Greetings TV Garth readers! Here’s a look back at all the over-the-air TV mayhem viewed at my home in Markham, Ontario, Canada from June-July 2016! Stay tuned for anchors, anecdotes and antenna reception, oh my!
June 1, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 7.1 WKBW (RF38)...I had plenty of Buffalove seeing both the rainbow and trans flags being raised for Pride Week!
- Toronto, ON, 9.1 CFTO (RF9)...Stunt woman Jessie Graff seemingly leapt out of a silver age Wonder Woman comic and into viewers’ hearts on American Ninja Warrior!
- Rochester, NY, 8.1 WROC (RF45)...Scott Hetsko and Adam Chodak anchored News 8 at 11!
The Geico gecko looked like a wacky neighbor butting in on potential new Food Network series “Crnkovich Family Cookout”!
June 2, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 4.1 WIVB (RF39)...Jacquie Walker and Don Postles came out of their shells to report on the premiere of a Ninja Turtles movie that shot scenes in Buffalo!
The premiere was held at Regal Cinemas, which I had seen in Niagara Falls, NY during a 2012 road trip! (I LOVE their retro flair!)
June 3, 2016:
- Toronto, ON, 9.1 CFTO (RF9)...The long running Canada A.M. (with Marci Ien, Beverly Thomson and Jeff Hutcheson below) was abruptly cancelled to make way for CTV’s new program Your Morning.
June 6, 2016:
- Rochester, NY, 31.1 WUHF (RF28)...Don Alhart was celebrating fifty years at WHAM (formerly WOKR) with co-anchors Glenn Johnson, Ginny Ryan and Mike Catalana! (I caught his 45th anniversary back in 2011!)
The station promoted a special about Don’s milestone, complete with retro head shots! Compare with an original 1978 TV Guide ad for 13’s Eyewitness News featuring Alhart!
- Syracuse, NY, 3.1 WSTM (RF24)...NBC 3 News at 11 featured Wayne Mahar and Meghan Coleman!
June 7, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 2.1 WGRZ (RF33)...Last Call With Carson Daly introduced me to the fabulous, glam retro-disco of Escort!
June 8, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 7.1 WKBW (RF38)...Kendis Gibson and Diane Macedo made a dynamic duo on ABC’s World News Now!
June 10, 2016:
- Syracuse, NY, 3.1 WSTM (RF24)...Peter wasn’t in the Hall…he was on the road delivering the day’s forecast!
- Rochester, NY, 21.1 WXXI (RF16)...WXXI partnered with the Golisano Foundation for Move To Include, which promotes “inclusion for people with intellectual and physical disabilities!”
- Utica, NY, 2.1 WKTV (RF29)...WKTV’s signal was able to Go The Distance from Utica to Markham, racing through my area to advertise a program that trains first time 15k runners!
June 11, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 2.1 WGRZ (RF33)...Bob Costas was at the 148th Belmont Stakes, which reminded me of Lucille Ball’s early modeling pseudonym “Diane Belmont” - inspired by the race track!
June 12-14, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 4.1 WIVB (RF39)...Hunky Josh Segarra got the audience at The Tony Awards on their feet! TV Garth first noticed Segarra many years ago on the PBS revival of Electric Company!
- Buffalo, NY, 2.1 WGRZ (RF33)...The horrific Pulse nightclub tragedy shook the LGBT community. Lester Holt interviewed Orlando commissioner Patty Sheehan in the aftermath.
NBC’s coverage of the tragedy also showed the White House aglow in rainbow hues, which seems bittersweet in light of the renewed attacks on LGBT rights.
- Toronto, ON, 9.1 CFTO (RF9)...CTV covered Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement on the attack, as well as a local Toronto vigil.
- Buffalo, NY, 7.1 WKBW (RF38)...Tributes to the Pulse victims also appeared at New York’s historical Stonewall Inn.
The outpouring of support from a wide range of people, including the WWE, was a glimmer of hope in such a dark chapter of history.
June 15, 2016:
- Rochester, NY, 8.1 WROC (RF45)...On a lighter note, there’s always time for a BBQ, especially if it’s Sticky Lips Pit BBQ!
June 18, 2016:
- Utica, NY, 2.2 WKTVCBS (RF29.2)...I was soaking up whatever station IDs I could muster from the new CBS subchannel on WKTV!
- Toronto, ON, 40.1 CJMT (RF40)...Bollywood Star auditioned a wide array of talent, including the handsome gentleman below!
Divalicious Heather White appeared on OMNI2’s airing of Mohawk Girls!
- Toronto, ON, 19.1 TVO (RF19)...LGBT docs often air on public television stations during June, and TVO was no exception with the heartfelt Limited Partnership!
- Rochester, NY, 21.2 WXXI-W (RF16.2)...PBS also jumped on the rainbow bandwagon with America ReFramed: Before You Know It which focused on LGBT seniors!
- Rochester, NY, 8.1 WROC (RF45)...What the shuck is going on? The Corn Hill Arts Festival in Rochester, that’s what!
June 19, 2016:
- Toronto, ON, 9.1 CFTO (RF9)...I love Amazing Race Canada with host Jon Montgomery! I was lucky enough to meet Race star Matt Giunta, who joined Nick Foti as the “Wrestling Teammates” of season 3!
June 20, 2016:
- Toronto, ON, 5.1 CBLT (RF20) and Buffalo, NY, 2.1 WGRZ (RF33)...Both CBC and NBC were promoting their upcoming coverage of the Olympic games in Rio!
Openly gay comedian Billy Eichner was totally ready to sprint! (NBC also updated their logo to pay tribute to the Pulse nightclub victims.)
June 21, 2016:
- Rochester, NY, 21.2 WXXI-W (RF16.2)...Christie Herring’s documentary The Campaign traced the fight for LGBT rights from Hal Call and Harvey Milk to the battle against Prop 8 with Anne Marks and other activists!
- Rochester, NY, 31.1 WUHF (RF28)...FOX Rochester and WHAM helped viewers Cruze Into Summer with a Chevy people wanted to chase!
June 22, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 7.1 WKBW (RF38)...Thuy Lan Nguyen was a fabulous addition to the Eyewitness News team!
June 24, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 2.1 WGRZ (RF33)...Channel 2 acknowledged the five year anniversary of same sex marriage being legalized in New York State!
June 26, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 7.1 WKBW (RF38)...ABC debuted a new version of the $100,000 Pyramid hosted by Michael Strahan and it’s awesome!
June 27, 2016:
- Dayton, OH, 2.1 WDTN (RF50)...Some people are into relationships, but I prefer Dayton around! I loved catching WDTN for the first time since 2010 with Tara Hastings delivering the weather!
- Detroit, MI, 4.1 WDIV (RF45)...Rhonda Walker is très 4midable!
- Dayton, OH, 22.1 WKEF (RF18)...New Channel Alert…I gasped “OH my gosh!” when ABC 22 dropped in with Mike Joyce & Erik Elken!
Beavercreek Re-Joyce-d when Mike gave them a shoutout!
- London, ON, 10.1 CFPL (RF10)...Kelda Yuen introduced a story about Ride Don’t Hide, which raises funds for mental health services!
- Toledo, OH, 11.1 WTOL (RF11)...Andrew Kinsey scaled new heights to diagnose issues concerning Toledo viewers!
Weather thermometer on the fritz? Then get Fritz on the weather! Meteorologist Ellyn Fritz tackles the temps in Toledo!
- Cleveland, OH, 61.2 UNIMAS [WQHS] (RF34.2)...La Ronca De Oro was a golden opportunity to bring fierce drama to UniMás viewers!
- London, ON, 51.1 CHCHDT2 (RF51)...Bob Cowan, Annette Hamm and Brian Wood anchored Morning Live from Hamilton!
- Columbus, OH, 10.1 WBNS (RF21)...10’s across the board for Mike Davis, Jeff Hogan and Karina Nova on 10TV News @ 6AM!
Mike Davis was on my radar that morning!
- Columbus, OH, 10.2 Decades [WBNS] (RF21.2)...Nothing to see here on Decades, just a little light bondage with some metal heads on the Adventures of Superman!
- Dayton, OH, 45.1 WRGT (RF30)...Meanwhile, Elaine was getting into leather over on Seinfeld!
- London, ON, 10.1 CFPL (RF10)...Birdie’s Nest didn’t want to ruffle any feathers, since customers could pluck whatever items they fancied!
- Dayton, OH, 22.1 WKEF (RF18)...OinkADoodleMoo was hogging up great reviews and (slow) smoking the competition with their meaty treats!
- Cleveland, OH, 8.1 WJW (RF8)...It was gr8 to be plugged in to WJW, since their signal (on VHF-hi) is a pinch harder to snag than other Cleveland channels!
Kristi Capel, Wayne Dawson and Todd Meany anchored that morning on FOX 8!
- Columbus, OH, 10.1 WBNS (RF21)...When Columbus viewers said “Gimme More traffic alerts!” Ms. Begley replied, “It’s Brittany, b—ch!”
- Erie, PA, 35.1 WSEE (RF16)...I was grateful to SEE this fab ID!
A glowing Kara Coleman anchored Erie News Now alongside Mark Soliday!
- Erie, PA, 35.3 WICU-SD (RF16.3)...WSEE resurrected their WICU subchannel, which advertised the 8 Great Tuesdays Summer event!
June 28, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 7.1 WKBW (RF38)...New York’s iconic Stonewall Inn was officially recognized as a national monument by President Obama!
June 29, 2016:
- Toronto, ON, 57.1 CITY (RF44)...After a decade at CTV, Tanya Kim joined CITY, appearing on Breakfast Television with Tammie Sutherland!
June 30, 2016:
- Rochester, NY, 13.1 WHAM (RF13)...Marty Snyder, Jennifer Johnson, Norma Holland and Alexis Arnold kicked off the “WHAM Warm-Up” which I’ve loved since 2010!
- Syracuse, NY, 3.1 WSTM (RF24)...The balls were in Niko Tamurian’s court as he slam dunked his sports report!
- Utica, NY, 2.1 WKTV (RF29)...Katrina Smith and Jason Powles anchored Newschannel 2 At Daybreak!
WKTV’s SOS (Summer of Savings) reminded me of a station promo I caught all the way back in 2009!
- Rochester, NY, 13.1 WHAM (RF13)...It’s always a Good Day when Jennifer Johnson and Norma Holland grace my TV screen!
- Utica, NY, 2.1 WKTV (RF29)...You can trust Jill’s forecasts because she always keeps it Reale!
- Syracuse, NY, 3.1 WSTM (RF24)...It was 3 times the fun with Peter Hall, Lisa Spitz and Jeremy Miller at the CNY Central desk that day!
I loved this ad for Mike’s TV & Appliances featuring retro flavour and the sassy retort, “What do the other guys do?”
“Your Town” highlights areas of interest in and around Central New York!
Dick Benedetto (from Smoke Incorporated BBQ) joined Brandon Roth for lamb burgers and tips for cooking safely during 4th of July festivities!
- Toronto, ON, 57.1 CITY (RF44)...Breakfast Television’s Frank Ferragine interviewed Kerolos Saleib, founder of Middle Eastern LGBT dance party Arabian Knights!
July 1, 2016:
- Utica, NY, 2.2 WKTVCBS (RF29.2)...Josh Elliott introduced a story about the US military lifting the ban on transgender service members! (Unfortunately, as of this writing, there have been attempts to reverse this necessary progress.)
Army Reserve Captain Sage Fox was interviewed about the policy change!
I never predicted Tori Spelling would graduate from 90210 to Psychic Source advertisements!
The awesome Vinita Nair anchored the CBS Overnight News!
- Utica, NY, 20.2 WPNY-LP (RF30.2)...WUTR/WPNY’s signal never seems to come in when Eyewitness News is on, so I welcomed an extended promo featuring Mike Hoey and others!
Viewers buckle up with Nicole Todd for local safety matters!
Austin Fontanella swings for the fences and scores big!
Weather reports come from Rachael Witter and viewers just can’t quit ‘er!
I then snagged a fantastic set of stations IDs for both WUTR and WPNY!
Stay tuned for more triumphant TV tuning!