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WTAE-TV

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WTAE-TV, "Channel 4" is the ABC affiliate serving the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Wheeling/Steubenville and Clarksburg/Weston market areas. Its transmitter is located in Buena Vista, Pennsylvania.

Contents

History

Channel 4, originally allocated to Irwin, Pennsylvania, was a late addition to the Pittsburgh market's TV channels, reportedly due to political pressure from Pittsburgh mayor David L. Lawrence, who is said to have petitioned the FCC relentlessly for a fourth VHF channel in the area. It is short-spaced to other Channel 4 stations in Columbus, Ohio and Buffalo, New York, with the tower located southeast of the city as a result.

WTAE-TV signed on the air on September 14, 1958 as Pittsburgh's ABC affiliate. From the beginning, it has been owned by the Hearst Corporation (now Hearst-Argyle Television as one of the owner's flagship stations [[Citing sources citation needed]]), which purchased the station's former sister radio station, WCAE/WTAE Radio, in 1931. The radio station is now WEAE, and is owned by ABC/Disney as part of the ESPN Radio network.

Along with Pittsburgh, WTAE has also served as the ABC affiliate for the Johnstown/Altoona, Wheeling, West Virginia, and Clarksburg/Weston, West Virginia television markets (both of which could receive WTAE as a grade B signal). WTAE and ABC reportedly resisted efforts by other TV stations in those cities to obtain a full-time ABC affiliation, although one was eventually granted to Altoona's channel 23. WTAE is still available on cable in Johnstown and Altoona today

As an ABC affiliate, from the early 1970s until the late 1990s, the station pre-empted about a quarter of ABC's programming (most notably the now-defunct ABC soap opera Port Charles) causing those shows to not be seen in the Pittsburgh, Johnstown/Altoona and Wheeling markets. They also preempted ABC shows that aired in the 12 p.m. time slot for local news. In the mid-1980s until the mid-1990s WTAE also did not carry shows in the 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. At one point in 1976, they sliced off two hours (2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.) of ABC's late afternoon lineup for "Dinah!" and the reruns of The Brady Bunch and Bewitched, respectively.

In June 1992, the station expanded its news production, adding a Saturday morning newscast from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (matching WPXI's Saturday morning newscast of the same length which they began in 1990) and a three-hour Sunday morning newscast. The station also extended its weekday early evening newscast to begin at 5 p.m., and began to air a weekday morning newscast from 5 to 7 a.m. At that time WTAE dropped the entire ABC Saturday Morning cartoon lineup.

Beginning in 1996 though WTAE began to run two hours of the ABC Cartoons in the 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Sunday morning timeslot replacing religious shows. In 1997 They expanded Sunday Morning News by an hour. At that time they moved their Saturday Morning Newscast to 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. They then began running two hours of ABC Cartoons from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. under the One Saturday Morning banner. By 2000 WTAE was running four out of five hours of the ABC Cartoon lineup.

WTAE continued preempting Home after it became known as Mike & Maty. When Mike & Matty were replaced with Carolyn and Marilyn in 1996 WTAE still did not run it. Finally after that show was replaced by The View WTAE added that in the Fall of 1998 in pattern.

The 12:30 p.m. show which was Loving continued to be preempted after it morphed into The City in 1995. In 1997 when that was canceled for Port Charles, WTAE continued to preempt the show. In the Fall of 2002 Port Charles was canceled nationally and that time was given back to affiliates. WTAE was also one of many ABC stations that pre-empted the special showing of Saving Private Ryan due to scares that the Federal Communications Commission would impose a fine on them if they had aired the late 2004 showing due to the Super Bowl XXXVIII Halftime Show incident earlier that year (it was later determined that the movie showing was not a vioation of FCC regulations. TNT currently handles the showing of the wartime movie).

Today, WTAE runs nearly the entire ABC schedule, pre-empting only one hour of cartoons on weekends. The station cut back its Saturday morning newscast to three hours, but it still runs a news-intensive schedule, alongside its top-rated syndicated first-run talk shows.

Having long been second-fiddle to KDKA-TV in the ratings, WTAE has made some strides in recent years, even passing up KDKA on some occasions. However, WTAE has decreased dramatically in the mornings, and during the May 2006 Nielsen rating period, was only able to claim sole victory at 5 a.m.

On Monday, June 5, 2006, long-time anchor Scott Baker was demoted from his spot at noon and 5 p.m. in place of morning anchor Wendy Bell at 5 p.m. and Michelle Wright at Noon. Baker has left the station as a result.

Trivia

Newscasts

Weekdays Saturdays 
Sundays

Current On-Air personalities

Anchors: 
Weather Watch 4:
Channel 4 Action Sports: Reporters:

Former On-Air personalities

Contact Info

WTAE-TV 400 Ardmore Blvd. Pittsburgh, PA 15221

News Tip: 412-244-4444 Main Desk: 412-242-4300

Local Programming

Past

Present

External links

Broadcast television in the Pittsburgh market  [(Nielsen DMA #22)]
KDKA 2 (CBS) - WTAE 4 (ABC) - WPXI 11 (NBC) - WQED 13 (PBS) - WQEX 16 (AS) - WPCW 19 (UPN/The CW) - WPMY 22 (The WB/My Network TV) - WNPB 24 (PBS/WVPB) - WIIC 29 (Ind) - WBYD 35 (Ind) - WGPT 36 (PBS/MPT) - WPCB 40 (CSTV) - WLLS 49 (A1) - WPGH 53 (Fox) - WBGN 59 (Ind) - W63AU 63 (Ind) - WPTG 69 (Ind)
Local cable television channels
FSN-Pittsburgh - PCNC


Broadcast television in the Wheeling / Steubenville market  [(Nielsen DMA #154)]''
WTRF 7 (CBS) - WTOV 9 (NBC) - WSSS-LP 25 (MTV2) - WVTX-CA 28 (UPN) - W41AA 41 (PBS/WVPB) - WOUC 44 (PBS) - W57BH 57 (Ind)
Pittsburgh market stations serving the area as default affiliates
WTAE 4 (ABC) - WPGH 53 (Fox)
Pittsburgh market stations imported to cable
KDKA 2 (CBS) - WPXI 11 (NBC) - WPMY 22 (WB/MNTV)
Youngstown market stations imported to cable
WFMJ 21 (NBC)
See also: Broadcast television stations in the , , , , and Markets


Broadcast television in the Clarksburg / Morgantown / Weston market  [(Nielsen DMA #165)]
WDTV 5 (CBS) - WBOY 12 (NBC) - WNPB 24 (PBS/WVPB) - WVFX 46 (FOX)
Pittsburgh market stations serving the area
WTAE 4 (ABC)

Terrestrial television>Broadcast television in the Johnstown / Altoona market  [(Nielsen DMA #98)]
WPSU 3 (PBS) - WJAC 6 (NBC) - WWCP 8 (FOX/UPN) - WTAJ 10 (CBS) - WPCW 19 (UPN/The CW)1 - WATM 23 (ABC) - W36BE / W39BE (ABC) - WKBS 47 (CSTV) 
1 Technically a Pittsburgh market station. See article.
Out-of-market stations available on cable
Pittsburgh: KDKA 2 (CBS) -  WTAE 4 (ABC) -  WPXI 11 (NBC) -  WPMY 22 (The WB/My Network TV) -  WPGH 53 (Fox)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre: WNEP 16 (ABC) -  WSWB 38 (The WB/UPN/The CW)
New York City: WPIX 11 (The WB/The CW)
Harrisburg: WLYH 15 (UPN/The CW)

Note: Not all stations are available in all areas.
Local cable television channels
WIUP 20 (Ind., The WB on digital subchannel, to become MNTV in September 2006)

ABC Network Affiliates in the state of Pennsylvania
WTAE 4 () - WPVI 6 () - WNEP 16 () - WATM 23 () - WJET 24 () - WHTM 27 ()
See also: , , , , , and Stations in Pennsylvania

Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc.
Corporate Staff: David J. Barrett (President & CEO) | Victor F. Ganzi (COB) | Harry T. Hawks | Terry Mackin | Steven A. Hobbs | Philip M. Stolz | Frederick I. Young | Candy Altman | Brian Bracco | Emerson Coleman | Marv Danielski | Martin Faubell | Kathleen Keefe | Alvin Lustgarten | Ellen McClain | Jonathan Mintzer | David J. Barrett | Frank A. Bennack, Jr. | John G. Conomikes | Ken J. Elkins | George R. Hearst, Jr. | William Randolph Hearst III | Bob Marbut | Gilbert C. Maurer | Michael E. Pulitzer | David Pulver | Caroline L. Williams
Radio Stations: WBAL | WIYY
ABC Network Affiliates: KETV | KHBS / KHOG | KITV | KMBC | KOAT | KOCO | WAPT | WCVB | WISN | WMUR | WMTW | WPBF | WTAE
CBS Network Affiliates: KCCI | WLKY
NBC Network Affiliates: KCRA | KSBW | WBAL | WDSU | WESH | WGAL | WNNE | WLWT | WPTZ | WXII | WYFF
UPN Network Affiliate: KCWE1
WB Network Affiliates: KQCA2 | WKCF13
Independent Television Station: WMOR
1The stations will affiliate with The CW Television Network starting September 18, 2006.
2The station will affiliate with My Network TV starting September 5, 2006.
3The FCC has approved the acquisition of the station from Emmis Communications. The acquisition is now awaiting finalization.
Annual Revenue: .24 billion USD (2004) | Employees: Unknown at this time. | Stock Symbol: NYSE: [HTV] | Website: [www.hearstargyle.com] 





 





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