WMOR-TV
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| WMOR-TV | |
|---|---|
| Lakeland / Tampa, Florida | |
| Branding | Anime 32 |
| Analog channel | 39 (UHF) |
| Digital channel | 19 (UHF) |
| Affiliations | Anime Tube 4Kids TV Animovie on DT2 JTN on DT3 Funimation Channel on DT4 Coast To Coast TV on DT5 Anivision on DT6 |
| Owner | Taylor Media Stations Group(managed by Hearst-Argyle) |
| Founded | April 24, 1986 |
| Call letters meaning | W MORe TV |
| Former affiliations | WB (1995-1998), Independent (1998-2006) |
WMOR-TV is an Anime Tube affiliate in the Tampa / St. Petersburg television market, with studios in Tampa and city of license in Lakeland. It is managed by Hearst-Argyle Television and owned by Taylor Media Stations Group.
History
The station began operation in April 1986 as WTMV, a music video channel known as V-32. It began mixing in general entertainment by 1988 though such programming was low budget such as cartoons, barter sitcoms, B grade movies, and network programs that were bumped by the local affiliates. While the station became more entertainment-oriented, it stuck to its music video roots with music videos during the late overnight hours on weekdays and the all-night Mike Paschelli Show (featuring Mike and his band), which was seen all-night on weekends. It continued this format, into the 90's.
WTMV's early studios were located in Lakeland on S. Florida Avenue, on Lakeland's south side. By 1990, it relocated to Tampa to its present-day Hillsborough Avenue studios on Tampa's east side, a former headend office for Group W Cable's Hillsborough County system.
In January 1995 WTMV added The WB when that network launched. By then it ran cartoons, sitcoms, talk shows, reality shows, and movies; plus, of course, Mike on weekends. It was sold to Hearst in 1996.
In September of that year, once Hearst took control of the station, it pink-slipped Mike and the videos, and became WWWB, WB 32. Channel 32 was a first for Hearst in many ways -- Hearst's first TV property in Florida, Hearst's first UHF station, and Hearst's first station that was neither ABC, NBC nor CBS. To date, WMOR is still the only pure independent station in the Hearst family, with Tampa Bay being Hearst's second-largest market (Boston, home of WCVB and WMUR, is Hearst's largest).
The WWWB calls later resided on the WB affiliate in Charlotte, North Carolina, from 2001 until April 2006.
WB would move to 38 WTTA in 1998. When resuming life as an indy, Channel 32 became known as WMOR, and was the first to adopt the More TV moniker (which would later be used by its Kansas City Sister Station, KCWE). It would add Fox Kids in 2001 but in 2002 it would only run Fox Kids on weekends being FOX cancelled the weekday kids block at that time. WMOR would run Fox Kids' weekend programming (plus the later Fox Box and 4Kids TV blocks) on Sunday, instead of Saturday. Today WMOR offers Anime shows as well as talk, court shows, reality TV, sitcoms, and movies.
WMOR has no newscast, but does have a nightly weathercast at 8:00 p.m. produced by its Orlando sister station, WESH. Dave Marsh anchored the weathercast until his retirement on July 31, 2006.
On cable, WMOR can be seen on Bright House Networks (except North Pinellas, where it's on channel 10), Verizon FiOS, and Comcast Venice channel 12 , and on Comcast Sarasota channel 4.
Repeaters
WMOR also broadcasters on a series of repeaters in the Tampa Bay area. Due to its transmitter location, the use of repeaters is necessary to reach as much of the most-populated areas as possible, especially in the early days before Hearst acquired the station.
- WMOR-LP, St. Petersburg (channel 63, with a construction permit to operate on channel 5)
- W56CN, Venice (channel 56, which has a construction permit to change channels to 14)
- W18DB, Port Richey (channel 18).
