WMUR-TV

WMUR-TV is a television station licensed to Manchester, New Hampshire, and the principal ABC affiliate serving most of the state. It broadcasts on channel 9 and operates from studios on South Commercial Street in Manchester, while its transmitter is located on the south peak of Mount Uncanoonuc in Goffstown. Although Manchester and much of southern New Hampshire fall within the larger Boston television market, WMUR has developed a distinct statewide identity through its local news, weather, election, public-affairs, and community programming. The station began broadcasting on March 28, 1954, becoming New Hampshire’s first television station. It was established by former New Hampshire governor Francis P. Murphy, who already owned WMUR radio. The call letters were derived from Murphy’s surname. From its original Victorian-style facility on Elm Street in Manchester, the station combined ABC network programming with local news, movies, game shows, and other locally oriented programs. Its early presence gave New Hampshire an in-state television voice at a time when viewers in the southern part of the state could also receive stations from Boston. WMUR’s early history was marked by ownership uncertainty and financial pressure. A proposed sale to Storer Broadcasting in the late 1950s became controversial when Storer sought to move the station’s transmission facilities toward Massachusetts and reposition it for the Boston market. Regulatory opposition prevented that plan, and the transaction collapsed. After Murphy’s death in 1958, his estate sold the station to United Broadcasting, owned by Richard Eaton. Under United, WMUR operated with limited resources, reduced local programming, aging facilities, and black-and-white transmission long after larger-market stations had adopted color. Even during this difficult period, the station maintained a local presence through its news department and long-running programs such as The Uncle Gus Show. A major transition began after Eaton’s death, when WMUR was sold in 1981 to Birney Imes Jr.’s Imes Communications. The new ownership invested in technical equipment, facilities, and journalism, helping the station become a more influential source of New Hampshire news. WMUR moved from its original Elm Street location to the Millyard area in 1987 and later developed a substantially larger broadcast center on South Commercial Street. The station also expanded its reach in northern New Hampshire through low-power translators and other distribution arrangements. During the 1990s, WMUR briefly carried Fox programming in addition to its continuing ABC affiliation. The arrangement included different schedules on certain northern translators, where Fox programming supplemented or replaced ABC content. After Hearst acquired the station, Fox programming ended in December 2001, and the translators eventually carried WMUR’s full ABC schedule. The station also became an early adopter of online journalism. Beginning in 1995, WMUR built a substantial web operation, including live and archived newscasts, weather material, supplementary news information, and user-submitted content. Its online coverage of the New Hampshire presidential primary helped establish the station as an important digital as well as broadcast outlet. In 2000, Imes Communications agreed to sell WMUR to Emmis Communications, which then exchanged the station to Hearst-Argyle Television in a transaction involving three Phoenix radio stations. Hearst-Argyle later became Hearst Television, which remains WMUR’s owner. Under Hearst, the station has retained its ABC affiliation and continued to emphasize local news rather than operating as a simple network repeater. WMUR is commonly described as the only New Hampshire-based commercial television station with a full local-news operation, a distinction that supports its strong statewide brand. WMUR completed the transition from analog to digital broadcasting in 2009, returning its digital transmission to the VHF channel 9 position after initially using a temporary UHF channel. Its brand has also been promoted through slogans such as “It’s how you know,” which connected television news, weather, the station website, and its uLocal photo-sharing service. Today, WMUR’s business is centered on local television news and advertising, ABC network programming, digital video and web publishing, severe-weather coverage, political reporting, and community engagement. Its relationship with Hearst’s Boston ABC affiliate, WCVB-TV, is often characterized as a nominal duopoly, although the two stations maintain separate operations and distinct local-news identities.

WMUR-TV began broadcasting from Manchester on March 28, 1954, as New Hampshire’s first television station. It was founded by Francis P. Murphy, a former state governor and owner of WMUR radio. The station adopted the ABC affiliation at launch and initially combined network programs with local news, films, game shows, and other productions. Its call sign reflected Murphy’s surname. The station’s first years were shaped by the geography of southern New Hampshire and its proximity to Boston. After increasing its signal strength in 1955, WMUR became receivable in portions of the Boston area. A proposed sale to Storer Broadcasting in 1957 became contentious when Storer sought to relocate the transmitter near Haverhill, Massachusetts, apparently intending to turn channel 9 into a more directly Boston-oriented operation. Regulators rejected the proposed tower, Storer abandoned the transaction, and WMUR remained with Murphy until his death in 1958. His estate subsequently sold the station to United Broadcasting, controlled by Richard Eaton. United operated WMUR with very limited spending. Staffing was cut sharply, local output was reduced largely to two daily newscasts, and the station continued transmitting in black and white until 1973. Technical and physical maintenance was poor, while much of the schedule consisted of ABC programming, syndicated material, cartoons, and repeated western films. Nevertheless, local personalities and the news department preserved a connection with New Hampshire audiences. The long-running Uncle Gus Show, hosted by weatherman Gus Bernier, was one of the station’s notable local programs, and journalists including Tom Bonnar and Fred Kocher helped sustain its news identity. United Broadcasting and several of Eaton’s other broadcast properties faced regulatory scrutiny during the 1970s. WMUR was among the stations investigated in connection with allegations that Eaton had improperly influenced ABC employees in order to obtain favorable affiliation terms. The material cited for the station’s history does not indicate that WMUR lost its license as a result of those proceedings. After Eaton died in 1981, WMUR was acquired by Birney Imes Jr. and Imes Communications. This change initiated a substantial improvement in the station’s equipment, facilities, staffing, and news presentation. WMUR moved from its original Elm Street site to the Manchester Millyard in 1987. In 1995 it acquired a new site and began rebuilding it into an approximately 80,000-square-foot broadcast center, moving there in January 1996. The 1990s brought both programming experimentation and digital innovation. In 1994, WMUR became a primary or secondary Fox outlet in parts of northern New Hampshire while continuing to carry ABC programming on its main service and certain translators. The Fox arrangement ended after Hearst acquired the station, with Fox programming removed in December 2001. WMUR’s Internet development was more enduring. Beginning in 1995, it offered live and archived newscasts, online weather, supplementary reporting, and services such as user-submitted photographs. The station invested further in web staff, streaming, and online advertising during the late 1990s. In 2000, WMUR, CNN, and WMUR.com carried New Hampshire presidential primary debates through a widely promoted live-streaming initiative. Ownership changed again around the turn of the century. Imes Communications agreed to sell WMUR to Emmis Communications in 2000, and Emmis transferred the station to Hearst-Argyle Television in exchange for three Phoenix radio stations. Hearst-Argyle later became Hearst Television, which remains the station’s owner. The acquisition strengthened WMUR’s relationship with Hearst’s wider station group while leaving its local operation distinct from sister station WCVB-TV in Boston. WMUR expanded its in-state reach in 2005 when it became available by satellite in several northern and west-central New Hampshire counties. These areas were otherwise associated with the Portland or Burlington–Plattsburgh television markets and lacked an equivalent source of New Hampshire-based commercial news. The station completed the federally mandated analog-to-digital transition in 2009, ultimately operating its digital signal on channel 9. In 2010 it introduced the slogan “It’s how you know,” linking its local news, weather, website, and community-oriented digital services. In the 2010s, WMUR remained a prominent New Hampshire media institution. Its news operation covered state government, elections, weather emergencies, and the New Hampshire presidential primary, while its digital platforms extended the station’s reach beyond scheduled broadcasts. A labor dispute involving unionized employees affected its relationship with the Democratic National Committee in 2015, when WMUR was not selected as a co-sponsor of a Democratic debate. The station continues to operate as an ABC affiliate with a strong local-news emphasis and statewide recognition.

• 2010

  New “It’s how you know” brand slogan

  [1]WMUR-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WMUR introduces a slogan supporting its local news, weather, website, and user-generated content services.

• 2009

  Analog broadcasting ends

  [1]WMUR-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WMUR shuts down its analog signal and completes the federally required digital transition.

• 2005

  Satellite distribution expands north and west

  [1]WMUR-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WMUR becomes available by satellite in additional New Hampshire counties that otherwise receive ABC service from outside the state.

• 2000

  Hearst enters the ownership chain

  [1]WMUR-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WMUR passes from Imes through Emmis to Hearst-Argyle Television in an exchange involving Phoenix radio stations.

• 1996

  New broadcast center opens

  [1]WMUR-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The station moves into a rebuilt broadcast facility on South Commercial Street in Manchester.

• 1995

  Early Internet news expansion

  [1]WMUR-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WMUR develops one of the early substantial online operations among American television stations, including streaming and archived newscasts.

• 1987

  Move to the Manchester Millyard

  [1]WMUR-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WMUR relocates its studios from Elm Street to facilities in Manchester’s historic Millyard district.

• 1981

  Imes Communications takes ownership

  [1]WMUR-TVen.wikipedia.org

  The station is sold to Birney Imes Jr.’s Imes Communications, beginning a period of major investment and operational improvement.

• 1954

  First New Hampshire television station signs on

  [1]WMUR-TVen.wikipedia.org

  WMUR-TV begins broadcasting from Manchester on March 28 as an ABC affiliate and New Hampshire’s first television station.

New Hampshire’s leading locally focused television news brand and the state’s ABC network affiliate, combining statewide reporting with network entertainment and news programming.

• Local television news · 1954

  WMUR News 9

  WMUR’s core local-news service reports on New Hampshire politics, public safety, education, business, community events, and regional developments. Its value proposition is in-state reporting from a Manchester-based newsroom in a market where much competing television news originates in Boston, Portland, or Burlington. The operation is central to WMUR’s identity as New Hampshire’s principal locally focused commercial television station.

• Weather information

  WMUR weather

  WMUR provides regular forecasts, storm coverage, watches, warnings, and weather-related reporting for communities across New Hampshire. Weather coverage is distributed through television broadcasts and digital channels and forms one of the station’s principal audience-service functions.

• Network television · 1954

  ABC network programming

  WMUR has carried ABC programming since its 1954 sign-on. The network schedule complements the station’s locally produced news and public-affairs output, making WMUR both a network affiliate and a locally branded broadcaster.

• Digital news platform · 1995

  WMUR.com

  WMUR.com extends the station’s journalism beyond scheduled television. The platform has included written reports, weather information, live and archived video, supplementary material, and user-submitted local content. WMUR’s early investment in online streaming made its website an important part of the station’s reporting and audience strategy.

• 1970

  Investigation into alleged ABC affiliation-related bribery

  WMUR was investigated during the period when owner Richard Eaton’s broadcast properties faced Federal Communications Commission scrutiny. The allegations concerned claims that Eaton had bribed ABC employees to obtain more favorable affiliation-contract terms. The cited historical material does not state that WMUR’s license was revoked.

  Source

Read more

• 2010“It’s how you know”

  New Hampshire · Hearst television markets

  WMUR introduced the “It’s how you know” slogan to connect its television news, weather, website, uLocal service, and other audience-oriented offerings.

  Outcome. The slogan became part of the station’s on-air and digital branding.

  Source

• 2009

  Complete the analog-to-digital transitionGeneration change

  Background

  Federal rules required full-power United States television stations to end analog broadcasting.

  Action taken

  WMUR shut down its analog VHF signal and operated digitally, ultimately returning to channel 9 after the transition period.

  Aftermath

  The station continued its service through digital terrestrial broadcasting and related distribution platforms.

  Source

• 2001

  End Fox programming after the Hearst acquisitionStrategy

  Background

  Hearst’s ownership strategy did not retain Fox affiliations at its stations, and WMUR’s dual-network arrangement was discontinued.

  Action taken

  WMUR dropped Fox programming in December 2001, after which the affected translators began carrying the station’s full ABC schedule.

  Aftermath

  WMUR returned to a clearer identity as an ABC affiliate with local news and digital services.

  Source

• 1995

  Invest heavily in Internet distributionStrategy

  Background

  WMUR identified the Internet as a way to extend local reporting, weather coverage, and live video beyond the television schedule.

  Action taken

  The station created streaming and archived-news capabilities, added online reporting and weather material, and developed digital advertising and user-contributed content.

  Aftermath

  WMUR became an early television-station example of an integrated broadcast and digital news operation.

  Source

• 1994

  Add Fox programming in parts of northern New HampshireStrategy

  Background

  WMUR sought to extend programming options in northern areas through low-power translators while retaining its principal ABC service.

  Action taken

  The main station and selected translators carried Fox programming in addition to WMUR newscasts, while other services continued to carry ABC programming.

  Aftermath

  The Fox arrangement ended after Hearst acquired WMUR; the relevant translators subsequently moved toward carrying WMUR’s full ABC schedule.

  Source

1. 1WMUR-TVen.wikipedia.org
2. 2WMUR-TV official websitewmur.com