Welcome to TV Garth!

Ever since I was a kid, I loved antennas and TV reception. It was always a thrill to hook up an antenna and see what stations I could get, and see if I could pick up anything from a far distance. With the transition to digital broadcasting happening, my love for OTA (over the air) reception came back and this blog will focus on what channels I'm able to receive via antenna from my home just outside of Toronto, Canada. Plus there may be occasional commentaries on shows that I see while adjusting my reception.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Reception Reports: More Highlights from 2011!

Greetings TV Garth readers! As the season gets colder and the tropo slows down, I wanted to present some more highlights from the 2011 DXing season! Sit back, grab a snack and enjoy a mix of long distance reception pics paired with TV Garth's commentary and tasteless innuendo unique observations!

WROC's Maureen McGuire looked very happy about Alec Baldwin visiting the Rochester area! (Seen on Rochester, NY's WROC, RF45, April 7, 2011.)

2011-04-07

I think Alec was just passing through Rochester on his way to Baldwinsville. (Seen on Syracuse, NY's WSTM subchannel CNY, RF24-3, Sept. 25, 2011.)

2011-09-25

On June 30th, I got to see awesome meteorologist Ray Petelin doing double duty on two Erie, PA stations! Below, Ray co-hosts with Kara Coleman on WICU (RF12).

2011-06-30

Next, I saw Ray on WSEE (RF12-3) with Eva Mastromatteo on Mornings Live. (I've previously noted Ray's ability to make his co-hosts laugh and have fun, and this day was no exception!) Ray has since moved on to Pittsburgh, PA's WTAE. When I asked on Twitter if he was joining WTAE, he sent an awesome reply to me!

2011-06-30

Erie, PA's WICU (RF12) features a segment called "Giving You The Business" in which reporter Vince Slomsky "brings scoops and insights" to viewers about local Erie businesses.

2011-06-30

Vince Slomsky is certainly welcome to give me the business anytime he wishes!

2011-06-30

My jaw dropped when Erie, PA's WBEP (RF12-2) showed this ad for Big Woodie's. I especially love the tagline "...when you're ready to make some noise, come see us."

2011-06-30

Speaking of Big Woodie's, I almost fell over when Rochester, NY's WHAM (RF13) ran the headline "Weiner Officially Out Tomorrow" on June 21, 2011.

2011-06-21

Also on June 21st, WHAM (RF13) ran this great promo for a New York Yankees baseball game they were showing. I love that they promote their over-the-air channel in the second pic!

2011-06-21
2011-06-21

On July 19th, I caught this promo for New Girl on Watertown, NY's WNYF (RF7-2). Now that I've seen the show, I have to declare how awesome it is! Zooey Deschanel totally rocks her character!

2011-07-19

I caught this great station ID for Springville, NY's WNGS (RF7) on July 22, which was only a short time before they officially changed their call letters to WBBZ. At this time they promoted themselves as "Buffalo's Movie Channel" due to their affiliation with This TV.

2011-07-22

Nice try Nicole Scherzinger, but placing four backup dancers behind you won't fool us into thinking your new solo video is by the Pussycat Dolls. (Seen on Rochester, NY's WUHF subchannel Cool TV, RF28-2, June 30, 2011.)

2011-06-30

Speaking of dancers, Cleveland, OH's WQHS (RF34) provided this amazingly flamboyant spectacle with colourful men and sassy Divas working the stage on September 10, 2011. Muchas gracias, Univision!

2011-09-10

Speaking of colourful Divas, I discovered many Katy Perry lookalikes popping up across different stations. Here we have one on Rochester, NY's low powered TCT repeater W42CO (RF42-2).

2011-06-30

Next up in the Katy Perry look-a-like sweepstakes is Lindsay Ward of Johnstown, PA's WJAC (RF34) seen here on October 5th!

2011-10-05

It felt weird to see Cleveland, OH's WEWS (RF15) on July 22 after they'd let Kimberly Gill and Pete Kenworthy go from their morning show. (Thankfully Kimberly Gill landed at Pittsburgh's KDKA shortly after!) Meteorologist Christine Ferreira gamely smiles, even through all the AM show chaos! Ferreira is great, so I'm hoping she'll survive in the new incarnation of Good Morning Cleveland.

2011-07-22

WEWS reporter Curtis Jackson filled in during the Summer on Good Morning Cleveland.

2011-07-22

Patty Harken (seen here on WEWS on July 22) also left Good Morning Cleveland recently. At least she went out with a bang, making an on air joke about receiving "adult gifts" from her co-workers on her birthday shortly before leaving.

2011-07-22

Cleveland, OH's WKYC (RF17) also popped up on July 22 with this awesome Facebook promo that also spells out the meaning of their call letters!

2011-07-22

Here's a look at WKYC's morning team Mark Nolan and Hollie Strano on Channel 3 News Today! (Seen July 22, 2011.)

2011-07-22

Who said religious kids shows had to be a drag? Unless...er...you actually have men dressed up as women in them! (Seen on Jamestown, NY's WNYB-SD2, RF26-3, Sept. 14 and Oct. 6 respectively.)

2011-09-14
2011-10-06

Stacey Pensgen is a great addition to Rochester, NY's WROC (RF45). She brings a sense of fun to her weather forecasts, banters well with anchors and has a Divatastic fashion sense! Pensgen is seen here on September 25 after one of the first major victories by the Buffalo Bills in the current football season.

2011-09-25

I can't express how much I LOVE getting Syracuse, NY's WSTM (RF24) again! (WSTM was last seen in Markham back in June 2009 and became receivable again after the Canadian DTV transition.) Check out the ad for their HD channel on Time Warner cable, seen on Sept. 25, 2011.

2011-09-25

I caught part of WSTM's news, which promoted the Orange VIP Pass sports show being carried on their sister station WTVH!

2011-09-25

Both Chris McGrath and Niko Tamurian were shocked and stunned when I declared that Niko was my new Syracrush!

2011-09-25

Chris quickly remarked "Whatever floats your boat, man!" to which Niko replied "Dude! Don't encourage him!"

2011-09-25

Despite only being in widescreen SD, WSTM seems to have a pretty sharp picture during their newscasts. (Seen September 25, 2011.)

2011-09-25

I've really been enjoying Morning Live First Edition on Hamilton, ON's CHCH (RF11) with Tim Bolan and Jaclyn Colville. It's the first "early AM" newscast in Canada, starting at 4am each night! Jaclyn rocks it, doing weather, traffic and having fun banter with Tim Bolan. (Seen October 3, 2011.)

2011-10-03

One of my favourite moments of the year was seeing coverage of Don Shipman (of Utica, NY's WKTV, RF29) and his partner Adam Lawless getting married! I first read the news on WKTV's website, and was lucky enough to see a recap of it over-the-air on October 10, 2011!

2011-10-10

This was especially exciting for me to see, given that Marriage Equality had only recently been passed into law in New York State!

2011-10-10

Megan Koskovich showed viewers pictures from the wedding, including this great shot of WKTV personalities past and present celebrating the event! (Also, note the PSIP at the top of the screen. I was watching this on my Dynex TV in the basement, which mapped WKTV to 29-1 instead of 2-1!)

2011-10-10

We close this 2011 Highlights reel with a great shot of Adam Lawless, Megan Koskovich and Don Shipman taken at the wedding. In a time where kids are still committing suicide because of their sexuality, having a proud, openly gay anchor marry his true love and get an outpouring of support from his station and the Utica community is proof that it really does get better! I LOVE it! Click here to see video of the wedding!

2011-10-10

Stay tuned to TV Garth for more TV watching mayhem!