WHP-TV
WHP-TV, virtual and UHF digital channel 21, is a CBS-affiliated television station serving Lancaster, York, Lebanon and its city of license Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. The station is owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group. The station's studio facilities located on North 6th Street in the Uptown section of Harrisburg, WHP's transmitter is located on a ridge north of Linglestown Road in Susquehanna Township (it is co-located with WITF-TV and is distinguishable as the unlit red and white tower; WITF's tower is unpainted and flashes strobes at all times).
On cable television, the station is available on Comcast channel 2 and in high definition on digital channel 802. Despite the presence of WHP-TV, CBS-owned KYW-TV in Philadelphia serves as an alternate CBS affiliate for South Central Pennsylvania, as it is carried on Comcast systems in the market.
History
The station first signed on the air on July 4, 1953. It was originally owned by Commonwealth Communications, along with WHP radio (580 AM and 97.3 FM, now WRVV). WHP-TV originally operated from studios located on Locust Street in Harrisburg. The station lost DuMont when that network folded in 1956; WHP-TV later began to share CBS programming with WLYH-TV (channel 15) in Lebanon and WSBA-TV (channel 43) in York as part of the Keystone Network. This arrangement was necessary in the days before cable television, since the Harrisburg/Lancaster/York market is very mountainous and UHF signals do not travel very far in rugged terrain. The three stations had a strong combined signal with 55 to 60% signal overlap.
