WJET-TV
WJET-TV, virtual channel 24 (UHF digital channel 28), is an ABC-affiliated television station licensed to Erie, Pennsylvania, United States. The station is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also operates Fox affiliate WFXP (channel 66) under a local marketing agreement (LMA) with owner Mission Broadcasting. The two stations share studios and transmitter facilities on US 19/Peach Street in Summit Township (with an Erie mailing address).
 | |
| Erie, Pennsylvania United States | |
|---|---|
| Channels | Digital: 28 (UHF) Virtual: 24 (PSIP) |
| Branding | JET 24 (general) JET 24 Action News (newscasts) |
| Slogan | Your News Leader |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner | Nexstar Media Group (Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.) |
| Sister stations | WFXP |
| History | |
| First air date | April 2, 1966 |
| Former channel number(s) |
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| Call sign meaning | JET Broadcasting (founding owner) |
| Technical information | |
| Licensing authority | FCC |
| ERP | 650 kW |
| HAAT | 242.4 m (795 ft) (STA) 304.9 m (1,000 ft) (CP) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 42°2′25″N 80°4′8″W |
| Links | |
| Public license information | Profile LMS |
| Website | www |
WJET's over-the-air signal covers the city of Erie and its suburbs and nearby communities in Chautauqua County, New York and northern Ashtabula County, Ohio. The station has been dropped from Time Warner Cable (now Charter Spectrum) in the eastern portion of the Cleveland TV market, in favor of WEWS-TV from Cleveland.
History
WJET-TV signed on as the third station in Erie during the 6 p.m. hour on April 2, 1966. Owned by Jet Broadcasting along with WJET radio, it aired an analog signal on UHF channel 24 and the first program shown was a 24-hour movie marathon. The station immediately joined ABC. Previously, ABC had been limited to off-hours clearances on NBC station WICU-TV (channel 12) and CBS outlet WSEE-TV (channel 35) until this point. In January 1998, Nexstar acquired WJET-TV. Later that year, it began performing non-programming functions for Mission Broadcasting-owned WFXP as was standard for most Nexstar stations. That station was then consolidated into WJET's facilities.
On April 3, 2006, the station celebrated its 40th anniversary. It began airing its digital signal on UHF channel 58 in high definition in 2008. WJET's broadcasts became digital-only, effective June 12, 2009. It is carried on cable in London, St. Thomas and other communities in Ontario, Canada near Lake Erie. In recent years, the station has been bumped to high dial positions on cable systems in those locations. WJET-TV was once available on cable in the Hamilton, Niagara, and Grand River areas but was dropped by the early 2000s.
WJET-TV continues to supply its former radio sister with news and weather updates during the day, even though the two have been under separate ownership for several years.
The station celebrated its 50th anniversary in April 2016.
On June 15, 2016, Nexstar announced that it has entered into an affiliation agreement with Katz Broadcasting for the Escape, Laff, Grit, and Bounce TV networks (the last one of which is owned by Bounce Media LLC, whose COO Jonathan Katz is president/CEO of Katz Broadcasting), bringing the four networks to 81 stations owned and/or operated by Nexstar, including WJET-TV and WFXP.[1]
Digital channels
The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
| Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP short name | Programming[2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24.1 | 720p | 16:9 | WJET-DT | Main WJET-TV programming / ABC |
| 24.2 | 480i | Laff | Laff | |
| 24.3 | Mystery | Court TV Mystery | ||
| 24.4 | Cozi | Cozi TV |
News operation
Unlike most ABC affiliates in the Eastern Time Zone, WJET-TV did not air a full two-hour weekday morning show until the start of September 2014, when Good Morning Erie began to start at 5 a.m. On Friday nights at 11:20 (11:15 during the high school football season), it airs a local sports highlight show called Friday Night Lights. When the station began operating WFXP, it took over production of that station's nightly half-hour prime time broadcast (known as Fox 66 News at 10). This had previously been produced by WICU through a news share agreement; WICU's 10 p.m. newscast now airs on WSEE-DT2. On September 10, 2007, WJET-TV began airing an hour-long weekday morning show at 8 on WFXP (called Fox 66 News in the Morning). This is the only local newscast in the area broadcasting in the time-slot.
In June 2011, the station rolled out a new logo and on-air graphics, replacing a logo used since the early 1980s and graphics that were used for over 10 years. On October 23, 2013, WJET-TV began broadcasting newscasts in HD.
Former on-air staff
- Kevin Benson – meteorologist, now at WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh
- Jim Connors – Fill-in weatherman & WJET radio midday air personality from the mid-1960s to 1971. One of WJET Radio's original "Good Guys"
- John Evans – sports director/anchor/reporter (1979–2000); current member, PA House of Representatives
- John Stehr – anchor/reporter (1979–1980), now primary anchor at WTHR in Indianapolis
- Anita Vogel – reporter, now a reporter for Fox News
References
- "Bounce TV, Grit, Escape, Laff Multicast Deal Covers 81 Stations, 54 Markets". Broadcasting & Cable. June 15, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
- http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WJET#station