View source for WSMH

{{Short description|Television station in Flint, Michigan}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign = WSMH
| city = Flint, Michigan
| logo = LOGO WSMH FOX66 solid calls.png
| logo_upright = .95
| branding = Fox 66; ''Mid Michigan Now''
| digital = 16 ([[UHF]])
| virtual = 66
| affiliations = {{ubl|'''66.1:''' [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]|''for others, see {{section link||Subchannels}}''}}
| founded = {{start date|1984|9|27}}
| airdate = {{start date and age|1985|1|13|p=y|br=y}}
| location = [[Flint, Michigan|Flint]]–[[Saginaw]]–[[Bay City, Michigan|Bay City]]–[[Midland, Michigan]]
| country = United States
| callsign_meaning = "We Show More Hits"
| former_channel_numbers = '''Analog:''' 66 (UHF, 1984–2009)
| owner = [[Sinclair Broadcast Group]]
| licensee = WSMH Licensee, [[LLC]]
| sister_stations = [[WEYI-TV]], [[WBSF]]
| former_affiliations = [[Independent station|Independent]] (1985–1986)
| erp = 245 [[kW]]
| haat = {{convert|365.5|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id = 21737
| coordinates = {{coord|43|13|31|N|84|4|33|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}
| licensing_authority = [[FCC]]
| website = {{url|https://midmichigannow.com/}}
}}

'''WSMH''' (channel 66), branded on-air as '''Fox 66''', is a [[television station]] licensed to [[Flint, Michigan]], United States, serving as the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] affiliate for northeastern Michigan. It is owned by [[Sinclair Broadcast Group]], which provides certain services to [[Saginaw]]-licensed [[NBC]] affiliate [[WEYI-TV]] (channel 25, owned by [[Howard Stirk Holdings]]) and [[Bay City, Michigan|Bay City]]-licensed [[The CW|CW]] affiliate [[WBSF]] (channel 46, owned by [[Cunningham Broadcasting]]) through separate [[shared services]] agreements (SSAs). However, Sinclair effectively owns WBSF as the majority of Cunningham's stock is owned by the family of deceased group founder Julian Smith.

The three stations share studios on West Pierson Road in [[Mount Morris Township, Michigan|Mount Morris Township]] (with a Flint [[United States Postal Service|mailing]] address); WSMH's transmitter is located on Amman Road (near Gary Road) near [[St. Charles, Michigan]].

==History==
Flint Broadcasting [[Limited Partnership]] requested a station with the call letters WSMH,<ref>{{cite news|title=Call letters Applications|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/84-OCR/BC-1984-10-08-OCR-Page-0112.pdf|access-date=September 11, 2017|work=Broadcasting Magazine|publisher=Broadcasting Publications Inc.|date=October 8, 1984}}</ref> which were assigned on September 27, 1984.<ref name="rei" /> WSMH first went on the air on January 13, 1985, as an [[independent station]] with Frederick (Fritz) Mills as general manager. Mills was formerly director of national sales, UPI Media in Chicago.<ref>{{cite news|title=Fates & Fortunes: Media|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/85-OCR/BC-1985-01-21-OCR-Page-0121.pdf|access-date=September 11, 2017|work=Broadcasting|date=January 21, 1985}}</ref> A fire at the transmitter in April 1985 forced the station to go off the air for about one month until repairs could be made.<ref name=mig>{{cite web|title=WSMH TV Channel 66 Flint|url=http://www.michiguide.com/dials/tv/wsmh.html|work=Station Listings|access-date=September 12, 2012}}</ref> Flint Broadcasting sold the station to Gerald J. Robinson by July 1986.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ownership Changes |url=http://americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1986/BC-1986-07-07.pdf|page=95|access-date=September 11, 2017|work=Broaccasting|date=July 7, 1986}}</ref> On October 9, 1986,<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/jbem35&id=149&div=&collection=|title=Fox Broadcasting Company, Why Now - An Economic Study of the Rise of the Fourth Broadcast Network|first1=Laurie|last1=Thomas|first2=Barry R.|last2=Litman|date=November 21, 1991|journal=Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media|volume=35|issue=2 |pages=139–157|doi=10.1080/08838159109364113 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> it became a charter Fox affiliate.<ref name=mig/> Sinclair Broadcast Group bought the station in 1996.<ref name=mig/>

Per a new five-year affiliation agreement reached between Sinclair and Fox on May 15, 2012, WSMH would remain a Fox affiliate until at least December 31, 2017, although currently, its Fox affiliation remains to this day.<ref>[http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/59463/sinclair-reups-with-fox-gets-wutb-option Sinclair Reups With Fox, Gets WUTB Option], ''TVNewsCheck'', May 15, 2012.</ref>

==News operation==
{{more citations needed section|date=September 2012}}
Sinclair announced numerous layoffs at WSMH/WEYI in March 2023, which led to a major cut in news production from the stations.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2023/3/18/sinclair-continues-layoffs | title=Sinclair Continues Layoffs | date=March 18, 2023 }}</ref> As of April 15, 2023, WSMH presently broadcasts just five hours of locally produced newscasts each week, only airing an hour-long show at 10 p.m. WSMH no longer produces local weekend news.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://midmichigannow.com/station/schedule | title=Schedule | date=May 26, 2023 }}</ref>

On October 28, 2002, WSMH started up a news department and began airing local broadcasts every night at 10.<ref name="ds">{{cite news|date=October 7, 2002|title=Sinclair to increase news output|work=Digital Spy|publisher=National Magazine Company Ltd|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/news/a9300/sinclair-to-increase-news-output.html|access-date=July 9, 2014}}</ref> Called ''Fox 66 News at 10'', it was assisted by Sinclair's centralized news department<ref name=ds/> under the ''[[News Central (American TV program)|News Central]]'' brand. Local news originated from WSMH's studios while national news, weather, and sports aired from ''News Central'' headquarters in [[Hunt Valley, Maryland]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Central Casting in Local News Broadcasts|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/central-casting-in-local-news-broadcasts|access-date=October 20, 2015|work=Newshour|publisher=PBS|date=December 11, 2003}}</ref> The station was the first Sinclair-owned property to use the ''News Central'' service and marked the first time it had ventured into the local news market.<ref name=ds/> In January 2006, Sinclair announced plans to end its ''News Central'' operation due to low ratings and expense.

On April 10, Sinclair announced that [[CBS]] affiliate [[WNEM-TV]] would begin producing a nightly 10 o'clock show on WSMH known as ''TV 5 News at 10 on Fox 66''. This began airing on April 24 from WNEM's studios on North Franklin Street in Downtown [[Saginaw]]. After the final ''News Central'' broadcast on April 21, many local WSMH news employees were laid off. It had been expected that some personalities would join the WNEM-produced newscast in the future according to a press release. This was the case for former WSMH reporter David Custer who joined the WNEM news team on May 3.

The final ''News Central'' broadcast featured, in its last few minutes, clips from past shows. At the end, the studio was darkened and Jim Kiertzner and his boss left for the last time. Even after WSMH shut down its news operation, [[Mark E. Hyman]]'s controversial "The Point" editorials continued to air following the end of the WNEM-produced newscasts. Hyman ended his commentaries on November 30. On May 1, 2009, the 10 o'clock news title was re-branded and the broadcast received updated graphics. Every night at 10:45, a fifteen-minute sports highlight show called ''Sports Extra'' airs. There is also a segment called "Fugitive Files" airing every week on Mondays which is a common segment offered by local news departments operated by Sinclair. Although WNEM upgraded its newscasts to 16:9 enhanced definition [[widescreen]] on October 14, 2010, the newscasts on WSMH remain in pillarboxed 4:3 standard definition because this channel lacks a modern [[master control]] facility at its separate studios to receive the newscast in widescreen.

Effective April 27, 2015, WEYI took over duties of producing the 10 p.m. newscast for sister Sinclair station WSMH, ''Fox 66 News at 10''. Prior to April 27, WNEM-TV produced WSMH's evening newscast as part of a local agreement with WSMH.<ref name="ml">{{cite news|last1=Dodson|first1=Andrew|date=March 26, 2015|title=WNEM TV 5 newscast on Fox 66 being replaced by WEYI 25 starting battle for 10 p.m.|work=Flint Journal|publisher=Mlive Media Group|url=http://www.mlive.com/news/bay-city/index.ssf/2015/03/wnem_tv_5_10_pm_newscast_movin.html|access-date=October 20, 2015}}</ref> ''[[Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson]]'', a Sinclair Broadcast Group produced half-hour investigative news program, airs on the channel on Sunday morning starting October 4, 2015.<ref>{{cite press release | author = <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->| title = Sinclair Announces "Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson" New Investigative Broadcast To Debut On October 4, 2015 | url =http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sinclair-announces-full-measure-with-sharyl-attkisson-new-investigative-broadcast-to-debut-on-october-4-2015-300112088.html | location =Baltimore  | publisher  = Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.| via  =PRNewswire | date =July 13, 2015 | access-date   =October 20, 2015}}</ref>

==Technical information==
===Subchannels===
The station's signal is [[multiplex (TV)|multiplexed]]:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannels of WSMH<ref name=rei>{{cite web|title=Digital TV Market Listing for WSMH|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=21737#station|work=Listing|publisher=RabbitEars.info|access-date=September 12, 2012}}</ref>
! [[Digital subchannel#United States|Channel]]
! [[Display resolution|Video]]
! [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! Short name
! Programming
|-
! scope = "row" | 66.1
| [[720p]] || [[16:9]] || FOX66 || [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 66.2
| rowspan="3" | 480i || [[4:3]] || ANTENNA || [[Antenna TV]]
|-
! scope = "row" | 66.3
| rowspan="2" | 16:9 || COMETTV || [[Comet (TV network)|Comet]]
|- 
! scope = "row" | 66.4
| TheNest || [[The Nest (TV network)|The Nest]]
|- style="background-color:#DFEBF6; border-top: 2px solid #003399;"
! scope = "row" | [[WBSF|46.3]]
| 480i || 16:9 || Charge! || [[Charge! (TV network)|Charge!]] ([[WBSF]])
|}
{{legend|#DFEBF6|Broadcast on behalf of another station}}

On September 30, 2006, WSMH began broadcasting [[The Tube Music Network|The Tube]] on its secondary subchannel.<ref>{{cite web|date=August 14, 2006|title=Form 10-Q Quarterly Report|url=http://biz.yahoo.com/e/060814/sbgi10-q.html|access-date=July 9, 2014|website=Yahoo!|publisher=SINCLAIR BROADCAST GROUP INC}}</ref>

In late 2010 and early 2011 with new carriage deals by owner Sinclair, WSMH added two music video networks to its digital subchannels, [[TheCoolTV]] on 66.2 and [[The Country Network]] on 66.3.<ref name="tvbr-tcnsinclair">{{cite news|date=August 23, 2010|title=Sinclair links with The Country Network to fill digital TV tier|newspaper=Television Business Report|url=http://www.rbr.com/radio/26937.html|access-date=August 25, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Television|url=http://www.michiguide.com/dials/flint.html|access-date=September 12, 2012|work=Flint and Tri-Cities Radio and TV Dial Guide}}</ref>

In late August 2012, TheCoolTV was dropped from all 32 Sinclair stations that carried the channel, including WSMH, with no replacement due to non-renewal of affiliation.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Malone|first1=Michael|date=January 2, 2013|title=TheCoolTV Signs Up New Stations|work=Broadcasting and Cable|publisher=NewBay Media, LLC|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/local-tv/thecooltv-signs-new-stations/43829|access-date=July 9, 2014}}</ref> Sinclair signed an agreement in June 2014 which added [[GetTV]] to 33 TV markets with WSMH adding that channel on channel 66.2 effective July 2.<ref>{{cite news|date=June 23, 2014|title=GetTV Signs Big Affiliation Deal With Sinclair|work=TVNewsCheck|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/77232/gettv-signs-big-affiliation-deal-with-sinclair|access-date=July 9, 2014}}</ref>

Zuus was replaced on WSMH-DT3 by [[Comet (TV network)|Comet]] on October 31, 2015.<ref>{{cite news|date=October 20, 2015|title=Sinclair to launch science fiction network on Halloween|work=Baltimore Sun|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-sinclair-sci-fi-channel-20151020-story.html|access-date=November 11, 2015}}</ref> In December of that year, the station replaced GetTV with [[Antenna TV]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lafayette|first1=Jon|date=November 17, 2015|title=26 More Stations Carrying Antenna TV|work=Broadcasting & Cable|publisher=NewBay Media, LLC|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/currency/26-more-stations-carrying-antenna-tv/145866|access-date=January 9, 2016}}</ref>

On October 30, 2023, [[Stadium (sports network)|Stadium]] was replaced on WSMH-DT4 by a new Sinclair owned TV network called The Nest.<ref>{{cite press release | url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231010604320/en/ | title=Sinclair Broadcast Group to Launch "The Nest" New Broadcast Television Network | date=October 10, 2023 }}</ref>

=== Analog-to-digital conversion ===
WSMH discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over [[UHF]] channel 66, on May 21, 2009. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 16,<ref>{{cite web|date=|title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds|url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf|accessdate=March 24, 2012}}</ref> using [[virtual channel]] 66.

==See also==
* [[Channel 16 digital TV stations in the United States]]
* [[Channel 66 virtual TV stations in the United States]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|https://nbc25news.com/}}

{{Flint-Saginaw-Bay City TV}}
{{Fox Michigan}}
{{SBGI}}

[[Category:1984 establishments in Michigan]]
[[Category:Antenna TV affiliates]]
[[Category:Comet (TV network) affiliates]]
[[Category:Fox Broadcasting Company affiliates]]
[[Category:The Nest (TV network) affiliates]]
[[Category:Sinclair Broadcast Group]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1984]]
[[Category:Television stations in Flint, Michigan|SMH]]