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station_logo = [[Image:6logo.jpg|150px]]|
station_logo = [[Image:6logo.jpg|150px]]|
station_slogan = The Delaware Valley's Number 1 News Station|
station_slogan = The Delaware Valley's Number 1 News Station|
station_branding = ''6ABC/Channel 6 Action News''|
station_branding = ''6 ABC<br>Channel 6 Action News''|
analog = 6 ([[Very high frequency|VHF]])|
analog = 6 ([[Very high frequency|VHF]])|
digital = 64 ([[Ultra high frequency|UHF]])|
digital = 64 ([[Ultra high frequency|UHF]])|
Line 9: Line 9:
founded = [[September 13]], [[1947]] |
founded = [[September 13]], [[1947]] |
location = [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]]|
location = [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]]|
callsign_meaning ='''W''' '''P'''hiladelphia '''VI''' (6 in [[roman numerals]])|
callsign_meaning ='''W''' '''P'''hiladelphia '''VI''' (six in [[roman numerals]])|
former_callsigns = WFIL-TV (1948-71)|
former_callsigns = WFIL-TV (1948-1971)|
owner = [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]]/[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]| (WPVI Inc.)
owner = [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]]/[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]|
former_affiliations = [[CBS]] (1947-48), [[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]] (1947-55)|
former_affiliations = [[CBS]] (1947-1948)<br>[[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]] (secondary, 1947-1956)|
effective_radiated_power = 74.1 [[Kilowatt|kW]]/332 [[metre|m]] (analog)<br> 500 kW/390 m (digital)|
effective_radiated_power = 74.1 [[Kilowatt|kW]]/332 [[metre|m]] (analog)<br> 500 kW/390 m (digital)|
homepage = [http://www.6abc.com/ www.6abc.com]|
homepage = [http://www.6abc.com/ www.6abc.com]|
}}
}}


'''WPVI-TV''' '''''"6ABC"''''' is the owned-and-operated [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] television station in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], owned by ABC's parent [[The Walt Disney Company]] with its transmitter in the [[Roxborough]] neighborhood (shared with [[KYW-TV]]). Its signal covers the [[Delaware Valley]] area including large portions of [[Pennsylvania]], [[New Jersey]] and [[Delaware]].
'''WPVI-TV''', channel 6, is an owned-and-operated station of the [[Walt Disney Company]]-owned [[American Broadcasting Company]], based in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]]. WPVI has its studios located on the border between Philadelphia and [[Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania|Bala Cynwyd]], and its transmitter is located in the [[Roxborough]] neighborhood. WPVI's signal covers the [[Delaware Valley]] area, comprised of large portions of [[Pennsylvania]], [[New Jersey]] and [[Delaware]].



==History==
==History==
===As WFIL-TV===
===As WFIL-TV===
The station, Philadelphia's second-oldest station (to KYW-TV), signed on the air on [[September 13]], [[1947]] as '''WFIL-TV.''' It was owned by the Annenberg family's [[Triangle Publications]], owners of ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]'' with WFIL radio ([[WFIL|AM 560]] and FM 102.1, now [[WIOQ]]). Triangle had bought the radio stations only two years before and had ambitious plans for the station. A sign of this was when Triangle built the nation's first studio solely dedicated to television broadcasting, on 46th and Market streets. The WFIL stations originally broadcast from the Widener Building in downtown Philadelphia. Triangle later built one of the most advanced broadcast centers in the nation on City Line Avenue, a circular building across from rival [[WCAU-TV]], in 1964. The station still broadcasts from there today, while the original studio was turned over to [[WHYY-TV]].
Philadelphia's second-oldest television station signed on the air on [[September 13]], [[1947]] as '''WFIL-TV'''. It was owned originally by Triangle Publications, publishers of the ''[[Philadelphia Inquirer]]'' and operators of [[WFIL|WFIL-AM]] (560 kHz.) and WFIL-FM (102.1 MHz., now [[WIOQ]]). Triangle had bought the radio stations only two years before and had ambitious plans for the station. A sign of this was when Triangle built the nation's first studio solely dedicated to television broadcasting, on 46th and Market streets.

⚫
WFIL radio had been an ABC affiliate dating to its days as the [[NBC]] Blue Network. However, WFIL-TV started out as a [[CBS]] station with a secondary [[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]] affiliation, as ABC hadn't gotten into television yet. When [[WCAU-TV]] (channel 10) signed on in [[1948]], it took the CBS affiliation as [[WPHT|WCAU radio]] had long been the CBS affiliate in Philadelphia. ABC had launched its television network only a few months before and WFIL-TV became the fledgling network's first affiliate. Ironically, ABC affiliated with channel six before its flagship station, WJZ-TV (now [[WABC-TV]]) in [[New York City]] signed on in August. It retained a secondary DuMont affiliation until that network's demise in 1956.

The WFIL stations were the flagship of the growing communications empire of [[Walter Annenberg]]'s Triangle Publications, which owned both Philadelphia newspapers (the morning ''Inquirer'' and the evening ''[[Philadelphia Daily News]]''), periodicals including ''[[TV Guide]]'', ''[[Seventeen]]'', and the ''[[Daily Racing Form]]'', and a broadcasting group which would grow to 16 radio and six television stations.


The WFIL stations originally broadcast from the Widener Building in downtown Philadelphia, located at Market and 46th streets. Triangle later built one of the most advanced broadcast centers in the nation on City (or City Line) Avenue, a circular building across from rival WCAU-TV, in [[1964]]. The station still broadcasts from there today, while the original studio was turned over to public broadcaster [[WHYY-FM]] and [[WHYY-TV|Television]].
⚫
Channel 6 was the first station to sign on from the Roxborough neighborhood. It originally used a 600-foot tower, but in 1957 it moved to a new 1100-foot tower co-owned by WRCV-TV (now KYW). The new tower added much of Delaware and the [[Lehigh Valley]] to the station's city-grade coverage.


⚫
Channel six has a rich history of producing local shows. Perhaps its most notable local production was ''[[American Bandstand]]'', which began in [[1952]] from WFIL-TV's original 46th and Market studio before the ABC network picked it up [[1957|five years later]]. As ABC's first affiliate, it also originated several network shows.
⚫
WFIL-AM-FM had been an ABC affiliate dating to its days as the [[NBC]] Blue Network. However, WFIL-TV started out as a [[CBS]] station with a secondary [[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]] affiliation, as ABC hadn't gotten into television yet. When [[WCAU-TV]] signed on in 1948, it naturally took the CBS affiliation as WCAU radio had long been the CBS affiliate in Philadelphia. ABC had launched its television network only a few months before and WFIL became the fledgling network's first affiliate. Ironically, ABC affiliated with WFIL before its flagship station, WJZ-TV in [[New York City]] (now [[WABC-TV]]) signed on in August. It retained a secondary DuMont affiliation until that network's demise in 1955.


⚫
Channel 6 was the first station to sign on from the Roxborough neighborhood. It originally used a 600-foot tower, but in [[1957]] it moved to a new 1100-foot tower which it co-owned with [[NBC]]-owned WRCV-TV (channel 3, now [[KYW-TV]]). The new tower added much of Delaware and the [[Lehigh Valley]] to the station's city-grade coverage.
The WFIL stations were the flagship of the growing communications empire of [[Walter Annenberg]]'s Triangle Publications, which owned the Inquirer, [[Philadelphia Daily News]], [[TV Guide]] (which it started as a national publication in 1953), [[Seventeen Magazine]], The Morning Telegraph, The Armstrong Daily, [[Daily Racing Form]], ITA Electronics, McMurray Printers in Florida, McMurray Publishing in [[Canada]] which published the Canadian version of [[TV Guide]] for Triangle, and 16 radio and television stations. Triangle began to divest of its properties in 1969 when The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Philadelphia Daily News were sold to Knight Newspapers (later [[Knight-Ridder]]).


===As WPVI-TV===
===As WPVI-TV===
[[Image:Matt O'Donnell and Tamala Edwards WPVI 2006.jpg|thumb|left|Matt O'Donnell and Tamala Edwards on WPVI in 2006.]]
[[Image:Matt O'Donnell and Tamala Edwards WPVI 2006.jpg|thumb|left|Matt O'Donnell and Tamala Edwards on WPVI in 2006.]]
Because of its ownership of newspapers and broadcast licenses based in the same area, Triangle began to feel pressure from the [[Federal Communications Commission]] to divest of its properties in order to comply with its newly-enacted [[concentration of media ownership|"one-to-a-market" rule]]. In [[1969]] Triangle sold the ''Philadelphia Inquirer'' and the ''Philadelphia Daily News'' to Knight (later [[Knight-Ridder]]) Newspapers.
⚫
Capital Cities Broadcasting (later [[Capital Cities Communications]]) bought a portion of Triangle's broadcasting operations in 1971. Those stations included WFIL AM-FM-TV as well as WNHC- [[WYBC|AM]]-[[WPLR|FM]]-[[WTNH|TV]] in [[New Haven, Connecticut]], and KFRE-AM-FM-[[KFSN-TV|TV]] in [[Fresno, California]]. As a condition of the sale, Capital Cities had to spin-off the radio stations to various other entities (i.e., WFIL-AM to LIN Broadcasting and WFIL-FM to Richer Communications, which changed the call letters). WFIL-TV changed its calls to WPVI.


⚫
[[1971|Two years later]], Triangle began to break up its broadcasting group. The WFIL stations, along with outlets in [[New Haven, Connecticut]] and [[Fresno, California]], were sold to [[Capital Cities Communications]]. As a condition of the sale, Capital Cities had to spin-off the radio stations to various other entities (i.e., WFIL-AM to [[LIN TV|LIN Broadcasting]] and WFIL-FM to Richer Communications, which changed the call letters), and channel six changed its call letters to the current '''WPVI-TV'''.
⚫
In 1986, ABC and Capital Cities merged, a move that stunned the broadcast industry since ABC was some ten times larger than CapCities at the time. Some have said that CapCities was only able to pull off the deal because of the profits from WPVI, which by this time was one of the most profitable stations in the world. However, the merged company almost had to sell off WPVI-TV due to a significant grade B signal overlap with WABC-TV. In the [[FCC]]'s view, the merger gave the new company a [[duopoly]] forbidden by the regulations of the time. Capital Cities/ABC sought a waiver to keep WPVI, citing CBS' longtime ownership of [[WCBS-TV]] in New York and WCAU-TV in Philadelphia. The FCC granted the waiver, making WPVI an ABC owned and operated station. Distinctively, under that transition, WPVI is one of two Capital Cities-owned stations already affiliated with ABC ([[KTRK-TV]] in Houston is the other). A decade later, [[The Walt Disney Company]] purchased Capital Cities/ABC.


Despite the ownership change, channel 6 continued preempted ABC programming in favor of locallt-produced and syndicated shows. In 1975, when ABC entered the morning news field with ''[[AM America]]'', WPVI did not carry it. Nor would channel 6 pick up ''AM America'''s successor, ''[[Good Morning America]]'', in its entirety for nearly three years, choosing instead to carry syndicated shows and its local children's program ''Captain Noah and His Magical Ark''. WPVI-TV also did not run other ABC daytime programming, notably ''[[The Edge of Night]]'' and ''[[Family Feud]]'' (ironically, channel six aired the syndicated version of this game show in evenings later on). ABC was able to get most of its daytime schedule on the air in Philadelphia anyway, through contracts with independent stations [[WKBS-TV (Philadelphia)|WKBS-TV]] (channel 48) and WTAF-TV (channel 29).
⚫
[[Image:Gary Papa, Jim Gardner and Cecily Tynan 2006 WPVI.jpg|thumb|right|Gary Papa, Jim Gardner and Cecily Tynan on the set introduced in 2006.]]
⚫
WFIL/WPVI has a rich history of local shows. One included ''Captain Noah & His Magical Ark''. The hit TV show [[American Bandstand]] got its start from WFIL's original 46th and Market studio before ABC picked it up. As ABC's first affiliate, it also originated several network shows.


⚫
In the middle of 1985, Capital Cities announced it was purchasing the American Broadcasting Company, a move that stunned the broadcast industry since ABC was some ten times larger than CapCities at the time. Some have said that CapCities was only able to pull off the deal because WPVI-TV, the company's flagship property, had become very profitable in its own right. However, the merged company almost had to sell off channel six due to a significant signal overlap with ABC's New York City flagship station, WABC-TV. In the FCC's view, the merger gave the new company a [[duopoly]] prohibited by the regulations of the time -- the same "one-to-a-market" rule that forced Triangle to split its newspaper/broadcast combination in Philadelphia many years earlier. Capital Cities sought a waiver of the rules to keep WPVI, citing CBS' then-ownership of [[WCBS-TV]] in New York and WCAU-TV in Philadelphia. The FCC granted the waiver, and when the transaction became final in 1986, WPVI-TV became an ABC [[owned-and-operated]] station, and was one of two Capital Cities-owned stations that were already affiliated with ABC prior to the merger ([[KTRK-TV]] in [[Houston]] is the other). A decade later, the [[Walt Disney Company]] purchased Capital Cities/ABC.
For many years, WFIL/WPVI preempted ABC programming in favor of local shows, even though it was ABC's first affiliate and, until the CapCities-ABC merger, its largest. In 1975, when ABC launched ''[[Good Morning America]]'', WPVI preempted it. In 1976, the station preempted the 8 AM hour for ''Captain Noah'' (also seen on then-sister [[WKBW-TV]] in [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]] while running the 7 AM hour. It began running Good Morning America in its entirety in 1978. When ABC picked up [[The Edge of Night]] in 1975, WPVI also preempted it. [[WKBS-TV (Philadelphia)|WKBS-TV]] ran the show from 1975 to 1983. By 1978, WPVI was preempting several other ABC daytime shows and WKBS broadcast them as well. When [[Family Feud]] moved from 11:30am to noon on June 30, 1980, WPVI continued to carry the show at 11:30am on a one-day delay until it opted to carry [[Loving]] upon its premiere in June 1983. [[Family Feud]] then moved to [[WTXF-TV|WTAF-TV]] for the summer, until September 1983 when the daytime version was no longer seen in the Philadelphia area. When Channel 48 went dark in 1983, WTAF picked up several more preempted ABC shows. Despite the preemptions, ABC was more than satisfied with WPVI.


⚫
[[Image:Gary Papa, Jim Gardner and Cecily Tynan 2006 WPVI.jpg|thumb|right|Gary Papa, Jim Gardner and Cecily Tynan on the set introduced in 2006.]]
Even in the years after WPVI became an ABC O&O, the station preempted an hour of ABC daytime programs in favor of local programs. The NBC affiliate in [[Atlantic City]], [[WMGM-TV]] picked up the preempted ABC shows until 1987. They moved to WTAF-TV/WTXF-TV from 1987 to 1996. The shows were usually magazine shows, game shows or reruns of ABC prime time programs from other seasons but were not yet in syndication. In the 1990s, WPVI was down to preempting only half the ''Home Show'' which became ''Mike & Maty''.
Even in the years after WPVI became an ABC-owned station, they continued to pre-empt an hour of ABC daytime programs in favor of other programs. [[Wildwood, New Jersey]]-based NBC affiliate [[WMGM-TV]] picked up the preempted ABC shows until [[1987]], when they moved back to channel 29, which was now [[WTXF-TV]]. The pre-empted programs were usually magazine shows, game shows or reruns of ABC primetime sitcoms. Some leeway was made in the early 1990s, when WPVI was down to pre-empting only the first half-hour the ''[[Home Show]]''.


⚫
It was also after the CapCities-ABC merger that WPVI encountered infamy: on [[January 22]], [[1987]], the station partially re-broadcasted the [[suicide]] of [[Pennsylvania]] treasurer [[Budd Dwyer]] on its noon newscast. Dwyer's suicide occurred at a press conference earlier that morning.
⚫
In 1997, the station began carrying the entire ABC network schedule for the first time ever, at the expense of its own local show ''AM Philadelphia'' at 10:00 a.m. In 1997 after ABC cancelled the low rated ''Caryl & Marilyn: Real Friends'', WPVI moved ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show'' to 10:00 a.m. and began airing ABC's new talk show ''The View'' live at 11:00 a.m. ''AM Philadelphia'' moved to 12:05 a.m. following ''Nightline'' and was renamed ''Philly After Midnight''. After a few years ''Philly After Midnight'' was cancelled.


⚫
In 1997, in an directive from the new Disney ownership, WPVI-TV began carrying the entire ABC network schedule for the first time ever. Unfortunately, it came at the expense of its highly-rated local show, ''AM/Live'' (formerly ''AM Philadelphia''), which was shifted to overnights to make room for ABC's then-new talk show ''[[The View]]''. ''AM/Live'' was moved to 12:05 a.m. following ''[[Nightline]]'' and was renamed ''Philly After Midnight'', where it lasted until 2001.
⚫
Today, WPVI carries the entire ABC daytime lineup as well as syndicated programming from Buena Vista (Disney's syndication division) such as ''Live with Regis & Kelly'' and ''Millionare''. In fact, its entire daytime lineup, including syndicated shows, is identical to that of WABC-TV. Both stations have already replaced ''The Tony Danza Show'' with [[King World]]'s new talk show from [[Rachael Ray]], that started on Monday, September 18, 2006 at 10:00 a.m.


⚫
Today, WPVI carries the entire ABC daytime lineup as well as syndicated programming from [[Buena Vista Television]] (Disney's syndication division) such as ''[[Live with Regis and Kelly]]'' and ''[[Who Wants to Be a Millionare (US game show)|Who Wants to Be a Millionaire]]''. In fact, its entire weekday lineup, including syndicated shows, is identical to that of WABC-TV.
⚫
On [[January 22]], [[1987]] WPVI became infamous for re-broadcasting in part the [[suicide]] of [[Pennsylvania]] treasurer [[Budd Dwyer]] on its noon Action News broadcast. Dwyer's suicide occurred at a [[press conference]] earlier that morning.


===Logos and idents===
===Logos and idents===

Revision as of 11:00, 21 January 2007

{{Infobox broadcast}} may refer to:

{{Template disambiguation}} should never be transcluded in the main namespace.

WPVI-TV, channel 6, is an owned-and-operated station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. WPVI has its studios located on the border between Philadelphia and Bala Cynwyd, and its transmitter is located in the Roxborough neighborhood. WPVI's signal covers the Delaware Valley area, comprised of large portions of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.


History

As WFIL-TV

Philadelphia's second-oldest television station signed on the air on September 13, 1947 as WFIL-TV. It was owned originally by Triangle Publications, publishers of the Philadelphia Inquirer and operators of WFIL-AM (560 kHz.) and WFIL-FM (102.1 MHz., now WIOQ). Triangle had bought the radio stations only two years before and had ambitious plans for the station. A sign of this was when Triangle built the nation's first studio solely dedicated to television broadcasting, on 46th and Market streets.

WFIL radio had been an ABC affiliate dating to its days as the NBC Blue Network. However, WFIL-TV started out as a CBS station with a secondary DuMont affiliation, as ABC hadn't gotten into television yet. When WCAU-TV (channel 10) signed on in 1948, it took the CBS affiliation as WCAU radio had long been the CBS affiliate in Philadelphia. ABC had launched its television network only a few months before and WFIL-TV became the fledgling network's first affiliate. Ironically, ABC affiliated with channel six before its flagship station, WJZ-TV (now WABC-TV) in New York City signed on in August. It retained a secondary DuMont affiliation until that network's demise in 1956.

The WFIL stations were the flagship of the growing communications empire of Walter Annenberg's Triangle Publications, which owned both Philadelphia newspapers (the morning Inquirer and the evening Philadelphia Daily News), periodicals including TV Guide, Seventeen, and the Daily Racing Form, and a broadcasting group which would grow to 16 radio and six television stations.

The WFIL stations originally broadcast from the Widener Building in downtown Philadelphia, located at Market and 46th streets. Triangle later built one of the most advanced broadcast centers in the nation on City (or City Line) Avenue, a circular building across from rival WCAU-TV, in 1964. The station still broadcasts from there today, while the original studio was turned over to public broadcaster WHYY-FM and Television.

Channel six has a rich history of producing local shows. Perhaps its most notable local production was American Bandstand, which began in 1952 from WFIL-TV's original 46th and Market studio before the ABC network picked it up five years later. As ABC's first affiliate, it also originated several network shows.

Channel 6 was the first station to sign on from the Roxborough neighborhood. It originally used a 600-foot tower, but in 1957 it moved to a new 1100-foot tower which it co-owned with NBC-owned WRCV-TV (channel 3, now KYW-TV). The new tower added much of Delaware and the Lehigh Valley to the station's city-grade coverage.

As WPVI-TV

File:Matt O'Donnell and Tamala Edwards WPVI 2006.jpg
Matt O'Donnell and Tamala Edwards on WPVI in 2006.

Because of its ownership of newspapers and broadcast licenses based in the same area, Triangle began to feel pressure from the Federal Communications Commission to divest of its properties in order to comply with its newly-enacted "one-to-a-market" rule. In 1969 Triangle sold the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News to Knight (later Knight-Ridder) Newspapers.

Two years later, Triangle began to break up its broadcasting group. The WFIL stations, along with outlets in New Haven, Connecticut and Fresno, California, were sold to Capital Cities Communications. As a condition of the sale, Capital Cities had to spin-off the radio stations to various other entities (i.e., WFIL-AM to LIN Broadcasting and WFIL-FM to Richer Communications, which changed the call letters), and channel six changed its call letters to the current WPVI-TV.

Despite the ownership change, channel 6 continued preempted ABC programming in favor of locallt-produced and syndicated shows. In 1975, when ABC entered the morning news field with AM America, WPVI did not carry it. Nor would channel 6 pick up AM America's successor, Good Morning America, in its entirety for nearly three years, choosing instead to carry syndicated shows and its local children's program Captain Noah and His Magical Ark. WPVI-TV also did not run other ABC daytime programming, notably The Edge of Night and Family Feud (ironically, channel six aired the syndicated version of this game show in evenings later on). ABC was able to get most of its daytime schedule on the air in Philadelphia anyway, through contracts with independent stations WKBS-TV (channel 48) and WTAF-TV (channel 29).

In the middle of 1985, Capital Cities announced it was purchasing the American Broadcasting Company, a move that stunned the broadcast industry since ABC was some ten times larger than CapCities at the time. Some have said that CapCities was only able to pull off the deal because WPVI-TV, the company's flagship property, had become very profitable in its own right. However, the merged company almost had to sell off channel six due to a significant signal overlap with ABC's New York City flagship station, WABC-TV. In the FCC's view, the merger gave the new company a duopoly prohibited by the regulations of the time -- the same "one-to-a-market" rule that forced Triangle to split its newspaper/broadcast combination in Philadelphia many years earlier. Capital Cities sought a waiver of the rules to keep WPVI, citing CBS' then-ownership of WCBS-TV in New York and WCAU-TV in Philadelphia. The FCC granted the waiver, and when the transaction became final in 1986, WPVI-TV became an ABC owned-and-operated station, and was one of two Capital Cities-owned stations that were already affiliated with ABC prior to the merger (KTRK-TV in Houston is the other). A decade later, the Walt Disney Company purchased Capital Cities/ABC.

File:Gary Papa, Jim Gardner and Cecily Tynan 2006 WPVI.jpg
Gary Papa, Jim Gardner and Cecily Tynan on the set introduced in 2006.

Even in the years after WPVI became an ABC-owned station, they continued to pre-empt an hour of ABC daytime programs in favor of other programs. Wildwood, New Jersey-based NBC affiliate WMGM-TV picked up the preempted ABC shows until 1987, when they moved back to channel 29, which was now WTXF-TV. The pre-empted programs were usually magazine shows, game shows or reruns of ABC primetime sitcoms. Some leeway was made in the early 1990s, when WPVI was down to pre-empting only the first half-hour the Home Show.

It was also after the CapCities-ABC merger that WPVI encountered infamy: on January 22, 1987, the station partially re-broadcasted the suicide of Pennsylvania treasurer Budd Dwyer on its noon newscast. Dwyer's suicide occurred at a press conference earlier that morning.

In 1997, in an directive from the new Disney ownership, WPVI-TV began carrying the entire ABC network schedule for the first time ever. Unfortunately, it came at the expense of its highly-rated local show, AM/Live (formerly AM Philadelphia), which was shifted to overnights to make room for ABC's then-new talk show The View. AM/Live was moved to 12:05 a.m. following Nightline and was renamed Philly After Midnight, where it lasted until 2001.

Today, WPVI carries the entire ABC daytime lineup as well as syndicated programming from Buena Vista Television (Disney's syndication division) such as Live with Regis and Kelly and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. In fact, its entire weekday lineup, including syndicated shows, is identical to that of WABC-TV.

Logos and idents

  • WFIL-TV logo from 1957 to 1963
    WFIL-TV logo from 1957 to 1963
  • WPVI-TV ident from 1971 to 1981 (version 1).
    WPVI-TV ident from 1971 to 1981 (version 1).
  • WPVI-TV ident from 1971 to 1981 (version 2)
    WPVI-TV ident from 1971 to 1981 (version 2)
  • WPVI-TV ident from 1981 to 1982
    WPVI-TV ident from 1981 to 1982
  • WPVI-TV ident from 1984 to 1986
    WPVI-TV ident from 1984 to 1986
  • WPVI-TV ident from 1986 to 1987
    WPVI-TV ident from 1986 to 1987
  • WPVI-TV ident from 1987 to 1988
    WPVI-TV ident from 1987 to 1988
  • WPVI-TV ident from 1990 to 1991
    WPVI-TV ident from 1990 to 1991
  • WPVI-TV ident from 1991 to 1992
    WPVI-TV ident from 1991 to 1992
  • The present 6ABC logo, used since 1997
    The present 6ABC logo, used since 1997
  • WPVI-TV ident from 2000 to 2003
    WPVI-TV ident from 2000 to 2003
  • WPVI-TV ident from 2003 to 2005
    WPVI-TV ident from 2003 to 2005

Action News

File:Action News WPVI 2006.jpg
WPVI-TV Action News open, 2006.

The station is famous for pioneering the "Action News" format, which was used by many stations throughout the United States. When it premiered on April 6, 1970 the format allowed the news program to have more stories than KYW's Eyewitness News due to strict time limits on story packages. Within a few months, the station surged to first place for the first time in its history. It had previously been an also-ran behind KYW and WCAU, which was surprising given its newspaper roots. WPVI went back and forth with KYW for first place for most of the 1970s. Since 1977, however, WPVI has dominated the Philadelphia ratings, winning virtually every time slot. Its dominance has only been seriously challenged twice--in the 1980s, when WCAU briefly took the lead at 5 pm; and in 2001, when WCAU took first place at 11 pm for the first time in decades. WPVI is one of many ABC O&O's to not use the Eyewitness News branding. The Eyewitness News branding would not be able to be used by WPVI, as KYW uses it in the Philadelphia market. However, it is not likely that ABC would have even considered dropping the Action News branding in any case.

The station has used the same theme since 1972, "Move Closer to Your World" by Al Ham. The composition has become as much a part of the Philadelphia consciousness as the Rocky theme and has helped WPVI stay number one in the Delaware Valley for 30 years. The station tried to switch to a fuller, thunderous and authoritative version of the song by the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 1997, but switched back to the old version after five days of viewer complaints.

Years of being in the lead have led WPVI to keep things old-fashioned, with an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality. For instance, it has had the same "6" logo since the 1970s; the only significant change coming in 1997 when it began calling itself "6ABC" and began placing the ABC "dot" logo inside the "6." It has frequently remastered "Move Closer to Your World" to make it sound less dated.

File:Easton Flooding WPVI 2006.jpg
Action News coverage of flooding in Easton, Pennsylvania on June 28, 2006.

In recent years, attempts have been made to modernize the newscasts. The magnetboard used for weather forecasts gave way to a video screen in 2000 and a chromakey wall in 2005. On February 13, 2006, Action News debuted a revamped and fully modernized set which includes a glass etching background of several historical landmarks in Philadelphia positioned behind the anchor desk, shiftable lighting effects and a computerized Accu-Weather center[1]. WPVI introduced a new HD-capable helicopter in February 2006. Live shots from the helicopter, officially named Chopper6 HD, were shown in high definition. Furthermore, on July 23, 2006, starting with the 6:00 PM broadcast, Action News began broadcasting from their studio in full 720p HDTV. The official announcement was made on July 24. Field reports are still upconverted for the digital broadcast, although the station has promised to upgrade its remote cameras soon.

Most of WPVI's personalities have been at the station for 10 years; several for 20 years or more. Jim Gardner has been with the station since 1976 and has been main anchor since 1979, the longest tenure as a main anchor in Philadelphia history. Dave Roberts (joined in 1978) has been the main weatherman since 1983 (after the accidental death of popular weatherman Jim O'Brien), and Rob Jennings has been weekend anchor since 1981.

File:WPVI Action News Now 2006.jpg
WPVI's Action News Now, a digital news and weather channel with "L-Bar" provided by the AccuWeather service.
File:WPVI Set 2006.jpg
Gary Papa and Jim Gardner on the set introduced in 2006.
File:Storm Tracker 6 WPVI 2006.jpg
StormTracker 6, WPVI's current radar.
File:Jim Gardner 1991 WPVI.jpg
Jim Gardner on Action News in 1991.

WPVI cooperates with sister station WABC-TV in the production and broadcast of statewide New Jersey political debates. When the two stations broadcast a statewide office debate, such as Governor or U. S. Senate, they will pool resources and have anchors or reporters from both stations participate in the debate. Additionally, the two stations cooperate in the gathering of news in New Jersey where their markets overlap; sharing reporters, live trucks and helicopters.

WPVI offers live streaming video of "Action News Now", which offers live local and national weather updated from AccuWeather. Local news headlines and updates are also provided. The format of "Action News Now" is much like NBC Weather Plus. WSVN, WFMZ-TV, WLS-TV, and WABC-TV also offer simular live video services by AccuWeather. The station's radar is known as "Storm Tracker 6 HD".

Radio

WPVI holds the distinction of being the only Philadelphia television signal that can be heard on AM or FM radio. The station can be heard at 87.7 FM at a slightly lower volume that other FM stations.

Current Anchor Lineups

Weekdays

Saturdays

  • 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. (anchored by Jessica Borg and Walter Perez with Adam Joseph on weather)
  • 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. (anchored by Rob Jennings, Keith Russell with sports and Adam Joseph on weather)
  • 11 p.m. to 11:35 p.m. (anchored by Rob Jennings, Keith Russell with sports and Adam Joseph on weather)

Sundays

  • 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. (anchored by Jessica Borg and Walter Perez with Adam Joseph on weather)
  • 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. (anchored by Jessica Borg and Walter Perez with Adam Joseph on weather)
  • 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. (anchored by Jessica Borg and Walter Perez with Adam Joseph on weather)
  • 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. (anchored by Rob Jennings, Keith Russell with sports and Adam Joseph on weather)
  • 11 p.m. to 11:35 p.m. (anchored by Rob Jennings, Keith Russell with sports and Adam Joseph on weather)

Reporters

Past News Personalities

Former Entertainment Personalities

See also


allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special%3ADiff%2F102192395