Summer has flown by, but has included lots of reception from Rochester, NY as well as some decent appearances from Syracuse, Utica and Watertown, NY. (Utica's WKTV on RF29 at 222 miles away stands out as the farthest station to make major appearances in the Summer.) Erie, PA reception seemed weaker compared to 2009/2010, though Cleveland, OH was surprisingly robust! Detroit, MI has been MIssing for most of the season, but in late August Pittsburgh, PA made a surprise appearance. As well, the Canadian DTV transition finally took place! (That'll be covered in the next Reception Report!)
So grab a snack, sit back, and enjoy a flamboyant look back at the reception and programming I enjoyed so far throughout 2011!
It doesn't feel like the DX season has truly begun until I've seen a wacky commercial on a Rochester, NY station. Here we have a wigged out ad from Unclaimed Freight as seen on WUHF (RF28) on April 7, 2011.
News 8 First at 4 features hilarious banter between Matt Molloy and meteorologist Scott Hetsko. (Click here for my recent interview with Matt! He rocks!) Below, Scott is imitating the sleeping air traffic controller that made headlines that week. (Seen on Rochester, NY's WROC, RF45, on April 7, 2011.)
I had no idea why I was getting Newsweek for free until I saw this promo for WXXI's Auction (seen on Rochester, NY's WXXI, RF16 on April 7, 2011.) They mentioned that the subscription is a bonus for signing up for an auction account. (I signed up in 2010 to bid on a Scott Hetsko tour at WROC! Unfortunately, I didn't win.)
Rochester, NY's WHAM (RF13) featured this story about the state vegetable debate. The corn gave an a-maize-ing speech, but there wasn't a dry eye in the house after the onion took the stage. (Seen April 7, 2011.)
Watertown, NY's WWTI (RF21) made a surprise appearance on April 13, 2011! Check out their Dr. Oz promo, as well as a unique station ID for their CW subchannel WWTI-2 (RF21-2).
I couldn't tell if Hoda Kotb was excited or concerned as Kathie Lee Gifford went wild with the drink mixing on NBC's Today. (Seen via Rochester, NY's WHEC, RF10, on May 10, 2011.)
I always enjoy getting a Taste of Syracuse via WSYR (RF17) seen here on June 3, 2011 with anchors Dan Cummings and Tanja Babich.
I also didn't mind getting a taste of Vince Slomsky via Erie, PA's WICU (RF12) on June 4, 2011.
The promos for events on Erie, PA's WQLN (RF50) often feature great logos from their own station, as well as Erie's ABC affiliate WJET. It's worth noting that WJET has recently retired the classic logo seen below. (Promo seen June 4, 2011.)
Clearfield, PA's WPSU (RF15) was a surprise visitor on June 4, 2011. The town of DuBois sounds like a Stella place to visit.
I enjoy watching Newschannel 2 at Daybreak (seen June 7th with Don Shipman and Bill Kardas) whenever I catch Utica, NY's WKTV (RF29).
Don looks almost as excited as I was to see the station come through during a ferocious thunderstorm on June 7, 2011. It was a bit scary hearing the rumbles of thunder right outside the house, but I couldn't help watching the tropo that was on!
How ferocious was the storm? Take a look at Rochester, NY's WHEC (RF10) with Josh Nichols showing doppler radar with my town on the map! Markham was covered with thunderbolts! (It was neat to see Josh all the way in Rochester talking about Markham's storm while I was watching WHEC in Markham!)
Also ferocious in the AM? WHEC's Rebecca Leclair! I love her sassy newscasts. (Seen June 7, 2011.)
On June 18th after having drinks with a pal, I came home and saw the "sneak preview" of MeTV programming on the 67-3 subchannel of Springville, NY's WNGS. (MeTV didn't go full time until August.) I caught an ep of Dobie Gillis, which prompted me to think Bob Denver was pretty good looking back in the day. (That may have been influenced by the rum and cokes that I had, but I digress...)
I knew Casey Abrams was upset about getting voted off of American Idol Season 10, but I didn't think he'd go This far! Wait... that's not Casey? (Seen June 18, 2011 via Springville, NY's WNGS, RF7.)
Speaking of WNGS, I caught this awesome station ID on June 20, 2011! This is as good as place as any to mention that WNGS (now WBBZ) is one of the more sought after channels in the Greater Toronto Area. Check out this thread on the Digital Home Canada forums about people trying to catch the station, including forum member HWP who installed an impressive setup that helps him receive the channel more regularly now!
I was excited to see Cleveland, OH's WEWS (RF15) come through on Canada Day (July 1st) just before I went downtown for the annual Toronto Pride festivities. Unfortunately, I didn't know this would be the last time I'd see Pete Kenworthy and Kimberly Gill anchor the morning show. (WEWS shook up the anchor line up only days later.)
I was very GLAAD to see a repeat of Cheers on July 15, 2011 via Rochester, NY's WHEC (RF10). The award winning ep dealt with homophobia in a very progressive way, which was a shock considering it was filmed such a (Shelley) long time ago!
Chuck Wade delivered a report on soccer all-star Abby Wambach, who hails from the Rochester area. (Seen July 17th on Rochester, NY's WHAM, RF13.) I wondered if she became Crabby Wambach after her team lost the FIFA Women's World Cup final. Only kidding! (She might punt a ball towards my head if I'm not careful!)
At first I couldn't tell if the following was a PSA about disasters, or a snazzy promo for So You Think You Can Dance. (Seen July 17th via Syracuse, NY's WSYR-2, RF17-2.)
During one strong tropo day on July 19, 2011 I finally got a station ID for Syracuse, NY's ION outlet WSPX (RF15). Check out the call letters at the bottom of the screen in the pic below!
Also seen on July 19. 2011 was a rare appearance of Watertown, NY's WWNY (RF7) and their subchannel WNYF-SD.
I was excited to see WNYF-SD (RF7-2) promoting a "Men Guide" until I realized it was actually about restaurant dining...
Here's a great promo for Two And A Half Men with a great shot of the FOX 28 logo on WNYF-SD (RF7-2)! Unfortunately, the signal was about as stable as Charlie Sheen and faded not too long after this.
I squealed when Jeopardy featured a Ke$ha related question because my pal Mr. A and I were going to her August 14th concert in Toronto! (Seen August 2, 2011 on Rochester, NY's WROC, RF45.)
Speaking of Ke$ha, when I was at her concert on August 14th I bumped into ABC's Bachelorette and Bachelor Pad hunk Justin Rego! He was very friendly and posed for pics with lots of people!
While on the topic of Ke$ha, check out the animal print and fierce hair on WHEC's Lynette Adams! She needs to start a music career and do a song called "I've Got News For You." I'm sure it would reach the Top 10! (Seen August 4, 2011 via Rochester, NY's WHEC, RF10.)
I think I've developed a schoolgirl crush on Adam Chodak (seen here with Doug Emblidge August 4, 2011 on Rochester, NY's WHAM, RF13.)
Sigh...Adam... (Imagine me holding a Trapper Keeper notebook with hearts and TV station logos doodled in pen...)
It was oddly nostalgic to stumble across a scene from the film Nick of Time that...er...stood out to me when I was a teenager. Johnny brought Depp-th to this mid-90s caper in which he had to trade clothes with a hotel worker to sneak past the bad guys. If dropping trou helps stop evil, I'm all for it! (Seen August 4 via Springville, NY's 67-3 This TV subchannel on WBBZ, RF7-3.)
In early August, my pal Felix visited Toronto for the first time in years. When people marveled about how youthful he looked I joked that he must be using the Principal Secret. The very next day (August 4, 2011) I saw one of the Principal Secret infomercials on Cleveland, OH's WUAB (RF28).
Stations were pulling out all the stops in honour of Lucille Ball's 100th Birthday! I caught a great promo for a Lucy marathon on the newly rebranded WBBZ (formerly WNGS from Springville, NY on RF7.) This ad for the Queen of Comedy was seen August 4, 2011.
I was excited to see a story about Lucy's birthday show up via Rochester, NY's WUHF (RF28) on August 6, 2011. To mark the occasion, anchor Tina Shively recreated one of Lucille's trademark facial expressions! (Click here for a great post about Lucy's birthday by Bill Brioux.)
On August 17th I was able to capture the new station ID from Springville, NY's WBBZ (RF7). They switched their call letters from WNGS as of August 1st, as well as replacing This TV with MeTV on their main channel. (This TV is still available as a subchannel, though.)
I couldn't quite put my finger on why Gary Liberatore's report really bugged me on August 19, 2011. (Seen via Utica, NY's WKTV, RF29.)
Jill Reale stormed in that night to deliver the weather report! (Seen August 19, 2011 on Utica, NY's WKTV, RF29.)
I loved that the antique fest got GIANT CAPS in the news teaser. Like [insert monster truck voice] RUN DON'T WALK - IT'S THE ANTIQUE FEST!!! (Seen August 19, 2011 via Utica, NY's WKTV, RF29.)
August 19th was a big day for Erie, PA reception and I was able to recieve two new stations! Two Buffalo stations (WNED, RF43 and WNLO, RF32) were off for maintenance, so I was able to pick up Erie's RTV/Tuff TV affiliate WLEP-LD (RF43) for the first time!
I also picked up Erie's low powered 3 Angels Broadcasting affiliate W32DH (RF32) which showed me what Carlton Banks has been up to lately!
More familiar catches on August 19th included WFXP (RF22) with their recently revised FOX 66 logo!
WSEE (RF12-3) featured a great promo for Tim Mello, who appears to be an easygoing kind of guy. (Seen August 19, 2011.)
Check out this promo for The Closer on WSEE (RF12-3) which showcases their newer logo and font. Compare with the logo in the previous pic. (Seen August 19, 2011.)
August 27, 2011 brought a surprise burst of Pittsburgh, PA reception! I caught several stations for the first time including MyTV outlet WPMY (RF42).
I experienced a lot of Happiness when I saw WPMY's Cool TV subchannel (RF42-2). Check out Alexis Jordan belting it out in the video below!
I also picked up Pittsburgh's NBC affiliate WPXI (RF48) for the first time and even got a few minutes of their local newscast! (Seen August 27, 2011.)
WPXI's Gordon Loesch brings us the coverage we can count on! Most newscasts were focusing on Hurricane Irene that weekend.
The WPXI newscast mentioned that several Pittsburgh flights were cancelled due to Irene.
WPXI's subchannel recently became a MeTV affiliate after originally being an RTV station.
Also making an appearance on August 27th was Johnstown, PA's WJAC (RF34) with an episode of Saturday Night Live!
Like WPXI, WJAC's subchannel recently switched from RTV to MeTV.
Erie, PA's WQLN was off the air due to transmitter problems, so I was able to catch Greensburg, PA's WPCB (RF50) which is a Cornerstone religious station serving the Pittsburgh market.
The most thrilling part of the Pittsburgh burst was getting ABC affiliate WTAE (RF51) only days before Toronto's OMNI 2 began broadcasting on the same channel! The logo below isn't perfect, but I was glad to catch it!
WTAE's subchannel (RF51-2) is a This TV affiliate, and I was lucky enough to capture a great station ID below!
That wraps up just some of the highlights of 2011 (expect a sequel very soon!) But coming up next - it's time to recap the Canadian DTV Transition! Stay tuned to TV Garth for all the coverage of what got shaken up on the dial in late August and early September!
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