WHAG-TV
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Hagerstown, Maryland Chambersburg, Pennsylvania Martinsburg, West Virginia Winchester, Virginia United States |
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| Branding | WHAG (general) WHAG News (newscasts) |
| Slogan | Your Local News Leader |
| Channels |
Digital: 26 (UHF) Virtual: 25 () |
| Subchannels | 25.1 Independent/H&I 25.2 Escape 25.3 Grit |
| Owner |
Nexstar Media Group (Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.) |
| First air date | January 3, 1970 |
| Call letters' meaning | HAGerstown |
| Former channel number(s) | 25 (UHF analog, 1970–2009) 55 (UHF digital, –2009) |
| Former affiliations | NBC (1970–2016) |
| Transmitter power | 575 kW |
| Height | 376 m |
| Facility ID | 25045 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 39°39′45″N 77°57′54″W / 39.66250°N 77.96500°W |
| Website | www |
WHAG-TV channel 25, is an Independent television station located in Hagerstown, Maryland. The station is owned by the Nexstar Media Group. WHAG-TV's studio facilities are located in the Alexander House Hotel on East Washington Street in downtown Hagerstown, and its transmitter located in Fairview Mountain west of Clear Spring.
The station signed on the air on January 3, 1970. It was originally owned by Warren Adler along with WHAG radio in Halfway (AM 1410 and FM 96.7, now WDLD). WHAG-TV's original analog transmitter was to be on top of the Hagerstown Motor Inn (now the Alexander House) but was rejected due to structural incompatibility. A site on Fairview Mountain would become the location of the analog signal on UHF channel 25. The station was an NBC affiliate; network anchors Chet Huntley and David Brinkley welcomed the station to the NBC television network during their newscast that night. Adler Communications sold WHAG-TV to Sheldon and Samuel Magazine of Washington D.C. in 1973. The Magazine Brothers then sold it to local aviation pioneer Richard Henson in 1977. Henson then sold the station to Great Trails Broadcasting in 1981. Great Trails exited broadcasting and sold WHAG along with 2 of its stations—WFFT-TV in Fort Wayne, Indiana and KSVI in Billings, Montana to Quorum Broadcasting in 1998 for $65 million.
On September 8, 2003, Nexstar Broadcasting Group announced that it would acquire Quorum Broadcasting and its stations (including WHAG-TV) for $230 million. The sale was completed on December 31, 2003.
WHAG's broadcasts became digital-only, effective June 12, 2009.
NBC confirmed to The Herald-Mail that it was declining to renew its affiliation with WHAG on February 19, 2016, with the station officially ceasing to broadcast the network's programming "in the summer"; it was later announced that the affiliation would end on July 1, 2016. A factor in this decision was perceived competition with network-owned WRC-TV. The two stations are technically in the same market, a situation which also caused the Philadelphia-Atlantic City market's WMGM-TV to lose its affiliation in 2015 in favor of network-owned WCAU. WHAG-TV will continue to produce local programming, including local newscasts, with the expansion of the station's local news department. WHAG-TV also carries programs from Heroes & Icons.
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Wikipedia