Indeed, WNEP's launch made Scranton/Wilkes-Barre the smallest market in Pennsylvania with full service from all three networks.
It was also hobbled by being an affiliate of the smallest and weakest network of the time. Viewers in Wilkes-Barre thought it was a Scranton station, while viewers in Scranton thought it was a Wilkes-Barre station. It was never able to achieve any consistency because of the bitter rivalry between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. ĭespite a power boost to 1.5 million watts, and an increased coverage area-expanded to 15 counties in northeastern Pennsylvania -WNEP-TV bounced back and forth in the ratings for most of the next two decades. The channel 34 assignment was later reallocated to Binghamton, New York, to be occupied by ABC affiliate WBJA-TV (now WIVT) beginning in 1962. Meanwhile, the WILK-TV facility was repurposed as a satellite repeater of WNEP-TV until late summer 1958. WILK-TV's transmitter site at Penobscot Knob was retained by WNEP-TV, and the WARM-TV transmitter was donated a decade later to the area's PBS member station, WVIA-TV (channel 44).
In 1962, WNEP-TV consolidated its operations at a new studio near Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport in Avoca. The merged station, WNEP-TV, was licensed to Scranton, and split operations between WILK-TV's former facility in Wilkes-Barre and a new studio in Scranton. Transcontinent Television Corporation, a Buffalo, New York-based media firm, acquired a 60 percent interest in the merged station the remaining shares were split between the WARM and WILK groups, with William Scranton as chairman. The merged station, then as now, operated under WILK-TV's license, but used WARM-TV's channel 16 in order to provide wider signal coverage at less cost-no small consideration given the station's vast and mostly mountainous coverage area. In late 1957, WILK-TV and WARM-TV agreed to merge into a single ABC station for Northeastern Pennsylvania. Merger and transition īy 1955, however, it was obvious that Scranton and Wilkes-Barre were going to be a single television market. However, they stayed on the air because they were owned by well-respected local radio stations. WILK-TV and WARM-TV were both losing money, in large part because their network, ABC, was not on an equal footing with NBC and CBS (and would not be until the 1970s). Often, station engineers had to adjust the Effort transmitter to accept a signal from WFIL-TV (now ABC O&OWPVI-TV) in Philadelphia if they were unable to receive the New York feed. From there, the network signal was bounced to the Penobscot Knob transmitter site. As a result, WILK set up a microwave tower in Effort, about 45 miles (72 km) east of Wilkes-Barre. Getting a signal from ABC headquarters in New York City was a challenge in the early days with no access to satellites. They rushed back and were able to establish the link by 1:50 p.m., 10 minutes before sign-on. However, at lunch, they turned on the station to inspect their handiwork, only to find the signal was dead. The engineers got the signal ready by noon and decided to take a break. rather than the 3 pm sign on that the other stations did. WILK wanted to get a head start on the other local stations when it signed on in 1953, going on the air at 2 p.m. During the late 1950s, WILK-TV was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network. It was followed by Scranton-licensed WARM-TV, broadcasting on channel 16 and owned by future GovernorWilliam Scranton along with WARM radio, in February 1954. WILK-TV, operating on channel 34 and owned by WILK radio took to the air from Wilkes-Barre on September 16, 1953. There were originally two ABC network affiliates in northeastern Pennsylvania. WNEP-TV's studios are located on Montage Mountain Road in Moosic, and it shares transmitter facilities with PBSmemberWVIA-TV (channel 44) at the Penobscot Knob antenna farm near Mountain Top. Owned by Dreamcatcher Broadcasting, LLC, the station is operated under a shared services agreement (SSA) by the Tribune Broadcasting subsidiary of the Tribune Media Company. WNEP-TV, virtual channel 16 (UHFdigital channel 50), is an ABC-affiliatedtelevision stationlicensed to Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States and also serving Wilkes-Barre. Click here for WNEP's School Closings & Delays. WNEP announces closings on television and on its website. WNEP School Closings - Click for the latest delays and closings.
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