There's a new kid in town. Actually, there are two new kids in town. After having a monopoly on the Charlottesville television market for more than 30 years, WVIR NBC 29 finally has company.
CBS affiliate WCAV and ABC affiliate WVAW have begun broadcasting most of their programming, including small news briefs, from a trailer that sits next to their future home on Monticello Avenue.
The building, which will house two separate studios and office spaces for the two stations, is about 70 percent complete, said Bill Varecha, manager of both stations.
WCAV News Director Rick Barrick said they will probably move into their offices around mid-October, and news broadcasts will begin after the presidential elections.
Both stations are affiliates owned by the Atlanta-based Gray Television, which owns several stations in medium to small markets in college communities.
"The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) relaxed its rules last year, and now allows one company to own two stations in a single market, if one station is a low-powered station," Barrick said.
WVAW, broadcast on channel 16, will be the low-powered station, replacing WHSV, an ABC affiliate from Harrisonburg also owned by Gray.
Barrick explained that the CBS affiliate, channel 19, plans to gear itself toward families and a more mature demographic, while ABC will spend more of its time catering toward the University audience.
Varecha said neither station initially will broadcast in High Definition Television, as they do not have their digital licenses. The stations will begin broadcasting in analog format until the United States is 80 percent ready to receive digital broadcasting and the FCC issues the licenses to the remaining stations.
Charlottesville is the 185th largest television market in the United States, boasting 69,930 television homes, according to Nielsen Media research.
"This market is unusual in that it has only had one affiliate for so long," Barrick said. "I think that Charlottesville is poised to become a larger market after the recent publicity of what a nice place it is to live."
In addition to serving as WCAV news director, Barrick, who graduated from the University with a degree in environmental science, will oversee the weather department of both stations.
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