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WBTS-CD

Summary

WBTS-CD (channel 15), branded as NBC10 Boston, is a Class A television station licensed to Nashua, New Hampshire, United States, serving as the NBC outlet for the Boston area. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Merrimack, New Hampshire–licensed Telemundo station WNEU (channel 60); it is also sister to regional cable news channel New England Cable News (NECN) and regional sports network NBC Sports Boston. The four outlets share studios at the NBCU Boston Media Center on B Street in Needham, Massachusetts. WBTS-CD is broadcast by full-power WGBX-TV (channel 44) from its transmitter site on Cedar Street, also in Needham, giving it full coverage of the Boston television market. It is branded as channel 10 owing to its primary cable channel position.[2][3]

WBTS-CD
CityNashua, New Hampshire
Channels
BrandingNBC10 Boston
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
January 29, 1988 (36 years ago) (1988-01-29)
Former call signs
  • W13BG (1985–1996)
  • WYCN-LP (1996–2014)
  • WYCN-CD (2014–2019)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 13 (VHF, 1988–2014)
  • Digital: 36 (UHF, 2014–2018), 43 (UHF, 2018–2019)
  • Virtual: 13 (2014–2018)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID9766
ClassCD
ERP922 kW
HAAT388.3 m (1,274 ft)
Transmitter coordinates42°18′37″N 71°14′12″W / 42.31028°N 71.23667°W / 42.31028; -71.23667 (WBTS-CD)
Links
Public license information
  • Public file
  • LMS
Websitewww.nbcboston.com

The license started in Nashua on January 29, 1988, as W13BG "TV13 Nashua", a low-power community television station which later changed its call sign to WYCN-LP in 1996. Its programming consisted of local-service programming for the Nashua area and content already aired by local cable systems as well as, later on, FamilyNet. WYCN-LP and associated translators were sold to New Hampshire 1 Network, a company controlled by William H. Binnie, in 2010. Three years later, Binnie sold WYCN-LP to OTA Broadcasting, which removed remaining local content and converted the station to digital broadcasting.

OTA Broadcasting sold the spectrum underlying WYCN-CD in the FCC's 2017 incentive auction. Without a transmitter, the station arranged to share the transmitter of WGBX-TV, giving it full-power coverage in the Boston market. OTA Broadcasting then sold WYCN-CD to NBC, whose NBC Boston service had launched at the start of 2017 on several transmitters but lacked a single primary signal. The station changed call signs to WBTS-CD in 2019 in anticipation of the relocation of the former WBTS-LD license, now WYCN-LD, to serve the Providence, Rhode Island, area.

TV13 Nashua

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Early history

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The station came to the air at 8 p.m. on January 29, 1988, as W13BG on VHF channel 13 in Nashua;[4] its license was granted on July 29.[5] Founded by Robert Rines[6] and owned by Center Broadcasting Corporation of New Hampshire, a non-profit partnership between the Concord–based Franklin Pierce Law Center and the Boston–based Academy of Law Sciences, the station aired local community programming for the Nashua area, along with programming that was already being sold to cable stations though the Yankee Communications Network.[4] Channel 13 changed its callsign to WYCN-LP on April 8, 1996.[7] Its tower in the analog era of television was on the campus of Rivier University, between two above-ground reservoirs and Brassard Hall, with studios in Memorial Hall on the same campus.[8]

WYCN-LP was nearly dropped by Harron Cable on its Nashua-area systems in October 1999 to accommodate a must-carry request by WMFP (channel 62),[9] a move that could have led to the closure of channel 13[10] even though its carriage on MediaOne in Nashua itself was not affected.[9] Its carriage was ultimately continued by Adelphia Communications following its purchase of Harron,[11] though the station was dropped for a time in 2000 after an additional must-carry request, from WYDN (channel 48), while Adelphia rebuilt the systems.[12] By August 11, 2000, WYCN-LP had been authorized to carry programming from FamilyNet.[13]

WYCN-LP, along with three co-owned translators in Nashua, Manchester, and Concord, was sold by Center Broadcasting Corporation of New Hampshire to New Hampshire 1 Network, a company controlled by William H. Binnie, in 2010;[14] by this point, control of the stations had passed to longtime WYCN staffers Gordon Jackson and Carolyn Choate[6] following the death of Robert Rines.[15] The deal was completed January 3, 2012;[16] in the meantime, Binnie would also acquire WBIN-TV (channel 50, now WWJE-DT) in Derry. As a result of the sale, much of WYCN's community programming, including aldermatic debates, was discontinued.[17] In December 2012, the station's studios moved from Rivier University to a location shared with sister station WFNQ (106.3 FM).[18]

OTA Broadcasting ownership and conversion to digital

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New Hampshire 1 Network filed to sell WYCN-LP to OTA Broadcasting, a company controlled by Michael Dell's MSD Capital, on January 14, 2013; the three translators were not included in the deal,[19] and began to simulcast WBIN-TV. Operation of WYCN continued to be handled by New Hampshire 1.[20] At the time of the sale, WYCN was affiliated with My Family TV.[21] The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the sale on March 22,[22] and it was completed on May 20.[23]

WYCN-LP resumed producing local programming soon after the sale to OTA Broadcasting, rehiring Gordon Jackson and Carolyn Choate as station managers;[6] however, in June 2013, Comcast (successor to both Harron/Adelphia and MediaOne) informed the station that it would be dropped from its lineup as of August 15 due to the earlier cessation of local programming, as well as its limited broadcast reach and continued analog broadcasting, even though WYCN had a construction permit to convert to digital operations and increase its broadcast range.[24][25][26][27] Comcast subsequently pushed back the date of the removal to September 3, despite protests from viewers, politicians, and Nashua's public access station.[28]

Due to its low power, WYCN's analog signal reached only portions of Nashua, its city of license. In contrast, its digital signal was expected to reach Manchester and Boston. The digital facility was planned to sign on by December 2013;[29] construction was held up by the need to use a helicopter to remove a former antenna for WNDS (now WWJE-DT) from the tower on Merrill Hill in Hudson that WYCN planned to use, an operation that was delayed to May 2014 by winter weather.[30] The conversion to digital was licensed by the FCC on October 23, 2014; concurrent with the launch of the digital signal, the analog channel 13 signal was shut down.

Until January 2018, WYCN-CD's original digital transmitter was 625 feet (0.191 km) off Trigate Road in rural Hudson, southeast of Nashua. The station's pre-auction digital signal broadcast on UHF channel 36, using virtual channel 13.

NBC10 Boston

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WYCN-CD sold its frequency rights as part of the FCC's spectrum auction for $80.4 million. OTA Broadcasting entered into a channel sharing agreement with WGBX-TV (channel 44) for the station; NBC agreed to purchase the channel share agreement[31] and the WYCN-CD license in October 2017.[32] In December 2017, the station announced on its website that it would "cease broadcasting on its current frequency on January 16, 2018 and begin broadcasting NBC Boston on a new frequency."[33] As WYCN's signal overlaps with WGME-TV in Portland, Maine, which also uses virtual channel 13, WYCN began using virtual channel 15 following the commencement of channel sharing, as WGME's post-auction physical channel is 15 (WGME's pre-auction channel, 38, was not available to WYCN as virtual channel 38 is assigned to WSBK-TV).[34]

The sale to NBC was completed on January 18, 2018;[35] the station began channel sharing with WGBX the same day. Before this transition, WYCN-CD was affiliated with Heroes & Icons (H&I),[32] which also maintained a full-market affiliation on the second subchannel of WSBK-TV.

On August 8, 2019, WBTS-LD (channel 8) and WYCN-CD swapped call signs, with channel 8 becoming WYCN-LD and channel 15 changing to WBTS-CD.[36][37] On August 31, 2019, WYCN-LD left the air in advance of its October 2019 transmitter move to Norton, Massachusetts, and city of license change to Providence, Rhode Island;[38] WYCN-LD now serves as a Telemundo station for Providence, leaving WBTS-CD as the sole NBC station for the Boston area.

News operation

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As a programming strategy, that just mystifies me. If you have four McDonald's on the block, why would you want to build another one?

Alan Schroeder, professor of journalism, Northeastern University, on the format of NBC10 Boston's news[39]

Concurrent with the launch, NBC Boston debuted a full suite of local newscasts. Early reviews found the news effort competitive with Boston's established local TV newsrooms but noted that the style—more in line with traditional major-market network affiliates than the flashy approach characteristic of WHDH—was not innovative and similar to other stations. The staff consisted of a blend of new hires, younger than anchors at other stations, and existing NECN talent, as well as Pete Bouchard[40] and Phil Lipof, previously of WCVB. To the existing resources of NECN and WNEU, NBC added approximately 80 employees, new vehicles for weather coverage, and a leased helicopter.[41][42] A second former WCVB anchor, J. C. Monahan, left that station to join NBC Boston in July 2017.[43]

A year after the switch and launch, NBC10 Boston and WHDH had opposite ratings performances. WHDH had largely maintained its news audience, including first- and second-place finishes in the morning and at 5 and 6 p.m. Meanwhile, NBC10 frequently ranked fifth out of five stations, though marquee fall network programming provided an improvement in the second half of 2017.[39] One reason for the poor performance was loyalty to existing stations in the Boston market.[44]

Subchannels

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Subchannels of WBTS-CD on the WGBX-TV multiplex[45]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
15.1 1080i 16:9 WBTS-CD NBC
15.2 480i Cozi Cozi TV

See also

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WBTS-CD". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "NBC's New Boston O&O, WBTS, Sets Lineup". TVNewsCheck. November 2016. Archived from the original on September 24, 2017. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  3. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (December 30, 2016). "NBCUniversal Gambles in Beantown With NBC Boston Launch". Variety. Archived from the original on December 31, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
  4. ^ a b Welych, Maria T. (January 29, 1988). "New TV station hits air today". The Telegraph. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  5. ^ "Application Search Details". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  6. ^ a b c "Sept. 3 slated as date Comcast will drop Nashua channel WYCN TV-13". Nashua Telegraph. August 16, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  7. ^ "Call Sign History (WYCN-CD)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  8. ^ "WYCN tv13 Nashua Studio (Google Maps pinpoint provided by former ownership)". Google Maps. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  9. ^ a b Milbouer, Stacy (August 22, 1999). "Local station is losing out to shopping channel". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on July 31, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  10. ^ Spiller, Karen (August 17, 1999). "Operators of station may shut down business". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  11. ^ Spiller, Karen (October 30, 1999). "Company plans channel shuffle to preserve local station". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  12. ^ Spiller, Karen (March 21, 2000). "Cable carrier to shut off service to most towns outside of Nashua as of July 1". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  13. ^ "Family Net Additional Systems List" (PDF). July 14, 2010. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  14. ^ "Binnie buy to lead to something bigger for the Granite State?". Television Business Report. December 28, 2010. Archived from the original on December 31, 2010. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
  15. ^ "Nashua's TV-13 hopes public support will convince Comcast to keep it the cable lineup". Nashua Telegraph. July 28, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  16. ^ Jackson, Gordon T. (July 5, 2011). "Extension of Consummation". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
  17. ^ McKeon, Albert (October 30, 2011). "Nashua...From the inside". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 25, 2011.
  18. ^ "Re: WYCN-LP..." (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  19. ^ "Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  20. ^ "TV-13 Nashua sale announced". Foster's Daily Democrat. January 16, 2012. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  21. ^ Malone, Michael (January 17, 2013). "OTA Broadcasting Grabs WYCN in Boston Market". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  22. ^ "Broadcast Actions" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. March 27, 2013. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  23. ^ "Consummation Notice". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. May 20, 2013. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
  24. ^ Solomon, Dave (July 2, 2013). "Nashua TV station WYCN fights to remain on Comcast". New Hampshire Union-Leader. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  25. ^ Allen, Samantha (July 30, 2013). "Channel 13 WYCN's future still unknown as Comcast eyes closure in Nashua". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved July 3, 2013.
  26. ^ Shaoup, Dean (July 20, 2013). "Channel 13 in Nashua adds online petition to its push to stay on Comcast". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  27. ^ Taormina, Barbara (July 27, 2013). "Comcast's plan to drop TV 13 Nashua draws ire". New Hampshire Union-Leader. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  28. ^ Taorima, Barbara (August 15, 2013). "Comcast to pull plug on WYCN Channel 13 in Nashua on Sept. 3 despite outcry". New Hampshire Union-Leader. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
  29. ^ Brooks, David (October 2, 2013). "TV-13 digital transmitter gets federal OK, will be running by Christmas". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  30. ^ "Helicopter removes old antenna as Nashua's Channel 13 moves closer to digital broadcasting". The Telegraph. May 10, 2014. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  31. ^ Jacobson, Adam (October 30, 2017). "NBC Boston Scores A Channel-Sharing Agreement". Radio and Television Business Report. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  32. ^ a b "Station Trading Roundup: 5 Deals, $25.9M". TV News Check. October 31, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  33. ^ "HomeWYCN". tv13nashua.com. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  34. ^ Tobey, Margaret L. (December 12, 2017). "Re: Assignment of Virtual Channel 15 WYCN-CD, Nashua, New Hampshire (FIN 9766)" (PDF). Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  35. ^ "Consummation Notice". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. January 18, 2018. Archived from the original on January 19, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  36. ^ "Call Sign History". licensing.fcc.gov.
  37. ^ "Call Sign History". licensing.fcc.gov.
  38. ^ "Request for Special Temporary Authority to Remain Silent (WYCN-LD)" (PDF). Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. October 3, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  39. ^ a b Leung, Shirley (January 25, 2018). "Who won and who lost the local news war when NBC broke up with WHDH". The Boston Globe. ProQuest 2431418679.
  40. ^ Leung, Shirley (January 6, 2017). "Plenty of news, not much new from NBC Boston". The Boston Globe. p. A1. ProQuest 1855734776.
  41. ^ Marszalek, Diana (December 5, 2016). "As New NBC O&O Goes Live, Boston Braces for Shakeup". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on September 1, 2024. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  42. ^ Leung, Shirley (December 29, 2016). "New studio, new copter, new station: NBC Boston ready to go". The Boston Globe. p. C1. ProQuest 1853940359.
  43. ^ Goldstein, Meredith (June 20, 2017). "J.C. Monahan has been hired by NBC Boston". ProQuest 1911306817.
  44. ^ Marszalek, Diana (August 28, 2017). "Past the Half-Year Mark, NBC's WBTS Has Yet to Crack the Competition". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on June 30, 2024. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  45. ^ "WBTS-CD". RabbitEars. Archived from the original on August 16, 2019. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
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