Jump to content

WSBK-TV and Nelson Ledges Road Course: Difference between pages

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Difference between pages)
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Date links per wp:mosnum/Other using AWB
 
The Anomebot2 (talk | contribs)
Bots
1,038,185 edits
Adding geodata: {{coord missing|United States}}
 
Line 1: Line 1:
{{For|the state park|Nelson Kennedy Ledges State Park}}
{{about|television station|the Superbike World Championship (WSBK)|Superbike World Championship}}
{{Infobox_Broadcast |
call_letters = WSBK-TV|
city = |
station_logo = [[Image:WSBK-TV logo.svg|125px]]|
station_slogan = Entertaining Boston|
station_branding = TV 38|
analog = 38 ([[ultra high frequency|UHF]])|
digital = 39 ([[ultra high frequency|UHF]])|
other_chs = |
affiliations = [[Independent station (North America)|Independent]]|
network = |
founded = |
airdate = October 12, 1964|
location = [[Boston, Massachusetts]]|
callsign_meaning = '''SBK''' (stock ticker symbol of former owner [[Storer Broadcasting]])|
former_callsigns = WIHS-TV (1964-1966)|
former_channel_numbers = |
owner = [[CBS Corporation]]|
licensee = WSBK TV38, Inc.|
sister_stations = [[WBCN]], [[WBZ (AM)|WBZ]], [[WBZ-TV]], [[WBMX]], [[WODS]], [[WZLX]]|
former_affiliations = [[UPN]] (1995-2006)|
effective_radiated_power = 2340 [[kilowatt|kW]] (analog)<br>135 kW (digital)|
HAAT = 354 m (analog)<br>390 m (digital)|
class = |
facility_id = 73982|
coordinates = {{coord|42|18|10.7|N|71|13|4.9|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}|
homepage = http://www.tv38.com/
}}
'''WSBK-TV''', channel 38, is an [[independent station (North America)|independent television station]] licensed to [[Boston, Massachusetts]], owned by the [[CBS Corporation]]. The station shares studio facilities in the Allston/Brighton neighborhood of Boston with sister station [[WBZ-TV]] (channel 4), and its transmitter is located in [[Needham, Massachusetts]]. WSBK is also seen in [[Canada]] to subscribers of the [[Bell TV]] and [[Star Choice]] satellite services as well as subscribers of [[Cogeco Cable]], [[Shaw Cable]], [[Rogers Cable]], [[Vidéotron]], and [[Persona Inc.|Persona]].


'''Nelson Ledges Road Course''' is a paved automobile and motorcycle racing circuit in [[Garrettsville, Ohio]]. It also holds car control and safety clinics. The track is {{convert|2|mi|km|0}} long and consists of 7 major turns. It has a long history of racing. The track and facilities have vastly improved over the last several years under new ownership. It consists of a Short Course and a Long Course.
==History==


== History ==
The station began broadcasting on October 12, 1964. It was first licensed to [[CatholicTV|Boston Catholic Television Center]] and had the [[call letters]] '''WIHS-TV'''. The station employed a general entertainment format along with the daily and Sunday [[Mass]]. The station was bought by [[Storer Broadcasting]] two years later. A few months after the purchase, the station's call letters became the present '''WSBK-TV''', named after the company's [[ticker symbol]] on the [[New York Stock Exchange]], '''SBK'''. Storer kept the general entertainment format and added stronger programming--including cartoons, off-network sitcoms and feature films. WSBK offered Japanese cartoons dubbed into English including ''[[Marine Boy]]'' and ''[[Prince Planet]]''.
Most notably, the Nelson Ledges Road Course has hosted the "Longest Day", a 24-hour automobile race in which a team of 2 or more drivers race continuously. The vehicles range from "Showroom Stock" to racing prototypes.The annual race was discontinued in the late 1990s, but is again on the schedule for 2007. The 2007 event was won by the #86 Boxing Cat Motorsports Porsche 911.


The Future :
However, Storer scored its biggest coup almost the following year, when it secured broadcast rights to the [[Boston Bruins]] from [[WLVI-TV|WKBG-TV]]. During the next few years, as the Bruins became a contender for the [[National Hockey League]]'s [[Stanley Cup]] championship, the popularity of these games led to a spike in UHF antenna purchases, and helped make channel 38 one of the leading independent stations in the country. For much of the time between 1970 and 1984, WSBK would televise between 70 and 72 of the Bruins' 80 regular-season games, as well as all playoff games not on network television.


The Nelson Ledges Road Course in Warren, Ohio is set to change ownership, and the new owners plan major revisions to the existing seven-turn, 2.0 mile road course and the facilities on site.
In 1975, WSBK acquired television rights to the [[Boston Red Sox]], and got even luckier; the Red Sox won the American League pennant during the team's first year on WSBK. The team stayed on WSBK through 1995, and returned for three years from 2003 through 2005. WSBK broadcast between 90 and 110 Red Sox games a year between 1975 and 1983; about 75 games a year from 1984 until 1995; and a limited number of games (usually 28 to 30 a year) between 2003 and 2005.


Scott Lane, President and General Manager of the facility, said in a telephone interview with Roadracing World today that the sale is in its final stages.
At the beginning of the 1990s, WSBK began to broadcast road games of the [[Boston Celtics]]; it continued to do so through 1997-98.


"There's a 99 percent chance that it will be sold, pending some final environmental reviews and some last details," Lane said. "We expect that the sale will be finalized within a month."
Until 1983, WSBK also ran some network programs that were preempted by the local [[NBC]] (WBZ-TV), ABC (first [[WHDH-TV|WNAC-TV]], then [[WCVB-TV]]), and CBS (first WHDH-TV, then WNAC-TV/WNEV-TV) affiliates.


Lane declined to identify the buyer at this time, but when asked what changes the new owners intended for the track, Lane said simply that the changes would be:
WSBK's popularity was such that by the mid-1970s, it was available on nearly every [[cable television|cable]] system in [[New England]]. In the late 1980s, WSBK became a national [[superstation]] when it entered into agreement with a company called Eastern Microwave to distribute its signal outside New England. Eastern Microwave also distributed the signal of superstation [[WWOR-TV|WOR-TV]] in [[New York City]]. It had already been available on nearly every cable system in [[New England]] since the mid-1970s. WSBK's main selling point was its coverage of the Red Sox, similar to how WOR-TV, [[WGN-TV]] in [[Chicago]], and [[WPCH-TV|WTBS]] in [[Atlanta]] used their coverage of the [[New York Mets]], [[Chicago Cubs]], and [[Atlanta Braves]], respectively. The carriage did not reach those other stations' levels, but covered large portions of [[New York]], [[New Jersey]] and a handful of cable systems in [[Florida]] (which produced the unusual circumstance of Red Sox games being regularly broadcast into part of the [[New York Yankees]]' main market).


"Major. Major. Everything will be new. New track, new surface, new buildings, new facilities, everything. It will be part country club, part race course."
WSBK's coverage of the Boston Bruins also made it a favorite superstation on Canadian cable systems, along with WOR (at the time, WOR was televising away games of all three New York-area NHL teams, the [[New York Islanders]], the [[New York Rangers]] and the [[New Jersey Devils]]).


Nelson Ledges has been a regular stop for WERA National and Regional races, as well as for the Fasttrax local motorcycle road racing organization.
When the FCC's "[[Syndication Exclusivity]]" rules (called "Syndex") were strengthened in the early 1990s, distribution of all "distant signals" were hampered. The rule protected stations in local markets from out-of-market competition by superstations airing identical syndicated programming. Any station could file with cable systems for "protection" and the cable system would have to black out the offending station for periods of time. The management of this "blocking" would prove so cumbersome that many cable systems began dropping distant signals such as WSBK and effectively stopped most superstation distribution. Distributors such as Eastern Microwave attempted to make it easier for cable systems by substituting shows that could not be blocked, but the damage had already been done by then.


However, its bumpy surface, high-speed layout and lack of run-off room at some of its more daunting corners have been the source of controversy, and in rainy conditions, some riders have refused to race, citing safety concerns.
Besides its status as a sports powerhouse, WSBK made a name for itself when it created ''The Movie Loft'', one of the first "hosted movie" franchises on television long before it became a staple on cable. ''The Movie Loft'' aired syndicated movies with interstitial program elements hosted by Dana Hersey. Part of ''The Movie Loft'''s marketing was that it aired only "unedited" movies. ''The Movie Loft'' tested that on several occasions airing movies such as ''[[The Deer Hunter]]'' and ''[[48 Hours]]'' in unedited fashion.


Jun 30, 2008, By Michael Gougis, ©Copyright 2008, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.
[[Kohlberg Kravis Roberts]] bought WSBK along with most of the other Storer stations in 1985. At this time, ownership was officially under the KKR subsidiary of New Boston Television, although on the air, the parent company of WSBK was still referenced to Storer. KKR later sold most of its stations to [[George N. Gillett Jr.|Gillett Communications]]. When Gillett defaulted on some of the financing agreements in the early 1990s, the ownership was restructured and the company was renamed SCI Television.


Nelson Ledges is a 2.0 mile track with 13 turns, 10 right and 3 left.
As a result of SCI filing for [[Chapter 11 bankruptcy]], WSBK was sold in a group deal to [[New World Communications]] in 1993. In 1994, New World made a landmark deal with Fox to switch most of its CBS, ABC, and NBC affiliated stations to Fox affiliation. WSBK remained an independent station and was eventually put up for sale again to protect WFXT, which by this time had been bought by Fox. The station was then sold to [[Paramount Communications]] (which would become a subsidiary of [[Viacom (1971-2005)|Viacom]] that same year) and became a charter [[UPN]] affiliate in 1995. Originally, the station continued to run the same type of programming with UPN's schedule added. As UPN's schedule grew to more nights of the week, key WSBK franchises such as ''The Movie Loft'' were discontinued. Because Paramount owned the station and UPN, it did not want to pre-empt UPN programming. Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics broadcasts were significantly cut back, and eventually dropped entirely.


Track Details
In 2001, after Viacom's merger with [[Westinghouse Electric (1886)|the previous CBS Corporation]], WSBK moved its studios and offices to WBZ-TV's building.


Caption
On January 24, 2006, UPN and the [[WB Television Network]] announced that they would merge to create a new network, the [[CW Television Network]], named for its corporate parents CBS and the [[Warner Bros.]] unit of [[Time Warner]]. WLVI-TV, Boston's WB affiliate, was announced as Boston's CW affiliate, leaving WSBK to tenatively become an independent station once again. On February 22, 2006, the [[News Corporation]] announced that it would launch another new broadcast television network, [[MyNetworkTV]], operated by its [[Fox Television Stations]] division. WSBK was mentioned as a potential affiliate of MyNetworkTV, but on May 1, 2006, CBS announced that channel 38 would revert to independent status again. The Boston market MyNetworkTV affiliation eventually went to independent station [[WZMY-TV]] in [[Derry, New Hampshire]].


Located at 10342 State Route 305
WSBK-TV officially became an independent once again on September 16, 2006, after UPN shut down. A few days earlier, the station had restored its classic branding, ''TV 38''.
Garrettsville, OH USA
44231
(440) 548-8551


Mailing Address 3709 Valacamp S.E.
In 2007, [[Major League Soccer]] announced that WSBK would become the exclusive carrier of the [[New England Revolution]]. The Revolution are now the only Boston-area professional sports team to have locally-produced over-the-air telecasts of regular-season games. In December that year, WSBK produced the first-ever over-the-air television broadcasts of the Eastern Massachusetts High-School Football Super Bowl games, broadcasting three of the seven divisional championship contests.
Warren, OH USA
44484
Phone # (440) 548-8551


Configuration Dedicated Roadcourse
== Digital television ==
13 turns, Clockwise
The station's digital channel is multiplexed:
2 Miles
{| class="wikitable"
'''Digital channels'''
|-
! Analog Channel
! Digital Channel
! Programming
|-
| 38.1 || 39.1 || main WSBK programming
|}

===Analog-to-digital conversion===
After the [[DTV transition|analog television shutdown and digital conversion]], which is tentatively scheduled to take place on February 17, 2009 <ref name="Analog to Digital">http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf</ref>, WSBK-TV will remain on its current pre-transition channel number, 39. <ref name="FCCForm387">[http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101231912&formid=387&fac_num=73238 CDBS Print<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> However, through the use of [[Program and System Information Protocol|PSIP]], digital television receivers will display WSBK's [[virtual channel]] as 38.

==Programming==
WSBK generally broadcasts [[television syndication|syndicated programs]] and movies. However, the station is best known in the Boston area for having been the long-time television home of the [[Boston Red Sox]] and [[Boston Bruins]]. WSBK became the Red Sox's over-air flagship station in 1975 and remained so for 20 years losing the rights in 1996 to [[WABU]] (now [[WBPX]]). After a seven-season hiatus, WSBK (in partnership with sister station WBZ) resumed its role as the Red Sox flagship station in 2003 although only for Friday night games. Most games were carried by [[New England Sports Network|NESN]], who aired the Friday night games outside of the Boston DMA, effectively blacking out WSBK in these areas (the Red Sox have 80 percent holdings in NESN). Among the nationally prominent announcers that have called Red Sox games on the station are [[Dick Stockton]] and [[Sean McDonough]]. WBZ ceased to broadcast the games after the 2004 season and NESN announced that WSBK would itself cease airing games in early 2006. This made the team cable-exclusive.

In addition to the Red Sox, WSBK was also, for over thirty years, the over-air flagship of the [[Boston Bruins]]. It was considered important enough to the station's broadcasting, especially in the 1970s when the Bruins were one of the perennially elite teams in the [[National Hockey League]] and enormously popular in Boston, that then-station owners Storer Broadcasting purchased and owned the Bruins for several years. The announcers for most of the Bruins games were hall-of-famer [[Fred Cusick]] (on play-by-play) and [[Johnny Peirson]] (on color commentary), who was later succeeded by [[Dave Shea]] and former Bruin [[Derek Sanderson]]. In later years [[Dale Arnold]] called the play by play. As with the Red Sox, Bruins coverage gradually moved to NESN. All home games were broadcasted on NESN starting in 1984 and coverage left WSBK entirely by 2005.

In addition, WSBK the over-air home of the [[Boston Celtics]] before losing the broadcast rights in 1998 to WABU. Currently, all Celtics' games not on national television are now broadcast on [[CSN New England]]. Since 2005, the station has been the home of [[Atlantic Coast Conference]] [[college football]] and [[college basketball|basketball]] games in Boston as [[Boston College]]'s move to the conference has created regional interest for the ACC.

The station has played host to no fewer than three locally-produced nighttime movie programs: ''The Movie Loft'' (hosted by Dana Hersey), ''The UPN 38 Movie House'' (hosted by Brian Frates), and ''Movie Night'' (co-hosted by Dan and Dave Andelman).

From May 2001 to August 2004, WSBK had rights to ''Lottery Live'', the weeknight broadcasts of the state lottery games. After the station moved into WBZ's studios, WSBK continued to broadcast the drawings. This was because WBZ had the games to itself for the last 3 years prior to that move. When the contract for WSBK expired, the games moved to [[WCVB-TV]].

WSBK broadcasts ''[[Phantom Gourmet]]'' on weekends depending on the station's programming commitments (such as ACC college football). The station also airs a sports replay program called ''Red Sox This Week'' on Sundays nights at 10 PM.

[[Image:Wsbk 09 19 2006.jpg|thumb|right|WSBK's current on-air identification.]]

After UPN ceased operations in September 2006, WSBK's primetime lineup was converted to a second run of ''[[Dr. Phil (TV series)|Dr. Phil]]'' at 8 PM, a second-run of ''[[Jeopardy!]]'' at 9 PM, and a new local newscast at 9:30 PM. It also continues to air CBS programs whenever WBZ preempts for local programming. WSBK, after becoming independent again, returned to the "TV 38" branding and "Entertaining Boston" slogan. The station changed its web address to "tv38.com" in late August and started using the new branding on the air on September 6 more than a week before officially becoming independent.

One of WSBK's most remembered past programs was the informative series ''Ask the Manager'', created by its general manager William J. Flynn in the mid-1970s. Each week Flynn, and later his successors Joseph C. Dimino, Daniel J. Berkery, and Stuart Tauber would answer viewer questions on the air. The letters were read each week for many years by the station's announcer and host Dana Hersey. Other letter-readers included [[Sean McDonough]] and Carla Nolan. Meg LaVigne and Leslie Savage occasionally substituted in the manager's chair. The producer of "Ask the Manager" was Clifford D. "Cliff" Allen, who died just weeks after ''Ask the Manager'' broadcast its final show in [[1999#January|January 1999]]. Though poorly rated by the [[Nielsen]] ratings, this show became a cult favorite. There were other attempts at local programming through the years with shows such as ''We Don't Knock'', ''A.M. Boston'', and ''Hersey's Hollywood''.

==News operation==
[[Image:WBZNewsonTV38.jpg|thumb|left|Kate Merril anchors on weeknights.]]

Over the years, WSBK has broadcasted a 10 P.M. newscast on several occasions. [[WBZ-TV]] produced such programming from 1993 to 1995 (known as ''WBZ News 4 on TV 38''). The newscast was then produced by [[New England Cable News|NECN]] until 1998 (known as ''UPN 38 Prime News''). During the NECN period, Lila Orbach was the original sole anchor when the news launched on October 2, 1995. Eventually, Margie Reedy and R.D. Sahl (a former [[WHDH-TV]] news duo) took over for the remainder of its run. After [[Viacom]]'s merger with [[CBS]], WBZ-TV once again began to produce the station's news programming starting in 2001. During this time, WSBK initially airing a 7 P.M. newscast called ''THE 7 O'Clock News on UPN 38''. It switched back to 10 o'clock in 2002 and was known as ''Nightcast at 10 on UPN 38''. In 2003, an hour long extension of WBZ-TV's weekday morning news was added at 7 A.M. In January 2005, WSBK canceled ''Nightcast'' and turned its attention to the morning news which was relaunched as ''The Morning Show'' on April 4.

On September 12, the program began airing 8 to 9 A.M. to make room for the first two hours of the nationally syndicated morning show, ''[[The Daily Buzz]]''. On June 30, 2006, ''The Morning Show'' aired its last broadcast. ''The Daily Buzz'' was eventually dropped as well. When WSBK became an independent station for the second time, WBZ-TV began to produce a weeknight 9:30 o'clock newscast called ''TV 38 News at 9:30''. Starting on April 23, 2007, the newscast began airing at 9 P.M. The second run of [[Jeopardy!|''Jeopardy!'']] switched time slots with the newscast. After this, the news became known as ''TV 38 News at 9''. On August 25, 2008, the newscast became known as ''WBZ News at 9''. As of September 15, 2008, the station is in the process of upgrading its news set for [[high definition]] broadcasts. During this time, all newscasts will originate from the on-air area of the newsroom. Renovations could last for at least six weeks, which at that point, WBZ will begin producing local news in high definition. It is anticipated that the WSBK broadcast wiil be included in the upgrade. [http://groups.msn.com/BostonTVNews] [http://pod08.prospero.com/n/blogs/blog.aspx?nav=main&webtag=WBZ_Declare&entry=274]

===News team===
'''''WBZ News at 9'''''<br>''(Weeknights 9 to 9:30 P.M.)''
*Anchor:
**Kate Merril
*Weather:
**Ken Barlow
*Sports:
**[[Steve Burton (sports journalist)|Steve Burton]]
*Reporters:
**Jon Keller - politics
**Paul Burton
**Eileen Curran
**Dawn Hasbrouck

''WSBK uses additional news personnel from WBZ. See [[WBZ-TV|that article]] for a complete listing.''

==Logos==
<gallery perrow="4">
Image:WSBK66.PNG|Storer Broadcasting's first WSBK TV38 logo, in use from 1966 until 1977.
Image:Wsbk80slg.jpg|WSBK's second generation ''TV 38'' logo used from 1977 to July 1995.
Image:TV38.jpg|WSBK's ''TV 38'' logo from 1988
Image:WSBK1995.png|WSBK's first ''UPN 38'' logo used from July 1995 to September 2000.
Image:WSBKBoston.jpg|WSBK Boston's green and black logo from 1998 for non-network programming (and in [[TV Guide]] listings)
Image:WSBK2001.png|Chrome version of WSBK's first ''UPN 38'' logo used from September 2000 to September 2002.
Image:UPN38red.png|WSBK's red "UPN 38" logo
Image:UPN38.png|WSBK's last ''UPN 38'' logo used from September 2002 to September 2006.
Image:WSBK-TV logo.svg|WSBK's current ''TV 38'' logo used since September 2006.
</gallery>

==References==
<references />
*[http://www.bostonradio.org/radio/stations/73982.html WSBK-TV (3-27-2005). ''The Boston TV Dial''].
*[http://www.upn38.com/about/ WSBK: About UPN38 (2005). ''UPN38.com''].


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.tv38.com/ WSBK-TV "TV 38"]
* [http://www.nelsonledges.com/ Nelson Ledges Website], Official Track Website
* [http://www.na-motorsports.com/Tracks/OH/Nelson.html Nelson Ledges], North American Race Track Locator
*[http://www.wbztv.com/ WBZ-TV]
*{{TVQ|WSBK}}
*{{BIA|WSBK|TV|TV}}

{{Boston TV}}


{{coord missing|United States}}
{{Other Massachusetts Stations}}
{{Superstations}}
{{CBS}}


[[Category:CBS Corporation television stations]]
[[Category:Motorsport venues in the United States]]
[[Category:Television stations in Boston, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Sports venues in Ohio]]
[[Category:Television stations in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Motorcycle racing]]
[[Category:Independent television stations in the United States]]
[[Category:Track days]]
[[Category:Superstations in the United States]]
[[Category:Channel 38 TV stations in the United States]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1964]]

Revision as of 06:15, 13 October 2008

For the state park, see Nelson Kennedy Ledges State Park.

Nelson Ledges Road Course is a paved automobile and motorcycle racing circuit in Garrettsville, Ohio. It also holds car control and safety clinics. The track is 2 miles (3 km) long and consists of 7 major turns. It has a long history of racing. The track and facilities have vastly improved over the last several years under new ownership. It consists of a Short Course and a Long Course.

History

Most notably, the Nelson Ledges Road Course has hosted the "Longest Day", a 24-hour automobile race in which a team of 2 or more drivers race continuously. The vehicles range from "Showroom Stock" to racing prototypes.The annual race was discontinued in the late 1990s, but is again on the schedule for 2007. The 2007 event was won by the #86 Boxing Cat Motorsports Porsche 911. 

The Future :

The Nelson Ledges Road Course in Warren, Ohio is set to change ownership, and the new owners plan major revisions to the existing seven-turn, 2.0 mile road course and the facilities on site.

Scott Lane, President and General Manager of the facility, said in a telephone interview with Roadracing World today that the sale is in its final stages.

"There's a 99 percent chance that it will be sold, pending some final environmental reviews and some last details," Lane said. "We expect that the sale will be finalized within a month."

Lane declined to identify the buyer at this time, but when asked what changes the new owners intended for the track, Lane said simply that the changes would be:

"Major. Major. Everything will be new. New track, new surface, new buildings, new facilities, everything. It will be part country club, part race course."

Nelson Ledges has been a regular stop for WERA National and Regional races, as well as for the Fasttrax local motorcycle road racing organization.

However, its bumpy surface, high-speed layout and lack of run-off room at some of its more daunting corners have been the source of controversy, and in rainy conditions, some riders have refused to race, citing safety concerns.

Jun 30, 2008, By Michael Gougis, ©Copyright 2008, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Nelson Ledges is a 2.0 mile track with 13 turns, 10 right and 3 left.

Track Details

Caption

Located at 10342 State Route 305 Garrettsville, OH USA 44231 (440) 548-8551

Mailing Address 3709 Valacamp S.E. Warren, OH USA 44484 Phone # (440) 548-8551

Configuration Dedicated Roadcourse 13 turns, Clockwise 2 Miles

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WSBK-TV&oldid=244934844"