WVET-TV

WHEC-TV

Company type	Television station
Industry	Broadcasting
Founded	November 1, 1953 (1953-11-01) in Rochester, New York, United States
Headquarters	Rochester, New York , United States
Area served	Rochester, New York
Owner	Hubbard Broadcasting

WHEC-TV (channel 10) is a television station based in Rochester, New York, United States, affiliated with the NBC network. The station, owned by Hubbard Broadcasting, maintains its studios on East Avenue in the heart of Downtown Rochester, with its transmitter located atop Pinnacle Hill in Brighton.

History

In March 1953, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted a construction permit for Rochester’s second VHF television outlet to a partnership between two local entities: the Gannett Company, then publisher of the Democrat and Chronicle and proprietor of WHEC radio; alongside Veterans Broadcasting Company, owners of WVET radio. These companies jointly operated channel 10, sharing a license and transmitter but maintaining distinct studio facilities.

Both WVET-TV, under Veterans Broadcasting, and WHEC-TV, owned by Gannett, commenced broadcasts on November 1, 1953. The joint operation held a primary affiliation with the CBS Television Network while also carrying select programming from ABC. In May 1958, the WHEC stations relocated to their current premises on East Avenue.

On November 15, 1961, Veterans Broadcasting sold its stake in channel 10 to Gannett, thereby dissolving the shared ownership arrangement. Veterans Broadcasting subsequently acquired full control of WROC-TV (channel 5), leaving WHEC-TV as the sole operator of channel 10. The following year, in 1962, WHEC-TV transitioned to an exclusive CBS affiliation after ABC programming shifted to WOKR (now WHAM-TV). In 1966, WHEC-TV became a founding member of the "Love Network," broadcasting the annual Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon until its conclusion in 2014.

Gannett divested WHEC radio in 1971 but retained ownership of WHEC-TV until 1979. The sale of the television station was prompted by regulatory concerns regarding FCC restrictions on cross-ownership of print and broadcast media. Meanwhile, Gannett continued publishing the Democrat and Chronicle, relocating its headquarters to Northern Virginia in 1985.

WHEC-TV made broadcasting history as the first VHF network-affiliated station entirely owned by an African-American consortium led by investor Ragan Henry. This ownership lasted until 1983 when Henry's group exchanged channel 10 for radio stations WDIA and KDIA held by Viacom.

Under Viacom’s stewardship, WHEC-TV switched its network affiliation from CBS to NBC on August 13, 1989. This change replaced WROC-TV as Rochester’s NBC affiliate due to that station’s subpar ratings and frequent preemptions of NBC programming. The move aligned WHEC-TV with Viacom sister stations WNYT in Albany and WVIT in New Britain—both NBC affiliates—and leveraged NBC’s strong prime-time schedule as a strategic advantage.

After acquiring Paramount Pictures in 1994, Viacom consolidated its broadcast properties under the Paramount Stations Group by December 1995. Shortly thereafter, Viacom opted to divest its major network affiliates to concentrate on its UPN outlets. In June 1996, Viacom traded WHEC-TV and WNYT to Hubbard Broadcasting in exchange for UPN affiliate WTOG in St. Petersburg; meanwhile, WVIT was sold directly to NBC.

News operation

WHEC-DT produces over 33 hours of locally focused newscasts each week—approximately five and a half hours each weekday and three hours during weekends.

The station’s news team earned the New York Emmy Award for Outstanding Newscast in April 2018 and was honored with the National Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Newscast in June 2018.

Distinguished Former On-Air Personnel

• Rich Funke – served as reporter and anchor from 1974 to 2012; subsequently represented the 55th District as a Republican in the New York State Senate from 2015 to 2020.
• Steve Scully – worked as anchor and reporter during the 1980s; presently affiliated with C-SPAN.

Controversies

On November 21, 1982, then-general manager Steven Kronquest opted to broadcast a recorded high school football championship game instead of the live CBS NFL matchup between the New York Giants and Washington Redskins. This choice displeased many Giants supporters and resulted in an estimated $3,600 loss for the station. The NFL game was aired that day on competing ABC affiliate WOKR, with approval from both CBS and the NFL.

Digital Subchannels

The station's broadcast is multiplexed as follows:

WHEC-TV Subchannel Lineup

Channel	Resolution	Aspect Ratio	Identifier	Content
10.1	1080i	16:9	NBC HD	NBC
10.2	480i	4:3	MeTV	MeTV
10.3			StartTV	Start TV
10.4			ION	Ion Television
10.5	480i	16:9	H & I	Heroes & Icons
10.6			Grit	Grit
10.7			Defy	Ion Plus

Transition from Analog to Digital

WHEC-TV initiated its digital broadcast on UHF channel 58 on September 27, 2002, operating under a special temporary authorization. The station discontinued its analog transmissions on VHF channel 10 on June 12, 2009, in compliance with the federally mandated digital transition. Subsequently, its digital signal relocated from UHF channel 58—which is part of the high-band UHF spectrum (channels 52-69) removed from broadcasting—to its original VHF channel 10.

Availability in Canada

Historically, WHEC-TV was accessible via cable in the Ottawa–Gatineau area and throughout Eastern Ontario, alongside other Rochester-based stations. After the termination of the microwave relay system, these were supplanted by stations from Detroit. Additionally, WHEC-TV and other Rochester affiliates reached communities along Lake Ontario’s northern shore, including Belleville and Cobourg, Ontario. In January 2009, all Rochester affiliates except Fox affiliate WUHF (channel 31) were replaced by broadcasters from Buffalo.