, '''''"Tampa Bay's 10"''''' is a
CBS -affiliate
Television Station on the west coast of
Florida (
Tampa –
St. Petersburg DMA 12). It broadcasts its analog signal on VHF channel 10, and its digital signal on UHF channel 24. Its transmitter is located in
Holiday, Florida . Studios are based in St. Petersburg; it is one of two stations with studios located here instead of Tampa alongside
WTOG .
Because its transmitter location is further north than the other major stations in the market (in order to protect
Miami 's
WPLG ), WTSP's signal cannot be seen well in
Sarasota County , and viewers without cable must rely on
WINK-TV in
Fort Myers for CBS programming. In addition, unlike the other Tampa network affiliates, WTSP's signal reaches as far north as
Levy County and
Marion County .
The station began broadcasting on
July 17 ,
1965 , as after a lengthy court battle that lasted nearly ten years between five prospective owners seeking the license. Rahall Communications, which also owned WLCY radio (AM 1380, now
WWMI ; and FM 94.9, now
WWRM ), was awarded the original license for Channel 10.
The station was granted affiliation with
ABC , but the station spent the first month and a half as an independent station, as previous ABC affiliate WSUN-TV (channel 38, the frequency is now occupied by
WTTA ) went to court to keep the affiliation. WLCY ultimately won, and they formally switched to ABC in a special ceremony on
September 1 ,
1965 .
The station was originally housed in a building in downtown St. Petersburg and relocated to brand new broadcasting facilities on Gandy Boulevard in 1968 with WLCY Radio 138.
Early personalities included
Dick Crippen , who originally presented weather and then sports; Marshall Cleaver, Al Stockmeyer, Art Johnson, and Karol Kelly, many of whom also hosted programs for WLCY radio. Marshall Cleaver was the original news anchor for much of the 1960s and early 1970s.
The station also aired such original children's programs as ''Submarine 10'', ''Romper Room'', ''10 Ultimate'' and ''This Side Up'', and original talk shows such as ''The John Eastman Show'', ''The Liz Richards Show'' and the popular ''Murphy in the Morning''.
In
1971 , WXLT (now
WWSB ) signed on from
Sarasota as WLCY's signal could not come in well in most of
Sarasota County as WLCY's transmitter was (and still is) in Holiday.
In and WFLA-TV and, as a result, the station nearly lost its ABC affiliation. Part of the problem was its transmitter location in Holiday, in the southwestern corner of Pasco County (all other stations broadcasted from Riverview, in Hillsborough County). It also operated at a lower power than the Tampa stations.
However, on
September 12 ,
1978 , WLCY-TV was purchased by Gulf Broadcasting. New owner Allen Henry (WINS New York fame) and General Manager Larry Clamadge immediately began to turn the station around, changing the call letters to that year and hiring several new personalities that would change the entire face of the station. (WTSP, ironically, was originally the calls for AM 1380 when that station was owned by the
St. Petersburg Times in the 1940s and 1950s.) This was similar to what Roone Arledge had done for ABC News that same year. Beginning in
1979 , Don Harrison (previously from
KMSP-TV in
Minneapolis-St. Paul ), Liz Ayers,
Wally Kinnan and Dick Crippen were the new anchors of the Channel 10 evening newscasts. Ratings surged, making the Tampa Bay market more competitive. In 1979, Channel 10 acquired the original, and famous, sunset logo (which was later duplicated by its sister station
KTSP in
Phoenix, Arizona ) along with the "
Action News " format. In April of 1979, the station built a taller transmission tower, improving the station's broadcasting capabilities.
WTSP is also a station of firsts. In October of 1979, the station acquired "Sky 10," Tampa Bay's first television news helicopter. This stunned the local news community and showed that Channel 10 was serious about local news coverage. It was the only local news helicopter to broadcast the infamous
Skyway Bridge disaster on live television in May
1980 . Another technological advance was Tampa Bay's first satellite news truck called "Star 10" that beamed signals from far away locations to WTSP's Gandy Blvd. headquarters. WTSP also acquired Tampa Bay's first
Doppler Radar in the
Southeastern United States in 1980 and was one of the first television stations in the country to use a computer in weather forecasting.
In late
1982 , news anchor Don Harrison left the WTSP to become an anchor at upstart cable channel CNN2, now
CNN Headline News . John Wilson replaced Harrison as anchor. On
January 9 ,
1983 , Sheryl Browne, from
WKYC-TV in
Cleveland joined John Wilson at the anchor desk on "Action News," rounding out the station's main anchor team.
Longtime WTSP chief meteorologist
Dick Fletcher joined the station in March 1980 and became famous for his forecasting during
Hurricane Elena in 1985. Award-winning reporter Mike Deeson and legendary sports anchor Ken Broo also bolstered the station in the early 1980s.
WTSP was the second television station in the Bay Area to launch an hour long 6 PM newscast in 1986. Rival
WTVT had been the first to do so many years earlier and WTSP attempted it in an effort to pass WTVT to the top of the local news ratings. The effort only lasted until 1987, however.
In 1988, Vincent Barresi joined WTSP as General Manager and Vice-President. Previously, he held the same position at
Philadelphia 's
WKBS-TV , where he signed that station off for the last time in August 1983.
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Taft Broadcasting purchased the station along with 4 other Gulf properties in
1985 . Then, in
1988 , Taft sold its independent stations and Fox affiliates to TVX, and sold most of its network affiliates, including WTSP, to
Great American Broadcasting (which became known as Citicasters by
1995 ).
In March of
1989 , one of the first computer espionage scandals in the nation broke, when news director Terry Cole hired Michael Shapiro away from rival
WTVT where he was a news manager and computer security officer. Shapiro repeatedly broke into the newsroom computer system of his former employer using a modem at his home - apparently with Cole's knowledge. Both were fired and were sentenced by Florida court to probation for the incident. In June of 1989, "Action 10 News" became "NewsCenter 10" and a 5 p.m. newscast was launched. Although in third place, ratings did recover to be competitive with WFLA.
General Manager Barresi left the station in 1991, replaced by Steve Mauldin. Mauldin led the station until 1998.
In December of
1991 , news anchor Sheryl Browne left the station and was replaced by Sue Zelenko, who previously co-anchored the newscast for
WJRT-TV in
Flint ,
Michigan . John Wilson, who announced his departure on Thanksgiving of 1992, officially left WTSP in January of 1993. Weekend anchor and reporter Dave Wagner and 11 p.m. anchor Sue Zelenko became the new anchor team alongside Dick Fletcher and Al Keck on "10 News." Pat Minarcin, a veteran of the broadcast industry, then took over for Wagner in August of 1994.
New World Communications bought two of WTSP's sister stations, KTSP (now
KSAZ ) in
Phoenix and
WDAF-TV in
Kansas City . However, it did not buy WTSP since it already owned WTVT. New World also arranged for its stations to affiliate with the
Fox network, causing WTVT to drop its CBS affiliation.
At the same time,
Scripps Howard also arranged for several of its stations (including
WFTS , which was about to lose its Fox affiliation to WTVT) to affiliate with ABC. As a result, WTSP was to lose its ABC affiliation, and gain the CBS affiliation instead. CBS's programming moved to WTSP in December
1994 , in a 3-way affiliation switch that caused much viewer confusion. The change to CBS occurred on December 12, 1994, and resulted in the station moving from third to second place in the local news ratings although a later resurgent WTVT and competition from newly started WFTS would make second place a toss up for the rest of the 1990s. WFLA would serve as the market leader.
Citicasters merged with
Jacor in September
1996 . Three months later, in December
1996 ,
Gannett acquired WTSP in a swap deal, selling six of its radio stations — KIIS-AM (now
KTLK ) and
KIIS-FM in
Los Angeles, California ,
KSDO-AM and KSDO-FM (now
KLQV ) in
San Diego, California and
WDAE and WUSA-FM (now
WMTX ) in
Tampa, Florida — to Jacor in return.
In January of
1998 , Reginald Roundtree replaced Pat Minarcin as the lead male anchor of "10 News". Minarcin later sued the station for age discrimination. On October 14, 2002, the station launched a new news format and image. A new, state of the art digital newsroom was also constructed for WTSP's news staff.
In the February 2006 Nielsen Sweeps, Channel 10 was #1 at 5 p.m. (where it airs
Dr. Phil ) and #2 at 6 p.m., and recently won the ratings (Feb. 2006) at 11 p.m., beating
WFLA . The ratings slipped in the July 2006 though, and
WTVT was rated #1 at 5 p.m. Longtime news anchor Sue Zelenko anchored her last newscast on April 23, 2004. Heather Van Nest (who used to anchor news at
WJXT in
Jacksonville , and anchored the morning newscasts at WTSP) is now co-anchoring with Reginald Roundtree and a new morning news team is being featured.
In and former noon news anchorwoman, Marty Matthews. ''Life Around the Bay'' also features weather updates, and the headlines of the day in the last 5 minutes of the newscast.
''Life Around the Bay'' is the only 4 p.m. newscast in the
Tampa Bay market.
WTSP originally launched the first 4pm newscast in the Bay Area called "First News at 4" in 1997. The newscast, anchored by Marty Matthews and Dave Wagner with Linda Gialanella on weather, was anchored from the station's main news set but featured lighter stories. The newscast, which was a half-hour long, ran until 1999.
The 2002, the concept was relaunched as "Life Around the Bay" with Marty Matthews having anchored both formats.
On September 11, 2006, WTSP began broadcasting a program in the 10-11:00 a.m. timeslot entitled "Studio 10", replacing
The Tony Danza Show . The program, hosted by Michelle Phillips and Tim Wilkins, is meant to compete with rival
WFLA 's "Daytime" program, which features products and services sponsored by commercial advertisers. The new program features an adjoining kitchen and living room set in a studio separate from WTSP newscasts.
WTSP broadcast the first true HD program in the Tampa Bay area on beat both WTSP and
WTVT (who had decided not to begin broadcasting in high definition yet) to be the first station in Tampa Bay to broadcast news in HD. On August 31, 2007, rival
WFLA became the second station in Tampa Bay to broadcast news in HD.
Just recently, WTSP launched ''"10 Weather Now"'', on subchannel 24.2 (10.2 through
PSIP ), which has local weather 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which primarily competes with
WFLA 's ''
Storm Team 8 Weather Plus '' feature. The slogan for 10 Weather Now is ''"You are never more than 1 minute away from local weather"''.
- John Wilson, 6 and 11pm anchor ''(1981–1993)'' (now on WTVT )
- Sheryl Browne, 6 and 11pm anchor ''(1983–1992)''
- Don Harrison, 6 and 11pm anchor ''(1979-1982)''
- Liz Ayers, 6 and 11pm anchor ''(1979-1983)''
- Arch Deal, evening anchor/news director ''(1976–1978)''
- R.A. Campbell, anchor ''(1976)''
- Bob Bates, anchor ''(1978–1980)''
- Gary Rebstock, anchor ''(1978–1979)''
- Francie Murphy, anchor ''(1978–1979)''
- Dennis Roper, anchor ''(1979–1984)''
- Mark Feldstein, I-Team ''(1980–1985)''
- Kevin Kalwary, I-Team investigative reporter ''(1980s-early 1990s)'' (now Investigator/Media Liaison for Tampa law firm Cohen, Jayson, & Foster)
- Sue Zelenko, 6/11pm anchor ''(1991–2004)''
- Pat Minarcin, 6 and 11pm anchor ''(1994–1998)''
- Al Ruechel, morning/noon anchor ''(1986–1996)'' (lead anchor at Bay News 9, Tampa, FL as of June 2006)
- Marlene Schneider, anchor ''(1985–1992)''
- Jane Akre, anchor ''(1991–1995)''
- Dave Wagner, anchor ''(1987–1999)'' (at WLWT Ch. 5, Cincinnati, OH as of June 2006)
- Miles O'Brien , reporter ''(1984–1986)'' (now with CNN )
- Rod Challenger, news director/anchor ''(1978–1979)'' (now at WFLA)
- Jule McGee, reporter ''(1965–1967)''
- Stan Grams, first WLCY-TV weatherman ''(1965-1969)''
- Sonny Daye, weather personality ''(1969-1976)''
- Wally "The Weatherman" Kinnan ''(1978–1980)''
- Dennis Feltgen, meteorologist ''(1989–1999)'' (now at NOAA )
- Jim Wegner, meteorologist (1980s)
- Jim Brihan, meteorologist (1980s)
- Mike Ferell, meteorologist ''(1987–1993)''
- Dick Crippen, sports director ''(1965–1981)''
- Ken Broo, sports director ''(1981–1987)'' (at WLWT Ch. 5, Cincinnati, OH as of June 2006)
- Steve Talbot, sports director ''(1987–1988)''
- Al Keck, sports director ''(1988–2001)'' (at WFTS Ch. 28, Tampa, FL as of June 2006)
- John Nugent, sports director ''(2001–2006)''
- Bill Campbell,"Campbell's Corner"/reporter ''(1975–1993)''
- Bill Murphy, "Murphy in the Morning" ''(1985–1991)'' (now on WTVT)
- Myrtle Smith-Carroll, reporter, host "Youth & You"''(1978–1983)''
- Julie Brannon, " PM Magazine " ''(1986–1989)''
- Andrea McDaniel, reporter ''(1982–1985)''
- Madeline Holland, morning anchor ''(1991–1995)''
- John O'Connor, " PM Magazine "/anchor ''(1986–1989)'' (now primary anchor at WTEV in Jacksonville, FL )
- Laura York, weather ''(1996-2001)''
- Mary Beth Byrd, morning anchor ''(1996-2001)''
- David Klugh, morning/noon anchor ''(1991-1999)''
- Paul Morill, freelance weather ''(2004-2005)''
- Gemma Gaudette, morning anchor ''(2004-2006)''
- Jeff Berardelli, meteorologist ''(1999-2003)'' (Now at WFOR )
- Darryl David, 5pm anchor ''(1989-1991)''
- Jineane Ford, 5pm anchor ''(1989-1991)'' (at KPNX Ch. 12, Phoenix, AZ as of June 2006)
- Lisa Foronda, weekend anchor ''(1992-1997)''
- Lynna Lai, morning reporter/anchor ''(mid 1990s)'' (now anchor at WOIO in Cleveland, OH )
- John Harding, morning anchor ''(2000-2004)''
- Jeff Hullinger, weekend sports anchor/reporter ''(2004-2006)''
- Michelle Caruso-Cabrera , reporter ''(1994-1998)'' (Now with CNBC )
- Debra Becker, reporter (1990s)
- David Snepp, reporter (1980s)
- Mark Douglas, reporter (1980s-90s) (Now with WFLA )
- Brian Goff, reporter (1980s-90s)
- Jerry Johnson, sports anchor/reporter ''(1982-2001)''
- Bill McGinty, reporter/anchor ''(1994-2007)
- Vince Meloy, sports anchor (1960s)
- Herb Hunt, Tampa reporter (1960s)
- Phil Hunter, reporter (1960s)
- DeAnna Sheffield, reporter (2002-2007)
- Cliff Michaelsen, meteorologist (2003-2005)
- Linda Gialanella , meteorologist (1993-1999) (now with WFTS )
- , 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. Anchor/Reporter
- , 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. Anchor/Reporter
- , Anchor/Reporter/"Life Around the Bay" Anchor
- , Anchor/Reporter/"Life Around the Bay" Anchor
- , Morning and Noon Anchor/Reporter
- , Morning and Noon Anchor/Reporter
- , Weekend 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. Anchor/Reporter
- , Saturday Morning Anchor/Reporter
- , (AMS Certified) Weekday Evening Meteorologist (Chief)
- , (AMS Seal of Approval) Morning and Noon Meteorologist
- , (AMS Seal of Approval) Weekend Meteorologist/Reporter
- , (AMS Seal of Approval) Saturday Morning Meteorologist/"Life Around the Bay" reporter
- , Sports Anchor
- , Sports Anchor/Reporter
- , Sports Director
- , Sports Reporter
- , Investigative Reporter
- , General Assignment Reporter
- , General Assignment Reporter
- , General Assignment Reporter
- , Traffic Reporter
- , General Assignment Reporter
- , General Assignment Reporter
- , General Assignment Reporter
- , General Assignment Reporter
- , Education Reporter
- , General Assignment Reporter
- , General Assignment Reporter
- '' Who Wants To Be A Millionaire '' (weekdays 9-10 am and weeknights 7:30-8 pm, starting September 10, 2007)
- '' Dr.Phil '' (weeknights 5-6 pm)
- '' on September 10, 2007)
- '' on September 10, 2007)
- '' on September 10, 2007)
- "WLCY-TV: Where The Action Is!" (1965)
- "Take A Look (at Channel 10)" (1979-1981)
- "Count On the Action News Team!" (1980s)
- "Stay In Touch With 10" (mid-1980s)
- "NewsCenter 10: In the Center of it All" (1989–1992)
- "10 News: News You Can Use" (1992–1994)
- "Where News Comes First" (1994–1995)
- "The Next Generation of News" (1994–1996)
- "Keep Your Eye on Tampa Bay's 10" (1994–1996; used to promote CBS's move to WTSP)
- "We've Got You Covered" (1996–1998)
- "People You Can Count On" (1998–2001)
- "Covering Tampa Bay" (2001–2002)
- "Enjoy It. We Do." (2002—present)
- "You'll Be Seeing Red" promo for the revamped Channel 10 (2002)
- The station debuted " A Pup Named Scooby Doo " in 1986 at 5 p.m. before it was canceled in 1987 by the station, when it was a ABC affiliate at that time.
