WCAX-TV

WCAX-TV is a television station licensed to Burlington, Vermont, and serving the Burlington–Plattsburgh media market. It operates as a CBS affiliate and is identified with virtual channel 3. The station is owned by Gray Media and shares South Burlington facilities with WYCI, an independent station licensed to Saranac Lake, New York. WCAX-TV’s transmitter is located on Mount Mansfield, Vermont’s highest peak, a position that supports coverage across much of Vermont, northern New York, and southern Quebec. The station traces its institutional roots to WCAX radio, which began as an experimental University of Vermont student operation in 1922 and moved to full-time broadcasting in 1924. The radio station was sold to the Burlington Daily News in 1931. Charles P. Hasbrook acquired the newspaper in 1939 and retained WCAX when he later sold the paper. Hasbrook launched Vermont’s first television station on September 26, 1954, initially using the call sign WMVT and a license associated with Montpelier. The station moved its community of license to Burlington in 1955 and adopted the WCAX-TV call sign that same year. WCAX-TV became a CBS television affiliate at launch and has retained the affiliation throughout its history. The station briefly carried a secondary Fox affiliation from 1994 to 1997, primarily to provide Fox sports and children’s programming before the arrival of WFFF-TV. Its long-running CBS relationship, channel 3 identity, and local ownership made it an unusually stable institution in American local television. In 1965, it became the first Vermont station to broadcast in color. Local news and public-service programming are central to the station’s identity. WCAX-TV emphasizes Vermont reporting while also covering the broader Champlain Valley, including Plattsburgh and parts of New Hampshire. Its local output includes daily newscasts, weather, sports, public affairs, and agricultural information. Across the Fence, produced with the University of Vermont Extension Service, is one of its longest-running programs. The station has also operated reporting bureaus in Montpelier, Rutland, Plattsburgh, and West Lebanon. WCAX-TV has maintained a significant cross-border audience in southern Quebec, particularly in the Montreal area. Cable and satellite systems in Quebec have carried the station as a CBS affiliate, extending its reach beyond its formal United States market. Canadian carriage and simultaneous-substitution rules, along with the growth of Canadian English-language television, have reduced the importance of Canadian advertising to the station compared with earlier decades. The station added a digital local weather and news service in 2007, initially branded Weather 3.2 and later WCAXtra. That service was replaced by the Movies! network in 2015. WCAX-TV has also expanded its digital presence, launched mobile-oriented web services, upgraded its local news operation to high definition in 2009, and participated in digital-subchannel simulcasts of selected regional sports. Ownership changed in 2017 when Gray Television, now Gray Media, agreed to acquire the station for $29 million. Gray assumed operational control in June and completed the transaction on August 1, ending more than six decades of Hasbrook and Martin family ownership. The station remains an active CBS affiliate and regional news provider, with its brand built around channel 3, local reporting, weather coverage, and service to communities on both sides of the United States–Canada border.

WCAX-TV developed from WCAX radio, a station that began as a University of Vermont experimental student operation in 1922. Full-time radio service began in 1924. In 1931, the university transferred the station to the Burlington Daily News, which operated it commercially. Charles P. Hasbrook acquired the newspaper in 1939 and retained WCAX when he sold the paper two years later. Hasbrook established Vermont’s first television station on September 26, 1954. The station initially used the call sign WMVT and was licensed to Montpelier. Its parent company was renamed Mount Mansfield Television in December 1954, reflecting the location of the station’s transmitter and tower. In May 1955, the station moved its community of license to Burlington, then Vermont’s largest city, and adopted the WCAX-TV call letters the following month. WCAX-TV inherited WCAX radio’s CBS relationship and became a CBS television affiliate. It has retained that primary affiliation continuously. The station also carried Fox programming on a secondary basis from 1994 through 1997, mainly to air Fox sports and children’s content before WFFF-TV launched. In September 1965, WCAX-TV became the first Vermont station to broadcast in color. Stuart T. “Red” Martin Jr., Hasbrook’s stepson, helped build the television operation and became its general manager and later owner. Hasbrook transferred ownership to Martin in 1958. Martin sold WCAX radio in 1963 but continued to own the television station until his death in 2005. His son, Peter R. Martin, succeeded him. The family’s ownership ended in 2017, when Gray Television acquired WCAX-TV for $29 million. Gray took operational control on June 1 and completed the sale on August 1. Local journalism has remained the station’s principal differentiator. WCAX-TV developed a strong Vermont orientation while also serving Plattsburgh and other communities around Lake Champlain. It established a Montpelier bureau in 1964, a Rutland bureau in 1967, a Plattsburgh bureau in 1973, and a West Lebanon, New Hampshire, bureau in 2002. The station launched a weekday morning newscast in 1997, expanded its digital and mobile services during the 2000s, and introduced a digital weather and news channel in 2007. Its local news production moved to high definition in 2009, and weekend morning newscasts began in 2013. The station’s programming also includes long-running public-service features. Across the Fence, produced with the University of Vermont Extension Service, provides agricultural information and dates to the station’s early years. You Can Quote Me is a weekly public-affairs program. WCAX-TV has also experimented with entertainment and community formats, including Late Night Saturday, a program produced with Champlain College that showcased local musicians, artists, and personalities. WCAX-TV’s formal market is in the United States, but its signal and carriage have long reached southern Quebec. Montreal represents a large potential audience relative to the station’s Vermont and northern New York footprint. Earlier station branding acknowledged the Burlington–Plattsburgh–Montreal relationship more explicitly, although that practice diminished after the 1990s. Canadian simultaneous-substitution rules, competing Canadian stations, and changes in advertising deductibility reduced the station’s cross-border commercial activity. On November 19, 2019, a fire at the Mount Mansfield antenna site interrupted WCAX-TV, WPTZ, and WNNE. Cable systems with direct fiber feeds were able to continue carrying the stations, while Vidéotron temporarily substituted WWJ-TV from Detroit for WCAX-TV. WCAX-TV remains an active Gray Media station, CBS affiliate, and major source of local television news for Vermont and the wider Champlain Valley.

1. 2019Mount Mansfield antenna fire causes outage

   A fire at the shared transmission site interrupts over-the-air and satellite service.

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2. 2017Gray Television acquires WCAX-TV

   The transaction ends the Hasbrook and Martin family’s 62-year ownership of the station.

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3. 2013Weekend morning newscasts begin

   WCAX-TV introduces weekend morning news broadcasts.

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4. 2009Local news moves to high definition

   Studio production, graphics, and presentation are upgraded for high-definition local news.

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5. 2007Digital weather and news channel launches

   WCAX-TV begins operating Weather 3.2, subsequently branded WCAXtra.

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6. 1997Weekday morning news expands

   WCAX-TV launches its weekday morning newscast, later expanding it to a two-hour program.

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7. 1965WCAX-TV begins color broadcasting

   The station becomes the first Vermont broadcaster to transmit television programming in color.

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8. 1955Station moves to Burlington and adopts WCAX-TV call sign

   The television station changes its community of license from Montpelier to Burlington and takes the WCAX-TV identity.

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9. 1954Vermont’s first television station signs on

   Charles P. Hasbrook launches WMVT, the television station that becomes WCAX-TV.

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10. 1931WCAX is sold to the Burlington Daily News

    The newspaper acquires and relaunches WCAX as a commercial radio station.

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11. 1924Full-time radio operations begin

    The WCAX radio service transitions to full-time operation.

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12. 1922WCAX radio begins as a university experiment

    The station’s lineage begins with an experimental radio operation run by University of Vermont students.

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A Vermont-centered CBS affiliate combining regional local news, weather, public-service programming, and network television for the Champlain Valley and southern Quebec.

• WCAX-TV Local NewsLocal television news1954

  WCAX-TV’s core service is a schedule of local newscasts focused on Vermont, northern New York, and the Champlain Valley. The operation includes morning, midday, afternoon, evening, and weekend programming, supported by bureaus in communities such as Montpelier, Rutland, and Plattsburgh. Its editorial identity has traditionally placed greater emphasis on Vermont than some competitors based across Lake Champlain.

• CBS Network ProgrammingNetwork television1954

  WCAX-TV carries the CBS network schedule, including national news, entertainment, sports, and special programming. Some programs are broadcast outside the standard Eastern Time pattern to accommodate the station’s local-news structure, including its long-running one-hour 6 p.m. newscast and a later CBS Evening News feed.

• Across the FenceAgricultural information1954

  Across the Fence is a daily agricultural and rural-information program produced in association with the University of Vermont Extension Service. It is one of WCAX-TV’s longest-running local programs and reflects the station’s public-service relationship with Vermont communities, farms, and extension educators.

• You Can Quote MePublic affairs

  You Can Quote Me is a weekly public-affairs program featuring discussion of regional issues and public life. It complements the station’s conventional newscasts by providing a longer format for interviews and civic topics.

• WCAXtraDigital subchannel2007

  WCAXtra was a digital subchannel offering recurring local weather information, news updates, and some additional programming. It evolved from Weather 3.2, launched in 2007, and was replaced by the Movies! network in 2015.

• 2017Sale to Gray TelevisionM&A

  WCAX-TV had remained under Hasbrook and Martin family ownership for more than six decades, an unusually long period of continuity for a local television station.

  What changed. Gray Television announced a $29 million acquisition, assumed operational control through a local marketing agreement in June, and completed the sale on August 1.

  Aftermath. The transaction ended family ownership and placed WCAX-TV within Gray’s regional broadcast portfolio. The station continued operating as a CBS affiliate.

  Acquisition price. $29 million (Announced May 4, 2017; transaction completed August 1, 2017)

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• 2009High-definition local-news upgradeOther

  WCAX-TV had previously presented local news in widescreen enhanced standard definition while competitors were moving toward full high-definition production.

  What changed. The station upgraded its studio cameras and local news presentation to high definition, with field cameras transitioning later.

  Aftermath. The upgrade modernized the station’s visual presentation and was accompanied by new graphics, flags, and program openings.

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• 2007Launch of Weather 3.2Product launch

  Digital television capacity created an opportunity to provide continuous local weather and news information outside the main channel schedule.

  What changed. WCAX-TV launched a 24-hour digital subchannel initially branded Weather 3.2 and later WCAXtra.

  Aftermath. The service operated until it was replaced by the Movies! network on April 30, 2015.

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• 2019Mount Mansfield antenna fire interrupts broadcasts

  A fire at a shared Mount Mansfield antenna knocked WCAX-TV and two other stations off the air. Cable viewers continued receiving the station through direct feeds, while a Quebec provider temporarily substituted another CBS station.

  Other
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• 2017Gray Television agrees to acquire WCAX-TV

  Gray Television announced an agreement to acquire WCAX-TV for $29 million, ending the station’s long period of Hasbrook and Martin family ownership.

  M&A
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• 2017Gray assumes operational control of WCAX-TV

  Gray began operating WCAX-TV under a local marketing agreement before completing the acquisition later that summer.

  M&A
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• 2009WCAX-TV introduces high-definition local news

  The station upgraded its studio-based local news production to high definition and refreshed its graphics and presentation.

  Product generation
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• 2009Additional layoffs follow decline in automotive advertising

  WCAX-TV announced further employee reductions and attributed them particularly to weaker automotive commercial revenue.

  Other
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• 2009Marselis Parsons announces retirement from anchor role

  Longtime news director and evening anchor Marselis Parsons announced his retirement from the primary anchor position after decades with the station.

  Leadership change
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• 2008WCAX-TV reports staff reductions during advertising downturn

  The station eliminated several positions, citing declining advertising revenue during the economic crisis.

  Other
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• 2007WCAX-TV launches a digital weather and news service

  The station introduced a 24-hour local weather and news digital subchannel, initially called Weather 3.2 and later WCAXtra.

  Product launch
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1. WCAX-TV
2. Official WCAX-TV website