From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WATM-TV
Altoona/Johnstown/State College, Pennsylvania
Branding	ABC23
Slogan	We're Here For You!
Channels	23 (UHF) analog, 24 (UHF) digital
Affiliations	ABC (1953-1980s and since 1988)
Owner	Palm Television (managed by Peak Media)
Founded	1953 (original incarnation, on channel 38) October 13, 1986 (current incarnation, on channel 23)
Call letters meaning	Altoona Television Market
Former callsigns	WOPC-TV (1953-early 1980s) WWPC-TV (1986-88)
Former affiliations	Fox (1987-88, as satellite of WWCP-TV)
Website	www.abc23.com

WATM-TV is an ABC-affiliated television station on channel 23 in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by Palm Television, but is operated by Peak Media under a local marketing agreement with the area's Fox affiliate, WWCP-TV. Its transmitter is located in Dysart, Pennsylvania. WATM's signal is somewhat weak (708,000 watts); many viewers have difficulty receiving the station without a set-top or outdoor antenna even in Altoona (approximately five miles from WATM's Dysart transmitter).

Contents 1 History 1.1 On channel 38 1.2 On channel 23 2 Programming 3 ABC 23 News Anchors 4 External links

This station originally signed on in 1953 as WOPC-TV, on channel 38, Altoona's ABC affiliate. At the time, Altoona-State Colege and Johnstown were separate markets. The station was unable to afford a network feed; for most of its history engineers simply switched to and from the signal of WTPA-TV (now WHTM-TV) in Harrisburg. Already struggling for viewership, it was dealt a fatal blow in 1982, when Johnstown and Altoona-State College were collapsed into a single market. WOPC's signal was all but unviewable in the western portion of the enlarged market. It went dark shortly afterward. For the next few years, WHTM was the de facto ABC affiliate for the eastern side of the market, while WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh served the western portion.

In 1986, WWCP-TV, the area's soon-to-be Fox affiliate, faced a problem. It had originally been slated to be a Pittsburgh station, but its owners petitioned the FCC to move the license to Johnstown. In their petition, WWCP's owners cited lower programming costs in the Johnstown/Altoona/State College market. They also cited possible interference with WJW in Cleveland. The FCC granted the request, on condition that WWCP build its transmitter in a location that would allow Pittsburgh to get a grade B signal from the station. However, this meant that channel 8 would be virtually unviewable in the eastern portion of the market.

WWCP's owners solved this problem by buying the dormant channel 38 license and moving it to channel 23. As a result, the old WOPC returned to the air on October 13 as WWPC-TV, a satellite of WWCP.

At the time, WHTM and WTAE both pre-empted moderate amounts of ABC programming, and it soon became obvious that Johnstown/Altoona/State College needed its own ABC affiliate. As a result, WWPC split from WWCP and became an ABC affiliate on August 27, 1988 under new calls, WATM. WATM is still managed by WWCP (which remains a Fox affiliate) under a local marketing agreement.

WATM-TV airs only one newscast per day, at 11:00 pm. The newscast is focused on Altoona, State College and surrounding areas. Syndicated programs include Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, Extra, Martha, The Tyra Banks Show, The Montel Williams Show, and Maury.

• Angie Boddorf (news anchor) Monday-Friday Edition
• Travis Koshko (chief meteorologist) Monday-Friday Edition
• Meredith McDonough (news anchor) Weekend Edition
• Josh Bandish (meteorologist) Weekend Edition
• Greg Whitmer (sports director) Monday-Friday Edition

• ABC23 website.
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WATM

v • d • e

Broadcast television in the Johnstown / Altoona / State College market (Nielsen DMA #98)

Local television stations WPSU 3 (PBS) - WJAC 6 (NBC) - WWCP 8 (FOX) - WTAJ 10 (CBS) - W13BY 13 {IND} - WPCW 19 (The CW)1 - WATM 23 (ABC) - WHVL 29 (MNTV) - W36BE 36 / W39BE 39 (ABC) - WKBS 47 (CSTV) - WLLS 49 (A1) 1 Technically a Pittsburgh market station. See article.

Local cable television channels WIUP 20 (Ind)

Significantly Viewed Out-of-Market Broadcast Stations Reception may vary by geographical location Pittsburgh: KDKA 2 (CBS) - WTAE 4 (ABC, The AccuWeather Channel on DT2) - WPXI 11 (NBC) - WPMY 22 (MNTV) - WPGH 53 (FOX) Scranton/Wilkes-Barre: WNEP 16 (ABC) - WSWB 38 (The CW) Harrisburg: WLYH 15 (The CW) New York City: WPIX 11 (The CW)