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| Channels | |
| Branding | News 10 NBC |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
| Founded | March 11, 1953; 72 years ago (1953-03-11)[1] |
First air date | November 1, 1953 (72 years ago) (1953-11-01) |
Former call signs | WVET-TV (shared operation, 1953–1961) |
Former channel numbers |
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Call sign meaning | Hickson Electric Company (founders of WHEC radio) |
| Technical information[3] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 70041 |
| ERP | 18.1kW |
| HAAT | 153 m (502 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 43°8′8.3″N77°35′1.3″W / 43.135639°N 77.583694°W /43.135639; -77.583694 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
WHEC-TV (channel 10) is atelevision station inRochester, New York, United States, affiliated withNBC. Owned byHubbard Broadcasting, the station maintains studios onEast Avenue inDowntown Rochester and a transmitter on Pinnacle Hill inBrighton.
In March 1953, theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) awarded theconstruction permit of Rochester's second VHF station to two local firms who competed for the open channel. In what was the first arrangement of its kind, theGannett Company, then the Rochester-based publisher of theDemocrat and Chronicle and theTimes-Union and owners ofCBS Radio Network affiliate WHEC (1460 AM, nowWHIC); and the Veterans Broadcasting Company, owners of WVET radio (1280 AM, nowWHTK), were granted shared operation of channel 10; the two separately owned stations would use the samebroadcast license and transmitter, but broadcast from separate studios.[4][5]
Both stations–Veterans-owned WVET-TV, based at the Central Trust Building; and Gannett-owned WHEC-TV, with studios at the Rochester Savings Bank building, both in downtown Rochester–commenced operations on November 1, 1953.[6][7] The combined channel 10 operation carried a primary affiliation with theCBS Television Network, and also carriedABC programs on a secondary basis.[8][9] The WHEC stations moved from the Bank of Rochester building to WHEC-TV's present location, on East Avenue, in May 1958.
On November 15, 1961, the split-channel, shared-time arrangement ended as Veterans sold its half of channel 10 to Gannett. Veterans subsequently acquired its own, fully owned station,WROC-TV (then on channel 5) from Transcontinent Broadcasting. The completion of the deal made WHEC-TV the sole occupant of the channel 10 frequency in Rochester.[10][11][12] The following year WHEC-TV became a full-time CBS affiliate, as the ABC affiliation moved to newly signed-on WOKR (channel 13, nowWHAM-TV). In 1966, channel 10 was one of the founding members of the "Love Network" that aired theJerry Lewis MDA Telethon everyLabor Day until 2012, when it moved from first-run syndication to ABC as a short-form telecast and was renamed theMDA Show of Strength, and ended in 2014 whenMDA discontinued the event on May 1, 2015. WHEC-TV was the creator of the "cut-ins" that local stations insert into the national telethon, a concept that later since spread across the country.
Gannett split up its radio/TV holdings in 1971 when WHEC radio was sold to Sande Broadcasting, a locally based group (the station is now known asWHIC).[13] Channel 10 was allowed to retain the WHEC-TV call letters and would remain as the Gannett Company's lone broadcast holding until 1979 when Gannett sold the station in the wake of its purchase ofCombined Communications.[14][15] Gannett feared the FCC, who several years earlier decided to eliminate several small-marketprint/broadcast ownership combinations, would force it to sell either the television station or the newspaper. Gannett netted a handsome return on its purchase of WHEC radio in 1932. It retained both theDemocrat and Chronicle and theTimes-Union, the latter of which was merged into the former in 1997. Gannett continues to publish theDemocrat and Chronicle as of 2020, though the company relocated its headquarters from Rochester to theNorthern Virginia suburbs ofWashington, D.C. in 1985.
The new owners of channel 10, made U.S. television history: WHEC-TV became the first VHF, network-affiliated station to be purchased and wholly owned by anAfrican-American group, led by investor Ragan Henry.[16] Despite the historical connotation, the Henry-led group's stewardship of WHEC-TV would be short-lived. In 1983, the Henry group traded channel 10 tothe original Viacom in exchange for a pair of radio stations,WDIA inMemphis and KDIA (nowKMKY) inOakland.[17]
Under Viacom ownership, channel 10 took part in another trade—this one the first (and only) network affiliation switch in Rochester. On April 6, 1989, WHEC-TV announced that it would join the NBC network, replacing WROC-TV (now on channel 8) in the Peacock Network's roster. This move was the result of WROC-TV's poor performance and constant preemptions of NBC network programming (NBC was very intolerant of preemptions at this time).[18][19][20] The swap brought channel 10 in-line with sister stationsWNYT inAlbany andWVIT inNew Britain, Connecticut, which had recently renewed their NBC relationships. In addition, NBC's strong prime time programming—NBC was the most-watched network at the time, while CBS was in a distant third near the midpoint of theLaurence Tisch era—was another major factor. WROC-TV began airing Saturday morning programs and some daytime programs from CBS shortly after WHEC-TV announced its intent to affiliate with NBC, but the network switch did not take effect until August 13, 1989, which was the day after WHEC-TV's affiliation contract with CBS expired.[21]
Viacom purchasedParamount Pictures in 1994, placing its five-station group (WHEC-TV, WNYT, WVIT,KMOV inSt. Louis, andKSLA-TV inShreveport, Louisiana) under common ownership with theParamount Stations Group;[22][23] the two groups were formally consolidated in December 1995.[24] Shortly thereafter, the merged company decided to divest itself of all of its major network affiliates to focus on stations that carried its then-upstart United Paramount Network (UPN).[25] In June 1996, Viacom/Paramount agreed to trade WHEC-TV and WNYT toHubbard Broadcasting in return for UPN affiliateWTOG inSt. Petersburg, Florida; WVIT wound up being purchased outright by NBC.[26][27]
WHEC-DT airs more than 33 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with5+1⁄2 hours each weekday and three hours each on Saturdays and Sundays).
The WHEC news team won the New YorkEmmy Award for best newscast in April 2018 and the National Edward R. Murrow award for Best Newscast in June 2018.[28]
On November 21, 1982, WHEC-TV was the subject of a controversial decision when then-general manager Steven Kronquest decided to air a pre-recordedhigh school football championship game on the station instead of theNew York Giants–Washington RedskinsNFL game that was televised live byCBS. The decision angered many Giants fans in the region and cost the station around $3,600. However, the game would air that day on rival station and ABC affiliate WOKR with permission from CBS and the NFL.[31]
The station's signal ismultiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | NBC HD | NBC |
| 10.2 | 480i | 4:3 | MeTV | MeTV |
| 10.3 | StartTV | Start TV | ||
| 10.4 | ION | Ion Television | ||
| 10.5 | 16:9 | H & I | Heroes & Icons | |
| 10.6 | Grit | Grit | ||
| 10.7 | Defy | Ion Plus |
WHEC-TV's digital signal onUHF channel 58 signed-on September 27, 2002, under aspecial temporary authority.
WHEC-TV ended regular programming on its analog signal, overVHF channel 10, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television in the United Statestransitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 58, which was among the high band UHF channels (52-69) that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition, to its analog-era VHF channel 10.[33]
For many years, WHEC-TV was one of three Rochester area stations offered on cable in theOttawa–Gatineau andEastern Ontario regions. The Rochester area stations were replaced withDetroit stations when the microwave relay system that provided these signals was discontinued. WHEC-TV and other Rochester stations were available on cable in several communities along the north shore ofLake Ontario such asBelleville andCobourg, Ontario. All Rochester affiliates with the exception ofFox affiliateWUHF (channel 31) were replaced withBuffalo stations in January 2009.
Broadcast television stations by affiliation in the state ofNew York | ||
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Includes stations in out-of-state TV markets, but reaching a portion of New York | ||
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