WSKY-TV

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WSKY-TV
Wsky-TV.png
Manteo, North Carolina/
Chesapeake/Norfolk/
Virginia Beach, Virginia
United States
CityManteo, North Carolina
ChannelsDigital: 13 (VHF)
Virtual: 4
BrandingSKY 4
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
OwnerLockwood Broadcast Group
(Tidewater TV LLC)
History
FoundedMarch 9, 2001
First air date
October 19, 2001 (20 years ago) (2001-10-19)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog:
  • 4 (VHF, 2001–2006)
  • Digital:
  • 4 (VHF, 2006–2010)
  • 9 (VHF, 2010–2020)
Call sign meaning
The word SKY, named for its original owner, SKY Broadcasting Inc.
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID76324
ERP70 kW
HAAT306 m (1,004 ft)
Transmitter coordinates36°31′15″N 76°18′15″W / 36.52083°N 76.30417°W / 36.52083; -76.30417
Links
Public license information
Profile
LMS
Websitewww.sky4tv.com

WSKY-TV, virtual channel 4 (VHF digital channel 13), is an independent television station licensed to Manteo, North Carolina, United States, serving the Hampton Roads area of southeastern Virginia and the Outer Banks region of northeastern North Carolina. As such, it is the only full-power commercial station in the Hampton Roads/Outer Banks region that is licensed on the North Carolina side of the market. WSKY-TV serves as the flagship station of the Hampton, Virginia–based Lockwood Broadcast Group. Its studios are located on Salters Creek Road in Hampton, and its transmitter is located near South Mills, North Carolina. Despite WSKY-TV being licensed to Manteo, the station maintains no physical presence there.

History[]

The history of WSKY-TV can be traced as early as 1995, when the FCC invited filings for a license to operate a television station in Manteo on channel 4. Six groups applied for the license.[1]

Before its fall 2001 launch, channel 4 on Cox Cable housed LNC or Local News on Cable, WVEC-TV's 24-hour cable news television station. When WSKY launched, LNC moved up to channel 5 on Cox Cable lineups.

The station's analog signal signed off in late November 2006, as its digital signal was to sign-on from a new tower in Camden County, North Carolina. WSKY had some challenges covering the northern part of the market (Williamsburg, Newport News, Hampton) on its analog signal; which was to be remedied with its new digital tower.

Between 6 and 7 a.m. on March 2, 2007, in high winds during storms moving through the area, WSKY-DT's tower collapsed, also destroying the transmitter building. The tower was three weeks away from completion. [2][3] The tower was rebuilt and finished in November 2007. WSKY-DT started broadcasting a test pattern on November 24, 2007,[4] and began regular broadcasts on November 27, 2007.

On January 1, 2009, DirecTV removed the channel from its lineup. The station erroneously did not re-elect for must-carry status on the provider for the next three years, and had no regulatory recourse otherwise to remain on DirecTV.[5] After waiting out the three-year period and successfully filing for must-carry status, the station returned to the DirecTV lineup on January 1, 2012.

On July 15, 2013, Lockwood Broadcast Group announced it would be acquiring 51% of WSKY-TV pending FCC approval.[6] The sale was finalized on November 25.[7]

Programming[]

Syndicated programming[]

Syndicated programming currently broadcast by WSKY includes The Goldbergs, Bob's Burgers, The Jerry Springer Show and Family Guy, among others.

Newscasts[]

Since its inception, WSKY-TV has aired no local news programming of its own. However, it did air two 11 p.m. weeknight newscasts from CBS affiliate WTKR during that station's coverage of the 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. WTKR did broadcast late newscasts at midnight when the coverage concluded.[8]

Technical information[]

Subchannels[]

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:

Channel PSIP Short Name Video Aspect Programming[9]
4.1 WSKY-DT 1080i 16:9 Main WSKY-TV programming
4.2 Escape 480i 4:3 Court TV Mystery
4.3 Laff Laff
4.4 Grit Grit

Analog-to-digital conversion[]

WSKY-TV discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over VHF channel 4, in November 2006.[10] The station's digital signal moved to VHF channel 9, in mid-May 2010, using PSIP to display WSKY-TV's virtual channel as 4 on digital television receivers.

References[]

  1. ^ "TV station here could be reality". The Coastland Times. 7 September 1995. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  2. ^ "Major setback for WSKY-DT". VARTV.com. Retrieved 2007-03-02.
  3. ^ "Broadcast tower under construction in Camden Co. collapses during storm". WAVY-TV. Retrieved 2007-03-02.
  4. ^ Database Error
  5. ^ "For DirecTV viewers, WSKY-TV channel 4 goes dark | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com". Archived from the original on 2011-05-22.
  6. ^ "Station Trading Roundup: 4 Deals, $1.08M | TVNewsCheck.com". Archived from the original on 2013-09-26.
  7. ^ https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101601777&formid=905&fac_num=76324
  8. ^ http://www.dailypress.com/business/dp-biz_wtkr_0319mar19,0,1611931.story
  9. ^ RabbitEars TV Query for WSKY
  10. ^ List of Digital Full-Power Stations

External links[]

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