WRTV

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WRTV

Indianapolis, Indiana
Branding RTV6 (general)
6 News (newscasts)
Slogan On Your Side
Channels Analog: 6 (VHF)

Digital: 25 (UHF)
Affiliations ABC
Owner McGraw-Hill
(McGraw-Hill Broadcasting Company, Inc.)
First air date May 30, 1949
Former callsigns WFBM-TV (1949-1972)
Former affiliations Primary:
CBS (1949-1956)
NBC (1956-1979)
Secondary:
DuMont (1949-1955)[1]
ABC (1954-1956)
Transmitter Power 100 kW (analog)
898 kW (digital)
Height 279 m (analog)
294 m (digital)
Facility ID 40877
Transmitter Coordinates 39°53′56.6″N 86°12′3.7″W / 39.899056, -86.201028
Website www.theindychannel.com

WRTV, channel 6, is the ABC television affiliate in Indianapolis, Indiana. Its transmitter is located in Indianapolis.

The station's audio signal can be heard on 87.7 MHz on the FM dial in much of central Indiana. This is because the audio signal of channel 6 is located at 87.75 MHz. This frequency assignment applies to all channel 6 television stations in countries using the NTSC-M standard. However, this service will no longer be available after the full switch to digital in February 2009.

Contents

History

The station signed on the air on May 30, 1949 under the call sign WFBM-TV with a documentary entitled Crucible of Speed covering the history of the Indianapolis 500, followed by the inaugural live television broadcast of the event. It is Indiana's oldest television station. It was owned by Consolidated Television and Radio Broadcasters along with WFBM-AM 1260 (now WNDE).

It was originally a CBS affiliate with secondary ABC and DuMont affiliations. When WTTV signed on a few months later, WFBM shared ABC programming until 1954, when WISH-TV signed on and took over the ABC affiliation. In 1956, WFBM took the NBC affiliation from WTTV.

Consolidated merged with Time-Life in 1957. As part of an FCC-mandated sale, WFBM-TV was sold to McGraw-Hill in 1972 along with sister station KLZ-TV (now KMGH-TV) in Denver, Colorado, KOGO-TV (now KGTV) in San Diego and KERO-TV in Bakersfield, California. At that time, the station assumed its current calls, WRTV. In 1979, WRTV traded affiliations with WTHR and became an ABC affiliate. NBC was the lowest rated network in the late 1970s while ABC rose to the ranks of the highest rated network that same time and was seeking out stronger local stations in many markets, thus motivating this affiliation switch in Indianapolis. WRTV is one of the few stations in the country to have been a primary affiliate of all three original networks.

Digital television

The station's digital channel is multiplexed. After the analog television shutdown and digital conversion, which is tentatively scheduled to take place on February 17, 2009, WRTV will continue digital broadcasts on its current pre-transition channel number, 25. However, through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers will display WRTV's virtual channel as 6.

Virtual
Channel		 Physical
RF Channel		 Video Aspect Programming
6.1 25.1 720p 16:9 Main WRTV-TV programming / ABC HD
6.2 25.2 480i 4:3 6News 24/7 / 24-hour news, weather, and sports updates

WRTV today

WRTV has been a leader in adding innovation to Indiana broadcasting. Some of WRTV's innovations over the years, have included the first station in the state to broadcast in color, the first use of videotape, the first to use news mini-cams, the first use of microwave (a [pre-runner to satellite) (Insta-Cam), the first satellite truck (NewStar 6), the first cable news on NewsChannel 64 (now 6 News 24/7), the first use of non-linear digital editing, the first use of digital news cameras, the first entry into web publishing (TheIndyChannel.com), and the first into cellphone delivery of news (6NewsOnTheGo) and VODcasting.

RTV6 has lagged in the ratings behind WTHR and WISH in the market. This has gone on since the mid 90's.

On September 10, 2007, the same day the new anchor team of Todd Wallace and Trisha Shepherd debuted, WRTV launched a 7 PM newscast, a first for the Indianapolis market (and the second in Indiana). Station Vice President and General Manager Don Lundy attributes the decision to "longer commutes and longer work days" that prevent viewers from being home by 5 or 6. 6 NEWS First @ 5, the first five o'clock newscast launched in 1988 remains @ 5 PM. The syndicated EXTRA airs @ 5:30 PM followed by 6 NEWS @ 6 PM, then followed up by World News with Charles Gibson @ 6:30 PM and the new 6 NEWS @ 7 PM.

Newscasts

WRTV continues to air the entire ABC network schedule, although the station has no weekend morning local newscasts.

On October 12, 2008, WRTV-TV became the third station in Indiana (and Indianapolis) to broadcast their newscasts in high definition. In the 6pm weekend newscast, the station unveiled a number of new aspects to their newscasts. Featuring all new graphics, an updated news set, all new opens and rejoins. As well as updated music from the ABC O&O news music package, and an updated logo for all newscasts. The new graphics are brighter and much more vibrant. Featuring shades of bright yellow and blue.citation needed

ABC in the Terre Haute Market

When WBAK in Terre Haute (now WFXW) left ABC for Fox, WRTV became the default ABC station for the Indiana side of the market. It is viewable in Terre Haute with a rooftop antenna and is carried by all cable systems on the Indiana side of the Terre Haute market. For the Illinois counties in the Terre Haute television market, many systems offer WICD from Champaign, Illinois or WEHT from Evansville, Indiana.

Personalities

WRTV primary anchors seen weeknights.

Anchors

Weather:

Sports:

Reporters

Notable WRTV Alumni

Trivia

 This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please improve this article if you can. (June 2008)
  • One of WRTV's former news staff was Emily Gimmel. Gimmel was the youngest of news reporters at WRTV at the age of 22.
  • Dan O'Rourke, after news internship became WRTV's youngest reporter at age 21, and youngest anchor at 22.
  • Kevin Gregory (the chief meteorologist) is the son of former WTHR chief meteorologist Bob Gregory.
  • Bob McLain, who still appears occasionally, was the station's primary meteorologist from 1972 to 2001; he covered the Super Outbreak of 1974 and the Great Blizzard of 1978.
  • In 1993, local video of hockey game and the station logo is used in the movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
  • Hal Fryar (aka "Harlow Hickenlooper") was one of nine local Three Stooges show hosts from across the country cast as villains in the Three Stooges full-length feature "The Outlaws Are Coming! The Outlaws Are Coming!"
  • Bill Crawford, weatherman during the 1950s and early 1960s, was really a dentist by profession. Meteorology was only his hobby.
  • One of the station's newest projects is a hilarious online series of videos called "Off the Cuff" featuring their meteorologist Paul Poteet and traffic reporter Tom Davis. The shows features random comedic antics from Paul and Tom and other players such as Morning News Anchor Grace Trahan and Director Betty Barista.
  • Harlow Hickenlooper's famous rendition of "Happy Birthday", which always resulted in his getting a pie in the face, was patterned after Jerry Colonna who always exaggerated certain songs. It can be heard on Hal Fryar's website www.harlowhickenlooper.com.

External links

v • d • e
Television stations in Central Indiana, including Indianapolis
Local stations

WTTV 4 / WTTK 29 (CW) • WRTV 6 (ABC, 6.2 News) • WISH 8 (CBS) • WTHR 13 (NBC, 13.2 SkyTrak WX) • WREP 15 (A1) • WIIH 17 (UNI) • WFYI 20 (PBS) • WNDY 23 (MNTV) • WKOG 31 / WKGK 50 (Rel) • WHMB 40 (LeSEA) • WCLJ 42 (TBN) • WAJN 43 (IND) • WBXI 47 (MTV3) • WALV-CA 50 (WTHR 13.2, SkyTrak WX) • WXIN 59 (Fox) • WIPX 63 (ION, 63.2 qubo, 63.3 ION Life, 63.4 Worship) • WDNI 65 (IMC) • WDTI 69 (DS)
Outlying areas

WMUN 26 (TBN, Muncie) • WTIU 30 (PBS, Bloomington) • WIPB 49 (PBS, Muncie) • WIWU 51 (Rel, Marion) • WSOT 57 (Rel, Marion)
Cable channels

FSN Indiana • 6 News 24/7
See also: Cincinnati TV • Dayton TV • Terre Haute TV • Fort Wayne TV • Lafayette TV • Evansville TV • Louisville TV
v • d • e
Television stations in the Wabash Valley, including Terre Haute, Indiana
Local stations
Cable channel

WBI 3 (CW)
Distant stations
v • d • e
ABC Network Affiliates in the state of Indiana
See also: ABC, CBS, CW, Fox, ION, MyNetworkTV, NBC, PBS and Other stations in Indiana

Wikipedia content modification information:

  • This page was last modified on 4 December 2008, at 23:05.

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