Cathy Pircsuk

WWNY TV began broadcasting at 8 pm, on the evening of October 22, 1954. It was a Saturday, and the very first program was a live broadcast from our then-studio on Champion Hill. From the start, WWNY stressed its local identity. In his remarks opening the station, John Johnson Sr. said “We are locally owned, managed, engineered and announced,” conditions that are still largely true today. . What changed for WWNY after its sale to UCC was everything - and nothing. We remain the dominant presence in local television - our newscasts are regularly ranked among the top rated in the country, as is the station as a whole. We remain an oasis of family-owned and community-oriented broadcasting in an increasingly ‘corporatized’ world. People still come here to work, and stay for many years. The single most significant change within WWNY came in 2001, when United Communications Corp. entered into an agreement with Smith Broadcasting to operate a Fox network affiliate with low power transmitters in Watertown and Massena. An agreement with Time-Warner Cable in the fall of 2001 placed the station (WNYF Fox 28) on cable channel 2. The 10 pm news debuted for most of the north country on October 4, 2001. After a year of joint operation, UCC took complete ownership of WNYF. In September of 2016 WNYF launched a new service MeTV. MeTV broadcasts classic television shows from the 50's on up. Shows like I LOVE LUCY & THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW. MeTV is available from a sub-channel on WNYF FOX-28 and on Time Warner Cable and SLIC. [Watertown is located in the northwest section of New York, near the juncture of the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. The area's natural beauty is a perfect backdrop for four seasons of recreation. From world class fishing and boating in the 1000 Island Seaway region, to camping or skiing in the nearby Adirondack mountains.