WMYV

WMYV is a full-power television station licensed to Greensboro, North Carolina, and serving the Piedmont Triad region, including Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point. The station broadcasts on virtual channel 48 and is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which operates it alongside ABC affiliate WXLV-TV. The stations share studio facilities on Myer Lee Drive in Winston-Salem, while WMYV's transmitter is located near Randleman, North Carolina. The current channel 48 license began broadcasting on May 9, 1981, under the call sign WGGT. Its original schedule was that of a general-entertainment independent station, combining cartoons, older films, syndicated sitcoms, religious programming, preempted CBS programs, and business news from the Financial News Network. WGGT faced difficult market conditions: the Piedmont Triad was relatively small for two competing independent stations, and its signal was weaker than that of channel 45, then operating under the WJTM-TV and later WNRW call signs. After WNRW secured the market's Fox affiliation in 1986, WGGT's financial position deteriorated. The station entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1987 and remained financially vulnerable into the early 1990s. In late 1991, Act III Broadcasting moved stronger programming from WNRW onto WGGT and began a simulcast that gave the two stations a broader combined signal. The pair was marketed as the Piedmont Superstation. WGGT retained only a small operational staff after the restructuring, while the simulcast continued through Act III's subsequent combination with Abry. Channel 48 later passed through a complex period of network and ownership changes. WNRW and WGGT added UPN programming in 1995 while retaining their primary Fox and other network commitments. That year, the stations also became joint ABC affiliates after WGHP switched from ABC to Fox. Sullivan Broadcasting, backed by ABRY Broadcast Partners, acquired the stations in 1995, and Sullivan was absorbed by Sinclair in 1998. WGGT was transferred to Mission Broadcasting but operated under a local marketing agreement controlled by Sinclair, creating a de facto duopoly before the ownership structure was later regularized. The station changed its call sign to WUPN-TV in 1996 and was acquired outright by Sinclair in 2001. Following the 2006 shutdown of UPN and The WB, Sinclair moved most of its former UPN affiliates to the newly created MyNetworkTV service. Channel 48 adopted the WMYV call sign on June 19, 2006, and began its MyNetworkTV affiliation on September 5 of that year. Although the station has retained that affiliation, its programming has primarily developed around syndicated and independent-station content rather than a conventional full schedule of network programming. WMYV has had several local-news experiments. Its earliest news product, 48 Newsbreak, began in 1983 as a short-form partnership with WBIG-AM and was later produced with WMAG. From 2003 to 2005, the station aired a 10 p.m. newscast using Sinclair's News Central model, with local segments produced in Winston-Salem and national news, sports, and weather supplied from Sinclair facilities in Maryland. The program was canceled because of weak ratings. WMYV subsequently carried a Sunday-night rebroadcast of Triad Today, a public-affairs program produced for WXLV. The station completed its transition from analog to digital broadcasting on February 17, 2009, using virtual channel 48 and digital UHF channel 33. It has also carried digital multicast programming, including TheCoolTV until Sinclair discontinued that network on many of its stations in 2012. WMYV remains a local broadcast outlet serving the Piedmont Triad, with programming distributed over the station's digital television facilities and through selected cable and satellite systems.

The UHF channel 48 allocation in Greensboro was first used by WUBC, an independent station that operated from 1967 to 1970. The present license began service on May 9, 1981, as WGGT, owned by Guilford Broadcasters. Its initial schedule consisted of cartoons, classic movies, syndicated sitcoms, religious programs, selected CBS programming preempted by WFMY-TV, and business news from the Financial News Network. WGGT struggled against channel 45, then WJTM-TV and later WNRW. The competing station benefited from stronger ownership and obtained the Triad's Fox affiliation in 1986. WGGT's weaker signal and the limited size of the local market made it difficult for two independent stations to prosper. The station nevertheless developed some recognizable local programming, including Pet Pals, a Sunday-morning program about animals and pet care, and the character-driven children's and movie-host formats Billy Bobb's Action Theater and Billy Bobb's Fun Club. Financial problems led WGGT to seek Chapter 11 protection in 1987. By 1991, the station was close to a more severe bankruptcy filing. Act III Broadcasting responded by acquiring WGGT's stronger programming and placing it on WNRW's schedule, creating a simulcast that gave viewers a larger effective signal. The arrangement was promoted as the Piedmont Superstation. Act III also assumed operational control and reduced WGGT's staffing substantially. The simulcast continued after Act III combined with Abry in 1993. In 1995, the stations added UPN programming while retaining their other affiliations. They also became joint ABC affiliates after WGHP moved to Fox. Later that year, Act III sold its stations to Sullivan Broadcasting, backed by ABRY Broadcast Partners. Sinclair acquired Sullivan in 1998. Although WGGT was formally placed with Mission Broadcasting, Sinclair controlled its operation through a local marketing agreement, raising FCC duopoly concerns. The station ultimately became a direct Sinclair property in 2001, establishing a legally recognized duopoly with WXLV-TV. The station used the WUPN-TV call sign during its UPN period. After The WB and UPN were replaced by The CW and MyNetworkTV in 2006, Sinclair moved channel 48 to MyNetworkTV. The call sign became WMYV on June 19, 2006, and the new affiliation began on September 5. WMYV has since operated mainly as an independent-style station with MyNetworkTV programming as a secondary component. WMYV has periodically carried local news. A short-form service called 48 Newsbreak began in 1983 with WBIG-AM and later WMAG. A nightly 10 p.m. newscast, UPN 48 News at 10, operated from 2003 through August 2005 under Sinclair's News Central model. Its local reports originated in Winston-Salem, while national news, sports, and weather came from Sinclair's Maryland production facilities. The program was canceled because of poor ratings. WMYV later carried a Sunday-night rebroadcast of WXLV's public-affairs program Triad Today. The station shut down its analog transmitter on February 17, 2009, ahead of the federally revised digital-transition deadline, and continued on digital UHF channel 33 with virtual channel 48. It previously carried TheCoolTV as a multicast service until Sinclair removed the network from many stations in 2012. WMYV remains a Sinclair-operated television station serving the Piedmont Triad through broadcast, cable, satellite, and digital distribution.

• 2009

  Analog transmission ends

  [1]WMYVen.wikipedia.org

  WMYV becomes a digital-only full-power station.

• 2006

  WMYV identity and MyNetworkTV affiliation begin

  [1]WMYVen.wikipedia.org

  The station adopts the WMYV call sign and joins MyNetworkTV following the end of UPN.

• 2001

  Sinclair acquires the station outright

  [1]WMYVen.wikipedia.org

  Sinclair purchases channel 48 directly, formalizing its duopoly with WXLV-TV.

• 1995

  UPN and ABC affiliations

  [1]WMYVen.wikipedia.org

  The station adds UPN programming and becomes part of the market's joint ABC operation after WGHP changes to Fox.

• 1991

  Piedmont Superstation simulcast begins

  [1]WMYVen.wikipedia.org

  WGGT begins simulcasting WNRW programming after Act III restructures the two stations' schedules.

• 1987

  Chapter 11 filing

  [1]WMYVen.wikipedia.org

  WGGT files for Chapter 11 protection amid sustained competitive and financial pressure.

• 1983

  48 Newsbreak launches

  [1]WMYVen.wikipedia.org

  WGGT introduces short local news and weather segments in cooperation with WBIG-AM.

• 1981

  WGGT signs on

  [1]WMYVen.wikipedia.org

  The current channel 48 station begins broadcasting from Greensboro as an independent general-entertainment outlet.

A locally licensed Piedmont Triad broadcast station combining independent television programming with a secondary MyNetworkTV affiliation.

• Broadcast service · 1981

  Local broadcast television

  WMYV operates a full-power television service licensed to Greensboro and targeted at viewers across the Piedmont Triad. Its schedule combines syndicated entertainment and other independent-station programming with a secondary MyNetworkTV affiliation.

• Network affiliation · 2006

  MyNetworkTV programming

  Since September 2006, WMYV has carried MyNetworkTV programming. The affiliation followed the closure of UPN and Sinclair's decision to place most of its former UPN stations with the new service.

• Public-affairs television

  Triad Today

  WMYV has aired a Sunday-night rebroadcast of Triad Today, a prerecorded public-affairs program produced for sister station WXLV-TV and focused on the local region.

• Digital television

  Digital multicast services

  The station has used its digital television capacity for additional programming services. One former service was TheCoolTV, which Sinclair removed from numerous stations on August 31, 2012.

• 2009

  Early digital-only conversionGeneration change

  Background

  Federal authorities were preparing the transition of full-power television stations from analog to digital transmission.

  Action taken

  WMYV shut down its analog signal on February 17 and continued broadcasting digitally on UHF channel 33 under virtual channel 48.

  Aftermath

  The station became one of the first Piedmont Triad full-power stations to operate only digitally.

  Source

• 2006

  Move from UPN to MyNetworkTVStrategy

  Background

  UPN was being discontinued as its owner and The WB's owner created The CW, while News Corporation launched MyNetworkTV as a competing service.

  Action taken

  Sinclair selected channel 48 for MyNetworkTV, changed its call sign to WMYV, and ended its UPN-era identity.

  Aftermath

  WMYV retained a network affiliation while operating primarily with an independent-style schedule.

  Source

• 1991

  Create a combined WGGT-WNRW scheduleStrategy

  Background

  WGGT was financially weak and had difficulty competing with WNRW for programming and viewers.

  Action taken

  Act III shifted stronger WNRW programming to WGGT and created a simulcast marketed as the Piedmont Superstation.

  Aftermath

  The combined operation improved effective market coverage, although WGGT's standalone identity and staffing were substantially reduced.

  Source

1. 1WMYVen.wikipedia.org
2. 2WMYV official websitemy48.tv