WPBN-TV

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WPBN-TV / WTOM-TV
WPBN: Traverse City, MI WTOM: Cheboygan, MI
Branding	TV 7&4 / 7&4 News
Slogan	Coverage You Can Count On
Channels	WPBN: 7 (VHF) WTOM: 4 (VHF) analog, WPBN: 50 (UHF) WTOM: 35 (UHF) digital
Affiliations	NBC
Owner	Barrington Broadcasting
Founded	WPBN: February 6, 1954 WTOM: January 4, 1959
Call letters meaning	WPBN: W Paul Bunyan Network WTOM: W Top Of Michigan
Former affiliations	ABC (secondary, 1954-1971)
Transmitter Power	WPBN: 316 kW Analog 78 kW Digital WTOM: 100 kW Analog 78 kW Digital
Website	www.tv7-4.com

WPBN-TV channel 7 is the NBC affiliate serving the Traverse City-Cadillac, Michigan market, the largest geographic (land mass) television market east of the Mississippi River. The station is licensed to Traverse City. Like other network affiliates in this vast and largely rural area, it also operates a full-time satellite, WTOM-TV channel 4, which is licensed to Cheboygan and serves the tip of the Northern Lower Peninsula and the Eastern Upper Peninsula.

Together, the two stations, known on-air as "TV 7&4", serve 22 counties in the northern Lower Peninsula, three counties in the eastern Upper Peninsula and portions of Northern Ontario including Sault Ste. Marie's Canadian sister city, Sault Ste. Marie (though not on cable, where Shaw Communications replaced 7&4 with Detroit's WDIV in the early-2000s). WPBN's analog transmitter is located 12 miles west of Cadillac in Wexford County. WPBN broadcasts with an effective radiated power of 316,000 watts from an antenna 1,348 feet in height. WPBN's digital transmiiter is located at its studios on M-72 in Elmwood Township just outside of Traverse City. WTOM's transmitter is located on US-23 five miles east of Cheboygan. WTOM's over the air signal can be picked up as far as Brevort, Petoskey, Pickford and Indian River. WTOM broadcasts with an Effective Radiated Power of 100,000 watts from an antenna with a height of 620 feet.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Previous logos 2 Newscasts 2.1 Weekdays 2.2 Weekends 3 News Team 4 External links

[edit] History

WPBN signed on the air February 6, 1954. It was signed on by Les Biederman, who had signed on WTCM-AM 1400 (now 580), the oldest radio station in the northern Lower Peninsula, in 1940. Over the next decade, he bought or signed on several other AM stations throughout northern Michigan. These stations were known as the Paul Bunyan Network, with WTCM as the flagship station. Since channel 7 covered much of the territory covered by the radio stations, Biederman decided not to call his new station WTCM-TV (for Traverse City, Michigan), but rather WPBN-TV (for Paul Bunyan Network).

Later in the 1950s, the FCC ruled that the eastern half of the Upper Peninsula was part of the Traverse City market. At the time, the only television station in that area had been CBC private affiliate CJIC-TV. Since WPBN was already operating at the maximum power allowed, Biederman signed on WTOM in Cheboygan on January 4, 1959, bringing American television to the eastern Upper Peninsula for the first time. The stations became known collectively as "7&4." At the time, the two stations had their own newscasts, but in recent years WTOM has become a full-time satellite of WPBN.

Prior to 1971, 7&4 shared ABC programming with WWTV/WWUP 9&10--7&4 aired ABC's sports programming on the weekends, while 9&10 aired some of ABC's game shows and soap operas. In 1971, WGTU signed on and took the ABC affiliation.

In 1980, Midwest Broadcasting, the Biederman family's company, wanted to expand their broadcast operations in northern Michigan. However, the FCC told the Biedermans that they could do so only if they sold off some stations to stay under ownership limits. One of the stations sold off was 7&4, which was sold to US Tobacco.

Until recently, the station was owned by Raycom Media. In late-2005, following Raycom's purchase of The Liberty Corporation, Raycom announced that 7&4 would be sold, along with the other NBC affiliate in the Upper Peninsula, WLUC-TV in Marquette. The sale was necessary to help meet federal restrictions on station ownership.

On March 27, 2006, Raycom announced that Barrington Broadcasting Group would acquire 12 Raycom stations, including WPBN and WTOM. The FCC approved the deal in June 2006, and the finalization took place on August 12, 2006. TV 7&4 has joined WLUC-TV, Saginaw's WEYI-TV and, to a degree, Toledo's WNWO-TV as part of Barrington's family of stations in Michigan.

The station operates 24/7, but airs home shopping programs overnight instead of NBC's "Up All Night" shows. However, the station recently dropped Saturday night broadcasts of The Tube music network in favor of "Up All Night" reruns of Saturday Night Live. (The Tube and NBC Weather Plus can be seen around the clock on the station's digital feed.)

[edit] Previous logos

The "double-b" 7&4 logo from a TV Guide ad in 1987, and first spotted on May, 8, 1986. The "b" stood for its owner at the time, Beam Broadcasting.

"NewsChannel 7&4" logo, 1996-2000. This was the first appearance of the station's current numeric logo.

"7&4 News" logo, 2000-2006.

Current 7&4 News logo.

[edit] Newscasts

WPBN has long been second in the news ratings according to Nielsen Media Research behind WWTV. 7&4 News has seen significant growth in viewership, however, at the expense of 9&10 News in every timeslot in which they compete against each other; especially over the last three years. Much like WWTV, the quality of WPBN's news department is much higher than expected for a station in the 113th market. The station's personalities include longtime anchors and reporters such as Dave Fortin, Dave Walker, Greg MacMaster, Adam Bartelmay, Marc Schollett and Diana Fairbanks. Dave Fortin has been a reporter at the station since 1964.

The station has many alumni, including weatherman Dave Barrons and news anchor Scott Michael Trager, who each went to 9&10 in the early 1990s, and the immortal "Deputy" Don Melvoin, who first hosted the "Deputy Don" kids show in the 1950s. After a stint in Hollywood that included roles on The Twilight Zone and the filmed-on-Mackinac Island Somewhere in Time, Melvoin came back to 7&4 to do Deputy Don Rides Again and the legendary horror flick host Count Zappula. He died in 2002.

In recent years, TV 7&4 has acquired popular syndicated programs such as Dr. Phil and The Oprah Winfrey Show, giving the station a line-up that has contributed to the strong growth in its early evening newscasts. The station also airs Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy in early primetime.

Unlike many other NBC affiliates and CBS affiliate WWTV/WWUP, WTOM/WPBN do not offer a weekday Noon newscast. The 11 PM daily newscast was once known as "Eleven at Eleven", which was named from adding the numbers "7" and "4" together. The station currently has no plans to broadcast their newscasts digitally.

[edit] Weekdays

• 7&4 News Today (5:30-7 AM)
• 7&4 News at 5 (5-6 PM)
• 7&4 News at 6 (6-6:30 PM)
• 7&4 News at 11 (11-11:35 PM)

(no noon news)

[edit] Weekends

• 7&4 News at 6 (6-6:30 PM)
• 7&4 News at 11 (11-11:30 PM)

(no morning news)

[edit] News Team

Anchors

• Dave Walker
• Diana Fairbanks
• Marc Schollett
• Adam Bartelmay
• Bill Froehlich
• Stacey Skrysak

Reporters

• Dave Fortin
• Kristin Maciorowski
• Jessica Leffler
• Jake Peterson
• Lisa Chavarria
• Rachel Melnick
• Erin Ovalle
• Jenn Carlson

7&4 News Storm Team Meteorologists

• Greg MacMaster - chief
• Joe Charlevoix
• Dave Fraser

Sports

• Jayson Geiser
• Jerome Helminiak
• Loren Knaster

[edit] External links

• TV7&4 Website
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WPBN
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WTOM