.
| [1] | |
| Fort Myers/Cape Coral/ | |
|---|---|
| City of license | Fort Myers |
| Branding | NBC 2 (general)
NBC 2 News |
| Slogan | Count on NBC 2 First |
| Channels | Digital: 15 (UHF) |
| Subchannels | 20.1 NBC
20.2 local news and weather |
| Affiliations | NBC |
| Owner | Waterman Broadcasting Corporation |
| First air date | December 18, 1968 |
| Sister station(s) | WZVN-TV, WVIR-TV |
| Former channel number(s) | 20 (UHF analog, 1968-2009) |
| Former affiliations | ABC (secondary, 1968-1974)
NBC Weather Plus (on DT2, 2006-2008) |
| Transmitter power | 1,000 kW |
| Height | 453.9 m |
| Facility ID | 71085 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 26°49′31″N 81°45′54.3″W / 26.82528°N 81.765083°W |
| Website | nbc-2.com |
WBBH-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Southwestern Florida licensed to Fort Myers. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 15 (or virtual channel 20.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter along SR 31 in unincorporated southeastern Charlotte County. The station can also be seen on CenturyLink and Comcast channel 2. There is a high definition feed provided on Comcast digital channel 432 and CenturyLink digital channel 1002. Owned by the Waterman Broadcasting Corporation, WBBH operates ABC affiliate WZVN-TV (owned by Montclair Communications, Inc.) through a local marketing agreement (LMA).
The two outlets share studios on Central Avenue in Fort Myers. Syndicated programming on this station includes Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, The Dr. Oz Show, and The Doctors among others. Along with other major television stations in the market, WBBH identifies itself on-air using its cable designation (NBC 2) rather than its over-the-air channel position. The unusual practice stems in part from the area's exceptionally high cable penetration rate that is one of the highest in the United States.
Contents[]
History[edit source | edit][]
It signed-on as the area's NBC affiliate on December 18, 1968 and aired an analog signal on UHF channel 20. Before its existence, the network was cleared off-hours through a secondary arrangement on CBS affiliate WINK-TV. As the second television station in Southwest Florida after WINK-TV, WBBH shared ABC with that outlet until WEVU (now WZVN) launched on August 21, 1974. Started by local businessmen, this station originally broadcasted from a 1,000 foot tower in Lehigh Acres which increased to 1,500 feet in 1983. Waterman Broadcasting purchased the station in 1978 and the -TV suffix was removed from the call letters on October 16 of that year (this was later bought back).
The driving force behind the emergence of WBBH was Joe Buerry. Buerry was Sales Manager and a DJ at then WMYR Radio. When the FCC placed channel 20 in Fort Myers Joe put together a group of people and filed for the construction permit. The station was granted to Joe and his partners. Joe ran the station for seven years taking it through it's growth period. He successfully obtained the NBC affiliation with the help of Pier Mapes. Pier
Contents[]
History[edit source | edit][]
It signed-on as the area's NBC affiliate on December 18, 1968 and aired an analog signal on UHF channel 20. Before its existence, the network was cleared off-hours through a secondary arrangement on CBS affiliate WINK-TV. As the second television station in Southwest Florida after WINK-TV, WBBH shared ABC with that outlet until WEVU (now WZVN) launched on August 21, 1974. Started by local businessmen, this station originally broadcasted from a 1,000 foot tower in Lehigh Acres which increased to 1,500 feet in 1983. Waterman Broadcasting purchased the station in 1978 and the -TV suffix was removed from the call letters on October 16 of that year (this was later bought back).
The driving force behind the emergence of WBBH was Joe Buerry. Buerry was Sales Manager and a DJ at then WMYR Radio. When the FCC placed channel 20 in Fort Myers Joe put together a group of people and filed for the construction permit. The station was granted to Joe and his partners. Joe ran the station for seven years taking it through it's growth period. He successfully obtained the NBC affiliation with the help of Pier Mapes. Pier was the NBC regional Manager. Pier later became the President of NBC TV. WBBH became the ratings leader under Buerry's management. After seven years he left WBBH to manage WEVU-TV. At that time WEVU was losing $25,000 monthly. Joe, because of his knowledge of the market, was able to turn the station around by the end of his first year as General Manager. He ran WEVU until it was purchased by The Home News Publishing Company who retained him as it's General Manager. After six years Buerry left WEVU to run WVGS-TV in Valdosta Georgia. The history of these two stations is tied to the management skills of Buerry. Neither one would be there today without his guidance. There are two plaques listing his accomplishments in the Fort Myers Historical society.
In 1994, WEVU (by then owned by Ellis Communications) entered into a local marketing agreement with WBBH and moved into this station's facilities. At that time, both began identifying by their respected cable channel slots. Ellis Communications was folded into Raycom Media in 1996 although due to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ownership limits in effect at the time, WZVN's license was spun-off to current owner Montclair Communications which continued the LMA with WBBH. It should be noted this station's owner Waterman Broadcasting holds an investment interest in Montclair Communications even though the two companies file separate financial reports.
The station began offering a high definition digital signal on October 31, 2002 becoming the second station in the market to do so. This outlet began offering NBC Weather Plus on a new second digital subchannel in September 2006. In December 2008 after the national service folded, WBBH-DT2 switched formats and became a 24-hour local news and weather channel known as "NBC 2 News Now". On February 17, 2009 at noon, the station turned-off its analog signal and began transmitting exclusively in digital.
Digital television[edit source | edit][]
| Channel | PSIP Short Name | Video | Aspect | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20.1 | WBBH HD | 1080i | 16:9 | Main WBBH-TV programming / NBC |
| 20.2 | WBBH SD | 480i | NBC 2 News Now |
News operation[edit source | edit][]
[3][4]News open seen weeknights at 5.In 1994, WBBH and WZVN established a partnership where news reporters would appear on both stations. Resources such as video footage and stories was also shared. During this period, each station maintained separate unique sets at the Central Avenue facilities and featured a distinct on-air style. There were primary personalities such as anchors that would only appear on one outlet. The combined forces of the two stations was billed as the Eyewitness News Network.
It should be known that if WZVN chose not become a junior partner in the local marketing agreement with WBBH, the station would have been required to shut down its news department. Traditionally in the past, WBBH tended to cover more from Charlotte County while WZVN had a slight Collier County focus since it is licensed to Naples and its former analog transmitter was located further south than those of the area's other television outlets.
Today, WZVN continues the practice of maintaining its own primary news anchors and meteorologists that only appear on that station. Otherwise, all other on-air personnel including most reporters is shared among each other. WBBH has a separate set and studio at the Central Avenue facility allowing it to have a different on-air identity and graphics scheme from WZVN. Compared with this outlet, that station's newscasts usually air in a flashier fast-paced format with on-air promotions referring to more coverage in thirty minutes. WBBH will traditionally cover more investigative and consumer stories through its "NBC 2 Investigators" unit. On weekends, there are separate news and sports anchors but common meteorologists are seen on both WBBH and WZVN. This is possible because the two stations maintain individual sets and do not always air local newscasts at the same time. Between the two, WBBH and WZVN air twelve hours of news on weekdays and four and a half on weekends.
Since it was the first station to sign-on in Southwest Florida and be the only outlet located on the VHF dial, WINK-TV has long been the most watched television station according to Neilsen ratings. One of the best known former personality and veteran of Southwestern Florida broadcasting is Harry Horn. He lost his battle with ALS in August 2005. During major hurricanes, most recently Charley and Wilma, WBBH and WZVN combined their entire news department and put on 24-hour continuous coverage. Commercial breaks are dropped for several hours preceding and following landfall. There is a simulcast on both stations and a common live video stream on both of their websites. During previous years, WBBH's news set was used during hurricanes along with both outlet's weather sets. As of the 2007 season, WZVN's high definition news set is now used in the event of a hurricane as its internal location at the Central Avenue facility provides the best protection against damaging winds.
In early-February 2008 following the lead of WZVN, WBBH became the second television outlet in the market to upgrade its newscasts to 16x9 enhanced definition widescreen. Although not truly high definition, broadcasts matched the aspect ratio of HD television screens. Rival WINK-TV became the first station in Southwestern Florida to add full high definition local news production back on October 20, 2007. WBBH would perform a further advancement to full-HD broadcasts on July 19, 2008. On October 26 of that year, several changes occurred to local news offerings on WBBH and WZVN in order to better compete with WINK-TV. WZVN dropped the first hour of its weekday morning show (as of 2012 this has since been restored) and mid-morning newscast at 10. WBBH debuted a new hour-long midday broadcast at 11 while keeping its hour-long noon newscast.
Meanwhile, WZVN added an hour-long weekday morning show at 9 bookending Good Morning America and this production is currently the only local newscast seen in the time slot. On September 8, 2009, WZVN starting broadcasting a prime time newscast on weeknights known as The 7 O'Clock News to go up against WINK-TV's show airing at the same time. On January 16, 2012, that outlet began airing a new sixty minute newscast on weeknights from 5 until 6 despite directly competing with WBBH. In addition to the main studios, the two outlets operate a Collier County Bureau on Tamiami Trail North (U.S. 41/SR 45) in Naples. The two stations operate a Baron Doppler weather radar at the main facilities that is known on WBBH as "NBC 2 First Alert Power Doppler HD". The radar has a range of 300 miles and can survey approaching storms in three dimensions.
Newscast titles[edit source | edit][]
- The Sixth Hour Report/The Eleventh Hour Report (1968–1974)
- First Edition News (1974–1977)
- TV-20 Eyewitness News (1970s–1994)
- News 2 (1994–1998)
- NBC 2 News (1998–present) [1]
Station slogans[edit source | edit][]
- "20, Proud as a Peacock!" (1979–1981, localized version of NBC ad campaign)
- "The Eyewitness News Advantage" (1982-1987)
- "Southwest Florida's NewsChannel" (1988–1996)
- "Coverage You Can Count On" (1996–1997)
- "Count On Us!" (1997–2007)
- "Count On Us in High Definition" (2007–2009)
- "Count On NBC 2 First" (2009–present)
News team [2][edit source | edit][]
- Darrel Lieze-Adams - Executive News Director has been with the station since 1997. He has served as News Director and has also run the marketing and promotions department during his tenure.
+ personnel seen exclusively on WBBH
Anchors
- + Peter Busch - weeknights at 5:00, 5:30, 6:00 and 11:00 p.m.
- + Kellie Burns - weeknights at 5:00, 5:30 and 6:00 p.m.
- + Nick Ciletti - weekday mornings (4:30-5:00 a.m.) and weekdays at noon
- + Stacey Deffenbaugh - weekend mornings (6:00-7:00 and 9:00-10:00 weekends, 7:00-8:00 Sundays and 10:00-10:30 a.m. Saturdays)
- + Krista Fogelsong - weekday mornings (5:00-7:00) and weekdays at 11:00 a.m.
- + Clifton French - weekend mornings (6:00-7:00 and 9:00-10:00 weekends, 7:00-8:00 Sundays and 10:00-10:30 a.m. Saturdays)
- + Lindsay Logue - weekdays at 4:00 and 4:30 and weeknights at 11:00 p.m.
- + Clay Miller - weekday mornings (5:00-7:00) and weekdays at 11:00 a.m.
- + Heather Turco - weekdays at noon, 4:00 and 4:30 p.m.
- + Joe Roetz - weekends at 6:00 and 11:00 p.m.
NBC 2 First Alert StormTeam Meteorologists
- + Robert Van Winkle (NWA Seal of Approval) - Senior Chief seen weeknights at 5:00, 5:30, 6:00 and 11:00 p.m.
- + Haley Webb - Chief seen weekday mornings (4:30-7:00 a.m.)
- Jim Reif (AMS Seal of Approval) - Waterman Broadcasting Corporation Director of Meteorology and hurricane expert seen weekdays at 11:00 a.m., noon, 4:00 and 4:30 p.m.
- Jason Dunning - weekend mornings (6:00-7:00 and 9:00-10:00 weekends, 7:00-8:00 Sundays and 10:00-10:30 a.m. Saturdays)
- David Heckard (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval) - weekends at 6:00 and 11:00 p.m.
Sports
- + Brian Colleran - Director seen weeknights at 6:00 and 11:00 p.m.
- Rishi Barran - weekends at 6:00 and 11:00 p.m.; also sports reporter
- Mark Laricos - sports reporter
Reporters
- Kim Brown
- Steve Campion
- Alex DeArmas
- Lauren DiSpirito
- Dave Elias - Investigator
- Julian Johnson
- Christina Lusby
- Sara Miles
- Chad Oliver
- Joelle Parks
- Laura Roberts
- George Solis
- Jim Spiewak
- Sam Sweeney
- Matt Wright
Notable former on-air staff
- Gene Lavanchy (now at WFXT in Boston)
- Shepard Smith (now at Fox News Channel)
- Ukee Washington (now at KYW-TV/WPSG in Philadelphia)
- Craig Stevens now at WSVN in Miami
- Mark Greenblatt now at ABC News in New York
- TJ Winnick now at ABC News in New York