Reception Reports: Syracuse in Markham, plus Rochester & Erie! (June 6-7, 2009)

Greetings TV Garth readers! This report covers two days in which the usual Rochester & Erie stations came in, but the big surprise was my first reception of Syracuse’s WSTM in my own home in Markham! (I had previously received it when DXing at Mr. A’s apartment in downtown Toronto.) It was even more exciting as this occurred only a couple of days before WSTM would be shutting down their signal on RF 54 in preparation for the move to RF 24 after June 12th. So expect LOTS of WSTM pics in this report!

June 6, 2009

On June 6th, I picked up the usual Rochester Burst, plus Erie’s 54-1 WQLN. As pictured below, WQLN was running an episode of Soundstage featuring Josh Groban.

Meanwhile, 21-1 WXXI was featuring Roy Orbison in one of their pledge drives.

A bit later in the night, 54-3 WQLN-S2 featured a cool special about Craft In America.

Later, there was another concert on 54-1 WQLN, this time featuring Bloc Party on Austin City Limits.

Two dynamos in one program, as Baking With Julia on 54-2 WQLN-S1 had Julia Child and Martha Stewart cooking together!

Meanwhile, The Insider popped up on 8-1 WROC.

And One On One was airing over on 31-1 WUHF.

10-2 WHEC-DT displayed the weather map that shows several Canadian cities, including Toronto!

I also caught a promo for the new Canadian-made show The Listener on 10-1 WHEC. (Unfortunately, I think it’s been cancelled already.)

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June 7, 2009

On June 7th, we have WXXI doing more fundraising.

Erie’s WQLN also rolled in again, thanking viewers like us for supporting them!

George Lopez was rarin’ to go on Rochester’s 31-1 WUHF.

But then came WSTM! I noticed strong flickering on RF 54, and then started moving the antenna around trying to make it stronger. Oddly enough, when I moved my CM4221HD into the living room and aimed it out the front window, the elusive NBC affiliate from Syracuse made its first Markham appearance!

A visit from WSTM wouldn’t be complete without the Sun car infomercials on subchannel 3-2 WSTQ.

And we have the WSTM Weather channel on 3-3!

The creator of “Hang Ups” must have eaten some Frosted Flakes, as it looks like he’s feeling grrrrrrreat!

Then we have a promo for Action News which airs at 10pm on 3-2 WSTQ!

Hey there! Watch out for that school bus! It’s COMING RIGHT AT…………

……..oh……never mind, it went right by.

Having recovered from nearly being hit by a giant school bus, our hearty meteorologist delivers the Futurecast below. This is followed by a shot of Syracuse at night.

Since WSTM was still running an infomercial, I surfed around and caught some Rochester including CBS Up To The Minute on 8-1 WROC, and an infomercial about Monroe County college on 10-1 WHEC. There are also shots from 10-2 WHEC-DT, 13-1 WHAM, and 13-2 CW-WHAM.

Then I came right back to Syracuse for more WSTM!

Here we have an ad for Peppino’s Catering Co. in Syracuse, but I’m puzzled by the lack of pepperoni on the pizza in the second pic. Maybe I’m too used to the “Hollywood” looking pepperoni they use in the commercials from larger chains. I’d love it if the company was really a front for something else, and the reason the pepperoni is sparse is because something like money is secretly stuffed inside the dough of the pizza! (Dough within the dough!) Peppino’s Catering Co. coming this fall to HBO! (On second thought, the company looks just fine as they are….I can see myself scarfing down that delicious pubby type food!)

[Insert sound of angelic choir here.] A perfect shot of both WSTM and WSTQ’s logos, followed by the station address.

“Don’t you think you’re getting just a little too excited about getting WSTM?” asks Early Today’s Dan Kloeffler.

“I just listen to the Mini-Wheat on my shoulder,” I replied.

Apparently this woman also listens to the Mini-Wheat on her shoulder for advice, friendship, and fashion tips!

Here we have a wonderfully cheesy promo for Today In CNY at 5am where each of the anchors hop into a car one by one, banter a bit, and by the end of the commercial there’s a shot of the license plate that reads “AM TEAM.” You know, because they are the A.M. team! Love it!

The signal was pretty strong on WSTM for over an hour!

I initially misread this commercial as “My Dad Is Super Old” which I thought was a mean way to celebrate Father’s Day. Heh. The ad includes shots of sponsors such as the Syracuse Chiefs and the sassily named Fat Nancy’s Tackle Shop!

I threw this shot in because Mr. A has raved to me about how great the movie Up is! At first I wondered if it was somehow connected to Shania Twain. (See “Up!” her 2002 masterpiece!)

And next we have the Morning Express as a precursor to the newscast at 5am with anchors Megan Coleman and Andrea Bullard.

Great promo for Ellen on WSTM!

More Syracuse ads including the Finger Lakes Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association!

Here we have an ad for the Fox car dealership’s Summer Sell-A-Thon at the Fingerlakes Mall. Look closely for the misspelled sign in the third pic, which says “Theatr Now Open.”

And then came Today In CNY at 5am!!! I’ll let the news speak for itself, so enjoy these shots from WSTM’s morning show!

We interrupt this news recap to point out how Divalicious anchor Andrea Bullard looks here. This is seriously like an album cover for a hot young pop artist! She was about to present the Traffic Alert. (This would be the perfect place to insert the “Stop Remix” of the Britney Spears song “You Drive Me Crazy.”)

The following looked almost like the intro to a scary movie. Imagine the dramatic voiceover going something like:

“It was a quiet, peaceful day in the Hawley Green Neighborhood….”

“Folks loved being able to share laughter, love, but most of all community. It was a community that was thriving and growing until something grew a little too big for their neighborhood. They weren’t prepared for the……….”

“……..giant alien flowers that mutated and took over the area, to the chagrin of concerned citizens everywhere!”

“These giant alien flowers are going to be a problem,” said Jeremy Neumann.

It even looks like anchor Andrea Bullard stared at the plantlife a bit too long and is now possessed by flower power. But in reality, she was just really excited to present the Current Temperatures!

Meanwhile, Cops was airing on 3-2 WSTQ and oddly featured less drama than usual. Citizens and cops shaking hands??? Unreal!

Here’s a shot advertising WSTM’s tipline, followed by an ad for Syracuse Energy Systems with the awesome slogan “We Care About Your Air.”

Great shot of Syracuse live in the morning! This is followed by a weather report from meteorologist Peter Hall.

WSTM is on Twitter! This is followed by more shots from the morning newscast, including a Road Report!

Here we have another shot from 3-3 WSTM Weather, in which the temperature is appropriately enough 54! (This was one of the last days that WSTM would be on RF 54, and now is as good a place as any to give a shout out to them! I wrote in asking them about when the switch from RF 54 to RF 24 would take place and they wrote back a prompt, friendly e-mail with the date and thanked me for watching!)

Of course the peace and goodwill couldn’t last that long on Cops. Here we have a suspect being searched for drugs on 3-2 WSTQ.

Just before the signal started to fade out, I caught some shots of WSTM’s 1/2 Off Dining promotion showcasing the restaurant Ambrosia!

When WSTM faded, I went back to Rochester and got this shot of the Scholastic Arts Spotlight on 31-1 WUHF!

10-1 WHEC was well into their morning newscast.

The signal on 8-1 WROC was a bit spottier, though.

A Reception Report is always better with some Half & Half starring Rachel True in the first pic, and Alec Mapa in the second pic.

13-1 WHAM was also in the middle of their morning news.

“You better believe it was exciting to see WSTM this morning!” exclaimed Telma Hopkins.

The following four shots are from the series Workplace Essential Skills, seen on WXXI. The show is really about mundane things like typing up letters with proper etiquette. But the pics below make it look more like a tawdry nighttime soap opera, with drama and scandal! Take a look:

I couldn’t bear to watch anymore of that scandalous show, so I tuned back in to 10-1 WHEC.

We finish this report with a great shot of the Rochester traffic cam on 10-2 WHEC.

Stay tuned to TV Garth for more Reception Reports!