Kingston - Poughkeepsie - Newburgh, New York United States |
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City | Kingston, New York |
Branding | RNN |
Channels |
Digital: 48 (UHF) Virtual: 48 () |
Subchannels | (see article) |
Affiliations | Independent |
Owner | WRNN License Company, LLC |
Founded | 1970 as W62AA |
First air date | December 15, 1985 |
Call letters' meaning | Regional News Network |
Former callsigns | W62AA (1970–1983) WTZA (1985–1995) |
Former channel number(s) |
Analog: 62 (UHF, 1970–2004) |
Former affiliations | Independent via WNJU-TV (1970–1983) |
Transmitter power | 950 kilowatts |
Height | 378 metres |
Facility ID | 74156 |
Transmitter coordinates | 41°29′18.4″N 73°56′52″W / 41.488444°N 73.94778°WCoordinates: 41°29′18.4″N 73°56′52″W / 41.488444°N 73.94778°W |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Public license information: |
Profile CDBS |
Website | rnntv.com |
WRNN-TV is an independent television station operated by RNN serving the New York metropolitan area which is licensed to Kingston, New York, USA. Broadcasting on channel 48, WRNN broadcasts a schedule of mainly infomercials, home-shopping programming, regional and international news programs, some syndicated programming. The station's studios are located on Westchester Avenue in Rye Brook, New York, and its transmitter is based on Beacon Mountain, near Beacon, New York.
W62AA was founded in 1970 by Screen Gems Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Columbia Pictures as a translator for independent station WNJU-TV. It was one of the many translator stations serving the entire New York City area. By 1975, WNJU-TV and most of the major stations in New York had moved their transmitters to the World Trade Center, but W62AA remained at the Empire State Building to expand its signal further north of the city and the surrounding area. With the introduction of the cell phone developed by Bell Labs in 1982, all upper band channels were scheduled to be displaced for cell phone use. But before that happened, WNJU-TV expanded its signal further north, making W62AA obsolete as a backup. W62AA was taken off the air in 1983, and the license was transferred to a group led by Albany-area businessman Edward Swyer, who moved the city of license to Kingston, NY. It would be 2 years before the channel 62 allocation would be used again.
Channel 62 returned to the air from Kingston on December 15, 1985 as WTZA. It was formatted as an independent station serving the middle Hudson Valley region of New York State. However, by virtue of the outer range of its signal, WTZA also served the Capital District area and the northern suburbs of New York City. The call letters designated the coverage area, and also served as the station's slogan – "From the Tappan Zee to Albany". The upper Hudson Valley area was one of the largest in the country to lack its own television stations, this due to its proximity to both the New York and Albany-Schenectady-Troy television markets.