WJRT-TV

WJRT-TV, virtual and VHF digital channel 12, is an ABC-affiliated television station licensed to Flint, Michigan, United States and serving the Flint/Tri-Cities television market. The station is owned by Gray Television. WJRT-TV's studios are located on Lapeer Road in Flint, with offices and a second newsroom for the Tri-Cities in Saginaw. The station's transmitter is located on Burt Road (near Bishop Road) in Albee Township, Michigan. On cable, WJRT-TV is carried on Comcast Xfinity channel 7 and on Charter Spectrum channel 11.

Not to be confused with the defunct Yugoslav Radio Television, abbreviated JRT.

WJRT-TV
Flint/Saginaw/Bay City, Michigan
United States
CityFlint, Michigan
ChannelsDigital: 12 (VHF)
Virtual: 12 (PSIP)
Branding
  • ABC 12
  • ABC 12 News
  • .2: MeTV Mid-Michigan
  • .6: ABC12 First Alert Weather[1]
SloganThis Is Home
News: First. In-depth. Everywhere.
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
OwnerGray Television
(Gray Television Licensee, LLC)
Sister stationsWTVG
History
First air dateOctober 12, 1958 (1958-10-12)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog:
  • 12 (VHF, 1958–2009)
  • Digital:
  • 36 (UHF, until 2009)
Former affiliations
  • .2: ABC News Now (2004–2009)
  • LWN (2009–2014)
  • .3: AccuWeather (2005–2013)
  • WeatherNation (2013–2020)
Call sign meaningDerived from former sister radio station WJR plus Television
Technical information
Licensing authorityFCC
Facility ID21735
ERP30 kW
HAAT286 m (938 ft)
Transmitter coordinates43°13′49″N 84°3′32″W
Links
Public license informationProfile
LMS
Websitewww.abc12.com

History

Goodwill Stations

In May 1952, Goodwill Stations, owner of WJR radio in Detroit, announced the intent of applying for four station licenses which would operate as a regional network: channel 50 in Detroit, channel 11 in Toledo, Ohio, channel 12 in Flint and channel 5 in Bay City.[2] TV outlets would eventually appear on all four of these channels in these cities, but only one was actually founded by Goodwill Stations: WJRT-TV, in 1958.[3] Goodwill won out over two other companies seeking to operate channel 12: the Trebit Corporation (which owned WFDF), and W.S. Butterfield Theatres, Inc. (WPAG-TV, airing on Channel 20 in Ann Arbor, also looked at moving to Channel 12, but Goodwill already held the construction permit for WJRT.) WPAG-TV initially wanted to place its transmitter in Independence Township, Michigan; however, since Independence Township was located in Oakland County, part of the Detroit television market, Goodwill instead placed the tower in St. Charles Township in southwestern Saginaw County, where the transmitter remains today.

WJRT-TV went on the air on October 12, 1958, at 5 p.m., as an ABC network affiliate. As part of the winning bid for the license, the station had to produce several hours of original local programming each day for ten years. At the time the station had to fill 55 hours of programming outside of the network shows. this led to original shows like Mr. Magic and Folkswingers.[4]

Goodwill Stations took over the former WTAC-TV studios and offices after that station folded in 1954; WJRT remains there today.

Various owners

Goodwill Stations merged with Capital Cities Broadcasting in 1964, but WJRT-TV was spun off to Poole Broadcasting (owned by John Poole, a former Capital Cities stockholder) because the merged company was one VHF station over the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ownership limit of the time.[5] The station was the first Michigan television station outside of Detroit to go all-color in 1967 on Labor Day which saw the launch of its Bozo show.[3][4] With the original license agreement for local shows expired in 1968, all but Bozo were replaced by 1972 with syndicated programs.[4]

In 1978, WJRT along with the rest of Poole Broadcasting (which included WPRI-TV in Providence, Rhode Island and WTEN in Albany, New York) were sold to Knight Ridder. In October 1988, the company placed its eight broadcast television stations up for sale to reduce debt and to pay a major purchase.[6] As a result, the station was sold to SJL Broadcast Management in 1989.[3]

During the 1970s, WJRT-TV became Mid-Michigan's highest-rated television station, helped by ABC's ratings improvements during the decade. During the late 1980s and into the 1990s, WJRT-TV was usually second to WNEM-TV.

ABC-owned station

In 1994, New World Communications signed an affiliation deal with Fox Broadcasting Company, resulting in most of New World's stations switching affiliation to Fox. Among the stations due to switch were CBS affiliates WJBK in Detroit and WJW-TV in Cleveland. To avoid being consigned to UHF, CBS heavily wooed both WXYZ-TV and WEWS-TV. The E. W. Scripps Company then told ABC that unless it agreed to affiliate with Scripps-owned stations in three other markets, it would switch both stations to CBS.[7] As a contingency, ABC Owned Television Stations approached SJL about buying WJRT[3] and sister station WTVG (an NBC affiliate in Toledo, Ohio) in 1995.[8] WJRT provides city-grade coverage to parts of Oakland and Macomb counties.

Soon after ABC purchased WJRT, the station returned to the top of the Mid-Michigan ratings for prime time, where it remains today. Because Capital Cities spun the station off decades earlier, WJRT-TV was the only ABC station not part of the Capital Cities/ABC merger in 1986. Longtime ABC affiliates KTRK-TV in Houston and WPVI-TV in Philadelphia were part of the merger.

Ironically, when ABC acquired WJRT in 1995, it was reunited with its namesake radio station, WJR.[3] WJR's owner, Capital Cities, had merged with ABC in 1986. And in 2002, WFDF (now a Detroit station), which unsuccessfully sought a channel 12 license in the 1950s, would also become a sister to WJRT-TV when ABC bought the station. However, this reunion was partially broken up, as ABC sold WJR, along with other ABC Radio properties, to Citadel Broadcasting in January 2006; they are now owned by Cumulus Media.

ABC12, the first in Mid-Michigan, started their digital broadcast on May 1, 2002, on channel 36.[3][9] In June 2008, the station received a construction permit for post-transition digital facilities.[3][10] In 2004 along with all the other ABC owned stations, WJRT launched ABC News Now on its digital subchannel,[11] while in 2005 all ABC stations launched AccuWeather Channel on their third subchannel.[12]

WJRT-TV discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over VHF channel 12, on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 36 to VHF channel 12.[3][10]

After the return to VHF, viewers who had installed UHF receiving antennas during the transition period had the signal compromised. So on October 14, 2009, WJRT filed an application with the FCC to increase the power level from 18.2 kW to 30 kW.[13] The increase was approved in May 2011.[3]

ABC Owned Television Stations, including WJRT, launched on April 27, 2009 the Live Well Network in high definition on the stations' sub-channels alongside the AccuWeather Channel.[14]

2nd SJL ownership

On November 3, 2010, Broadcasting & Cable magazine announced that SJL Broadcasting, now owned by the principal owners of Lilly Broadcasting, made an agreement with Disney to buy back WJRT and WTVG, the two smallest stations in ABC's O&O portfolio. Both stations would retain their affiliations with ABC.[8] SJL teamed up with a new private equity partner, Bain Capital, whose affiliated offshoot Sankaty Advisors provided the capital for the purchases (which amounted to $13.2 million on WJRT's end of the $30 million deal). The sale was completed on April 1, 2011.[15]

WJRT's news director Jim Bleicher and General Manager Tom Bryson either retired or left the station after the sale was announced.[16] Furthermore, on April 6, 2011, less than a week after SJL taking over control of WJRT, they terminated longtime weekend anchor Joel Feick and removed longtime weeknight anchor Bill Harris from the newsdesk.[17] Harris later returned to WJRT on May 3, 2011, reporting from a homeland security training conference in Grand Rapids for the station's evening newscast.[18] Feick was later hired by competitor WEYI-TV as weekday morning news anchor.[19] On January 4, 2012, it was announced that Harris was also hired by WEYI-TV to anchor the 6 p.m. newscast, a position he began on January 30, 2012.[20]

On October 8, 2012, a one-on-one interview with Republican Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan by WJRT's Terry Camp made national news when Ryan accused Camp of "stuffing words into people's mouths" after he asked questions about inner-city crime and gun laws, then later said Camp "embarrassed himself". MSNBC host Rachel Maddow aired the segment on her show the next day and defended Camp while attacking Ryan's answers.[21] Fox News Channel host Brian Kilmeade took the opposite stance by defending Ryan and saying Camp asked "gotcha questions".[22]

On October 31, 2013, WJRT added the local version of WeatherNation to its third digital subchannel, replacing AccuWeather Channel.[1]

Gray TV station

On July 24, 2014, SJL announced that it would sell WJRT and WTVG again, this time to its current owner, Gray Television, for $128 million—a value higher than that of their original sale to ABC.[23] Gray also owns Lansing's NBC affiliate WILX-TV. The sale was completed on September 15 and funded mostly by loans.[24]

On October 17, 2014, Gray Television announced it was adding MeTV to WJRT on 12.2, replacing Live Well Network in December 2014.[25] On August 30, 2019, added two sub channels with Weigel Broadcasting classic networks, .4 Start TV and .5 Heroes and Icons.[26] In September 2019, the station expanded its noon newscast and[27] added a national syndication news show.[28]

In October 2019, Gray TV and Opry Entertainment Group's Circle broadcast network indicated Gray TV stations (including WJRT) would be charter affiliates of the country music and lifestyle network[29] that launched on January 1, 2020[30] on WJRT's third subchannel pushing WeatherNation to its sixth subchannel.[31]

Programming

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[31]
12.1720p16:9WJRT-HDMain WJRT-TV programming / ABC
12.2480iWJRT-D2MeTV
12.3WJRT-D3Circle
12.4WJRT-D4Start TV
12.5WJRT-D5Heroes & Icons
12.6WJRT-D6WeatherNation TV

Original programming

As part of the winning bid for the license, the station had to produce original local programming several hours a day for 10 years. At the time the station had to fill 55 hours of programming outside of the network shows. With the original license agreement for local shows expired in 1968, all but Bozo were replaced by 1972 with syndicated programs.[4] Many of the local children's series were franchised series like Bozo and Romper Room compared to WNEM's full original programs.[32]

  • Mr. Magic (1960–1967) was started on air with newly hired commercial writer Earl Frank Cady was asked to come up with a children's program. After taking some magic classes, the show was launched. The show was replaced by Bozo on the day the station went to full color on Labor Day 1967.[4]
  • Bozo's Big Top (1967–1979) local performed by Earl Frank Cady
  • Colonel Gyro from Outer Space
  • Romper Room with Miss Margie
  • Theatre of Thrills (1961–67) a horror film anthology with host "Christopher Coffin" played by Farrell Reed Pasternak, a local advertising agency owner and voice-over announcer[4]

Frank Deal, the station weather forecaster, hosted a few of the locally produced shows:

  • Almanac early-morning information show
  • TV Bingo
  • Folkswingers, an entertainment program
  • Rae Deane and Friends (1961–68) was co-hosted with Rae Deane Gerkowski with Deal serving as puppet master for puppets Montgomery Lion and Dilly Mahatmashmu.[4]
WJRT News Skylink trucks.

News

The station produces a regular slate of newscasts plus additional afternoon hours during the week.[17] Additionally, WJRT carries a weather network, WeatherNation, on its sixth subchannel.[1][31] With the cancellation of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, the station is expanding its noon newscast to an hour starting September 9, 2019 with consumer alerts, entertainment highlights, a featured "Pet of the Day" (a companion segment to 4 p.m. "Dog of the Day" but focusing on other pets) and "Worth it Wednesday" deals segment based on Good Morning America's "Steals and Deals" segment.[27] Also in September, Gray TV stations including WJRT began carrying Full Court Press hosted by Greta Van Susteren.[28]

gollark: Soooooo, PotatOS for OC?
gollark: It stops misuse of globals.
gollark: It's a serverwide antivirus.
gollark: <@202992030685724675> That sounds very like you.
gollark: *pores over bios.lua*

References
  1. Allen, Jeremy (November 2, 2013). "ABC12 launches new 24-hour weather channel for Flint, Saginaw, Bay City regions". Flint Journal. Mlive Media Group. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  2. "Goodwill Plans" (PDF). Broadcasting * Telecasting. May 5, 1952. p. 66. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  3. "WJRT". Station Listings. Michiguide.com. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
  4. Flinn, Gary (October 4, 2008). "Local, live programs once filled the airwaves". The Flint Journal. Mlive Media Group. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  5. "John Poole, 76, Dies; A Broadcasting Chief". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. April 18, 1989.
  6. "Knight-Ridder Puts 8 TV Stations on Block to Reduce $929-Million Debt". Los Angeles Times. Times Mirror Company. Associated Press. October 4, 1988. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  7. McClellan, Steve (June 6, 1994). "Counterstrike: CBS targets Scripps". Broadcasting & Cable. Cahners Business Information. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved March 1, 2016 – via HighBeam Research.
  8. Grego, Melissa (November 3, 2010). "EXCLUSIVE: Disney to Sell Two Stations". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
  9. White, Sue (January 6, 2008). "Converting the masses". The Flint Journal. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  10. "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  11. "ABC News banks on digital, despite small audiences today". USA Today. Gannett Company. AP. September 4, 2004. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
  12. "2005 Annual Report". thewaltdisneycompany.com. The Walt Disney Company. p. 52 (54). Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  13. "APPLICATION FOR CONSTRUCTION PERMIT FOR COMMERCIAL BROADCAST STATION". licesning.fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. October 13, 2009. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  14. Malone, Michael (April 27, 2009). "ABC O&Os Launch Digital Network". Broadcasting & Cable. Reed Business Information. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
  15. "Exclusive: New GMs For Former ABC O&Os in Flint, Toledo". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media. March 31, 2011. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
  16. Gauthier, Andrew (April 5, 2011). "Longtime News Director Jim Bleicher Departs WJRT Amid Ownership Change". TVSpy. Mediabistro. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
  17. AlHajal, Khalil (April 6, 2011). "ABC12 anchors Bill Harris and Joel Feick out in shake-up at WJRT, sources say". The Flint Journal. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
  18. "ABC 12's Bill Harris to return to telecast this afternoon". Flint Journal. Mlive Media Group. May 3, 2011. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  19. "Changing stations: Joel Feick returns to television on NBC25". The Flint Journal. Mlive Media Group. October 3, 2011. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  20. "Longtime WJRT Anchor Bill Harris Joins Rival WEYI". TV Spy. Mediabistro. January 4, 2011. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  21. "Ryan Contradicts NRA on Obama gun laws". MSNBC.com. October 9, 2012. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  22. "Fox News host: Paul Ryan victim of 'gotchya question' in Flint ABC12 interview". The Flint Journal. MLive Media Group. October 11, 2012. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  23. "Gray Buys Stations in Flint, Toledo For $128M". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheck Media. July 24, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  24. "Gray Closes On Flint, Toledo Station Buys". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheck Media. September 15, 2014. Retrieved September 15, 2014.
  25. "MeTV Adds 5 Affils, Passes 92% Coverage". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheck Media. October 17, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  26. Team, ABC12 News (September 3, 2019). "ABC12 offering two more free channels with classic programming". ABC12.com. WJRT. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  27. Team, ABC12 News (September 3, 2019). "ABC12 News at Noon expands to a full hour beginning Sept. 9". ABC12.com. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  28. Battaglio, Stephen (April 8, 2019). "Greta Van Susteren will return to TV with a new Sunday political show". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
  29. Miller, Mark K. (October 17, 2019). "New Country Multiplatform Network From Gray, Opry Entertainment Group To be Named Circle". TV News Check. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  30. Annie, Reuter (December 16, 2019). "Opry Entertainment to Launch New Network Circle in 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  31. "Digital TV Market Listing for WJRT". RabbitEars.info. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  32. Hollis, Tim (2001). Hi There, Boys and Girls!: America's Local Children's TV Shows. University Press of Mississippi. p. 152. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
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