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WGSR-LD
WGSR-LD (channel 19) is a low-power independent television station in Reidsville, North Carolina, United States. Owned by the Star News Corporation, it is sister to fellow independent station WMDV-LD in Danville, Virginia. WGSR-LD's transmitter is located in downtown Reidsville, although live programming no longer emanates from the studio building there. Programming is sent from the company's main offices and studios located in Martinsville, Virginia.
The station traces its history back to 1982 when "WCTV-3", a public-access television station on what was then Alert Cable in Reidsville launched. On March 7, 1988, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted an original construction permit to then-station manager Robert Tudor to broadcast on UHF channel 14, under the call letters W14AU. Over-the-air programming was largely supplied by satellite networks, but the station produced its own nightly newscast. W14AU also began airing a weekly call-in program, Monday Night Live.[citation needed]
The station was sold to Carolina Blue Communications, owned by Daniel Falinski, in early 1996; the FCC approved the purchase that August. Under Falinski's leadership, the station expanded its programming to a more regional focus. Following an established custom of television stations in the Greensboro market (following WXII-TV, WXLV-TV and WLXI), the station changed its call letters to WXIV-LP (the letters "XIV" representing the roman numerals for the station's then-channel number, "14"), and changed its on-air branding to "The Boob Tube". Second-run situation comedies dominated the broadcast schedule during this period, with overnight programming brokered to a home shopping network.[citation needed]
WXIV-LP was forced to seek a new channel allocation in order to allow Burlington-based WGPX-TV (channel 16) to begin operating its digital signal on UHF channel 14. Engineering studies determined that moving WXIV to UHF channel 39 was the only possible allocation for the station to continue broadcasting; the station moved there in April 2004.
At the time of the channel switch, Carolina Blue Communications was in the process of selling the station to Star News Corporation, owner of Martinsville-based NewsChannel 18, a regional cable news channel. Since WXIV-LP was moving from channel 14 to channel 39, its call letters no longer held any meaning, so the station changed its call sign to WGSR-LP in 2004, reflecting the station's new "Star-39" brand (the calls were modified to WGSR-LD on June 4, 2009).
WGSR-LD has expanded its local coverage of the Reidsville/Martinsville/Danville area. Star News has gained a reputation for tackling controversial subjects not approached by the region's full-power television stations, as well as giving extensive coverage to news stories in the Dan River Region.
As a service to NASCAR racing fans, WGSR-LD devotes six hours on the weekends to providing driver and race previews. When races are being run at Martinsville Speedway, coverage of racing action is significantly expanded with local reporters covering action at the track. Other sports covered by the station in weekend programs include snowmobiling, softball and obstacle track racing.
Starting before Thanksgiving and continuing almost to Christmas, the station broadcasts all of the area municipal Christmas parades and joins with the merchants of Reidsville and Stoneville in promoting holiday shopping seasons in those towns and the lighting of Christmas decorations.
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WGSR-LD
WGSR-LD (channel 19) is a low-power independent television station in Reidsville, North Carolina, United States. Owned by the Star News Corporation, it is sister to fellow independent station WMDV-LD in Danville, Virginia. WGSR-LD's transmitter is located in downtown Reidsville, although live programming no longer emanates from the studio building there. Programming is sent from the company's main offices and studios located in Martinsville, Virginia.
The station traces its history back to 1982 when "WCTV-3", a public-access television station on what was then Alert Cable in Reidsville launched. On March 7, 1988, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted an original construction permit to then-station manager Robert Tudor to broadcast on UHF channel 14, under the call letters W14AU. Over-the-air programming was largely supplied by satellite networks, but the station produced its own nightly newscast. W14AU also began airing a weekly call-in program, Monday Night Live.[citation needed]
The station was sold to Carolina Blue Communications, owned by Daniel Falinski, in early 1996; the FCC approved the purchase that August. Under Falinski's leadership, the station expanded its programming to a more regional focus. Following an established custom of television stations in the Greensboro market (following WXII-TV, WXLV-TV and WLXI), the station changed its call letters to WXIV-LP (the letters "XIV" representing the roman numerals for the station's then-channel number, "14"), and changed its on-air branding to "The Boob Tube". Second-run situation comedies dominated the broadcast schedule during this period, with overnight programming brokered to a home shopping network.[citation needed]
WXIV-LP was forced to seek a new channel allocation in order to allow Burlington-based WGPX-TV (channel 16) to begin operating its digital signal on UHF channel 14. Engineering studies determined that moving WXIV to UHF channel 39 was the only possible allocation for the station to continue broadcasting; the station moved there in April 2004.
At the time of the channel switch, Carolina Blue Communications was in the process of selling the station to Star News Corporation, owner of Martinsville-based NewsChannel 18, a regional cable news channel. Since WXIV-LP was moving from channel 14 to channel 39, its call letters no longer held any meaning, so the station changed its call sign to WGSR-LP in 2004, reflecting the station's new "Star-39" brand (the calls were modified to WGSR-LD on June 4, 2009).
WGSR-LD has expanded its local coverage of the Reidsville/Martinsville/Danville area. Star News has gained a reputation for tackling controversial subjects not approached by the region's full-power television stations, as well as giving extensive coverage to news stories in the Dan River Region.
As a service to NASCAR racing fans, WGSR-LD devotes six hours on the weekends to providing driver and race previews. When races are being run at Martinsville Speedway, coverage of racing action is significantly expanded with local reporters covering action at the track. Other sports covered by the station in weekend programs include snowmobiling, softball and obstacle track racing.
Starting before Thanksgiving and continuing almost to Christmas, the station broadcasts all of the area municipal Christmas parades and joins with the merchants of Reidsville and Stoneville in promoting holiday shopping seasons in those towns and the lighting of Christmas decorations.