WMAR-TV facts for kids
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| Baltimore–Annapolis, Maryland United States |
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| Channels | Digital: 27 (UHF) Virtual: 2 |
| Branding | WMAR 2 |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner | E. W. Scripps Company (Scripps Broadcasting Holdings LLC) |
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Sister stations
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WPXW-TV, WWPX-TV |
| History | |
| Founded | May 16, 1946 |
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First air date
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October 30, 1947 |
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Former channel number(s)
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Former affiliations
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Call sign meaning
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Maryland |
| Technical information | |
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Licensing authority
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FCC |
| Facility ID | 59442 |
| ERP | 830 kW |
| HAAT | 307 m (1,007 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 39°20′5″N 76°39′2″W / 39.33472°N 76.65056°W |
| Links | |
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Public license information
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Profile LMS |
WMAR-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is connected with ABC and is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. The station's studios and offices are in Towson, north of the Baltimore City–Baltimore County border. Its tall antenna, which looks like a three-pronged candelabra, is on Television Hill in the Woodberry neighborhood of Baltimore.
History of WMAR-TV
Starting Out in Television
WMAR-TV began broadcasting on October 30, 1947. It was the very first television station in Maryland. It was also the fourteenth commercial TV station to start in the United States. WMAR was created by the A. S. Abell Company, which also published the Sunpapers (The Baltimore Sun). Channel 2's first broadcast was a live show of horse races from Pimlico Race Course.
WMAR-TV's first studios and offices were in downtown Baltimore. In May 1963, WMAR-TV moved to its current building, which was called "Television Park."
When it first started, Channel 2 was an independent station. This meant it was not officially linked to a major TV network. In 1948, WMAR-TV became a full-time partner with CBS. It also had smaller connections with ABC and DuMont for a short time.
Two important people worked at WMAR early on. Jim McKay was the first voice heard when the station began testing. He later became famous for hosting Wide World of Sports on ABC. Another person was Helen Delich Bentley, who hosted a show about shipping and transportation called The Port That Built a City. She later became a U.S. representative for Maryland.
In 1959, WMAR-TV joined with two other local stations, WBAL-TV and WJZ-TV. They built the world's first three-antenna candelabra tower. This new tower was on "Television Hill" in the Woodberry neighborhood. It helped the station's signal reach much farther across Maryland.
Changing Networks: From CBS to NBC
On March 3, 1981, CBS announced it would move its shows to WBAL-TV, which was Baltimore's NBC station. WMAR-TV then made a deal with NBC to become its new partner. This change happened on August 30, 1981. WMAR-TV became an NBC station.
A Time of Change for Staff
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In March 1982, many of WMAR-TV's on-air staff stopped working due to disagreements with management. They were joined by other local unions. The situation ended when Brooks Robinson, a popular former Baltimore Orioles baseball player who was a sports announcer for the station, decided not to cross the line of protesting workers. The next day, two news anchors were no longer with the station.
New Owners for Channel 2
Over the years, WMAR-TV changed owners several times. In 1986, the A. S. Abell Company sold WMAR-TV to Gillett Communications. Later, in 1991, the Cincinnati-based E. W. Scripps Company bought the station. Scripps still owns WMAR-TV today.
Becoming an ABC Station
In June 1994, Scripps and ABC made a big deal. This deal meant that WMAR-TV would become an ABC station. This was a major change for Baltimore TV. WMAR-TV took over from WJZ-TV as the ABC partner. This change happened on January 2, 1995. The last NBC show to air on Channel 2 was the 1995 Orange Bowl. Because of these changes, Channel 2 became one of the few stations in the country to have been a main partner with all three major networks: CBS, NBC, and ABC.
After becoming an ABC station, WMAR-TV's ratings for some shows went down. For example, in 1996, the station decided not to continue showing The Oprah Winfrey Show. Another local station, WBAL-TV, then picked up Oprah, which helped WBAL-TV's news ratings.
On May 13, 2014, a truck crashed into WMAR-TV's building. All employees were safely evacuated. The station had to stop broadcasting for a short time. Police later caught the person responsible. No one inside the building was hurt.
On April 16, 2018, WMAR changed its name to "WMAR 2." This was to highlight its history as Maryland's first TV station. It also brought back a modern version of its old "2" logo.
WMAR-TV Programming
WMAR-TV has shown a variety of programs over the years. When it was a CBS station, it sometimes chose to air local shows or sports instead of some network programs. The same happened when it was an NBC station. For example, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was not shown on WMAR-TV for several years in the mid-1980s.
When WMAR-TV joined ABC, it started showing most of the network's programs. The station was also the home for the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon for many years.
Until September 17, 2012, popular game shows Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune aired on Channel 2. These shows then moved to another local station, WBFF.
Sports on WMAR-TV
WMAR-TV has a strong history with sports. In the 1950s, it was the main station for the Baltimore Colts football team. It also broadcast Baltimore Orioles baseball games from 1979 to 1993.
WMAR also broadcasts the yearly Turkey Bowl, a football game between two local high schools, on Thanksgiving morning.
Lacrosse Coverage
WMAR is well-known for being one of the first stations to broadcast lacrosse games. In 1998, the Johns Hopkins University asked WMAR to show their rivalry game against the University of Maryland. Lacrosse is very popular in Maryland, but it was rarely shown on TV back then. WMAR agreed and started showing more Hopkins home games.
This led to a full "game-of-the-week" package starting in 1999. The station showed home games from many local college teams. These games aired live on Saturday afternoons and evenings. WMAR even worked with ESPN to produce the games for a while. Lacrosse broadcasts on WMAR ended after the 2011 season.
A famous person who started his commentary career at WMAR is Quint Kessenich, a four-time lacrosse All-American from Johns Hopkins. He later moved to ESPN.
WMAR-TV News
WMAR-TV currently broadcasts 26 hours of local news each week. This includes five hours on weekdays and one hour on Sundays. It has the lowest amount of news programming among Baltimore's main TV stations. WMAR also does not have local newscasts on Saturdays.
WMAR is one of several TV stations that airs the "Don't Waste Your Money" consumer reports. These reports help viewers make smart choices when buying things.
Even though WMAR is Maryland's oldest TV station, its newscasts have often been in third place among Baltimore's main network stations since the 1960s. It usually trails WJZ-TV and WBAL-TV in news ratings.
On October 4, 2010, WMAR-TV became the last station in Baltimore to start broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition. On April 18, 2011, WMAR was the first Baltimore station to start its weekday morning newscast at 4:30 a.m.
Past On-Air Personalities
Many talented people have worked on air at WMAR-TV. Some notable former staff include:
- Curt Anderson – news anchor (1980–1982)
- Andy Barth
- Nelson Benton (1982–1983)
- Keith Cate
- Stu Kerr (1928–1994) – A popular personality from 1952 to 1981. He hosted children's shows and was a weather forecaster.
- Tom Marr – WMAR weekend sports anchor from 1976 to 1979.
- Jim McKay – did early first broadcasts in the late 1940s.
- Uma Pemmaraju
- John Saunders
- Sally Thorner
- Brian Wood
Technical Information
Digital Channels
WMAR-TV's signal is split into several digital channels:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
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| 2.1 | 720p | 16:9 | WMAR-HD | ABC |
| 2.2 | 480i | GRIT | Grit | |
| 2.3 | BOUNCE | Bounce TV | ||
| 2.4 | MYSTERY | Ion Mystery | ||
| 2.5 | ION TV | Ion Television | ||
| 2.6 | CourtTV | Court TV | ||
| 2.7 | Newsy | Busted | ||
| 2.8 | HSN | HSN | ||
| 54.2 | 480i | 4:3 | Antenna | Antenna TV (WNUV) |
Broadcast on behalf of another station
Switching to Digital TV
WMAR-TV stopped broadcasting its old analog signal on June 12, 2009. This was the date when all full-power TV stations in the United States switched from analog to digital broadcasts. The station's digital signal moved to a new channel, UHF channel 38.
Later, on July 2, 2020, WMAR-TV moved its signal again to UHF channel 27. This was part of a plan to reorganize TV channels across the country.
Images for kids
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WMAR Comcast WeatherNet Digital screenshot.
