WTVH
A Syracuse, New York television station that originated as WHEN in 1948 and later became the market's former CBS affiliate.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
WTVH is a television station serving Syracuse, New York, with roots extending to the launch of WHEN on December 1, 1948. Meredith Corporation established the station as Syracuse's first television outlet, initially broadcasting on channel 8. It soon developed relationships with several early television networks, becoming a CBS affiliate in January 1949 and also carrying DuMont and ABC programming during the formative years of American television. In 1962, a channel-allocation exchange moved the station to channel 5, the position with which it became most closely associated. The station operated alongside Meredith's WHEN radio service for many years. When Meredith sold the radio station in 1976, the television outlet changed its call sign from WHEN-TV to WTVH. The new identity preserved the station's local heritage while separating it from the radio operation. During the latter part of the Meredith era, WTVH was frequently the leading local-news station in the Syracuse market. Its news operation included long-running personalities and locally produced programs, including The Magic Toy Shop, a children's program hosted by Jean Daugherty that eventually accumulated thousands of editions and evolved into Corporation on Location. Meredith sold WTVH to Granite Broadcasting in 1993. The ownership transition was followed by management turnover, labor tensions, anchor changes, repeated news-brand revisions, and a prolonged ratings decline. The station attempted several responses, including the Eyewitness News identity, CBS 5 News branding, and Central New York Live!, a sponsored lifestyle and talk program that replaced the 5 p.m. newscast in 2003 but was canceled the following year. WTVH also produced local news for Fox affiliate WSYT for part of the 2000s. These initiatives did not reverse the station's declining position in Syracuse news ratings. In 2009, Granite entered an operating arrangement with Barrington Broadcasting, owner of WSTM-TV. WSTM assumed operational control of WTVH through joint-sales and shared-services agreements, and the arrangement substantially consolidated the two stations' news operations. Approximately 40 WTVH employees were laid off at the outset. Sinclair Broadcast Group acquired Barrington's stations in 2013 and subsequently managed WTVH alongside WSTM. WTVH retained its CBS affiliation and some dedicated newscasts, although much of its production infrastructure and news resources were shared. The station's long period as a major CBS outlet ended in 2025. Sinclair obtained authority to build WKOF, a new full-power Syracuse station on channel 15, and launched it on July 22, 2025, initially carrying the Roar multicast network. On December 1, 2025, CBS programming and the CBS5 identity moved from WTVH channel 5 to WKOF channel 15. WTVH then became the ATSC 1.0 host for local digital services and carried Roar on its primary channel. Granite agreed to sell the WTVH license to Deerfield Media in December 2025, with the transaction completed on February 13, 2026. WTVH therefore remains a broadcasting asset, but no longer functions as Syracuse's channel-5 CBS service.
History
WTVH traces its history to Meredith Publishing Company's successful application to build a Syracuse television station. The Federal Communications Commission approved the application in July 1948, and Meredith changed the proposed call sign to WHEN before the station began broadcasting on December 1. The station initially used temporary studio and tower facilities while its permanent infrastructure was developed. It broadcast on channel 8 and quickly added network programming, including CBS, DuMont, and ABC affiliations. Network interconnection reached the station in December 1949, expanding the range of live national programming available to Central New York viewers. Meredith later acquired Syracuse radio station WAGE, which adopted the WHEN call sign. The television station consequently became WHEN-TV. In 1952, its transmitter moved from Court Street to a site near Sentinel Heights in the town of Onondaga. Meredith also developed new studio facilities on James Street, completed in 1963. That location eventually became part of the broader Syracuse broadcast complex associated with WSTM and WTVH. A major technical and regulatory change occurred in 1962, when the FCC authorized a channel exchange between Syracuse and Rochester. On September 9, WHEN-TV moved from channel 8 to channel 5, while WROC-TV moved in the opposite direction. Channel 5 became the station's defining broadcast identity. In 1976, Meredith sold the WHEN radio operation to Park Broadcasting. Because the television station could no longer share the WHEN identity with the radio outlet, Meredith selected the WTVH call sign, effective August 16. For much of the Meredith period, WTVH was a strong local-news competitor and at times the Syracuse market leader. The station launched a local morning newscast in 1990, becoming the second Syracuse station to do so. Its notable local productions included The Magic Toy Shop, hosted by Jean Daugherty from 1955 to 1982 and later known as Corporation on Location. Daugherty produced thousands of editions and continued working as the station's public-affairs director into the 1990s. Meredith sold WTVH to Granite Broadcasting in 1993. The change in ownership coincided with a labor dispute involving the station's unionized workforce and was followed by considerable newsroom instability. From 1993 through 1996, WTVH went through four news directors, reporter departures, and repeated anchor changes. Its news branding shifted several times, including the adoption of Eyewitness News in 1998 and CBS 5 News in 2005. The station's ratings fell substantially during the 1990s and early 2000s. The retirement in 2000 of Ron Curtis, a prominent anchor who had presented the 6 p.m. news for decades, became a visible symbol of the end of WTVH's long period of dominance, although the decline had broader management and competitive causes. WTVH experimented with expanded programming during this period. It produced a 10 p.m. newscast for Fox affiliate WSYT beginning in 2000 and added a morning Fox newscast in 2005, but ended the arrangement in 2006. Central New York Live!, a sponsored lifestyle and talk program, replaced the 5 p.m. newscast in 2003 and was canceled in 2004. Long-serving journalists including Maureen Green, Matt Mulcahy, and Liz Ayers left the station during the broader restructuring of the news operation. WTVH launched digital broadcasting in January 2004 and ended analog broadcasting during the nationwide digital transition on June 12, 2009. That same year, Granite entered a two-city operating agreement with Barrington Broadcasting, owner of WSTM-TV. In Syracuse, WSTM took operational control of WTVH through joint-sales and shared-services arrangements. The consolidation resulted in the immediate loss of about 40 WTVH jobs and the sharing of reports, weather, sports, and other production resources. Sinclair acquired Barrington in 2013 and continued managing the combined Syracuse operation. WTVH later regained some dedicated morning, noon, and meteorological resources, but remained operationally integrated with WSTM. The station also had a long historical role in the wider Central New York television market. It served as the CBS affiliate of record in much of the Utica area for decades, although that arrangement ended in 2015 when WKTV launched a CBS-affiliated subchannel. WTVH's own CBS role ended in 2025 after Sinclair built WKOF, a new channel-15 Syracuse station. WKOF began broadcasting in July 2025 using ATSC 3.0 and carried Sinclair's Roar network. On December 1, CBS5 programming moved from WTVH to WKOF. WTVH remained on the air as a digital service and ATSC 1.0 host, carrying Roar on its principal channel. Granite filed to sell the station to Deerfield Media in December 2025, and the sale closed in February 2026.
- 2026
Deerfield Media purchase closes
[1]Deerfield Media completes its acquisition of the WTVH license on February 13.
- 2025
CBS programming moves to WKOF
[1]CBS5 programming transfers from WTVH 5.1 to WKOF 15.1 on December 1; WTVH carries Roar.
- 2013
Sinclair acquires Barrington
[1]Sinclair acquires Barrington Broadcasting, the operator of WSTM and WTVH's Syracuse operations.
- 2009
News operations consolidate with WSTM
[1]WSTM assumes operational control of WTVH under shared-services and joint-sales agreements.
- 1993
Granite becomes owner
[1]Granite Broadcasting acquires WTVH from Meredith.
- 1976
WTVH call sign adopted
[1]The television station changes its call sign from WHEN-TV to WTVH after the related radio station is sold.
- 1962
Station moves to channel 5
[1]A Syracuse-Rochester channel exchange moves WHEN-TV from channel 8 to channel 5.
- 1949
CBS affiliation begins
[1]WHEN becomes a CBS affiliate on January 1 and later adds DuMont and ABC programming.
- 1948
WHEN launches on channel 8
[1]Meredith's Syracuse television station begins broadcasting on December 1, becoming the city's first television station.
Products and positioning
A long-established Syracuse broadcast station whose historical identity was built around local news and CBS affiliation, later repositioned as a digital television outlet following the transfer of CBS programming to WKOF.
Broadcast service · 1948
Local television broadcasting
WTVH's core service has historically been over-the-air television for Syracuse and surrounding Central New York communities. Its schedule combined network programming, local news, weather, sports, public-affairs content, syndicated programming, and later digital multicast services.
Local news · 1948
WTVH local news
The station's local-news operation was once a leading Syracuse news provider. It used several identities, including Eyewitness News and CBS 5 News, and produced dedicated newscasts as well as news for WSYT during part of the 2000s. Since operational consolidation with WSTM, production resources have been shared.
Digital multicast television · 2025
Roar
After CBS programming moved to WKOF in December 2025, WTVH shifted its primary digital service to Roar, a Sinclair-owned multicast television network. WTVH also serves as an ATSC 1.0 host for other local digital services.
Brand decisions
2025
Move CBS programming to WKOFGeneration changeBackground
Sinclair obtained authority to build a new full-power Syracuse station and launched WKOF with ATSC 3.0 capability.
Action taken
CBS5 programming moved from WTVH channel 5 to WKOF channel 15 on December 1, while WTVH moved to Roar programming and continued as an ATSC 1.0 host.
Aftermath
WTVH ceased to be the Syracuse CBS affiliate and became a different type of digital broadcast asset.
Winning bid for the Syracuse full-power television permit. $3.137 million (2022 auction)
2025
Sell the WTVH license to Deerfield MediaM&ABackground
After the transfer of CBS programming to WKOF, Granite pursued a change in ownership for the WTVH license.
Action taken
Granite filed to sell WTVH to Deerfield Media on December 17, 2025.
Aftermath
The transaction closed on February 13, 2026, with Sinclair continuing as the management relationship identified in the available reference material.
2009
Consolidate operations with WSTM-TVStrategyBackground
Granite and Barrington pursued shared operations in Syracuse during the economic downturn and amid pressure on local television news economics.
Action taken
WSTM assumed operational control of WTVH under joint-sales and shared-services agreements, with news, weather, sports, and other resources combined.
Aftermath
Approximately 40 WTVH employees were laid off, and the station continued with a substantially integrated news operation.
2003
Replace the 5 p.m. newscast with Central New York Live!StrategyBackground
Granite sought to address weak early-evening news performance and introduce a lifestyle format supported by sponsored segments.
Action taken
WTVH replaced its 5 p.m. newscast with Central New York Live!, a news-and-talk lifestyle program.
Aftermath
The program underperformed and was canceled in May 2004.
Sources2 sources
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