WYOU

WYOU is television station channel 22, licensed to Scranton, Pennsylvania, and serving viewers across Northeastern Pennsylvania. It is affiliated with CBS and is currently owned by Mission Broadcasting. The station’s operations are closely integrated with those of WBRE-TV, the market’s NBC affiliate, which is owned by Nexstar Media Group. WYOU and WBRE share production and studio facilities in downtown Wilkes-Barre, while WYOU maintains a Scranton presence through a news bureau and sales office. Its transmitter operates from the Penobscot Knob antenna site near Mountain Top. The station began broadcasting on June 7, 1953, as WGBI-TV. It was the second television station built in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the first to go on the air in Scranton. The station was established by Scranton Broadcasters, associated with the Megargee family and local radio station WGBI. From its beginning, it carried CBS programming and produced local news and entertainment from studios on Wyoming Avenue. In 1957, after the Philadelphia Bulletin acquired a controlling interest, the station adopted the call letters WDAU-TV. The Megargees later repurchased the newspaper’s interest. For much of its early history, WDAU-TV had a strong local-news franchise. Under longtime news director and anchor Tom Powell, the station reported extensively on regional politics, industrial accidents, floods, and other local events. Its news operation was particularly prominent during the 1960s and early 1970s, when it sometimes attracted nearly half of the market’s news audience. Its position weakened during the mid-1970s, however, as WNEP-TV modernized its news operation and became the dominant station in the market. A prolonged and unsuccessful attempted sale in the early 1980s delayed investment in WDAU-TV. The station also had to leave its longtime basement facilities after the building’s educational tenant required additional space. Southeastern Capital Corporation acquired the station in 1984 and invested in equipment, staffing, a new set, regional coverage, and a transmitter relocation. These changes were intended to make the station less Scranton-centered and more competitive throughout the combined market. Diversified Communications purchased WDAU-TV in 1986. That year, the station changed its call letters to WYOU and activated a higher, more strategically located transmitter near Mountain Top. Diversified expanded its news resources with a helicopter, satellite newsgathering equipment, additional newscasts, and a larger regional reporting footprint. WYOU briefly moved ahead of WBRE in portions of the early-evening news ratings, although WNEP remained the market leader. Nexstar Broadcasting Group purchased WYOU in 1996, making it the company’s first station acquisition. After Nexstar acquired WBRE, WYOU was transferred to Mission Broadcasting to comply with ownership rules, while Nexstar continued to operate the station under a shared-services agreement. News production and other functions were progressively combined with WBRE during the late 1990s and 2000s. WYOU’s separate news operation was discontinued in April 2009 after years of declining audience share and cost pressures. The station carried no locally produced newscasts for approximately three years before beginning to simulcast WBRE newscasts in 2012. Today, WYOU remains a CBS network affiliate and a regional broadcast outlet, with its identity and programming centered on network television, syndicated content, advertising, and shared local-news coverage.

WYOU traces its history to the postwar expansion of American television. After the Federal Communications Commission reopened UHF channel allocations in 1952, Scranton Broadcasters secured a construction permit for channel 22. The company, associated with the Megargee family’s WGBI radio operation, built studios in the former Prudential Life Insurance Building on Wyoming Avenue and a transmitter on Bald Mountain. WGBI-TV went on air on June 7, 1953, as a CBS affiliate. Its early schedule combined network programming with locally produced news, a cartoon program, and a western-themed entertainment show. In 1956, the Philadelphia Bulletin’s WCAU broadcasting interests negotiated a controlling stake in the station. The transaction closed later that year, and the station became WDAU-TV in April 1957. A more powerful transmitter was activated at about the same time, expanding the service area. The Megargees regained the newspaper’s interest in 1959. During the following decades, WDAU-TV developed a substantial local-news operation. News director Tom Powell became a defining figure, and the station documented regional politics, mining disasters, flooding, and other events. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, WDAU-TV was frequently the leading local-news station in the Scranton portion of the market. Its competitive position changed in the mid-1970s. WNEP-TV undertook a major overhaul modeled on the era’s successful eyewitness-news formats and eventually became the clear market leader. WDAU-TV fell behind, while a series of ownership negotiations between 1981 and 1984 postponed investment. The station also had to relocate from the Wyoming Avenue premises. Southeastern Capital Corporation finally acquired it in 1984, updated its equipment and facilities, rebuilt the news department, added regional bureaus, and planned a move to a transmitter site near Mountain Top. Diversified Communications purchased the station in 1986. On October 9 of that year, WDAU-TV became WYOU, coinciding with the new transmitter’s activation. Diversified introduced a more regional brand and expanded the station’s news resources, including a helicopter, satellite news truck, newscasts in additional time periods, and improved studio facilities. WYOU competed more closely with WBRE in some ratings periods, but the market remained dominated by WNEP. Nexstar Broadcasting Group bought WYOU in 1996. The company subsequently acquired WBRE and placed WYOU under Mission Broadcasting ownership while operating it through a shared-services agreement. The arrangement progressively combined news production and other operations. WYOU also briefly carried UPN programming as a secondary affiliation in the mid-1990s, but that programming later moved to WQPX-TV. During the 2000s, WYOU’s share of local-news viewing declined despite continuing investment and repeated attempts to alter its presentation. In April 2009, separately produced WYOU newscasts ended and employees were laid off. In 2012, the station resumed news coverage by simulcasting WBRE newscasts. It continues as a CBS affiliate serving Northeastern Pennsylvania.

1. 2012WBRE newscasts return to WYOU

   The station resumed news programming by simulcasting newscasts produced by WBRE-TV.

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2. 2009Separate WYOU news operation ends

   WYOU discontinued its independently produced newscasts and reduced staff as operations were consolidated.

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3. 1998Operations begin integration with WBRE

   News production and selected operational functions were combined with WBRE, while some sales and programming responsibilities remained distinct.

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4. 1996Nexstar makes first station acquisition

   Nexstar Broadcasting Group acquired WYOU, establishing a foundation for its later operating relationship with WBRE.

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5. 1986WYOU identity launches

   Diversified Communications acquired the station, moved its transmission operation to the Mountain Top area, and changed the call letters to WYOU.

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6. 1984Southeastern Capital takes control

   The new owner began upgrading the station’s equipment, facilities, staffing, and regional news operation.

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7. 1957Station becomes WDAU-TV

   Following a controlling investment by the Philadelphia Bulletin’s broadcasting interests, WGBI-TV changed its call letters to WDAU-TV.

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8. 1953WGBI-TV begins broadcasting

   Channel 22 signed on from Scranton on June 7 as the area’s CBS affiliate and first television station to broadcast from Scranton.

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Local CBS affiliate serving the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre market, with operations integrated with WBRE-TV and a regional rather than purely Scranton-focused identity.

• CBS network programmingNetwork television affiliation1953

  WYOU’s principal programming offering is the CBS schedule, delivered to viewers in the Northeastern Pennsylvania market. The affiliation has been central to the station since its launch as WGBI-TV in 1953 and remains the core of its broadcast identity.

• Local news simulcastsTelevision news2012

  Since 2012, WYOU has carried local newscasts produced by WBRE-TV rather than maintaining a fully separate news-production department. This arrangement provides regional news coverage while sharing production resources across the two stations.

• Syndicated programming and advertisingBroadcast television service1953

  Like other network affiliates, WYOU supplements network programming with syndicated shows, local commercial inventory, public-service material, and other scheduled broadcast content. These offerings support the station’s role as a local advertising and information platform.

• 1985The Pride of Pennsylvania

  Northeastern Pennsylvania

  WDAU-TV introduced a regional image campaign intended to move the station beyond its traditional Scranton identity and emphasize service to the wider Scranton–Wilkes-Barre area.

  Outcome. The campaign accompanied modest improvements in local-news ratings and regional positioning.

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• 2009Consolidation of local news productionStrategy

  WYOU’s news audience had declined over the preceding years despite format changes and ongoing investment.

  What changed. The station ended its separately produced newscasts and consolidated coverage with WBRE-TV.

  Aftermath. Fourteen employees were laid off, and WYOU later returned to news programming through WBRE simulcasts.

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• 1996Nexstar acquisition and later Mission ownershipM&A

  Nexstar entered the television-station business by acquiring WYOU and later pursued ownership of WBRE.

  What changed. WYOU was subsequently placed with Mission Broadcasting while Nexstar continued operating it under a shared-services arrangement.

  Aftermath. WYOU and WBRE progressively combined news and operational functions.

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• 1986Rebrand from WDAU-TV to WYOUGeneration change

  Diversified Communications acquired the station while a new transmitter facility was being brought into service.

  What changed. The station adopted the WYOU call letters and presented itself as a broader regional CBS outlet.

  Aftermath. The new identity accompanied expanded news resources and stronger competition with WBRE in parts of the market.

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• 2012WYOU begins simulcasting WBRE newscasts

  After a period without news programming, WYOU resumed news coverage by carrying newscasts produced by sister station WBRE-TV.

  Product launchOther
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• 2009WYOU ends separately produced newscasts

  The station discontinued its own newscasts and eliminated 14 positions as local news production was consolidated with WBRE.

  Leadership changeOther
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• 1996Nexstar acquires WYOU

  Nexstar Broadcasting Group purchased WYOU, its first television-station acquisition, before later transferring ownership to Mission Broadcasting while retaining operational involvement.

  M&A
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• 1986WYOU changes call letters from WDAU-TV

  Following Diversified Communications’ acquisition and the launch of a new transmitter facility, the station adopted the WYOU identity.

  Leadership changeOther
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1. WYOU
2. WYOU official station website