WBAL-TV

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WBAL-TV
Baltimore, Maryland
Branding	WBAL-TV 11
Slogan	Live. Local. Latebreaking.
Channels	11 (VHF) analog, 59 (UHF) digital
Affiliations	NBC (since 1995; also from 1948-1981)
Owner	Hearst-Argyle Television
Founded	March 11, 1948
Call letters meaning	W BALtimore
Former affiliations	CBS (1981-1995)
Transmitter Power	316 kW/299 m (analog) 513 kW/312 m (digital)
Website	thewbalchannel.com

WBAL-TV, channel 11 (DTV 59), is the NBC affiliate for Baltimore, Maryland. It is owned by Hearst-Argyle Television, a publicly-traded company which is majority-owned by the Hearst Corporation, which also owns sister radio stations WBAL (1090 kHz.) and WIYY-FM (97.9 MHz.). Its transmitter is located in Baltimore, and its tower is shared with WJZ-TV and WMAR-TV

Contents 1 History 2 Newscasts 3 Personalities 4 Former personalities 5 Awards and achievements 6 External links

[edit] History

The station signed on air on March 11, 1948 from its studios on North Charles Street in downtown Baltimore as an NBC affiliate. Early programming include Musical Almanac, Look and Cook, and Know Baltimore, along with news and sports productions. In the 1950s, the station introduced Romper Room, Baltimore's first live morning variety show. This show eventually became a nationally franchised program.

WBAL-TV produced several local bowling shows in the 1960s and early 1970s, including Strikes and Spares, Pinbusters, Duckpins and Dollars, and Spare Time. The station even went as far as building bowling alleys at its studios. It also launched several children's entertainment shows during this period, such as Rhea and Sunshine, Pete the Pirate, P.W. Doodle, and the teen-oriented Kirby Scott Show.

WBAL-TV's first stint as an NBC affiliate ended on August 30, 1981, when the station joined the CBS television network, swapping affiliations with WMAR-TV (channel 2), then owned by the Baltimore Sun. CBS wanted to move its programming off WMAR-TV, which pre-empted network programs heavily and was also a poor performer in the local news ratings. As a CBS affiliate, however, channel 11 pre-empted an hour of the network's daytime schedule everyday, as well as half of its Saturday cartoon lineup. Channel 11 also did not run CBS's late night programming. However, Baltimore viewers who wanted to see the entire CBS line-up could do so through WDVM-TV/WUSA in Washington, D.C., which was available over-the-air in Baltimore and pre-empted little network programming.

In 1994, CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting formed a partnership, resulting in the CBS affiliation moving from WBAL-TV to Westinghouse's WJZ-TV (channel 13), Baltimore's longtime ABC affiliate. In turn, the E.W. Scripps Company, the present owners of WMAR-TV, negotiated with ABC to affiliate with its Baltimore station. Channel 11 rejoined the NBC network on January 2, 1995, and has remained the market's NBC affiliate since then.

In August 2005, WBAL-TV launched a 24-hour local weather channel, WBAL-TV 11 Insta-Weather Plus, broadcast over-the-air on digital channel 11-2 and by cable in much of Maryland on Comcast channel 208.

The station was a prominent feature in the movie Diner, set in Baltimore. One of the characters' girlfriends works there, and another character watches College Bowl, an NBC program doubtlessly aired on WBAL-TV.

[edit] Newscasts

Channel 11 used the Action News title and format for its newscasts from about 1974 until 1988. Since the late 1980s, they have been branded WBAL-TV 11 News or just simply 11 News. For many years, WBAL-TV has waged a spirited battle for first place in the ratings with WJZ-TV, and in recent years, WBAL-TV's newscasts placed first at 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. The station's radar is called "HD Doppler".

Weekdays

• 11 News at 5 AM - 5AM-5:30AM
• 11 News Sunrise - 5:30AM-6AM
• 11 News Today - 6AM-7AM
• 11 News at Noon - NOON-12:30PM
• 11 News at Five - 5PM-6PM
• 11 News at Six - 6PM-6:30PM
• 11 News at Eleven - 11PM-11:35PM

Saturdays

• 11 News Saturday Morning - 5AM-7AM, 9AM-10AM
• 11 News at Six - 6PM-6:30PM
• 11 News at Eleven - 11PM-11:30PM

Sundays

• 11 News Sunday Morning - 5AM-8AM, 9AM-11AM
• 11 News at Six - 6PM-6:30PM
• 11 News at Eleven - 11PM-11:30PM

[edit] Personalities

‎

• Kate Amara
• Marianne Banister
• Mindy Basara
• Sarah Caldwell
• Kerry Cavanaugh
• David Collins
• John Collins
• Rod Daniels
• Domenica Davis
• Neal Estano
• Jennifer Franciotti
• Pete Gilbert
• Donna Hamilton
• Sally Kidd
• Laurie Kinney
• Lowell Melser
• Jayne Miller
• Traci Mitchell
• Lisa Robinson
• Rob Roblin
• Gerry Sandusky
• John Sherman
• Darrielle Snipes
• Barry Simms
• Stan Stovall
• Tom Tasselmyer
• Roy Taylor
• Tim Tooten
• Deborah Weiner

[edit] Former personalities

• Campbell Brown
• Sue Simmons
• Vince Bagli
• Rudy Miller
• Norm Lewis Now at WMAR-TV 2
• Carolyn McEnrue
• Julius Westheimer
• Marilyn Getas Now at KION 46 in Salinas, CA
• Sade Baderinwa Now at WABC-TV in New York
• Lisa Salters
• Tony Pann
• Carol Costello

[edit] Awards and achievements

WBAL-TV has boasted many television firsts, including:

• the first Baltimore television station to broadcast in color;
• the first station in Maryland (and the eighth in the world) to acquire a videotape cartridge machine;
• the first station in Baltimore to acquire a mobile satellite news-gathering system (dubbed "NEWSTAR 11");
• the first Baltimore station to deliver news in high-definition television (HDTV); and
• the first Baltimore station to hire an African-American news anchor and an African-American news director.

In addition, WBAL-TV became the first Baltimore TV station to win a Peabody Award for local news coverage (and the first Baltimore television station to win the award in any category in more than fifty years). WBAL's "11 News" was also awarded as one of the top three Best Television Newscasts by the National Headliners Association, alongside WFAA-TV in Dallas and WCVB-TV in Boston.

Other awards include:

• regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, the George Polk Award and the American Bar Association Gavel Award - for excellence in reporting and journalism;
• Outstanding television news operation in Baltimore (by the Associated Press and United Press International)

[edit] External links

• WBAL-TV Website
• WBAL-TV History
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WBAL-TV