - consumer reporter (1978-1989, now a communications consultant {Link without Title} )
- Anne McGrath - reporter (1974-1984)
- Mark Mills - business reporter (1982-2001, now a producer at WGBH-TV )
- David Muir - Reporter, now at ABC News
- Miles O'Brien - reporter (1987-1992, now at CNN )
- Bill O'Reilly - commentator (1986), now at Fox News )
- Keith Olbermann - sports anchor/reporter (1984-1985) now at MSNBC
- Kirby Perkins - reporter (1979-1997, deceased)
- Byron Pitts - special assignment reporter (1989-1994, now at CBS News )
- Martha Raddatz - chief correspondent (as Martha Bradlee, 1978-1993, now at ABC News )
- David Ropeik - reporter (1977-1999, now an instructor at the Harvard School Of Public Health {Link without Title} )
- Mark Rosenthal - weekend meterorologist (1988-2002) Now at NECN as a Freelance Meteorologist
- Bob Ryan - meteorologist 1972-78(now at WRC-TV in Washington, D.C.)
- Sydney Seaward - reporter (1992-1993, deceased)
- Steve Sbraccia - street reporter (1989-2005, now at WNCN-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina)
- Jay Schadler - weekend anchor/reporter (1985-1989, now at ABC News )
- Mike Taibbi - reporter (1971-1977, now at NBC News )
- Phil Walters - reporter (1966-1967, deceased)
- Lee Webb - sports anchor (1983-1985, now seen on The 700 Club )
- Tim White - reporter/anchor (1983-1986, now at WKYC-TV in Cleveland)
