WABI-TV is the
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
-affiliated
television stationA television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
for
CentralThe Maine Highlands is now a term used in the Maine tourism industry for a centrally located region that constitutes a large portion of the state of Maine. The Highlands are made up of Piscataquis and Penobscot counties...
and
EasternIn New England, the term Down East is applied in several different ways. In the narrowest sense, Down East refers to the coast of the U.S. state of Maine from Penobscot Bay to the Canadian border....
MaineMaine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
licensed to
BangorBangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...
. It broadcasts a
high definitionHigh-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
digital signal on VHF channel 13 (PSIP
virtual channelIn telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
5) from a transmitter on Peaked Mountain in
DixmontDixmont is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,065 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Bangor, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
. The station can also be seen on
Time Warner CableTime Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
channel 6 and in high definition on digital channel 705. As the flagship of
Diversified CommunicationsDiversified Communications is a broadcasting company, headquartered in Portland, Maine. Among the various publications and broadcast outlets, the company organizes trade shows, publishes magazines, produces digital business and operates broadcast stations....
, the Hildreth family has owned WABI since its inception and its studios are on a street named after them in West Bangor. Syndicated programming on WABI includes:
Two and a Half MenTwo and a Half Men is an American television sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2003. Starring Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones, the show was originally about a hedonistic jingle writer, Charlie Harper; his uptight brother, Alan; and Alan's growing son, Jake...
,
Swift Justice with Nancy GraceSwift Justice with Jackie Glass is a syndicated court program hosted by Judge Jackie Glass....
,
EllenThe Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
, and
Degrassi: The Next GenerationDegrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian teen drama television series set in the Degrassi universe, which was created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1979. Degrassi is the fourth fictional series in the Degrassi franchise, and follows The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, and...
.
Digital programming
WABI operates the area's CW affiliate on a second
digital subchannelIn broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
. Known on-air as
The CW of Eastern and Central Maine, this can also be seen on
Time WarnerTime Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
Cable channel 10 (in most areas),
DirecTVDirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
channel 14, and
Dish NetworkDish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
channel 19. WABI-DT2 receives all network and syndicated programming through
The CW PlusThe CW Plus is a group of primarily digital sub-channels, analog, and non-broadcast cable television outlets for the CW Television Network, for markets below the top 99 television media markets in the United States....
.
| Channels (virtual/physical) |
Video |
AspectThe aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,...
|
Programming |
| 5.1/13.1 |
1080i 1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels...
|
16:9 16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ...
|
main WABI programming/CBS (HD) |
| 5.2/13.2 |
480i 480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC...
|
4:3 |
"The CW of Eastern and Central Maine" (SD) |
History
WABI-TV was the first television station in Maine, signing on January 25, 1953. It was owned by former Governor Horace Hildreth along with WABI radio (910 AM, now WAEI, and, later, 97.1 FM, now WAEI-FM). The station was a primary
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate but maintained partnerships with all major networks broadcasting at the time (CBS,
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, and
DuMontThe DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or Dumont was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946. It was owned by DuMont...
). It lost CBS to WTWO (channel 2, now
WLBZWLBZ is the NBC-affiliated television station for Central and Eastern Maine licensed to Bangor. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 2 from a transmitter on Rider Bluff in Holden. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 3 and in high definition on digital...
) in 1955, and lost DuMont soon afterward when that network shut down. The station swapped affiliations with WLBZ-TV in 1959 and became a primary CBS affiliate; the two stations then began to share ABC programming (which had previously been exclusive to WABI), an arrangement that ended when WEMT (channel 7, now
WVII-TVWVII-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for Central and Eastern Maine licensed to Bangor. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 7 from a transmitter on Black Cap Mountain along the Penobscot and Hancock County line. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable...
) signed on in 1965 and took the ABC affiliation. During the late-1950s, WABI was also briefly affiliated with the
NTA Film NetworkThe NTA Film Network was an early American television network founded by Ely Landau in 1956. The network was not a full-time television network like CBS, NBC, or ABC. Rather, it operated on a part-time basis, broadcasting films and several first-run television programs from major Hollywood studios...
. The radio stations were spun-off in 1993 and are currently under the ownership of
Blueberry BroadcastingBluberry Broadcasting is a Kennebunkport, Maine based media company owning 17 radio stations throughout the state of Maine. The company is headed by Bruce Biette, vice president and CEO, and Louis Vitali, President. Studios are located in Augusta and Bangor....
.
On July 28, 2006, WABI announced it was creating a new second digital subchannel affiliated with the new
CWThe CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
network. On Time Warner Cable (which was in the process of taking over cable coverage in the Bangor area for bankrupt Adelphia) systems, the subchannel would replace cable-only "WBAN", an affiliate of the predecessor
WBThe WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
network via
The WB 100+The WB 100+ Station Group was a group of primarily non-broadcast local cable television outlets for The WB Television Network, for markets below the top 100 television media markets in the United States. Dayparts with no WB programming were programmed by the network...
(which was similar to The CW Plus). This arrangement was part of a three year deal with WABI which also allowed continued carriage of its primary channel. The CW launched on WABI-DT2 September 18.
At one point, WABI-TV operated an analog repeater (W61AO channel 61) licensed to
CalaisCalais is a city in Washington County, Maine, United States. The city has three United States border crossings or also known as a Port of entry with the busiest being on the St. Croix River bordering St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada...
with a transmitter near
MeddybempsMeddybemps is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States. The population was 150 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water....
. The tower was shared with W57AQ, which repeated WLBZ. Until the mid-1990s, W61AO was used to feed cable systems across the border in the Canadian Maritimes. With the advent of CANCOM, WABI's cross-border carriage declined. Today, it is not offered on any systems across the border, including those in
St. Stephen, New BrunswickSt. Stephen is a Canadian town in Charlotte County, New Brunswick, situated on the east bank of the St. Croix River at .-Climate:...
, within W61AO's signal range; most cable systems in
Atlantic CanadaAtlantic Canada is the region of Canada comprising the four provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec: the three Maritime provinces – New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia – and Newfoundland and Labrador...
now carry
WBZ-TVWBZ-TV, virtual channel 4, is a CBS owned-and-operated television station, located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WBZ-TV's studios and office facilities, shared with sister station WSBK-TV , are located in the Allston-Brighton section of Boston, and its transmitter is located in Needham,...
from Boston for CBS programming. The W61AO license was canceled by the
Federal Communications CommissionThe Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) at WABI's request on November 9, 2009.
On
June 12, 2009The DTV transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...
, WABI-TV discontinued analog broadcasts on VHF channel 5; at that time, the station continued digital broadcasts on its existing digital channel, UHF channel 19. On January 4, 2010, the FCC issued a Report & Order allowing WABI to move from this allotment to VHF channel 13. The station made this move to be consistent with other full-power stations in the market (which are also on the VHF dial) and to save on energy costs. At 2 in the afternoon on December 13, 2010, WABI turned-off channel 19 and commenced operations on channel 13.
Programming
SyndicatedIn broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
programming on WABI-TV includes:
Two and a Half MenTwo and a Half Men is an American television sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2003. Starring Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones, the show was originally about a hedonistic jingle writer, Charlie Harper; his uptight brother, Alan; and Alan's growing son, Jake...
,
Swift Justice with Nancy GraceSwift Justice with Jackie Glass is a syndicated court program hosted by Judge Jackie Glass....
,
OprahThe Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
, and
EllenThe Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
.
WABI generally carries the full slate of CBS programming except for
CBS NewsCBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
Up to the MinuteUp to the Minute is a CBS overnight broadcast which offers hard news, features, interviews, weather, sports, business and commentary. Up to the Minute draws from the full resources of CBS News, including the CBS Evening News, Newspath, affiliate stations, the CBS Radio Network and Reuters Television...
(which is replaced by syndicated reruns). It does not carry all of the network's
Southeastern ConferenceThe Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
(SEC)
college footballCollege football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
games on weekends. For several years, the games that were not shown appeared on low-power Ion affiliate
WBGR-LPWBGR-LP is a low-powered television station located in Bangor, Maine, licensed to both Bangor and Dedham. The station is affiliated with the Ion Television, World Harvest and Liberty Channel networks, and broadcasts on channel 33 and channel 12 on Time Warner Cable...
. WABI preempted CBS games that conflicted with local sports programming and/or its weekend 6 o'clock news and 7 p.m. programming during
Nielsen ratingsNielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
periods. The national games were moved to WABI-DT2 effective with the 2009 season. The station often preempts CBS programming to air
University of MaineThe University of Maine is a public research university located in Orono, Maine, United States. The university was established in 1865 as a land grant college and is referred to as the flagship university of the University of Maine System...
sports. It usually re-schedules network prime time to air late night or the next morning.
News operation
For its entire existence, WABI has held the number one spot in ratings by a wide margin. One main reason for this longtime dominance is due to its status as the only station in the market with a full schedule of live, local news originating from Bangor; WLBZ airs broadcasts from its studios weeknights at 5 and 6 but otherwise simulcasts news from sister station
WCSHWCSH is the NBC-affiliated television station for Southern Maine and Northern New Hampshire. Licensed to Portland, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 44 from a transmitter on Winn Mountain in Sebago. The station can also be seen on Comcast and Time Warner Cable channel 6...
in Portland, while WVII only airs newscasts at 6 and 11 p.m. and pre-records most of the late newscast. Another factor is WABI's status as the only locally owned-and-operated commercial station in town. Further, some of its personnel have remained at the station for more than twenty years, unusual for a market Bangor's size. In addition to its main studios, WABI operates bureaus in
WatervilleWaterville is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States, on the west bank of the Kennebec River. The population was 15,722 at the 2010 census. Home to Colby College and Thomas College, Waterville is the regional commercial, medical and cultural center....
(on Main Street) and
EllsworthEllsworth is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Maine, United States. The 2010 Census determined it had a population of 7,741. Ellsworth was Maine's fastest growing city from 2000-2010 with a growth rate of nearly 20 percent...
(on High Street).
With the launch of The CW on September 18, 2006, WABI-DT2 added local news and weather cut-ins during its airing of the nationally syndicated morning show
The Daily BuzzThe Daily Buzz is a nationally syndicated breakfast television news and infotainment program. The show is produced by Fisher Communications and is owned and distributed by ACME Communications; it is broadcast every weekday morning from studios at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida...
. A simulcast of the weekday noon news was also added; this was shifted to a rebroadcast at 12:30 in September 2008. WABI-DT2 also offers a live 10 p.m. newscast,
WABI-TV 5 Prime Time News on The CW, which competes with a pre-recorded WVII-produced newscast on
WFVX-LPWFVX-LP is the primary Fox and secondary MyNetworkTV television station for Central and Eastern Maine licensed to Bangor. It broadcasts a low-powered analog signal on UHF channel 22 from a transmitter on Black Cap Mountain along the Penobscot and Hancock County line. The station can also be seen on...
. In January 2008, WABI-DT2 replaced the 7 a.m. half-hour of
The Daily Buzz with an additional, pre-recorded half-hour of WABI-TV's morning newscast, branded as
WABI-TV 5 Morning News on The CW.
WABI has broadcast its newscasts in
high definitionHigh-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
since October 11, 2010; it was the first station in Maine to make the transition. Unlike sister station
WCJB-TVWCJB-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for North Central Florida licensed to Gainesville. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 16 from a transmitter in Wacahoota. The station can also be seen on CommuniComm Services channel 3, Cox channel 7, and Bright House...
in
Gainesville, FloridaGainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, which revamped its on-air appearance when it converted to high definition newscasts in January 2009, WABI's newscast elements stayed the same except for slightly updated on-screen graphics.
Newscast titles
- Telejournal News (1950s-1980s)
- Channel 5 News (1980s-2001)
- WABI-TV 5 News (2001-present)
Station slogans
- "Keep Your Eye on 'ABI, Maine's First Television Station" (1950s)
- "The Spirit of Maine" (late 1980s-1992, 2001-present)
- "The News Station" (1992-2001)
News team
Anchors
- Wayne Harvey - weekday mornings and reporter
- Joy Hollowell - weekday mornings and reporter
- Carolyn Callahan - weekdays at noon as well as weeknights at 5 and 5:30 (also reporter)
- Jim Morris - News Director
A news director is an individual at a broadcast station or network or a newspaper who is in charge of the news department. In local news, the news director is typically in charge of the entire news staff, including journalists, news presenters, photographers, copy writers, television producers,...
seen weeknights at 5 and 5:30
- Jon Small - Assistant News Director seen weeknights at 6
- Catherine Pegram - weeknights at 6 and reporter
- Lauren Morrison - weeknights at 10 and 11 (also reporter)
- Meghan Hayward - weekends and reporter
- Danny Cashman - The Nite Show host
WABI-TV 5 Stormwatch Meteorologists
- Todd Simcox - Chief seen weekday mornings and noon
- Chris Ewing - weeknights
Sports
- Tim Throckmorton - Director
A sports director is an individual at a television or radio station who is in charge of the sports department. In local news, the sports director is typically the station's primary sportscaster, and often anchors the primetime newscasts on weekdays. They are in charge of sports programming and...
seen weeknights at 6, 10, and 11
- Prescott Rossi - weekends and sports reporter
Reporters
- Chelsey Anderson - producer weeknights at 5 and 5:30 (also "Take This Job and Love It" segment producer)
- Cathy Speronis - "Cooking with Cathy" segment producer
- Marion Syversen - "Finance is Fun" segment producer
- Tracey Marceron - "Arts & Crafts" segment producer
- Rob Poindexter - Central Maine Bureau Chief
- Caroline Connolly - photographer
- Diana Bosch
- Laura Roberts
External links