WFMZ-TV is an independent television station based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, owned by Maranatha Broadcasting Company. It shares studios with WDPN-TV on South Mountain in Allentown, where WFMZ-TV's transmitter is situated. Additionally, WFMZ-TV operates a secondary studio in the PPL Center in Allentown and a newsroom in Reading. The station provides local programming and news coverage to the Lehigh Valley region.
Severe weather with strong winds toppled trees and power lines across Pennsylvania, impacting commuters and causing outages. Philadelphia region experienced significant disruption and property damage due to the storm.
In December 1954, an earlier television station with the WFMZ-TV call sign began operating on UHF channel 67 in Allentown; it was co-owned with WFMZ radio.
In February 1975, WFMZ reapplied for a television station license, substituting channel 69 for channel 67 in Allentown.
In May 1975, WFMZ sourced its channel 69 transmitter and much of its equipment from WHFV in Fredericksburg, Virginia, after it ceased operations.
On December 9, 1975, WFMZ's application for a television station license, using channel 69 in Allentown, was approved. The studios and transmitter were planned to be co-sited with WFMZ radio.
On November 25, 1976, WFMZ-TV debuted, broadcasting family-oriented entertainment shows for 13 hours a day.
In 1976, WFMZ's news department launched with two daily newscasts at 7 and 10 p.m.
In 1989, WFMZ added a 5 p.m. newscast and moved the 7 p.m. news show to 6 p.m.
In 1995, WFMZ expanded its news service geographically with the debut of its Berks Edition newscast at 5:30 p.m.
Beginning in 1997, WFMZ began experiencing significantly enhanced ratings for its news coverage of the Lehigh Valley. In the late 1990s, the station also launched its first Lehigh Valley-focused morning and noon news programs.
In 1997, the FM radio station, which had been co-owned with WFMZ-TV, was sold.
In 1998, WFMZ expanded its Berks Edition newscast to include a 10:30 p.m. news broadcast.
By 2000, WFMZ was broadcasting three hours of local Lehigh Valley news daily, alongside comedy, talk, reality, and court shows.
On February 5, 2001, WFMZ launched the 69 News Weather Channel, a continuous loop of local weather information, traffic cameras, and news headlines; it was the first such multicast service in the United States.
In 2003, WFMZ launched 69 News en Español, the region's first Spanish language newscast, to serve the Hispanic community in the Lehigh Valley and Berks County areas.
In 2005, WFMZ formed a broadcast partnership with WPVI-TV (channel 6) in Philadelphia, allowing them to collaborate on news gathering for local stories.
In May 2008, WFMZ began broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition, becoming the fourth station in the Philadelphia media market to do so.
On June 12, 2009, WFMZ-TV shut down its analog signal over UHF channel 69 as part of the U.S. transition to digital broadcasts; its digital signal continued on UHF channel 46, using virtual channel 69.
In 2009, WFMZ began carrying Retro TV as a WFMZ subchannel.
Since November 2013, KJWP has carried MeTV programming in addition to the WFMZ subchannel.
On January 24, 2014, MeTV announced that it would move its Philadelphia-market affiliation from WFMZ-TV's 69.3 subchannel.
In April 2014, Atlanta-based Tuff TV officially replaced MeTV on the 69.3 subchannel.
In October 2014, WFMZ added an hour-long newscast at 4 p.m., making it the third station in the Philadelphia market to broadcast local news in that timeslot.
In December 2014, the signal began carrying the Heroes & Icons network feed.
In February 2015, WFMZ debuted its new street-level studio inside the PPL Center sports arena in Center City Allentown, broadcasting its noon news program from there.
In 2016, WFMZ's standalone signal was sold in the broadcast incentive auction and entered into a channel-sharing agreement with WBPH-TV. To relieve congestion, some of WFMZ's subchannels moved to KJWP, which WFMZ purchased.
In November 2017, WFMZ launched newly formatted and expanded newscasts.
On October 1, 2019, WFMZ re-added MeTV as a simulcast of WDPN-TV on the 69.3 subchannel; H&I is still seen in the market on WDPN's fourth subchannel.
On September 25, 2023, WFMZ debuted a new 30-minute long 8pm newscast, filling a previous gap in news coverage.
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