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{{about|the Boston television station|the Superbike World Championship (WSBK)|Superbike World Championship}} {{about|the Boston television station|the Superbike World Championship (WSBK)|Superbike World Championship}}

{{refimprove|date=December 2012}} {{refimprove|date=December 2012}}
{{Infobox Broadcast {{Infobox Broadcast
| call_letters = WSBK-TV | call_letters = WSBK-TV
| city = Boston | city =
| station_logo = ] | station_logo = ]
| station_slogan = | station_slogan =
| station_branding = myTV38 {{small|(general)}}<br>WBZ News {{small|(during ]-produced newscast)}} | station_branding = myTV38 {{small|(general)}}<br>WBZ News {{small|(during ]-produced newscast)}}
| digital = 39 (])<br>]: 38 (]) | digital = 39 (])<br>]: 38 (])
| other_chs = | other_chs =
| subchannels = | subchannels =
Line 16: Line 15:
| location = ], ] | location = ], ]
| callsign_meaning = '''SBK''' (stock ticker symbol of former owner ]) | callsign_meaning = '''SBK''' (stock ticker symbol of former owner ])
| former_callsigns = WIHS-TV (1964-1966) | former_callsigns = WIHS-TV (1964–1966)
| former_channel_numbers = '''Analog''':<br>38 (UHF, 1964-2009) | former_channel_numbers = '''Analog''':<br>38 (UHF, 1964–2009)
| owner = ] | owner = ]
| licensee = CBS Television Licenses LLC | licensee = CBS Television Licenses LLC
| sister_stations = ], ], ], ], ], ] | sister_stations = ], ], ], ], ], ]
| former_affiliations = ] (1964-1993, 2006-2011)<br>] (1993-1995)<br>] (1995-2006) | former_affiliations = ] (1964–1993, 2006–2011)<br>] (1993–1995)<br>] (1995–2006)
| effective_radiated_power = 135 ] | effective_radiated_power = 135 ]
| HAAT = 390 m | HAAT = 390 m
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}} }}


'''WSBK-TV''' is a ] ] for eastern ], ] and southern ] that is licensed to ]. It broadcasts a ] digital signal on ] channel 39 (previously 38) from a transmitter along the ] and ] town line southwest of the ] and ] / ] interchange. Owned by the ], the station is sister to ] ] affiliate ]. The two share studios on Soldiers Field Road in the ] section of Boston. ] programming on WSBK includes '']'', '']'', '']'' and '']''. '''WSBK-TV''', ] 38, is a ]-] ] located in ], ], ]. It broadcasts a ] digital signal on ] channel 39 from a transmitter along the ] and ] town line southwest of the ] and ]/] interchange. The station is owned by the ] subsidiary of the ], as part of a ] with ] ] ]. The two stations share studios on Soldiers Field Road in the ] section of Boston.


It is considered an alternate CBS affiliate and as such takes on responsibility of airing programming from the network whenever WBZ-TV cannot do so. Examples of this practice include during the ], and more recently in 2009, during ] pre-season games as well as the passing of Senator ] and his sister ]. The station is also seen in ] to subscribers of the ] and ] satellite services as well as subscribers of ], ], ], ], ] and ]. WSBK is available throughout the ] on ] ] as part of a ] package.<ref>http://www.dishnetwork.com/faq/channels/</ref> The station is also seen in ] to subscribers of satellite providers ] and ] as well as subscribers of cable providers such as ], ], ], ], ] and ]. WSBK is available via ] throughout the ] on ] as part of its ] package.<ref>http://www.dishnetwork.com/faq/channels/</ref>


==History== ==History==

===Origins=== ===Origins===
The first ] for channel 38 in Boston was granted in October 1955 to Ajax Enterprises, headed by Herbert Mayer, a former New York City attorney who had founded Empire Coil, a ] manufacturer of RF coils for TV stations and receivers. Mayer went on to own stations in ] (], the country's first licensed UHF station) and ] (WXEL). He sold the cable manufacturer and both television stations to ] in 1954. Channel 38 was originally slated to have the WHMB call sign; however, after Storer changed the call letters of the Cleveland property to ] in April 1956, Mayer quickly reclaimed the WXEL call letters for the Boston station. WXEL's proposed transmitter in ] was never built, and the ] (FCC) revoked the construction permit and deleted the call letters in November 1960. The first ] for channel 38 in Boston was granted in October 1955 to Ajax Enterprises, headed by Herbert Mayer, a former New York City attorney who had founded Empire Coil, a ] manufacturer of RF coils for television stations and receivers. Mayer went on to own stations in ] (], the country's first licensed UHF station) and ] (WXEL). He sold the cable manufacturer and both television stations to ] in 1954. Channel 38 was originally slated to have the WHMB call sign; however, after Storer changed the call letters of the Cleveland property to ] in April 1956, Mayer quickly reclaimed the WXEL call letters for the Boston station. WXEL's proposed transmitter in ] was never built, and the ] (FCC) revoked the construction permit and deleted the call letters in November 1960.

⚫ The current station began broadcasting on October 12, 1964. It was first licensed to ] and had the ] '''WIHS-TV'''. The station employed a general entertainment format along with the daily and Sunday ]. As WIHS, the station initially programmed a "hybrid" schedule—educational (for the Catholic schools in the Boston area) and religious programs during the morning, then syndicated programs and movies (and by 1966, some shows passed by the network affiliates in Boston) in the afternoon and evening. The station also carried two local newscasts each weekday, at 5:45 and 10 P.M. In both cases, they consisted of fifteen minutes of an announcer reading news into a camera.


⚫ The current station began broadcasting on October 12, 1964. It was first licensed to the ] and had the ] '''WIHS-TV'''. The station employed a general entertainment format along with the daily and Sunday ]. As WIHS, the station initially programmed a "hybrid" schedule – educational (for the Catholic schools in the Boston area) and religious programs during the morning, then syndicated programs and movies (and by 1966, some shows passed by the network affiliates in Boston) in the afternoon and evening. The station also carried two local newscasts each weekday, at 5:45 and 10 p.m. In both cases, they consisted of fifteen minutes of an announcer reading news into a camera.
The station also made an initial splash into sports, carrying ten away games of the ] and all of the team's playoff road games not on network television during the 1964-65 season. However, team management was worried about the lack of penetration of UHF, leading to playoff away games being simulcast on ] (channel 5) in 1965 (that station had previously aired select Celtics telecasts, including playoff away games starting in 1962); the following season, the team moved back to WHDH entirely.


Some college sports (mostly hockey and basketball games) were carried during the WIHS era, which carried over during the early Storer Broadcasting years. The station also made an initial splash into sports, carrying ten away games of the ] and all of the team's playoff road games not carried on network television during the 1964-65 season. However, team management was worried about the lack of penetration of the UHF band, leading to playoff away games being simulcast on ] (channel 5) in 1965 (that station had previously aired select Celtics telecasts, including playoff away games starting in 1962); the following season, the team moved back to WHDH entirely. Some college sports (mostly hockey and basketball games) were carried during the WIHS era, which carried over during the early Storer Broadcasting years.


===WSBK-TV=== ===WSBK-TV===
The station was bought by ] in 1966. A few months after the purchase, the station's call letters became the present '''WSBK-TV''', named after the company's ] on the ], '''SBK'''. The station was purchased by ] in 1966. A few months after the purchase, the station's call letters were changed to the present '''WSBK-TV''', named after the company's ] on the ], <u>SBK</u>. Storer scored its biggest coup in 1967, when it secured broadcast rights to the ] from ] (channel 56), and eventually owned the team for a three-year period between 1972 and 1975. During the next few years, as the Bruins became a contender for the ]'s ] championship, the popularity of these games led to a spike in UHF antenna purchases, and helped make channel 38 one of the leading independent stations in the country. For much of the time between 1970 and 1984, WSBK would televise between 70 and 72 of the Bruins' 80 regular season games, as well as all playoff games not shown on network television.


⚫ In 1975, WSBK acquired television rights to the ], and got even luckier; the Red Sox won the American League pennant during the team's first year on WSBK. The team stayed on WSBK through 1995, and returned for another three-year period from 2003 to 2005. WSBK had broadcast between 90 and 110 Red Sox games a year between 1975 and 1983; about 75 games a year from 1984 until 1995; and a limited number of games (usually 28 to 30 a year) between 2003 and 2005. Although WSBK carried road playoff games of the Boston Celtics in 1969 (the team having abandoned WKBG at the end of the regular season after seeing the number of regular-season games broadcast by WKBG during the 1968-69 season shrink compared to the previous year), the station would not carry Celtics' games on a regular basis until 1993. During that time, WSBK broadcast road games of the Celtics; it continued to do so through 1998.
Storer scored its biggest coup in 1967, when it secured broadcast rights to the ] from ] (channel 56), and eventually owned the team for a three-year period between 1972 and 1975. During the next few years, as the Bruins became a contender for the ]'s ] championship, the popularity of these games led to a spike in UHF antenna purchases, and helped make channel 38 one of the leading independent stations in the country. For much of the time between 1970 and 1984, WSBK would televise between 70 and 72 of the Bruins' 80 regular-season games, as well as all playoff games not on network television.

⚫ In 1975, WSBK acquired television rights to the ], and got even luckier; the Red Sox won the American League pennant during the team's first year on WSBK. The team stayed on WSBK through 1995, and returned for three years from 2003 through 2005. WSBK broadcast between 90 and 110 Red Sox games a year between 1975 and 1983; about 75 games a year from 1984 until 1995; and a limited number of games (usually 28 to 30 a year) between 2003 and 2005.

Although WSBK carried road playoff games of the Boston Celtics in 1969 (the team having abandoned WKBG at the end of the regular-season after seeing the number of regular-season games broadcast by WKBG in 1968-69 shrink compared to the previous year), the station would not carry Celtics' games on a regular basis until 1993. During that time, WSBK broadcast road games of the Celtics; it continued to do so through 1998.


In addition to an increasingly-stronger lineup of syndicated programs and movies, WSBK continued to run some network programs that were preempted by the local ] (WBZ-TV), ] (first ], then ]), and CBS (first ], then WNAC-TV/WNEV-TV) affiliates until 1981. In addition to an increasingly-stronger lineup of syndicated programs and movies, WSBK continued to run some network programs that were preempted by the local ] (WBZ-TV), ] (first ], then ]), and CBS (first ], then WNAC-TV/WNEV-TV) affiliates until 1981.


====Becoming a superstation==== ====Becoming a superstation====
WSBK's popularity was such that by the mid-1970s, it was available on nearly every ] system in ] and as far west as ]. In the late 1980s, WSBK became a national ] when it entered into agreement with a company called ] to distribute its signal outside New England. Eastern Microwave also distributed the signal of superstation ], in ]. WSBK's main selling point was its coverage of the Red Sox, similar to how WOR-TV, ] in ], and ] in ] used their coverage of the ], ], and ], respectively. The carriage did not reach those other stations' levels, but covered large portions of ], ] and a handful of cable systems in ] (which produced the unusual circumstance of Red Sox games being regularly broadcast into part of the ]' main market, like ] in the Boston area which carried the Yankees). WSBK's popularity was such that by the mid-1970s, it was available on nearly every ] provider in ] and as far west as ]. In the late 1980s, WSBK became a national ] when it entered into an agreement with ] to distribute its signal outside of New England. Eastern Microwave also distributed the signal of superstation ] in ]. WSBK's main selling point was its coverage of the Red Sox, similar to how WOR-TV, ] in ], and ] in ] used their coverage of the ], ] and ], respectively. WSBK's carriage did not reach the same levels as the other stations, but covered large portions of ], ] and a handful of cable providers in ] (which produced the unusual circumstance of Red Sox games being regularly broadcast into part of the ]' main market, like ] in the Boston area which carried the Yankees).


WSBK's coverage of the Boston Bruins also made it a favorite superstation on Canadian cable systems, along with WOR (at the time, WOR was televising away games of all three New York-area NHL teams, the ], the ] and the ]). WSBK's coverage of the Boston Bruins also made it a favorite superstation on Canadian cable providers, along with WOR (at the time, WOR was televising away games of all three New York-area NHL teams, the ], the ] and the ]).


When the FCC's "]" rules (called "Syndex") were strengthened in the early 1990s, distribution of all "distant signals" were hampered. The rule protected stations in local markets from out-of-market competition by superstations airing identical syndicated programming. Any station could file with cable systems for "protection" and the cable system would have to black out the offending station for periods of time. The management of this "blocking" would prove so cumbersome that many cable systems began dropping distant signals such as WSBK and effectively stopped most superstation distribution. Distributors such as Eastern Microwave attempted to make it easier for cable systems by substituting shows that could not be blocked, but the damage had already been done by then. When the FCC's ] rules (or "Syndex") were strengthened in the early 1990s, distribution of all out-of-market station signals were hampered. The rule protected stations in local markets from out-of-market competition by superstations airing identical syndicated programming. Any station could file with cable providers for "protection" and the provider would have to black out the offending station for periods of time. The management of this "blocking" would prove so cumbersome that many cable providers began dropping distant signals such as WSBK and effectively stopped most superstation distribution. Distributors such as Eastern Microwave attempted to make it easier for cable providers by substituting shows that could not be blocked, but the damage had already been done by then.


Besides its status as a sports powerhouse, WSBK made a name for itself when it created ''The Movie Loft'', one of the first "hosted movie" franchises on television long before it became a staple on cable. ''The Movie Loft'' aired syndicated movies with interstitial program elements hosted by Dana Hersey. Part of ''The Movie Loft'''s marketing was that it aired only "unedited" movies. ''The Movie Loft'' tested that on several occasions airing movies such as '']'', '']'' and '']'' in unedited fashion. Besides its status as a sports powerhouse, WSBK made a name for itself when it created ''The Movie Loft'', one of the first "hosted movie" franchises on television long before it became a staple on cable. ''The Movie Loft'' aired syndicated movies with interstitial program elements hosted by Dana Hersey. Part of the program's marketing was that it aired only "unedited" movies. ''The Movie Loft'' tested that on several occasions airing movies such as '']'', '']'' and '']'' without editing for inappropriate content or length.


] bought WSBK along with most of the other Storer stations in 1985. At this time, ownership was officially under the KKR subsidiary of New Boston Television, although on the air, the parent company of WSBK was still referenced to Storer. KKR later sold most of its stations to ]. When Gillett defaulted on some of the financing agreements in the early 1990s, the ownership was restructured and the company was renamed SCI Television. Eventually, SCI ran into fiscal issues, and filed for ] in 1993. As a result, WSBK was sold in a group deal to ] that year. ] bought WSBK and most of Storer's other stations in 1985. At this time, ownership was officially under the KKR subsidiary of New Boston Television, although Storer was still referenced on-air as being the parent company of WSBK. KKR later sold most of its stations to ]. When Gillett defaulted on some of the financing agreements in the early 1990s, the ownership was restructured and the company was renamed SCI Television. Eventually, SCI ran into fiscal issues, and filed for ] in 1993. As a result, WSBK was sold in a group deal to ] that year.


====Sale to Paramount/affiliation with UPN==== ====Sale to Paramount/affiliation with UPN====
⚫ In 1994, New World made a landmark deal with ] to switch most of its CBS-, ABC- and NBC-affiliated stations to Fox. WSBK remained an independent station and was eventually put up for sale again to protect existing affiliate ], which Fox would acquire soon afterward. Channel 38 was then sold to the ] (which would become a subsidiary of ] that same year) and became a charter affiliate on ] on January 16, 1995; that June, the longtime "TV 38" branding was retired and changed to "UPN 38".<ref name=nerw-wsbkupn38>{{cite web|last=Fybush|first=Scott D|title=New England Radio Watcher: WPLM goes smooth|url=http://groups.google.com/group/rec.radio.broadcasting/msg/99e8e6a40953ae7d?hl=en&dmode=source|work=rec.radio.broadcasting|publisher=]|accessdate=February 13, 2011|authorlink=Scott Fybush|date=June 29, 1995}}</ref> In 1996, Viacom acquired a 50% ownership stake in UPN, which effectively made WSBK-TV a UPN ].


⚫ Originally, the station continued to essentially program under the conventions of an independent station as UPN would not run five nights a week of programming until 1998. ''The Movie Loft'' was discontinued as a result of host Dana Hersey's retirement, as well as declining ratings for the program as the movie packages that the station acquired were of a lesser quality than in previous years. WSBK later revived the genre with ''The UPN 38 Movie House'', hosted by actor and comedian Brian Frates; in the early 2000s, it also attempted a revival of ''The Movie Loft'' hosted by Skip Kelly. The station also began to decrease its telecasts of local professional sports events. For some time after affiliating with UPN, WSBK continued to air primarily cartoons and classic sitcoms. By 1997, however, the station began mixing in more talk and reality shows, with older shows being gradually phased out. WSBK eliminated afternoon cartoons by 2000, and morning cartoons disappeared in 2003, when UPN discontinued the '']'' block. By 2002, the station was running a blend of talk shows, court shows, and reality shows from 9 a.m. through the late afternoon, with recent off-network sitcoms continuing in the evenings.
⚫ In 1994, New World made a landmark deal with ] to switch most of its CBS, ABC, and NBC affiliated stations to Fox. WSBK remained an independent station and was eventually put up for sale again to protect ], which Fox would acquire soon afterward. The station was then sold to ] (which would become a subsidiary of ] that same year) and became a charter ] affiliate in 1995; that June, the longtime ''"TV 38"'' branding was retired in favor of ''"UPN 38"''.<ref name=nerw-wsbkupn38>{{cite web|last=Fybush|first=Scott D|title=New England Radio Watcher: WPLM goes smooth|url=http://groups.google.com/group/rec.radio.broadcasting/msg/99e8e6a40953ae7d?hl=en&dmode=source|work=rec.radio.broadcasting|publisher=]|accessdate=February 13, 2011|authorlink=Scott Fybush|date=June 29, 1995}}</ref> Originally, the station continued to run the same type of programming with UPN's schedule added. ''The Movie Loft'' was put to rest because Dana Hersey retired, the movie packages were not of the quality they had been before and ratings for the show had dropped. WSBK later revived the genre with ''The UPN 38 Movie House'', hosted by actor and comedian Brian Frates; in the early 2000s, it also attempted a revival of ''The Movie Loft'' hosted by Skip Kelly. The station also began to lose its relationship with the local sports teams.


⚫ In 2001, after Viacom merged with ] – which created a ] with WBZ-TV, WSBK integrated its operations into WBZ's facility in ]. The former WSBK studio facility is now occupied by some of corporate sibling ]'s Boston radio stations. Under CBS, WSBK began sharing some first-run syndicated programs with WBZ-TV.
⚫ For some time after affiliating with UPN, WSBK continued to air primarily cartoons and classic sitcoms. By 1997, however, the station began mixing in more talk and reality shows, with older shows being gradually phased out. WSBK eliminated afternoon cartoons by 2000, and morning cartoons disappeared in 2003, when UPN discontinued the '']'' block. By 2002, the station was running a blend of talk shows, court shows, and reality shows from 9 a.m. through the late afternoon, with recent off network sitcoms continuing in the evenings.

⚫ In 2001, after Viacom's merger with ], WSBK moved its studios and offices to WBZ-TV's building. The former WSBK building is now occupied by some of corporate sibling ]'s Boston radio stations. Under CBS, WSBK began sharing some first run syndicated shows with WBZ-TV.
From 1995 to 2006, WSBK-TV was an UPN O&O station.


====Return to independent status==== ====Return to independent status====
] ]
On January 24, 2006, ] and the ] unit of ] announced that UPN and ] would cease operations that September and be replaced by a new network that would feature a mix of programming from both networks and newer series called ], which was named after its corporate parents.<ref>, ], January 24, 2006.</ref><ref>, '']'', January 24, 2006.</ref> Even though WSBK is owned by The CW's part-owner CBS, then-WB affiliate ] – owned at the time by ] – was announced as The CW's Boston outlet through an affiliation agreement that signed 16 of Tribune's 19 WB affiliates as charter affiliates. This was due to the fact that the network's representatives had been on record as preferring the "strongest" stations among The WB and UPN's affiliates, and Boston was one of the few markets where the WB and UPN affiliates both had relatively strong viewership.
⚫ On January 24, 2006, UPN and the ] announced that they would merge to create a new network, the ], named for its corporate parents CBS and the ] unit of ]. ], Boston's WB affiliate, was announced as Boston's CW affiliate, leaving WSBK without an affiliation. On February 22, 2006, the ] announced that it would launch another new broadcast television network, ], operated by its ] division. WSBK was considered the favorite to become the Boston affiliate of MyNetworkTV, but that May, CBS announced that channel 38, along with ] in ], would revert to independent status.<ref name=b&c-wsbkindy>{{cite news|title=3 Orphans To Go Independent|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/93487-3_Orphans_To_Go_Independent.php|accessdate=February 13, 2011|newspaper=]|date=May 6, 2006}}</ref> Although WBFS ultimately signed with the service, the Boston market MyNetworkTV affiliation eventually went to what was then independent station WZMY-TV (now ]) in ].


⚫ On February 22, 2006, ] announced that it would launch another new broadcast television network to be operated by its ] and ] divisions called ].<ref>, '']'', February 22, 2006.</ref> WSBK was considered the favorite to become the network's Boston affiliate, but ] announced that May, that channel 38, along with ] in ], would revert to being independent stations.<ref name=b&c-wsbkindy>{{cite news|title=3 Orphans To Go Independent|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/93487-3_Orphans_To_Go_Independent.php|accessdate=February 13, 2011|newspaper=]|date=May 6, 2006}}</ref> Although WBFS ultimately signed with the service, the MyNetworkTV affiliation in the Boston market eventually went to ]-based independent station WZMY-TV (now ]).
WSBK-TV officially reverted to its previous branding, ''"TV 38"'', on September 6, 2006, and also revived its former ''Entertaining Boston'' slogan; the station had changed its web address to "tv38.com" in late August. Nonetheless, WSBK continued to carry UPN programming until September 15, 2006, the network's final night on the air.


The station adopted a new ad campaign entitled ''Hello'' in September 2009, where the majority of station promotion is centered around the word "hello"; this new campaign also brought forth a mascot named ''TV 38 Blockhead''.<ref name="TV38 September 2009 Promos">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgdCFpCO48g</ref> WSBK-TV officially reverted to the "TV 38" branding on September 6, 2006, and also revived its former ''Entertaining Boston'' slogan; the station continued to carry UPN programming until the network's shut down on September 15, 2006. The station adopted a new ad campaign entitled ''Hello'' in September 2009, where the majority of station promotion is centered around the word "hello"; this new campaign also brought forth a mascot called the ''TV 38 Blockhead''.<ref name="TV38 September 2009 Promos">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgdCFpCO48g</ref>


====Switching to MyNetworkTV==== ====Switch to MyNetworkTV====
After WBIN-TV announced on June 15, 2011 that it would drop MyNetworkTV,<ref>http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/469784-Boston_Area_MyNet_WBIN_Going_Independent.php</ref> WSBK announced on June 20 that it would join the network starting that September.<ref>http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/470021-WSBK_Boston_Partners_With_MyNet.php</ref> The first program from MyNetworkTV aired on WSBK at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on September 19. As a result, WSBK joined WBFS as one of two MyNetworkTV affiliates owned by CBS. The station was also rebranded as "myTV38". On June 15, 2011, WBIN-TV announced that it would disaffiliate from MyNetworkTV that fall to become an independent station.<ref>http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/469784-Boston_Area_MyNet_WBIN_Going_Independent.php</ref> CBSTVS subsequently entered into an affiliation agreement with the programming service one week later on June 20 to move its Boston area affiliation to WSBK starting that September.<ref>http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/470021-WSBK_Boston_Partners_With_MyNet.php</ref> WSBK affiliated with MyNetworkTV on September 19, 2011, joining ] sister station ]) as one of two CBS-owned stations to maintain an affiliation with the service. The station's branding was amended to "myTV38", in accordance to the new affiliation.


==Digital television== ==Digital television==
===Digital channel===
⚫ After the ] that took place on June 12, 2009,<ref name="Analog to Digital">http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf</ref> WSBK-DT continued on its pre-transition channel, 39.<ref name="FCCForm387"></ref> However, through the use of ], digital television receivers display WSBK-DT's ] as 38.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! ]
! ]
! ]
! ]
! Programming
|-
| 38.1 || ] || ] || || Main WSBK-TV programming / MyNetworkTV
|-
|}

===Analog-to-digital conversion===
⚫ After the ] that took place on June 12, 2009,<ref name="Analog to Digital"></ref> WSBK's digital signal continued to broadcast on its pre-transition UHF channel 39.<ref name="FCCForm387"></ref> However, through the use of ], digital television receivers display WSBK's ] as 38.


==Programming== ==Programming==
Presently, WSBK generally broadcasts first run talk, court, and reality shows as well as some off network ] and very few movies. However, in the past, the station ran a large amount of movies, classic shows and sports. ] programming on WSBK includes '']'', '']'', '']'' and '']''. Presently, WSBK generally broadcasts first-run talk, court and reality shows as well as some off-network ] and very few movies. However, in the past, the station ran a large amount of movies, classic shows and sports.

WSBK will occasionally take on the responsibility of airing CBS network programming whenever WBZ-TV runs extended breaking news coverage or special programming. Examples of this practice include during the ], and more recently in 2009, during ] pre-season games as well as the passing of Senator ] and his sister ].


===Sports=== ===Sports===
In terms of sports, WSBK was the long-time television home of the ] and ]. WSBK became the Red Sox' over-air flagship station in 1975 and remained so for 20 years, losing the rights in 1996 to WABU (now ]).<ref name=nerw-wsbknosox>{{cite news|last=Fybush|first=Scott|title=New England RadioWatch|url=http://www.bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-960403.html|accessdate=February 13, 2011|date=April 3, 1996}}</ref> After a seven-season hiatus, WSBK (in partnership with sister station WBZ-TV) resumed its role as the Red Sox flagship station, replacing ], in 2003,<ref name=nerw-wsbksoxagain>{{cite news|last=Fybush|first=Scott|title=WLAN Makes Sports Flip, WBBF becomes WROC|url=http://www.bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-020819.html|accessdate=February 13, 2011|newspaper=North East RadioWatch|date=August 19, 2002}}</ref> though only for Friday night games. Most games were carried by the ] (NESN), who aired the Friday night games outside of the Boston DMA, effectively blacking out WSBK in these areas (the Red Sox have 80 percent holdings in NESN). Among the nationally prominent announcers that have called Red Sox games on the station are ] and ]. WBZ ceased to broadcast the games after the 2004 season, and WSBK would itself cease airing games after the 2005 season. This made the team cable-exclusive. In terms of sports, WSBK was the longtime television home of the ] and ]. WSBK became the Red Sox's over-air flagship station in 1975 and remained so for 20 years, until it lost the broadcast rights to WABU (now ]) in 1996.<ref name=nerw-wsbknosox>{{cite news|last=Fybush|first=Scott|title=New England RadioWatch|url=http://www.bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-960403.html|accessdate=February 13, 2011|date=April 3, 1996}}</ref> After a seven-season hiatus, WSBK (in partnership with sister station WBZ-TV) resumed its role as the Red Sox flagship station, replacing ], in 2003,<ref name=nerw-wsbksoxagain>{{cite news|last=Fybush|first=Scott|title=WLAN Makes Sports Flip, WBBF becomes WROC|url=http://www.bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-020819.html|accessdate=February 13, 2011|newspaper=North East RadioWatch|date=August 19, 2002}}</ref> though only for Friday night games. Most games were carried by the ] (NESN), which aired the Friday night games outside of the Boston television market, effectively ] WSBK in these areas (the Red Sox hold an 80% ownership interest in NESN). Among the nationally prominent announcers that have performed play-by-play duties for the station's Red Sox games include ] and ]. WBZ stopped broadcasting the games after the 2004 season, and WSBK would cease airing games itself following the 2005 season, rendering the team's game telecasts cable-exclusive.

⚫ In addition to the Red Sox, WSBK was also, for over thirty years, the over-air flagship of the ]. It was considered important enough to the station's broadcasting, especially in the 1970s when the Bruins were one of the perennially elite teams in the ] and enormously popular in Boston, that then-station owners Storer Broadcasting purchased and owned the Bruins for several years. The announcers for most of the Bruins games were hall-of-famer ] (on ]) and ] (on ]), who was later succeeded by ] and former Bruin ]. In later years ] called the play by play. As with the Red Sox, Bruins coverage gradually moved to NESN. Nearly all home games were broadcast on NESN starting in 1984, and coverage left WSBK entirely in 2002.<ref name=nerw-wsbknobruins>{{cite news|last=Fybush|first=Scott|title=Clear Channel Faces Hearings on Augusta Purchase|url=http://www.bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-020715.html|accessdate=February 13, 2011|newspaper=North East RadioWatch|date=July 15, 2002}}</ref>

⚫ In addition, WSBK became the over-air home of the ] in 1993, replacing WFXT (which was owned at that time by the team).<ref name=bdn-wsbkceltics>{{cite news|last=Neff|first=Andrew|title=Channel 38 to televise Celts’ home games|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PPAzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6TgHAAAAIBAJ&dq=wfxt%20celtics&pg=1343%2C1216426|accessdate=February 13, 2011|newspaper=]|date=November 5, 1993}}</ref> It the broadcast rights in 1998 to WABU.<ref name=nerw-wsbkceltics>{{cite news|last=Fybush|first=Scott|title=Non-Compete -- The Battle Continues|url=http://www.bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-980820.html|accessdate=February 13, 2011|newspaper=North East RadioWatch|date=August 20, 1998}}</ref> Currently, all Celtics games not on national television are now broadcast on ].

The station, through its UPN affiliation, also carried ] when that program aired on the network.


⚫ In addition to the Red Sox, WSBK was also the over-air flagship of the ] for over thirty years. It was considered important enough to the station's broadcasting, especially in the 1970s when the Bruins were one of the perennially elite teams in the ] and enormously popular in Boston, that then-station owners Storer Broadcasting purchased and owned the Bruins for several years. The announcers for most of the Bruins games were hall-of-famer ] (on ]) and ] (on ]), who was later succeeded by ] and former Bruin ]; ] called the play-by-play in later years. As with the Red Sox, Bruins coverage gradually moved to NESN. Nearly all home games were broadcast on NESN starting in 1984, and coverage left WSBK entirely in 2002.<ref name=nerw-wsbknobruins>{{cite news|last=Fybush|first=Scott|title=Clear Channel Faces Hearings on Augusta Purchase|url=http://www.bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-020715.html|accessdate=February 13, 2011|newspaper=North East RadioWatch|date=July 15, 2002}}</ref>
Since 2005, WSBK has been the Boston-area television home of ]' syndicated package of ] ] and ] games, as ]'s move to the conference has created regional interest for the ACC.


⚫ In addition, WSBK became the over-air home of the ] in 1993, replacing WFXT (which the team had owned at that time).<ref name=bdn-wsbkceltics>{{cite news|last=Neff|first=Andrew|title=Channel 38 to televise Celts’ home games|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PPAzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6TgHAAAAIBAJ&dq=wfxt%20celtics&pg=1343%2C1216426|accessdate=February 13, 2011|newspaper=]|date=November 5, 1993}}</ref> It the broadcast rights in 1998 to WABU.<ref name=nerw-wsbkceltics>{{cite news|last=Fybush|first=Scott|title=Non-Compete -- The Battle Continues|url=http://www.bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-980820.html|accessdate=February 13, 2011|newspaper=North East RadioWatch|date=August 20, 1998}}</ref> Currently, all Celtics games not on national television are now broadcast on ]. Since 2005, WSBK has carried ] ] and ] games produced and syndicated by ], as ]'s move to the conference has created regional interest for the ACC.
⚫ In 2007, ] announced that WSBK would become the exclusive carrier of the ], replacing WLVI and Comcast SportsNet New England (then known as FSN New England). After three seasons, the Revolution moved their non-nationally televised games to CSN New England in 2010;<ref name="necn-revscsn">{{cite news|url=http://www.necn.com/03/15/10/CSN-New-England-to-televise-Revs-games/landing_sports.html?blockID=197924&feedID=3352|title=CSN New England to televise Revs games|date=March 15, 2010|work=]|accessdate=March 15, 2010}}</ref> it was the last Boston-area professional sports team to have locally-produced over-the-air telecasts of regular-season games.


⚫ In 2007, ] announced that WSBK would become the exclusive carrier of the ], replacing WLVI and Comcast SportsNet New England (then known as FSN New England). After three seasons, the Revolution moved their non-nationally televised games to ] in 2010;<ref name="necn-revscsn">{{cite news|url=http://www.necn.com/03/15/10/CSN-New-England-to-televise-Revs-games/landing_sports.html?blockID=197924&feedID=3352|title=CSN New England to televise Revs games|date=March 15, 2010|work=]|accessdate=March 15, 2010}}</ref> it was the last Boston area professional sports team to have locally-produced over-the-air telecasts of regular-season games.
In December 2007, WSBK produced the first-ever over-the-air television broadcasts of the Eastern Massachusetts High-School Football Super Bowl games, broadcasting three of the seven divisional championship contests (the other four aired on Comcast SportsNet New England). This arrangement continues to this day; since 2009, the audio of all seven games has been simulcast on sister station ] (98.5 FM).


The station previously aired sports replay programs called ''Red Sox This Week'' and ''] This Week'' during their respective seasons; the latter program has since moved to Comcast SportsNet New England. The station broadcasts the "Fifth Quarter" postgame shows after 4:15 P.M. ET Patriots' games (since WBZ is tied up with '']''). In December 2007, WSBK produced the first ever over-the-air television broadcasts of the Eastern Massachusetts High-School Football Super Bowl games, broadcasting three of the seven divisional championship contests (the other four aired on Comcast SportsNet New England). This arrangement continues to this day; since 2009, the audio of all seven games has been simulcast on sister station ] (98.5 FM). The station previously aired sports replay programs called ''Red Sox This Week'' and ''] This Week'' during their respective seasons; the latter program has since moved to Comcast SportsNet New England. The station broadcasts the "Fifth Quarter" postgame shows after 4:15 p.m. ET Patriots' games (since WBZ is tied up with '']'').


===Cartoons, classic sitcoms and movies=== ===Cartoons, classic sitcoms and movies===
WSBK was also known for running cartoons and classic sitcoms during the late 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and to a lesser extent in the 1990s. Some of the shows run on the station in the 1970s included ]/] post 1948/pre 1941, made-for-TV ] cartoons, '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', and '']'', among others. The station also ran several movies a day (one during the day, prime time, and late night). WSBK began 24 hour operation in the late '70s, only to revert to a late night signoffs by the early '80s. During the 1970s through the mid-1980s, WSBK's cartoon programs were hosted by Willie Whistle, a clown who used a bird-whistle in his mouth to create a distinctive voice he was recognized for. WSBK was also known for running cartoons and classic sitcoms during the late 1960s through (to a lesser extent) the 1990s. Some of the shows run on the station in the 1970s included ]/] post 1948/pre 1941, made-for-TV ] cartoons, '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', and '']'', among others. The station also ran several movies a day (one during the day, prime time, and late night). WSBK began 24 hour operation in the late '70s, only to revert to a late night signoffs by the early '80s. During the 1970s through the mid-1980s, WSBK's cartoon programs were hosted by Willie Whistle, a clown who used a bird-whistle in his mouth to create a distinctive voice he was recognized for.


By the 1980s, some shows like ''Bewitched'' and ''Jeannie'' moved to ]; the station did pick up shows like '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'' (itself set in Boston and now owned by CBS), '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', and others. '']'' moved to ], but when that station fell on hard times and lost much of its programming, it returned to the station. In the mid-1980s, WSBK dropped the midday movie to make room for more sitcoms. For a few years WSBK signed off at 1 or 2 a.m. but was at 24/7 operation by the end of the decade. By the 1980s, some shows like ''Bewitched'' and ''Jeannie'' moved to ]; the station did pick up shows like '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'' (itself set in Boston and now owned by CBS), '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', and others. '']'' moved to ], but when that station fell on hard times and lost much of its programming, it returned to the station. In the mid-1980s, WSBK dropped the midday movie to make room for more sitcoms. For a few years WSBK signed off at 1 or 2 a.m. but was at 24/7 operation by the end of the decade.


In the 1990s, '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', and other shows landed on the station. While the UPN affiliation did not result in immediate changes to the rest of its non-primetime lineup, in the late 1990s, WSBK gradually added more talk and reality shows to the lineup. By 2000, WSBK was down to only a morning cartoon block, tons of talk and reality shows middays and afternoons, and more recent sitcoms in the evening along with UPN shows. In 2003, the cartoons were dropped due to the fact that their run in syndication was ended. Movies were also cut back, and are now generally shown only on weekends. One tradition that remained on WSBK was the Sunday morning run of ''The Three Stooges''. In the 1990s, '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', and other shows landed on the station. While the UPN affiliation did not result in immediate changes to the rest of its lineup outside of primetime, WSBK gradually added more talk and reality shows in the late 1990s. By 2000, WSBK was down to only a morning cartoon block, a heavy amount of talk and reality shows during the midday and afternoon hours, and more recent sitcoms in the evening along with UPN shows. The station stopped carrying cartoons in 2003, around the same time that UPN discontinued its ]. Movies were also cut back, and are now generally shown only on weekends. One tradition that remained on WSBK was the Sunday morning run of ''The Three Stooges''.


The station has played host to no fewer than three locally-produced nighttime movie programs: ''The Movie Loft'' (hosted by Dana Hersey), ''The UPN 38 Movie House'' (hosted by Brian Frates), and ''Movie Night'' (co-hosted by Dan Andelman and Dave Andelman). The station has played host to no fewer than three locally-produced nighttime movie programs: ''The Movie Loft'' (hosted by Dana Hersey), ''The UPN 38 Movie House'' (hosted by Brian Frates), and ''Movie Night'' (co-hosted by Dan Andelman and Dave Andelman).


===Game shows=== ===Game shows===

WSBK broadcast reruns of the original '']'' in prime-time during 1969, and in the late 1970s, carried '']'' and '']'' back-to-back in prime-time. WSBK broadcast reruns of the original '']'' in prime-time during 1969, and in the late 1970s, carried '']'' and '']'' back-to-back in prime-time.


From 2001 until 2009, WSBK was the Boston home for the game shows '']'' and '']'' as well as the daytime version of '']'' during the 2007-2008 TV season— unusual for a UPN or independent station (''Wheel'' and ''Jeopardy!'' had previously run on ]).<ref name="b&c-wsbkwofj">{{cite news|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/147238-Station_Break.php|title=Station Break|last=Trigoboff|first=Dan|date=May 6, 2001|work=Broadcasting & Cable|accessdate=November 15, 2009}}</ref> The shows then moved to WBZ-TV, swapping with '']'' and '']'', with management citing their older-skewing demographics as more closely fitting WBZ, and the younger audiences for the entertainment news programs more closely fitting WSBK.<ref name="b&c-wofjmove">{{cite news|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/356868-CBS_Boston_Duop_Swaps_Shows.php|title=CBS’ Boston Duop Swaps Shows|last=Albiniak|first=Paige|date=October 5, 2009|work=Broadcasting & Cable|accessdate=November 16, 2009}}</ref> From 2001 until 2009, WSBK was the Boston home for the game shows '']'' and '']'' as well as the daytime version of '']'' during the 2007-2008 TV season – unusual for a UPN or independent station (''Wheel'' and ''Jeopardy!'' had previously run on ]).<ref name="b&c-wsbkwofj">{{cite news|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/147238-Station_Break.php|title=Station Break|last=Trigoboff|first=Dan|date=May 6, 2001|work=Broadcasting & Cable|accessdate=November 15, 2009}}</ref> The shows then moved to WBZ-TV, swapping with '']'' and '']'', with management citing their older-skewing demographics as more closely fitting WBZ, and the younger audiences for the entertainment news programs more closely fitting WSBK.<ref name="b&c-wofjmove">{{cite news|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/356868-CBS_Boston_Duop_Swaps_Shows.php|title=CBS’ Boston Duop Swaps Shows|last=Albiniak|first=Paige|date=October 5, 2009|work=Broadcasting & Cable|accessdate=November 16, 2009}}</ref>


===Other programming=== ===Other programming===
One of WSBK's most remembered past programs was the informative series ''Ask the Manager'', created by its general manager William J. Flynn in the mid-1970s. Each week Flynn, and later his successors Joseph C. Dimino, Daniel J. Berkery, and Stuart Tauber would answer viewer questions on the air. The letters were read each week for many years by the station's announcer and host ]. Other letter-readers included Sean McDonough and Carla Nolan. Meg LaVigne and Leslie Savage occasionally substituted in the manager's chair. The producer of ''Ask the Manager'' was Cliff Allen, who was often referred to when off-camera, but who did substitute as letter reader on many occasions. Allen died just weeks before ''Ask the Manager'' broadcast its final show in January 1999; the series finale was dedicated to his memory. Though poorly rated by the ] ratings, this show became a cult favorite. There were other attempts at local programming through the years with shows such as ''We Don't Knock'', ''A.M. Boston'', and ''Hersey's Hollywood''. One of WSBK's most remembered past programs was the informative series ''Ask the Manager'', created by its general manager William J. Flynn in the mid-1970s. Each week Flynn, and later his successors Joseph C. Dimino, Daniel J. Berkery, and Stuart Tauber would answer viewer questions on the air. The letters were read each week for many years by the station's announcer and host ]. Other letter-readers included Sean McDonough and Carla Nolan. Meg LaVigne and Leslie Savage occasionally substituted in the manager's chair. The producer of ''Ask the Manager'' was Cliff Allen, who was often referred to when off-camera, but who did substitute as letter reader on many occasions. Allen died just weeks before ''Ask the Manager'' broadcast its final show in January 1999; the series finale was dedicated to his memory. Though poorly rated by the ] ratings, the show became a cult favorite. There were other attempts at local programming through the years with shows such as ''We Don't Knock'', ''A.M. Boston'', and ''Hersey's Hollywood''.


From May 2001 to August 2004, WSBK had rights to ''Lottery Live'', the weeknight broadcasts of the ] games. After the station moved into WBZ's studios, WSBK continued to broadcast the drawings. This was because WBZ had the games to itself for the last 3 years prior to that move. When the contract for WSBK expired, the games moved to ]. From May 2001 to August 2004, WSBK had rights to ''Lottery Live'', the weeknight broadcasts of the ] games. After the station moved into WBZ's studios, WSBK continued to broadcast the drawings. This was because WBZ had the games to itself for the last 3 years prior to that move. When the contract for WSBK expired, the games moved to ].


After UPN ceased operations in September 2006, WSBK's primetime lineup was converted to a second run of '']'' at 8 p.m., a second-run of ''Jeopardy!'' at 9 p.m., and a new local newscast at 9:30 p.m.<ref name=b&c-wsbkindy /> ''Dr. Phil'' was replaced by '']'' in 2009 and by ''The Insider'' and ''Entertainment Tonight'' in 2010, while the second-run of ''Jeopardy!'', which swapped places with the newscast in 2007, has since been replaced by various other programs. It also continues to air CBS programs whenever WBZ-TV preempts for local programming (such as ] coverage). After the station reverted to independent status in September 2006, WSBK's primetime lineup was converted to a second run of '']'' at 8 p.m., a second-run of ''Jeopardy!'' at 9 p.m., and a new local newscast at 9:30 p.m.<ref name=b&c-wsbkindy /> ''Dr. Phil'' was replaced by '']'' in 2009 and by ''The Insider'' and ''Entertainment Tonight'' in 2010, while the second-run of ''Jeopardy!'', which swapped places with the newscast in 2007, has since been replaced by various other programs. It also continues to air CBS programs whenever WBZ-TV preempts for local programming (such as ] coverage).


⚫ WSBK broadcasts '']'' on weekends depending on the station's programming commitments (such as ACC college football); a half-hour version of the show has also aired at noon on weekdays since 2009. In 2007, WSBK revived ''Community Auditions'', the local talent competition program that had run on WBZ-TV from 1965 to 1986. With series creator and former host Dave Maynard as a consultant (until his death in February 2012), the new ''Community Auditions'' is hosted by ]'s Ramiro, with former WBZ entertainment reporter ], ]'s Candy O'Terry and ]'s J.J. Wright as judges. Originally aired Fridays at 9:30 p.m. during its first four years, WSBK at first moved the program to Saturdays at midmight for a few months in the fall of 2011, before airing it Sundays at 12 p.m. beginning in February 2012. ''Community Auditions'' is also syndicated to ] in ] and ] in ], and is rebroadcast on WBZ-TV on Saturdays at midnight and Sundays at 1:00 a.m.
WSBK broadcasts '']'' on weekends depending on the station's programming commitments (such as ACC college football); a half-hour version of the show has also aired at noon on weekdays since 2009.

⚫ In 2007, WSBK revived ''Community Auditions'', the local talent competition program that had run on WBZ-TV from 1965 until 1986. With series creator and former host Dave Maynard as a consultant (until his death in February 2012), the new ''Community Auditions'' is hosted by ]'s Ramiro, with former WBZ entertainment reporter ], ]'s Candy O'Terry and ]'s J.J. Wright as judges. Originally aired Fridays at 9:30 p.m. during its first four years, WSBK at first moved the program to Saturdays at midmight for a few months in the fall of 2011, before airing it Sundays at 12 p.m. beginning in February 2012. ''Community Auditions'' is also licensed to air on ] in ], ] in ], and is rebroadcast on WBZ-TV, Saturdays at midnight and Sundays at 1:00 a.m.

WSBK, despite being an independent station from 2006–2011, was far different from the way it was prior to 2000.


==Newscasts== ==Newscasts==
As WIHS-TV, the station had a small news operation, featuring former WBZ-TV anchor Victor Best.<ref name=nerw-wihsvictorbest>{{cite news|last=Fybush|first=Scott|title=Carl DeSuze Dies...|url=http://www.bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-980430.html|accessdate=February 13, 2011|newspaper=North East RadioWatch|date=April 30, 1998}}</ref> As WIHS-TV, the station had a small news operation, featuring former WBZ-TV anchor Victor Best.<ref name=nerw-wihsvictorbest>{{cite news|last=Fybush|first=Scott|title=Carl DeSuze Dies...|url=http://www.bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-980430.html|accessdate=February 13, 2011|newspaper=North East RadioWatch|date=April 30, 1998}}</ref> After becoming WSBK-TV, the station considered producing a local, in-house 10 p.m. newscast in the 1970s. However, after determining that the broadcast would get very low ratings and lose money, Storer concluded that there was no market for a local 10 p.m. newscast in Boston.


⚫ In 1980, WSBK did begin running a nationally-syndicated newscast for independent stations, '']'', which was produced by New York City's ] and distributed by its owner Tribune Broadcasting. INN did not do well in Boston; part of the reason for the low ratings was that the newscast sometimes aired late due to Red Sox or Bruins games, putting it in direct competition with the 11 p.m. newscasts on WBZ-TV, WCVB-TV, and WNAC-TV/WNEV-TV. After 1984, it also faced competition from a local 10 p.m. newscast on ]. In January 1986, the weeknight ''INN'' broadcasts moved to WLVI, airing after that station's 10 p.m. news; there, it only lasted one more year in the Boston market.
After becoming WSBK-TV, the station considered launching a local, station-produced 10 p.m. newscast in the 1970s. However, after determining that the broadcast would get very low ratings and lose money, Storer concluded that there was no market for a local 10 p.m. newscast in Boston.


⚫ WSBK finally launched a local 10 p.m. newscast on October 25, 1993, by way of the WBZ-produced ''WBZ News 4 on TV 38'', competing against both WLVI and a ] (NECN)-produced program on ];<ref name=tbg-news4on38debut>{{cite news|last=Bickelhaupt|first=Susan|title=Good ratings for WSBK news debut|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8251125.html|accessdate=February 13, 2011|newspaper=]|date=October 27, 1993}} (subscription content preview)</ref> this program was cancelled on August 6, 1995, soon after the sale of WSBK to Paramount, as it was felt that the ''WBZ News 4'' branding was incompatible with the then-new "UPN 38" branding.<ref name=nerw-news4on38end>{{cite web|last=Fybush|first=Scott D|title=New England Radio Watcher: All Over The Place|url=http://groups.google.com/group/rec.radio.broadcasting/msg/99e8e6a40953ae7d?hl=en&dmode=source|work=rec.radio.broadcasting|publisher=Google Groups|accessdate=February 13, 2011}}</ref> Rumors soon spread that NECN would move its 10 p.m. newscast from WFXT to WSBK;<ref name=nerw-news4on38end /> on October 2, 1995, the day after NECN's contract with WFXT expired, the regional news channel began producing ''UPN 38 Prime News''. Lila Orbach was the original sole anchor, reprising her role on the WFXT newscast; eventually, Margie Reedy and R.D. Sahl (who were formerly paired as anchors during their tenures at ]) took over for the remainder of its run. This newscast generally trailed both WLVI's program and, starting in 1996, an in-house newscast on WFXT; on October 4, 1998, WSBK discontinued ''UPN 38 Prime News'' in order to refocus the station on sports and entertainment, though NECN continued to produce news updates within Bruins telecasts during the ].<ref name=nerw-primenewsend>{{cite news|last=Fybush|first=Scott|title=WNNZ Sold to Clear Channel|url=http://www.bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-981001.html|accessdate=February 13, 2011|newspaper=North East RadioWatch|date=October 1, 1998}}</ref> The station replaced the 10 p.m. newscast with a two-hour late-evening comedy lineup (including '']'' and '']''), promoted in the fall of 1998 as ''Laughter Dark''.
⚫ In 1980, WSBK did begin running a national syndicated-by-satellite newscast, '']'', produced and syndicated by ] for independent stations. INN did not do well in Boston; part of the reason for the low ratings was that the newscast sometimes aired late due to Red Sox or Bruins games, putting it in direct competition with the 11 p.m. newscasts on WBZ-TV, WCVB-TV, and WNAC-TV/WNEV-TV. After 1984, it also faced competition from a local 10 p.m. news on ]. In January 1986, the weeknight INN broadcasts moved to WLVI, airing after their 10 p.m. news; there, it only lasted one more year in the Boston market.


⚫ After Viacom merged with CBS, putting WSBK and WBZ-TV under the same ownership, WBZ once again began to produce the station's news programming starting in 2001. On September 3, WSBK debuted a 7 p.m. newscast;<ref name=tvw-wsbkmorningnews>{{cite news|last=Greppi|first=Michelle|title=Duopoly kin compete for morning wins|url=http://www.tvweek.com/news/2002/09/duopoly_kin_compete_for_mornin.php|accessdate=February 13, 2011|newspaper=]|date=September 2002}}</ref> initially called ''<u>THE</u> 7 O'Clock News on UPN 38'' (always emphasizing "the"), it was later rebranded as ''WBZ 4 News at 7 O'Clock''. This newscast left the air on March 29, 2002 in favor of a return to a 10 p.m. newscast, this time as ''Nightcast at 10 on UPN 38'', which launched on April 1.<ref name=wsbk-2001-02news>{{cite web|title=Nightcast At 10 On UPN38|url=http://upn38.com/wbz4news/StoryFolder/story_1532310774_html|work=www.upn38.com|accessdate=February 13, 2011|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20020603155223/upn38.com/wbz4news/StoryFolder/story_1532310774_html|archivedate=June 3, 2002}}</ref> On September 16, 2002, an hour-long extension of WBZ-TV's weekday morning newscast was added at 7 a.m., known as ''The Morning News on UPN 38''.<ref name=tvw-wsbkmorningnews />
⚫ WSBK finally launched a local 10 p.m. newscast on October 25, 1993, by way of the WBZ-produced ''WBZ News 4 on TV 38'', competing against both WLVI and a ] (NECN)-produced program on ];<ref name=tbg-news4on38debut>{{cite news|last=Bickelhaupt|first=Susan|title=Good ratings for WSBK news debut|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8251125.html|accessdate=February 13, 2011|newspaper=]|date=October 27, 1993}} (subscription content preview)</ref> this production left the air August 6, 1995, soon after the sale of WSBK to Paramount, as it was felt that the ''WBZ News 4'' branding was incompatible with the then-new ''"UPN 38"'' branding.<ref name=nerw-news4on38end>{{cite web|last=Fybush|first=Scott D|title=New England Radio Watcher: All Over The Place|url=http://groups.google.com/group/rec.radio.broadcasting/msg/99e8e6a40953ae7d?hl=en&dmode=source|work=rec.radio.broadcasting|publisher=Google Groups|accessdate=February 13, 2011}}</ref> Rumors soon spread that NECN would move its 10 p.m. newscast from WFXT to WSBK;<ref name=nerw-news4on38end /> on October 2, 1995, the day after NECN's contract with WFXT expired, the network began producing ''UPN 38 Prime News''. Lila Orbach was the original sole anchor, reprising her role on the WFXT newscast; eventually, Margie Reedy and R.D. Sahl (a former ] news duo) took over for the remainder of its run. This newscast generally trailed both WLVI and, starting in 1996, an in-house newscast on WFXT; on October 4, 1998, WSBK discontinued ''UPN 38 Prime News'' in order to refocus the station on sports and entertainment, though NECN continued to produce news updates within Bruins telecasts during the ].<ref name=nerw-primenewsend>{{cite news|last=Fybush|first=Scott|title=WNNZ Sold to Clear Channel|url=http://www.bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-981001.html|accessdate=February 13, 2011|newspaper=North East RadioWatch|date=October 1, 1998}}</ref> The station replaced the 10 p.m. newscast with a two-hour late-evening comedy lineup (including ''Cheers'' and ''Mad About You''), promoted in the fall of 1998 as ''Laughter Dark''.


⚫ WSBK dropped ''Nightcast'' on January 16, 2005<ref name=nerw-nightcastend>{{cite news|last=Fybush|first=Scott|title=No "Love" for Albany|url=http://www.fybush.com/NERW/2005/050110/nerw.html|accessdate=February 13, 2011|newspaper=NorthEast Radio Watch|date=January 10, 2005}}</ref> and turned its attention to the morning newscast, which was relaunched as ''The Morning Show'' on April 4. On September 12, the program began airing 8 to 9 a.m. to make room for the first two hours of the nationally syndicated morning show, '']''. ''The Morning Show'' aired its last broadcast on June 30, 2006, ''The Daily Buzz'' was dropped at the same time (it would return to the market in January 2011 on WLVI, and currently airs on ]).
⚫ After Viacom's merger with CBS, WBZ-TV once again began to produce the station's news programming starting in 2001. On September 3, WSBK debuted a 7 p.m. newscast;<ref name=tvw-wsbkmorningnews>{{cite news|last=Greppi|first=Michelle|title=Duopoly kin compete for morning wins|url=http://www.tvweek.com/news/2002/09/duopoly_kin_compete_for_mornin.php|accessdate=February 13, 2011|newspaper=]|date=September 2002}}</ref> initially called ''THE 7 O'Clock News on UPN 38'' (always emphasizing "the"), it was later rebranded as ''WBZ 4 News at 7 O'Clock''. This newscast left the air on March 29, 2002 in favor of a return to a 10 p.m. newscast, this time as ''Nightcast at 10 on UPN 38'', which launched April 1.<ref name=wsbk-2001-02news>{{cite web|title=Nightcast At 10 On UPN38|url=http://upn38.com/wbz4news/StoryFolder/story_1532310774_html|work=www.upn38.com|accessdate=February 13, 2011|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20020603155223/upn38.com/wbz4news/StoryFolder/story_1532310774_html|archivedate=June 3, 2002}}</ref> On September 16, 2002, an hour long extension of WBZ-TV's weekday morning news was added at 7 a.m., known as ''The Morning News on UPN 38''.<ref name=tvw-wsbkmorningnews />


⚫ When WSBK became an independent station for the second time, WBZ-TV began to produce a weeknight 9:30 p.m. newscast called ''TV 38 News at 9:30''; the newscast was then moved up a half-hour to 9 p.m. on April 23, 2007, switching time slots with a second run of '']''. After this, the newscast was retitled as ''TV 38 News at 9''. On August 25, 2008, the newscast became known as ''WBZ News on TV 38'' (on occasion, it is also referred to as ''WBZ News at 9''); it now mirrors the news programs that air on WBZ-TV, as had been the case with 10 p.m. broadcast that WBZ produced in the mid-1990s and the former 7 p.m. newscast. On December 12, 2008, the newscast began to be broadcast in ] after WBZ upgraded its newscasts to the format. For a period starting in late-August 2009, WSBK also ran a rebroadcast of WBZ-TV's noon newscast at 12:30 p.m.; this was subsequently replaced with '']''. As a result of the station joining MyNetworkTV, WSBK replaced the 9 p.m. newscast with another attempt at a 10 p.m. newscast on September 19, 2011;<ref name=bg-10pmyetagain>{{cite news|last=Diaz|first=Johnny|title=Channel 38 joins 10 p.m. news race|url=http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2011/07/27/channel_38_joins_10_pm_news_race/|accessdate=July 27, 2011|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=July 27, 2011}}</ref> the newscast is now referred to as ''WBZ News at 10''.
⚫ WSBK dropped ''Nightcast'' on January 16, 2005<ref name=nerw-nightcastend>{{cite news|last=Fybush|first=Scott|title=No "Love" for Albany|url=http://www.fybush.com/NERW/2005/050110/nerw.html|accessdate=February 13, 2011|newspaper=NorthEast Radio Watch|date=January 10, 2005}}</ref> and turned its attention to the morning newscast, which was relaunched as ''The Morning Show'' on April 4. On September 12, the program began airing 8 to 9 a.m. to make room for the first two hours of the nationally syndicated morning show, '']''. On June 30, 2006, ''The Morning Show'' aired its last broadcast. ''The Daily Buzz'' was dropped at the same time (it would return to the market in January 2011 on WLVI, and currently airs on ]).


⚫ ===News team===
⚫ When WSBK became an independent station for the second time, WBZ-TV began to produce a weeknight 9:30 newscast called ''TV 38 News at 9:30''. Starting on April 23, 2007, the newscast began airing at 9 p.m. The second run of '']'' switched time slots with the newscast. After this, the news became known as ''TV 38 News at 9''. On August 25, 2008, the newscast became known as ''WBZ News on TV 38'' (on occasion, it is also referred to as ''WBZ News at 9''); it now mirrors the news programs that air on WBZ-TV, as had been the case with ''WBZ News 4 on TV 38'' and ''WBZ 4 News at 7 O'Clock''. On December 12, the newscast began airing in ] after WBZ made the upgrade. For a period starting in late-August 2009, WSBK also re-aired WBZ-TV's noon newscast at 12:30 p.m.; this was subsequently replaced with '']''. As a result of the station joining MyNetworkTV, WSBK replaced the 9 p.m. newscast with another attempt at a 10 p.m. newscast on September 19, 2011;<ref name=bg-10pmyetagain>{{cite news|last=Diaz|first=Johnny|title=Channel 38 joins 10 p.m. news race|url=http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2011/07/27/channel_38_joins_10_pm_news_race/|accessdate=July 27, 2011|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=July 27, 2011}}</ref> the newscast is now referred to as ''WBZ News at 10''.
Jonathan Elias serves anchor of the WBZ-produced newscast on WSBK (weeknights at 10 p.m.). The ''WBZ AccuWeather'' team includes chief meteorologist Todd Gutner (] Seal of Approval; weeknights at 10 p.m.); and meteorologist Joe Joyce (AMS Seal of Approval; member, ]; fill-in meteorologist; also environmental reporter). The ''WBZ SportsHub'' team includes sports director ] (weeknights at 10 and 11 p.m.) and fill-in sports anchor ].<ref name="team"></ref>


The station's general assignment reporters are Jim Armstrong; Karen Anderson; Sera Congi (also fill-in anchor); Paula Ebben; Beth Germano; Christina Hager; Lauren Leamanczyk (New Hampshire bureau reporter); Ken Macleod; Bill Shields and Bree Sison. Specialty reporters are Jon Keller (political editor and "Keller @ Large" feature producer; also on WBZ-AM and contributor for the ''Boston Herald'' and ''Boston Magazine''), Yadires Nova-Salcedo ("Centro" segment producer) and Joe Shortsleeve (chief correspondent and I-Team investigative reporter).<ref name="team"/>
⚫ ===News team===
'''''WBZ News at 10:00'''''<br>''(Weeknights from 10:00-10:30 p.m.)''
*Anchor:
**Jonathan Elias
*Weather:
**Todd Gutner
*Sports:
**]
''WSBK features additional news personnel from WBZ-TV. See ] for a complete listing.''


==References== ==References==
{{reflist}}
<references />
*. *.
*. *.


==External links== ==External links==
* - Official WSBK-TV Website #1 * - Official WSBK-TV website #1
* - Official WSBK-TV Website #2 * - Official WSBK-TV website #2
* - Official CBS Boston Website * - Official CBS Boston website
*{{TVQ|WSBK}} *{{TVQ|WSBK}}
*{{BIA|WSBK|TV|TV}} *{{BIA|WSBK|TV|TV}}

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WSBK-TV, virtual channel 38, is a MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter along the Needham and Wellesley town line southwest of the MA 9 and I-95/MA 128 interchange. The station is owned by the CBS Television Stations subsidiary of the CBS Corporation, as part of a duopoly with CBS owned-and-operated station WBZ-TV. The two stations share studios on Soldiers Field Road in the Brighton section of Boston.

The station is also seen in Canada to subscribers of satellite providers Bell TV and Shaw Direct as well as subscribers of cable providers such as Cogeco Cable, Shaw Cable, Rogers Cable, Vidéotron, Telus TV and Persona. WSBK is available via direct broadcast satellite throughout the United States on Dish Network as part of its superstation package.

History

Origins

The first construction permit for channel 38 in Boston was granted in October 1955 to Ajax Enterprises, headed by Herbert Mayer, a former New York City attorney who had founded Empire Coil, a New Rochelle, New York manufacturer of RF coils for television stations and receivers. Mayer went on to own stations in Portland, Oregon (KPTV, the country's first licensed UHF station) and Cleveland (WXEL). He sold the cable manufacturer and both television stations to Storer Broadcasting in 1954. Channel 38 was originally slated to have the WHMB call sign; however, after Storer changed the call letters of the Cleveland property to WJW-TV in April 1956, Mayer quickly reclaimed the WXEL call letters for the Boston station. WXEL's proposed transmitter in Melrose was never built, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) revoked the construction permit and deleted the call letters in November 1960.

The current station began broadcasting on October 12, 1964. It was first licensed to the Boston Catholic Television Center and had the call letters WIHS-TV. The station employed a general entertainment format along with the daily and Sunday Mass. As WIHS, the station initially programmed a "hybrid" schedule – educational (for the Catholic schools in the Boston area) and religious programs during the morning, then syndicated programs and movies (and by 1966, some shows passed by the network affiliates in Boston) in the afternoon and evening. The station also carried two local newscasts each weekday, at 5:45 and 10 p.m. In both cases, they consisted of fifteen minutes of an announcer reading news into a camera.

The station also made an initial splash into sports, carrying ten away games of the Boston Celtics and all of the team's playoff road games not carried on network television during the 1964-65 season. However, team management was worried about the lack of penetration of the UHF band, leading to playoff away games being simulcast on WHDH-TV (channel 5) in 1965 (that station had previously aired select Celtics telecasts, including playoff away games starting in 1962); the following season, the team moved back to WHDH entirely. Some college sports (mostly hockey and basketball games) were carried during the WIHS era, which carried over during the early Storer Broadcasting years.

WSBK-TV

The station was purchased by Storer Broadcasting in 1966. A few months after the purchase, the station's call letters were changed to the present WSBK-TV, named after the company's ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange, SBK. Storer scored its biggest coup in 1967, when it secured broadcast rights to the Boston Bruins from WKBG-TV (channel 56), and eventually owned the team for a three-year period between 1972 and 1975. During the next few years, as the Bruins became a contender for the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup championship, the popularity of these games led to a spike in UHF antenna purchases, and helped make channel 38 one of the leading independent stations in the country. For much of the time between 1970 and 1984, WSBK would televise between 70 and 72 of the Bruins' 80 regular season games, as well as all playoff games not shown on network television.

In 1975, WSBK acquired television rights to the Boston Red Sox, and got even luckier; the Red Sox won the American League pennant during the team's first year on WSBK. The team stayed on WSBK through 1995, and returned for another three-year period from 2003 to 2005. WSBK had broadcast between 90 and 110 Red Sox games a year between 1975 and 1983; about 75 games a year from 1984 until 1995; and a limited number of games (usually 28 to 30 a year) between 2003 and 2005. Although WSBK carried road playoff games of the Boston Celtics in 1969 (the team having abandoned WKBG at the end of the regular season after seeing the number of regular-season games broadcast by WKBG during the 1968-69 season shrink compared to the previous year), the station would not carry Celtics' games on a regular basis until 1993. During that time, WSBK broadcast road games of the Celtics; it continued to do so through 1998.

In addition to an increasingly-stronger lineup of syndicated programs and movies, WSBK continued to run some network programs that were preempted by the local NBC (WBZ-TV), ABC (first WNAC-TV, then WCVB-TV), and CBS (first WHDH-TV, then WNAC-TV/WNEV-TV) affiliates until 1981.

Becoming a superstation

WSBK's popularity was such that by the mid-1970s, it was available on nearly every cable provider in New England and as far west as Buffalo, New York. In the late 1980s, WSBK became a national superstation when it entered into an agreement with Eastern Microwave to distribute its signal outside of New England. Eastern Microwave also distributed the signal of superstation WOR-TV in New York City. WSBK's main selling point was its coverage of the Red Sox, similar to how WOR-TV, WGN-TV in Chicago, and WTBS in Atlanta used their coverage of the New York Mets, Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves, respectively. WSBK's carriage did not reach the same levels as the other stations, but covered large portions of New York, New Jersey and a handful of cable providers in Florida (which produced the unusual circumstance of Red Sox games being regularly broadcast into part of the New York Yankees' main market, like WPIX in the Boston area which carried the Yankees).

WSBK's coverage of the Boston Bruins also made it a favorite superstation on Canadian cable providers, along with WOR (at the time, WOR was televising away games of all three New York-area NHL teams, the New York Islanders, the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils).

When the FCC's syndication exclusivity rules (or "Syndex") were strengthened in the early 1990s, distribution of all out-of-market station signals were hampered. The rule protected stations in local markets from out-of-market competition by superstations airing identical syndicated programming. Any station could file with cable providers for "protection" and the provider would have to black out the offending station for periods of time. The management of this "blocking" would prove so cumbersome that many cable providers began dropping distant signals such as WSBK and effectively stopped most superstation distribution. Distributors such as Eastern Microwave attempted to make it easier for cable providers by substituting shows that could not be blocked, but the damage had already been done by then.

Besides its status as a sports powerhouse, WSBK made a name for itself when it created The Movie Loft, one of the first "hosted movie" franchises on television long before it became a staple on cable. The Movie Loft aired syndicated movies with interstitial program elements hosted by Dana Hersey. Part of the program's marketing was that it aired only "unedited" movies. The Movie Loft tested that on several occasions airing movies such as The Deer Hunter, The Boys in the Band and 48 Hrs. without editing for inappropriate content or length.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts bought WSBK and most of Storer's other stations in 1985. At this time, ownership was officially under the KKR subsidiary of New Boston Television, although Storer was still referenced on-air as being the parent company of WSBK. KKR later sold most of its stations to Gillett Communications. When Gillett defaulted on some of the financing agreements in the early 1990s, the ownership was restructured and the company was renamed SCI Television. Eventually, SCI ran into fiscal issues, and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1993. As a result, WSBK was sold in a group deal to New World Communications that year.

Sale to Paramount/affiliation with UPN

In 1994, New World made a landmark deal with Fox to switch most of its CBS-, ABC- and NBC-affiliated stations to Fox. WSBK remained an independent station and was eventually put up for sale again to protect existing affiliate WFXT, which Fox would acquire soon afterward. Channel 38 was then sold to the Paramount Stations Group (which would become a subsidiary of Viacom that same year) and became a charter affiliate on UPN on January 16, 1995; that June, the longtime "TV 38" branding was retired and changed to "UPN 38". In 1996, Viacom acquired a 50% ownership stake in UPN, which effectively made WSBK-TV a UPN owned-and-operated station.

Originally, the station continued to essentially program under the conventions of an independent station as UPN would not run five nights a week of programming until 1998. The Movie Loft was discontinued as a result of host Dana Hersey's retirement, as well as declining ratings for the program as the movie packages that the station acquired were of a lesser quality than in previous years. WSBK later revived the genre with The UPN 38 Movie House, hosted by actor and comedian Brian Frates; in the early 2000s, it also attempted a revival of The Movie Loft hosted by Skip Kelly. The station also began to decrease its telecasts of local professional sports events. For some time after affiliating with UPN, WSBK continued to air primarily cartoons and classic sitcoms. By 1997, however, the station began mixing in more talk and reality shows, with older shows being gradually phased out. WSBK eliminated afternoon cartoons by 2000, and morning cartoons disappeared in 2003, when UPN discontinued the Disney's Animation Weekdays block. By 2002, the station was running a blend of talk shows, court shows, and reality shows from 9 a.m. through the late afternoon, with recent off-network sitcoms continuing in the evenings.

In 2001, after Viacom merged with the previous CBS Corporation – which created a duopoly with WBZ-TV, WSBK integrated its operations into WBZ's facility in Brighton. The former WSBK studio facility is now occupied by some of corporate sibling CBS Radio's Boston radio stations. Under CBS, WSBK began sharing some first-run syndicated programs with WBZ-TV.

Return to independent status

Variations of this logo were used while WSBK was an independent station from 2006 to 2011.

On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and the Warner Bros. Entertainment unit of Time Warner announced that UPN and The WB Television Network would cease operations that September and be replaced by a new network that would feature a mix of programming from both networks and newer series called The CW Television Network, which was named after its corporate parents. Even though WSBK is owned by The CW's part-owner CBS, then-WB affiliate WLVI – owned at the time by Tribune Broadcasting – was announced as The CW's Boston outlet through an affiliation agreement that signed 16 of Tribune's 19 WB affiliates as charter affiliates. This was due to the fact that the network's representatives had been on record as preferring the "strongest" stations among The WB and UPN's affiliates, and Boston was one of the few markets where the WB and UPN affiliates both had relatively strong viewership.

On February 22, 2006, News Corporation announced that it would launch another new broadcast television network to be operated by its Fox Television Stations and Twentieth Television divisions called MyNetworkTV. WSBK was considered the favorite to become the network's Boston affiliate, but CBS Television Stations announced that May, that channel 38, along with WBFS-TV in Miami, would revert to being independent stations. Although WBFS ultimately signed with the service, the MyNetworkTV affiliation in the Boston market eventually went to Derry, New Hampshire-based independent station WZMY-TV (now WBIN-TV).

WSBK-TV officially reverted to the "TV 38" branding on September 6, 2006, and also revived its former Entertaining Boston slogan; the station continued to carry UPN programming until the network's shut down on September 15, 2006. The station adopted a new ad campaign entitled Hello in September 2009, where the majority of station promotion is centered around the word "hello"; this new campaign also brought forth a mascot called the TV 38 Blockhead.

Switch to MyNetworkTV

On June 15, 2011, WBIN-TV announced that it would disaffiliate from MyNetworkTV that fall to become an independent station. CBSTVS subsequently entered into an affiliation agreement with the programming service one week later on June 20 to move its Boston area affiliation to WSBK starting that September. WSBK affiliated with MyNetworkTV on September 19, 2011, joining Miami sister station WBFS-TV) as one of two CBS-owned stations to maintain an affiliation with the service. The station's branding was amended to "myTV38", in accordance to the new affiliation.

Digital television

Digital channel

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming
38.1 720p 16:9 Main WSBK-TV programming / MyNetworkTV

Analog-to-digital conversion

After the analog television shutdown and digital conversion that took place on June 12, 2009, WSBK's digital signal continued to broadcast on its pre-transition UHF channel 39. However, through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display WSBK's virtual channel as 38.

Programming

Syndicated programming on WSBK includes Frasier, The King of Queens, That '70s Show and Judge Joe Brown. Presently, WSBK generally broadcasts first-run talk, court and reality shows as well as some off-network syndicated programs and very few movies. However, in the past, the station ran a large amount of movies, classic shows and sports.

WSBK will occasionally take on the responsibility of airing CBS network programming whenever WBZ-TV runs extended breaking news coverage or special programming. Examples of this practice include during the Boston Marathon, and more recently in 2009, during New England Patriots pre-season games as well as the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy and his sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver.

Sports

In terms of sports, WSBK was the longtime television home of the Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins. WSBK became the Red Sox's over-air flagship station in 1975 and remained so for 20 years, until it lost the broadcast rights to WABU (now WBPX-TV) in 1996. After a seven-season hiatus, WSBK (in partnership with sister station WBZ-TV) resumed its role as the Red Sox flagship station, replacing WFXT, in 2003, though only for Friday night games. Most games were carried by the New England Sports Network (NESN), which aired the Friday night games outside of the Boston television market, effectively blacking out WSBK in these areas (the Red Sox hold an 80% ownership interest in NESN). Among the nationally prominent announcers that have performed play-by-play duties for the station's Red Sox games include Dick Stockton and Sean McDonough. WBZ stopped broadcasting the games after the 2004 season, and WSBK would cease airing games itself following the 2005 season, rendering the team's game telecasts cable-exclusive.

In addition to the Red Sox, WSBK was also the over-air flagship of the Boston Bruins for over thirty years. It was considered important enough to the station's broadcasting, especially in the 1970s when the Bruins were one of the perennially elite teams in the National Hockey League and enormously popular in Boston, that then-station owners Storer Broadcasting purchased and owned the Bruins for several years. The announcers for most of the Bruins games were hall-of-famer Fred Cusick (on play-by-play) and Johnny Peirson (on color commentary), who was later succeeded by Dave Shea and former Bruin Derek Sanderson; Dale Arnold called the play-by-play in later years. As with the Red Sox, Bruins coverage gradually moved to NESN. Nearly all home games were broadcast on NESN starting in 1984, and coverage left WSBK entirely in 2002.

In addition, WSBK became the over-air home of the Boston Celtics in 1993, replacing WFXT (which the team had owned at that time). It the broadcast rights in 1998 to WABU. Currently, all Celtics games not on national television are now broadcast on Comcast SportsNet New England. Since 2005, WSBK has carried Atlantic Coast Conference college football and basketball games produced and syndicated by Raycom Sports, as Boston College's move to the conference has created regional interest for the ACC.

In 2007, Major League Soccer announced that WSBK would become the exclusive carrier of the New England Revolution, replacing WLVI and Comcast SportsNet New England (then known as FSN New England). After three seasons, the Revolution moved their non-nationally televised games to Comcast SportsNet New England in 2010; it was the last Boston area professional sports team to have locally-produced over-the-air telecasts of regular-season games.

In December 2007, WSBK produced the first ever over-the-air television broadcasts of the Eastern Massachusetts High-School Football Super Bowl games, broadcasting three of the seven divisional championship contests (the other four aired on Comcast SportsNet New England). This arrangement continues to this day; since 2009, the audio of all seven games has been simulcast on sister station WBZ-FM (98.5 FM). The station previously aired sports replay programs called Red Sox This Week and Patriots This Week during their respective seasons; the latter program has since moved to Comcast SportsNet New England. The station broadcasts the "Fifth Quarter" postgame shows after 4:15 p.m. ET Patriots' games (since WBZ is tied up with 60 Minutes).

Cartoons, classic sitcoms and movies

WSBK was also known for running cartoons and classic sitcoms during the late 1960s through (to a lesser extent) the 1990s. Some of the shows run on the station in the 1970s included Bugs Bunny/Porky Pig post 1948/pre 1941, made-for-TV Popeye cartoons, Underdog, Bullwinkle, The Three Stooges, My Three Sons, Sgt. Bilko, The Honeymooners, The Andy Griffith Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bewitched, I Dream Of Jeannie, Hogan's Heroes, The Odd Couple, Ironside, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and The Twilight Zone, among others. The station also ran several movies a day (one during the day, prime time, and late night). WSBK began 24 hour operation in the late '70s, only to revert to a late night signoffs by the early '80s. During the 1970s through the mid-1980s, WSBK's cartoon programs were hosted by Willie Whistle, a clown who used a bird-whistle in his mouth to create a distinctive voice he was recognized for.

By the 1980s, some shows like Bewitched and Jeannie moved to WLVI-TV; the station did pick up shows like M*A*S*H, Barney Miller, The Beverly Hillbillies, Alice, The Jeffersons, Maude, One Day At A Time, Hart To Hart, Quincy, M.E., Trapper John M.D., Cheers (itself set in Boston and now owned by CBS), Family Ties, Small Wonder, Punky Brewster, Scooby Doo, He-Man, Superfriends, Ghostbusters, Ducktales, and others. The Honeymooners moved to WQTV, but when that station fell on hard times and lost much of its programming, it returned to the station. In the mid-1980s, WSBK dropped the midday movie to make room for more sitcoms. For a few years WSBK signed off at 1 or 2 a.m. but was at 24/7 operation by the end of the decade.

In the 1990s, The Disney Afternoon, ALF, The Hogan Family, Murphy Brown, Frasier, Seinfeld, Saved by the Bell, California Dreams, The Wacky World of Tex Avery, Garfield and Friends, The Mask, Mummies Alive!, Extreme Ghostbusters, Pocket Dragon Adventures, Pokemon, and other shows landed on the station. While the UPN affiliation did not result in immediate changes to the rest of its lineup outside of primetime, WSBK gradually added more talk and reality shows in the late 1990s. By 2000, WSBK was down to only a morning cartoon block, a heavy amount of talk and reality shows during the midday and afternoon hours, and more recent sitcoms in the evening along with UPN shows. The station stopped carrying cartoons in 2003, around the same time that UPN discontinued its children's program block. Movies were also cut back, and are now generally shown only on weekends. One tradition that remained on WSBK was the Sunday morning run of The Three Stooges.

The station has played host to no fewer than three locally-produced nighttime movie programs: The Movie Loft (hosted by Dana Hersey), The UPN 38 Movie House (hosted by Brian Frates), and Movie Night (co-hosted by Dan Andelman and Dave Andelman).

Game shows

WSBK broadcast reruns of the original Password in prime-time during 1969, and in the late 1970s, carried The Joker's Wild and Liar's Club back-to-back in prime-time.

From 2001 until 2009, WSBK was the Boston home for the game shows Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! as well as the daytime version of Deal Or No Deal during the 2007-2008 TV season – unusual for a UPN or independent station (Wheel and Jeopardy! had previously run on WHDH-TV). The shows then moved to WBZ-TV, swapping with The Insider and Entertainment Tonight, with management citing their older-skewing demographics as more closely fitting WBZ, and the younger audiences for the entertainment news programs more closely fitting WSBK.

Other programming

One of WSBK's most remembered past programs was the informative series Ask the Manager, created by its general manager William J. Flynn in the mid-1970s. Each week Flynn, and later his successors Joseph C. Dimino, Daniel J. Berkery, and Stuart Tauber would answer viewer questions on the air. The letters were read each week for many years by the station's announcer and host Dana Hersey. Other letter-readers included Sean McDonough and Carla Nolan. Meg LaVigne and Leslie Savage occasionally substituted in the manager's chair. The producer of Ask the Manager was Cliff Allen, who was often referred to when off-camera, but who did substitute as letter reader on many occasions. Allen died just weeks before Ask the Manager broadcast its final show in January 1999; the series finale was dedicated to his memory. Though poorly rated by the Nielsen ratings, the show became a cult favorite. There were other attempts at local programming through the years with shows such as We Don't Knock, A.M. Boston, and Hersey's Hollywood.

From May 2001 to August 2004, WSBK had rights to Lottery Live, the weeknight broadcasts of the Massachusetts State Lottery games. After the station moved into WBZ's studios, WSBK continued to broadcast the drawings. This was because WBZ had the games to itself for the last 3 years prior to that move. When the contract for WSBK expired, the games moved to WCVB-TV.

After the station reverted to independent status in September 2006, WSBK's primetime lineup was converted to a second run of Dr. Phil at 8 p.m., a second-run of Jeopardy! at 9 p.m., and a new local newscast at 9:30 p.m. Dr. Phil was replaced by Law and Order: Special Victims Unit in 2009 and by The Insider and Entertainment Tonight in 2010, while the second-run of Jeopardy!, which swapped places with the newscast in 2007, has since been replaced by various other programs. It also continues to air CBS programs whenever WBZ-TV preempts for local programming (such as Boston Marathon coverage).

WSBK broadcasts Phantom Gourmet on weekends depending on the station's programming commitments (such as ACC college football); a half-hour version of the show has also aired at noon on weekdays since 2009. In 2007, WSBK revived Community Auditions, the local talent competition program that had run on WBZ-TV from 1965 to 1986. With series creator and former host Dave Maynard as a consultant (until his death in February 2012), the new Community Auditions is hosted by Jam'n 94.5's Ramiro, with former WBZ entertainment reporter Joyce Kulhawik, Magic 106.7's Candy O'Terry and WODS-FM's J.J. Wright as judges. Originally aired Fridays at 9:30 p.m. during its first four years, WSBK at first moved the program to Saturdays at midmight for a few months in the fall of 2011, before airing it Sundays at 12 p.m. beginning in February 2012. Community Auditions is also syndicated to WWLP in Springfield and WPXT-TV in Portland, Maine, and is rebroadcast on WBZ-TV on Saturdays at midnight and Sundays at 1:00 a.m.

Newscasts

As WIHS-TV, the station had a small news operation, featuring former WBZ-TV anchor Victor Best. After becoming WSBK-TV, the station considered producing a local, in-house 10 p.m. newscast in the 1970s. However, after determining that the broadcast would get very low ratings and lose money, Storer concluded that there was no market for a local 10 p.m. newscast in Boston.

In 1980, WSBK did begin running a nationally-syndicated newscast for independent stations, Independent Network News, which was produced by New York City's WPIX and distributed by its owner Tribune Broadcasting. INN did not do well in Boston; part of the reason for the low ratings was that the newscast sometimes aired late due to Red Sox or Bruins games, putting it in direct competition with the 11 p.m. newscasts on WBZ-TV, WCVB-TV, and WNAC-TV/WNEV-TV. After 1984, it also faced competition from a local 10 p.m. newscast on WLVI-TV. In January 1986, the weeknight INN broadcasts moved to WLVI, airing after that station's 10 p.m. news; there, it only lasted one more year in the Boston market.

WSBK finally launched a local 10 p.m. newscast on October 25, 1993, by way of the WBZ-produced WBZ News 4 on TV 38, competing against both WLVI and a New England Cable News (NECN)-produced program on WFXT; this program was cancelled on August 6, 1995, soon after the sale of WSBK to Paramount, as it was felt that the WBZ News 4 branding was incompatible with the then-new "UPN 38" branding. Rumors soon spread that NECN would move its 10 p.m. newscast from WFXT to WSBK; on October 2, 1995, the day after NECN's contract with WFXT expired, the regional news channel began producing UPN 38 Prime News. Lila Orbach was the original sole anchor, reprising her role on the WFXT newscast; eventually, Margie Reedy and R.D. Sahl (who were formerly paired as anchors during their tenures at WHDH-TV) took over for the remainder of its run. This newscast generally trailed both WLVI's program and, starting in 1996, an in-house newscast on WFXT; on October 4, 1998, WSBK discontinued UPN 38 Prime News in order to refocus the station on sports and entertainment, though NECN continued to produce news updates within Bruins telecasts during the 1998-1999 season. The station replaced the 10 p.m. newscast with a two-hour late-evening comedy lineup (including Cheers and Mad About You), promoted in the fall of 1998 as Laughter Dark.

After Viacom merged with CBS, putting WSBK and WBZ-TV under the same ownership, WBZ once again began to produce the station's news programming starting in 2001. On September 3, WSBK debuted a 7 p.m. newscast; initially called THE 7 O'Clock News on UPN 38 (always emphasizing "the"), it was later rebranded as WBZ 4 News at 7 O'Clock. This newscast left the air on March 29, 2002 in favor of a return to a 10 p.m. newscast, this time as Nightcast at 10 on UPN 38, which launched on April 1. On September 16, 2002, an hour-long extension of WBZ-TV's weekday morning newscast was added at 7 a.m., known as The Morning News on UPN 38.

WSBK dropped Nightcast on January 16, 2005 and turned its attention to the morning newscast, which was relaunched as The Morning Show on April 4. On September 12, the program began airing 8 to 9 a.m. to make room for the first two hours of the nationally syndicated morning show, The Daily Buzz. The Morning Show aired its last broadcast on June 30, 2006, The Daily Buzz was dropped at the same time (it would return to the market in January 2011 on WLVI, and currently airs on WBIN-TV).

When WSBK became an independent station for the second time, WBZ-TV began to produce a weeknight 9:30 p.m. newscast called TV 38 News at 9:30; the newscast was then moved up a half-hour to 9 p.m. on April 23, 2007, switching time slots with a second run of Jeopardy!. After this, the newscast was retitled as TV 38 News at 9. On August 25, 2008, the newscast became known as WBZ News on TV 38 (on occasion, it is also referred to as WBZ News at 9); it now mirrors the news programs that air on WBZ-TV, as had been the case with 10 p.m. broadcast that WBZ produced in the mid-1990s and the former 7 p.m. newscast. On December 12, 2008, the newscast began to be broadcast in high definition after WBZ upgraded its newscasts to the format. For a period starting in late-August 2009, WSBK also ran a rebroadcast of WBZ-TV's noon newscast at 12:30 p.m.; this was subsequently replaced with Judge Judy. As a result of the station joining MyNetworkTV, WSBK replaced the 9 p.m. newscast with another attempt at a 10 p.m. newscast on September 19, 2011; the newscast is now referred to as WBZ News at 10.

News team

Jonathan Elias serves anchor of the WBZ-produced newscast on WSBK (weeknights at 10 p.m.). The WBZ AccuWeather team includes chief meteorologist Todd Gutner (AMS Seal of Approval; weeknights at 10 p.m.); and meteorologist Joe Joyce (AMS Seal of Approval; member, NWA; fill-in meteorologist; also environmental reporter). The WBZ SportsHub team includes sports director Steve Burton (weeknights at 10 and 11 p.m.) and fill-in sports anchor Levan Reid.

The station's general assignment reporters are Jim Armstrong; Karen Anderson; Sera Congi (also fill-in anchor); Paula Ebben; Beth Germano; Christina Hager; Lauren Leamanczyk (New Hampshire bureau reporter); Ken Macleod; Bill Shields and Bree Sison. Specialty reporters are Jon Keller (political editor and "Keller @ Large" feature producer; also on WBZ-AM and contributor for the Boston Herald and Boston Magazine), Yadires Nova-Salcedo ("Centro" segment producer) and Joe Shortsleeve (chief correspondent and I-Team investigative reporter).

References

  1. http://www.dishnetwork.com/faq/channels/
  2. Fybush, Scott D (June 29, 1995). "New England Radio Watcher: WPLM goes smooth". rec.radio.broadcasting. Google Groups. Retrieved February 13, 2011.
  3. 'Gilmore Girls' meet 'Smackdown'; CW Network to combine WB, UPN in CBS-Warner venture beginning in September, CNNMoney.com, January 24, 2006.
  4. UPN and WB to Combine, Forming New TV Network, The New York Times, January 24, 2006.
  5. News Corp. Unveils MyNetworkTV, Broadcasting & Cable, February 22, 2006.
  6. ^ "3 Orphans To Go Independent". Broadcasting & Cable. May 6, 2006. Retrieved February 13, 2011.
  7. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgdCFpCO48g
  8. http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/469784-Boston_Area_MyNet_WBIN_Going_Independent.php
  9. http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/470021-WSBK_Boston_Partners_With_MyNet.php
  10. List of Digital Full-Power Stations
  11. CDBS Print
  12. Fybush, Scott (April 3, 1996). "New England RadioWatch". Retrieved February 13, 2011.
  13. Fybush, Scott (August 19, 2002). "WLAN Makes Sports Flip, WBBF becomes WROC". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 13, 2011.
  14. Fybush, Scott (July 15, 2002). "Clear Channel Faces Hearings on Augusta Purchase". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 13, 2011.
  15. Neff, Andrew (November 5, 1993). "Channel 38 to televise Celts' home games". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved February 13, 2011.
  16. Fybush, Scott (August 20, 1998). "Non-Compete -- The Battle Continues". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 13, 2011.
  17. "CSN New England to televise Revs games". NECN.com. March 15, 2010. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
  18. Trigoboff, Dan (May 6, 2001). "Station Break". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved November 15, 2009.
  19. Albiniak, Paige (October 5, 2009). "CBS' Boston Duop Swaps Shows". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
  20. Fybush, Scott (April 30, 1998). "Carl DeSuze Dies..." North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 13, 2011.
  21. Bickelhaupt, Susan (October 27, 1993). "Good ratings for WSBK news debut". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 13, 2011. (subscription content preview)
  22. ^ Fybush, Scott D. "New England Radio Watcher: All Over The Place". rec.radio.broadcasting. Google Groups. Retrieved February 13, 2011.
  23. Fybush, Scott (October 1, 1998). "WNNZ Sold to Clear Channel". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 13, 2011.
  24. ^ Greppi, Michelle (September 2002). "Duopoly kin compete for morning wins". TelevisionWeek. Retrieved February 13, 2011.
  25. "Nightcast At 10 On UPN38". www.upn38.com. Archived from the original on June 3, 2002. Retrieved February 13, 2011.
  26. Fybush, Scott (January 10, 2005). "No "Love" for Albany". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved February 13, 2011.
  27. Diaz, Johnny (July 27, 2011). "Channel 38 joins 10 p.m. news race". The Boston Globe. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
  28. ^ WBZ-TV

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