Why isn't Southern New Hampshire its own market?

[wpxt]

I've always wondered this. It seems to me that since Boston and New Hampshire have separate radio markets wouldn't it make sense for them to have separate television markets also. Through wikipedia I learned that channel 21 at one time used the call letters WNHT and was affiliated with CBS but it didn't last because the other CBS affiliates in the area 7 WNEV and 13 WGME had already been established with viewers in NH. What made WMUR different?

Anyways here is what I would do for affiliates if NH was its own market.

9 WMUR (ABC, NBC on subchannel)
11 WENH (PBS)
21 WNHT (CBS)
50 WNDS (FOX, MyTV on subchannel)
60 WNEU (CW)

 

[smaug07]

WMUR has always been the established ABC affiliate in NH, going way back to the 50s. They have also been the only station in the southern NH market to cover local news for all those years. Despite the fact that WCVB has strong penetration in southern NH, WMUR continues to have loyal viewers and that is unlikely to change. WNHT channel 21 never really tried to establish itself when it signed on, and it was tough to break the bond and the power of the Boston and Portland CBS affiliates that had been in the area for years. It could possibly work today if a station tried to do it since cable and satellite would most likely be forced to surrender the other affiliates due to network exclusivity, which I suppose a station could try to exercise. This was done in Springfield, MA, when WSHM, channel 67, became a CBS station and knocked long standing WFSB, channel 3 (CBS) in Hartford from Springfield area cable systems. WSHM claims network exclusivity and essentially has replaced WFSB. This scenario may work in the southern NH area, but it would be tough to convince the FCC to rid of Boston affiliates since technically it is in the "Boston" DMA. Still it might work today. Back in the days of WNHT, however, this generally did not exist, so its chance for survival was dim.

 

[MarcB]

WSHM is a different situation. They're owned by Merideth like WFSB. And they piggy back on WFSB Channel 3.2 in order to get on cable.

 

[sonicdoommario]

I think there were other New Hampshire stations that came and went, but WMUR outstood them all.

That being said, it's really annoying seeing a handful amount of New Hampshire stories on the Boston stations every day. Most of southern and central New Hampshire is in the Boston market, yet, Bristol County in Massachusetts, just 30 miles away from Boston, isn't.

 

[necrat123]

WSHM is a different situation. They're owned by Merideth like WFSB. And they piggy back on WFSB Channel 3.2 in order to get on cable.

WSHM-LP was allowed must carry in the market, because of the way the rules applied at the time they signed on. (I don't recall the exact wording, but LPTV's are allowed to request carriage in markets with fewer than a certain number of full power signals, and provided they are carrying local programming, etc...). The WFSB 3.2 does not run to get carriage on cable, it merely serves as a signal to fill in gaps in coverage from the Primary Wilbraham signal.

 

[pqgeorge]

WSHM is a different situation. They're owned by Merideth like WFSB. And they piggy back on WFSB Channel 3.2 in order to get on cable.

WSHM-LP was allowed must carry in the market, because of the way the rules applied at the time they signed on. (I don't recall the exact wording, but LPTV's are allowed to request carriage in markets with fewer than a certain number of full power signals, and provided they are carrying local programming, etc...). The WFSB 3.2 does not run to get carriage on cable, it merely serves as a signal to fill in gaps in coverage from the Primary Wilbraham signal.

At one time also, WXPO-TV/50 in Manchester, NH almost became a CBS affiliate in 1973. It was originally an Independent for the 6 months it operated from 1969-1970. The station returned to the air for one night on July 17, 1973 from midnight until 6:00 AM, for testing purposes. It has been said that Bill Paley of CBS (who owned a home in the Lakes Region of NH) was interested in possibly buying WXPO-TV to bringing CBS to New Hampshire. WNAC-TV (Channel 7) always had signal issues in the Southern New Hampshire area. In fact, it has been said that Paley was thinking about buying Channel 50 in order to move it to Needham, MA and put CBS on Channel 50 and then dump Channel 7 as a CBS affiliate. The empty Channel 21 allocation in Concord, NH could have been a satellite of WXPO-TV for Southern New Hampshire. It didn't quite happen that way and WXPO-TV never returned to the air. It would be 10 years later when WNDS-TV would fire up on Channel 50 in September of '83.

 

[TexasTom]

At one time also, WXPO-TV/50 in Manchester, NH almost became a CBS affiliate in 1973. It was originally an Independent for the 6 months it operated from 1969-1970. The station returned to the air for one night on July 17, 1973 from midnight until 6:00 AM, for testing purposes. It has been said that Bill Paley of CBS (who owned a home in the Lakes Region of NH) was interested in possibly buying WXPO-TV to bringing CBS to New Hampshire. WNAC-TV (Channel 7) always had signal issues in the Southern New Hampshire area. In fact, it has been said that Paley was thinking about buying Channel 50 in order to move it to Needham, MA and put CBS on Channel 50 and then dump Channel 7 as a CBS affiliate.

I suspect that the real issue behind this was the fate of CBS's long time affiliate in Boston, WHDH, channel 5. They'd just lost their license in a comparative hearing case that granted channel 5 over to the group that put WCVB on the air. While logic suggested that CBS would just affiliate with the new channel 5, they were hesitant to do so because of the promises for extensive local programming that WCVB had made to the FCC in order to win the channel 5 license. CBS was afraid that those promises would translate to a lot of preemption of network programming, and was therefore looking for a new home.

I suspect that the channel 50 option was a backup in the event that CBS had been unable to land a deal with one of the other two VHF stations in the market. When they were able to sign a deal with WNAC channel 7 (which was then affiliated with third place ABC), I suspect that is what killed CBS' interest in channel 50. But as it turns out, CBS jumped a little too fast, as WCVB with it's extensive local programming turned out to be a very strong network affiliate for ABC...and probably would have been for CBS if they hadn't jumped up to channel 7.

As for why Southern New Hampshire never became it's own market, I suspect that goes back to the very early days of television -- Boston's channels 4 and 7 are both pre-freeze stations that date back to 1948, which meant that they had a four year head start on any possible New Hampshire stations (which couldn't have been licensed until the FCC lifted the TV application freeze in 1952). During those four years, anyone who bought a television also made sure that they got an antenna sufficient to pull in those two Boston stations.

So jumping ahead, if anyone had wanted to put a UHF station on the air in Southern New Hampshire in 1952, they would have had to contend with the fact that their potential viewers could already receive VHF TV from Boston. And the networks, knowing that was the case, would likely have seen no need to bother with a Southern New Hamphsire UHF affiliate. Even if they did sign an affiliation agreement, that station would likely have seen much of it's audience siphoned off by those Boston stations.

In the absence of the freeze (or if Boston hadn't had any pre-freeze stations -- or only one station), maybe Southern New Hampshire would have become it's own market. As it is, the Boston VHFs had made too much of an inroad into Southern New Hampshire for it to stand much of a chance as a separate market.

 

[radiomanforyears]

The reason is because Boston NEEDS southern NH to remain in the Neilson top 10 markets. In fact, back about 8 or so years ago, Boston actually fell out of the top 10, so they actually pushed the DMA farther up into central NH and regained their top 10 status.

 

[w9wi]

WSHM is a different situation. They're owned by Merideth like WFSB. And they piggy back on WFSB Channel 3.2 in order to get on cable.

WSHM-LP was allowed must carry in the market, because of the way the rules applied at the time they signed on. (I don't recall the exact wording, but LPTV's are allowed to request carriage in markets with fewer than a certain number of full power signals, and provided they are carrying local programming, etc...). The WFSB 3.2 does not run to get carriage on cable, it merely serves as a signal to fill in gaps in coverage from the Primary Wilbraham signal.

I'm certainly not a lawyer but the way I read the rules, WSHM doesn't come anywhere near qualifying for must-carry. My reading is that for a LPTV to get must-carry, it must:

- Be licensed to a city of less than 35,000 population.
- Be outside the top 160 markets.
- Have no full-power stations licensed to any community in the same county.

Of course, Springfield is a lot bigger than 35,000, and has three full-power stations licensed not only to the same county, but to the same city. (there are other requirements, which WSHM *does* meet)

I think it's most likely WSHM is carried as a result of retransmission-consent negotiations with WFSB.

On DTV stations with multiple programs (3.1, 3.2, 3.3, etc.), only one may be designated for must-carry. I suppose it's possible WFSB designated 3.1 as the must-carry program for Connecticut cable systems, and 3.2 as the must-carry program for Massachusetts systems.

(MarcB: it's spelled "Meredith". Not that I've ever seen anyone outside the company spell it that way )

 

[mdamico25]

one night[/b] on July 17, 1973 from midnight until 6:00 AM, for testing purposes. It has been said that Bill Paley of CBS (who owned a home in the Lakes Region of NH) was interested in possibly buying WXPO-TV to bringing CBS to New Hampshire. WNAC-TV (Channel 7) always had signal issues in the Southern New Hampshire area. In fact, it has been said that Paley was thinking about buying Channel 50 in order to move it to Needham, MA and put CBS on Channel 50 and then dump Channel 7 as a CBS affiliate. The empty Channel 21 allocation in Concord, NH could have been a satellite of WXPO-TV for Southern New Hampshire. It didn't quite happen that way and WXPO-TV never returned to the air. It would be 10 years later when WNDS-TV would fire up on Channel 50 in September of '83.

Peter- I know its almost been 40 years, but do you recall what programming WXPO-TV aired during their one night on the air in July 1973? What was the purpose of returning to the air? Maybe to test the equipment that had been dormant since the station signed off in 1970?

As far as the WXPO- WNDS connection, did WNDS purchase the WXPO-TV transmitter or other equipment or facilities when they started up in 1983? I would imagine that the equipment used by WXPO in 1969 and 1970 was already obsolete by the time WNDS came along in 1983. Was the actual WXPO license deleted by the FCC later in the 70s and then reissued or did it ended up being transferred to the owners of WNDS?

Speaking of defunct NH UHF stations, was there ever a plan to resurrect WRLP-TV/32 to serve Keene and Western NH (and Massachusetts and Vermont) after they signed off in 1978? That area has always seemed like a local TV "no man's land" to me. Technically, part of the Boston TV market, but no one really covers it. Granted, the population is very small.

-Mike

 

[fybush]

I suspect that the channel 50 option was a backup in the event that CBS had been unable to land a deal with one of the other two VHF stations in the market.

If so, that still doesn't explain the July 1973 one-night test. By then, the WHDH/WCVB transition was already history, having happened in March 1972.

 

[pqgeorge]

one night[/b] on July 17, 1973 from midnight until 6:00 AM, for testing purposes. It has been said that Bill Paley of CBS (who owned a home in the Lakes Region of NH) was interested in possibly buying WXPO-TV to bringing CBS to New Hampshire. WNAC-TV (Channel 7) always had signal issues in the Southern New Hampshire area. In fact, it has been said that Paley was thinking about buying Channel 50 in order to move it to Needham, MA and put CBS on Channel 50 and then dump Channel 7 as a CBS affiliate. The empty Channel 21 allocation in Concord, NH could have been a satellite of WXPO-TV for Southern New Hampshire. It didn't quite happen that way and WXPO-TV never returned to the air. It would be 10 years later when WNDS-TV would fire up on Channel 50 in September of '83.

Peter- I know its almost been 40 years, but do you recall what programming WXPO-TV aired during their one night on the air in July 1973? What was the purpose of returning to the air? Maybe to test the equipment that had been dormant since the station signed off in 1970?

As far as the WXPO- WNDS connection, did WNDS purchase the WXPO-TV transmitter or other equipment or facilities when they started up in 1983? I would imagine that the equipment used by WXPO in 1969 and 1970 was already obsolete by the time WNDS came along in 1983. Was the actual WXPO license deleted by the FCC later in the 70s and then reissued or did it ended up being transferred to the owners of WNDS?

Speaking of defunct NH UHF stations, was there ever a plan to resurrect WRLP-TV/32 to serve Keene and Western NH (and Massachusetts and Vermont) after they signed off in 1978? That area has always seemed like a local TV "no man's land" to me. Technically, part of the Boston TV market, but no one really covers it. Granted, the population is very small.

-Mike

The WXPO-TV test ran for 6 hours using some of the film product left at the transmitter site when the station left the air in 1970 (when PSNH pulled the plug after non-payment of the electric bill). I was told that they ran episodes "Mr. Roberts", "Maverick", "Q.T. Hush" (cartoons) as well as slide ID's and what not. It's been said that the main audience they were playing to during that overnight in 1973 was a certain Bill Paley, head of CBS Inc. who happened to have had a cottage in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. It was to test the transmitter which had been silent for almost 3 years and to see if the current signal was good enough with warrant re-activating Channel 50. Apparently not only Mr. Paley noticed the Channel 50 test, but several people also saw it (I unfortunately was in bed asleep that night..... *sigh*). I did send a letter regarding the test (after hearing about it later) to the Windham, NH address, later on that summer. I got a reply from a Mr. Louis Ziddle from WXPO-TV mentioning the July 17th test saying "definite plans are in the works to possibly re-activate WXPO-TV50 sometime later this year". Of course it never came back.

Many years later, I was told that CBS was very interested in buying WXPO-TV and possibly moving the license to Boston and activating the (then) unused Channel 21 in Concord as a full-powered satellite of WXPO-TV, to serve Southern New Hampshire and Southern Maine (toward the Seacoast area of NH). It would make sense. WNAC-TV was a poor substitute for the service that the old WHDH-TV provided. Programming was sub-par compared to WHDH's quality. Mainly though, Channel 7's signal was poor compared to the old WHDH-TV Channel 5's signal. CBS lost a lot of revenue due to Channel 7's sub-par signal after the affiliation change went into effect on 3/19/1972. I saw some of the old 1973 data that WXPO-TV put together to convince CBS to make offer to buy Channel 50. It was put on the back-burner for a time and eventually the sale never occurred and the license was turned in to the FCC by 1975.

And that was the way it was..........


As for WRLP-TV, Springfield Television turned in the license the day after the station left the air in April, 1978. In the later 1980's, there was a new CP to re-activate Channel 32 in Greenfield using the existing tower facility on Gun Hill in Winchester, NH. It was to be called WQLF-TV. But it was only on paper and never went beyond the CP stage. Having a full-time UHF station in a small shadow market proved to be impossible at the time as the channel had gone silent several years prior. However if Springfield Television stood firm for a few more years, they might have made a profit as cable was growing and with a live station on the air, Channel 32 could have made it. Of course, we'll never know.

 

[FRM-Yankey]

one night[/b] on July 17, 1973 from midnight until 6:00 AM, for testing purposes. It has been said that Bill Paley of CBS (who owned a home in the Lakes Region of NH) was interested in possibly buying WXPO-TV to bringing CBS to New Hampshire. WNAC-TV (Channel 7) always had signal issues in the Southern New Hampshire area. In fact, it has been said that Paley was thinking about buying Channel 50 in order to move it to Needham, MA and put CBS on Channel 50 and then dump Channel 7 as a CBS affiliate. The empty Channel 21 allocation in Concord, NH could have been a satellite of WXPO-TV for Southern New Hampshire. It didn't quite happen that way and WXPO-TV never returned to the air. It would be 10 years later when WNDS-TV would fire up on Channel 50 in September of '83.

Peter- I know its almost been 40 years, but do you recall what programming WXPO-TV aired during their one night on the air in July 1973? What was the purpose of returning to the air? Maybe to test the equipment that had been dormant since the station signed off in 1970?

As far as the WXPO- WNDS connection, did WNDS purchase the WXPO-TV transmitter or other equipment or facilities when they started up in 1983? I would imagine that the equipment used by WXPO in 1969 and 1970 was already obsolete by the time WNDS came along in 1983. Was the actual WXPO license deleted by the FCC later in the 70s and then reissued or did it ended up being transferred to the owners of WNDS?

Speaking of defunct NH UHF stations, was there ever a plan to resurrect WRLP-TV/32 to serve Keene and Western NH (and Massachusetts and Vermont) after they signed off in 1978? That area has always seemed like a local TV "no man's land" to me. Technically, part of the Boston TV market, but no one really covers it. Granted, the population is very small.

-Mike

The WXPO-TV test ran for 6 hours using some of the film product left at the transmitter site when the station left the air in 1970 (when PSNH pulled the plug after non-payment of the electric bill). I was told that they ran episodes "Mr. Roberts", "Maverick", "Q.T. Hush" (cartoons) as well as slide ID's and what not. It's been said that the main audience they were playing to during that overnight in 1973 was a certain Bill Paley, head of CBS Inc. who happened to have had a cottage in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. It was to test the transmitter which had been silent for almost 3 years and to see if the current signal was good enough with warrant re-activating Channel 50. Apparently not only Mr. Paley noticed the Channel 50 test, but several people also saw it (I unfortunately was in bed asleep that night..... *sigh*). I did send a letter regarding the test (after hearing about it later) to the Windham, NH address, later on that summer. I got a reply from a Mr. Louis Ziddle from WXPO-TV mentioning the July 17th test saying "definite plans are in the works to possibly re-activate WXPO-TV50 sometime later this year". Of course it never came back.

Many years later, I was told that CBS was very interested in buying WXPO-TV and possibly moving the license to Boston and activating the (then) unused Channel 21 in Concord as a full-powered satellite of WXPO-TV, to serve Southern New Hampshire and Southern Maine (toward the Seacoast area of NH). It would make sense. WNAC-TV was a poor substitute for the service that the old WHDH-TV provided. Programming was sub-par compared to WHDH's quality. Mainly though, Channel 7's signal was poor compared to the old WHDH-TV Channel 5's signal. CBS lost a lot of revenue due to Channel 7's sub-par signal after the affiliation change went into effect on 3/19/1972. I saw some of the old 1973 data that WXPO-TV put together to convince CBS to make offer to buy Channel 50. It was put on the back-burner for a time and eventually the sale never occurred and the license was turned in to the FCC by 1975.

And that was the way it was..........


As for WRLP-TV, Springfield Television turned in the license the day after the station left the air in April, 1978. In the later 1980's, there was a new CP to re-activate Channel 32 in Greenfield using the existing tower facility on Gun Hill in Winchester, NH. It was to be called WQLF-TV. But it was only on paper and never went beyond the CP stage. Having a full-time UHF station in a small shadow market proved to be impossible at the time as the channel had gone silent several years prior. However if Springfield Television stood firm for a few more years, they might have made a profit as cable was growing and with a live station on the air, Channel 32 could have made it. Of course, we'll never know.

Peter,were you that guy on top of the tower on Dutton st in Lowell MA back around the early seventies that was adjusting the dish unit on top , I rememember saying to myself ,boy thay guy has a lot of guts to be up there and why is he doing that as the station is off the air now?
Thanks for all the answers that you have provided for us on this subject. Justin