WSPA-TV

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = WSPA-TV
city = Spartanburg,
South Carolina
station_
station_slogan = On Your Side
station_branding = NewsChannel 7 HD
analog = 7 (VHF)
digital = 53 (UHF)
other_chs =
affiliations = CBS
Weather (on DT2)
network =
founded =
airdate = April 29, 1956
location = Spartanburg / Greenville /
Anderson, South Carolina -
Asheville, North Carolina
callsign_meaning = SPArtanburg
former_callsigns =
former_channel_numbers =
owner = Media General
licensee = Media General Communications Holdings, LLC
sister_stations = WYCW
WNEG-TV
former_affiliations =
effective_radiated_power = 265 kW (analog)
875 kW (digital)
HAAT = 676 m (analog)
657 m (digital)
class =
facility_id = 66391
coordinates = coord|35|10|12.7|N|82|17|26.1|W|type:landmark_scale:2000
homepage = [http://www.wspa.com/ wspa.com]

WSPA-TV, channel 7, is the CBS-affiliated television station for western North and South Carolina that is licensed to Spartanburg, South Carolina. Its transmitter is located on Hogback Mountain in South Carolina southwest of Tryon, North Carolina. Owned by Media General, the station is sister to CW affiliate WYCW. The two stations share studios on International Drive in Spartanburg. Syndicated programming on WSPA includes: "Everybody Loves Raymond", "Judge Judy", and "Dr. Phil". The station shares some resources with fellow Media General station and CBS affiliate WNEG-TV in Toccoa, Georgia. However, this arrangement will probably be terminated after the sale of that station to the University of Georgia is finalized. WSPA hosts master control operations for Media General's CBS network affiliates.

Digital television

The station's digital signal is multiplexed. On WSPA-DT2 and Charter digital cable channel 247 is a 24-hour local weather channel known as "Storm Team 24/7". After the analog television shutdown and digital conversion, which is tentatively scheduled to take place on February 17 2009, WSPA will move its digital broadcasts back to its present analog channel number, 7.

Translators

In addition to its main signals, WSPA operates a network of 16 translator sites throughout the mountains of western North Carolina.

History

The station went on the air on April 29, 1956. It was owned by broadcasting pioneer Walter J. Brown and his company (Spartan Radiocasting) along with WSPA radio (AM 950, now WOLI-AM 910; and 98.9 FM). It has always been a CBS affiliate. Spartan Radiocasting bought several other radio and television stations over the years and was renamed Spartan Communications in 1995. The radio stations were sold off in 1998 but WSPA-TV remained the flagship of the company until it merged with Media General in 2000. Channel 7 was the last locally owned-and-operated station in the market. WSPA began broadcasting 24/7 in the mid-1990s after previously having signed off every Friday night / Saturday morning and Saturday night / Sunday morning.

Preempted programming

WSPA pre-empted several CBS shows through the 1960s, 70s, 80s, and 90s.

*"CBS Children's Film Festival"
*"Press Your Luck" (was picked up in 1984 shortly after Michael Larson's record $110,237 win)
*"Card Sharks" (aired by WSPA from 1986-1988, dropped from September of 1988 to March of 1989 and preempted by "Wipeout")
*"Now You See It" (April-July 1989, CBS daytime game show preempted by "Wipeout")
*"Wheel of Fortune" (July-September 1989, picked up by WSPA in September of 1989, preempted by "Wipeout")
*"Family Feud Challenge" (final few months?)
*"Muppet Babies" (1991-1993?, preempted by "Jack Roper's Kidsizzle")
*"Pee-Wee's Playhouse" (final season?)
*"Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventures" (the animated series, final weeks?)
*"The Late Show with David Letterman" (for one week around the Summer of 1998)

News operation

The station's newscasts were known as "Eyewitness 7 News" until 1994 when they were re-branded as "NewsChannel 7". Leeza Gibbons, Tricia Kean, Jane Robelot, and Susan McGinnis have worked for the station in the past. Annette Estes was WSPA's first female news anchor in 1977. She left the station in 1987 to anchor the 6 and 11 P.M. news with Carl Clark at WYFF. WSPA also used to produce a newscast for Fox affiliate WHNS before that station launched its own news operation. On September 16, 2007, WSPA began producing newscasts in high definition and adopted graphics similar to what is used at sister station WFLA-TV. It was the first television station in South Carolina to upgrade local news broadcasts to HD level.

WSPA is currently the ratings leader in most timeslots having surged ahead of longtime leader WYFF. In addition to their main studios, WSPA operates four news bureaus. The Greenville Bureau is located on Villa Road and the Anderson Bureau is located on South Main Street. There is one in Columbia as well as Greenwood. WSPA produces three newscasts for sister station WYCW that air in high definition. This includes weekday mornings and evenings as well as on the weekends. The station operates the region's first aerial news gathering helicopter with a gyrostabilized camera that is outfitted with a 72 power zoom lens and a motorized two power drop-in extender. The camera system is manufactured by Flir Systems International and the helicopter is maintained by U.S. Helicopters Inc. of Charlotte. It is referred to on-air as "Air 7".

News team

Anchors
*Carrie Davis - weekday mornings
**weekday morning reporter
*Fred Cunningham - weekday mornings and Noon
*Heather Sullivan - weekday mornings (on WYCW)
**consumer reporter and evening fill-in anchor
*Amy Wood - weeknights at 5, 6, 10, and 11
*Tom Crabtree - weeknights at 5, 5:30, 6, and 11
**"Voice of the Viewer" segment producer
*Connie LeGrand - weeknights at 5:30 and 7
**education reporter
*Chris Cato - weeknights at 7 and reporter
*Heather Sullivan - weekend mornings and reporter
*Dianne Derby - weekend evenings and consumer reporter

"Storm Team 7 HD"
*Christy Henderson (Certified Broadcast Meteorologist) - Chief seen on weeknights
*Dan Bickford (Certified Broadcast Meteorologist) - weekday mornings and Noon
*Justin Cooper (NWA Seal of Approval and AMS Member) - weekend mornings
*Richard McCollough (AMS and NWA Seals of Approval) - weekend evenings and weekday fill-in

Sports
*Pete Yanity - Director seen on weeknights at 6, 7, 10, and 11
**"High School Friday Night" segment producer and play-by-play voice of the Clemson Tigers
*Todd Summers - weekend evenings and sports reporter

Reporters
*Carmen Coursey - Anderson Bureau
*Kristen Nastasia - Greenville Bureau
**seen weeknights at 5, 5:30, and 6
*Robert Kittle - Columbia Bureau
**photographer
*Elizabeth Owens - weeknights at 5 and 6
**weekend evenings
*Andy Pierrotti - investigative
*Jonathan Carlson - weeknights and fill-in anchor
*Melissa Keeney

Past personalities

*Ken Bostic (Sportscaster/Meteorologist from 1969-1984 before moving to rival WLOS-TV)
*Bebe Burns (Reporter 1970s, later KTVI-TV, St. Louis, MO, KHOU-TV and KPRC-TV in Houston)
*Carl Clark (Anchor/Reporter from 1995-2003, now retired)
*Tony Dale (Meteorologist)
*Allen Denton (Anchor/Reporter, now at KNTV, San Jose, CA)
*Annette Estes (Weekday Anchor from 1977-1987, later moved to rival WYFF-TV in 1987)
*Brian Foote (Weekend Anchor 1980s)
*Kathy Foster (Weekend Anchor 1980s-1990s)
*John Gallows (Meteorologist)
*Leeza Gibbons (Reporter, before she became a famous television personality)
*Pamela Graham (Weekday Anchor from 1990-2006)
*Terri Gruca (Anchor/Reporter, now at WCCO-TV, Minneapolis, MN)
*Brad Huffines (Chief Meteorologist, now at WAAY-TV, Huntsville, AL)
*Tricia Kean (Anchor/Reporter, now at KTNV-TV, Las Vegas, NV)
*Cherish Keats (Reporter)
*Jim Kirkpatrick (Meteorologist)
*Susan McGinnis (Reporter, now at CBS's "The Early Show")
*David Morian (Meteorologist)
*Matthew Nordin (Anchor/Reporter, won station's first Edward R. Murrow Award, now at WMBF-TV in Myrtle Beach)
*Stan Olenik (Sportscaster, later moved to rival WYFF-TV in the 1980s)
*Scott Palmer (Sports Director, later WPVI-TV, Philadelphia, PA)
*Julie Phillips (Morning Anchor)
*Melissa Rehberger (Anchor/Reporter, now at MSNBC)
*Jane Robelot (Weekday Anchor, later CBS network and now reporter at rival WYFF-TV)
*Brad Sattin (Anchor/Reporter, now at KSTP-TV in St. Paul, MN)
*Craig Smith (Anchor/Reporter, later WNYT-TV and WRGB-TV, Albany, NY)
*Brian Washington (Anchor/Reporter)
*Diana Watson (Anchor/Reporter, now at rival WHNS-TV)
*Cordell Whitlock (Reporter, later KSDK-TV, St. Louis, MO)

External links

* [http://www.wspa.com/ WSPA-TV/DT "NewsChannel 7 HD"]
* [http://www.carolinascw.com/ WYCW "Carolinas' CW"]
*TVQ|WSPA-TV