Miami Valley Channel

Miami Valley Channel
Company type	Cable television channel
Industry	Broadcasting
Founded	1994
Defunct	2007
Headquarters	Dayton, Ohio, United States
Area served	Dayton, Ohio metropolitan area
Owner	Cox Media Group (via WHIO-TV)

Early years

During retransmission discussions in 1993 and 1994 with Viacom Cable and Continental Cablevision (which later became Time Warner Cable), WHIO-TV pursued the addition of a new cable channel. An agreement was finalized with Continental on July 8, 1994. Although the initial plan was to launch a dedicated all-news channel similar to WPXI in Pittsburgh, WHIO-TV general manager David Lippoff revealed that MVC would operate as a full-service outlet resembling an independent station, offering a mix of syndicated game shows, children’s programming, dramas, films, sports, and talk shows. Additionally, WHIO-TV’s midday, evening, and late newscasts at noon, 6 p.m., and 11 p.m. were rebroadcast on MVC at 12:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m., and 11:35 p.m. every day of the week.

MVC began broadcasting on September 19, 1994, as a collaborative effort among Continental, Viacom, and WHIO-TV. It was assigned channel 44 on both companies’ cable systems, although it did not appear on Viacom’s lineup until January 1, 1995.

On January 16, 1995, MVC launched MVC First News at 9, a half-hour prime time newscast airing weeknights—the first program of its kind in Dayton at that hour. Anchored by WHIO-TV personnel and utilizing its news resources, the newscast maintained independent MVC branding with limited mention of WHIO-TV or its NewsCenter 7 identity. To boost audience numbers, the broadcast shifted to a 10 p.m. slot on September 23, 1996, and was retitled First News at 10.

UPN affiliation

UPN debuted in January 1995 and was initially carried as a secondary affiliate by Fox affiliate WRGT-TV. WRGT-TV scheduled most UPN shows outside of prime slots, often relegating them to weekend afternoons or early mornings; the exception being Star Trek: Voyager, which aired in a more favorable time.

In the fall of 1998, MVC secured primary affiliation with UPN and began airing its programming on October 5, coinciding with the start of the 1998–99 television season. At this time, the station was branded as "UPN on MVC."

From April 1998 through October 1999, MVC adopted the "NewsCenter 7" branding for its 10 p.m. newscast, renaming it NewsCenter 7 First News at Ten.

UPN 44

Between April and June of 2001, MVC rebranded itself as UPN 44 to better reflect both its network affiliation and its cable channel number.

Beginning in fall 2001, UPN 44 incorporated programming from Pax during selected time blocks. Although WBDT held a secondary Pax affiliation locally, UPN 44 aired Pax programs that WBDT did not clear, including the 2002 revivals of Beat the Clock and Shop 'til You Drop. By December of 2002, UPN 44 discontinued rebroadcasting WHIO-TV’s news segments.

UPN 17

On June 1, 2004, Time Warner Cable reassigned UPN 44 to channel 17 for most subscribers in Montgomery and Greene counties; concurrently, the station was renamed "UPN 17". On July 1 of that year, UPN 44 moved to channel 6 for remaining viewers in the Miami Valley area. These adjustments were made upon request from WHIO-TV to align the station’s position closer to other Dayton broadcast channels within Time Warner’s lineup.

In mid-June 2004, the station’s late newscast was rebranded as NewsCenter 7 at 10, dropping the previous First News title. WHIO-TV marketed this as an upgraded newscast anchored by seasoned journalist Donna Jordan alongside chief meteorologist Jamie Simpson and sports director Mike Hartsock.

Following WBDT’s discontinuation of Pax programming in 2004, those shows transitioned to UPN 17.

Shutdown

In early 2006, plans were underway for UPN to merge with The WB, creating The CW network. Both UPN 17 and Miami Valley WB affiliate WBDT pursued affiliation with The CW; however, WBDT's ownership ties made it the favored candidate.

At that time, UPN 17’s programming slate featured NewsCenter 7 at 10, Big Ten football games, Ohio State basketball contests, and syndicated shows such as Judge Hatchett, Cops, The Nanny, Mad About You, and Magnum, P.I.

Around March 14, 2006, the CW affiliation was awarded to WBDT. Harry Delaney, general manager of WHIO-TV, identified MyNetworkTV—a Fox initiative aimed at a wider audience—as a promising alternative.

On July 26, 2006, WHIO-TV revealed that Time Warner Cable would discontinue carriage of UPN 17 after December 31. Despite attempts to obtain MyNetworkTV affiliation and renew cable agreements, Time Warner declined to continue carrying the channel.

MyNetworkTV secured its Dayton presence on August 24 by launching on WRGT-TV’s digital subchannel WRGT-DT2 (45.2).

On September 16, 2006—the day following UPN’s shutdown—UPN 17 reverted to using the Miami Valley Channel name but without updated branding. MVC maintained daytime programming including The Greg Behrendt Show, Dr. Phil, and select Ion Television content.

WHIO-TV anchor Donna Jordan announced her retirement effective December 31, 2006.

After operating for twelve years, the Miami Valley Channel ceased operations at midnight on January 1, 2007, and was removed from Time Warner Cable’s lineup. Viewers received a notification indicating MVC was no longer available following the closure of UPN in August 2006.

References