WPIX-TV

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WPIX (WB 11) in New York City is the flagship station of the WB. Before joining the WB, WPIX was one of the leading independent stations in the country.

Related Topics:
New York City - Flagship - The WB

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WPIX's call letters come not just from the station being a TV outlet, but from the newspaper that founded it, the New York Daily News ("New York's Picture Newspaper"). Both were owned by the Tribune Company, but into the 1980s WPIX was operated separately from the other Tribune TV and radio outlets through the News -owned license holder, WPIX Inc., which also operated WPIX-FM (now WQCD). In 1991, Robert Maxwell bought the Daily News, but Tribune retained WPIX and WQCD.

Related Topics:
New York Daily News - Tribune Company - 1991

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Soon after it signed on, WPIX became the television home of the New York Yankees. In the 1960s, WPIX, like the other two major independents in New York--WOR-TV and WNEW-TV--struggled to gain better programming. By the early 1970s, WPIX was the clear number-two independent station in the city, behind WNEW. It offered a wide variety of programming including cartoons, off network sitcoms, drama shows, movies, and Yankees baseball. It used the nickname 11 Alive from 1976 to 1986.

Related Topics:
New York Yankees - 1976 - 1986

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From June 1980 until 1990, WPIX produced a national newscast, Independent Network News, for independent stations across the country. The program was anchored by the same air staff that produced Action News on WPIX—Pat Harper, Steve Bosh and Bill Jorgensen. The local newscast was the first by an independent station to win a New York Emmy Award for outstanding newscast.

Related Topics:
1980 - 1990 - Independent Network News - Independent stations - Action News - Emmy Award

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It was a remarkable turnaround for a news operation that during the 1970s had been accused of falsifying its news reports -- such as putting "via satellite" over stock footage, and saying a voice report was live from Prague when it came from a pay telephone in Manhattan. A group called Forum Communications -- led by future PBS and NBC News President Lawrence Grossman -- approached the FCC to challenge WPIX Inc.'s license to operate Channel 11, but after years of litigation, The News prevailed in 1979.

Related Topics:
PBS - NBC

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Already buoyed by its success in the 1980s, WPIX became an even stronger station after WNEW joined Fox as WNYW-TV. It became the area leader in children's programming. In the 1990's the station continued its growth in acquiring strong off network programs as well as first run talk shows. In January 1995, WPIX became the flagship of the new WB.

Related Topics:
Fox - WNYW-TV - January - 1995

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As children's programming began to fade from broadcast television, The WB dropped the morning cartoon block in 2000 for local stations to carry their own programming,and WPIX began the WB11 Morning News. They continue to have afternoon cartoons from WB known as Kids WB, but this will be discontinued early in 2006.

Related Topics:
2000 - Kids WB - 2006

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On September 11, 2001, the transmitter facilities of WPIX as well as six other New York City television stations and several radio stations were destroyed when two hijacked airplanes crashed into and destroyed the World Trade Center towers. (See September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.) WPIX's broadcast eerily froze on the last image received from the WTC mast - the North Tower just as it started to collapse; the image remained on the screen for much of the day until WPIX was able to set up alternate transmission facilities.

Related Topics:
September 11 - 2001 - World Trade Center - September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks - North Tower

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WPIX-FM (101.9) was co-owned with WPIX for over 30 years. WPIX-FM was famous for not being able to settle on a format for any real length of time and was derisively nicknamed "The format of the month station" by many in the New York City radio industry and general public. In 1982, though, they picked up an adult contemporary format and did well with it until about 1986. By 1988, WPIX-FM, had very low ratings and became a smooth jazz station, with the call letters WQCD, and the nickname "CD101.9". In the late 1990's, WQCD was sold by Tribune to Emmis Communications.

Related Topics:
Adult contemporary - WQCD - Emmis Communications

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WPIX-TV was the broadcast home of the Yankees until 1999 (even as most of the Yankees' games moved to cable), when WNYW took over. In 1999, the station became the broadcast home of the New York Mets. Ironically, in 2005 the Yankees TV broadcasts were aired by WWOR, which was as synonymous with the Mets as WPIX was with the Yankees.

Related Topics:
1999 - New York Mets - WWOR

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The station is seen via satellite in the U. S. on the Dish Network.

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WPIX-TV's famous Circle 11 logo -- which closely resembles the World Trade Center -- was first unveiled in 1968. (A Yankee Stadium advertising billboard for WPIX with the Circle 11 logo appeared that year.) It had become the official station emblem by 1974.

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The station dropped it when it adopted the 11 Alive moniker in 1976, but re-incorporated the Circle 11 into "11 Alive" print ads in 1984 and the Yankee broadcast intros in April 1985. The Circle 11 returned full-time in 1986.

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The current 11 was first unveiled during WPIX's broadcast of the 1991 New York City Marathon, and eventually became the full-time logo, with the WB added at the creation of the WB Television Network.

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