WPBN-TV

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WPBN-TV channel 7 is the NBC affiliate serving the Traverse City-Cadillac, Michigan market, the largest geographic television market east of the Mississippi River in terms of the amount of land mass of course. The station is licensed to Traverse City. Like other network affiliates in this vast and largely rural area, it also operates a full-time satellite, WTOM-TV channel 4, which is licensed to Cheboygan and serves the tip of the Northern Lower Peninsula and the Eastern Upper Peninsula.

Together, the two stations, known on-air as "TV 7&4," serve 22 counties in the northern Lower Peninsula, three counties in the eastern Upper Peninsula and portions of Northern Ontario including Sault Ste. Marie's Canadian sister city, Sault Ste. Marie (though not on cable, where Shaw Communications replaced 7&4 with Detroit's WDIV in the early-2000s). WPBN's analog transmitter is located 12 miles west of Cadillac in Wexford County. WPBN broadcasts with an effective radiated power of 316,000 watts from an antenna 1,348 feet in height. WPBN's digital transmiiter is located at its studios on M-72 in Elmwood Township just outside of Traverse City. WTOM's transmitter is located on US-23 five miles east of Cheboygan. WTOM's over the air signal can be picked up as far as Brevort, Petoskey, Pickford and Indian River. WTOM broadcasts with an Effective Radiated Power of 100,000 watts from an antenna with a height of 620 feet.

History

WPBN signed on February 6, 1954. It was signed on by Les Biederman, who had signed on WTCM-AM 1400 (now 580), the oldest radio station in the northern Lower Peninsula, in 1940. Over the next decade, he bought or signed on several other AM stations throughout northern Michigan. These stations were known as the Paul Bunyan Network, with WTCM as the flaghsip station. Since channel 7 covered much of the territory covered by the radio stations, Biederman decided not to call his new station WTCM-TV (for Traverse City, Michigan), but rather WPBN-TV (for Paul Bunyan Network).

Later in the 1950s, the FCC ruled that the eastern half of the Upper Peninsula was part of the Traverse City market. At the time, the only television station in that area had been CBC private affiliate CJIC-TV. Since WPBN was already operating at the maximum power allowed, Biederman signed on WTOM in Cheboygan on January 4, 1959, bringing American television to the eastern Upper Peninsula for the first time. The stations became known as "7&4." At the time, the two stations had their own newscasts, but in recent years WTOM has become a full satellite of WPBN.

7&4 shared ABC programming with WWTV/WWUP 9&10 until 1971, when WGTU signed on and took the ABC affiliation. 7&4 aired ABC sports programming on weekends, while 9&10 aired some of ABC's game shows and soap operas.

In 1980, the Biederman family's company, Midwest Broadcasting wanted to expand their broadcast operations in northern Michigan. However, the FCC told the Biedermans that they could do so only if they sold off some stations to stay under ownership limits. One of the stations sold off was 7&4, which was sold to US Tobacco.

Until recently, the station was owned by Raycom Media. In late-2005, following Raycom's purchase of The Liberty Corporation, Raycom announced that 7&4 would be sold, along with the other NBC affiliate in the Upper Peninsula, WLUC-TV in Marquette. The sale was necessary to help meet federal restrictions on station ownership.

On March 27 2006, Raycom announced that Barrington Broadcasting will be acquiring 12 Raycom stations including WPBN and WTOM. The FCC approved the deal in June 2006. Upon finalization, 7&4 will join WLUC-TV, Saginaw's WEYI-TV and, to a degree, Toledo's WNWO-TV as part of Barrington's family of stations in Michigan.

The station operates 24/7, but airs home shopping programs overnight instead of NBC's "Up All Night" shows. The station also airs one hour of Raycom's "The Tube" music network at night; The Tube can be seen on WPBN/WTOM's digital channels 24/7. However, "The Tube" may be dropped after Barrington takes over 7&4.

7&4 has no plans to broadcast their newscasts digitally. Typically this station's highest percentage of news story's only cover Leelanau County.

Previous logos

Newscasts and personalities

WPBN has long been second in the news ratings according to Nielsen Media Research behind WWTV. 7&4 News has seen significant growth in viewership, however, at the expense of 9&10 News in every timeslot in which they compete against each other; especially over the last three years. Much like WWTV, the quality of WPBN's news department is much higher than expected for a station in the 113th market. The station's personalities include longtime anchors and reporters such as Dave Fortin, Dave Walker, Greg MacMaster, Adam Bartelmay, Marc Schollett and Diana Fairbanks. Dave Fortin has been a reporter at the station since 1964.

The station has many alumni, including weatherman Dave Barrons and news anchor Scott Michael Trager, who went to 9&10 in the early 1990s, and the immortal "Deputy" Don Melvoin, who first hosted the "Deputy Don" kids show in the 1950s. After a stint in Hollywood that included roles on The Twilight Zone and the filmed-on-Mackinac Island Somewhere in Time, Melvoin came back to 7&4 to do Deputy Don Rides Again and the legendary horror flick host Count Zappula. He died in 2002.

In recent years, TV 7&4 has acquired very popular syndicated programs such as Dr. Phil and The Oprah Winfrey Show that rule the afternoon, giving the station a powerhouse line-up that has contributed to the strong growth in its early evening newscasts. The station also airs the unbeatable combination of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy in early primetime.

Template:Barrington Broadcasting

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