WOOD-TV

WOOD-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for West Michigan that is licensed to Grand Rapids. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 7 (Ex-Analog Channel 8) from a transmitter near Middleville in northwestern Barry County. Owned by the LIN TV Corporation, the station is a sister to ABC affiliate WOTV and Class A MyNetworkTV affiliate WXSP-CD. All three share studios on College Avenue Southeast in downtown Grand Rapids. Syndicated programming on WOOD-TV includes: Inside Edition, Access Hollywood, Ellen and The Doctors.

In addition to its main signal, WOOD-TV operates WOGC-CA on UHF channel 25 that is licensed to Holland with a transmitter east of Zeeland along I-196 on the tower of WJQK-FM. This repeater and another W46DD on UHF channel 46 in Muskegon were established around 2002 due to interference from WMVS, a PBS station in Milwaukee, whose digital broadcast is on on channel 8. The signals from that station and WOOD-TV regularly propagated across Lake Michigan causing interference with each other. After the digital transition on June 12, 2009 with the issues resolved, these channels continue providing analog service to the lakeshore areas.

History
The station first went on-the-air on August 15, 1949. It had the call sign WLAV-TV and aired an analog signal on VHF channel 7. They were the fourth television station in Michigan and the first outside of Detroit. The original owner was Leonard Adrian Verslius who had signed-on Grand Rapids' second radio station, WLAV 1340, in 1940. In 1951, Verslius sold the television station to Grandwood Broadcasting (a subsidiary of the Bitner Group) for $1.37 million. They were the owners of Grand Rapids' first radio station, WOOD AM 1300. That station had applied for a television license back in 1948 but it came just after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) imposed a freeze on new television construction permits. In fact, WLAV had been one of the last construction permits issued before the freeze. Grandwood eventually grew tired of waiting and cut a deal with Verslius to buy the station.

On October 19, WLAV changed its calls to "WOOD-TV" and began to broadcast from a new transmitter in northeastern Grand Rapids. On December 8, 1953, the station moved from channel 7 to VHF channel 8 and increased its power from 28,000 to 100,000 watts. The channel change was promoted as "Mark the date: We move to Channel Eight on December Eight". The move was to alleviate interference with WBKB-TV (now WLS-TV) in Chicago.

In 1955, the station moved to its current facilities in the Heritage Hill area of Grand Rapids. Its studios replaced the Bissell mansion (of Bissell vacuum fame) and are across the street from the Voigt House Victorian Museum. Time-Life, Inc. bought WOOD-AM-TV in 1957. Channel 8 has been an NBC affiliate from the very beginning though it had a secondary CBS affiliation until WKZO-TV (now WWMT) in Kalamazoo expanded its signal to cover Grand Rapids. It also had secondary affiliations with ABC and DuMont. The ABC affiliation lasted until 1962 when WZZM-TV signed-on. The DuMont affiliation ended in 1956 when that network ceased operations.

The call letters became WOTV in 1972 when WOOD was sold. Time-Life also sold most of its television stations to McGraw-Hill that year but held on to WOTV until 1983 when it was sold to LIN Broadcasting. In 1992, the station reclaimed its old call letters with WOOD radio's permission. Channel 8 then donated the WOTV calls to WUHQ, the ABC affiliate for the southern portion of the West Michigan market with whom it had a local marketing agreement (LMA) with.

In 1994, LIN Broadcasting spun off its television division into a separate company known as LIN TV but WOOD-TV was not included. Instead, the station became wholly owned by AT&T (which also owned 45 percent of LIN TV at the time) when that company absorbed the remainder of LIN Broadcasting in 1995. During AT&T ownership, LIN TV continued to manage both WOOD-TV and WOTV. LIN TV reacquired WOOD-TV and its LMA with WOTV in 1999 when AT&T sold-off its stake in the company to Hicks, Muse, Furst, and Tate (now HM Capital). On August 14, WOOD-TV became the first station in West Michigan to broadcast a digital signal on VHF channel 7. LIN TV purchased WOTV outright in 2001. On June 12, 2009 at 10 in the morning, its digital signal remained on channel 7 when the analog to digital conversion was completed.


Digital programming
The station's signal is multiplexed.

Virtual
channel Video Aspect Programming
8.1 1080i 16:9 main WOOD-TV programming / NBC HD
8.2 480i 4:3 WXSP-CD (MyNetworkTV)
8.3 480p 16:9 WOOD-DT3 "Storm Team 8 Live Doppler Network" (regional weather radar)

[edit] News operation

It's WOOD-TV news open.In an area first, the station purchased electronic news equipment in 1975. Five years later, it became the first to broadcast live news from outside the studio. In 1983, it introduced West Michigan's first news helicopter. The weekday noon and weekend 6 p.m.. newscasts were expanded to one-hour formats in 1995. The weekend shows now pre-empt the weekend edition of NBC Nightly News. However, WOOD-TV clears the remainder of NBC's broadcast schedule, including the Monday-through-Friday editions of NBC Nightly News.

Carol Duvall of HGTV's Carol Duvall Show started her career at WOOD-TV. On October 21, 2007, the station began producing a nightly 10 o'clock broadcast on MyNetworkTV affiliate WXSP-CA. This competes with prime time shows that air on Fox affiliate WXMI and CW affiliate WWMT-DT2. WOOD-TV's weeknight 6 o'clock newscast is repeated at 7 on WXSP. This station's meteorologists provide Local Weather Station updates on that station every morning from 5 to 6. It is the only surviving portion of the all-LWS schedule from the late 1990s. Meteorologist Terri DeBoer is seen during the week and Laura Velasquez is on weekends.

Currently, WOTV simulcasts only the second half of "Daybreak" and the 6:00 PM newscasts of WOOD-TV. Starting with the 2007-2008 television season, the weeknight 5 o'clock hour of simulcasted news on WOTV was replaced by TMZ on TV and Extra. Chief Meteorologist Bill Steffen does weeknight weather updates on WOTV.

WOOD-TV has news partnerships with The Grand Rapids Press, Holland Sentinel, Kalamazoo Gazette and Muskegon Chronicle. Sports Overtime is a weekly half-hour sports highlight show that airs Sunday nights after the 11 o'clock news. Football Frenzy is a weekly highlight program covering the Friday night high school football games as well as other sports news of the day. The 11 p.m. newscast is shortened to allow Football Frenzy to air during the regular time slot. To The Point is a weekly political talk show hosted by Rick Albin that airs Sunday mornings at 10. The entertainment and lifestyle show eightWest premiered on October 5, 2009 and airs weekday mornings at 11.

WOOD-TV has the distinction of being one of the last remaining broadcast television stations in the United States currently utilizing the 24 Hour News Source format, which it began using in 1990 -- the only other stations still using the format As of February 2010[update], are its sister station and CBS affiliate WISH-TV in Indianapolis, ABC affiliate KCRG-TV in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and NBC affiliate KFDX-TV in Wichita Falls, Texas.

On October 5, 2009, WOOD-TV became the second station in Western Michigan to begin broadcasting local newscasts in widescreen 16:9 high definition. The simulcasts on WOTV were included in the upgrade.

[edit] Newscast titles
News and Events (1949-1959)
The Marlboro News (1959-1962)
The Big News (1962-1972)
News in Action (1972-1976)
NewsCenter 8 (1976-1984)
News 8 (1984-1995)
24-Hour News 8 (1995-present)
[edit] Station slogans
"We're the Best on TV-8" (1977-1978)
"The Team to Watch" (1981-1984)
"TV-8, Let's All Be There" (1984-1986; localized version of NBC ad campaign)
"Come Home To TV-8" (1986-1987; localized version of NBC ad campaign)
"Come on Home to TV-8" (1987-1988, localized version of NBC ad campaign)
"Come Home to the Best, Only on TV-8" (1988-1990, localized version of NBC ad campaign)
"The First Team for News in West Michigan" (1990-1996)
"First. Best. Live." (1996-1999)
"West Michigan's News Leader" (1999-present)
"On-Air, On-Line, On-The-go" (2009-present; used in news opens)
[edit] WOOD-TV 8 Team
[edit] Current on-air staff
Anchors

Emily Linnert - weekday daybreak 5-7 am, noon
Brett Thomas - weekday daybreak 5-7 am, noon
Brian Sterling - weeknights 5, 5:30, 6 and 11 (and 10pm on WXSP)
Susan Shaw - weeknights 5, 5:30 (and 10 pm on WXSP)
Suzanne Geha - weeknights at 6 and 11
Marc Thompson - weekend daybreak 6-8 am, multi-platform reporter
Larry Figurski - weekend evenings 6 and 11 (and 10 pm on WXSP)
Rachael Ruiz - eightWest host
Storm Team 8 Meteorologists

Bill Steffen - Chief Meteorologist weeknights at 5, 5:30, 6 and 11 (and 10 pm on WXSP)
Terri DeBoer - weekday daybreak 5-7 am and eightWest host
Matt Kirkwood - weekdays at noon
Laura Velasquez - weekend daybreak 6-8 am
Kyle Underwood - weekend evenings 6 and 11 (and 10 pm on WXSP)
Sports

Jack Doles - Sports Director weeknights at 6 and 11 (and 10pm on WXSP)
Jason Terzis - weekend evenings 6 and 11 (and 10pm on WXSP), producer/anchor of Sports Overtime (Sundays 11:25pm-midnight)
multi-platform sports reporter/photographer
Larry Figurski - weekend evenings 6, 10 and 11 news anchor
multi-platform sports anchor/reporter/photographer
Multi-platform reporters

Rick Albin - political beat and To The Point host (Sundays at 10am)
Eva Aguirre Cooper - Communications Director
"Angel Tree", "Drive to Live", and "Connecting with Community" segments producer
Dani Carlson
Henry Erb - investigative beat
Leon Hendrix
Crystal Hilliard
Ken Kolker - investigative, crime beat
Joe LaFurgey - Grand Rapids city government beat
Dee Morrison - weekday mornings
Anne Schieber - "Your Money" beat
Megan Stembol
Tony Tagliavia - education beat
Ryan Takeo
[edit] Former on-air staff
Bill Allen
Kristi Andersen - now a reporter/anchor at KETV in Omaha, NE
Andy Amyx - deceased (2005)-Peddles the Clown (1967-1976) Promotion Manager
Gary Bazner - deceased
Cary Berglund - now at KNBC
Dan Bewley - now a reporter at KOTV in Tulsa, OK
Dave Bolton
Tom Bradford
Jane Brierley
Roger Brown
Dave Carmichael
Lynn Carthane
Patrick Center - now a News Director at WGVU-TV
Eddie Chase
Dick Cheverton
Jim Childress
Dray Clark - now a reporter at KYW-TV in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jim Collins
Angie Crouch - now at KNBC
Jim Cummins - deceased
Brian Curtis - anchor/reporter (currently main weekday evening anchor at KXAS-TV in Dallas/Fort Worth)
Coy Davis
Della DiPietro - a.k.a. Della Koach
Todd Donoho
Melissa Dunbar - now a reporter at KTHV in Little Rock, Arkansas
Glen Eckelkamp- now working in sales for Regent Broadcasting
Brad Edwards - now at WISH-TV 8 Indianapolis
Don Elliott
John Estabrook
Dick Evans - deceased
Curt Fonger
Alan Gionet - now weekend anchor at KCNC
Cynthia Grebe - retired, married to former congressman Bill Schuette
Scott Harrison - now reporter at KRDO
Derek Hayward
Heather Herron - now main anchor at WANE
Dennis Hodges - provides weather reports for various radio stations in Michigan
Ron Howes - now Chief Meteorologist at WTVF
Craig James - retired in 2008
Doris Jarrell
Dave Jefferson
Phil Johnson - now working in sales for Regent Broadcasting
Ed Kemp
Jim Kipp
Steve Kmetko - former E! news host
Bruce Kopp - now weekday morning anchor at WTHR
Noreen Lauer - now a freelance marketing writer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, owner of Noreen Fieber (married name) Communications
Jessica Leffler
Buck Matthews
Dick McKay
Matt McLogan - now a Vice President at Grand Valley State University in Michigan
Letitia Miele
Keith Monahan - now Chief Meteorologist at KIAH
Jennifer Moss
Larry Nienhaus
Steve Osunsami - ABC News correspondent
Dawn Picken
Ernie Reno - now founder and president of Avatar Communications Group
Andy Rent - portrayed Captain Woody for a children's show, now morning disc jockey at WTRV
Warren Reynolds - deceased
Jay Ricci
Rick Roberts - deceased
Christine Roher
Susan Samples - now back at WOOD as special projects producer, appearing on-air occasionally
Sally Scobey
Janet Shamlian - now at NBC News
Joe Sullivan
John Stehr - now primary evening anchor at WTHR in Indianapolis, IN
Matt Stevens - now a reporter at WOIO in Cleveland, OH
John Strickler
Bill Struyk
Alex Taylor
Don Turner
Nick Unger
Tom Van Howe - retired, between 2008 and 2009 served as substitute 5, 5:30 and 6pm anchor on WWMT Now does commentary work at same station.
Ben Watson
Linda White
Rhona Williams
Matt Winer - now at ESPN
Emily Zangaro - now at Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI
Ginger Zee - now meteorologist at WMAQ-TV she also occasionally broadcasts the weather for MSNBC