WMUR-TV

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WMUR-TV
Manchester / Concord, New Hampshire
Branding	WMUR 9
Slogan	No One Covers New Hampshire Like We Do
Channels	9 (VHF) analog, 59 (UHF) digital
Translators	29 WMUR-LP Littleton 27 W27BL Berlin 38 W38CB Littleton
Affiliations	ABC
Owner	Hearst-Argyle
Founded	March 1, 1954
Call letters meaning	Gov. Francis P. MURphy, founder
Former affiliations	Fox (WMUR-LP and W27BL only, 1990s-late 2001)
Website	wmur.com

WMUR-TV, channel 9, is the ABC television affiliate in Manchester, New Hampshire. This station is owned by Hearst-Argyle Television and has its transmitter located west of Manchester in Goffstown, New Hampshire. Several parts of its programming lineup are similar to that of WCVB-TV in Boston, Massachusetts, as both stations share some syndicated programs and channel 9 airs a localized version of Chronicle, WCVB's longtime signature program.

Until September of 2006, WMUR was the only network affiliated station in the state of New Hampshire. Since that time, Derry, New Hampshire based WZMY-TV, which was an independent station, has been affiliated with MyNetworkTV. For other network programming, other than ABC and MNTV, Boston TV stations are available in southern New Hampshire. Portland, Maine and Burlington, Vermont TV stations cover the northern parts of the state.

In the 1970s, one of its few local programs was the children's weekday strip The Uncle Gus Show. Unlike Boston's astronaut "Major Mudd" or the widely franchised "Bozo," host "Uncle Gus" wore no costume unless an angler's hat counted.

WMUR is also known for organizing and airing some of the higher profile candidate debates and town hall meetings before the 'first in the nation' presidential New Hampshire Primary.

Along with WMUR and WCVB, Hearst-Argyle also owns nearby NBC affiliate WNNE channel 31. WNNE is based in White River Junction, Vermont and is a semi-satellite of WPTZ, another NBC station owned by Hearst-Argyle. As a result of WNNE sharing its coverage area in New Hampshire with WMUR, WNNE's website features WMUR news stories and video.

Contents 1 History 2 Low-power satellites 3 Newscasts 3.1 Weekdays 3.2 Weekends 4 News Team 5 External links

[edit] History

WMUR was established by former New Hampshire governor Francis P. Murphy in 1954. The station was sold to Richard Eaton's United Broadcasting in 1959, following Murphy's death a year earlier. In July 1981, following Eaton's death, WMUR was sold to Birney Imes, Jr., a Columbus, Mississippi businessman who also owned that city's WCBI-TV, as well as WBOY-TV in Clarksburg, West Virginia; under Imes' ownership, he made WMUR a major contender in New Hampshire, upgrading its facilities and news department. In December 2000, Imes Communications sold WMUR-TV to Hearst-Argyle.

[edit] Low-power satellites

WMUR operates several low-power satellites in the northern part of New Hampshire, and has done so since the early 1990s. Until 2001, most of the stations aired Fox programming (one translated WMUR itself and therefore was affiliated with ABC) and WMUR's newscasts, but all switched to simulcasting WMUR when WMTW-TV, the ABC affiliate for Portland, Maine, moved their transmitter off Mount Washington [1].

As of 2005, the current call letters, channel numbers, and locations for the WMUR translators are:

• WMUR-LP (channel 29 Littleton, formerly W16BC and (briefly) W29CM)
• W27BL (channel 27 Berlin, part of Portland, ME market)
• W38CB (channel 38 Littleton, always aired ABC programming)

[edit] Newscasts

WMUR operates news bureaus in Portsmouth and Meredith, NH

[edit] Weekdays

• News 9 Daybreak - 5 to 7 AM
• News 9 Midday - Noon to 12:30 PM
• News 9 at Five - 5 to 5:30 PM
• News 9 at Five Continues - 5:30 to 6 PM
• News 9 at Six - 6 to 6:30 PM
• News 9 Tonight - 11 to 11:35 PM

[edit] Weekends

• News 9 This Morning - 7 to 9 AM
• News 9 at Six - 6 to 6:30 PM
• News 9 Tonight - 11 to 11:35 PM

[edit] News Team

• Ray Brewer - News Reporter
• Tiffany Eddy - News Anchor
• Erin Fehlau - News Anchor
• Kevin Flynn - News Reporter
• Naoko Funayama - Sports Anchor
• Tom Griffith - News Anchor
• Mike Haddad - Chief Meteorologist
• Heather Hamel - News Reporter
• Andy Hershberger - Crime Reporter
• Josh Judge - Meteorologist
• Sally Kidd - Washington Reporter
• Jason King - Sports Anchor
• Laurie Kinney - Washington Reporter
• Paige Kornblue - Anchor/Reporter
• Sean McDonald - News Reporter
• Jean Mackin - News Anchor
• Jennifer Millette - News Reporter
• Traci Mitchell - Washington Reporter
• Kris Neilsen - News Reporter
• Kria Sakakeeny - Anchor/Reporter
• Kevin Skarupa - Meteorologist
• Scott Spradling - News Anchor
• Jamie Staton - Sports Anchor
• Jennifer Vaughn - News Anchor
• Tara Mergener - Washington Reporter

[edit] External links

• Official website
• WMUR Wireless
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WMUR
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WMUR-LP
• Query the FCC's TV station database for W27BL
• Query the FCC's TV station database for W38CB