WTHR
_Broadcast |
call_letters = WTHR|
station_logo =
|
station_slogan = Indiana's News Leader|
station_branding =
WTHR 13| analog = 13 (
VHF)| digital = 46 (
UHF)| affiliations =
NBC| founded =
September 2,
1957 | location =
Indianapolis, Indiana| callsign_meaning =
THi
Rteen (Channel Number 13)| owner =
Dispatch Broadcast Group| former_affiliations =
ABC (1957-79)|
former_callsigns = WLWI (1957-76)|
homepage =
www.wthr.com|}}
WTHR channel 13 is a
television station serving the
Indianapolis, Indiana metropolitan area. Affiliated with
NBC, the station broadcasts its analog signal on VHF channel 13 and its digital signal on UHF channel 46 from its transmitter in Indianapolis. Since 1974, WTHR has been owned by the
Dispatch Broadcast Group of
Columbus, Ohio.
The station signed on
September 2,
1957 as
ABC affiliate WLWI, owned by
Crosley Broadcasting Corporation. It was one of five stations which made up the
Cincinnati-based WLW television network in the early days of television. The other stations were
WLWT-TV in Cincinnati, WLWC (now
WCMH-TV) in
Columbus, WLWA (now
WXIA-TV) in
Atlanta and WLWD (now
WDTN) in
Dayton.
From 1957 to
1962, the station was tied up in one of the most heated licensing disputes in early television history. The
FCC originally awarded the license to a group headed by Union Federal Savings and Loan president George Sadlier. However, after an appeal, the FCC reversed itself and awarded the license to Crosley. However, one of the other competitors, Richard Fairbanks, owner of
WIBC-AM 1070 sued the FCC. It claimed that the FCC had erred in awarding the last VHF license in Indianapolis to a company based in Cincinnati when there were viable potential licensees in Indianapolis. The suit, however, was filed too late to prevent WLWI from signing on.
The
District of Columbia Court of Appeals overturned the FCC's decision in
1958, but allowed Crosley to continue running the station pending further FCC action. In
1961, the FCC awarded Fairbanks the channel 13 license. However, Crosley appealed. A year later, Crosley and Fairbanks reached a deal in which Fairbanks bought WLWA in return for allowing Crosley to keep WLWI.
Amid this instability in ownership, WLWI found the going rather difficult. It was also dogged by a weaker network affiliation; ABC would not be on an equal footing with
CBS and
NBC until the 1970s. WLWI spent most of its first 17 years as an also-ran behind WFBM-TV (now
WRTV) and
WISH-TV. In some cases, it even fell to fourth place behind
WTTV.
From last place to ratings leadership
Crosley/Avco poured a lot of money into WLWI, but eventually concluded that it was a "third-rate" operation and put it up for sale. The Wolfe family, owners of the
Columbus Dispatch and
WBNS-TV in Columbus, bought the station from Avco in
1974 and changed the calls to WTHR two years later. The Wolfes vastly improved WTHR's on-air quality. While it was still third behind WISH and WRTV, it was more competitive than it had ever been before. In
1979, it swapped affiliations with WRTV and became an NBC affiliate. Ratings were slow to improve until the mid-1990s, when WTHR hired former CBS News correspondent John Stehr to anchor its evening newscasts. WTHR quickly moved from third to second place after a botched relaunch at WRTV. Changes continued to be made, and in 1999, WTHR's
Eyewitness News surged past then-dominant WISH in several key news timeslots, moving to first place for the first time in its history. By 2002, WTHR beat WISH in all news timeslots and changed its slogan to "Indiana's News Leader".
WTHR today
Today, WTHR consistently dominates every news timeslot. WISH has been a close second except at 11PM where CBS has helped WISH move ahead. WTHR is also one of NBC's five strongest affiliates for primetime and news programming, ranking up with
KUSA-TV in
Denver and
KSDK in
St. Louis. This has led to speculation that
NBC Universal could buy the station from the Wolfe family and become NBC's first O&O in Indiana, as NBC Universal recently completed a sale of four
owned-and-operated stations in smaller markets in the Eastern US to
Media General.
WTHR used to have a partnership agreement with
WNDY-TV, the
UPN affiliate for Indianapolis. Under the partnership, WTHR produced a 10 p.m. newscast for WNDY. However, the partnership ended when WNDY was purchased by
LIN TV Corp., the owner of WISH. WISH took over the production of WNDY's 10 p.m. newscast. WTHR now airs a short 8 minute "First Forecast" on the company-owned
SkyTrak Weather Network, channel 50, in lieu of a 10 p.m. newscast.
SkyTrak Weather Network also airs constant weather forecasts for Central Indiana and replays of WTHR's midday, 6 p.m. newscasts, and short 5 minute news updates throughout the day.
When WTHR swapped affiliations with WRTV in 1979, its final closedown as an ABC affiliate went in an unusual way than its past sign-offs. Two years before, ABC awarded WTHR a cup in honor of its 20-year affiliation with the network. A rifle attached to a camera shot through the cup. The next day was its first day as an NBC affiliate, and the station played the
NBC chimes during its first startup as an NBC affiliate.
Late night talk show host
David Letterman was a weatherman for the station in the
1970s.
"You're On Top Of It All" - Used from 1976-1979. Image campaign composed by
Al Ham.
"Hello Indiana; Channel 13 Loves You!" - Used from 1980-1987; briefly revived in 1991. Image campaign composed by
Frank Gari, vocals mainly by
Florence Warner.
"Indiana, 13's On Your Side" - Used from 1987-1994. Image campaign composed by
Frank Gari.
"Coverage You Can Count On" - Used from 1994 - 2002; still appears on some WTHR-owned vehicles.
"Indiana's News Leader" - Used from 2002 to the present
Weekdays*
Eyewitness News Sunrise - 4:30 a.m.-7 a.m.
**Bruce Kopp, Julia Moffitt, Chuck Lofton (weather), Paul Casey (traffic)
*Eyewitness News at 12:00 - 12 p.m.-1 p.m.
**Scott Swan, Julia Moffitt, Tina Simpkin (weather)
*Eyewitness News at Five - 5 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
**John Stehr, Andrea Morehead, Chris Wright (weather)
*Eyewitness News at 5:30 - 5:30 p.m.-6 p.m.
**Scott Swan, Anne Marie Tiernon, Chris Wright (weather)
*Eyewitness News at Six - 6 p.m.-6:30 p.m.
**John Stehr, Anne Marie Tiernon, Chris Wright (weather), Dave Calabro (sports)
*Eyewitness News Nightbeat - 11 p.m.-11:35 p.m.
**John Stehr, Andrea Morehead, Chris Wright (weather), Dave Calabro (sports)
Weekends*Eyewitness News Weekend Sunrise - Saturdays: 6 a.m.-7 a.m., 8 a.m.-10 a.m.; Sundays: 6 a.m.-8 AM, 9 a.m.-10 AM
**Roger Harvey, Kris Kirschner, Parella Lewis (weather), Rich Nye (sports)
*Eyewitness News at Six - 6 p.m.-6:30 p.m.
**Linsey Davis, Jude Redfield (weather), Henry Wofford (sports)
*Eyewitness News Nightbeat - Saturdays 11 p.m.-11:30 p.m. and Sundays 11 p.m.-11:20 p.m.
**Linsey Davis, Jude Redfield (weather), Henry Wofford (sports)
*13 Sports Jam - Sunday 11:20 p.m.-Midnight
**hosted by Dave Calabro
Image:Wthr indianapolis.jpg|Variation of the WTHR logo - used on certain vehicles and "simple" settings.*
WTHR.com*
WTHR NBC 13 Fan Site
