WCSH

WCSH (channel 6) is a television station in Portland, Maine, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Nexstar Media Group. The station's studios are located on Congress Square in Downtown Portland, and its transmitter is located on Winn Mountain in Sebago. Together with WLBZ (channel 2) in Bangor, which simulcasts most of WCSH's local newscasts, it is known as News Center Maine.

WCSH is the oldest operating television station in Portland, signing on in December 1953. It was an outgrowth of WCSH radio, one of NBC's charter affiliates when it was constituted as a radio network in 1926, and broadcast from its namesake, the Congress Square Hotel in downtown Portland, for nearly 25 years. Founded by Henry P. Rines and sold to the Gannett Company in 1997, it has generally been the highest-rated station in TV news in the market since the mid-1980s.

History

Establishment

When the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) lifted its four-year freeze on television station applications in April 1952, four bids had already been received to start new stations in

Local programming

News operation

Newscasts were part of WCSH's schedule from its first television broadcasts in 1953, and the station was airing early evening and late evening newscasts by 1955. While the station typically trailed WGAN-TV/WGME in the news ratings for most of its history, this changed in February 1986 when WCSH surpassed WGME at 11 p.m. and tied channel 13 in the vital 6 p.m. news slot.[30] Later that year, the station would surpass WGME at 6 and proceed to do so for at least the next 16 years.[31] This was aided by stability in its evening news team and NBC's strong national program lineup in the 1990s.[32] On-air talent like anchors Pat Callaghan and Cindy Williams and meteorologist Joe Cupo were mainstays on channel 6 for years. Cupo left in 2016 after 37 years when Tegna offered voluntary retirement packages,[33] while Williams retired in 2021 and Callaghan in 2022 after tenures of 32 and 43 years, respectively.[34][35]

From the 1980s onward, WLBZ's local operations were progressively cut back, a trend that accelerated after Gannett took over. While WLBZ had already simulcast WCSH's morning and weekend newscasts since 1989, regional 5:30 and 11 p.m. newscasts were instituted in 2000 with split weather forecasts for each area, with WLBZ only airing separate 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts.[36] WLBZ ceased producing separate local newscasts altogether on October 8, 2015; all newscasts on both stations now originate from Portland, though Bangor viewers continue to see separate weather forecasts.[37] The presence of WLBZ in the News Center Maine operation has resulted in a newscast with a stronger statewide news focus than its competitors in the Portland market.[38]

After The WB affiliate WPXT shut down its news department in fall 2002, WCSH and WLBZ entered into a news share agreement with that station, resulting in a nightly prime time newscast.[39] The half-hour News Center at 10 moved to a digital subchannel of WCSH in 2008 when WPXT opted out of the arrangement, citing a lack of advertising support.[40] In the early 2010s, WCSH tried its hand again at airing news for WPXT, with the addition of a 7 a.m. hour of WCSH's morning newscast branded as News Center Morning Report Xtra.[41]

Non-news programming

From 2000 until the host's retirement in 2019, the News Center Maine stations aired human interest and outdoors program Bill Green's Maine; Green had gotten his start at WLBZ before moving to Portland and WCSH in 1981.[42][43][44] Reruns now air weekdays at 12:30PM, replacing Tegna's now-canceled in-house talk show Daily Blast Live.

WCSH debuted 207, a weeknight lifestyle and entertainment magazine aired weeknights at 7 pm, in 2003. It was named for the state's area code, 207.[45]

callsign	WCSH
branding	WCSH 6; News Center Maine
digital	31 (UHF)
virtual	6
affiliations	6.1: NBC for others, see
airdate	December 20, 1953
location	Portland, Maine
country	United States
callsign meaning	"Congress Square Hotel"
former channel numbers	Analog: 6 (VHF, 1953–2009) Digital: 44 (UHF, 2002–2020)
owner	Nexstar Media Group‡R1R‡
licensee	TEGNA East Coast Broadcasting, LLC
sister stations	WLBZ
former callsigns	WCSH-TV (1953–1997)
erp	1,000 kW
haat	587.9 m
facility id	39664
coordinates	43.85833°N, -70.71083°W
licensing authority	FCC
website	https://www.newscentermaine.com/

History

Establishment

Gannett/Tegna ownership

Local programming

News operation

Non-news programming

Subchannels

External links

References