WFSB

WFSB, virtual channel 3 (UHF digital channel 33), is a CBS-affiliated television station located in Hartford, Connecticut. The station is currently owned by the Meredith Corporation, pending a sale to another entity. WFSB's studios and offices are located on Capitol Blvd in Rocky Hill and its transmitter is located on Talcott Mountain in Avon, Connecticut.

Most of WFSB's programs are seen in Springfield, Massachusetts over a low-power semi-satellite station, WSHM-LD (channel 3). That station has its own studios in the Monarch Tower in downtown Springfield, although master control and some internal operations are based at WFSB's facilities.

History

WFSB signed on the air on September 21, 1957 as WTIC-TV, owned by the Hartford-based Travelers Insurance Company, along with WTIC radio (1080 AM and 96.5 FM). As Connecticut's second VHF station, WTIC-TV was one of the most powerful stations in New England, not only covering the entire state but a large chunk of western Massachusetts and providing secondary coverage to much of the southern sections of Vermont and New Hampshire. During its first year on the air, Channel 3 was an independent station, as ABC was affiliated with the state's other VHF outlet, WNHC-TV (channel 8, now WTNH) in New Haven; while CBS and NBC had owned-and-operated stations on the UHF band in the market, WHCT-TV (channel 18, now WUVN) in Hartford and WNBC (channel 30, now WVIT) in New Britain, respectively. With no network affiliation, WTIC-TV devoted much of its airtime to movies, syndicated programs, and three daily newscasts (including one at 10 p.m.).