WAND
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| WAND | |
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| Decatur/Springfield/Champaign/Urbana, Illinois | |
| Branding | WAND-TV 17 |
| Slogan | The Best News You'll Get Today |
| Channels | Analog: 17 (UHF) |
| Translators | W31BX Danville |
| Affiliations | NBC |
| Owner | Block Communications, Inc. (WAND (TV) Partnership) |
| First air date | August 16, 1953 |
| Call letters’ meaning | Area Near Decatur -or- Weather And News on Demand |
| Former callsigns | WTVP (1953-1966) |
| Former affiliations | Primary: ABC (1953-2005) Secondary: DuMont (1953-1955) CBS (1953-1959)[1] |
| Transmitter Power | 5000 kW (analog) 350 kW (digital) |
| Height | 393 m (analog) 375 m (digital) |
| Facility ID | 70852 |
| Transmitter Coordinates | |
| Website | www.wandtv.com |
WAND is an NBC affiliate in Decatur, Illinois; serving the Decatur–Springfield–Champaign area. It is owned by Block Communications. It broadcasts on analog UHF channel 17 and digital UHF channel 18 from a transmitter near Argenta, with a translator, W31BX, in Danville.
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[edit] History
WAND began on June 17, 1953 as WTVP, owned by Prairie Broadcasting Company of Decatur. It is the oldest station in central Illinois, and the state's second-oldest station on the UHF band. Initial hopes of carrying programs from all four networks of the time were dashed, and WTVP had to settle for a primary affiliation with ABC and a secondary affiliations with DuMont. It was one of ABC's first fourteen primary affiliates, and one of the few early ABC affiliates on the UHF band that survived the 1950s.
Like many stations in medium-sized markets, WTVP initially wasn't able to get a direct network feed. The station had to rely on kinescopes of ABC and DuMont programming from New York City, and the programs often aired two weeks after the live broadcast. By October, however, WTVP was able to get ABC programming live from a microwave link in Danville. At this time, it also took on a secondary CBS affiliation. Even after WCIA signed on from Champaign in November, WTVP continued to air some CBS programs until 1959.
WTVP was sold to a Chicago-based group in 1958, only to be sold two years later to Metromedia. In 1961, the station activated a translator on channel 70 in Champaign. At the time, channel 17 provided only a grade B ("rimshot") signal to the Champaign-Urbana side of the market, and much of the area couldn't see it at all. It was sold to LIN Broadcasting at the end of 1965--the very first station in the LIN TV chain. On February 15, 1966, the call letters changed to the present WAND.
On October 8, 1966, WAND activated a new 1,100-foot (340 m) tower in Argenta. It was an experimental RCA "Vee-Zee" antenna, and one of only two ever put into service. (The second antenna was used by the WJJY-TV.) It was the first million-watt tower in the state, and added Champaign-Urbana to the station's city-grade coverage. As a result, WAND became the first station in the market to provide a city-grade signal to all four of the market's largest cities. At the same time, the channel 70 translator was moved to Danville, on channel 68.
On March 26, 1978, WAND's tower was brought down by a massive ice storm. The station was off the air for two weeks until it returned to the air from its original tower in southwest Decatur. The translator was moved back to Champaign, still on channel 68. This left Danville without over-the-air programming from ABC for several months.
In 1979, WAND activated its current 1,289-foot (393 m) tower, on the old site in Argenta. It is the tallest broadcasting tower in Illinois, and with 5 million watts it is also the most powerful. The station also moved the translator back to Danville, this time on channel 31.
LIN wholly owned the station until March 2000, when it sold 67 percent of the station to Block Communications in exchange for 100 percent of WLFI-TV in Lafayette, Indiana. LIN, who remained the station's minority owner at that point, continued to operate WAND for several years as part of the deal.
On September 5, 2005, WAND became an NBC affiliate as part of a larger nationwide deal.
LIN TV completed the sale of WAND to Block Communications on November 9, 2007.[2] From 2000 until 2007, LIN owned 33% of WAND. With the completion of this sale, LIN no longer operates the station; however, WAND's website remains in the format similar to those of most of the other LIN-owned stations for the time being.
[edit] Logos
 WAND-TV Logo, circa 1970 to 2005 |
 WAND-TV Logo, 2005 to present |
[edit] Firsts in Central Illinois
[edit] High-Definition Programming
WAND was the first to bring HDTV to Central Illinois. Regular video can be seen at the regular 4:3 aspect radio. NBC HDTV is currently at 16:9 aspect.
[edit] 24-Hour Doppler Radar Channel
WAND also broadcasts a second channel with live 24-hour Doppler Radar and the audio overlay of WX channel WXJ75 based in Springfield.
[edit] Online Weather and Newscasts
WAND broadcasts on-demand weather and news of its newscasts on its website, making it the first in the area to do so.
[edit] Personalities
[edit] Current
- Tara Barrett - anchor
- Steve Breitwieser - sports director
- Lee Davis - chief meteorologist
- Scot England - A to Z reporter
- J.C. Fultz - weekend weathercaster
- Brian Jodice - weekend sports anchor
- Patricia Kakridas - morning anchor
- Elizabeth Moors - weekend anchor
- Dawn Sterling - 5, 6 and 10 p.m. anchor
- Sean Streaty - 5, 6 and 10 p.m. anchor
- Greg Trumbold - morning/noon meteorologist
- Gordon Graham - Capitol reporter
- Liz Adeola - reporter
[edit] Former
- Abbie Alford
- Rick Barrett
- Joe Bauer
- Bob Billman
- Brandon Blocker
- Gabrielle Biondo
- Loren Boatman
- Warren Brinegar
- Mike Browning
- [Ross Cavitt][3]
- Bob Cashen
- Ken Charles
- Mike Cheever
- Jim Clayton
- Mike Cleff
- Don Coleman
- John Davey
- Bob Dolan
- Travell Eiland
- Tom Green
- Maria Gum
- Christina Jue
- Karen Konyar
- Chris Madarasz
- Mike Mazzocco
- Dan Medina
- Jill Monier
- Julie Moore
- George Moyer
- Bob Murray
- Grant Napear
- Eun Hee Pai
- Al Pigg
- Ron Rector
- Robert Reese
- Leandra Reilly
- Jeff Ruffner
- Devin Scillian
- Kim Sherwood
- Gayle Simpson
- Jerry Slabe
- Cathy Styles
- Lon Tay
- Marcus Thorpe
- Dawn Torchia
- Mike Vaughan
- Frank Vascellaro
- Dana Wadell
- Dick Westbrook
- Kim Wilson
- Bob Wright
- Rick Zurak
[edit] External links
- WAND-TV home page
- Query the FCC's TV station database for WAND
- BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WAND-TV
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