WSKY-TV


WSKY-TV, virtual channel 4, is an independent television station licensed to Manteo, North Carolina, United States, serving the Hampton Roads area of southeastern Virginia, and the Outer Banks region of northeastern North Carolina. The station is owned by Lockwood Broadcast Group. WSKY-TV's studios are located on Salters Creek Road in Hampton, and its transmitter is located near South Mills, North Carolina.
On cable, WSKY-TV is carried mainly on channel 4, except on the Charter Spectrum system in Suffolk, where it is carried on channel 10. A high definition feed is available on Cox digital channel 1004, Spectrum channel 703 in Suffolk, channel 704 in Manteo and channel 1232 in Elizabeth City, and Mediacom channel 804.
Despite the call sign and branding of SKY 4, the station is not affiliated in any way with British Sky Broadcasting of the United Kingdom, nor its American owner, Comcast.

History

The history of WSKY-TV can be traced as early as 1995, when the FCC invited filings for a license to operate a television station in Manteo on channel 4. Six groups applied for the license.
Before its fall 2001 launch, channel 4 on Cox Cable housed LNC or Local News on Cable, WVEC-TV's 24-hour cable news television station. When WSKY launched, LNC moved up to channel 5 on Cox Cable lineups.
The station's analog signal signed-off in late November 2006, as its digital signal was to sign-on from a new tower in Camden County, North Carolina. WSKY had some challenges covering the northern part of the market on its analog signal; which was to be remedied with its new digital tower.
Between 6 and 7 a.m. on the morning of March 2, 2007, in high winds during storms moving through the area, WSKY-DT's tower collapsed, also destroying the transmitter building. The tower was three weeks away from completion.
The tower was rebuilt and finished in November 2007. WSKY-DT started broadcasting a test pattern on November 24, 2007, and began regular broadcasts on November 27, 2007.
On January 1, 2009, DirecTV removed the channel from its lineup following a failure to reapply for "must-carry" status. It returned to the DirecTV lineup on January 1, 2012.
During the 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, WSKY-TV aired two weeknight 11 o'clock newscasts from CBS affiliate WTKR during that station's coverage of the basketball tournament. WTKR did broadcast late newscasts at Midnight when the coverage concluded.
On July 15, 2013, Lockwood Broadcast Group announced it would be acquiring 51% of WSKY-TV pending FCC approval. The sale was finalized on November 25.

Digital television

Digital channels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
ChannelPSIP Short NameVideoAspectProgramming
4.1WSKY-DT1080iMain WSKY-TV programming
4.2Escape480iCourt TV Mystery
4.3Laff480iLaff
4.4Grit480iGrit

Analog-to-digital conversion

WSKY-TV discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over VHF channel 4, in November 2006. The station's digital signal moved to VHF channel 9, in mid-May 2010, using PSIP to display WSKY-TV's virtual channel as 4 on digital television receivers.