WNEP-TV "One Million Watt" Transmitter Antenna about to be raised in 1958.

Two years later (1958) WNEP-TV introduced the “one million watt” transmitter signal. This greatly improved reception for many viewers and led to a ratings jump for WNEP until the other stations caught up. It also led to promotional visits by such notables as Ronald Reagan, whose “college bowl” program was a big hit of the time.

Then TV star Ronald Reagan visits WNEP-TV.

Ratings

Ratings have always been the way to determine how the stations are performing. In Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the ratings game has been a roller-coaster. Naturally, the first station on the air, WBRE led in the ratings through the early 50s, with WDAU closely behind. In fact, those two stations fought back and forth for supremacy through the 1950s. In late 1959, WNEP took the lead in ratings due in part to strong ABC programming. The first ABC color telecasts, in 1959, were two cartoon programs: “The Jetsons” and “The Flintstones”. WNEP also started the tremendously popular “Hatchy Milatchy” children's program. This program would stay on the air for over 30 years.

Breaking ground on the new WNEP-TV studio located near the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Airport.

In the relatively new area of half-hour local news, WNEP was solid, moving from first to third, and then back to first before settling on second in 1962. As a result of the ratings boost, and the revenue that came along with it, WNEP-TV moved in late 1962 from its Downtown Wilkes-Barre offices to a new studio at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Airport. The move signaled that WNEP was neither a “Scranton station” nor a “Wilkes-Barre station”, it was a station that would serve all of Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania.

In 1964, Taft Broadcasting from Philadelphia bought WNEP from Transcontinental. The station continued to do well in the overall ratings, but slipped in news ratings to #3 by the late 60s.

In 1973 Taft Broadcasting bought a station in Philadelphia, and a Federal law required them to sell WNEP. A group of 10 employees, including one of the original owners, formed “NEP Communications” and bought WNEP-TV. The “new owners” were not happy being #3 in news ratings, so they used a spending and technology splurge to turn WNEP into a ratings tornado.

• In 1976 the first on location “LIVE” shot was broadcast during the news.
• In 1977 the first videotape cameras are used.
• In 1978 WNEP took over as #1 in ratings for News and programming (an honor it holds to this day).
• In 1979 the “Supershooters” were born. These tractor-trailer style trucks contained all the studio necessities to broadcast live from anywhere. These were the beginning of today’s “Mobile Newsrooms”.
• Also in 1979 the first Skycam 16 was put into service giving viewers a new perspective on the news.
• In June, 1984 WNEP purchased a new, bigger Skycam 16.
• And in March, 1985, Newswatch 16 became the “Highest Rated” local news program in the country.

The New York Times Company

The ratings success and the quality of news reporting at WNEP-TV caught the attention of the New York Times Company. The Times Company bought WNEP-TV in December of 1985 and spent a lot of money making even more improvements to the station and it’s equipment. WNEP moved a second time, in March of 1989, to a brand new state-of-the-art studio near Montage Mountain in Moosic. In November of 2001, WNEP-TV was recognized a third time as “Highest Rated” local newscast in America.

For many years WNEP-TV was just one television signal. But recently WNEP has expanded into other media. In September 1994 WNEP-TV started to provide information to viewers online through a message board on America Online. Just a few months later, in June 1995, WNEP.COM was born. In September 2000 WNEP-TV expanded to a second channel. “Newswatch 16 on Adelphia 63” provided viewers with access to the latest news 24 hours a day. And with new technology WNEP will continue to grow with it’s news and entertainment available through a variety of sources.

From its beginning as two small, independent television stations, WNEP has grown into one of the finest News organizations in the country. And while this report outlines the changes in WNEP’s history, it does not tell the history of all the people who made WNEP one of the finest News organizations in the country. From 15 employees at WILK-TV to over 120 employees today, WNEP’s successful history will continue to grow every time people like you tune in to “The News Station”.

By: Michael S. Cholko
Pictures provided by Chester Sawicki
Edited for the Internet by: Mark Sowers